Hooknswoop

No, but you are a member. I think you see my point. You wouldn't sign that statement, yet you want Mike to sign a similar statement, except there are no penalties for non-adherence. You won’t pledge not to violate the BSR’s because you know that you will violate them and therefore violate the statement (pledge). You are demonstrating integrity. Why is it a bad thing for Mike to do the same thing? I think it is worse to sing the ‘pledge’, intending to violate it, than to not sign it at all. Would it be better if he signed it and then violated it? Just because the USPA GM program is part of USPA does mean it is a good thing and to not support is a disservice to skydivers. I believe the exact opposite. The USPA GM program does not benefit skydivers and by not supporting it, he supports skydivers. Derek

What is difficult is that it is not the Pledge of Allegiance, the USPA GM ‘pledge’ is a hollow pledge. That is the difference. If the pledge actually stood for something and meant something, as the Pledge of Allegiance does, that would be different. It does not show disrespect to the organization, signing the ‘pledge’ and then breaking it, having never had any intention of adhering to it, shows disrespect to the organization and to the ‘pledge’. The ‘pledge’ is only given lip service and used in advertising. Why should Mike compromise his integrity by signing a pledge that no one, nor would he, follow? He has taken it upon himself, as a BOD member, to improve skydiving for the skydiver, not the GM DZO. That shows more character than giving in to a corrupt program. The ISP benefits the skydiver. It is a better training program and was mandatory. USPA changed it to voluntary because of DZO pressure. So when there was a choice before USPA to choose between benefiting the skydiver or the DZ, skydivers lost. If Mike is trying to change, and I think he is, I applaud his efforts. USPA could use more BOD’s like him, that are for the skydiver, not the GM program, which isn’t. I assume that you, like me, have broken the FAR concerning cloud clearance minimums before, and that you will again. Would you sign a statement stating that you will adhere to every BSR, which includes adhering to the FAR’s? As part of the statement you will agree that if you do violate the BSR’s/FAR’s, that you will never skydive again? Derek

So if he were to post that he 'pledges' to adhear to established safety standards, and continue to attempt to help all U.S. skydivers by being on the USPA BOD, would that be enough? Or do you insist that he join the ranks of hypocritical GM DZO's that have broken the GM 'pledge'? I think that by refusing to take a pledge that he has no intentions of upholding (whichGM DZ can say their jumpers never get within 2,000 ft horizontially to a cloud?), he is showing personal integrity. I think he is working to be a part of the solution instead of part of the problem. BTW- no one has posted WHY they believe that being a USPA GM DZ it is a safer DZ than a non- USPA GM DZ. Derek

If the 'pledge' actually meant something I might agree with you, but it doesn't. How can signing a hollow 'pledge' make any difference? His DZ is safer than a lot of GM DZ's............ Derek

The Voodoo and Talon 3.0 also have velcro-less RSL's. They use a stiffened RSL lanyard tucked in to 2 pockets. On the infinity, the lanyard isn't stiffened and simply lies under a stiffened flap. That flap is then held in place by the reserve risers. Derek

