chutingstar

4-year Cypres service is $160 plus shipping to/from SSK in Ohio. Battery cost is $79, installed by SSK during the check. Any work done by Airtec in Germany is not extra unless it was rigger/jumper damage. Not sure what you are referring to as for the $105 extra. Was extra work done above and beyond the service, inspections and repacks? Hope the Cypres service pricing helps... Mike ChutingStar.com

The 2004 Dolphins have a tuck flap on the bottom side of the reserve flap that tucks under the final reserve flap, protecting the pin. This reserve pin cover flap could be installed on this Dolphin along with closing the rig in a side/side, pilot chute, bottom, top, manner... Mike ChutingStar.com

Hey Levin, I don't agree with the stickers and signs on a competitors gate...that's not cool, if that happened, and I hope it never does again. All it does is get everyone mad...and absolutely doesn't help as far as advertising. As for the phone call with "Mr. Sparks," again, I hope that was resolved and will not happen again. I understand your concerns...and we'll agree to disagree on some of your characterizations and allegations. Again, there are a LOT of good things going on with ASC, Skyride, etc. And there are other things that I hope are improved or corrected. For the things that I have any bit of say-so or control over, I am working to make even better. If you want to focus blame on me, that's fine. I'll do what I can while operating a rigging loft, managing the staff and helping out all of our first-time and exprienced jumpers. Mike ChutingStar.com

Let's do it! Chris Welker Woohoo! More Rigger "Rant and Rave" articles for everyone to learn from...thanks! Mike ChutingStar.com

Nice... Mike ChutingStar.com

Hey Levin, Just wanted to get back to you about your post directed at me. So I'll answer your questions, or give comments on what you posted. I'm not reposting your comments, so the following answers/comments may seem scattered, but I'm just going down your list. You asked if I am the manager of Atlanta Skydiving Center. I am the staff manager. I oversee staffing, experienced jumper events, safety issues, student training, gear sales, onsite customer service, forums, newsletter etc. I don't manage the entire operation, just the skydiving/staff portion. I don't know who cyberskydive is. Signs/stickers for different drop zones are all over Atlanta and routinely are stuck over competitors. I've seen Thomaston signs over Cedartown, Cedartown over Monroe, Monroe over Cedartown, etc. I have been friends with Ben and Cary since I started skydiving in Ellijay in 1995 and enjoy hanging out with them, working with them and skydiving with them. They are not "parasites." Chutingstar DOES provide great rigging services while treating our customers well and I do give a damn about what's best for the sport. I routinely work 15+ hour days in the loft just to make sure all of our experienced jumpers are up and safely jumping when they want to be. I do make a living in skydiving, but it's not "all about the money" as you suggest. If you spent any time with me and my fellow staff-members at ASC, you would know that immediately...from the free AFF side-video to the late night ground help for A and B licenses to the plain "helping hand" attitude at ASC toward everyone that walks through the door. I've read the article published in Skydiving Magazine about ASC's web sites. Truffer's conclusion, in my memory, is that the company is aggressively marketing itself. As a side note, if images have been improperly used, I hope that will be taken care of soon. As to all the stories from Sandor Vali, I will take him at his word on this "Mr. Sparks" and hope that the issue has been resolved. His claims on 24 other times seem extreme and unsupported. This type of booking confusion doesn't help anyone and I hope the booking is done more carefully in the future by Skyride. At the same time, since Sandor seems so ready to tout his bad experience with ASC, I would like to share numerous bad experiences with Sandor's Georgia Skydiving Center over the past two years...and I am hard pressed to feel comfortable sending anyone there to skydive. This includes skydives sold as Accelerated Freefall student training jumps done with unrated skydivers. We've had several such instances where we had to help the unsuspecting skydiver through REAL AFF jumps later on after making numerous illegal AFF jumps in Rome. Through Skydivegear.com, the ASC gear sales company, I helped several Rome skydivers last year whose money was taken by the Rome DZ for gear that was never delivered. I ended up getting these customers into gear at our cost. These customers paid for and ordered gear from the Rome DZ, but never received it...and were told they wouldn't receive it since the money was gone. And lastly, I continually have corrected shoddy rigging work from that DZ. Many of my stories on the Rigger "Rant and Rave" come from riggers who have worked at that DZ...and I have fixed alot of those errors for free. Sandor has been nothing but a nice guy to me in the past, but he seems to have forgotten quickly about his own DZ as he casts stones toward ASC and Skyride. There was a sign issue in Alpharetta, but I don't know the details. I'm not a part of the physical advertising, but I'm glad there are signs out there. When I was a drummer for a band in Seattle for several years in the late '80s and early '90s, I religiously posted band stickers, signs, flyers, etc. on telephone poles, bathrooms, venues...you name it. I wanted people to come out and enjoy the music...and it helped...kind of a grassroots advertising. This is the same kind of stuff and I guess I am a skateboarder/musician at heart and don't see a problem with it. With all that being said, I don't always agree with everything Ben and Cary do. But then again, I don't know anybody I agree with 100% of the time...even myself. I make mistakes, do things that I later regret or get in a bad mood from time-to-time. There are so many good things happening with Skyride, ASC, and other associated businesses. That is what I focus on and that is what I strive to make better. There are so many Skyride students that enjoy their skydive/overall experience and come back for more. There are so many great staff members and experienced jumpers at ASC just having a good time everyday, enjoying life and helping each other out. I take pride in what Chuting Star Rigging Loft has become and the service I provide as well as the safety articles I write for the entire skydiving community. Skydivegear.com provides great gear at low prices with great customer service. I make zero to very little money selling gear, but I love to see customers in new, safe gear. And I've called Atlanta Skydiving Center home since 1997. I started there as a fun jumper, 4-way competitor and packer...and have never looked back. Mark Shimell was the first AFF student to graduate at ASC....and is still a spaz to this day. I take pride in that ASC started as a Cessna 182 DZ on some packing mats on the grass by the runway in Cedartown and we now have this huge two-story structure with a Super Twin Otter, Mirage student gear, Sigma tandem gear, fulltime rigging/gear sales and we fly every single day. And I love all of the people I jump with, work with and hang out with...I wouldn't have it any other way. And I will continue making Chutingstar, Skydivegear and ASC the best it can be. I'm very excited about the upcoming 2-way belly competition I'm organizing with Tyler Lawson this Saturday as we get our A, B and C Licensed skydivers jumping together and getting better. I've also been working hard on the events calendar for 2005 at ASC. This is going to be one heck of a great year at ASC! I invite you come jump with me sometime soon. Take care...it's time to get some sleep, Mike ChutingStar.com

