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Start by lurking local TIs on the ground. After observing for a while, ask a few questions about why they do some things slightly differently than their colleagues. Watch them harness a dozen or more students, then ask them to teach you how. Most will welcome your help on a busy day ...... mind you, professional TIs still inspect student harness 2 or 3 more times ..... even if they were adjusted by another TI. Get your aircrew medical a few months ahead of time. Get the manual early and read it a couple of times. Learn how to pack tandems. Learn how to inspect common wear points. Frequent the tandem forum on www.dropzone.com. and watch as many tandem videos as you can. Read all the tandem accident reports.

Did you read it? Freedom of Information request for records. Records all glowing. Oh but we found mystical additional information. But, we aren't going to tell you what that is. But, that mystical additional information points to this...... What a load of crap.

100% bullshit.

I am very sorry for your loss.My condolences to his friends and family. That is very sad. Especially hearing the man filming worried about his son/daughter/spouse. Good for you for deciding to keep up with it to honor his memory, i agree that we do get a special bond with the person/coach that teaches you how to fly.

> Subject: Signs> > > *SIGN IN A SHOE REPAIR STORE IN VANCOUVER READs:*> We will heel you> We will save your sole> We will even dye for you.> > *A SIGN ON A BLINDS AND CURTAIN TRUCK:*> “Blind man driving.”> > *Sign over a Gynecologist's Office:*> "Dr. Jones, at your cervix.”> > *In a Podiatrist's office:*> "Time wounds all heels.”> > *On a Septic Tank Truck*:> Yesterday's Meals on Wheels> > *At an Optometrist's Office*:> "If you don't see what you're looking for,> You've come to the right place.”> > *On a Plumber's truck*:> "We repair what your husband fixed.”> > *On another Plumber's truck*:> "Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber.”> > *At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee *:> "Invite us to your next blowout.”> > *On an Electrician's truck*:> "Let us remove your shorts.”> > *In a Non-smoking Area:*> "If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and will take> appropriate action.”> > *On a Maternity Room door*:> "Push. Push. Push.”> > *At a Car Dealership*:> "The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment.”> > *Outside a Muffler Shop:*> "No appointment necessary. We hear you coming.”> > *In a Veterinarian's waiting room*:> "Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!”> > *At the Electric Company:*> "We would be delighted if you send in your payment on time. However,> if you don't, YOU will be de-lighted.”> > *In a Restaurant window:*> "Don't stand there and be hungry; come on in and get fed up.”> > *In the front yard of a Funeral Home*:> "Drive carefully. We'll wait.”> > *At a Propane Filling Station:*> "Thank Heaven for little grills.”> > *In a Chicago Radiator Shop:*> "Best place in town to take a leak.”> > *And the best one for last...;*> Sign on the back of another Septic Tank Truck:> “Caution - This Truck is full of Political Promises”

Hey there, There has always been the ability to view threads without logging in, there were always some sections which required one to login and I believe those are still behaving in that manner. Threads like Speakers Corner, Bonfire etc were login only sections.

Billy, if either of your kids behaved like you, you’d smack them. Wendy P.

Do you think you could try without the misogyny for like 24 hours at least? No commitments yet, just give it a spin and see how it feels, yeah?

Not any responsible dropzones. I'm going to be a bit more blunt. You appear to have a BMI of >40% and look to be middle-aged. Of concern is not only that you are over most of the maximum weight allowance for the gear (assuming the gear was rated for 300# - you would still be 70-80#s over counting gear weight); but that you would be extremely susceptible to injury on landing. Ankles, Knees, Back, etc are all the hydraulic mechanisms you're going to need to land. What are your thoughts about jumping off a 12' ladder? Several times? Because many students don't land well for awhile. Now, let's factor in heart. There is an enormous amount of adrenaline released before, during and after a jump. How's your cholesterol? Any heart issues? Don't think so? Maybe it's time to get a blood test for cholesterol and an echo. In some countries; you can't skydive without a medical certificate. I would encourage you to get a physical and talk to your Doctor about a life meal plan and cardiovascular exercise (40 minutes a day on some type of cardio machine along with the meal plan should help you to lose 100 lbs in about 10 months). Not only will you feel better and be healthier, but your confidence in your ability to jump will go up; while your propensity for injury will go down. . BIGUN - Anvil Brother Skydiving Team AB#2

He has always been a dirty lawyer. Even Stormy Daniels eventually saw through his bullshit. Karma's a bitch.

1) We need competition btw different manufactorers. It's vital for innovation. Innovative features a manufactorer develops, that are that good, will be copied/absorbed by the others - happens all the time. And so innovation is ongoing in order for the manufactorers to stay in the game. Also competition keeps prices in check I am assuming. As for innovation, especially Tonysuits seems to be flying at the moment. None of this will make suits do GR 7:1. We are at 3.5 :1 guys and we will probably stay there? But it will make suits easier to fly, easier to progress in, easier to deploy in, easier to perform in, easier to do acro in, etc etc. 2) The different vendors are differing quite a lot in customer service as said in this topic. Squirrel is outstanding and from experience I know they are in a class of their own. 3) Quality and durability is important for all the manufactorers and they are all good 4) Finally a given suit, flies as its testpilots prefer themselves to fly - and you feel that. So two suits from two manufactorers might look similar but in the air feels different; e.g. The Squirrel suits is all about efficiency in all aspects, PF tends to prioritize easy progression more and more forgiving flyingstyle. Especially the race suits shows this difference in how testpilots wants a suit to fly. A Squirrel CR+ is a crazy race machine, its built for the job and win's all the time, however it is probably not a suit I would take to the dropzone and use for fun bigsuit flocking. Other manufactorers have race suits that are more docile and friendly and thus might also be used on a daily basis. And so on. 5) A pilot invests in a new suit. He likes it no actually loves it. This suit is now "he best suit in the world" and nothing can be said to change that view - for some time. Demoing all suits in that class is very often not possible and so the pilot will vent his opinion and influence others about to purchase. Another pilot is somehow affiliated with a specific manufactorer and all his views is biased from a to z. In time, this pilot will become more open to other flavours and become more balanced, unless $$$ is involved ofcourse. Nof said.

We are both employed full-time-plus-overtime and have two small kids, and we live in Michigan, where our jump season is only 5-6 months long. So, we're limited in many ways and the course in June is just when Maxine will be rolling through at our home DZ. Update though: We went down to Start Skydiving in Middletown, OH on Saturday, and one of their coaches worked extensively with the wifey. After building up her confidence and teaching her a two-stage flare (Spectre 190), she nailed a stander upper.

The big issue for you will be gear - it will be difficult to find a dz that is willing to take/handle the added risk for the dz/instructors and you. It will likely be impossible to find one that has regular student gear with a canopy big enough to safely carry your weight and a big enough harness to fit your body, and to find instructors who can fall with you. How do you want to do your first jump? Tandem? Chances are very slim. Even though the rig will handle your weight alone, the combination of you and the tandem instructor may be too much. Plus it would be a lot of work for the instructor to handle the freefall; it would take a very experienced tandem instructor to do it safely, and it will likely cost you more than the standard rate. AFF? Possibly, again depending on gear, instructors and the dz's general attitude toward doing out of the ordinary student jumps. I have seen and heard of larger students using converted tandem gear on a non-tandem student jump. Again, this will cost you more than the average jumper since a rigger will have to do the conversion to make the rig suitable for a solo student jumper of your size, and your instructors will need to be experienced and big enough/skilled enough to fall fast enough to stay with you - at your weight you will fall MUCH faster than the average student and this takes much more skill on the part of the instructors. There is a possibility of doing a static line jump, again using a converted tandem rig, but very few dz's in California do static line anymore. Best advice I can give is to contact dz's close to you. Call around, or better yet go visit. Ask to speak with their chief instructor. Be prepared for a "no" but there IS a possibility. If the answers are no and you really want to do it, the folks at the dz's you check out can tell you what their weight limit is. I know it will take a while and a lot of work to get down to whatever maximum weight the dz has as far as the gear and instructors that can handle the weight. The goal is not to limit your ability to do things based on your weight - I'm sure you are pretty tired of that! The goal is for you and everyone involved to do it safely. Good luck! I hope you get to fly soon.

I too; at one time thought the Electoral College should be abolished. There's pros and cons for keeping it and for removing it. In my opinion, the reasons for keeping it weigh more heavily than for disbanding it. Advantages of the Electoral College 1. It requires a distribution of popular support. Because of the structure of the Electoral College, a President must receive national support to win an election. This promotes a healthy cohesiveness within the country because there must be a distribution of that support so that a majority of electoral votes can be received. Without this structure, a candidate would spend most of their time in large population centers campaigning because that’s where the popular vote would be won. 2. It gives minority interests a say in the election. Since a national level of support is required because of the Electoral College, minority causes, interests, and concerns are given a voice that reaches a national level. The votes of a small minority in a state can sway the difference in an election, especially since most states award all their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote. This allows a certain amount of leverage to be used during the election that may not be possible in general society otherwise. 3. It encourages political stability. The United States focuses on a two-party system because of the structure in the Electoral College. That doesn’t mean other political parties can’t get involved in the election. It just means most candidates that are elected will be either a Republican or a Democrat. The only independent candidate to be elected President in US history was George Washington. The last third-party candidate to win a state’s electoral votes was George Wallace in 1968. This means there is a reasonable certainty as to how the government will run, no matter which major party in the US winds up with the white house. 4. It maintains a system of national representation. The United States was founded on the idea that taxation without representation was unfair. It was part of the reason for the rebellion of the colonies in the first place. With the Electoral College, a general consensus can be maintained so the structure of the government and the independent political powers of each state and local government can continue existing. In national representation, each state and population district receives equal representation, in either the house or the senate, and that allows individual voters to still have a say in what happens. SOURCE: https://vittana.org/5-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-electoral-college (Five more reasons for keeping it)

Thanks for your comments. They do a good job of demonstrating that USPA should perhaps shift its priorities. However, there is so much attention given to safety oriented issues that I think most people would say that USPA is doing well in handling them. I do not specifically agree or disagree with this. It would be nice to hear from as many members as possible about this.