Airman1270

30 years ago today, made my sixth jump at Duanesburg, NY. Later learned that a Lodestar went in at about the same time in Washington. Never knew these people, but never forgot them. Cheers, Jon S.

QuoteI haven't jumped in three, maybe four years. I need to get my log books out to check. If I showed up at a place like Perris, what would I have to do? I have about 850 jumps... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ All you need is a brief discussion with DZ management and a ride to altitude. You'll be fine. My jump history includes many long layoffs. I recently returned after nearly a year off, my longest break to date. Did a short solo, no big deal. Nailed the target as well! My rig had been packed for 11 months. It opened beautifully after a brief snivel. Am looking forward to jumping my Wonderhog/Strato Cloud, which has been packed for more than a year now. I'll pull a little high. Welcome back. Cheers, Jon S.

Thought about Bob yesterday. Has it been a year already? Cheers, Jon

That's an incredibly bad idea! If you forget to remove them before you jump that could lead to a very bad day... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Unless the rig is in use I always thread the chest strap through the reserve handle, wrap it around the lift web & secure it. Makes it damn near impossible to snag the handle or even pull it on purpose, and there's no way it can be jumped this way. Cheers, Jon S.

...I've found this to be more of a "cultural" issue. I seems to change from DZ to DZ... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Ah, yes. 1985. Newbie, recent graduate at another DZ starting to jump at a "private club" DZ close to home. Asked experienced guy for pin check. Was told I must learn to "take care of myself." Confused, wrote brief note to USPA asking for advice. (Didn't want to cause trouble - just wanted to know the best way to handle this.) No reply. Life goes on. Two months later my letter is published in PARACHUTIST. Surprise! Club is pissed. Banned "for life" at that DZ. (Long Island Skydivers.) The funny part is meeting some of the guys five years later at a boogie. They STILL wouldn't talk to me. Cheers, Jon S.

...and can develop into a big problem quickly especially as you downsize... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Plant the idea in his head that he WILL downsize...) Cheers, Jon S.

...upsize?? downsize?? why not just FIND, and stick with, the right size??? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Yes! After riding a Star Trac 290 for a few hundred jumps I downsized eight years ago to a Triathalon 220. Plenty fast enough. If I lose a toggle on the flare I might break an ankle, but I won't die. Cheers, Jon S.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Let's see if you can land a round within 200' of a target. Cheers, Jon

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Just 16? Welcome to the sport. You are in a fortunate position, being able to jump at your age. Like many others, I'm concerned about the DZ culture which has left you with the viewpoint that downsizing is not only necessary, but real important right now. Eight years ago I "downsized" to a 220 and am quite content with it. There's no shame in landing last. Keep honing your skills and be content to learn slowly. If downsizing becomes a good idea your Dad will suggest you try it. Meanwhile, it might be wise to place as much priority on becoming competent at such things as spelling, grammar, & proofreading. Being able to articulate your thoughts coherently will become far more useful in life than winning a swoop competition. Cheers, Jon S.

...Wouldn't it be a better world if everyone had the balls to take responsibility for themselves and their own actions?... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Something keeps coming up whenever this topic is discussed: We hear how DZO's are mandating AAD's to "protect" themselves & their businesses. Protect them from what? If a customer lands w/out pulling how is this the responsibility of the DZO? Obviously the issue is lawsuits. The legal system has embraced the premise that businesses are responsible for the conduct of their employees & customers. This flawed "logic" is crippling this country and needs to be confronted head-on. Two things we can do to change this are 1) Eagerly accept any opportunity to serve on a jury and do not allow these plaintiffs to win. (It is not the fault of Wal-Mart if a customer slips & falls, for example.) 2) Take seriously the issue of tort reform. Many candidates for public office are serious about trying to do something about this. Find out who these people are and vote for them. J.

