Luminous

WTF ? I had to give my view on this. NO ! If you can't afford to jump, stay on the ground. Or get a job. If you have a job, work some more hours. Or wait till you graduate and get a job that allows you to afford it. You want it NOW? Join the military like the military acadamy boys did, sure they get to jump subsidized by our taxes, in exchange for their service. That I consider a fair trade. But to expect USPA (aka: USPA MEMBERS) to pay your way, in part or in full. No way. "The future of skydiving" showing up with their hands out. How sad. BSBD Larry 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

You just never know, might be you could have gotten it for free. BSBD 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

Not skydiving related.

Since TequillaGirl is currently off her feet due to foot surgery, I gave her a call today and delivered lunch to her door. Whoops, I take it back, I brought food and had lunch with her, since when I tried the "I'd like to make you lunch" thing she said she'd just rather have a burger. Watching her hop around on one foot was entertaining though. Mend quickly Cyndi! 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

Hey Tiffany, Glad to hear that your husband's transplant went well and he is doing fine. Congrats on the classes too! Hell of a thing to deal with the transplant issue and still do so well in such difficult courses. Hopfully will see you when you get back in the air.

Is that lawn or mosh pit? Think they'll sell out?

I took the JM course simply to pass it as I had bet a couple of newly rated JM's at my DZ, who had let the ratings go to their head, that I could. Kinda like "well hell.... if Larry can get one...". I continue as a JM, (now Instructor ), because: I enjoy teaching someone something new. The look on the face of a first timer going to the door is priceless! Being there when it "clicks" for someone is AWSOME! I'll buy my own slot to jump with a lowtimer just as readily as I'll do an AFF jump. I don't JM full time, usually just 'as needed' by the DZ, so when they hand me money at the end of the day I always figure they want me to go get beer.

Girl on Santa's lap: ".... and I want a makeup kit, and a Barbie, and a GI Joe and...." Santa: "Wait now little girl, doesn't Barbie come with Ken?". Girl: "No, she only fakes it with Ken."

AMEN. Complacency Kills. BSBD "Dancers are considered insane by those that don't hear the music."

This is the key statement, (IMO). Your thinking about what you just did instead of what your about to do. You need to create yourself a mental "RESET" button. If something goes not as planned on the skydive, pause, "RESET", and continue with the skydive as planned. Deal with what went wrong in the debrief. You've got a limited amount of time each jump, don't waste by debriefing, you can do that on the ground. And once on the ground you've got about 15seconds to berate yourself, (if necessary), then it's on to the next skydive.

pssssst.... guess who daughter is going to end up looking like ?? 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

Yeah! Nevermind your 8000 jumps. (sorry slotperfect, I couldn't help it. ) Charging to signoff a student's card is ludircrous ! I don't see how some people sleep. I feel kinda guilty when I jump with people and they insist on covering my slot. (Well, besides the actual AFF jumps.) What DZ was this Josh? (just curious and understand if you'd rather not say.). BSBD 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

I'll tell you later. 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

Wind Tunnel. If you can, try taking a tunnel session with a coach. There are several people/groups that offer coaching packages in the tunnel, and even the staff are excellent coaches if you decide to go solo. The advantages of tunnel training are proven. (Note the recent medaling of teams with tunnel training). And price wise it's almost cheaper than accumulating the same amount of freefall time. It's just that you have to lay down that big wad all at one time. BSBD 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

This is exactly why DZO's should not be on the BOD. The BOD should represent the base membership, (aka: jumpers), not the group membership. My Opinion. BSBD Larry 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

No one has questioned the statement that his submission was edited. And as several post on this thread show, that's allowed according to the governance manual. His contention that the meaning of his statement was altered has not been subsequently backed up with proof, although several request have been made for him to post the original for comparision. And any "inquisition" that you may feel Don is going through is of his own making. Nobody really cared one way or the other until it got to the point of possibly costing us money. "Most Excellent Entertainment" for Treetop at the expense of the USPA membership. That being said, (again), I'm going to refrain from further comments to his repeated arguments here and in recdot. BSBD 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

Latest from the Houston Chronicle..... By TERRY KLIEWER Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Waller County deputies continued an air and ground search today for the body of a Clear Lake area man who apparently dove out of the small plane he had been co-piloting west of Houston on Sunday. Waller County Sheriff Randy Smith said the search for the body of Russell Filler, 47, of the 14,600-block of Graywood Grove, resumed at daylight across a broad area of rice fields and pasture land south of Prairie View. Filler was flying in a Cessna 152 at about 9,000 feet when he turned the controls over to the instructor accompanying him on the flight and suddenly leaped out of the cockpit at about 1:45 p.m., Smith said. The sheriff said Filler left behind no note and said nothing out of the ordinary to his flight instructor before the incident. "The instructor had looked away for a moment, then heard a noise and looked back to see the guy's feet disappearing out the door," the sheriff said. The instructor, from a flight school at Hooks Airport in northwest Harris County where the flight originated, was co-piloting the flight so that Filler could update certain aspects of his pilot's license, the sheriff said. The instructor flew the plane back to Hooks and talked with authorities shortly afterward. According to Smith, he told investigators that Filler had turned control of the plane back over to him and asked him to bank the plane sharply so that he could see the ground better. Said Smith, "He told the instructor he needed to get a better view of the land for taking pictures his next time up. When he looked away briefly, he (the instructor) heard a bump -- that was the seat belt hitting the side of the plane, we guess -- and saw him go out of the plane." Filler apparently unfastened his seat belt and opened the cockpit door in the brief time the instructor looked away, the sheriff said. Smith said investigators visited Filler's Clear Lake area home and talked with his employer, United Space Alliance, a NASA contractor, but learned nothing so far that suggested a motive for the man's action. The search for Filler's body was focused on an area of roughly 20 square miles, bounded on the north by U.S. 290 Business, on the east by FM 359, on the south by Brumlow Road and on the west by FM 362. Smith said the instructor didn't see where Filler's body fell but believed he was approximately over that area, just south of Prairie View, when the incident happened. Authorities were using a helicopter and searching on foot. 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

Wendy was rocking long before you or I picked up a rig. She started young. (backpedaling) Hi Wendy. Enjoying the new gear?

I dunno Derek, I read..... (we're all going on what we read/heard/suppose)..... that he was a licensed pilot with a medical condition that didn't allow him to solo, (conditionally licensed?), thus he was flying with an instructor. The pilot in the left seat stated they were both strapped in at takeoff. He also stated he heard a 'bump' and looked to see the guys legs leaving. He had been concentrating on the instruments while performing a steep turn. I wonder who suggested this manuver? could it have been right seat dude wanting the aircraft at that angle to assist his exit? (at this point I'm assuming it was a steep right turn). When right seat dude exited the aircraft, left seat dude notified authorities via radio prior to returning to Hooks. Doesn't seem like something one would do for 'bandit' jump. I'm thinking suicide. As for finding the body, the pilot wasn't exactly sure where he was when the dude exited. And as mentioned, we've had some screaming uppers here lately. They've got a wide area to search. I'm just glad he didn't land on somebody else. BSBD 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

This is going to sound stupid but it works with my students. Pretend you have a quarter that your going to hold in your butt cheeks. SQUEEZE those cheeks, and relax the upper body. A lot of the time your arching at the chest without realizing it. Your about 3 inches taller than me and a tad lighter, but you should be able to get a pretty decent fall rate going. Eventually you will probably have to strap on some weights as HooknSwoop suggest. This will allow you to fall without maxing your arch all the time. If your always at max arch, everytime you go to transition you "pop up" a little bit. BSBD 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

Hi, Talk to your rigger about the feasability of installing front riser loops. Pulling down on both front risers makes the canopy 'bite' into the wind, increasing your rate of desent, this allows you to pick up speed for flaring without having to hook it. You can perform the same actions without the loops but it's a lot harder to pull on the risers. Added: oh yeah, please talk this over with an experienced jumper at your DZ before trying it. Have fun, Be safe.

I've stated before that this is no excuse for someone to reply to a post flaming the poster. If you think that a post is a troll, the best response is no response at all. That is unless your in one of the forums that beg a reply to such a post (TALK BACK). BSBD Larry 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

And inside grippers on the legs !!! That's also a "must have". Have fun! 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

Yup, Kiss of Death. And it's always those that don't have to be at work that suggest it. Now that avatair fits. 'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

It's sounds like you don't understand that Mr. Hajazi was not the intended target in this strike. His demise is due solely to the people with which he chose to associate. I'm outta this thread.