wrightskyguy

We finally have the dates for the Palatka "Hog Flop Boogie" locked in. IT will be a little later than normal this year so as not to conflict with the Nationals. The dates are Nov 7, 8, & 9. We will have a Casa and will be starting early. This event seems to get better every year, come on out and join us. In addition to the Hog Flop competition, there will be free load organizing in both RW and FF, perhaps even some CRW if there is any interest as well as reps from several gear manufacturers. Free beer on Sat night with a feast prepared by the lovely Dave Rhodes. We have CLEAN, modern facilities, covered packing and free camping. If sleeping under the stars is not your thing then give us a call and we'll help you arrange lodging in one of several Palatka motels. Hope to see you there 1 800 243 6481 Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

RENT the SIM?!! There's a money maker for ya John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

The four page version was designed to incorporate coaches. They can sign anything after category E except for the check dive and final approval. Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

Great Job! Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hee! Hee! You arrogant Americans think Roger Nelson invented everything. Roger Nelson did in fact, invent everything, except freeflying which we all know was invented by Olav. Just ask him, he'll tell you. John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

At last! something we can agree on. Everyones gotta have some common ground. Good luck Jump nice John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

Jim: I am done here. There is nothing that I can say that is going to alter your way of thinking, and I will certainly not be jumping into your camp. I will close by reiterating what I have said all along, do things right and hold people accountable if they don't. If you feel that charging people a $500 renewal fee so that we can pay some FAA rep's per diem at demos is the answer then by all means, continue your lobbying efforts. Frankly, the idea of the government taking control of yet another part of my life makes me a little sick, and if anything remotely like what you are proposing happens, then I will simply not renew my rating, because I can't afford it. Good luck in all your future endeavors. Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

Quote[quote "Wishing" everyone would obey the rules, follow the guidelines and play nice... without any oversight, just isn't working. If you truly have any constructive input as to how to even approach fixing the current situation facing Demonstration Professionals...I'm all ears! You're not all ears, you've got one an opinion and and anyone else's is just stupid. If you had read my posts, you know that I never said anything about "wishing" that things would get better. I said that the program will work the way it is , but that you have to hold people accountable, something that is not currently being done. The fact that you do a million paid demos a year does'nt make your's the only opinion worthy of consideration. In spite of your insulting post, I have a complete grasp of the "gravity of the situation". John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

[ And my point was: If everyone stuck to the rules as they are, then there would be no problem. Follow the rules. Complicating things, increasing fees and adding more red tape does nothing. We don't need a big government approach here. John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

[ What else is going on that I don't know about? Anything fun in Ca, Az, or Fl... or wherever? Skydive Palatka has the Hog Flop Oct 24-26. It's a great boogie! www.skydivepalatka.com John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

[ Be honest, don't cheat, be professional. It's that easy. Jump nice John Wright John, That should go without saying. Now what do we do to make this happen. Michael D-5476 You can't make people do what they are not going to do, all you can do is hold them accountable. If someone does a demo that requires a PRO rating and they don't have one, then suspend thier USPA membership. If a Pro rating holder violates the conditions of the rating then Pull his rating. S&TA's are supposed to be involved in any demo in thier area, they know what is right and what's not. S&TA's do our job, jumpers, do the right thing. Charging a cheat or bandit jumper more money is'nt going to make him do the right thing and neither is increasing the trail of red tape, all it will do is make an already pain in the butt proposition even harder. They way things are now you need at least 2 weeks just for the paperwork to clear into an event of 10,000 or more and it seems to get tougher every time. The system that is in place will work if we use it like we're supposed to. We don't jump if conditions are'nt right, we have the appropriate paperwork, we have QUALIFIED people on the ground. Having to send USPA $500 apiece is not going to make us a better team, it will only piss us off. By the way, just because a suggestion doesn't involve charging more money or increasing paperwork doesn't mean that it's not a valid suggestion. Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

If you have some valid ideas please let us in on them. In his first post he said he would like to get ideas for everyone. The only guy to put forth anything worth while is from another country. Just my 2c Be honest, don't cheat, be professional. It's that easy. Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

So, if someone doesn't mind paying, or can easily afford a $250 rating fee, then they are going to be a professional, concientious jumper that doesn't pencil whip thier quals or lie about thier ability? Sorry, but the world just doesn't work that way. The problem I have with people making remarks like " why don't we increase the rating fee" in a public forum like this is that there are people out there reading this that also believe that the best way to fix a problem is to throw money at it. Maybe they are in a position to do something or act on it, next thing you know only the Knights are doing demos. S &TA's make sure things are done right and our problems fix themselves. If you go through the qual process honestly and complete everything then there is no reason that you should'nt be able to do demos safely. We pay attention to detail where I jump and all of our PRO's earned thier ratings. I have a buddy that has busted twice at 8 or 9 jumps and has had to start over, but, until you can do it ten times then you're just not qualified and he knows and accepts this. Be honest, don't cheat, be professional. It's that easy. Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

Sorry if you didn't like my reply but the idea that increasing someones renewal fee would somehow make them a better demo jumper is pretty silly. Why not increase it to $500 and have the head of the FAA present at all demos, that would surely increase safety. The things that make good demos are: a) using only jumpers that are truly qualified b) meticulous planning and preparation c) sticking with the plan. You could have a thousand ASO's on the ground and it wouldn't make a bit of difference if you had jumpers that gun-decked thier PRO quals and thought they could safelyfly thier 2 : 1 loaded Stilletos into a stadium. I know that there people out there with PRO ratings that can't even stand up ten times in a row, much less land on target . S &TA's have to be conciencious when they sign someone off and that is the problem, not how much the renewal fee is. Sorry if you thought I was being a smart ass but sometimes a silly remark will incur a silly reply. Jump nice John Wright P.S. Please don't call me dude, this is 2003. John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

[ I also think the rating should cost much...much, more than it does now. 250.00-500.00 dollar range, this money would be used to fund the overseeing of some demos by the ASO or Conference Director...or even create a new position. Any thoughts? Did someone drop you on your head or something? Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

By current, are you referring to currency (i.e. X number of jumps per year) or how recently you paid money to get a new date typed on some piece of paper. If the latter, what does that have to do with safety? Blues, Dave Current means you've met the proficiency requirements set forth by USPA. There is alot more involved in obtaining and keeping current an AFF rating than sending inyour money, although some folks that don't or can't meet those requirements will tell you different. John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

Clarification: Levels I-VII are being done by unrated jump masters. Talking with one of the regulars there they explained Levels I-III can be completed with one rated JM and one unrated, and Levels IV-VII with a rated JM only. However I witnessed 2 students complete levels 5 and 6 and 6 and 7 with an unrated JM. The regulars indicated that the rated JM's were not there that weekend. < At no time can an unrated person participate in an AFF dive, ever. Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

WHAT? i can't believe this is true! i've met some TM's with a kinda relaxed attitude but every single one of them is damn sure that their passengers harness is adjusted correctely and exactely in the way they prefer it to be done before boarding. There are a couple of TMs at my dz that do it that way. The laterals are tightened but they leave the uppers loose and don't tighten them up until after they have hooked up. It makes it easy to hook up, especially with big guys. I don't do it that way and wish that they wouldn't. John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

Don't let your girlfriend jump there, unless you don't like her. The unrated guys there may have the skills necessary to function as a JM but, there is no way for you to know. A USPA rated instructor has at least 500 jumps and has demonstrated his/her proficiency in at least 2 USPA administered courses. An instructor has to be able to teach as well as skydive and the fact that someone is a good RW jumper doesn't necessarily that they can fly with and effectively critique and correct student problems in real time. Rated AFF instructors have demonstrated these skills, unrated guys have not. Find another DZ. Jump nice John Wright John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

laugh> I had 48 jumps when I got off student status... I put my student logbook online because it was so funny. Its at: Hey Wendy: Anything in there about riding the beacon? I think that may have thrown you off. Jump nice John John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

i leave it to someone whos better qualified to speak about it, but isnt "placing" your PC in clean air the basic method of deployment for skysurf dives? Don't know about skysurfing but "placing" the pilot chute in clean air is what you do with a PUD. As Nancy from Jumpshack once told me, "pull it out and hang it on a hook". Jump nice John John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

Round, Meeker, Donut, Bipole Don't forget arch, reach, tumble, scream, pull. Jump nice John John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

Just wanted to get this back to the top of the forum As it should be. Come on out everyone, looks like good weather John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

This has come up a lot, and I think that it's a shame if that's applied as a blanket rule. There is nothing in the BSR's that says you have to be a coach to jump with a new jumper; I would hope the S+TA would be flexible enough to let a qualified experienced jumper jump with a new jumper. It's how I learned most of what I learned about RW. Good points, the program was designed to ensure that students fresh off of level VII/Cat E got the additional training necessary to safely complete the jumps and objectives for thier A license. If a student is focused and jumps under coach supervision, this can be accomplished in twenty jumps. Someone with an A license and 800 jumps probably does have something to contribute, but, the problem is that they haven't demonstrated the ability to teach, besides, it's not really fair to those that spent the money and took the time to get thier ratings to have an unrated person teaching. After the student gets thier A license though, it's a whole new ballgame. John Wright World's most beloved skydiver

What kind of Airplane? Two 182's John Wright World's most beloved skydiver