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Just in case you are looking for a non-technical and empirical answer- Sometimes an articulated harness that is a bit small for the jumper (design-wise) may still feel OK.

Here is the results of some research I have done. Although I do not have a digital scale, the 2009-2010 IRM weighs incredibly close to 2 pounds. (This might be the first of one of the reasons people do not understand why shipping is so much.) Any type of packaging is going to take the weight to over 2 pounds, which as we know, is 3 pounds to UPS and FedEx. The envelopes used to send me things from USPA HQ lately have been the envelopes padded with the stuff that looks like lint or fluffed up ground paper. This definitely takes it to over 2 pounds. The IRM will NOT fit in a USPS Priority Mail Flate Rate Envelope, so Priority Mail (assuming 2 pounds 2 ounces) with Delivery Confirmation would be $8.85. UPS (with delivery confirmation included) would be $8.71 to a Commercial address and $10.81 to a Residential address (which I think USPA would need to assume). Shipping from zip code 63301 (St. Louis area) to 22407 (Fredericksburg). If anyone's research comes up with something better, by all means tell USPA HQ about it.

By all means contact USPA headquarters and tell them how to do it. Or contact one of your BOD members and let them pass on the info. Mine is only one opinion from one business owner. (not an EBay business.)

I feel your pain, but as the owner of a company that ships products of similar size and weight... Trying to figure out what to charge people for shipping products is a never ending and time consuming mess. If a company offers on-line ordering they don't have much choice except to average out the shipment costs to a wide variety of locations, and then set the price so they don't lose money. If you live on the west coast it's probably a deal, for those in the east, it sucks. Some companies jack up the price of their products and then offer free ground shipping. (That always give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.) If you want shipment by air (expedited), then bend over. Way over. (Not a warm and fuzzy feeling.) To make this issue a bit more palatable, you might go to to FedEx and UPS web sites and use their features that allow to you estimate shipping costs. USPA headquarters could perhaps be doing it a bit better, but probably not a lot better. My guess is that USPA normally uses FedEx Ground because it gives a decent overall shipping speed for the cost. My other guess is that most of the USPA documents ordered should have been ordered long before they were, and this method of shipments helps the more tardy skydivers. (Present company excepted of course.)

More info please...

What is this really about? I would be happy to contact Red and encourage him to contact you, however, the "John Doe" in your profile is not sufficient to make that happen. I have had various people over the years complain that it is difficult to contact people at Flight Concepts at times, so I understand a certain amount of frustration on your part. However, if you really want to contact someone, there will always be a way.

Almost any direction jump run can work in certain conditions if everyone understands it and doesn't second guess the pilot/spotter, or if someone has control over it, like the DZO saying, "We are doing it this way, period." But skydivers can be stupid about such things, so sometimes it is better just to keep things simple, even if it is not ideal.

Good point, and I feel about the same way. I try to avoid acronyms. I just tell them to relax, check their altimeter, and check with each of their instructors (if 2 are used.) Unfortunately, there is an unending flow of acronyms, created by people who are eager to create something "new", whether or not it is an improvement.

Mark, why do you think that? (BTW, I have no particular preference.)

So, you approve? Disapprove? (Sorry, I can't answer your question.)

Hey, national skydiving organizations are lobbyists, right? Lobbying to protect the sport from excess government regulation is the most important thing they do. Generally we don't mind when they do that well.

Over the weekend there was a discussion about the quality of the skydiving instruction "product" that is being provided at the drop zone, specifically, to people who have just become licensed. (The purpose of this topic is not to bring up safety issues. For every type of skydiving that we provide instruction or recommendations, we must include safety information specific to it.) Some questions are... How far does the "product" extend? How far should it extend? If the DZ has an agreement with a group like Skydive University (only one example) the entity providing the "product" may abruptly switch from the DZ to Skydive U. My preference is to ask people around the time they are becoming licensed, "Where do you want to take this skydiving thing? What do you want to do from here?" And then hopefully I can provide them some guidance about how to do that. We (the industry/the sport) sometimes speak of people getting their license and then wandering around wondering what to do next. Is this because we have trained them in a manner that discourages them thinking for themselves and knowing how to go about getting information about what they want to do after being licensed? Some drop zones provide additional programs for newly licensed skydivers with specific goals. However, if we do that, are we trying to built skydivers in the image of ourselves to the detriment of encouraging new ideas from open minded novices?

