nigel99

That's just dumb. People often get sold on shit equipment directly from their own dropzone. "GREAT STARTER RIG!!!" ... when in fact it's a 1992 vector 2 with a leg pouch throw out or possibly a loose BOC conversion. A Falcon 195 with 850 jumps on it and original lines, Swift reserve. All the components are worn and are not worthy of being sold to an unsuspecting newbie. If people want to by an Argus, fine, let em but I don't think it's wise. If the buyer doesn''t know about the SB, it's not remotely OK to slip it past them. An Argus SB should be posted on the Classifieds in case someone doesn't see gear and rigging. I don't condone people trying to rip someone off. But surely people are not dumb enough to buy any old crap and expect to jump it? Surely it is common sense to have a basic understanding of your equipment in a sport like this? If you don't do background checks on the status of an AAD, harness or reserve and get a properly qualified opinion on it then your judgement is seriously flawed (in my opinion). I like your idea of a SB being posted in classifieds. In fact as a specialised gear store of sorts it would be nice to see any SB's attached to specific models so that buyers are fully educated in one place. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

At this DZ you have 55 acres to land. I have suggested to you to make your accuracy landings in the alternate area away from the bulk of the traffic in the main area. Separation happens long before entering the landing pattern. Maybe a line-item sign-off to demonstrate separation as a goal in and of itself...not tied to accuracy? Maybe you forgot: In the main area -the yellow, cloth arrow on the ground -the two large dirt areas -the imaginary line from the flag (and other markers) to the road In the alternate area -the noodles And maybe your forgot about me telling you to put down your own target such as a towel. ...just as was suggested at the DZ, by me - pick a target before getting on the plane. Is he the guy who picked the tree for his target? Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

is this a consumer alert Possibly - I come with a health warning. If you jump with me your likely to lose something. Nothing like having someone run around organising everything for you and making sure you are taken care of - only to have them forget their own stuff and me not notice Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Frankly if someone is buying skydiving equipment and they know so little about it they don't deserve any pity. I am not talking about people from a week or two ago. Skydiving equipment is not like buying a used TV off e-bay your life depends on it. You see it as pawning off. Some people see it as buying a good investment in the hope that when all this blows over they regain their value. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Thanks it sucks if it is the case. I will drop an email and see if anything can be arranged. Jeez I wish I had the guts to move my flight forward 1 day now - but there is no way on earth I am going to the wife with that request Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Shortly after the incident in question, Vigil released graphs from the affected devices showing the recorded altitude and speed. The graphs indicate that both units fired due to a very short spike in air pressure which represented an acceleration from zero to firing altitude in under a second - an acceleration several times that which is physically possible. It was very obviously not a situation requiring reserve activation. There are also several incidents where they have fired on the ground (pressurized aircraft, slamming a car trunk lid, etc). Another physical impossibility - there is no way to be on the ground, and then in freefall at firing speed a fraction of a second later. Any sudden, short pressure spike will cause the Vigil to fire, even if it is sitting on the ground. It is clear that the Vigil makes little or no effort to filter the data, nor to detect what should be non-firing situations. These are situations that are easy to deal with, yet the Vigil is no better than a mechanical AAD such as the FXC 12000 in that regard. Not proven as a defined problem? The problem is clearly defined and it has been shown quite a few times that it exists. The manufacturer says so themselves every time they explain why one of these firings occurred. There is a principle of keep it simple. Adding software filters changes algorithms and increases the amount of software. A risk assessment can show that it is lower risk to not implement something that may seem obvious to an outsider. I would say that any software algorithm that is "life critical" is not trivial or easy to deal with. I am sorry you have just caught me after a meeting explaining to someone why a "bloody obvious" software algorithm bug is hidden in 3000 lines of code. To quote a colleague "don't expect a shitty little 8 bit processor to do the same job as the 300 billion node neural computer between your ears does" Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

My communication skills suck I agree with you 100%, just because you regret your decision you don't go out and claim your money back. Secondly just because a recall happens within a day or week of you buying used equipment doesn't mean you get your money back either (UNLESS a warranty was offered). My caveat was that if a seller knowingly sells something not fit for purpose, I support getting your money back. I am NOT suggesting that this seller did this. Your Micro Raven is airworthy if someone will pack it. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Here's a decent analysis. I got it off dz.com recently but with all the Argus threads, and URL's not perhaps searching fully, I can't find it again. Wasn't even showing up in web searchs. MJOSparky or someone posted a bunch of links to all sorts of Argus reports & bulletins. The Polish report into the Polish fatality also has some close up pics of the inside of the cutter. Thanks that is exactly what I was looking for. I don't fully understand the point of cutting the loop in two places rather than one but am happy that as with most things there are compromises and valid logic. It also explains why someone mentioned (in a thread some time ago) why having a rig with the cutter at the bottom wouldn't lock closed (don't remember the brand but it could have been a Racer). Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I very nearly included in my first post that by doing what I suggested in contacting the card company you are almost certainly costing the dz or seller. I think your analogy is slightly off though, in your example the person was forewarned. I also don't think the intent of a credit card guarantee is simply a case of "I don't like what I bought" but rather that something is "fit for purpose". A grounded AAD is not fit for purpose (unless advertised as such). Personally I would not move the problem onto the seller unless they had deliberately shafted me (e.g. knew that in a weeks time there would be a recall etc). A nice seller may ring the person up and offer to share some of the loss but they aren't obliged to. Thinking about your example if the seller knew that the person was trying to put together a cheap rig and knowingly sold them a reserve that was grounded I would support making a claim. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Purely out of curiosity can anyone point me to somewhere that shows details of how the Argus cutter and Cypres cutters work? They are different but I would like to know how etc. I am just curious on the mechanics and interested in extending my knowledge. I have had a read of the installation and user manuals but there isn't the detail that I was hoping for. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

It sucks for you. If you bought from a rigger and a service bulletin or official announcement was made prior to you paying (possibly even having the product shipped) then I think ethically you should be refunded. If it was all legal and good on the day you paid then I think it was just really bad timing, but certain credit cards provide a warranty as part of their terms and it might be possible to make a claim. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Wendy - need to defend my suggestion. My sister was given royal wedding crap when Diana got married. She is not into celebs but was into the whole "princess" thing. Big white weddings married to a prince yada yada. Besides over in the US you can't turn around without being asked about the frigging wedding! Anyway hijack over - hopefully Nataly finds something cool. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I don't know how someone can survive long term unemployment. But I do think there is truth in the article. Quade has touched on some aspects but even good pay can still have a lousy work environment. We tend to place to much emphasis on material wealth in the west and owning big homes and cars etc. Most of us could survive on a lot less money than we "think" we need. Personally I have been fighting hard to stay on top of the pile in a competitive industry. I have essentially lost the last 10 years of my life to work, missed a huge portion of my kids lives and lost out on a lot of fun. In the past few months I have decided to stop running a business and get my life back. Income will most certainly go down but so will the stress. This means that I had to face the prospect of potentially being un-employed for a couple of months and believe me it was worth the risk. I was fortunate - I was offered 3 jobs within 24 hours of going on the market so the unemployed didn't come to fruition. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Back in Greenville next week and now that I am a current jumper I am keen to get another jump or two in. If anyone is interested in doing an after work jump at Skydive Carolina on Monday through Wednesday evening (28-30th March) please let me know. Ideally I am looking to do 2 way belly with someone. Alternatively I will be in Lexington Kentucky Thursday night - don't know if there are any dz's near there. *Popsjumper I am not defecting from the farm but I am on only in Atlanta overnight Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

You going to post the photo of you posing? Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

The Royal wedding is this month - might be an idea for a girl in that. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

After your first skydive!

At least that way he'd get some sleep. That's a bit of a harsh review. It could be worse I could be suggesting he reads a collection of 66 books Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

If money allows I strongly suggest doing a couple of AFF jumps. I did SL progression and I absolutely hated freefall. I was never comfortable with it and I would often do hop and pops just to minimise freefall time. I have been lucky enough to do an AFF jump for my recurrency and there is something terribly reassuring about having good people near by. On SL progression I struggled without any reference point - having someone 2 or 3 feet away really helped me. Depending on your nature and character it might be nice to just progress at your own pace. Stick at a certain level until you are happy in yourself even if you are cleared to move forward. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

http://www.dropzone.com/photos/Detailed/Boogies/Popsjumper_118802.html Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

There are more opinions on this than there are skydivers. Tandem != Skydiver but I think a person who does a tandem "gets" why people skydive to some degree. Whuffo (as you probably know) is for "what for you jump out of..." so in my view a tandem who "gets it" is no longer a whuffo but still not a skydiver. During training a person is a student skydiver. After that I think some people get it in their blood and they can't hear a turbine without longing for the sky, or they walk along looking at the sky wishing they were up. You are a skydiver in your heart - you get people who get the dreamy far away look when thinking about jumping 20 or 30 years ago. Some people simply do a couple of jumps for bragging rights or a bucket list and they don't "get it". I don't know what you call them though... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Just a suggestion - read Brian Germains book Transcending Fear. I am not totally into his whole energy and vibes approach but I agree with most of what he says. In summary it is what you focus on that counts. If you continually cling to negative or down thoughts you will be unhappy. If you focus on what is good in your life you will feel better. It is like exercise it takes effort and practice to get good at it but you can do it. A really stupid thing that I find is if I don't exercise and simply work dawn to dusk I get down and lethargic. It doesn't take much a jog around the block or going for a swim works for me. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

13 otter loads but 11 jumps? Did a student not jump - sounds interesting. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

But...did she let you back IN yet? You forgot to mention,.. 1st Boogie 1st jump with the world infamous Popsjumper Yes she let me back in. And yes first jump with you which was cool. Not my first boogie though but certainly my biggest. I take it from your beer list that skyvan blood and losing things in freefall is not a first for you Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.