davelepka

Ok, how about this - your right that advice from an instructor should be taken over and above than from an anonymous source on the internet. In that respect, you are correct. You have, however, focused on one reply to your post and ignored others. How do you address my assertion that you have proven to be far above the 'average' skydiver, and that any course of action you followed may not be the best choice for the majority of new jumpers? Just because something worked for you does not mean that it's advisable for others. To use your position against you, your suggestion that a Stiletto is acceptable for a jumper with 38 jumps is coming from an 'anonymous' source on the internet, and what 'real' jumpers should do is follow the advice of their 'real' instructors.

Because Bill could own Billvon.com, and control every aspect of the site. Facebook/Billvon would be owned by Facebook, and they would control it. What you're asking is similar to print advertising vs. a catalog. Why would a company want to print their own catalog when they could just run an ad in a magazine. Even if it was a multi-page spread in a popular magazine, it's limited in it's content and circulation, and someone else controls everything else surrounding the ad. A catalog is a stand-alone publication, where the comapny in question has direct contol over every aspect.

I think you'll get a pretty good turn-out if you re-open Cal-City, at least enough to keep a PAC busy. What you need to do is nail down a date, and ask people to RSVP if they can make it. Explain that you will only open the DZ and call in the plane if enough people 'pre-register', so they need to let you know. I think you can do some sort of Facebook invite, and see who replies they will be there. If you're trying to plan stuff for during the week, the ecaxt day matters. Last week, Thurs and Fri were both busy days at work that I couldn't get away from. This week I could probably sneak out Thrus or Fri, so the exact date would matter. Last week would be a 'no', this week would be a 'yes'.

Ok reality check. Your kid turned 13 yesterday, but you've been hoping for years that he would find some motivation burning from deep within himself? Did you expect a 10 or 11 year old kid to find a life-long passion? Get real. He's a kid and he likes kid stuff. When you were 13, there were things you liked, and they were the popular kid things of that time. Just because video games weren't an option for you as a kid doesn't mean they're not a valid 'kid thing' for a kid to do. Trying to push hinm into a situation where his life will be at risk because you think it's a good idea, or because you have some hang-up with the way he spends his time is ill advised at best. For the record, I have a 14 year old son myself. He likes video games, and a variety of other things that I'm not a fan of, but those are his choices and I let him live his life the way he wants. If he's doing well in school, not breaking any laws, or is not a danger to himself or others, it's his life and I let him take where he wants. How about this, have you ever taken an interest in his video games? Ever played one with him?

While this might be true, and a controlability check does include a left turn/right turn/flare, it's a little different when you have a small, high performance canopy that is not behaving. Could you mess with it and see what happens? Sure, but you could also be losing altitude at an alarming rate and getting tossed around like a rag doll. Part of jumping a high performance canopy 'should' be a higher degree of reliability in terms of packing, equipment maintenance, and body positioning on opening. All of these will reduce the odds of a malfunction, but when one does happen, sometimes the 'procedures' have to be a little different than on a more docile canopy.

Progression towards what? Being a better canopy pilot? Not really, but maybe. Not really in that full altitude jumps will provide you with a complete canopy ride to include one landing, just like a hop n pop. In that sense, they are equal in what you get out of them. Maybe in that if time/money is your problem, and the H&Ps let you make more jumps. That does equal more canopy flights and landings, and that does help you become a better pilot. Also maybe in that H&Ps sometimes give you more 'room' under canopy to play because there's less traffic. If you can get 5k for a H&P, you can play around without too much traffic around. However, you can also get that same experience by pulling higher on a freefalll jump, where everyone else will be lower than you and not a factor. Overall, you do lose something by planning only H&Ps, and that's freefall experience. It's fun and friendly, and part of being a skydiver. Don't ignore it, but it's good to realize the importance of other things (like canopy piloting). Here's the fine print - if you're planning to do anything but a regualr H&P or a freefall jump with an opening at 5k or lower, you need to consult an instructor to review your plan. Pulling much higher than 5k after a freefall jump requires some planning ahead, as does a H&P from full altitude. You run into possible conflicts with students/tandems/aircraft when pulling 'high', so it needs to be discussed and others on the load need to know your plans.

That's a factor for sure, but there are a couple of considerations. If a jumper has only rented gear, and never jumped a custom-made harness, they don't know what they're missing. Provided that they are of an average size, and the gear at their local DZ fits them well enough, that might not much of a factor. Another aspect of comfort, as it applies to stress reduction, is that you know your rig, canopy, maintenance, rigger and packer. There's no 'mystery' to the equaltion. However, a new jumper with no experience beyond rental gear wouldn't have the familiarity with a personal rig. The flip side is that the OP has posted asking about used rigs he's interested in buying, and I seem to recall they were older, very low dollar stuff. Velcro riser covers, poor bridle protection, F-111 canopies, and no AAD. If there was a more modern alternative to rent, mroe frrefly friendly, with a Z-po or hybrid canopy, and an AAD, I might rather go with the rental option based on the superior components. I think I would be more comfortable in the safety sense of the world, even if not as much in the physical sense.

You've made this argument before, and I'll repeat why it's bullshit. As quoted above, you have turned out to be an accomplished skydiver. Not only do you have the skills and judgement to continue jumping for many years and thousands of jumps, you have also proven yourself to be above average with the records you hold and the medals you have won. In retrospect, I don't think anyone would be surprised to hear that you, or any other long-time, highly experienced, greatly accomplished skydiver was able to handle a higher performance canopy far sooner than the average. However, when dealing with new jumpers today, we're not looking in retrospect, quite the opposite in fact. You would have to look forward, and guess how they are going to perform and what sort of judgement they will employ during their time with the canopy they are considering, and I for one do not know of anyone with the ability to predict the future in that manner. Truth be told, there are a good number of skilled, experienced jumpers who I have a great deal of respect for, and who started jumping long after I did. Despite that, I cannot recall any of them as being 'stand-out' students who shot right out of the gate like a champion, where everyone knew they would stick with the sport and go on to be instructors or medal winning competitors. As good as they are now, they were all the same in the beginning. The point is that there's no way to tell who is going to be the next 'Prof Kallend', and who is going to be the next divot in the landing area. For this reason, you make equipment choices and decisions about things like weather and big-ways on the conservative side, so if turns out you're dealing with a guy who might be a potential divot, you stack the deck in his favor, not accelerate his trip down the road to the ER.

I'll echo what the OP said, and add that I also have never seen a rental agreement. In all fairness, I haven't rented gear since my first year in the sport, so that might be a factor. In an effort not to derail this thread any further, because I know this issue hes been hashed out elsewhere on DZ.com, I'll add that in the case that the DZ does not hold you responsible, that would be an additional 'plus' to renting gear in terms of financial liability. In that case that they do, then that issue would be a wash when compared to gear ownership. In any case, it would be wise to look into that issue before renting any equipment, just so you know the policy beforehand. Good catch, Kelly.

That's a factor. Would it include an AAD? That would increase both the purchase and maintenance costs. If it would not include an ADD, but the rental gear does (as most does), that a factor to consider as well. What's the value of having an AAD in a rig you rent? Being a low time, low currency jumper, I would suggest it's pretty high. What you have to think about is that when you rent, you get a rig with a modern canopy, AAD, and one that someone else pays to maintain. It's a fixed cost for a known level of equipment. When you buy a cheap second-hand rig, you take away the AAD, possibly the quality of the components, and you take on the costs of unexpected maintenance or loss. Generally, if you rent a packed rig, you are not responsible for loss in the case of a cutaway and lost canopies, freebags, or handles. If you own your own rig, regardless of who packed it, you're paying for anything that gets lost. Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't you posted several times asking about very cheap rigs? F-111 canopies, and 20 year old containers/reserves? If that's the case, just keep renting. If the staight costs are a break even for 30 jumps per year, you're getting a better rig with less financial risk by renting. Even if it costs more, consider the equipment you get to jump (the AAD) and the truly 'fixed' costs of renting (no surprise maintenace, no lost parts after a cutaway, and no hassles droppping off/picking up from a rigger for reserve repacks), and consider the value of all those things. If you spent another $100 or $200 per year renting gear, are all of those benefits worth it? I think so.

