AndyMan

??? not in the slightest. I am a part time instructor. __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Of course, this risk profile can change dramatically for part time instructors. Step 4 becomes even more pressing. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Bill explicitly told me that if I have any complaints I should post them here. Talk about bad taste, take it up with him. This whole thing stinks. Lastly, if this were a simple case of deletion by accident, a simple mea-culpa would have ended this a long time ago. Bill seems to think that deleting posts is something that can be taken lightly. It is not. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I really don't know what Bill's motiviations where, but - well, it smells like a duck, and walks like a duck, and looks like a duck. The fact is that he deleted an interesting conversation that didn't break any rules. He replaced a conversation with his opinion, as if it were the word of god. The then deleted any attempts to restart the conversation, and replied rudely to PM's asking 'why'. We deserve better. I have no doubt that there's a long list of members who'd be more than willing to take over, enforce the rules fairly without deleting conversations they dislike. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Not a conspiracy theory, because there's just one person. Just one person deleting posts where he disagreed with an opinion. The fact that he agreed with me doesn't change anything. He deleted posts because he didn't like one opinion in a discussion. Then he added his opinion, as if it were the word of god, as if his was the only opinion that mattered. That's wrong. I did. His reply was rude. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I recently had some posts deleted only because a moderator disagreed with an opinion in the thread. Specifically, in Safety and Training, an interesting discussion over a plane crash was deleted, simply because Bill disagreed with someone who thought it wasn't a big deal. The discussion had been interesting. Since the posts were removed, I've had two people PM me telling me they'd learned something from the thread before it was removed. As far as I know, there's no rule that says we're not allowed to post opinions that the moderators disagree with. Moderators deleting posts simply because they disagree with the editorial content is the definition of censorship, and is contrary to the functioning of an online community. BillVon should only be deleting posts when rules are broken. Deleting posts only when he disagrees with the opinion is just wrong, and should not be tolerated. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm not sure I understand your comment. It sounds like you don't think an airplane running out of fuel and ditching in a field isn't a big deal...? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I have survival experience. Bear Grylls is an idiot and a danger to those who take his advice. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Are there team member names posted anywhere for freestyle? __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I can't answer all your questions, but I can say that I'd take PAC over any kind of 182 or 206, no matter what kind of engine is installed. As for climb rates, you're right - the climb rate is good but not spectacular. What makes the PAC so fast isn't the climb so much as the descent. Depending on runway configuration, the PAC cam be on the ground loading before the fun-jumpers land. Compare that to an Otter that lands as the tandems land. The PAC is sometimes off the ground climbing before the tandems land. The climb rate of the PAC varies greatly with how full you load it. I know when Sky Knights flies the CSC PAC on weekends they regularly run full loads of 14 jumpers, which can give it a 16-18 minute climb. CSC never flies the PAC that heavy. Instead, they'll put at most 12, but more often 8-10 per load, in order to help the plane turn during the week. That's when you see the very fast climb rates. Add in the very fast descent, and you get the unusually high turn rates. As for the low tail - you're right. That, and an aft CG are the two biggest challenges for this plane which make it less then ideal for funjumpers - especially bigger RW. This is the key reason I don't see the PAC ever replacing Otters at big DZ's. The key competition for this plane, the Caravans and King Airs, also have low tails and aft CG issues. I am curious as to how a Kodiak will perform compared to a PAC. I understand the Kodiak has a higher tail and more neutral CG. Unfortunately I've heard not such good performance, which seems like a deal-breaker. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

BTW - Rhythm spoke very highly of you Spacelanders when they were down the week before last. Great people, great DZ. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The PAC is definitely a great aircraft. It's small, fast, and good on fuel. This will make it a favorite of DZO's. As a jumper, I like any plane that my DZO likes, since it means that I'll get to jump more. What I mean here is that there's nothing more painful than a beautiful fast Twin Otter that the DZO won't start up because there's only 8 people at the DZ. Chicagoland Skydiving Center is exactly this scenario. They have whats essentially the only "new" Twin Otter in operation when they bought a nearly million dollar rebuilt one 5 years ago. They also have a new PAC 750. The PAC is much faster than the Otter, but while the PAC comfortably holds 14 people, the Otter will hold 23. On a busy weekend the Otter is absolutely required because even with the speed advantage, the PAC can not even come close to the capacity of a fast Otter because of the difference in load size. At a busy dropzone that can support an Otter, the PAC can not compete. As a result, CSC does not fly its PAC on the weekends, it leases the aircraft to a neighboring DZ that normally flies a 182. Where the PAC really shines is at a big DZ during the week. The efficiency of the PAC means that the DZO is willing to start it up for a group as small as a 4way team. The fuel economy of the PAC really shines during the week. It allows light loads, which allows the plane to turn more often, which in turn reduces engine starts, which even saves makes more money for the DZO. For example, if the DZ only had 20 jumpers, with an Otter they would cram everyone into 1 load, then shut down. With the PAC, they'll put 7 jumpers on each load, keep the plane turning, and by the time everyone has jumped, the first group has packed and is ready to go for jump 2. With 20 jumpers, the PAC keeps turning all day long while the Otter would shut down every load. The PAC already has an advantage in maintenance because there's only one engine. That means half as many engine starts even before load 1 has taken off. On top of that, add in the reduced number of starts because it's more likely to turn, and the savings add up quickly. I don't see the PAC ever replacing Otters at busy DZ's that can support an Otter. I do see them replacing 182's at small DZ's, and replacing Caravans and King Airs in the medium sized DZ's. I also see them being used by large DZ's as secondary aircraft for use on super busy weekends, and less busy weekdays. The attraction to this aircraft from 3 distinct sizes of DZ (small, medium, and large) will make this a very popular aircraft. No wonder production is sold out for 3 years straight. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Pre-printing is one thing. CSC does something similar to the one you posted only its profesionaly printed and bound. Pre-printed custom logbooks are great for a bunch of reasons, including DZ branding, abd encourage students to come back. Gary is suggesting not only pre-printing, but pre-filling out log books. Adding convenient checkboxes that a rushed instructor can hastilly check off before ditching the student and running off to do his next tandem. To me, that's the epitome of laziness. Filling out a logbook the long and boring way is an important part of the student debrief. It allows for a few moments of actual teaching, never mind corrective training. Reducing it to a few checkboxes cheapens it to be nearly worthless. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Rhythms round 7 wasn't posted until 10:00am this morning, even though the jump happened yesterday afternoon. Seems like delays like this are par for the course. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm going. Should be a fun week. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

As a new jumper, learning to pack your own parachute well is of paramount importance. Doing so will : 1) Teach you about your gear 2) Give you confidence in its reliability 3) Give you better awareness of the required maintenance. 4) Result in cheaper jumps 5) allow you to jump more when the packers are busy. There are only a few things I fear more than new jumpers who aren't comfortable packing their own parachutes. For me, it's impossible to "take responsibility for the jump" if you're not packing the parachute yourself. _AM __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

While that's plainly true, the vast majority of parachute equipment is functionally identical across manufacturers, and costs roughly the same. The only thing left to compete on is customer service. The rest of this industry seems to be able to manage the cyclical nature, I don't see why manufacturers can't. All that is moot however - it's not my job as a customer to make excuses for the manufacturers. Also, to bring this back on track, the original question was simple: How do you deal with a long wait time? My answer is simple: I find a different manufacturer. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You forgot the third option: I choose a different manufacturer when my favorite one can't offer reasonable customer service. Unusually long wait times are a great indicator that a company isn't capable of providing basic customer service. To me, this is a very strong indicator that I should pick a different manufacturer. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I have that same problem with my Icon. Again, the holes are clearly caused by the corners on the freefly handle. When I first noticed them, I had a rigger sew a patch on my pilot chute. Since then the holes have come back, but I haven't done anything about them. The pilot chute still seems to work pretty well despite them. I've put 500 jumps on my pilot chute with holes in it. I jokingly refer to the holes as being similar to the hole in a round parachute at the apex - it reduces oscillations - actually makes for a better pilot chute! Joking aside, the issue does seem to be limited to Icons with the Freefly handle. I've pointed out this problem to different people at Aerodyne, and none of them have been inclined to do anything about it. This is one reason why I do not recomend Aerodyne gear to any of my students. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I don't know if you're wrong or right, but I do know that I would be fired from my job if I had the attitude that I had nothing else to learn. With good cause, I might add. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It's critical that your son be able to check his gear on every jump. The Internet is not the place to learn how to do this, since this gear can be very complicated. If your son has any doubt as to his abilities to safely check his gear on every jump, he must get with a qualified instructor before making any more jumps. The Internet is not the place to learn this. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

My results are exactly the same as Bill's. I tried it once, fussed with a few settings and gave up quickly. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Experienced jumpers will often joke about doing something like this when it's time for a repack, but you should keep in mind that it's almost always just a joke. It would be very poor judgment for someone to actually do this. First, it's illegal. The FAR's require us to jump with both a main, and a reserve. If you're going to intentially open your reserve, the jump is illegal since you can not jettison the reserve and open your main. Second, it's dumb. Malfunctions can happen on any skydive. What happens when he has a malfunction, can't cut away, and thumps in? Who's the smart guy then? There are special rigs that allow 3 parachutes to be mounted. These rigs allow for an intentional cutaway and reserve deployment, while still having a real reserve hidden away in case of emergency. It may be the case that the owners of these rigs ask for a 'D' license - I'm not sure. I know it's not written in stone. You can also call up any manufacturer and ask for a demo version of their reserve parachutes. They'll ship you one setup like a main that you can test all you want. You certainly don't need a 'D' license to do this. The manufacturers will gladly send a demo canopy to pretty much anyone. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Personally, I will not jump from a Queen Air. I had thought there were no more operating in skydiving. I had thought they'd all either crashed or had their engines give up. A few years ago there were a ton of old King Airs on the market. Isn't that still the case? Seems to me like a much better choice. I'd take an old King Air over a Queen any day. -Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The CSC requirement for currency is that you must do a jump 30 days to stay current. If you do go uncurrent, the solution is not necesarily to bump you all the way back to level one. What they'll ask of you is really specific to you, and how far you get in the program. It may be as simple as a (usually free) refresher course in the spring followed by repeating your last jump. However, currency is more than just a bureaucratic requirement of the DZ. Especially as a student, maintaining currency and doing as many jumps as you can in a short time frame will make learning to skydive a much simpler and safer process. Long breaks really do hinder learning. It's still possible for you to get all the way (or most of the way) through your student jumps. I'd encourage you to do as many jumps as is practical over the next two months and see how far you can get. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.