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My thoughts also. There are a lot of variables, too many to set a hard and fast rule of 150 square feet. People tend to turn "rules of thumb" into "hard and fast" rules without thinking about why. Unfortunately, I think that not many people have that variety of canopies/rigs to work with, and that is too bad, because I think that type of progression is very good. Wow. That took a while. Thank you for a very good job.

Well, its like DHemer said, not everyone is close enough to a tunnel. (Of course that is changing almost monthly any more.) If an AFF student is having a really difficult time in freefall, I will of course recommend some tunnel time to get squared away, plus maybe more. But it is certainly not required. It's a matter of where they want to spend their money. Skydives = canopy learning too.

You learn something every day on dropzone.com! None of my risers are mini, so I never really noticed how they are getting away with using #0. I just know that I haven't heard of a mini riser breaking lately because of needing to remove so much material for a big old grommet.

Well, 2 of my 4 rigs do not have hip rings, including one older Talon. Better not assume hip rings. The Tag Line (single belt with 2 connectors) system seems pretty good to me for most aircraft, (except with sideways bench seating the normal 2 belt across the lap makes sense.)

The screw on the center one in the picture has been screwed in, so it may be the oddball? Did you get one to see what they were like and them bought a pair?

skez forgot some commas in his post, and I think legstrap pilot chute pouches might pre-date piisfish, so I think he repeated the lack of commas and now it is all confusing. And then we all remember that there was front of legstap AND rear of legstrap, right? FOL and ROL?

How "wide" left to right? You are usually somewhat limited because the wider you make it, the higher up on the spar you need to attach it, so the step would be higher off the wheel and less comfortable to use. If you recall, C206s and newer C182s have "lower landing gears" which puts the step further up in flight than with older C182s. I suppose you could put an extension on the outside of the step, but then there would be something to get things caught on. How large from "front to back" is another thing. They can be rather large in that direction, but most people don't make steps very large for weight and drag reasons. I have seen some 12 inches from front to back. Pretty cool for launching a 4-way.

I didn't expect that kind of comment, but perhaps I strayed from the thread more than I should have. I was commenting on some of the later questions. I do agree with you that skydiving (and USPA) rules have a component of "prosecutorial discretion". I do not know for sure if the jump in question involved a student or was past sunset.

It doesn't. I think many people assume "students" when discussing things like this, so it is confusing. The numbering is convoluted, so I won't specify it by number (edited to add: Hah!, silly me, it is specified in the original post), but a BSR exists that states "All student jumps, including tandems, must be completed between official sunrise and sunset. [NW]" (I have not researched what the tandem manufacturers specify about night tandem jumps with either students or experienced jumpers. Anyone?) Also, to clarify some other things mentioned upthread, USPA members (whether or not instructors) agree to follow the BSRs, period. It is not specified where they must follow the BSRs, so it is implied that this means anywhere in the world, although from a practical aspect, this is not reasonable to expect. (I'm quite sure that a USPA instructor or two has done tandems in other countries with young people, and have not been questioned.) USPA Group Membership is not really what requires USPA members to follow the BSRs. It is confusing because the Group Member "pledge" specifies following the BSRs, but members agree to do that anyway. Clear as mud? Should USPA clarify all this? Perhaps.

So you are saying that a virus on their computer has targeted their email client? (I know that this used to be a typical way of getting spam emails from "friends", but is it now?)

But is it their webmail account or their mail client?

On occasion I get emails from friends similar to Subject: from Joe Blow From: Joe Blow Message is something like: Hi! How are you? Oprah said this is the best http://example.com/ And followed by their name, Joe Blow The list of recipients usually include other people I know. Does anyone know, is this email accounts getting hacked, and is it Gmail or their mail client like Outlook, etc.?

Here is another one that I designed many years ago: http://www.pcprg.com/camlight.htm

Chuck, check out this nearly 10 year old thread where we were talking about similar things: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1456565#1456565 It looks like maybe not much progress has been made at some dropzones. I guess some are just not going to do the work to train students well, ISP or otherwise. I know of other dropzones that still use "7 level AFF", but they have added the necessary instruction to those levels to make them safer, and the instruction for the remaining jumps for the license is very good. Making announcements over the PA that say a student has "graduated AFF" seems ridiculous in this day and age, but oh well, that's marketing.

For starters, how about something like this? https://www.gotbelts.com/non-retractable-lap-belts/m.products/78/view/24 http://www.seatbeltstore.com/product-p/ju010400.htm

It certainly is, and I am already laughing to myself at the people who are in denial of this. I mean, after all, what kind of idiot tandem instructor would put a big scary dangerous snag hazard on their wrist just to get a mediocre video? But we are there. Today. Who would have ever thunk it years ago? And what kind of DZ would have a student rig with a throw-out pilot chute that could tangle on the student if deployed poorly? Oh, the horrors. POV cameras on students will eventually become marketing tools. No one will even mention the instructional use.