I'll chime in as well, you're way off the mark here. The 'max' weight is not the weight at which the aircraft will barely fly, it the max weight at which the aircraft will perform within the published standards of the POH. It's like this - let's say you need to carry a weight up a flight of stairs in 10 seconds. If you find that you can carry 50 lbs up the stairs in 10 seconds, that would be your 'max' weight. Could you make up the stairs with more weight, but maybe take linger than 10 seconds? Sure. Woudl you maybe be less steady on your feet with more than 50 lbs, especially if you were trying to get up there in 10 seconds? Sure. Would it be less safe for you with more than 50 lbs? Sure again. Despite all that, it would still be 'safe' for you to carry anything up to 50 lbs. Same for airplanes. People fly over max weight all the time, and have no problems. If you get too far over, or at too high of an elevation, or have a mechanical or shitty pilot, you might have a problem, but most airplanes can physically fly over their max weight. Now that is an usafe process, but loading an aircraft within the published limits is not.

Of course, it is a dynamic situation. That's why the solution is to look where you're going. Yes, you can check around to get an idea of what's what, but your eyes need to be focused on where you going to be momentarily any time you are doing some other than flying 'straight and level'. Let's say you do torque yourself just short of a line twist and look behind you. By the time you straighten yourself out and commence with a turn, that guy who was out of the 'danger zone' may have flown into it. There is no way to replace the value of looking ahead of your turn. It's a must every time you change direction. Look where you're going to be, and if there's something there at that time, stop the turn before you get there. It's a bad precedent to set. Modern canopies with their steeper trims and faster roll rates (even the bigger ones) should not be taken close the edge of 'uncontrolled' flight as a normal practice in traffic. It's not neccesary, there are other ways to clear your airspace while maintaining a wide margin of controlability of your canopy. As I mentioned, and simple 45 degree heading change and back again will reveal anything that is directly behind you to start with and maintain your ability to immediately react to any traffic conflict that may arise.

I get that, what I was talking about was the minimum gear needed to participate as a beginner. I'm talking beyond training and certification, once your all set and ready to participate on a regular basis. You 100% need a complete rig to jump. A used one will run you a couple thousand bucks. Like your example above, you can add every cool gadget, accesory, and piece of advanced gear. Try a custom jumpsuit for $750. How about a wingsuit for $1500? A camera helmet can set you back another $1000. The list goes on. The point is that you need a rig, and it's a big expense, and if you're shopping used, it's a matter of who has whatever it is you need. In terms of dive gear, it smaller ticket items, and most of them are bought new. In the end, the answer to your question is that you can buy whatever you want, where ever you want, and nobody will give you shit about it. It is nice to help out your local dealers when you can, but not frowned upon if you buy your stuff elsewhere. If their prices are good, and the service is good, you'll simply want to buy from them and won't even consider shopping elsewhere.

This is not a good manuver to encourage. Essentially, you're inducing a parital line twist, and all it takes is one instance of 'over-amp', and you will go too far and actually put yourself into line twist. The last place you need to be concerned about is directly behind you, as you have no way of getting there. Making a turn of any sort will cause a loss of altitude, and thus you need to be more concerned with the area behind and below you, which you can see by looking under your arm. If you make a flat turn, you can lose less altitude, but then the rate of turn will be slower, and you'll have more time to 'look ahead' of your turn to clear your airspace. By that I mean that you have your head turned far into the direction of the turn, far ahead of the heading of your canopy. You will see the area that your canopy will be in momentarily if you continue the turn. If you do see traffic, you can stop the turn before you're even headed in their direction. I applaud your desire to be aware of your surroundings, but placing the control of your canopy (which you will lose if you induce a line twist) over being able to see the area of least concern seems foolish at best. Keep your head on a swivel. Turn it every way you can to look for traffic, and if you feel the need to scan your blind spot, make a 45 degree heading change, and that blind spot will come into view. If it proves to be clear, take the 45 back and return to your original heading. Your canopy can only fly you out of trouble if you can control it. Protect your ability to control your canopy at all times. Inducing line twists (to any degree), aloowing lines to go slack in turns, or excessive stalling can all lead to a lack of control, and should not be employed on a a regular basis on a 'regular' jump (regualr meaning a non-training jump, where you did not either exit on your own pass, or do a hop n pop from full altitude).

There are some differences. For starters, what does a typical beginner set-up for scuba run? Fins, mask, wetsuit, snorkel, regualtor, etc? $1000? Less? A beginner skydiving rig, if you buy it used and get a good deal is going to run $2000/$2500, and that's without an AAD. Add $1000/$1200 for an AAD. If you buy new, you're looking at twice that (or more). The point is that the money is way different, and if you're looking for used gear (a great idea for a first rig) there's no saying that your local store will have what you need. It's not like they can order a used rig to suit your needs. They might be able to help you track one down, but that's another story. However, to echo what others have said, if you have a local gear store or your DZ sells some stuff, give them a shot when you're getting ready to pull out your wallet. It may cost a bit more, but then you have to weigh the benefit of supporting your local store/DZ, and having a 'live' person to help you both before and after the sale.

Regardless of your rig, he might swear at you for calling him your 'reserve packer'. He's a 'rigger', and worked hard to earn the certificate and title, and is hopefully doing more for you than just packing your reserve.

Get real. Do you really think that someone with $5000 to invest in a 'possible' tunnel is also going to have the time to go to the tunnel and fly 5 minutes every day? Do you really think that 200 such people exist, and that all of them are going to camp out at the tunnel and soak up their 5 min every single day? Did you read the fine print, where they say that any 'free' time is only available during 'off peak' hours? Are there 16 'off peak' hours every day? I'm as skepitcal as the next guy, but it seems like you're shitting all over this guy's plan for no reason. 1.2 mil is not enough for a tunnel anywhere, but it is enough to get the attention of investors with deeper pockets. A good business plan and 10% of the costs up-front go a long way in terms of serious fund raising. Is 10 or 12 mil enough? Who knows, but what I do know is that NYC is likely to be a gold mine if you can get a tunnel in place. Population density is off the charts, tourism is off the charts, and shit costs a fortune there so you can charge premium dollars.

Pushing or pulling on the rears will effect the flight of the canopy. Using the rears as a point of contact to lever yourself into position will have an effect on the flight of the canopy. All of those things, however, are different than leaning fore or aft in the harness. Leaning fore or aft alone will not effect the flight of the canopy. Pushing, pulling, or otherwise moving the rear risers will.

Since when? Fuel is a huge cost, and pre-9/11 and the war in Iraq, it was a fair bit less than after those events. Gear hasn't gotten any cheaper either. It is better than it used to be, but it still costs more in the end. Electricity, phones, internet, advertising, credit card merchant rates, airport rent, etc have all gone up as well. One thing that hasn't gone up (much) is the price of tandems. As far back as I can remember (about 18 years), they were always right around $200 (give or take $20). That said, there's no excuse not to pay any employees the agreed rate for service rendered. If that rate is fair or not is another story, but if a jumper does the work, they deserve to be paid what they're owed.

Short answer - No. From a fore/aft perspective you're hanging from a singe point, and you will always end up hanging in a balanced position due to gravity. You could try to hang more of your weight forward or back, but gravity will rotate you around that single-point (the 3-ring) and center your weight. Long answer- do a search, this has been covered extensively in the past.

Call the area DZs first, and tell them about your height/weight. Even if you can get in under the weight restriction, they might not have a harness long enough to fit your torso. If you do find a DZ that thinks they can take you, I would highly suggest a visit to the DZ well before you plan to start jumping so you can try on the rig they think will fit you. The reason being that if the rig does not fit, there are alternatives, but none of them are 'quick' or 'easy' (and probably not cheap). If a DZ will let you jump, that's one thing, and having a rig for you is another. If you come up short on finding one with a rig for you, come back to DZ.com and post that you need a rig for AFF. There are some 'bigger' jumpers out there who may have an extra rig they can rent you for your training, or some other similar solution. If it does come to that, double check with the DZ that they will let you do AFF if you provide a suitable rig, meaning one with the proper TSO (certification) and an AAD, RSL, and big enough canopies to be 'appropriate' for your weight. Typically DZs do not allow students to bring their own equipment, but remind them of your special circumstances, and they might reconsider. Speaking of the TSO, those are the specifications the rig is built under, and there are different levels. Some of them cut off at 250lbs (or less) and a few go above. DZs may tell you you're too heavy to jump based on the TSO on their student gear, but if you could provide your own rig with the higher TSO, they might reconsider. So for that reason, if you do end up having to source your own rig, you might want to try calling all the DZs again based on the new circumstance. Yoru last option will be to travel for training. There are DZs in the US who can train you and supply a rig. Again, if you come up short in Chicago, post again and you'll get some options as to where you can go and get your license. Once you have a license and your own rig, you can jump anywhere you want, regardless of your size.

It's not stupid, it's for a different reason (as mentioned). The restriction is not in place because of an inability to physically complete the activity, it's the inability to sign the waiver. I don't think anyone here thinks that a teenager can't be a tandem passenger, and that some 'older' teenagers couldn't make a solo jump. Just like they they can fly planes and gliders, and drive cars, they could skydive as well. It's the other edhe of the sword. The US is a society where anyone can and will sue anyone else for just about anything. Good for you in that people (and companies) conduct themselves in such a way to avoid lawsuits (or more inportantly, the damages that cause lawsuits). Bad for you in that people (and companies) sometimes veer so far away from anything that could remotely cause damage to anyone (or anything), that you end up having to live with certain restrictions. This is one of those cases.

Add another $100 for reading lessons so you can get a better understanding of the comma, it's use, and meaning.

That's a tough one. Destruction of property is one thing, and invasion of privacy is another. The people in the protest group knew what they were doing, and that the purpose of their flight was not 'friendly'. The people in the gun club had no way of knowing the purpose of the flight, or if the drone was armed or presented a threat. End result - a 'clean' shoot for the gun club. It was a reasonable action given the circumstances.

I don't believe there is. Provided that you still have your logbook, or the DZ still has a record fo your jump, you should be able to count that toward your license. Lucky you, only 24 more to go. Otherwise, what's been mentioned about currency is correct. Your jump only 'lasts' for 30 days in terms of your AFF progression. If you go for more than 30 days in between student jumps, you may be bumped back and have to repeat the last jump you did. The jump you repeat will count toward your license. So let's say you do Level 1 every summer for 5 years before finally finishing up your license, on that 5th year you will only need to do 21 jumps to get your license. That, of course, is provided you can complete all the requirements of your A license proficiency card within 21 jumps, but if you can, the license is yours. AFF is one thing, getting a license is another. The A license proficiency card I mentioned has some 'coached' jumps you'll need to complete, and those are like a student jump but with a 'coach', not an instructor. Completing AFF allows you to 'self-supervise', meaning that you can do solo jumps, but you are not a licensed jumper. So you can do some solo jumps, and some coach jumps on your way toward completing the A license card and your 25 jumps. Yoru best bet is to call the DZ and ask about their pricing. If you're looking multiple DZs, visit them all and just observe the operation on a Sat or Sun afternoon. Watch how things work for a load or two, and then go to the office and ask a bunch of quesitons about their student training. One of them will be about the price of AFF, coach jumps, solo jumps, and gear rental both with and without a license. Most will have package deals, where you can pay for the whole thing, or groups of jumps, up front for a discount. Ask about that, and the refund policy on unused jumps (just in case). Beyond that, a used rig will cost you anywhere from $2000 to $5000, depending on what you get. Figure another $500 to $1000 for a helmet, jumpsuit and altimeter. Average jump prices are about $18-$20 for a Cessna jump from 10k ft, and $24-$26 to jump from a larger plane from 13k ft. As mentioned, the prices quoted for the Parachute Center in Lodi, CA, are due to the owner not doing the required maintenance on his airplanes. Maintenance costs are huge on big airplanes, and if you skip those costs, the jumps are cheaper. Do some research, and you'll see the FAA fined the guy $600,000+ for a string of infractions over a long period of time. He has lost aircraft in the past due to improper (or skipped) maintenance procedures. Proceed accordingly.