davelepka

Let me get this straight, anyone can go online and post whatever they want? Details can be included or excluded at the will of the poster in order to better serve their purpose? I'm shocked. Now I'm sitting here thinking that I can no longer believe anything I read online. You can't trust anything you read about topics from toggles to Skyhook mods to (gasp!) customer service....

Wow, a real team player. UPT admitted to making a mistake, replaced your toggles in short order, and you couldn't bring yourself to send them a picture? I'm surprised they didn't ask you to return the faulty toggles, for inspection, and training purposes in the factory, which I think would have been a reasonable request. Instead, all they ask for is an e-mailed photo, and that was too much trouble for you? And now you publicly complain about them?

Have you had your battery checked? Temp will effect the performance of the battery, and if the battery is on the borderline of good/bad, the cold temps may be too much for it. Also, when the radio stays on, does the interior light come on when you open the door? There is a switch that the door pushes on, and this is what turns off the radio, and turns the interior lights on and off. If it's forzen in place, the radio may be drawing current after you leave the car. The switch may control other features that could be drawing current as well (drawing current will run down the strength of your battery). Finally, maybe your radio is just busted. It may be keeping itself on by itself, and running down the battery. This would most likely happen in all weather, but like I said, if the battery is almost toast, the cold will push it over the edge.

Super! That's so great to hear. Now learn how to do it on a DZ, over flat ground, with other people around, both in the air and on the ground. It's not the same as what you're doing now. It's close, but not the same. If you happen to find out the hard way what the differences are, then that's a mess the DZO has to deal with. And really, talking about front riser input on final with 50 jumps is not going to buy you any goodwill with the management at any DZ. It's one of the downsides of skydiving, you have to deal with DZOs. (and manifest, and pilots, and other jumpers, and on and on and on).

You want to go back to being an idiot? That's what he'd be after if you got back together. Everyone gets nostalgic now and then, and remembers all the good times. Take a few minutes and think about all the bad times. Now try to imagine those bad times fitting in with your new life. Still want to 'see what happens'?

Good choice. It will be quite a bit different than doing solos at a Cessna DZ. Make sure you explain your situation when you show up, and request an instructor/local to show you around the DZ, go over aircraft procedures, landing areas and landing patterns. Start off slow with two ways for your first few jumps. Otherwise, plan on staying for the whole weekend, and having a blast.

Every DZ in the country has at least three computer geeks, and they would probably fight over the chance to handle the technical end of a virtual board meeting.

That's a great idea, but you know that the USPA will screw it up. They'll insist that since it's quarterly, the magazine needs to be bigger, and longer, on better paper, and mailed in an envelope. They'll find a way to make each issue cost twice as much. Still a net gain over 12 cheaper issues, but you get the idea. I like how they are all over e-mails and the internet for their pet program 'The Solo Challenge', but they can't see this as a viable form of communication for the magazine. Just post the articles and pictures online. It's just text and pics, it's easy. Of course they'll screw that up too. They'll need a new website, and new administrator, a graphic artist, some new software bullshit, and the whole thing will cost 6 times what it needs to.

This is exactly the point I made in the thread about the safety of 2008. I had commented that '07 was a fluke in terms of the low number of fatalities, and sure enough 2008 was right back to the average. My suggestion was that until there major changes in the attitudes of skydivers in general, there would never be a change in the fatality numbers. This is a prime case of that. The OP has the backing and approval from the DZO, who is a USPA rep and a TI to follow a course of action that is well ahead of the 'norm' and in direct contradiction to multiple written recomendations. This is the bull shit that needs to change. What about telling the guy, "It's a little soon for that. Keep at it, and when you're numbers come up, you'll be all set to jump right in"? If he protests, you say, "Look pal, that's the way it is. If you really want to get there, stick around, and jump hard. It will pay off in the end. Otherwise, find yourself somewhere else to train, because it won't happen here". This is what will set the stage for a safer learnig enviornment, and put the idea in his head that it's cool to go by the book. It's the way things get done right. Instead they give him a pat on the back, and tell him he'll be fine (which they have no way of knowing).

According to the OP - Which one is it? A couple of months away, or 30 jumps into it as we speak? Edit to add - also from the OP So best case scenario, given he's got 30 jumps with a tandem, he started jumping with tandems at 170 jumps. I'd be willing to bet that it was closer to 150 jumps, and he's mixed in 20 ish fun jumps in the last 50 hops.

First off, you're all Otter happy now that you're the PIC.... OK really, that press release was updated in April of last year, meaning they did that work with the current level of dues. Just because their actions may have saved me money in terms of jump prices doesn't give them the right to raise the rates, even if the raise is less than the savings they facilitated. The USPA is not a business, and my financial picture at the end of the year is none of their business. They are a non-profit organization designed to represent me, as a skydiver in the US, and protect my interests as such. If they were to fail in one initiative or another, and my jump prices went up, do I get a refund from them for my dues? I don't think the USPA is obsolete, I just think that they need to adjust their focus before upping my dues. I see too much BS from them, and am not excited about footing the bill.

Bernie Madoff? I've heard that guy is the best... But really, where did the capitol for those investments come from? I have to imagine it was from the membership dues, and that the intent was to see a positive return on those investments, with the returns to be used to furhter the organization. If the USPA had a surplus, then by all means, donate to the museum. A dues increase would indicate that there is not a surplus, at which point the USPA needs to buckle down, and take care of business. Provide thrid party insurance, keep the airports and airways open to skydivers, and handle the training and oversight of instructors/demo jumpers. Everything else is bullshit, and a waste of my money. What I wouldn't give for a non-USPA DZ near-by. I would have unloaded the USPA from my life a long time ago.

I agree with TK here. This is not a DZ issue as the attack was off DZ property. I would not be shy about sharing the story with the jumpers at the DZ, however. A unified front in terms of zero tolerence to violance among the fun jumpers can go a long way toward cooling a guy off. It really takes the steam out of a guy if nobody will talk to him, or jump with him. He'll either settle down, or stop coming to the DZ. Either way, problem solved. One exception here would be if this was a DZ staffer. Maybe the janitor could slide by, but anyone involved with students/tandems/packing/aircraft needs to be mature enough to control their anger. Failure to do could put people at risk. If that was the case, I would certainly report this to the DZO, and fully expect them to take some sort of action. Of course, if the DZO doesn't, revert to plan A, and spread the word around the fun jumpers that 'Biff' is a dickhead, and to treat him as such.

Granted, but it is still a cost, and still paid out of the membership dues (I assume, unless the USPA has another source of income I am not aware of).

That's a negative ghostrider. Device dependency is not a situation you should willingly go into. The way you learn the things you need to know is by doing, and doing it the proper way. If you are ever making a turn to final that is of a degree that you are not very familiar with, or turning from an altitude that you are not very familiar with, then you are in over your head. This is the reason that you spend time on a canopy, learning it fly it straight in. Real time, 50 jumps min. Then you can add to that some double fronts on final. A canopy will recover quickly from double fronts, so there is less 'commitment' to the landing. It does however begin to train your eyes for more speed on final, and train your muscles for flying a canopy level to the ground. After a realistic number of jumps using this technique, let's say 75, you can begin to add a 45 degree turn to the final. The low degree of turn will help to limit the 'commitment' to the landing. Additionally, the 45 will need to be initiated just a touch higher than the double fronts. Keeping in mind that you are readily familiar with the altitude for initiating double fronts, this is an easy adjustment you can easily make. So you toss the 45s for 50 jumps or so, and guess what, you add another 45 and start in with the 90s. Again, just a slight adjustment from what you're used to. Additionally, your muscle reflex has had 100+ jumps to get used to flying level, and handling the extra speed. I'm sure you can imagine what comes next, and so on, and so on. Using any other method will have you in over your head. Even if you can use the alti to hit a perfect 180, what do you do then? How do youknow what it's supposed to look like for the last half of your dive? More importantly, how do you know when the last half of your dive is totally fucked? You don't. Even if the dive goes fine, what do you know about flying a canopy level with the ground at high speed? Nothing. You think it's all just fun and games when you get the canopy all wound up and really moving? Actually, it is fun, but also an area where things can go wrong. Nobody anywhere is exempt from needing to jump more. There is no quick way to learn how to swoop. Don't think that a gizmo is going to help you, it won't. When you get good enough that you are doing the same turn, the same way, every time, THEN use an alti just for reference. When 40 or 50 ft will make a difference between getting 80% instead of 100%, and you need to focus on hitting the gates, use an alti as a reference. We're talking well over 500 swoops on the same canopy. For now, stick with the 150s. It's a good size, and the loading is where you ned to be. You've got some time under that size, and that level of experience will help you learn faster. Downsizing will erase that experience, and push you back a bit. Get rid of the old-school Sabre. The Sabre2 150 is a good choice, or the Safire2 149. Keep in mind that both are 150s but much different than what you have. Ease into the transition, and take your time.

