Tangra

Oh boy, the dark side of this board. This is why I usually stick to the classifieds, safety & training, and sadly incidents. Lately I have taken an interest in rigging and that's been a great resource too. But I guess this is what extended time off does to people. We will go back to work and get back in the air when the hysteria around the Shanghai Shivers fades. What we wont go back to is the uncomfortable truce. No one cares about any -isms. What really terrifies some people is that they are loosing power. It's not just Trump. It's Brexit, it's Bolsonaro, it's populists gaining ground in every single EU member state (PiS, AfD etc.) it's even Duterte and Putin who is revered in many Slavic countries not just Russia. And those are just the ones I can think of with out having to do a search. I'll clue some in on who Trumps 'base' is. The base are those that will lose a million dollars over an 'insensitive' tweet. It's the kid that has to sit in a classroom going six figures into debt being lectured that they are evil in the very institution that their ancestors created. The base is the blue collar worker that has to shell out 500 dollars for an EpiPen for their kids allergies while a junky gets Narcanned 3 times in one day on the public dime. It's the people that turn to drugs and alcohol because they lost their job after they trained their cheap overseas replacement. The family man that payed his taxes for 30 years only to send their son to a school that bans the Pledge of Allegiance but teaches 5th graders how to stick their fingers up their asses. We don't usually say much, but we are here, we are everywhere, and we are very, very upset.

Hi everyone, This has been an interesting thread to read while the ink dries on my A license card. Before I throw my $0.02 in, I do have one question. When do the changes to the license requirements take place? According to the USPA website "effective with the release of the 2019-2020 Skydiver’s Information Manual." When does this happen? In general I am pretty happy that the USPA exists. The liability insurance alone is worth the annual dues. Being able to earn a license at several DZs is a benefit of a standardized program. Some are seasonal, some go under, and a person can take what they have already earned from one to the next if they want or have to. The museum thing seems like a neat idea too. It would be nice to see the gear used in times past in person. My problem is with the changes to the B and C licenses. And it's not the changes themselves I have a problem with, but why. This is globalism in action. I don't care what the French or the British do. As others have suggested there are separate competition licenses that can have those requirements added. I am never going to spend a penny of my hard earned American money in those places and I resent their 'nanny state' rules creeping into my freedom loving way of life. Mark my words, with this disastrous idea to allow international norms to dictate Americans' actions, you will see the french canopy sizing requirements here in the good ol' US of A soon. I got in this to do speed skydiving. I have my reasons. While some of the belly stuff seems like it could be fun, with the right people, I have zero desire to ever freefly, especially in large groups. While it might not seem burdensome to some, to those people who are interested in perusing a solo discipline it absolutely is. cheers, Tangra