chuckakers

As of 9:30 central time the judges were doing their thing - per Ben Nelson fb page. EDIT - 164 official! Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

It's not about where you live. It's about investing the time and resources to be selected. Case in point - Ben Nelson. He jumps in Houston but has been very committed to doing the right things. He's only been jumping for 4 years but has amassed 5,000 jumps and has become an influential player in the freefly world. Only you limit you. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

What's the objection with facebook? If you have security concerns... you can sign up with an alias e-mail account, use whatever made up name you want, control who - if anyone - can see the fake information you use, and you can choose not to post anything at all and simply use it as an inbound-only information source. Also, unlike dz.com and other internet portals, you can choose what information you want on your wall (like the gazillion skydiving info pages) so updates from a variety of YOUR chosen skydiving stuff is waiting for you when you want to see it. I'm an old dinosaur and yet I find facebook to be the easiest and most convenient way to filter my incoming/outgoing information and the easiest way to communicate individually or en mass. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Hard to say when the nerves will chill as everyone is different. Some pointers... Make as many jumps in a day/weekend (or days off) that you can short of getting performance-robbing fatigue. For most people anxiety levels drop with repetitive jumps and confidence increases. Success breeds success. Drill your emergency procedures into your brain until you are absolutely confident that you will perform like a textbook. Anxiety comes from uncertainty and often emergency procedures are the worst for that. Knowledge is confidence power. Spend as much time as you can at the drop zone and spend it productively. Seek out learning opportunities about everything you can. The more you know and the better you understand the mechanics of things the more real-world logic you can apply to the process. That understanding will add to your confidence level and your performance. Start with your gear. Truly understanding not just how it works but why it works that way will go a long way. Also, download the Skydiver's Information Manual - http://www.uspa.org/Portals/0/Downloads/Man_SIM_2014.pdf - and read it front to back. Start with the things that apply to you, especially A license requirements and the rules that apply to A license holders. Also read and learn the section called "Basic Safety Requirements". These are the "never cross" rules of our sport in the U.S. The importance of understanding the things that govern our sport can not be overstated and knowing that stuff will help you be a "complete" skydiver. Most important, ask your instructors for advice. They know you best and should be able to give you the best guidance in controlling your nerves in the moment. Don't let your nerves make you nervous. It's obviously normal to feel the emotions you are feeling at this point. Focus on getting the mechanics right and you will be safe. Losing the anxiety will come in time. When you feel the anxiety coming, smile. Smile BIG and look out at the sky. Think about how incredible everything becomes outside that plane. Let stress become joy. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Yep. The most expensive mistake you'll never regret. Welcome aboard! Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

From Page 1: So everyone should just submit a complimentary comment after every jump to make sure your positive experience is included in the city management's analysis Honestly... that is not a bad thing to recommend. Flood them with how great the airport is, how glad you are that its not as loud as living by some airports could be. Maybe talk about how nice the gentlemen and ladies are that parachute from the planes way out of earshot... lots of good things talk about how you enjoyed the experience so much, you rented a room in a hotel, went out to a restaurant and bar, and then returned to the airport the next day for another experience. And you may repeat that next weekend, too. I agree with this. I operated a DZ on a municipal airport and when I pitched the airport board about locating there, the board focused on how much money the operation would bring to the city. We saw skydivers. City officials saw high-speed dollar signs. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Haven't heard his name in years. Accomplished camera flyer back in the day if I remember right. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

This should be an interesting thread. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Fortunately, things don't quite work that way in aviation law. Although Ms. Gibbs provides a very small reason for concern, rest assured that Randy O at USPA is well aware of this topic, her lawsuit, and is actively involved in advising DZO's and government officials. If you're genuinely interested, contact USPA and ask these very questions. You'll get an answer, guaranteed. Among other things, this is something they do very, very well. +1 These issues are way off in the background to most jumpers but they are very important and HQ and Randy do an outstanding job in this area. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Lindsay "Big Kahuna" Carlton, longtime pilot and later the DZO of Spaceland Parachute Center near Houston passed away June 30th at the age of 72 after battling ongoing health problems. Lindsay was a good friend, kind soul, supporter of the sport, and one of the best jump pilots I ever knew. For those in the Houston area, there will be a celebration of Lindsay's life on July 3rd from 5-7pm at the Crowder Funeral Home - 815 FM 517 in Dickinson , TX at. An ash dive will be planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that memorials be made to St Jude's Hospital. RIP, Big Kahina. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I got the inner lobe of my bicep tore off at the elbow from a botched 6-way launch a few years ago. I didn't think it was too bad until I landed and the adrenaline flow stopped. Holy geez did it hurt. The 6-way ended up being pretty good after the rebuild though so it wasn't a total loss. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

You know of a bigger one? BTW, a record that is not claimed is not a record. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

It doesn't make sense. It doesn't. I've followed this case over the last year off and on, and I just don't understand the time, money, and effort KG has put into her Citizens for Quiet Skies. The data has proven on multiple occasions that the noise from the Otter is no more than background noise inherent to the area - she has sacrificed huge swaths of time, and essentially forfeited any semblance of a normal life. Some people live to be happy. Some people live to be right. KG is clearly the latter. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

The PD reserve manual from day one has required the reserve to go to PD for evaluation and possible recertification for additional use after 40 pack jobs or 25 deployments. All of which are recorded on the canopy label. At 120 days 40 packs are between 13 and 14 years if kept in date. Results have varied from grounded to another 40 pack jobs. For about $1000 any rigger can have the same instrument that Strong uses to re-certify their tandem canopies. Based on that description it sounds like age is not part of the criteria. Obviously many reserves sit dormant at times so it sounds like if the canopy is within the 25 deployment limit and 40 pack job limit it can be repacked without regard to age at all as long as it is otherwise airworthy. Am I getting that right? I'm not too savvy with the nuances of the rigging world, but so far after asking several people questions for clarification, I have heard nothing that mandates removing a reserve from service at a specific age. Even your quote from Butler falls short of limiting the reserve to any specific life span, instead mentioning a number only as an estimate. So - given that numerous people have implied that there is a 20 year (or other) life limit on reserves, can anyone site an actual example where age alone makes a reserve illegal to pack? I'm not trying to be snippy or argumentative. I really want to know whether there is a life limit on any reserve as dictated by any manufacturer. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

It's not contradictory. A 20 year old PD reserve (which mine will be in a couple years) is a modern reserve, yet according to some it will "suffer from age" the day it turns 20. Without respect to your comment on military reserves, my question pertains specifically to the topic across the industry. Specifically, I'm asking if there are any manufacturers of reserves that have been and are "timing out" today that have gone through the process of grounding them. Are there any actual reserves that are grounded based solely on age? And BTW, I'm not looking for a history lesson. I just want to know if there are reserves out there that are illegal to pack and jump ONLY because they are more than 20 years old (or whatever age a manufacturer might decide on). I just recently had a customers PD reserve determined un airworthy by PD after it's 20 year (40 repack) porosity check. They replied with the following test results - The average center top skins were 9.44 CFM and the maximum is 8.00 CFM. Quantitative information. Thanks for the reply. The vast majority of DZ lofts wouldn't have equipment to test that and thus any particular reserve - dated or not - might get repacked while outside of that spec. Can you tell me how it ended up at PD? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Out of curiosity, are you aware of any modern reserve failures that were attributed to age? Also, are you aware of any manufacturers that have gone through the process of seeking an AD to ground old reserves? Reserve AD, although it's a bit old :) http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library%5CrgAD.nsf/AOCADSearch/E2298A242C935A4286256A39004DEA58?OpenDocument I guess I'm not asking the question correctly to be understood. The AD you provided was issued for specific serial numbers based on a strength issue. I'm asking about AD's to ground canopies based only on age. As I understand it, some people are saying reserves should "time out", meaning they should have a life limit. If I understand the FAA letter in this thread correctly, the feds are saying that since no age limit was included in the TSO, they won't enforce one without the manufacturer going through a specific AD request. So my specific question is - has any manufacturer gone through a formal FAA process to remove a reserve from service based solely on age? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

It's not contradictory. A 20 year old PD reserve (which mine will be in a couple years) is a modern reserve, yet according to some it will "suffer from age" the day it turns 20. Without respect to your comment on military reserves, my question pertains specifically to the topic across the industry. Specifically, I'm asking if there are any manufacturers of reserves that have been and are "timing out" today that have gone through the process of grounding them. Are there any actual reserves that are grounded based solely on age? And BTW, I'm not looking for a history lesson. I just want to know if there are reserves out there that are illegal to pack and jump ONLY because they are more than 20 years old (or whatever age a manufacturer might decide on). Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Think less, fly more, and have your emergency procedures down to an absolute science at all times. BTW, getting off your belly is fun once you do it. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Out of curiosity, are you aware of any modern reserve failures that were attributed to age? Also, are you aware of any manufacturers that have gone through the process of seeking an AD to ground old reserves? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Have you had a gear check? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Peanut was a truly awesome person. He was a quiet, unassuming gentleman and a top-notch skydiver. I was honored to have him as a friend for the past quarter century and will remember him dearly as a person who always walked the walk. Peanut was one of the guys. See you on the other side, buddy. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Risers are one of the most contracted-out parts of a modern rig. In first place is the main pilot chute. Jerry Baumchen The contractors you refer to produce risers to the manufacturers specifications and fall under those manufacturer's QC scrutiny. And yet, the risers on my brand new V3 had the Louie loops sewn on backwards, so even the manufacturer makes mistakes. I wasn't really talking about mistakes. I'm thinking more about people who don't fully understand - or even consider - how tight the tolerances are in things like the design of the 3-rings, grommet placement, etc. Let's face it, there are more than a few people out there doing things their own way without sufficient R&D. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Risers are one of the most contracted-out parts of a modern rig. In first place is the main pilot chute. Jerry Baumchen The contractors you refer to produce risers to the manufacturers specifications and fall under those manufacturer's QC scrutiny. There are also independent manufacturers that have no connection to any manufacturer that produce risers that do not necessarily meet any particular manufacturer's specs. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Be careful considering risers not built by a manufacturer. The tolerances in the 3-ring system (ring angles, proper loading, etc.) are quite tight in avoiding hard or impossible cutaway forces and while I'm sure there are aftermarket shops that do a fine job, I tend to put my faith in the same folks who designed and built the original. Additionally, risers made by an aftermarket operation may look identical to OEM, but there can be small, unnoticeable differences that might affect strength, especially over the long haul which a budget buyer is most likely put them through. Given the cost of a reserve I&R, a set of budget risers could cost more than new in the end. I think you're better off just buying a set of OEM used risers. Start by contacting the manufacturer of the rig and ask if they have an airworthy used set they will sell you. You would be surprised how many good components manufacturers have that they can provide. Beyond that, visit any rigging loft. You will find that there are loads of perfectly airworthy components lying around for sale. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I assume your comments are just intended to take a jab at USPA since the organization has nothing to do with immigration law or enforcement. BTW, if you are witnessing TI's busting the new tandem BSR's or any other BSR busts and are concerned about it, why not voice your concerns to the S&TA and/or the Regional Director? Not saying you are doing this but as I see it, if a person knows of true busts and talks crap about a lack of enforcement without reporting it, they are part pf the problem. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX