diablopilot

I didn't think it was possible to rice out a charger. Congrats. Well played sir. :-D ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

No, mostly because he didn't consider the legal and political ramifications of thumbing his nose at the FAA on national television, and what kind of heat it would bring on the governing of the sport in the USA. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Once I learned better, I can say yes, I have not jumped at DZ's I have know to have questionable maintenance practices. Seriously. I choose where I jump and where I work based on aircraft and gear quality. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Insurance scam? Who would have a bailout rig in a 112? ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

They are fuel and maintenance pigs, and the CG margins are pretty narrow in jump ops. If it's all ya got..... but for the acquisition cost, I think you could do better. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Then you understand how I feel about you and your opinion. And when I want the opinion of someone who has done nothing but take, and hasn't contributed anything worthwhile to this sport, I'll let you know. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

I hope the plane does not crash.... Me too. Of course what are the odds that a control cable will fail? Ask the people that were on the Twin Otter in San Diego a couple years back. Cool heads and a shit hot pilot are all that saved them from being a big grease spot, and that was on an airplane that was getting good maintenance. What are the odds the wings come off? Ask the fire crew of a C-130 from a couple years back. I'm still waiting to see someone actually defend Bill for putting lives in jeopardy to save a buck. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

I have two of them.... Want them?

Yeah it's time. Updating a Neptune is a pain since you need an IR transmitter. The N3 updates via USB. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Tony, I think I have one new in packaging in the Pro Shop here at Spaceland. I'll check in the morning. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

FWIW, a $664k fine is way over the top for a family business. Fines to scheduled airlines are offset by the subsidies that the federal government grants to many hard pressed locations, so in reality it's a only reduction of their subsidy. This action is your jumping dollars leaving the DZ for Washington DC. Is it really? It's about $13.61 for every life he regarded as less important than saving the money doing the inspections and replacing the parts. 2,121 flights times 23 pax (as if Bill really limits to 23) = 48,783 slots $664,000/48,783=$13.61 Hell if he charged a $20 slot he might have made a profit. It's nice of the FAA not to go after the pilots who flew those loads....... ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Mr, Allison, while I agree that statement "he gets full support of the USPA Board of Directors, full support of all the regional directors" is untrue, take an outsiders perspective and try to see why that might be public perception. You know, I feel most of the directors put in a good effort, however when it comes to enforcement actions, very rarely does a director really put their foot down, and if they do it's not talked about. So perception is the rules are meaningless since there are no penalties. Any I know I can pick up the phone and talk about this to most directors, however, that's not what most of the membership is bound to do. The Board will not allow such political discussions in it's controlled media, it think it's been forgotten that Parachutist is in fact the newsletter to the members, and is the appropriate place to discuss such information about our organization. This may be outside the scope of this thread, but beginning with the DZ in question, why have at least two directors been unable to bring any action to correct or stop FAR and BSR violations? The old straw "but they are not a USPA dropzone" won't carry weight, the violators are USPA members, and it is their responsibility to follow the organizations guidelines. When two BOD members have witnessed NON RATED members conducting instructional skydives, and nothing is done, what do you expect the membership to think? It extends past this DZ. When video evidence is provided about Tandem instructors repeatedly performing CReW with students, and nothing is done, what should the membership think? When the FAA imposes penalties and pulls pilot and mechanic certifications when maintenance and operational FARs are broken, and the USPA allows the operator to remain a USPA Group Member, what should the membership assume? And after all that, why should the members, instructors, and operators continue to feel bound by any rules, and/or regulations our organization endorses? When it's multiple incidences, over many years, and the members that watch and care keep seeing the same behavior, what should they think? Randy, you're a pretty stand up guy, who shoots straight. Understand that not all of the BOD is seen that way, sometimes its a mis-perception, other times it's grounded in fact, but one thing is sure. The BOD fails in one respect totally, and that is public communication. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Like what? ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Which ONE? Or should we just pick a random one from his list of incidents? ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

This iceberg thing.... yea, just like the sport it's self... you only hear of the bad shit taking place, there are also some important people in high places taking a look @ skydiving.... while the "findings/rulings" have not been final/published/public yet, the outlook looks more positive for the sport as a whole. However, one or two, three, four, bad apples shining the bad light on full power, at the wrong time could bring a lot of ($$$) hurt to everyone who is left standing. On another note.... what was that guy's name who always was getting called a "agenda grinding prick" and out to get Bill and Lodi evey time he posted something that called in to question the MX @ that DZ? Can't think of that dudes name..... you know the one from Cali everyone said was a loud mouth know nothing shit talker...... NO no no, not Bill Von! () That other Cali dude from up northern way..... WTF is his name..... Just sometimes People can be very insightful in their statements. It's a shame that type of corner cutting stuff still takes place. Naw, that guy is an asshole..... wouldn't listen to a thing he's got to say.... ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

They wear seatbelts at lodi now? Dave According to the USPA Regional Director that jumps there, no they don't enforce seat belt use. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

I recently purchased an Alti2 N3 and would like to offer my opinion on the unit. I purchased it since I'm running a ProShop, and I wanted to be able to represent it to my customers in an informed maner. In addition I needed a temporary data logger replacement for my ProTrack which finally broke after 9500+ skydives and some hard use. BTW L&B replaced the unit for free one of the reasons I'll always be an L&B fan. :-) And I figured it was time to replace my Sunnto Vector, since the display was so scratched it was near unreadable. So those that have read previous postings of mine will know I have never held a very favorable opinion of the Neptune Series of Altimeters offered by Alti2. I believe they were released to market far too early, and had serious design flaws, both in hardware and software. I felt it was poor service to sell a product and then expect the customer to play "catch up". I unfortunately became a victim of that shortly after the purchase. Not 2 days and less than 20 jumps on the unit and if froze up. I was seriously bummed. I returned it and all inventory to Alti2. I didn't want to sell the product. Alti2 listened to my problem, and while I wanted to simply return the product, they convinced me to try it again with the software update they provided. I must say I am still worried about another crash, but only time will tell if that's going to be a problem. As for the unit, I am overwhelmed. The interface is phenomenal. Maybe it took all those different generations of software and the feedback from them, but the product impresses me. Simple to use, accurate, offering a huge amount of options, information, and flexibility to the user. Well done Alti2! I'm happy to have my N3 in my gearbag along side my other electronics. Make it compatible with my Mac and I'll be really happy. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Since the designer, inventor, and patent holder of the three ring system has coined the term "Breakaway" I'd say the appropriate term is Breakaway. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Nice work. I remember you posting about this and thought that sounds like something fun to do. Looked up a lot of details, may have to go for it one day. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

That's why it is generally considered the scariest of the malfunctions, and the best option is to avoid one. Maintain your gear especially closing loops. Do gear checks. Protect your gear in the aircraft and on the skydive. Remove snag hazards in the possible path of the pilot chute. A pullout can reduce the chances, but not eliminate the possibility. And the correct term is "Breakaway". ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Leave then. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

I want know who's well respected. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Whats the reasoning behind the policy?. I can see a lot of people being upset at price differentiation because of weight. Ridiculous!!. Our DZ is 95 kg max. It makes absolutely no difference if the weight is on or below the limit. 1)It's additional wear an tear on the gear. 2)It's additional time to altitude, and higher fuel burn. 3)It's additional wear and tear on the instructor's shoulders. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Maybe some of them worked hard, risked loss, and earned it? I dunno, just sayin'. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

Add to that, my experience with HMA lined Tandem Mains is that it has the trim benefits of Vectran, the longevity of HMA, and doesn't suffer the hard openings of Vectran or Spectra. ---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.