chuckakers

Texas is the Holy Land, silly. And you left out chicken fried horse shit. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

In relationship to this specific situation, the answer to your question is quite simple. The jews don't declare death to their neighbors or people of different faiths. The people they are fighting have vowed to wipe Israel and the jews form the face of the earth merely becasue of who they are. Them's fightin' words, ya know. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

War protestors. They're around anytime there's a war, regardless of whose chunking bombs. And ain't it great they have the right to protest in Israel? Try that in other Arab countries and they cut your head off in town square - in front of your family if you're lucky. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I didn't say it was. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Unless you think your sinus problem is somehow being caused from a direct hit of wind in your nose, I doubt a fullface helmet (not mask - those are for robbers) will do any good. Most sinus problems are caused from the change in barametric pressure associated with altitude changes. If that's your issue, forget it. A fullface won't isolate your sinus from pressure changes. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Jim, was that directed at me? I was not bitching, just pointing out an amusing mistake. I assume you noticed that those are tandems on the graphic. Besides, I'm waaaay past bitching about any DZ. If you've lost your sense of humor I'll loan you mine. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Israel tried the live and let live thing for quite a while. It didn't stop the idiots in Gaza from chucking missiles over the border. Hamas has fired over 3,000 bombs into Israel over the past 4 years with no retaliation...until now. I repeat - 3,000 bombs! Some people forget that Israel is always the force that adheres to cease fires when Hamas does not. But what would you expect from a terrorist group turned government? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I'll submit that inexperience overall was a factor. I have never done a WS jump but I know that it's not just another skydive. I'm trying to put myself in his shoes. I've just made my first WS jump and it was awsome. Now, I have to get out of it, pack my rig, and get ready to go again. Maybe I just heard the 15 min call. Shit! I'm behind schedule. I've got to get rigged up so I don't miss the plane! Bad juju for an inexperienced person without adding in the WS. Actually, you are driving my point home. Inspecting one's gear is fundamental to every skydive, regardless of a jumper's experience level (students not withstanding) or what other distractions are present. If anything about a skydive is so consuming that a jumper can't get the fundamentals right - and making sure you have on legstraps is definitely a fundamental - they should rethink making the jump under the existing conditions. Your mention of the jumper feeling behind schedule is a perfect example of my point. And of course a first wingsuit jump is not "just another skydive. That's because no skydive is "just another skydive". Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Time to fire the graphic designer? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Same ol' problems, just a new day. As far as the wingsuit incident, it doesn't appear that the victim's experience was the problem. His (and his "instructors"?) failure to check his gear was the cause of this fatality, and we all learn that as students.....don't we? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

The part that stood out to me was that it vibrates for 20 minutes. Damn thing would keep me awake. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

We used to take the nose on fast opening canopies (Sabre, Monarch, Excaliber to name a few) and roll each half to the center, then shove the roll as far into the center cells as we could reach. It worked quite well to slow the openings. Flame all you want - it worked. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

My previous reply discussing understanding has been well demonstrated. Logic be damned, Aresye, just make it up as you go along! Oh yeah...and go talk to an instructor. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

This is and has been happening because "we" - used as loosely as I know how - are not doing our jobs. Misinformation comes from lack of information, and "we" aren't getting enough of it into people's heads. And when "we" don't, students and young jumpers don't have an understanding of the principles needed to make intelligent choices or create sound concepts. At the end of the day, it is understanding that keeps "us" alive, and understanding requires an abundance of raw, correct, and relevant information about the task at hand. That information - for whatever arguable reason - isn't getting passed along. The answer to your second question is actually quite simple. "We" need to focus on teaching "us" to understand the sport, not just perform it. I'll pitch in one sunset a month, starting with my pet peeve - gear knowledge. How 'bout you? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

What kind of moron is letting you on big-ways? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

You make some intelligent observations, and there are certainly disciplines in skydiving that don't work well with an RSL (or skyhook, for that matter). CReW and video work come to mind as a couple activities where an RSL can be a bigger problem than a life saver, but...... statistically, RSL's save many more lives than they have ever cost. Based on the stats, it appears that skydivers are much more likely to fail to get a reserve out before running into the planet than they are to have a problem from a reserve opening while unstable. Keep in mind that unlike your main, reserve parachutes are designed for quick, reliable deployments, even in less than ideal conditions. I have personally opened my reserve in all kinds of body positions and configurations and never had so much as line twists (thanks PD and my riggers). Think about the TSO process. Mandatory drop tests are conducted using dummies, which often tumble and twirl as they fall away from the aircraft. And yet these tests "save" the dummy time after time. My advise? Don't worry so much about your reserve deploying properly and use an RSL or Skyhook unless you are conducting activities that aren't RSL friendly. You will have the statistics on your side. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

At 270 jumps over 12 years, you might wanna sing "ooooh, yeah, focus on the skydive, man...ooooh yeah baby...oh yeah...PULL PULL PULL, oh Baby oh SHIIIIII....................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". Just a thought. C'mon man why are you getting on the guy's case? I had a song playing in my head during AFF1..forgot what it was though Actually, I was dispensing a little advise if that's ok with you. Let's all sing our favorite song now... "Check my handles, check my pin, if I pay attention, I might live again - Doooooaaaahhhhhh, Doooooaaaaahhhhh!" Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

At 270 jumps over 12 years, you might wanna sing "ooooh, yeah, focus on the skydive, man...ooooh yeah baby...oh yeah...PULL PULL PULL, oh Baby oh SHIIIIII....................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". Just a thought. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I can't I.D. everyone, and I don't really know when it was. We'll need some help here. This shot was taken at Aggies Over Texas - looks like 1988-89 timeframe (l to r) 1. Sky Pony (real name Jimmy - Gwinn, I think - that's his Beach...nice one, too) 2. Tom Rafferty 3. David Morrison 4. Steve Haskett (DZO, Aggies Over Texas) 5. 6. Jason Bell (seated in a/c, former editor of "Parachutist" magazine) 7. 8. 9. 10. John Poteet (just saw him at SD Houston a couple months ago) 11. Jerry Crawford (retired airline pilot, still in the area) 12. Tony Loper Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Now here's a man that knows how to make friends. GO NAVY! (and Army, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard) Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Ft. Hood, Texas circa 1987. Riding in the Huey to altitude when at about 9k I thought I heard someone say "get out". As the load of 8 of us sat up to see what was going on, we heard - quite loudly - "GET OUT!!!" We did - hops and pops in the middle of freakin' nowhere. Walked the tank trails to the nearest road. Caught a ride back to the DZ from a passing military vehicle. Come to find out, the "master caution" light had come on in the cockpit. The pilot later told us that the master caution system monitors numerous critical systems and requires the crew to initiate an emergency landing if the light comes on - hence the bailout. What he didn't know at the time was that the light had come on because the bird's crypto gear (communications encryption equipment) had dumped it's encryption code, something that had nothing to do with the actual flight. Good practice, though. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

That's a reach. The Congress has deemed skydiving an "aeronautical activity" and thus we are protected in the same way all aeronautical activities are without respect to the amount of "users" within the activity. Besides, "substantial" is arbitrary. Who's to say 30,000 skydivers isn't enough to pull the right strings. We're still jumpin', ain't we? Nice try, though. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

>>>Would you be in favor of cancelling the PRO rating program, then? After all, it is clearly aimed at professional, for-profit demo teams; they make up the vast majority of demo jumpers.>>>I actually don't think the TC marking, as currently described, is a good idea; many of the reasons why have already been listed. But I also don't have a problem with USPA acting in the best interests of DZ's, because most of the time those interests are the same as (or similar to) skydiver's interests.

From USPA.org... "The purpose of USPA is three-fold: to promote safe skydiving through training, licensing, and instructor qualification programs; to ensure skydiving’s rightful place on airports and in the airspace system, and to promote competition and record-setting programs." Pretty much spells it out. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I agree that - as usual - the headshed is implimenting before thinking it through. Or worse yet, maybe they did think it through and this is what we get. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX