livendive

It is clear on USPA license applications that the only jumps that count toward the requirements are those made in compliance with USPA's BSRs (at the time of the jump). If USPA raised the D-license container opening to 2500, my 2000' pulls would count because they were in accordance with the BSRs at that time. If I was at your DZ and was pulling at 2500', that'd also meet the requirement. I have no idea whether the Dutch organization has a similar requirement. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You can request it, but most TI's I know won't allow it, especially for novices. I know I won't. There are certainly things more terrifying than being locked in one place by a drogue with a newbie somewhere above you, just like there are certainly faster cars than a Dodge Viper. Note that this fact doesn't make the Viper particularly slow. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Nope. The B license has a freefall time requirement (30 minutes). The A does not. The A does require at least 5 freefall group jumps of 2 or more, but it doesn't specify that all 25 jumps must include freefall. 5 minutes of accumulated freefall time used to be an A-license requirement. It was removed at the same time as the requirement for 20 freefalls was changed to 25 skydives. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Sure we do. My students get their A-license approved via a stamp by me, right below where it says, "Official USPA A-license stamp: This stamp and signature of a USPA Instructor or I/E, verifies that the applicant has completed all qualifications for the USPA A skydiving license and performed satisfactorily on the USPA A-license check dive. This temporary USPA A license expires with the holder’s USPA regular membership or when replaced by any registered license issued from USPA Headquarters." Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Well, he will be when the BSRs lower minimum container openings to 800 feet. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

All jumps count. The requirement used to be 20 freefalls, but it was changed several years ago to 25 jumps. In a normal S/L or IAD progression, they work out to the same (two simple exits, three practice pulls). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Trying? Most of us get the message loud and clear. Right now he's apologizing for your confusion and asking that you please understand how tough ASL is with holes in your palms. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You could always wait for your Cypres to fire and just land before everyone else. If doing 4-way, I suggest only two of you use this method each jump, so as to better manage the traffic in the pattern. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Added Muttley and myself. And I don't get all the whining about the landing area. It's not like the normal landing area was a golf green, or even a fairway...the only real difference between the two is a one minute ride on a trailer. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Number 17 is clearly someone with access to Remi's wardrobe. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Really? My skills must be off today, because I'd deduced **. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

What's wrong with arriving at the course prepared, having read everything possible, taught a few FJC's and done numerous practice jumps with experienced AFF I's?? Oh, wait, that'd require effort and time. Nevermind. Why should you know everything in a course before taking a course? Then what's the point of a course? A course is supposed to teach, otherwise it is strictly an AFF evaluation, not an AFF course. It depends on the context. An obstacle course serves a different purpose than than a college course, with the former being a testing environment and the latter a learning environment. The way I saw when I got my rating was the pre-course was where we were mostly in learning mode. The course itself was more like an obstacle course. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

The students? When I started doing tandems, my students helped with almost all our landings. Now it's very rare that I let them help with the landing. The inconsistency between one student and the next just isn't worth the risk to me As for the original question, I'll second what everyone else said...fly it. Your legs are better occupied flying whatever you've got than they are wrestling with the student. I'll give them a couple courtesy nudges to try and fix their legs, and I'll slide the tiny girls forward/up to better control them, but for the most part I just outfly them, regardless of their size or what they're doing wrong. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Very cool! CWU is right up the road from us and I sub-contract a lot of their recent grads. It's a cool town, and the school's athletic program obviously does something right.

Actually, if you billed me, I'd owe you a lot more than that. Then again, you'd be liable for psychological damage etc . I say we call it square. You find the tanks out there? And my new trailer was still tire-side down after the last couple windstorms? You'll be happy to know nothing broke on your trailer this winter, and I fixed the fan over the stove. Tomorrow morning is antenna, and it'll be good to go. And yes, I actually expect you to help me with the FJC while you have a new toy sitting just outside the hangar. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

If it was a negative-edged pool filtrated to ensure removal of every micron of dirt and had a water temperature of 74.2 degrees, I would have no problem going for a swim. I guess we'll have to just agree to disagree. Personally, I see a big difference between pet store puppies and ethically bred puppies, but it's cool by me if you perceive there to be an incredibly fine line between the two. Rescues need good homes too, and I'm glad people adopt them.

That would be great, except I wasn't talking about a puppy at a store. I was talking about a "pet quality", non-breed-worthy puppy at a "good breeder" (i.e. one who makes very little, if any, money because they do it the right way for the right reasons). In such an situation, I have no problem with paying them so they can do it again. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

That's my understanding as well, and your costs do look low, though breeders frequently don't own both parents. Another good description is here. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Sure they do, but I'd prefer to adopt a dog who sits in a kennel all day with no feeling of "home" than a dog who is at a breeders home with a person caring for it like it was their own and profiting by adding to the already overgrown population of pets. And, a breeder isn't going to kill a dog that someone doesn't adopt in a week. I have no reason to believe ethical breeding is particularly profitable. They may make a little more than cost, but it's certainly not a ton. Minka's litter consisted of four puppies. One was a white, which they were caring for till they could neuter it and find it a quality home (where it would go for little if any fee). They were also keeping one in anticipation that they could start showing it in a year or so and *hopefully* breed it in 2-3 years, if it developed like they hoped and could pass the battery of health tests. That left two puppies to sell, one pet quality (Minka) and one that would only go to a show home. Out of that income, they had to pay the sire's fee (semen shipped from Florida), insemination/pregnancy/delivery costs, shots and exams for all four puppies, a pro-rated portion of the dam's heart/thyroid/hip certifications, AKC registration costs for the litter, care costs for the white, gas to meet me halfway between their home and mine, etc, etc. Backyard breeders & puppy mills do it for the profit. Ethical breeders are not rolling in dough from the effort. Also, the rescues I'm familiar with are at people's homes (or farms), with plenty of playmates, room to roam, and no standing death warrant on any dogs except those which prove to be violent. It's entirely possible there are breed-specific rescues which do euthanize after some period of time, but I'm unaware of them. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Oh crap, your not Muenkel?!! edit: Seriously, I think modern engines can adapt easily to a lower octane. Depends on climate and load conditions on the engine but it really shouldn't hurt the performance that bad. Under hot conditions you could have pinging, but if that occurs, just add higher octane....... A local teenager recently got a story/picture on the front page of our newspaper for going the opposite direction. He started buying premium and adding octane booster to get up to 102 and is now getting >30 mpg in the Toyota pickup he converted into a flatbed for his lawnmowing business...at a monetary discount over his regular mpg. The difference between octanes has pretty much stayed level at .10 (medium) and .20 (high) over regular. I did the math when gallons ran $1.20-$1.40 and in a different vehicle when gallons were $2.25ish and both times figured the increased per gallon cost wasn't worth the mpg gain. I haven't done the math since getting into a higher powered truck and $3.60/gal gas, but I suspect it might now be worthwhile. I'll try to remember to check it next week. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

So you might better qualify as a friend-whore than I do. It's not like that's a bad thing, at least not coming from a hugslut (tm) like me. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Whether they find anything wrong or not, they still incur costs in the equipment and labor that go into those inspections. I feel your pain, I'm over a grand into inspections/batteries so far this year with exactly one weekend of jumping under my belt, and I have another unit sitting on my desk at home waiting for a second to send in with it (to reduce shipping costs). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Yep, that one too. I hate it when people ask me about breeding my dogs without knowing anything more about them than their looks. I hate it more when their rationale is how much money we could make off the puppies. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Therein lies the rub. Why do you think so many animals need homes in the first place? Mostly because entirely too many people think "Sampson" would be less of a dog with his testicles removed, or it can wait till "next month" when they've got more expendable cash (and "next month" and "next month"...). Also because too many people think "FiFi" is soooo cute that they just have to breed her with their friend's dog. And finally because too many people think 101 Dalmations was the greatest movie ever and Little Johnny just has to have one of those spotted puppies...which just happen to be for sale down at the mall, and surely won't ever get any bigger, develop any health problems, or require any actual effort of any sort on their part. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Not really, or at least not in the grand scheme of things. If two dogs exist, one at a reputable breeder and one at a local rescue, they both need good homes equally. One will just cost more, at least up-front. "Pet quality" dogs (i.e. not show or breed-worthy) are part of every litter born. Backyard breeders produce almost exclusively pet quality dogs (and lower), whereas ethical breeders produce some smaller percentage of them. I'm guessing maybe 25-50 percent of each litter whelped at a reputable breeder is show or breed worthy, but that's a total WAG. My point is that the rest need good homes just as much as rescues. They are generally of better health and temperment, and they come with a price tag as a result (with the proceeds going to support ethical breeding), but that's about the end of the differences. Breed-specific rescue organizations and ethical breeders have several good things in common, especially the fact that they generally place a priority on getting their dogs to good homes and they will keep them until such homes are found. Whether one pays to support an ethical breeder or chooses to rescue a dog with a checkered or downright abusive past is entirely personal. As long as you're not encouraging inhumane treatment or unethical breeding, all I really care about is whether you give your dog a good home. My guess is that you do. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)