davelepka

Read my post. It clearly says - You did pay for a service and not recieve it. You do have a right to have your money back. If the gear dealers shop burned down, and the Pro=Track batteries you already paid for were destroyed in the fire, would you worry about the cash you were out? An engine rebuild can easily cost more than the cost of rebuilding a shop, and the difference you're due for the early exit is about as much as the batteries cost. I agree that in normal circumstances, I'd expect a gear dealer to do right by every cent I gave them. In a situation with an extenuating circumstance like a fire, or some similar extreme loss of money, I'd let the 10 spot go, be glad it wasn't me. If a DZO/pilot took off with the intention of taking me all way up, and had charged me accordingly only to declare, "I'm sick of flying today. You can get out now at 4k, otherwise, I'm landing the plane then taking a nap", in that case, I would ask for the balance of my money back. See? No loss or harm to the DZO, then yes I'll be a hardass for the dollars. If the DZO has just been delt a rough hand and had his day ruined, I'd rather lose the dough than add to the guys misery. It's just money people, have a heart.

How about this - if you have to exit early, go ask the DZO for your money back. The guy is most likely facing a serious repair bill for the AC, and I'm sure he'll be happy to refund your money for you. He'll think you're a dick and never cut you a break on anything as long as you jump there, but you'll most likely get you money back. Even so, you're probably only due the difference between the full altitiude you paid for, and whatever the partial atlitude was. If it's $21 to the top, and $12 for a hop n pop, you've got $9 heading your way. Considering the cost, long hours, and hard work needed to open and run a DZ, being a hard ass for your $9 seems pretty short sighted.

I'd tell him to stay away from Homer. Far away. Since that didn't happen, I'll call you later.

Licensed skydiver - you pay your money, you take your chances. Everyone else - they get a do-over

If you wwant to worry about maybe getting kicked in the face, you could also worry about not being able to get CPR without your helmet being removed.

Buy an open face helemt. See the world, communicate more freely with friends, and save $100. Seriously.

Zap! That kid is fifteen. We may have been rubbing it longer, but if I recall correctly, he should have us beat in frequency hands down (please excuse any one of the bad puns).

DA would do it, but I also wonder if the sail fabric is a factor as well. It's stiffer, right? Maybe it holds it's shape better as speed (and pressurization) decrease.

Once you hit puberty, your muscles will grow and develop, and then you'll be fine.

How about this -don't buy anything you haven't jumped several times in the size you want. Forget about evryone else's opinion, and buy what you like the best. It's really the only way to ensure that you'll be happy.

Was this in a wind tunnel? I would think that you would need a constant like a wind tunnel to accurately test for what amounts to very slight gains. Especially in this case, where the stabs may be producing some favorable effects. The key question is if the advantage they create is enough to offset the increase in drag. I know that in aircraft design, advantages of 1% or 2% in efficiency or drag reduction are enough to produce a measurable gain in performance or economy, and designers will put considerable effort into gains on that scale. This is where more sturctured test conditions would be needed to verify the advanatges or disadvanatges. I just can't accept that test jumping is an exact enough science to verify certain claims.

Or, you could go to europe a few times a year to visit your family. That would be a perfect time to try that out. Perfect.

Whats interesting about the mayors statement is that he seems to not address what the real issues are. Like it or not, SDA could be expected to pay a usage fee for the airport. Things change, and maybe this is one of them. However, the amount of that fee needs to inline with both the size of airport and facilities, and adjustments should be made for the benefits provided to the city by SDA. If I'm not mistaken, $6000/mo is what they came up with after buying a report from a consulting firm who used busier, larger airports as a reference for seetting the fee scedule. As such, what they're asking for is way out of line. Maybe if it was a more reasonable fee, there would be no story. Also, I may be wrong about this, but my impression of federal monies for pubilc ariports is that the amount of money is based on the number operations(take offs and landings) at that airport. I can only imagine that few airport users would conduct as many operations as a busy, multi turbine DZ. How many loads do you fly per day, on average? 20? 30? How will the absense of SDA effect the federal funding to Eloy Muni? How far out of whack will their consultants report be then? It really seems like some very short sighted people are runnig things over in Eloy. Why would they expect the airport to be source of significant revenue? Why the hell would anyone want go to Eloy if not for the skydiving? I'm sure there people who travel there for other reasons, but surely not enough to energize the airport to the point of being a revenue stream. I really hope you guys move out of there to dedicated, private airstrip with an all new DZ.

This is why there is a right way and a wrong way to do a second pass. For a small nuber of groups remaining, often a 150ish degree turn (left or right depending on the winds) will allow the plane to empty out on a downwind jumprun without taking up too much additional time. By keeping the turn shy of 180, you keep yourself from overflying the original jumprun. For more groups left, or perhaps an AFF student who needs a second chance after a no-go, the pilot needs to make a full go-aroond, back to the original jumprun, and needs to do it slowly enough to allow the jumprun to clear out from first groups. In that situation, when we're lined up back on jumprun, I'll ususally call for 10 degress or so left or right, just to offset us a little for good measure. These are things that the jumpers need to have established with their pilot. On jumprun with the door open is shitty place to work out the details. A simple command like "150 left" or "150 right" will suffuce for the first scenairio, and 'full go around' for the latter. Not knowing how to do a go-round is the worst reason not to do one. As far as a DZO is concerned, the 150 degree turn is all you usually need. There shoudln't be more than an AFF or tandem or two in the plane by the time the spot has gone too long. A quick turn around will ensure that the staff and tandem/student rigs get back to the DZ for the next load.

Two words - Low pulls. Not cool at any DZ, and looked upon with extreme predjudice at many DZs. There was a tiem when this was the thing to do, and contests were arranged. Now it's a big time no-no. If history is bound to repeat itself, lets repeat the concept of a bad idea becoming an uncool memory from days past, not the concpet that newbies will maim themselves under open canopies.

I'm not saying that the actions themselves are equal, but I'm using the one to illustrate the attitude that jumpers need to take when a DGIT is on his way to becoming another statisitic. Should you try to talk to, and reason with them? Sure. When that fails, you need a next step, and throwing your hands up and saying "Oh well" is not that step.

Are you suggesting that not enough people have died thus far to prove the theory? Do we need more examples to validate the concept that slow and steady is the way to go? I mean really, it's no secret what kind of trouble a guy can get into being too agressive with their choices in terms of both canopy selection, and what they do with those canopies. My question is why are these situations tolerated? For example, if one night after the bonfire goes out, a guy tries to rape one of the ladies. He's caught in the act, and stopped before he gets too far. How would this guy be treated in the future? Would he even be welcome at the DZ? Both socially, and from a DZ policy stand point? My guiess is that after getting his ass severly beat, this guy would be persona non grata at most DZ's in the area. The jumpers wouldn't have it. The point is that soem fuck nut can show up at the DZ, log 100 jumps, and enter into a situation where he;s a hazard to himself and possibly others, but for the most part is welcomed with open arms. He may get some advice, and some may disapprove of his choices, but everyone is still his buddy at the end of the day. Why not ostrasize the jack-ass? Flat out say, "You're a tool, and you're playing with fire, and I don't want anything to do with it'. Don't socialize with the guy, don't jump with the guy. Fuck him. In the end, that guy is going to ruin your good time. The DZ will have to shut down while the ambulance or helo is scraping him up. The reporters will come, and hound everyone for a sound bite. Some jumpers who witness the impact will need some time off, or quit jumping all together. Thats the price to pay for being friendly. Is that worth it? Why not make it so hard for a guy to keep up that behavior that the offender either stops, or goes somewhere else. If everyone is on the same page, going to another DZ isn't an option. You get the same thing everywhere you go. We know by now that the USPA is not going to do jack shit. Many DZO's are too busy or greedy to be counted on. This is a problem that we can fix as a group if we desire. Make it as uncool as rape to be a jackass with canopy selection or progression. Every DZ has a guy who knows whats up, and can make the call as to who needs to be on 'the list'. If you're that guy, you know who you are. If you're not that guy, go find him, and get him working on a list. Soon enough, all the new jumpers wil enter a culture where they can see that certian things are not accepted. It's a tough love type of scenario, but it's what needs to be done to reigh this thing in, and get a handle on things.

You really are a retard. I'll call you later.

Thats the exact scenario that I was worried about when they first came out. Add to it outside factors like density altitude, speed entering the turn, new line sets (or other trim changes), a new RDS, new (longer or shorter) risers, and soem shit I can;t even think of, and the beeps stop being your friend. The other thing is, doesn't anyone just want to leanr to do things on their own? How about not being a pussy and needing help to look at the ground? What ever happened to self sufficiency? Between GPS, packers, and beepers that tell you waaaay too much, I'm surpirsed more people don't wander into spinning props seeing as how helpless they are. "Why can't everyone be smart? Rike me..."

What the fuck does 'swwop only' mean? I understand the concept of a Cypres-free beater container for training over water, when you expect to swim, but 'swoop only' confuses me.

Thats a good point, and to add to it, a longer recovery arc is akin to making a bigger commitment when you do make a turn. Even if you recognize that you are in trouble, your canopy may be busy working its way down its long recovery arc, and not quite ready to respond to your attempts to pull out of the dive. Ouch.

Agreed. For the record, I put 500 jumps on a Sabre 135 at 1.3 ish, and thats the canopy I learned to swoop on. My advice to any new swooper, jump what you have. Forget about every canopy except the one you have, and spend your time jumping it., and your money jumping it. Keep it up for a year or two, then jump some more.

What kind of plane is that?

Just a thought, if Larry Hill can sell his land around the airport for far more than the cost of relocating SDA to a new, private field with all new facilities, why even bother with trying to stay in Eloy? Build a new DZ, and pocket the millions left over. Hell, even include space for Rigging Innovations, and some T-hangers for airplane owners currently based out of Eloy. Use the revenue to cover the fixed expenses of owning your own airport. It sounds liek a win-win-win-win-win situation to me. As far as the tunnel goes, the costs should be limited to moving the structure, and building a new foundations. I'm sure it won't be chaep, but it has to be a fraction of the initial build cost. Fuck those townies, and build a mega DZ just how you want it (anyone ever been to Skydive Chicago?).

Many other have already hit the nail on the head with regards to keeping your hands in close, getting your elbows up, and taking advantage of the increased leverage you'll get. A couple of add-on ideas, under canopy be sure to conserve your energy for your flare. Try to use arms as little as possible, and keep them rested up for the flare. Also, just some simple push-ups will help with this. You can do a handful every day, and build the nuber up as you go. It will only take a mintue or two, but it will pay off if you do it every day (maybe lay off or a day or two before a jumping day). Soon enough your strength will come up, and as you progress, your instructors should be putting you on a smaller canopy, that'll be easier to flare (of course you need to demonstrate that you can land the current one first). Good luck.