Quote>If the DZ was so blatantly operating in this manner I can't imagine >enough people participating to keep it in business. I agree. People would "vote with their feet." BTW the Long Island skydiving scene wasn't much different than you described when I started in the early 90's. Which meant that I generally made the 2-3 hour drive to the Ranch to jump. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ One issue was that I had been accustomed to renting gear. I had a rig but would rent/borrow an altimeter, helmet, etc. I learned that this DZ did not offer gear rental but they helped me out. I jumped there for two months, then stopped coming out because I didn't want to be a burden. Almost a year later I returned with all my stuff only to learn that I'd been banned. Four years later I saw some of these guys at other DZ's. They still wouldn't even look at me, let alone talk to me. J.

Quote>"Voting with your feet" is an empty argument. Would you really continue to jump at a DZ who regularly sent up students with drunk instructors? Who never maintained their jump aircraft? Who used unrated pilots? Would you really say "well, it's not like I can leave, better keep this guy in business?" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ No. However, we're comparing apples & bicycles. If the DZ was so blatantly operating in this manner I can't imagine enough people participating to keep it in business. This has nothing at all to do with allowing me to jump w/out an AAD. Funny you should mention it. My skydiving career was crippled in the mid-80's because I lived on Long Island. At the time there was no student training nearby. I completed my instruction at Albany Skydiving, a four-hour drive from home. (This was before the turbine DZ currently operating at Calverton. The only game in town was a Cessna DZ in Moriches.) After graduation I began showing up. Right away I noticed the pilot drinking beer while flying. I never saw more than one beer, but I also never saw him fly without one. Also, the atmosphere was very closed, something I've never seen anywhere else. New jumpers had to "prove" themselves, much the same way a new fireman must prove himself before being accepted by the others. Things came to a head when I asked for a pin check and was told "Jon, if you're going to jump here you'll have to learn to take care of yourself." I sought advice about this from USPA. I did not identify anybody - just described what happened. Instead of answering me personally they published my letter in the magazine and I was kicked off the DZ "for life." Now I was back to driving 3-4+ hours any time I wanted to jump. Perhaps there are some places where a skydiver might be able to choose between several DZ's close to home, but I'm sure this is not the case for most people. Cheers, Jon

Sorry Chuck - I was commenting on the topic, not necessarily addressing you personally. Your stats are probably accurate. However, I do recall an incident a few years back in which a jumper was trying to escape from a spinning Cessna. She made it out the door just in time for her AAD to fire & entangle her reserve w/the tail. She likely would have survived, albeit with a low opening, if she didn't have an AAD. Cheers, Jon

...And yet the reason for the new rule at San Marcos is that an old fart with decades of experience died when he took it in at terminal without an AAD on his rig... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Never said it couldn't happen. This is another example of stupid legislation being pushed as an emotional response to a specific incident. I don't want an AAD because of 1) the expense and 2) the real (albeit minimal) possibility of a misfire at a bad time which could kill me. (Please don't dismiss this without thinking - If your justification for mandatory AADs is based on the slight possibility that it might be helpful you cannot ignore, with your credibility intact, the equally slight possibility that it can kill people.) This is not about the DZO's rights. Nobody is claiming they don't have the "right" to impose this policy - we're claiming it's a stupid policy which ultimately harms the sport. He has the right to demand you wear military paratrooper boots if you want to play at his DZ. If he did, would you be questioning the logic of this decision or would you be berating people who disagree, advising them that they can simply take their business elsewhere? "Voting with your feet" is an empty argument. This is not like bowling, where all one would have to do is drive a few miles to a different facility. Few of us live in an area where we have two or more DZ's within an hour's drive from home. Some of us have only one within a three-hour drive. Political commentary removed

What about the blatant hypocrisy? They require AAD's because they claim to be so concerned about their customers' safety, yet allow/encourage small canopies & swooping which places jumpers at far greater risk of injury/death than allowing them to jump w/out an AAD. After 30 years in the sport I can count on one hand how many times I was in freefall below 2000' and I always knew where I was. It is ridiculous to suggest that the chances of my landing a no-pull is so great that such an offensive, intrusive policy must be imposed. Cheers, Jon

