AndyMan

In the US this is goverened by FAR 105.49: If you don't fit into the definition of FAR 105.49, then you must follow 105.43 __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

There is no US law that prohibits in a foreign country, to have an appropriately rated resident of that country inspect, approve, and register your gear. However, once you return, you will be required to show that your rig is current with US standards, and that includes having the most recent repack done by a FAA certified rigger. Also, US Dropzones will respect a foreign rigger ONLY if the rig is also foreign, and the jumper is visiting. Likewise, when you travel - you will likely find that the foreign DZ's will likely respect your FAA rigger packed rig, if it is in date. Your best bet may be to get the rig packed by an FAA rigger before you leave. Failing that, while traveling try to find a foreign rigger that also holds an FAA rating. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The dropzone is certainly not done, and no - I don't imagine there will be a merger. I'm a bit curious where this rumor came from, it makes absolutely no sense to me. There's plenty of business to support a very busy DZ. There has been some talk about moving the DZ, but even I haven't heard anything definitive - the DZO is keeping his cards very close to his chest until everything is finalized. I have no doubt that there will be a DZ up and operating come next year, but as for the exact location - your guess is as good as mine. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm hearing not-so-positive things about dimensional stability with ZPX. I'm not sure why you'd want a reserve made from it! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Neat! The workmanship looks great except for the material choice - the person who did the work clearly knew something about harness sewing, again - except for how to choose appropriate materials. How odd! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Great video, I just noticed who the Tandem Master is - Joe Abeln jumped for years at Archway Skydiving Center in Vandalia Il, near St Louis. For a long time he was a HUGE post whore on here before he joined the army. For the life of me I can't remember his username. Great to see him still living the dream! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I've seen some great stuff come from India, but I wasn't aware of any jumpsuits. Do you have any company names? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It took a very long time for Cypres to prove itself in the market. When it was introduced, nobody trusted ANY AAD, often to the point where if you had one on your rig, you would not be invited onto the 'cool' jumps. It took over a decade, but Cypres gradually earned the trust of most Skydivers. Me, I'm a big fan of there being competition in the market, and I look forward to the day where Argus and Vigils have the same reputation as Cypres. But, they do not. I continue to be concerned about both the number of incorrect activations, and the number of revisions being done to the hardware. Vigil is on its third version of the cutter, I think? It's clear that both manufacturers are on the right track, but have some ways to go before they earn the same level of respect as Cypres. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

A simple fix would be to have the manufacturers list off which products are applicable for which manuals. A simple thing, really. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It sounds like there's some awfully strong feelings on both side of this debade... and I just don't understand why this conversation has any importance at all. Was it a demo? Was it not... Why does it matter? Why is this worth insulting your friends over? A big jump, with lots of important spectators and media? Sounds kinda like a demo. Does it fit the USPA definition? Maybe not. Does it matter? Location has a big deal with do with why demo's are dangerous, I've certainly done some tight ones. But I also know that it's the pressure of a big crowd watching that leads to an awful lot of poor decisions and injuries. I'm pretty sure that's why some people are calling this a demo, because there was a big crowd. This makes sense to me, whether it fits the legal definition or not. I do want to ask the same question one more time: Why is this being debated? Who cares? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Thank you for your service! There are no hard and fast rules about where to put a student that's been away for a long time. At the very least, putting you back in the ground school is a no-brainer. Having the opportunity to review emergency procedures, practice the dive-flow, and review canopy flight is important - and different than your static line experience. Since there is no hard and fast rules you may find that if the level 1 goes really well, they may be willing to give a bit of an 'Accelerated' program, going to a single instructor or skipping a level here or there. Ultimately, there are no hard rules so it will be up to the discretion of the chief instructor. It will help if you still have your logbook and proficiency cards from way back. But, even if you find a DZ that is open to the discussion of an accelerated program, don't be surprised once you get into it that they insist on the standard program - skills do fade over time and 4 years is a pretty lengthy break. You may find your skills are not as sharp as they used to be!

It sounds like the three of us got our ratings in the same deWolf course. I'm UYX. The only time I have a problem is if I give it a weak squeeze. Give it an extra squeeze and it always works fine for me. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

An altimeter that is off by 1000 feet is defective and should be returned to the place of purchase, or sent to the manufacturer for repair. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Chicagoland Skydiving Center uses this system (or one just like it,not sure) in their Otter and PAC. As a jumper, it is by far the nicest oxygen system I've used - the hoses snap in securely and a pinwheel in the hose tells you there's oxygen flowing. The pilots love it too, since there's two lines coming off the bottle, they can keep their O2 running while the jumpers system gets shut off at the green light. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

There's no need. Why? Nearly every person who jumps a big camera setup will tell you - "yup, this thing is dangerous. I can name 18 different ways it can kill me". But you have the same conversation with someone who jumps a go-pro, and you walk into a wall of denial, of "it can't happen to me", and a wall of ignorance. That's why DSE published that list. To counter the denial, to show it CAN happen to you, and to educate. Such a list (more or less), is not required for big camera setups. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

More than that, the thread title is enough for me to say- if I was one of your instructors, you wouldn't be jumping with me anymore. Sure, radio's fail, and I advise every one of my students that they have the right to decide that the radio is on the wrong channel, or to decide that I'm confused and am talking to the wrong student. It's a whole different thing to say that you will not listen to your instructor. In a lot of years of skydiving, I've never given up on a student. But man, tell me that you won't even listen to me? That's a great way to get another instructor. Keep posting threads like this, and you'll find yourself short of instructors willing to jump with you. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm traveling right now but will be home next week. I think I have one available. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The guy is in Columbia? Good luck. There actually is patent law in most of South America, but it is effectively never enforced. You'd actually be looking for a copyright attorney, but again - finding a court in south America that will enforce copyright law is very difficult. Wink - a question I've always wondered. Who's the rigger that stars in your video, the one who deploys the rig on the table and demonstrates the spinning bag? It looks an awful lot like a Rigger I know named Jerry, but he's denied being involved... I always loved the dorky look on his face when he deployed the rig. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The Fusion is not a very popular canopy in any part of the USA that I've visited. Keep in mind that when it comes time to sell it, you may find that you don't have many buyers. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

When PD last visited my DZ, I put 10 jumps on a Katana. Of the 10 jumps, I had 2 good openings. The PD rep was quick to blame me for not being symmetrical in the harness and insisted the canopy was fine. Strangely enough I have not had this problem with any other canopy, including the Velo that I was jumping a few weeks later. You don't have to travel far to find people insisting many of the smaller Katanas open like shit. I think there's a good reason for that. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The last time I renewed my Allstate home owners policy, I asked about this. They added a sports equipment rider to my policy, which they said would cover my gear even if it was stolen from the DZ, or lost on a cuttaway. The cost was negligible. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

False. You have to develop one that will REDUCE injury. Clearly, keeping newer jumpers from small canopies will reduce injury. Stop talking in absolutes, it's not helpful. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Having a flap open isn't the big concern, so having someone "tell" you that one opens is not helpful. The concern is that your main or reserve will open, and by the time that happens you may find yourself with a broken neck, or even back in freefall when your harness fails. Freeflying in an older rig is simply very poor judgment. The risks of gear failure are very real. Of course you are free to make your own judgments, since you are a licensed skydiver, but I would ask one thing: When you talk to your mother about Skydiving, don't tell her that you're doing it safely. If you said such a thing, you'd be lieing to your Mom, and that's just not right. You should be honest to your mom and tell her that you're jumping old, out of date gear, and putting yourself at risk by using it inappropriately. I imagine this might be an interesting conversation. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

When I do first jump tandem, being handed a nice tip afterward is a nice way of saying 'thanks'. Anything else though - an instructional tandem or AFF jump? To have the student hang around and share some beer is far more rewarding. Beer - the nectar of knowledge. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Good marketing will help a tandem dropzone make lots of money. But a good dropzone is so much more than a lot of tandems. Of course good aircraft are required, but to me - the most important focus for maintaining a good dropzone is making sure your student program is producing enough skydivers to replace those who move on. Jumpers will always be leaving your dropzone. They'll be retiring from jumping, getting pissed off and moving to the competition, or moving physically away for whatever reason. Ensuring that the normal ebb-and-flow of students who leave get replaced is the single biggest challenge for a big DZ that does a lot of tandems. There is nothing more disappointing than to see a dropzone that is not replacing its departing jumpers with new blood. When this happens, the writing is on the wall that unless the situation is fixed, only tandems will remain. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.