Nerra

That car wash guy is getting paid what? $10/hr and is just worried about getting the car clean enough to drive off into the sunset. The rigger has worked to earn a FAA certificate and is responsible for INSPECTING and packing that pile of parts you just ordered. Would you want it put together (assuming all new parts) by someone just worried about getting it done to move on, or would you want someone who will take the time, do it right and possibly find the lines that aren't bartacked? Oh, and that whole thing is a life saving device EVERY TIME YOU USE IT. A dirty car is hardly on the same scale. Then there's the fact that if something happens involving your gear, the FAA may be digging all up in the ass of that rigger, even if they hadn't fucked anything up. Bitching about $60 for an A-I-R is pretty shallow. Especially since I know riggers across the country may already be charging more. Read the original post, you missed the point.

No. I am simply correct. There is no pedantry in it. It IS disposable income. Negative. You inferred that all on your own. Which I hope you understand is completely irrelevant to the discussion. The $60 in free services you requested is how other people make their living. Just as you worked hard for your $7000 in disposable income, these people are also working hard. Your working hard does not supersede their working hard. It is, obviously in my opinion, that it is improper to ask other people to work hard for you for free. Some people might disagree with that, but I think it's a douchy thing to do. WHY? Because people ask me to work for free quite a bit. I'm sorry, but my efforts and time aren't free. It's disrespectful of the knowledge I have and the services I provide. It's something the people asking me to do for free can't even begin to do for themselves, yet they've valued my knowledge and time at nothing. Sorry, but you will not now, nor ever, get any sympathy from me over this issue. Well you've obviously got an axe to grind, maybe you work for this company or the lady is your partner/friend. Your last response tells me that you've completely missed my point, the one I specifically pointed out, that I was not asking a rigger to do this for free. I was asking the corporate company with whom I spent a large sum of money to cover the cost of a reserve pack in return for my loyalty. I honestly didn't think that was an unreasonable request. In any other business, asking for a 0.85% discount wouldn't be classed as unreasonable. In skydiving it seems it is.

Nah, but then maybe we have different ideas of what we consider insulting. I've had riggers do things for me for free. I have never once expected it and always offer to pay for their time, even if it's just a few minutes. By quoting only the last part of my response you've taken it out of context. No one expects the the car wash guy to work for free, the insulting bit was the dealer implying that you were asking their car wash guy to work for free instead of seeing the bigger picture.

Heh, pal, you have no idea. Seriously. Then perhaps you need to revisit terms in an economic dictionary. Unless you are a professional skydiver, then skydiving is a 100% completely optional part of human existence. Money spent on skydiving gear by amateurs comes from the disposable part of their income. Speaking pedantically, you are correct however the tone of your response implied that $7000 was pocket change for me, which I can tell you that it is not. Maybe my original post implied that it was. I'm saying now that it is not, it's more money than I have spent on any single purchase in my life including my car.

It's a completely different organisation. Spending $50,000 and asking the dealer for a free car wash before picking up your car up would be a more accurate analogy. If they then turned round and said to you that you shouldn't expect their car wash guy to work for free, would you not be insulted?

Yes. You just admitted you have (or at least had) $7000 in completely disposable income. You are a fortunate individual. It is particularly douchy to flaunt that in the faces of people and ask for "free" services from people who work hella hard to provide a service that saves people's lives. Think about what you just wrote next time you request or are offered something at less than full asking price. Yes I spent $7000 - I wouldn't call it disposable income, more like a solid two years of really hard work, saving and sacrifice. Assuming that I'm wealthy because I bought a new rig is a pretty douchy thing to do.

Over the last month I've spent over $7000 at a popular online skydiving store and paid full retail price on every item. Naturally I asked for a little bit of a discount at the end. The curt response I received was that they absolutely cannot do any discounts due to rules set by the manufacturers. I accepted that and then asked if they would be willing to cover the reserve pack job. At $60 that would equate to less than 0.85% discount on the total purchase. Well... you would think I was asking for this woman's first born! She went off on one telling me how she doesn't get free reserve pack jobs even though she works there and how I shouldn't be trying to take money away from the riggers. Hopefully it's obvious to everyone else that I wasn't expecting a rigger to do it for free and that I was asking the store to cover it. I'm pretty sure the full $60 doesn't go to the rigger so the real cost to the store is even less. Was my request unreasonable?

whoa! hold on now! you were going great till that last little part! the risks with downsizing rapidly and getting into high performance landing are greatly increasing your chance for dying compared to trying a new trick on a snowboard or hitting a new ramp. i rode bmx(street and skateparks) for 14 years. never have i experienced a jump as high or speeds as great as one of my hp landings. you won't get hurt as often skydiving as some of the other extreme sports but you can't afford even 1% of the mistakes skydiving as compared to other sports. We're talking downsizing here, not HP landings. In my mind they are very different things. Someone may choose to down size to get a little more performance and a slightly faster landing, that's different to pilot induced performance i.e swooping. And for arguments sake, here is the BMX equivalent of swooping :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aSpdpOdPeg

Honestly not trying to be an ass: Is a 1.5 wing loading on a Katana at 400 jumps really what people are considering conservative these days? While it certainly isn't the most aggressive downsizing I've ever seen, I wouldn't call it conservative by any stretch. I think it's just another sign of the times of what people's definitions of what "conservative" and "aggressive" are. Besides missing the sarcasm I think your observation still stands. What I would say is that this mentality isn't exclusive to skydiving. If you look at any action sport now, people are doing in year one what others took 10 years to do initially. For example back flipping a motorcycle used to be a huuuuuuge deal and only done by a very select few. Now it's a warm up stunt for freestyle riders. Another example is snowboarding and the size of the jumps that regular people and kids are doing very early on. It's a combination of more advanced equipment, access to better coaching and information and then the 4 minute mile phenomenon. What I do find very different in Skydiving compared to other action sports is how people are very discouraging of anyone trying to push things a little and are just waiting for the opportunity to say "I told you so". Again, using snowboarding as an example, if you tell your buddies that you're feeling ready to step up, they will normally encourage you and then if you happen to mess up and break your arm or leg, they say, "props for going for it", not "I told you so". And before someone chimes in with "this is skydiving, you could die", we're talking about canopy control. Yes there is a chance you could die trying to land a canopy but no more than other action sports.

I had a Spectre and then now I have a Storm. I would say the reviews and feedback are accurate. I would also say they glide better, it's actually pretty impressive for a 7 cell especially when using the rear risers. Have you thought about the Safire 2? I'm almost certain this will be my next canopy after hearing some great reviews. They are known to have very soft openings and then obviously the benefits of a 9 cell.

I'd be hesitant to tell someone who is still learning the basics to do a final in brakes.

This!

As long as they are a representative of the DZ (the time period they are employed/contract for) they the DZO has a vote. Make hay on your own time with your own customers. I am sick and tired of the rampant unprofessional behavior in this industry. It's cost all of us money. One horny weekend wonder has a fling and breaks some tandem student's heart, and next thing you know all her friends go to the "other DZ". The same will be happening at the 'other DZ' so it all balances out in the end.

Interested to know people's accounts of how quickly or aggressively they down sized canopy. Please, this is not a thread for people to start preaching the dangers of downsizing. We are not all created equal and different folks are willing to take more risks than others. To some this is silly but to the majority, jumping out of a plane in the first place is just plain stupid (let's not forget that). Let's hear your downsizing story (good or bad).

Nice shoot. For the record, I've only just read the original thread and it came across as a perfectly normal request. People who create racial issues out of nothing are as bad as racists in my opinion.

I did my AFF at Skydance. It was a great experience. The locals were super friendly from day one and the training very extensive. Their $2k A licence deal is very reasonable if you look around. They are normally closed on a Monday and Tuesday.