...The use of AAD's is an industry standard... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Only because of previous decisions such as this. 1) DZ requires AAD's. 2) People w/out AAD's no longer jump there. 3) New jumpers are conditioned to believe everyone has an AAD and that it is very dangerous to jump w/out one. They rarely/never interact with people who jump w/out AAD's. 4) After a few years these new jumpers open their own DZ's and require AAD's because they've never known anything else and have been conditioned to dismiss arguments against such policies. 5) This practice becomes known as the "industry standard." Cheers, Jon

This bullshit is destroying the sport. Anyone who keeps up with incident reports will notice that the vast majority of serious accidents involve jumpers who have many jumps, are current, and use the best gear available. Most of these people have AAD's. If the DZ bans small high performance canopies & outlaws swooping they will avoid the accusation of hypocrisy. Cheers, Jon S.

...I think this is an interesting topic and wanted to hear why you think the numbers are racist...Is that so freaking hard for you to do? Jeeze... If blacks are no more violent than whites then the logical conclusion is that the prison system is Racist. I say 2 plus 2 is 4 and you appear to think otherwise. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Is it okay to ask: Why are these folks in prison? Forget for a moment the race stuff. Why are they there in the first place? What did they do? Serious bad stuff or just violate stupid new PC laws? If we have a bunch of folks in prison who are harmless & pose no threat to anyone, that's a different topic. But, (ASSuming we're dealing with real bad guys who hurt people & take their stuff) If 1) everyone in prison is a scumbag, but 2) the attendace rate is disproportionately black, does that mean that 3) black people, are, by nature, more prone to doing bad stuff? Or 4) Do police assign disproportionate focus to black citizens? Cheers, Jon

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Jon likes this. (little thumb-up) If you talk with people in the restaurant business you'll learn that the Sunday after-church rush is the least desireable shift because these customers generally don't tip well. But I've never heard anyone accused of anti-Christian bigotry simply for mentioning it. Cheers, Jon

...Consider the following statement: "I wouldn't let any blacks into my bank if I could help it; most of them are criminals, and why should I let criminals into my bank? But the government forces me to, so I guess I gotta." (Or use "puerto rican" or "white" above, same thing.) Would you consider that person racist?... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I probably would. I'd also note that almost nobody harbors such animosity. And, for a different discussion, I'd support the banker's (or any other businessman's) right to decide with whom he wants to do business. No matter how "discriminatory" or offensive. Private property rights. There would be a boatload of consequences for imposing such a policy, but appearing before a judge should not be on the list.

"Racist" is defined as someone who believes that one race (usually his own) is superior to another. Or am I mistaken? People who are not racists are frequently accused of harboring unkind racial attitudes by people who are not particularly interested in being convinced that they are mistaken. It is one thing to hate, for example, black people. But what about people who do not hate anyone, but at the same time happen to notice certain trends/habits that happen to be common among certain non-white folks? Is it "racist" if the delivery driver happens to notice that black customers generally don't tip very well? Or to express disgust at the pants-around-the-thighs "ghetto" types? If I imitate a white guy it's satire. But if I imitate a black guy some will call it racism. Right now there are people reading this who want to call me a racist simply for posing the question. Why? The people who are eager to throw this word around, especially in political debate, have an obligation to define the term and explain how a white guy can comment on racial matters without being called a bigot. Cheers, Jon S.

...defends his decision with the old "Why would anybody jump out of a perfectly good airplane?" defense... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ When they ask me that I tell them "It's the safest way to get a parachute ride." I play regularly at a bar at an open-mike event. Last year an old sky friend came out wearing her DZ t-shirt. One of the other musicians said "You guys don't look like skydivers!" Damn. 30 years and I still don't look the part. Sigh. Cheers, Jon S.

Hmmm.... Bet it would fit into my Wonderhog. It'd be a fine way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of my first jump later this year. Cheers! Jon S.

...Simple fact is, if you get hurt its likely your fault not the instructor... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ In the months following my first-jump broken ankle in 1982 I was gimping around on crutches. When I'd tell people what happened their response frequently included something like "You should sue the place." Even after I explained that I messed up & it wasn't anybody else's fault they still tried to figure out a way to blame the instructor, the gear manufacturer, etc. I realized that these are the people who manage to make it onto juries. Sigh. Cheers, Jon S.