and the worst DZo award goes to :

[clustermagnet 0]

:(

https://www.facebook.com/groups/rwsnohomies/

Announcement:

I am sorry to announce that as of 7-5-12, wingsuiting will be suspended indefinitely at Skydive Snohomish.

Following months of research, review and collaboration with many members of the greater skydiving community, this decision has been made in the interest of maintaining high safety standards at Skydive Snohomish. Much progress was made in coming up with an acceptable procedure to accommodate existing operations and DZ specific variables. Some of the major issues that Snohomish faces which can't be easily changed right now are the two LZ set-up, up to 3 planes routinely operating at the same time, wingsuit flight paths over densely populated areas, the lack of comprehensive training and qualification, and the increased logistical workload it would take for DZ staff and the wingsuiting community to manage qualification, in-air separation and communication. I spend a great deal of time considering the skydivers and their ambitions, and the last thing I want to do is unnecessarily bridle anyone's passion for the sport or the discipline they choose to pursue. Individually, the above issues could probably be addressed, but as a whole they represent a safety risk that in good conscience, I can not support.

I'd like to thank Bob Folline for leading the effort in developing a plan and the rest of the wingsuiters that provided council, experience and ideas. The work that has been done will not be wasted and will contribute greatly to the work that USPA is doing to establish comprehensive training and valid experience qualifications. I know this news will be very disappointing for many people. I, too, am disappointed not to be able to see that work come to a positive result for all.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Tyson Harvey

[piisfish 135]

why worse DZO ?
he explains why he unfortunately has to suspend wingsuiting at the DZ. It seems that it is not a kneejerk reaction like there has been in other DZ's.

It is still sad that no solution has been found to keep th ebirds in the air.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[Squeak 17]

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why worse DZO ?
he explains why he unfortunately has to suspend wingsuiting at the DZ. It seems that it is not a kneejerk reaction like there has been in other DZ's.

It is still sad that no solution has been found to keep th ebirds in the air.

That's my take o nit too.
Well considered response to a safety concern the DZO has.
His backyard, his arse on the line, his rules.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[popsjumper 2]

Kudos to the DZO for how he handled it..

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Andy9o8 0]

What an asshole thread title. A fine tantrum, but otherwise totally out of line.

[davelepka 4]

...and the biggest asshole jumper award goes to.....

Let's see, the guy has up to 3 planes running at any one time, he provides 2 landing areas for the jumpers, and he took the time to both consult with local WS experts and then provide a logical and apolegetic explanation for the choice he made (an explanation that he didn't have to give).

Yeah, he sounds terrible. It's not like he flew a couple thousand loads in aircraft with timed out parts, or banned fun jumpers to get more tandems in the air, or killed a dozen students putting them out on mis-rigged static-line rigs, that stuff only gets you runner-up status at the worst DZO awards.

What a douche (hint- not talking about the DZO)

[BIGUN 1,052]

Spent quite a bit of time there in 2008-2009 (met Amazon, NWFlyer, mnkycndo and Roo)

In fact, the company I was running operated off the airport and I would stay in an RV on the airport while there on business.

Quite frankly, he went through quite a bit of analysis before making a well-informed decision.

He's got a smallish "expert" LZ in front of his hangar and a large student LZ off to the east.

He's probably prevented the first in-air collision of a student and a wing-suiter and ended the chain.

You think he wanted to tell an entire revenue segment that he could no longer service them?

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[mr2mk1g 10]

So... either jump elsewhere or work with the DZO to come up with a plan, which is acceptable to the DZO (the person filling out the paperwork if something goes wrong) which does overcome all the obstacles preventing safe wingsuit flight at this DZ.

If there is no way to overcome the issues then it's not safe - so the DZO's awesome for having just saved your ass and the asses of all your friends.

[obelixtim 100]

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Kudos to the DZO for how he handled it..

+ 1.

If every DZO considered things so well, there would prolly be an immediate drop in the incident rate.

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[DaVinciflies 0]

In my opinion you are way off beam here.

The DZO has done everything right and should be congratulated for following a logical investigation, using the data collected to make the safest decision and then communicating his decision so eloquently.

This is a template for how things should be done.

[-ftp- 0]

You're directing your anger at the wrong person. You act like the DZO just came one day and threw his arms up in the air and screamed "thats it! no more wingsuits!"

Come on man think about if for a minute, yeah your bummed out, but instead of crying about it try to contribute to a solution.

I can assure you calling him the worst DZO isn't going to do jack shit for you.

[rhanold 0]

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Kudos to the DZO for how he handled it..

+1

Nice, well thought out response to a safety issue which it sounds like he is still actively open for solutions on how to bring wingsuiting back.

[JohnRich 4]

So, would all of you have equal praise for a DZO that banned wingsuits, banned CRW, banned hook turns, mandated AAD's, banned wing-loadings above 1.5, banned full-face helmets, and mandated RSL's, all in the name of safety?

How far are you willing to go before you cry "foul"?

[-ftp- 0]

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So, would all of you have equal praise for a DZO that banned wingsuits, banned CRW, banned hook turns, mandated AAD's, banned wing-loadings above 1.5, banned full-face helmets, and mandated RSL's, all in the name of safety?

How far are you willing to go before you cry "foul"?

If the DZO wants to put himself out of business thats his problem isn't it?

Who are ANY of us to demand how someone else is to run their business?

[theonlyski 3]

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So, would all of you have equal praise for a DZO that banned wingsuits, banned CRW, banned hook turns, mandated AAD's, banned wing-loadings above 1.5, banned full-face helmets, and mandated RSL's, all in the name of safety?

How far are you willing to go before you cry "foul"?

I would go to a different DZ if it offended me that much.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[Joellercoaster 6]

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So, would all of you have equal praise for a DZO that banned wingsuits, banned CRW, banned hook turns, mandated AAD's, banned wing-loadings above 1.5, banned full-face helmets, and mandated RSL's, all in the name of safety?

Depends. Did he have good reasons, explore the alternatives and try to find other solutions before regretfully explaining to his customers what had driven him to this point, while leaving the door open if there was a better way?

Then, yes.

(I do all of those things at different times, so it's not just a case of I'm All Right Jack. Sometimes a DZO really does gotta do what a DZO's gotta do.)

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[JohnRich 4]

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Who are ANY of us to demand how someone else is to run their business?

So there is nothing to which you could ever possibly object about the way someone does business?
Got it.

But this ain't like grocery stores, where if you don't like one in your neighborhood, you just drive another mile to a different one. Drop zones are rather scarce, and a lot of people only have a choice of one within hours of where they live. So should they encourage the DZO to change his ways, or just give up the sport? I have this crazy idea that DZO's should be accepting of skydivers, in all their different flavors, since that's their business.

[Abide 0]

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Depends. Did he have good reasons, explore the alternatives and try to find other solutions before regretfully explaining to his customers what had driven him to this point, while leaving the door open if there was a better way?

i'll just say there is a lot more to this than just the email. a dz.com thread isn't going to help the situation and nobody who wants to still jump there is going to openly speak about it anyway lest they pour gasoline on an already burning bridge so i wouldn't be surprised if this is all the outside world will hear/know about the whole thing.

[billvon 2,396]

>So, would all of you have equal praise for a DZO that banned wingsuits, banned CRW,
>banned hook turns, mandated AAD's, banned wing-loadings above 1.5, banned
>full-face helmets, and mandated RSL's, all in the name of safety?

If he had worked hard to try to make all of those things work together and could not? Yes. Good for him for working hard to keep his DZ open and trying his best to keep it safe.

[Krip 2]

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Depends. Did he have good reasons, explore the alternatives and try to find other solutions before regretfully explaining to his customers what had driven him to this point, while leaving the door open if there was a better way?

i'll just say there is a lot more to this than just the email. a dz.com thread isn't going to help the situation and nobody who wants to still jump there is going to openly speak about it anyway lest they pour gasoline on an already burning bridge so i wouldn't be surprised if this is all the outside world will hear/know about the whole thing.

Hi Abide

We've already heard to much.

Bottom line the DZO has the right to allow whatever type of jumping at his DZ that he wants to. For what ever reason he chooses. Nothing personnel it's just business

There's another DZ less than 50 mi west from this one. Kapow west.

R.

[demoknite 0]

I agree the title is very unwarranted. Before clicking I thought it was going to refer to a DZ near a certain city where every goes for vacation.

[Squeak 17]

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So, would all of you have equal praise for a DZO that banned wingsuits, banned CRW, banned hook turns, mandated AAD's, banned wing-loadings above 1.5, banned full-face helmets, and mandated RSL's, all in the name of safety?

How far are you willing to go before you cry "foul"?

like a lot of you post John, they're Strawman arguments.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[CSpenceFLY 1]

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So, would all of you have equal praise for a DZO that banned wingsuits, banned CRW, banned hook turns, mandated AAD's, banned wing-loadings above 1.5, banned full-face helmets, and mandated RSL's, all in the name of safety?

How far are you willing to go before you cry "foul"?

Someone can cry foul all the way to their driveway. If I'm running a full blown,full service DZ and I wake up one morning and decide I've had enough of the skydivers BS ,sell all but the Cessna and only do tandems from now on. Everyone who doesn't like it could pretty much kiss my ass.

[riggerrob 558]

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>So, would all of you have equal praise for a DZO that banned wingsuits, banned CRW,
>banned hook turns, mandated AAD's, banned wing-loadings above 1.5, banned
>full-face helmets, and mandated RSL's, all in the name of safety?

If he had worked hard to try to make all of those things work together and could not? Yes. Good for him for working hard to keep his DZ open and trying his best to keep it safe.

...................................................................

Agreed!

In the skydiving game, it seems that DZOs are "damned if they and damned if they don't!"

Recently -on another thread - posters were complaining that USPA had no teeth and DZOs were not grounding enough people for stupid stuff.

Now the DZO of Snohomish grounds one group BEFORE they kill anyone, and a few people slander him.
Silly!
Hypocritical!

I respect his decision and will leave my wingsuit at home the next time I visit Snohomish.

[-ftp- 0]

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Who are ANY of us to demand how someone else is to run their business?

So there is nothing to which you could ever possibly object about the way someone does business?
Got it.

Object all you want, I would personally just go somewhere else and let the guy hang himself (if anyone would be stupid enough to ban all the things you gave as an example).