chuckakers

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Everything posted by chuckakers

  1. chuckakers
    I think Ian's talking about me. King of the trash pack, but still never packed my own mal. I guess I should be glad my new 103 has snaps. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  2. chuckakers
    The 2 DZ's I have regularly jumped at for the past decade - Skydive Houston and Skydive Spaceland - require ALL lose objects to be secured during takeoff. Might want to suggest your DZ does the same. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  3. chuckakers
    I don't remember wearing seatbelts ever being a matter of cool or uncool. It was a matter of a combination of an evolution of understanding & attitudes, and an FAA crackdown. After the Perris Otter crash, in which the plane fell from less than 100 feet yet killed everyone on board except the 4 people who were in the back of the plane and therefore on the top of the body pile, it became apparent to everyone that being restrained during a hard landing was an important element of survival. So I guess you could say knowing how to live to see the beer light come on went from uncool to cool. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  4. chuckakers
    A couple things.... First, the safety of everyone on the plane comes ahead of regulations in my world, and an unrestrained body is a very dangerous thing in a crash, or even in a "hard landing" for that matter. The last thing I want is the weight of a human body on top of me as we pull a few G's (which, by the way, is a good reason to not just put your belt on but also pull it tight). Second, if the pilot isn't concerned about jumpers wearing their belts for takeoff, I'm concerned about the pilot and what else he/she doesn't care about. BTW, I doubt you'll find any DZ operation with a waiver allowing jumpers to leave belts off during takeoff. If you're going to debate, be realistic. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  5. chuckakers
    PM including some choice verbiage sent. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  6. chuckakers
    Then it would be personal not profit. Not necessarily. Burglars often grab just a handful of things they know (or assume) are worth the most money per armload. The longer they stay at the scene, the greater the odds that they will get caught. Complete rigs are the most valuable single, easy to carry items at a DZ. Those rigs are probably already being jumped somewhere in South America or will show up in a pawn shop somewhere. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  7. chuckakers
    Considered an asshole by who, all the assholes? You did exactly the right thing. You also demonstrated leadership. Never keep your mouth shut. When you do, THEY win and THEY are the assholes. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  8. chuckakers
    N141PV. Do the research. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  9. chuckakers
    My Velo 111 is about right for my Voodoo V1, but I think it would pretty tight in a 0. Thinking it would be about the same in a Talon FX. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  10. chuckakers
    That's like calling Putt-Putt golf. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  11. chuckakers
    Industry best practices my butt. If I'm at 1000 feet with a SPINNING main, I sure as hell wouldn't dump a reserve into it. The chance of a clean deployment is dramatically reduced and the reserve might even choke the main and create a ball of shit the size a basket of laundry - not something you will land more than once. Yes there is a time to simply "add fabric to the mess" but at 1000 feet - plenty of time for a reserve to inflate and LOADS of time with an RSL or Skyhook - my choice would be to chop and dump. Ask me the same question at 500 or 600 feet and I would answer differently, but at a grand I assure you I would NOT dump my square reserve into a spinning mal. You're also not answering as the chief instructor of a skydiving program.
  12. chuckakers
    Yeah, but they sure as hell don't push it fast! (i just love post office humor) Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  13. chuckakers
    Industry best practices my butt. If I'm at 1000 feet with a SPINNING main, I sure as hell wouldn't dump a reserve into it. The chance of a clean deployment is dramatically reduced and the reserve might even choke the main and create a ball of shit the size a basket of laundry - not something you will land more than once. Yes there is a time to simply "add fabric to the mess" but at 1000 feet - plenty of time for a reserve to inflate and LOADS of time with an RSL or Skyhook - my choice would be to chop and dump. Ask me the same question at 500 or 600 feet and I would answer differently, but at a grand I assure you I would NOT dump my square reserve into a spinning mal. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  14. chuckakers
    I would have no problem whacking my main at 1000 feet. I wouldn't do a couple backflips before dumping my reserve, though. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  15. chuckakers
    So is swooping, so is CReW, so is wingsuiting.... See a pattern? Yes, plaid. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  16. chuckakers
    A couple years ago I was sitting near the door of a Twin Otter when a videographer hopped on at the last minute with everything but a rig. Just for fun I waited until the plane began to taxi and then asked if she planned on jumping without a parachute. Never saw anyone get off a plane so fast in all my years. Procedures, people. Procedures. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  17. chuckakers
    I disagree, at least as I understand you. The risk in swooping is not uncontrolled. It is by its' very nature a controlled risk. The uncontrolled aspects of swooping are exactly the same as the uncontrolled aspects of non-swoop landings like sudden wind changes and dust devils. Maybe I don't understand what you mean. Can you explain further? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  18. chuckakers
    As InfiniteSky mentioned, we have a system here that works well. We had a guy from the EU who is also a "Wingsuit Instructor" there; he got a new wingsuit shipped to him here in Elsinore. He'd refused gear checks all week. A newly minted WS, with maybe 20 WS jumps under his belt was too dumb to know that it's OK to refuse a gear check, he told the "Wingsuit Instructor" that it was the rules of the DZ (It's not) and so the experienced guy got one anyway. According to the pilot and a TI/E, the Wingsuit Instructor blanched white. It happens, perhaps more often than any of us realize. Glad this one was caught.Quote Give the noob a cookie. Give the instructor a bowling ball. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  19. chuckakers
    Hard to believe that someone can get so caught up in anything else than putting their gear on properly that they don't put their gear on properly. How did "Mark" catch it? Was he giving the guy an unannounced gear check? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  20. chuckakers
    Thanks for the clarification. Good to hear you have taken your canopy progression seriously. Stay safe and be the example. Edit to add - after re-reading your post, I think I took 240 pounds as your exit weight, which is a far cry from the 265 to 270 pounds exit weight you are at if you meant your BODY weight is 240. At 270 EXIT weight, your loading on a 188 is almost 1.45:1. That's aggressive for anyone, let alone someone with 200 jumps, regardless of currency. Can you clarify this for me? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  21. chuckakers
    Still not trying to pick on you, but at 255 pounds exit weight with 200 jumps spread over 5 years (40 jumps per year average, or less than 3.5 jumps per month), a Pilot 188 is still pretty darned aggressive. Aerodyne recommends a maximum weight under that canopy for an intermediate level jumper is 207 pounds and even for an advanced jumper they recommend a max weight of 244. I'd like your opinion on that. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  22. chuckakers
    I don't need to tell you that your wingloading on that canopy is too high for your experience. I can see that several other very respected folks have already done that. What I would like to know is what brought you to acquire that particular canopy in the first place. Was it recommended for you? What does your DZO think of your choice? How about your peers? I believe you may be a perfect case study for what I believe is a systemic problem in skydiving of people downsizing too quickly. I'm not trying to pick on you. I really would like to hear the details of how that canopy ended up on your back. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  23. chuckakers
    Oh I see, you're trolling for conflict. I guess beyond others telling you what they think about that, this will be the last of anyone giving you the time to respond to your irreverent "banter". I for one certainly won't. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  24. chuckakers
    There's nothing very close to College Station, but we'll be hopping like mad at Spaceland - about 2 hours south near Houston. Easy drive from College Station. High-speed freeway door to door. Weather looks good, too! Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX
  25. chuckakers
    I could care less what they do. I don't jump at Perris or SDAZ. And ya might want to get your facts straight if you intend to continue your campaign. Skydive AZ does not have a ban on swooping, only a requirement that they be done on solo jumps. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX