davelepka

As long as the trainee doesn't get any part of your bonuses, what do you care? If the bonuses will be split, or you'll loose them all together, then you need to be compensated for the 'training' to offset that loss. Beyond the training, you'll need an increase in your base pay to cover the further losses. At this point your boss has acknowledged your value to the company in several ways. Your capacity as an employee is certainly much different now than it was at the time you were hired, and your employment 'contract' needs to be altered accordingly. I'm not sure I would reslut to straight up blackmale, but I would certainly 'remind' him of your value to the company when you sit down to discuss your compensation. One thing to keep in mind, if you signed a contract of any kind, read it over and see if there's any sort of non-compete agreement built into it. If there is it may limit what you can 'get away with' in terms of seeking new employment, and taking client A with you, or possibly even just getting client A to dump that company if you leave. Non-competes are complicated, and each state has different ideas of what is, or is not acceptable within a non-compete agreement. It a tough thing to tell someone they cannot seek employment in their chosen field after they quit/get fired. Look into what your state will and will not allow within a non-compete (if there is one). Of course, like any contract, a non-compete is only a factor if your employer would actually enforce it, aka sue you for breach of contract. If your boss is playing fast and loose with the books, he might not be the type who wants to show up in court and sit under the magnifying glass.

OK, let's really be honest, how many rigger add-on charges for all those extra tasks? I'm sure they pass on the out ot pocket costs, like shipping, but mnay will just eat the extra time it takes to complete some pack jobs. Again, I think the majority of jumpers whoa re opposed to an increase are too focused on the labor side of things (even though we all know that most riggers will go the extra mile labor-wise for their customers). What they are forgetting is the legality of sealing a rig, and putting into compliance for a given time period. Lets say, for example, that there was no requirement for a reserve repack based on time. If the only time you got a repack was when you needed maintainence or after a cutaway, how much do you think a repack would cost. Furthermore, how many riggers would there be without the recurring need for repacks? The pricing is based, in part, on the 120 day cycle. Change the cycle, change the price. Another thing to consider is all the income the riggers will loose, even if they raise their prices accordingly. Lets keep in mind that many seasonal jumper will now be able to get by on a single pack job per year. If a rigger is charging $50 ($150 per year on a 120 day cycle), the seasonal jumper is spending $100 for two repacks per year. If the rigger raises the price to $75 (also $150 per year when you have a 180 day cycle), the seasonal jumper now only needs one repack, and will be saving $25, or, more in line with this discussion, the rigger is losing $25, even if they raise their prices to match the new repack cycle. If that rigger doesn't raise their prices, then they are losing $50 per year on that seasonal customer. Here's a thought I had, in terms of the legality portion of your repack - I register my car every year so I'm legal to drive on the pubilc roads. The last notice I got offered me the option to register for two years instead of just one. The price was simply doubled, but it was one less thing for me to worry about next year, one less check to write, and one less letter to mail, so I went for it. This issue is much the same - the out of pocket cost to the jumper is the same, it's just the amount of service you recieve every time you visit your rigger is higher (let's remember that making your rig legal is part of what you're paying for). Of course, there's the added benefit (to the jumper) of less wear and tear on your rig, and fewer vists to the rigger. Lastly (and I've made this point before), let's all rememeber every time a rigger has saved your ass. Sometimes literallty, after a cutaway, and sometimes just by getting you legal in a pinch. Ever show up to a boogie with a reserve out of date, only to have a rigger you never met git-r-done so you can have a good time? Maybe show up at a DZ while on winter break for some much needed air time to find yourself stuck at manifest with a gear problem? You came so far, and it's the rigger who's going to bail you out and get you past manifest and into the plane. We're not talking about making these people rich on our dime. It's just a matter of preserving their income, while not changing our out of pocket costs one cent. What's wrong with that?

Me neither, but that's the way to build if you're going to.