I don't because I never have one, but when I was a kid, the family tree was in a tree stand that had a water reservoir, and it got watered (every few days because it used that much water). It almost has to be watered or it turns brown. And the most important reason to water it is to keep it from getting dry and becoming a (worse) fire hazard. Check out the video here: http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/holidays/christmas-tree-fires

Some comments and notes: Please remember that only the BSRs are required (of USPA members). The word "supervision" is used in many places and its meaning in the SIM Glossary is specific. (I don't think this discussion includes the intent of that term.) The phrase "self-supervision" is used only 4 times in the SIM, and is also in the SIM Glossary. The intent of self-supervision is to allow a student to jump by themselves, but this requires a number of things to be done to insure/increase the safety of those jumps. These things are listed in the Introduction section of Category E in the ISP section of the SIM. It is my opinion that allowing a student to jump by themselves a few times using "self-supervision" if they wish can be very beneficial. It removes the pressure of having to perform for the instructor, and allows them to learn to relax and be independent. After they make a number of self-supervised jumps, I would expect instructors or DZ management to notice how many of this type of jump they are doing, and encourage them to start working on license requirements, perhaps with a coach. In other words, don't just turn 'em loose to fend for themselves. I thought that we had removed all instances of the phrase "freefall self-supervision", or "self-supervision in freefall", but a few remain. It is my opinion that the phrase "self-supervision" is sufficient. Revisiting that verbiage might be a good idea.

I am leaving early for the weekend, but call me at the office next week. (800) 435-1975 I initiated some changes a while back to the SIM glossary (and I think to some specific areas of the SIM) regarding this terminology and what it means. It is always good to discuss things like this once in a while. Anyone else reading this, please check out the definitions and usage in the SIM and discuss it here. It is always good to get a number of opinions from experienced instructors about how this kind of thing is being applied in the field. Note: There is a definition for "self-supervision" too.

Domenic, I have been waiting eagerly to hear that you are skydiving again. You have been so helpful here on dropzone.com providing medical information to people in response to their questions. I want you to have as much fun skydiving as we are having. Perhaps you could desensitize yourself with certain amusement rides that provide a falling sensation, but I can't really think of another way. Your willingness to build your own device to provide this is impressive. I suppose that I am one of those people that are going to say that you just need to make those skydives, and the uncomfortable feeling will go away soon.

And thus didn't get an ounce of the positive press for the sport that Felix did. What is your definition of "positive press"? I think it is going to be difficult, if not impossible, to judge the benefits of either of these jumps to "the sport". It is my understanding that Joe Kittinger's record was a byproduct of government research, whereas the Baumgardiner and Eustace records were dome mainly to break records (although I am sure that something was learned in the process). What effects do "records" have on any sport?

My research (anecdotal evidence) has indicated that "increasing reluctance" is a good way to describe it, and that yes, it varies greatly with the particular FSDO. From the USPA February 5th, 2013 newsletter: FAA Issues Field Approvals Operators of skydiving aircraft occasionally report that their FAA local Flight Standards District Offices (FSDOs) will not issue field approvals for modifications (such as a jump door) to their aircraft. Some FSDO inspectors have reportedly said that the FAA no longer issues field approvals. USPA decided to investigate these reports. The day after Christmas, staff met with the manager of the Flight Standards maintenance division at FAA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Good news: The field approval process is alive and well. Comprehensive guidance relating to FAA field approvals is located in Order 8900.1, Volume 4, Chapter 9, Section 1, which can be found under the title Flight Standards Information Management System here.

One of the reasons that I have heard for using services like Groupon (and Skyride) is that many DZOs do not know anything about what to put on their web sites to attract the attention of search engines (and don't seem to care to learn), so they just give up and wait for business to come to them through Groupon and Skyride. This is a point made by James LaBarrie in one of his recent newsletters. Skyride has (without really meaning to) done the research on that for us. They have demonstrated that people are willing to pay much more for a tandem jump than most DZs are charging. Heck no, let's talk about it now! It's fun.

What was the "...damages to one of his aircraft at the facility reportedly cost him $300,000 to get repaired."?

Dumb question: How does anyone know that it is a PD ad? I must admit that I did not look at it too long. I didn't take the time to guess what the advertisement is about. The ad was wasted on me, but then again, I'm not the kind of person waiting around for the NCT.