I don't know if Benny is on the forums tonight, but he has apologized to me for the comments/accusations he posted and I believe he has apologized to Sangiro privately. You could have held your breath...it didn't take long. Mike ChutingStar.com

Darren Wendel at Sewing Machine Sales was the key...had all the parts I needed. Whew...now I can get back to using that beast. Thanks for the help, Mike ChutingStar.com

Thanks Sunny...or just send me their contact info and I'll hunt it all down. I really appreciate it. Mike ChutingStar.com

I'm in need of the bobbin winder spindle for a Singer 7-33. Parts #60215, 60214 and 11107, I believe, as well as thread guide #11937. Does anyone have extra 7-33 parts...or know of a good resource who can help out? My local sewing machine shop is having trouble locating the parts...and I can't wind any bobbins! Thanks for any help you can provide, Mike ChutingStar.com

Hey Levin, I have about 25 rigging items to complete before the weekend, so give me a few days to get that work done and then I'll respond to your post as requested. Cheers, Mike ChutingStar.com

Were you really looking for a gift certificate or just trying to see what you could get a Skyride operator to say when you pushed them to talk about a business that doesn't accept the certificates? The people who work there deal with enough phone calls that they can tell the difference between a real customer looking to make that first skydive and an experienced skydiver digging for dirt. Do you think it's at all possible the operator may have known you weren't a real customer? Regardless, if what you say is a word-for-word transcript of your phone call and the operator thought you were a real customer, then that's not cool. There is obviously a better way to sell the skydiver-to-be a first skydive and avoiding talk about dropzones not on the 1-800-SkyRide network. If those comments by the operator are true and the operator thought you were a real customer, talking about another dropzone in that way won't help sales or make the skydiver-to-be feel confident or safe about making a skydive...anywhere...and that operator won't make many sales and won't be working there long. Mike ChutingStar.com

Atlanta Skydiving Center is hosting a 2-way belly RW competition on Saturday, Dec. 11. The rules will mirror the USPA Collegiates format. The competition is geared toward A, B and C license holders. Each 2-way team will get a coach/videographer that will help engineer the dive and provide video. There will be three rounds. The first round will be wheels up at 9 a.m. Numerous prizes will be given away to the top 3 teams. We have gear discount certificates from Bev Suits, Performance Designs, Aerodyne, Skyventure Orlando, Skydivegear.com and Chuting Star Rigging Loft. Free jumps will also be awarded from Atlanta Skydiving Center and free gloves from the National Skydiving League. Cost is $80 for each competitor, which includes the jumps, coaching, video and judging. Those interested can register with me or just show up on Dec. 11. For more info, see the Skydiver Forums on the ASC web site at the link below. See ya, Mike ChutingStar.com

Gee, maybe it's because the number of these "issues" are small and far inbetween compared to the number of happy and satisfied customers that do business with www.1800skyride.com. Unhappy customers, issues with business operations and mistakes are a part of just about any business. Those that stay in business figure out how to minimize or eliminate those issues, increase customer satisfaction and correct mistakes. But don't let www.1800skyride.com in on that. Mike ChutingStar.com

TJ Landgren will have his contact info...you can contact Skydive Arizona to talk to TJ. Mike ChutingStar.com

slotperfect chutingstar Wouldn't miss it...lots of good rigging information. Mike ChutingStar.com

Hey Shane, I have pins in stock and can take care of that if you're out here this weekend... Mike ChutingStar.com

You can rent Cypres units from SSK at $2 a day. Some larger drop zones/rigging lofts have similar programs. Mike ChutingStar.com

Yes, please stop doing business with me. I could use a little vacation from the work since I tend to work 15-hour days, 7 days a week. But please don't explain why you are not doing business with me, I'm really not interested nor do I have time to listen to those type of comments. But for those who want high-quality rigging work and/or high-quality gear at fair prices or even one heck of an AFF/Tandem Instructor, I'll see you tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day... Mike ChutingStar.com

But we've never had a problem with turnout, you geek! By the way, Tyler has setup a bracketed playoff system for this swoop comp...head to head battles on distance, accuracy, freestyle...winner of each matchup advances to the next round with a new opponent. Should be interesting. And it's been raining the past two days, so the pond is full. Woohoo! See you out there, Mike ChutingStar.com

Well, I'm just partially losing my mind...these night jumps are actually scheduled for the following week/weekend when there is a full moon...just getting ahead of myself. Welcome to my world. Mike ChutingStar.com

Here's the scoop on the Atlanta Skydiving Center $12.50 Lift Ticket Boogie. TJ Landgren will be available for Freefly organizing and coaching all weekend while Mike Gruwell will be available for Relative Work organizing and coaching. Free Performance Designs demo canopies are available throughout the boogie weekend. We have several Spectre, Sabre2, Katana, Velocity and PD Reserve canopies on risers ready to be put in your container to try out. Mirage representatives will be onsite with several stock containers and Mirage paraphernalia. Jeff Wills will host Casino Night Saturday after the sun goes down. A $10 entry fee and a hat of any kind will get you into the event. The poker champion gets the entry fee pot, four free ASC lift tickets and other prizes. Tyler Lawson will be organizing a pond swoop competition over the ASC pond on Sunday morning. See Tyler to register for the event. Cash prizes for the top three places. A free dinner will be provided to all boogie participants by the Carbonezone and Atlanta Skydiving Center Saturday night. Sign up throughout Saturday at manifest. Night Jumps in memory of Nate Gilbert are planned for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. B License is required. ASC Instructors Jim Vance and Stewart Cavanaugh will hold water training Friday night at a local hotel pool. Meet at the Atlanta Skydiving Center building between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday night. We will caravan to the pool for training. Afterward we will have a pizza party at ASC to kick off the boogie. There is a $15 registration fee for the ASC boogie. See you all there... Later skaters, Mike ChutingStar.com

Thanks everyone for all the leads/advice...I hope to have one in the loft soon...now just where do I make room for the monster?!?! Mike ChutingStar.com

Make sure the rig will fit you appropriately as far as main lift placement/handle position as well as leg pad length. A harness too small/large will be uncomfortable or even unsafe in extreme circumstances. Have an instructor or rigger check the fit on you. Your measurements can also be sent to Sun Path and they will tell you the ideal size Javelin for you...and how far off this one is. Also make sure a rigger inspects the container for wear and service bulletins prior to purchase so you know what you're looking at as far as upkeep. The only concerns I have with older Javelins is making sure there is a bridle cover and/or velcro installed near the BOC...and that the tuck flaps (riser covers/main pin) are not warped/broken and stay closed. Mike ChutingStar.com

Yeah, yeah, yeah...but it looks so much nicer than the bartacker I currently own...that gives me fits every other day. Actually, I'm trying to get my bid cancelled because it looks to be a 28-stitch machine and I don't want to deal with getting it switched to 42-stitch. Thanks for the info on the harness machines...I'll keep looking. I am willing to spend a bit more for a newer machine that is ready-to-go rather than one that needs repair. Mike ChutingStar.com