Yes. If the Indy 500 drivers can't drive but once every month or two, they shouldn't be driving Indy cars. Why? Because without currency they are a danger to themselves and others. Can Andretti get in and turn a couple of hot laps? Sure but he has years of experience to draw from and that experience will be telling him not to push too hard and will make his lack of currency very obvious to him. Then don’t jump. If you cannot jump enough to be current, and by current I mean safe, then don’t jump out of airplanes. If you only have enough money to jump once a year and only have 25 total skydives, you shouldn't jump. It is not OK to be an unsafe jumper because you can’t jump enough to be safe. I practice what I preach. I quit skydiving completely. I wouldn't mind going to a DZ every now and then for a big boogie or something, but my Micron had a VX-60 main and a PD-106R reserve. Jumping every 3-6 months is not enough to keep current with those canopies. I would have had to buy a new main, reserve, and container, all larger to still skydive. It isn’t worth it to me to buy a new rig just to jump every now and then and it would have been stupid to jump the VX only every now and then, so I quit completely. I couldn’t jump safely, so I don’t jump. Simple. 40 jumps over 23 month, almost 2 jumps a month, one jump every other weekend. He should ask himself, ‘Is the very real and higher risk, because of lack of currency, worth being able to make 2 skydives a month?’ What are the chances that he will be injured or killed or injure or kill someone else because he doesn’t jump very often? They are definitely increased by lack of currency. That will definitely help, but remember the most likely time to be injured or killed is either right after deploying and not reacting correctly to a malfunction, from a canopy collision, or from landing. The Instructor cannot help in the event of a partial/low speed malfunction or under canopy. He can wear a radio, but that is only back up. It depends if the refresher training is sufficient for the length of the lay-off. There must be a lot of effort put forth by the jumper and the Instructor to compensate for lack of currency with training. It is harsh, I know, but there is a line. On one side is ‘safe’, and on the other is ‘unsafe’. Currency plays a major factor in safety, especially for a low-time jumper. A private pilot, fixed wing that has 45 hours and flies for 30 minutes once every 90 days for a year and a half to keep legally current is going to cross the line and become unsafe as their primary training wears off. They will be legally current, but unsafe and shouldn’t fly until they can fly with an Instructor for several hours to regain currency and then fly enough to keep that currency. If you aren’t safe, for any reason, you shouldn’t jump. Safety should never be compromised. No one has to skydive. That will never happen as a lot of traditional AFF level 1’s the jumper only intends to make one jump and DZO’s won’t throw away the profit margins of AFF. I have, as an Instructor, told students that were only showing up at the DZ once every 2-3 months that they either should jump more or should quit. Take kid ‘A’ that doesn’t know how to ride a bike. Teach him to ride a bike for 60 seconds once a month for 3 months. Take kid ‘B’ that doesn’t know how to ride a bike. Teach him to ride every day for 3 hours for 3 months. Kid ‘A’ is going to get all torn up if you ever let go of the seat and won’t learn to ride a bike w/o you holding them up. Kid 'B'will get it in no time and by the end of 3 months will riding circles around kid 'A' Derek

Yep. OK, we can change the protocol now Derek

If the main malfunctions, your fault, the rigger's fault, no-one's fault, the rigger will feel responsible and may feel obligated to re-pack the reserve for free or the customer may expect it. It is better to avoid that possibility. My Advice: Just pack your main and save yourself the $5.00. I think usuing packers is a bad idea anyway. No one takes care of you like you. Derek

Right, I understand that and him (the rigger) saying that was incorrect. Did you ask for a reserve re-pack, replace the main PC and inspect the main or did you ask for a main re-pack. replace the main PC, and inspect the main? I know skydivers that would go to a rigger if that rigger charged $5 less, not realizing or caring that the price difference is because that rigger doesn't re-pack the main. Therefore it is smarter for riggers to advertise by service, i.e. Rserve Re-pack: $35.00, Main Inspection: $10.00, Main Re-pack: $5.00, etc. I list what I do and what I charge by item to remove any confusion. BTW- A lot of riggers don't re-pack the main. Derek

Some re-pack the main,etc, some don't. Saying ALL, EVERY, or NO riggers do or do not do something is incorrect. I would recommend going over in detail what it is you want when you drop off the rig though. Some rigger replace the main and reserve closing loop at every re-pack, some don't. If you don't ask, you won't know. Derek

It's under a narrow tuck tab. Neat design actually. Derek

Definately. I haven't jumpes in 5 months but I am still technically current. That is just silly. I am not current. Having that coach helps lower the anxiety/stress level, knowing that someone is looking over your shoulder, which allows you to perform better. W/o the coach your anxiety/stress level would be higher, making it more difficult to think and act/re-act correctly and quickly. Derek

Current by the BSR's maybe, but at some point they are a danger to themselves and others in the air with them. 30 jumps over 36 months with only 30 jumps total puts them in a dangerous situation. They should consider either increasing their jumps/month or move on. Harsh, I know, but that is the reality of it. Derek

Clearly you did the right thing. Yes, you should have checked your canopy. Read the post where the jumper landed hard because the slider was only half-way down and they never checked their canopy. Depends. Fast canopy and a non-collapsable PC, yes, it will cause a problem. Even on a not-so-fast canopy it will cause a problem. With a collaspable PC, no-problem. Derek

For the 13 so far that have voted 'safer', you are kidding yourselves. What is there about being a USPA GM DZ that makes it safer than a non-USPA GM DZ? Derek

Go ahead speak up. I did and all it did is get me banned from the DZ. Jumpers at the DZ would defend it while at the same time admiting I was correct. I brought BSR violations up to the RD and they didn't do anything. The fox is guarding the hen-house. I might agree with you if the 'pledge' actually meant anything. As was already mentioned there are non GM DZ's that are safer than some GM DZ's. The 'pledge' isn't worth anything because if a DZ chooses to break that pledge, oh well. Send in your GM dues and you'll still be a USPA GM DZ next year. USPA does what it is toild to do by DZO's. If anyone believes a DZ's advertising that "We follow all USPA BSR's" is kidding themselves. None do. There is a perception that USPA is keeping tabs on DZ's and making sure the BSR's are followed, etc. They do nothibng of the sort. "Self-regulation" means "do whatever you want and if you are OK with it, drive on." When BSR's stand in the way of money, what do you think wins? USPA claims to be an orginazation for skydivers, but their motto is "What is good for DZ's is good for skydivers" USPA is a DZ organization that promots itself as a skydiver organization to get skydivers to pay for it. And skydiver buy it. What a scam. Derek

My tandem bag lock wasn't on a stow that the band went through a grommet. If line tension was so important, the new 'no-stow' d-bags would cause hard openings, they don't. Derek

I had a bag lock on a tandem Vector and it wasn't the tandem bands, but the large sport rig bands. It bag-locked because of the double stows. On the ground I pulled like mad to get them to un-stow. I was never a fan of double wrapping and that incident convinced me even more. Line dump does not equal hard opening. bag strip does. Some people 'free-stow' their lines, stowing only the locking stows. Derek

My one and only bag-lock was on a tandem and was caused by the bands being double-wrapped. If you have to double-wrap, use smaller bands. Derek

Did they send the links later? Derek

On the home page it says; "Officially recognized as the British Parachute Association's safest drop zone." A lot of DZ advertising is blatantly false. Many DZ’s advertise aircraft they don’t have, “Voted #1 in the Rocky Mountain Region”, “We follow all USPA BSR’s”, etc. A first time jumper doesn’t know any better any is easily taken in by such lies. Derek

If you buy a main and it doesn't come with links, either Rapide (and bumpers) or Slinks (either in a seperate bag or already installed), you got screwed. Same thing if you buy a container and it doesn't show up w/ a main PC, reserve PC, main D-bag, reserve D-bag, main risers and toggles, reserve toggles, cutaway handle, and reserve handle. Derek

Exactly, with the steering lines position as in the pic, they are set up to produce a line-over on opening. Also, one of the slider grommets isn't up against the slider stop, that can produce hard openings. It may have moved during the un-packing process, just something to think about. Derek

Yee, but it is all too often true. In my experience, more often than not. Yes, it does, which happend much more often than it should. Derek

I don’t expect USPA to do anything about, especially now that it was several years ago. I meant that the RD became a ND. My point is that USPA doesn’t actually regulate anything. As long as DZO’s control the money, USPA is just a puppet organization. DZO’s don’t need their own organization, they already have one, USPA. ***This comment addresses several of the problem areas. 1 - Small DZs do not always have enough student volume to provide for jumps for all of their staff. Say the re-currency # jumps was raised to 50 per year. This would prevent small DZs from maintaining their staff. 2 - Instructors that skimp etc are an issue, at times, at larger DZS. One potential way to ensure that these instructors are doing what they are supposed to be doing is to require a check ride every so often. 3. - 'DZOs don't care about the quality of instruction.' True and False. One way to elevate the importance of quality instruction is to require a check ride every so often.*** 1) If the DZ doesn’t have enough business that AFFI’s to keep AFFI’s proficient, then they shouldn’t offer AFF. Simple. Offering AFF w/ sub standard Instructors is not the solution. 2) I agree that check rides would be great, but jus like everything else, they would get pencil-whipped. 3) DZO’s won’t support it as it can only cost them money because of fewer Instructors. Since they control USPA though controlling, or at least keeping flowing, the money, it won’t happen. Derek