You're right on the money with this one. Raise them to match the decrease in workload. The jumpers opposed to an increase are forgetting that the physical work of the repack is only one part of the deal. The other part is you, as a rigger, maintaining your good standing with the FAA, and putting their equipment in compliance with the regs of the FAA. The current charge for a I&R covers both the labor and the legality. When the legality changes, so does the price. As a non-rigger I find two things hard to believe. The first is that riggers haven't seen this coming, and universally agreed to raise the prices 50% to cover their losses. The second is that any jumper would have a problem with this. The jumpers position is improved greatly by this change. Less frequent pack jobs means less wear and tear on the reserve canopy, and the reserve container. Additionally, you reduce the number of trips to your rigger, and the associated coordinating of schedules. Many jumpers in the northern states can now get by on one repack a year. On top of it all, rigging is hard work that doesn't pay all that well. A vast majority of riggers are part timers, who fit it in between their day jobs, and the rest of their lives. The cost of getting a riggers ticket, then buying and maintaining a set of tools, a sewing machine, and some materials takes a loooong time to repay on part-time rigging work. Suck it up fun jumpers. Your out-of-pocket cost will remain the same, and you will come out on top in terms of your time, and the value of your gear. By the way - bitch up a storm about the price hike, and see what happens when you need the Sat night repack after a cutaway, or the Thurs night special to get you ready for the boogie after you 'forgot' to check your repack card.

Be careful with this one. There's a fair chance that by the time you're ready to jump a camera, you may have/want to be using a different camera or helmet than you are designing your box for. The technology changes pretty quickly, and the next 'great thing' could pop up at any time. That said, do everything you can to keep it simple, lightweight, and low profile.

If you look at the pic of the guy standing on the tandem, you'll see that he's standing on the main D-bag of a Strong tandem rig, the kind with the drouge that does not collapse when the release is pulled. If the drouge was released, I wonder if the dbag would snap his legs, or just slip between them, and jam the guy in the nuts? Either way sucks, but the latter would be a lot funnier.

The D-bag and pilot chute are not connected to the top of the canopy, they are connected to the trailing edge of the slider with a piece of line. A partial RDS will have some sort of quick release for this line. When the slider comes down, you reel in the line, disconnect it from the slider, and stash the bag and PC. A full RDS has a removebale slider. More or less it has a 3-ring type release at each corner, generally with a single handle to release all four corners at once. In this configuration, the slider/bag/PC all remain attached to each other.

That sucks. You're a female, right? I'd say when you meet him for a drink, bring a male friend along just to keep him 'honest'. Confront the guy, and give him a chance to explain as this may be a misunderstanding on your part. However, keep in mind that if this is a misunderstanding, he'll immediately have an iron clad explanation as to what's really going on. If he doesn't, or parts of his story don't add up, that your suspicions are most likely correct. Give him a day or two to come clean to your mom, or you're going to have to do it. She deserves to know what sort of guy she's with, and the possibility of catching an STD. I know it sucks to have to tell her, but you can't trust this guy to clean up his act. After all, this is the same guy who's cheating on your mom while she's pre-occupied taking care of her sick, aging mother. What a dick. I could understand, if say, this guy was killed and you later found out he cheated on your mom. That's a contained situation, and if your mom had cherished memories of the man, there's no reason to tarnish that. In this case, however, she deserves to be aware of the situation, and from the standpoint of preserving her health, she needs to know. It's just one of those shitty situations. There's nothing good about it, and no easy way to handle it.

You said that you jump a top mounted video camera, and it appeared in the video that you looked up to film your opening. This is not a good idea with a top mount, and this opening and your related pain are the exact reason why. When you look up with a top mount, the camera moves back behind the vertical center line of your body (aka, your spine). Having the camera on top of your helmet puts the weight out further fromyour neck, giving the camera additional leverage to pull on your neck, in this case, pulling it to the rear. The way around this is to keep your eyes level on the horizon through the opening. When the canopy sits you upright, it brings your spine into alignment with your head. In the case of a hard opening, all of the weight of your head and camera will be pushing straight down, as opposed to levering it to one extreme or another. The advatage is that now the extra distance between the weight (your camera) and the pivot point (your neck) is a non issue. If it's pushing straight down, it loses it's effect as a lever the resulant ability to multiply the force on your neck. Also, don't use a packer, especially with a camera helmet. Between the extra weight and snag potential, take the ten minutes to do it yourself, and make sure that it's done correct. (This is not a slam against the guy who packed the slammer, just a vote for the 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' camp).

RIP Enjoy...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu6mi5-5Flw&feature=related

That statement is ignorant at best. Having recently been through a fire at the video trailer at my home DZ, I can tell you the hell that the insurance companies are to deal with in terms of what is, or is not, covered. I can't see a DZO burning down a hanger full of customer and staff equipment. It would take a real ass to inflict that sort of loss on his fellow jumpers. A real ass... Speaking of which, who are you anyway? Your comments are very short sighted, and you seem like you're just trying to stir up some shit. Also, how come you've been jumping for ten years, and your D number is only four digits? I've got five more years in the sport than you do, and my D number is well into five digits, something like 2X,XXX. What's the deal, Jack?

This theory has been tossed around this issue several times, and it really doesn't make sense. All of the guys invovled have been jumping for 10 or 15 years, each with significant experience and accomplishments during that time. Many, many thousands of jumps, and many, many medals and other competition successes. I think these guys are well aware that fame and fortune are not in their future if they intend to remain professional skydivers. If any jumpers were to rise to great heights (no pun intended) in the public eye it would be these guys. Freeflying, BASE jumping and swooping are all the things that would appeal to the general public, and more specificly the younger crowd that seems to set the tone for what's cool and relevant in todays society. Of course we all know that fame hasn't happened, and I highly doubt that the persuit of such a goal is their motivation for trying to get on the BOD. Lets face it, the BOD is mired down with a mix of old-shcool types, DZOs, and ex Knights. Change is both inevitable, and overdue. It's not the first 'changing of the guard' at the USPA or on the BOD, and it won't be the last. If any bunch of guys are right for the job, this is it. They all have put in their time, and are the right choice to represent a new generation of jumper with a new generation of needs. Now dumping out at 400ft on a demo is another story. I'm not sure how that enchnaces the show over, say, dumping at 800 ft. Both are low as hell, and both would allow for a nice run down the airshow flight line in a wingsuit from a 1500ft or 2000ft exit. At the same time, I'm not the one with the experience and expertice they have. For example, I don't see how you can hop off a 250 ft cell tower with your PC still in the pouch, but I know guys who do it all the time. An additional point to keep in mind is that the Red Bull guys have been doing all sorts of unusual, and high performance demos for years, and I cannot recall hearing of any incidents on those jumps. Conversely, the bulk of the demo incidents lately have been on 'traditional' demos with big canopies and conservative game plans.

Me neither. I just happen to know that one of the 400 paragraphs you have to initial covers that sort of thing. I think so. I also think that if I shoot something for you personally, and Wink or Down to Earth Video is not involved, than he has no claim to the footage. He would have to shoot it, or accept the payment and assign me to shoot it in order for the stuff in the waiver to apply. It's a tough call. What do you have? Post it on youtube and I'll let you know if he's going to sue you or not.

We have a model release built into the waiver at the DZ. Wink owns the pictures and videos, and retains the publishing rights.

A professional would be aware of his surroundings, and position his camera accordingly. This rule applies to the positive as well. During a post jump interview, I'll keep an eye out for another tandem landing (sometimes a friend of the pax) or the plane landing. Either one of these things makes a nice addition to the background. Another note on this - keep in mind that if you film any sort of incident, or even the aftermath of that incident, you open yourself up to involvement in a potential lawsuit. I'm not saying that you will have any liability in said lawsuit, but as a witness, and provider of footage that will no doubt become a part of the case, you'll be called in to testify in either a deposition, or possibly in court. Again, you may not personally have any liability in the case, but the instructor and the DZ will have quite a bit at stake, and I for one would just prefer to be no part of that process what so ever.

Let's say you're shooting a tandem video, and there's an incident in the LZ while you're waiting for your tandem to land. DO NOT film your landing or interview your student in such a way that the scene of the incident appears in the background of your video. If there happens to be excess noise (screaming, shouting, moaning, etc) maybe skip the interview all together, and just fade out from the touch down, or whatever. In the thread about the tandem landing incident in Orange, there's a post from one of the other tandem students on the load, and they commented on what a terrible thing it was to be there when this happened, and that they'll always remember due to the lifeless body laying in the background of the ground shots of their video. LIFELESS BODY IN THE BACKGROUND? REALLY? I don't know which one of you retards out there is responsible for this, but come on. Even if it wasn't determined to be a fatality yet, I'm sure the scene wasn't pretty, and people were rushing to the aid of the injured jumpers. If you're so determined that 'the show must go on', do your camera work a favor and put your back to the offending scene.

You've got the wrong idea. The drouge collapses after the canopy comes out of the bag, just like a collapsable PC on a sport rig. On a Vector/Sigma, the drouge collapses when the drouge release is pulled. The canopy is still in the bag, and the bag is still in the container (but not for long). The collapsed drouge pulls the bag out of the container, and to line stretch. The trap door effect occurs because the collapsed drouge is slow to pull the bag out of the container and to line stretch. It's slow enough that the tandem pair has time to speed up, and drop away from the bag. Line stretch on those rigs is a mix of the collapsed drouge pulling up on the bag, and the tandem pair dragging the rig out from under the bag. This is exactly what Lazlo was talking about. You seem to think you have all the answers, but it turns out that you don't even have a basic understanding of how a tandem system works. Ever think your ignorance might be present in other areas of skydiving? You should feel fortunate that you discoverd this shortcoming via an internet forum. When you find out what you don't know during an actual skydive, people end up getting hurt.

So what you're telling me is that this jumper didn't check her legstraps until she was poised in the door and seconds away from jumping? I really hope that there was some attention paid to her gear checks, and that in the future they should include that all three straps are properly threaded and tightened appropriately, and that these checks should be performed earlier in the flight, allowing sufficient time to correct any anomolies.

I've been filming Strong rigs for a few years, and their trap door pales in comparison to the old Vector tandem. The tandem pair drops twice as far on the Vector, it's crazy. If anyone doesn't know this already, each brand of tandem rig has it's own traits from fall rates to trap doors. If you find yourself filming a brand you're not used to, be aware that things you are used to may be different, adjust your plan accordingly. Different TIs and different planes will also throw you curveballs if you're nto careful. If you find yourself at a boogie or visiting a DZ where they recruit to you shoot a tandem, keep these things on mind. Everyone wants to show up and be the hero, but dial it back a notch and ease into the flow in your new surroundings.

You should be able to remember learning to make coordinated turns (center that ball) or even learning to taxi in a straight line. It didn't happen overnight, but you got it. Hell, now you could do those things in your sleep, all while maintaining radio contact, and digging around for a chart. Canopy flight is the same way. Regardless of how much theory you know, you need the 'stick time' to build in the muscle memory and reflexes to be able to handle a faster canopy. Remeber, there are no go-arounds or missed approaches in skydiving. You're landing, and you're landing right now, like it or not. Equip yourself accordingly.

Terry was right on with what he said, but I'll add this - if you release your toggles, and find that they ARE pulling down the tail, that is not OK. In that configuration, when your canopy is in full flight, it's actually in something less than full flight. This translates into less speed, and when your coming in to land, thats bad. Your speed translates into lift when you flare, so more speed means more flare, which is good. If you do find out that the tail is beign pulled down in full flight, this must be fixed. If you want to set your canopy up for shorter brake lines, and not use your front risers with toggles in hand, or set tham long and play with the risers is your choice. If you go with the shorter lines, you need to find the stall point of your canopy (above 2k please) and be sure not to flare past that point close to the ground. Even in an emergency, or a 'panic' flare, you cannot go past that point. If you set them up long, you generally set the length based on putting the stall point as far down as you can. while still being able to stall the canopy. You want to be able to pull the toggles all the way down, and hold them there for a few seconds before the canopy stalls. If it stalls before this, the lones can be longer. If it doesn't stall, you need to shorten them up. You need to be able to stall the canopy so you can get the full range of (slow) flight for landing. If you cannot stall the canopy, you cannot flare it all the way either. The trick to the long lines is that you must pull the toggles down all the way, even in an emergency or panic flare. Even going down 3/4 of the way is giving up braking action that will help slow you down before impact. Remember to get the toggles down before you hit the ground. One other thing, Spectra lines (the kind you have on your canopy) shrink after use. The length of your brakes lines today may be the result of the previous owner setting the canopy up that way, but it may also be due to shrinkage from regular use. It's important for you to monitor the condition of your brake lines, and make adjustments as needed. Ask your rigger to replace your lower steering lines, and have him be sure to leave as much extra line as possible fingertrapped in the new line. This will give you the most raw material for letting the lines out in the future. While you're at it, have your rigger show you how to let the lines out yourself. It's easy, and a good thing to know. Get some supervision the first time you actually do this, but you'll see how simple it is. Also, if you have any sort if velcro on your risers or toggles, get rid of it. It will grab and fray the lower steering lines, making adjustment tricky at best. If they get too fuzzy, they just need to be replaced again.

Regardless, every tandem rig has multiple deployment handles, and there are two brains and four hands at work during freefall. Trap door or no trap door, a canopy can appear at any time.

When I was 12, the Tonfly army came to my village and overthrew the Rawas and their reign of terror. The Tonflys will always have a special place in my heart.

Both of those helmets came to my village when I was a child. They burned my home and killed my father. If either one of those helmets ever shows up at my DZ, I'll attack and have my revenge.

Limited to the freefall portion, not including the exit or breakoff. When it comes to separation, deployment, and canopy control (aka saving your life), the tunnel is of no value.