Makes me wonder how much this is costing the USPA http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3462779;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

You seem to trust the judgment of these two dudes in relation to busting the manufacturer requirements, and pushing the USPA numbers, but you can't ask them for jumpsuit advice? If you have these all-knowing folks watching over you, why not ask them what to use?

What exactly are the differences between the two?

Those aren't the requirements to fly in the mountains in general, just to fly the mountains in close proximity to the team. I, for one, would be VERY selective about who I would want flying with me in that circumstance. With a mountain on one side of me, I want to make sure I can trust the guy flying a canopy on the other.

According to this guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Urry the temp will have an effect on the performance of a battery. It's essentailly a contained chemical reaction, and the rate of the reaction will decrease with a decrease in temp.

While that may be true, I have to think that the front risers will take more load on opening. I have used my rear risers during many openings, and they are generally easy to pull, with moderate pressure. I've never tried to pull a front riser during opening, but I would have to think that it would be tough, with very high pressure (aka load). The amount of load my be well within the limits of the thinner reserve riser material, explaining the rigs with the thinner front reserve risers, but in a front-to-back comparison, I'm voting for the fronts as doing more of the 'heavy lifting'.

I had a Katana open so hard, I lost a shoe. Pack your own rig, and be ready to have your shoes knocked off anyway, it can happen at anytime. As far as your helmet goes, spend the time and money to make everything as light and as compact as possible. Lighter is easy to understand, but the compact part is just as important. The further the weight is from the base of your skull (the pivot point) the more leverage it will have in the case of a hard opening. Even if you save a little weight with a lighter lens, or battery, if the remaining weight is further from the pivot point, the increased leverage will overcome the weight savings.

I'm pretty sure the front riser take more of the load on an opening. Ever notice that the front reserve risers are twice as thick as the rear reserve risers? I'll stand behind my 'artistic license' in terms of word choice.

The idea is the same as the idea that different guide ring placement would effect the deployment. The guide ring would alter the brake setting - a higher guide ring would produce a slower opening. A lower guide ring, creating a deeper brake setting, would cause a faster opening. You can replicate this phenomenon using the rear risers. Pull them both down a touch during the snivel, and the canopy will pop open. It's like using a deeper brake setting. Lets say your 18" front risers had stretched 1/4 more than the rears. This would pitch the nose up, and cause a faster opening (pull down in the back or stretch out the front - same difference). Add in a little asymetrical left/right wear on the old risers, and you get 'wonky' openings. Not horrible, but not like when everything is factory fresh. New risers - new openings. Next year get a reline - it will reset your openings back to zero as well.

That's a fairly standard measurement. I'd bet they are going to be the same. A more likely idea is that your old risers weren't 'square'. If they had worn and stretched at different rates, then you'd have a little funky-ness in the trim department. Your new risers may just be new and of the correct lengths (relative to each other). Another thought is that the longer risers will allow the slider to spread a little more during deployment. If the distance between your 3-rings is less than the width of your slider, then the lines will be making a 'V' as they spread out to accomodate the slider. How they can spread depend on two things- the distance between the 3-rings, and how far up the 'V' the slider is. Longer risers will have the slider further up the 'V' where it can spread out a little more. Keeping in mind that the Velo slider is huge, there's a fair chance that the distance between your 3-rings is less than the width of the slider. I think the real quesiton is what were you doing with 18s on a Velo? The 21s will let you stretch the recovery arc out a little more, and go a little faster. A set of 24s would be even better, and provided you can still reach your slider after you open, I can vouch for 25s as being the way to go.