Ron

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Everything posted by Ron

  1. Nope. Don't promise something you have no intention of delivering.... That is what I am asking for, and what the GM program currently does... Promise something they have zero intention of delivering. The proof is taking no action against GMDZ's that have been CLEARLY shown to be in violation of FAR's and giving ratings to people that have not actually earned them. Nope, but if you read what I posted you would know I don't want USPA inspectors. But again, I thank you for keeping it about the topic and not trying to make it about me. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  2. Giving ratings to people that are not qualified. Endorsing DZ's that violate FAR's.... Not exactly a sign of a great organization... But you support it. I will give you credit for not making a lame personal attack... Bravo! "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  3. Sigh, it is not a free market if they FORCE membership. Nope, you don't get it. But I don't care anymore. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  4. I have been pretty clear... But I will say it again: The USPA needs to either actually enforce the GM pledge or drop the GM program. I have provided plenty of proof that they don't actually enforce the GM pledge. Then you don't understand a free market... You get an actual benefit for you participation. The GM program actually does not benefit you at all. The USPA claims GM will only employ people that have passed a USPA rating program. But 140 people passed a USPA rating program that only after a fatality did the USPA realize was not actually any good. The USPA says GM's will follow FAR's, but I have show GMDZ's that didn't follow them and the USPA took ZERO action against them. (Busting clouds, letting a non rated pilot fly). Fact is you are getting nothing from the GM program. In a free market, the USPA would have to PROVE you are getting something from the GM program and individual membership, not just force you to be a member if you want to jump at a DZ that bought an advertisement package. Example.... NAUI does not require that any dive operation be a NAUI GM boat. Edit: You should know... The USPA has not been the leader in advancing skydiving. Tandems... That is Bill Booth and Ted Strong - USPA was not a fan. AFF? Yep, USPA didn't approve of it till after it was common. STP/AFP? Again, the USPA didn't create it, only adopted it later. Throw outs for students? Roger Nelson, with the USPA fighting it for years. Tunnel? Heck the USPA JUST accepted it and DZ's had been using tunnel to AFF 4 for decades. USPA banned wingsuits for several decades. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  5. I disagree. I think you put too much trust in an organization that I feel you don't really know about. I base my opinion on being in the USPA for over 25 years and seeing many of the errors. Show a quote where I said that... I'll wait. What about "ratings" makes you think I gained skills? A jumper with 1K jumps and ZERO USPA ratings or licenses is sure to know more than some guy with an "A" license... Or do you disagree? A guy with an FAA riggers ticket knows more about gear than some random guy with a "D" license. So did all those people who later had their rating revoked because they didn't meet the standard. Yet the USPA gave them a rating.... Didn't catch the error till there was a fatality. I learned NOTHING in the ratings programs.... Have you gotten any USPA ratings? If not, then you really have zero idea how easy they are. I fear you are putting too much faith in the USPA. Again, they gave ratings to a BUNCH of people that later had to be taken away because the students didn't meet the standards... This happens MUCH more than you would think. People have been signed off for water training they never took. People have been signed off for night jumps they never did. Your faith in the USPA license and rating system is misplaced. I get it... I believed the USPA for YEARS. I feel like a fool. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  6. As shown in the Lodi accident... Not sure I would trust a person that just had an instructor card. https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article99446487.html You know the TI had a USPA rating card... Right? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  7. Actually, I would *not* have an A license. My membership would be expired and I would have NO LICENSE at all. In fact, I don't have an "A" license.... Nope, I skipped it. I also skipped the "B". And my "D"? Well it was only 200 jumps when I got it. You are putting WAY too much faith in the USPA. For example.... I have been an instructor (Actually jumpmaster) since 1994, been an AFFI over 15 years. Taught military, and thousands of Tandem students and easily hundreds of AFF students. I have coached teams that have won medals at nationals.... So if I dropped my USPA membership and lost ALL my ratings..... Who would you rather give your significant other to for training? Me, or some newly minted USPA "approved" instructor? How do you know the person actually earned their ratings and was not just given them? These 140 people were running around with "USPA Instructor" cards in their pockets. https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article99446487.html IDK, ask? I could easily lie and say I have USPA ratings.... You would never know. You are giving WAY too much credit to the USPA. I also understand that. Years ago... OK over a decade ago there was a push to create a new organization.... I think it was called the "United States Skydiver Association".... It was created because they saw the USPA was more interested in representing gear manufacturers and Drop Zones.... I USED to think the guys were stupid. Now 25 years later.... I wish the USSA had taken hold and created a free market that would put a check on the USPA. But alas, people like me didn't care.... In fact, I'd bet the vast majority have no clue about how the USPA runs or even what it does. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  8. OK, lets say the USPA drops the GM program and my local DZ drops the requirement. I have 7,500 jumps and 300 hours wind tunnel.... You claiming me not having a "license" because I drop my USPA membership means I am somehow not safe to jump with? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  9. No, but tell me more of what you think I think.... It's exciting! Says more about your thinking than mine, however. GREAT, now you might remember that a decade or so ago we both were signatories on a high performance canopy issue? So your claim I have done nothing, well it is not supported in fact. There you go trying to play me again and ignoring the topic.... What we have here is: 1. You making assumptions 2. You ignoring the data (still have not discussed the busting clouds issue I raised). 3. You trying to play me and not the topic. Yeah, not worth trying to discuss anything with you if you are going to do the above. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  10. Communications about OFFICIAL BOD sanctions and actions about a group I am a member, as opposed to you personally just wanting my personal and private communications. While at the same time you banning others for disclosing that same type of information - Shows an astounding display of hypocrisy from you. As a member I am entitled to know what my organization is and IS NOT doing. You as a person have ZERO right to another individuals private communications... You are not the NSA. Oh, but I DO get to complain. Last I checked, you are not my boss. I see you can't debate the topic so you are trying to make this about me..... Don't, it shows weakness in your position and makes it look like you have a personal vendetta. Once again, you are avoiding the TOPIC and trying to play me.... I see you just skipped over the USPA doing nothing about the FAA violating a GMDZ for busting clouds. I even provided the report from the FAA! So I have provided data, you just instead tried to play me and ignore the data. Play the ball and not the player. You keep trying to play me and I'll start to ignore you like I did the last time. To quote YOU: "If you want to keep talking about the issue, fine - but do not start with the personal stuff" "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  11. So basically you admit that the USPA failed. The bonus is you try and blame ME for the organization's failure and not the leadership. Yes, but if they decide to advertise on your (USPA) website as a GMDZ, then they have to mandate membership. And your list of reasons for individuals to be GM is pretty weak. So weak, I notice WTS is not a GM DZ. If the benefit is so great, why does the USPA make it a requirement? Great! Remove it from the GM program (Actually drop the GM program, it does NOTHING) and let the chips fall where they fall... You know, free market and all. I NEVER said DZ's could not require membership, just that the USPA GM program does nothing and forcing individual memberships is nothing more than a ploy to boost membership. So they are a GM, they clearly violated the FARs (which they SWORE they would not do), they were found guilty.... Yet still a GM. So the GM program did exactly NOTHING here in spite of an FAA violation. So much for that pledge. And yet I have provided an example of a GMDZ using a pilot that was not rated anyway. And you think the USPA is going to carry more weight than the FAA? So if the local guy says a guy that has 660K dollars in fines for not doing AC MX gets the award, they get it. So much for the USPA putting safety first! And the GMDZ that had the pilot do MX that was outside of FAR 43 Appendix A(c). What does the USPA do about that? And yet, I can provide examples of GMDZ's flat out ignoring them.... So what good is the pledge? So then remove the requirement and let DZ's make their own choice! Maybe I am missing something..... So what does a GM need to do to be a GM? Does the USPA ever check to make sure the GM is following the "pledge"? Does the USPA ever audit a GM DZ? If the USPA is not going to act on a PROVEN FAR violation because the "Statute of limitations" has expired.... Yet I can't think of a single FAR violation that took less than a year... What good is putting following FAR's in the "pledge"? I think I know the answers.... And the proof of GM DZ's violating not only the BSR's but FAR's is the evidence I need. Basically, the GM program is a joke. The USPA does not hold the DZ's to the pledge. But the USPA does mandate individual memberships.... So the USPA is playing both sides and providing ZERO benefit to the individual members for having a GM program. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  12. You want me to disclose private conversations? You would ban me for posting private PM's without permission, yet now you DEMAND I disclose private emails? Not actually concerned about what you think. If you can't debate my POINTS without trying to play ME.... Well, it shows you have nothing of merit. Ah, so as a MEMBER I am not allowed to complain about the organization! Didn't realize we were in Russia and I answered to you. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  13. You assume I have never said anything. But the USPA is supposed to have the systems in place to hold people accountable. And, last I checked... Free country and all that, so I am allowed to complain as much as I want. Unless, you Bill are saying people don't have the right to complain about an organization they are member of???? You are avoiding the point... That is your right, but it is dishonest. The USPA is trying to play both the DZ organization and the member organization and is requiring the individuals to be members to jump at GMDZ's If the USPA was so great, they would not need to try and force people to join to jump at GM DZ's. And the GM program really provides no oversight at all. It is basically advertising. If the GM program actually did something other than make a DZ sign a piece of paper which I have SHOWN they ignore..... Then maybe you could make an argument that them forcing individuals to join would have merit.... But we ALL know the USPA does not enforce the GM pledge. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  14. Isn't that the job of the S&TA? Last I checked, I don't work for the USPA. Uh, you make the GMDZ's pledge to ONLY allow group members to jump there... So how is that not requiring individuals to join? That explains why the DZ would want to be a group member, but not why the USPA demands that only members are allowed to jump at GMDZ's. If it is such a great thing for the DZ, then why MAKE it required? Which you and I BOTH know is ignored all the time. Again, Tandem Videos through clouds as proof. https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agc/practice_areas/adjudication/civil_penalty/CaseFile/view/2017/2017-3.pdf Didn't seem to follow the BSR's.... That was 2017 and yet they still seem to be a GM. Which, as you know, is an FAR so the BSR is unneeded and any DZO that would ignore federal LAW is not going to pay attention to the BSR. ZHills had an issue where they were having a pilot fly without a single commercial ticket. The pilot had a multi, but not a single. This was a GMDZ. And the FAA cited a GMDZ here in Florida for a pilot replacing a mixture knob. And Bill Dause was given the Chester Judy Safety Award by the USPA while that same year getting 440K dollars in fines from the FAA for not doing maintenance, yes, not a GM member, but he won a SAFETY AWARD from the USPA! And AGAIN, this is an FAR and if the DZO is going to ignore them, the BSR means nothing. You may have me on this one. Again, you may have this one. So you have quoted BSR's that mimic FAR's and I have given examples of GMDZ's ignoring them. You might have me on the two last examples..... "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  15. It's cute you keep saying that. What makes you think I have no skin in the game? I have worked at DZ's (skin in the game) for over 25 years in several different roles. So aside from your little snide comment being nothing more than trying to play the player and not the ball... It is also baseless. This is the last time I reply to your little snide comments... Bring substance or expect to be ignored going forward. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  16. And yet the USPA allows GM DZ's to avoid doing handles checks on tandems. USPA allows DZ's to perform tandem turns greater than 90* below 500 feet. USPA allows DZ's to let people with fewer than 200 jumps jump wingsuits. I mean they are against the BSR's, but zero enforcement. So why should the USPA require people to be members if NOT for just forcing membership? And since I bash the GM program, maybe you, as a BOD leader, can tell us all the benefits to the individual members of the USPA of the GM program? Maybe I just don't get it....Enlighten me, educate me. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  17. They don't enforce the RULES. They do enforce the REQUIREMENT that DZO's require membership. I don't even know why you mentioned it. You admitted they don't enforce the rules. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  18. The USPA requires it. The rest of your typing was nothing more that thin personal attacks and not worth a response. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  19. Then it would not hurt anything. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  20. Either: 1. Remove the GM program 2. Remove the requirement that GM DZ's require USPA membership "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  21. How? I'll be 100% honest, if I could drop my membership and still jump.... I'd do it in a second. In a free market, members could decide they do not like what the USPA is doing and leave. But, the USPA has a monopoly AND they have rigged it so that if a DZ wants advertising and represented by the USPA (directing customers to them) then the DZ has to make it so anyone that jumps there is a member. The USPA should drop the GM program. It does NOTHING but provide some advertising to the USPA. Or at the very least, drop the requirement to be a USPA member. So they have a monopoly and rigged the field. Example, I could not skydive in most of the State I live unless I have a USPA membership. There is a reason most of the people on the BOD are there.... Example, I ran for an open seat in my region. It was awarded to someone who works in the industry. The reason I was given is because "They cared enough to show up in person." Except this person was ALREADY going since he was being PAID to go there and his company was PAYING for his travel and lodging. So, if I wanted to go it was going to cost me about 1K dollars out of pocket to interview for a position that has no pay. If I GOT the position, they would have refunded my travel costs, if I didn't, well, I had to eat them. So one guy is paid to go and is not paying for travel cost anyway and one guy would be paying out of pocket.... Anyone know the process to suggest a rules change? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  22. Nothing would happen. But there is no reason for a DZ to not expect you to be a member. You just continue to prove the point that being a GM DZ does not make it safer. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  23. Exactly. There is no free market. You can either join, or not be able to jump at the vast majority of DZ's in the US. The USPA did this by design. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  24. So you think the DZO's and gear manufacturers should have more, equal or less control over the USPA than individual members? And do you think that Group Members should require individual memberships to be able to jump there? And do you think that the USPA should actually hold GM's to their pledge? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
  25. First, they never will.... Second, how do you suggest they do it? The USPA is a paper tiger to DZO's. The DZO's sign a pledge and then the USPA does nothing if they don't follow it. I don't need some mystic BSR to know that students should not jump in 25kt winds. I don't need some mystic BSR to know that people with 30 jumps should not jump with Tandems. And my point is that the USPA does not enforce ANYTHING. So it is not some safety. Either your DZO supports safe acts or not. The USPA only has a list of suggestions with ZERO punishment for not following them. And they will NEVER do that since the USPA needs DZ's to be group members to make sure that individuals HAVE to join to be able to jump there. Mullins is on the BOD and his DZ is not a group member. It is a very safe DZ. Your example shows a DZ, that I assume is a GM, that ignores the BSR's..... Simply put, Group Membership means exactly NOTHING as it relates to safety. The GM program ONLY serves as a way to force individual membership. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334