Sure, I have made a bunch of parachutes for research projects, but not for humans to jump. If you think "test drop" rather than "test jump", then people won't look at you like you are crazy. http://www.pcprg.com/testdrop.htm If you have a side door plane like a Caravan or Otter you give the DZO a few extra bucks for a low pass, and you can use static line deployment without much risk having anything near the tail. (Be careful anyway and get some advice from someone who knows about S/L.) You can create a load out of something like a milk crate and weights, and then the parachute can be a smaller scale model and easier to make.

That's a good question. I have that experience using experienced jumpers acting as students. I don't think it is as safe as static line, and I don't think it is as safe as having the student sitting in the door, (for S/L or IAD). My comment was mainly that the video did not include anything that scared me. But it is difficult to scare me about some things.

I didn't see anything scary either. I wouldn't do it like that with a King Air....

Actually he doesn't, but you would need to know JP personally to know that. He simply has some strong feelings on this subject. Understanding your student is key to this whole process. JP and I assume the student wants to learn, and if it makes them too nervous or they have doubts, we just go with what works for them. Other tandem instructors assume it is a carnival ride, and therefore, it is. You see, a lot of this has to do with trying to overcome the prevailing attitude that a tandem jump is a carnival ride. So many tandem jumps have been done as carnival rides that a tandem student is likely to think that is all there is to it. Think of all the prospective students that have watched their friend's carnival ride tandem on video. They have no idea that tandem jumping can be much more. Sometimes we need to do a little bit of work and educate them that it can be more than that. I can't tell you how many tandem students of mine that have been amazed (and delighted) that they are allowed to do a lot on the jump, especially compared to what their friend told them they did on theirs. Tom Noonan, Tandem Director at Strong Enterprises, tells the story of why he continued to skydive. Because his instructor's training on his first jump, (a tandem), gave him the confidence that he could do the things necessary to continue. I hope this explains JP's attitude from a different perspective.

As we say in the PCPRG, "One test is worth a thousand opinions." One reason people have difficulty with this is that they assume that an object in the wind is going the same speed as the wind. Would a feather be at the same speed? No arguments there. Would a helium balloon? Pretty damn close. But would a parachute with a load? Nope. Also, the heavier the object, the longer it takes to get to approximately the speed of the wind (equilibrium). During this time, the speed differential is even greater that before it reaches its equilibrium, and it is during this time that much of the downwind turning will occur.

So what kind of stuff have you seen? And importantly, has it hindered learning or caused a reduction in safety?

Nice design! With some work I think this could be perfected. Sliders are subject to a lot of violent forces, so of course, some of the mechanical issues of a design more complicated than a plain slider will need to be worked out. We tend to think of that rectangular thing we see as we look up on opening, but there is a short period of time before that where various parts of the slider are in contact with the (vibrating) lines, and can get friction burned and other things.

At your dz: 1.what is the seating config for LV 1 w/video in a 182? Video person back to dash, student behind pilot facing rear, right side instructor facing rear in video persons "lap". 2.How do you teach COA's & short circles? The first time after exit, wait for instructors to have time to look at body position and give hand signals, and then nod yes, after that, just tell them to glance in direction of instructors. 3. what is the hard deck for Lv1? & Pull priorities? On right side we want to see student or instructor pull by 4000. Any lower and the instructors and video wind up opening lower than we like. Left side instructor pull by 3500 if things are really going that badly. 4. What is the decision altitude? For any instructional method? 2000 or 2500. As long as they have an altitude in their mind and know not to go below it. 5. Would ever have a LV 1, 2 or 3 student next to an open door with out a grip or restraint? No it doesn't bother me in a C182. It takes enough effort and time for the student to get out that it is easy to get a grip. In a larger aircraft, it depends on the student. "Know your student."

Both my newer and older Talon have the end of the cable housing 5-6 inches from the flap grommet, so this is impossible unless there was a leftover old seal there or the seal thread was incredibly long. I can see how some manufacturer in the past designed their rig with the cable housing way too close to the grommet, and I can see how this might have happened in the past under normal conditions, but not now. Manufacturers know better now. Duh'Oh Edited after I was reminded that the Racer has the cable housing very close to the grommet.

That's what I do too, and here is a somewhat non-scientific explanation of why I think it works. (Well, it has worked for me so far.) Under canopy we are used to a certain amount of wind in our face. If we feel a stronger wind than that while standing on the ground, it means we might be coming straight down on landing, or perhaps backing up, and this makes us uncomfortable enough to not jump.

I have 2 custom order rainbow canopies and no one has called me that yet.

Yeah, and notice how this student said, "...and am more focused on the techniques and little signals." Maybe fewer of these "little signals" would be a good idea. Maybe that "lock-on" stuff isn't really helping.

Heck, yeah, all sorts of them in the 80's and 90's, but my feet get cold now so it's not so fun.