stratostar

1, Lighten up Francis. 2. It sounds to me there is gap AC movements and exit flows with instructors. No he should not have been a dick or pushing or shoving you around. Was it ever talked about between the two jumps as to what you will be doing in the plane? Maybe you forgot some of it? However to let some instructor you think is a dick keep you from returning to that dz, says you have thin skin.... suck it up cup cake and go back redo your LV and move on to the next, you don't have to jump with any one instructor and if your assigned him again refuse his service and request another. You never did say what the DZO had to say about it. Having more then instructor is a good thing so your not dependent on just one. With two whole jumps there are things going on your not aware of and that could be one of the reasons for grabbing you and pushing you to your seat, can't know with out the other side of the story. Most the time we don't swap seating around on jump run, we load the correct order, again there maybe reasons you did something the first time that is not a normal operation? So when you expected that is how things are done each time you were wrong? Regardless to say you don't want to go back is a little whinny and thinned skinned. I won't discount that there are some shitty instructors in the ranks, but your the paying student and if your not happy with how your treated then stop everything and speak up and tell him to stop acting like an asshole and you would like someone else. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9QHZSAt4cE you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

They have a hard time reading and understanding english over there in Sweden... you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Maybe she want to buy it for my birthday than... you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Just because someone stop jumping for life and health reason dose not mean they can't keep rigging. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Carbone was on the 2004 all round load in Richmond as was a Bill Cole rig and Bob was there watching it all with a smile..... Some of those old guys were the ones who started the list (as you know) and the only reason their names need posted is for the pups to learn the history. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

The company was sued in to being out of the biz by a wife of someone who went in. The replacement parts can be found in Davis Ca. Some people love them, others hate them, like every other rig on the market. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Your just like herpes..... Just when we thought we got rid of you, you show back up..... Congrats on the family. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Great story thanks for sharing.

Please answer the question about what kind of test. DOT or over the counter. 1. How many jump pilots are working in airline or cargo jobs for their real jobs? A bunch of them. And if memory serves me right, your only allowed to take part in one DOT program at a time. Let alone the fact the unions would have a fit over it. 2. No self respecting person taking part in a DOT program for a real job is going to risk that by taking part in a second program, more so if it's some stupid cheap ass over the counter kit test. I know of one dz that was using them in the mid-eastern region for a time in order to be on staff, not sure about now. 3. As someone who takes part in a federal mandated DOT program I sure as hell will not submit to any non chain of custody testing done in the back office and conducted by DZO or DZ manger, if you can't use the federal programs results, then I wouldn't want to work for you in the first place. I think over all anyone who works part time on the weekend playing skydiving instructor as a Indy contractor and has a real job testing should be good enough. Like I said seen many many "staff" who are full time skydivers doing hard ass drugs that don't show up in piss tests, so the only people your weeding out (pun intended) are the pot smokers. And frankly this industry would be hard pressed for a lot of the full time live a tent dz bums if we ran off all the pot smokers, and that's a fact jack! you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Are you talking about a real DOT testing program with chain of custody or are you talking about one of those over the counter home testing kits? If you want the use the little bust your high school kid over the counter kits, then fuck off. If your talking about a real DOT testing program, well then the DZO is first in line and lets see the results. I think the dz's that put that stupid shit on their websites is retarded and only adds to the over all view of the "type" of people in the sport... as well as mostly it's only aimed to bust pot smokers and not those who use XTC & Coke, meth & H regulary as well as abuse booze, in fact I can think of a few people who are now working @ your home dz who eat XTC like it's going out of style. Both of those leave a users system in hours or a day's times. So maybe you could test everyone on Sunday morning after your big boogies and get a true view on who dose what & when. I also know a lot of people who smoke weed after working all day and retire to bed, where as there is the drinkers who party all night and then get up a few hours later (8 hrs my ass) and start taking tandems and other students up still stinking of booze and glass eyed, clearly hung over. I would much rather hire and work the ones who bust ass all day and then burn one after dinner and go to bed to wake up fresh shit showered and shaved ready to work, then I would those who drink to excess every weekend and operate on a few hours sleep. I also find it funny that some of the biggest coke heads I know are DZO's who have drug testing for their staff and are reading the test results in their office while doing lines. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

That was a true quote, heard it muttered from the crowd as we were picking up our PC's in the LZ and waiting for the rest of the round load to land, the "kids" pulled around 4K.... Richmond "the" Boogie 2004 all round load. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

And I guess that means I'm on the list..... LOL however the HD reserve was in my FJC training, but by the time I used one we had pilot chutes by then and used our shot 1/2's or tape wells. Some of us were still doing that shit in the 90's & 2000's for shits and grins.... "those guys were so low you could count their fingers & toes" you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Nothing has changed in the last 15 years in this regard, the genie is out of the bottle, as long as USPA promotes and supports swooping (and even if they didn't) people are still going to hook in and die, as long as we keep pushing for smaller and faster canopies that scream out of the sky are for everyone off student status, people are still going to fly into each other, and now we see tandem I's doing hooks with tandems. When students stand around and watch this stuff go on every day, all day and get listen to every person who they just watch land talk about how great that swoop was (& get to do one on a 1 st. TDM), then we can't expect the fresh off student status peeps to not want to rush into downsizing and flying like that too. You can't fix stupid and you can't fix peoples depth perception or control all the variable's from winds, heat, cold, density altitude, or mixing landing areas. I have watched time and time again students grow up to become the next working parachute crashed and broken person because they, despite having been trained better or seen others pay the piper, think it won't happen to them in their rush to join the cool crowd. Do you think Danny Page would have listened to anyone? I don't. It's not like the info wasn't already out there! Even those who seek out coaching are not immune, http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4018902;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread No BSR's or license is going to fix it or put the genie back in the bottle and good deal of us have been preaching for years about this shit and it has done no good, period! I don't have the answers your seeking, again the info has been published for years. I choose to jump a large canopy and pull higher now and fly with my breaks stowed to avoid the kiddies & blind old farts with the hotrods, those ground hungry canopies don't take long to clear the air for those of us using tuna boat canopies, I don't want to be anywhere around them, at boogies I land as far away as I can from the main lz on RW loads and the only time I land there is on video jumps because were last down. We've promoted all this crap as "mainstream" & cool or necessary as an industry to the point that there are too many stupid fucking people flying wings they have no business being under in the first place and now everyone is all up in arms as too the death rate under working canopies.... Well DUH ! you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Still pretty good stuff. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

The commercial airlines airport is about 50 to 75 miles away, so a taxi would be a small pile of cash. Yes I would ask Mike for help with a local jumper to pick you up. They are VERY friendly and helpful @ that business and that DZ. I'm sure you can find a ride for the cost of beer. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Chuting Star would most likely pick you up @ the airport in ATL, or you can rent a car, lot of locals could/would help you with a ride too, just work with Mike@ CS or his employees and they will take care of you. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

The ISP part of CC is not designed to be crammed into to a FJC. My point was not only do I's do a shitty job of basic CC in FJC, they also do a shitty job of on going ed in the ISP. Mostly because their in too big a hurry to move on to the next paying jump, no one makes money to radio control skydivers and review their CC in a debrief. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

As someone who is speaking on behalf of the company in a public forum, it might be a good idea to proof read your posts, some of it reads as if your drunk sitting in the DZ bar. Also splitting up your paragraphs would make for a easier read and be more professional as the company voice. Are you sure it was 1989 when the company was founded, or was it only funded in 1989 and it took till 1998 to buy out PISA? And could you please let us know who is the respected master rigger in Deland who builds the rig? you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Not if you can't find the damn looped end on the velcro to open it while something try's to rip your head off. As for other systems that don't have a cutaway as standard, most of those are able to convert and those companies sell the chin cup retro fit package. I paid a good deal for a flat top pro and have never needed to use my cutaway handle, but it's there and it's part of my EP's should I need to use it, better to have and not need, then to need and not have... I choose to the use the right tools for the job and not seek out half ass way to cut corners to save a buck. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

He's not, he is going to unsnap the strap in case of snag, and then cutaway his mal like he did with the go pro. Oh and RS, if your going to go ahead with this, use the nylon screws and "strap" the camera to the mount, ziptie, rubber band, pull up cord, safety wire, etc. that way the camera wont become airborne when unwanted and hit someone in the air or on the ground. And if it's snagged the mount will rip off while your undoing your snap shackle. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

How about instead of dreaming up some new rating or class for everyone to attend and spend more money on.... how about we get back to having a real FJC instead of these fucking 4 hr cram's and open book tests.... The problem is too many I's short cut the class room and additional SIMS training in order to rush off to the next paying jump. It's not like the info is not there for people to learn if I's really do their job, canopy flight is not that hard to teach but you have to spend the time to teach it in and out of FJC's. People just need to do the f'ing job and stop being lazy slackers. However no matter how much you drill it in, there will always be those stupid fucks who think they have mad skillz and are hell bent on looking cool getting scrapped up off the dirt and most of those are to busy getting their jumps in to rush off for tee time's or some other bullshir to take the time to learn it, it's a lot like talking to wall. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Put it on and tighten it up and then hang your full body weight on it and while doing so have someone try to rip your friken head off by twisting and jerking on it and let's how fast you can find that little loop end on the factory diver, it's called the right tools for the right job! you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

RTFM !!! you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

I've learned that a lot of the "new kids" have a lot to learn and for the most part are in too big of a hurry to reach what they think is the winners circle, to slow down to learn the info and skills needed to make it 10 or 20 years in the sport. Skydiving is life long learning process, and even then you'll never know it all. you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo