MakeItHappen

Jim, This is not 100% accurate. USPA does give out the tenure awards. The change (about 6 years ago) was that members had to request them when they went over x many years (I forget what x is) The reason was related to the records that USPA did _not_ have because of clerical errors, or DB migrations or just incomplete records from the early days. Any member that can 'prove' that they were a USPA member for such-n-such years can apply for the tenure award. The tradeoff was that HQ staff had to track down many people's records, only to find out that they didn't meet the requirements. It was deemed to be in the best interest of USPA's staff time that the awards would be distributed based upon the squeaky wheel member asking for the certificate. I fully believe that in the future, records will be maintained and propagated much more efficiently and accurately and the 'problem' will go away. If one considers the staff time that was previously involved and what it is today, you'd agree that USPA's bottom line and the membership are better served with the current policy that a tenure award recipient must knock on USPA's door to get it. USPA in no way intends to deny such awards, it's just too expensive to scour old and incomplete records. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Attention USPA GULF Region Members: Recently, Todd Spillers submitted his resignation as Gulf Regional Director, effective March 27, 2015 (the next BOD meeting). The vacancy will be filled at the beginning of the next BOD meeting in Daytona Beach, FL Mar 27, 2015. If you are interested in this position, you MUST be nominated by a current BOD member at the meeting. You should also plan on attending the meeting in person to make your case to the full board. You will be selected by the full board, not the USPA membership. You may also help your candidacy by contacting all BOD members, introducing yourself and providing a resume of your skydiving credentials. The Gulf region is eastern Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Zip codes that start with: 700-714 716-729 755-759 770-787 789 You must reside in this region to become the regional director. Current BOD member information is in Parachutist and on uspa.org. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. FMI: http://www.uspa.org/NewsEvents/News/tabid/59/Default.aspx#40490 Jan Meyer Nominations and Elections Chair USPA National Director [email protected] Please forward to Gulf Region Members. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

There will be an Ash Dive for Garth Taggart at the Elsinore DZ at 3 PM on 13 Dec., a Saturday. Bad weather day is Sunday. His Wife, Donna, will be there and will present the actual Bat Wings that were used in the Gypsy Moths movie to the Skydiving Museum. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Please narrow down the year and month & I'll look. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

If you go to your local (university-type) library, you can search for the author J. Meyer. IIRC, that author has numerous articles on vortex lattice theory applied to parachute canopy configurations, forces imparted on landing in a PLF, and line sail, has a book published and a very popular SANDIA report. If you look around, you may be able to find that author directly. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I'm a "no messaging in meetings" person too, but this one seems on the line, not over it. It was also brought to my attention in a PM that this was happening after 11 hours of meetings, so I don't find it unusual that folks were anxious to communicate things they may have been waiting to get to outside the "official" meeting time. Not sure if it happens, but I would completely disagree with private communications of any kind going on between board members or with outsiders during the official proceedings. That brings on all kinds of inappropriate implications. It's true that the meetings started a 8 am that day and the GMM started at 7 pm. But what the person PMing you forgot to mention was that there was a TWO hour break (5pm to 7 pm) to catch up on texting and such. And there are many short breaks during the day. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

There might be some truth to this on the part of some BOD members. In what was supposed to be a discussion of this accident at the BOD meeting, no details of the accident were given. -zip, nada. The discussion was more about the missteps of the investigation. I don't know anything more about this accident than I did last Thursday. Near the end of June, I asked if the report that goes into Parachutist's Incident Reports was available. I was told it was not. I asked again at the BOD meeting - still not available. According to USPA web site about Accident Reports According to S&TA Handbook page 7 My guess is that the incident report in Parachutist relating to this accident will never be published. Or if it is published, it'll be 2 years after the accident. Now that is politics and that crap has to stop. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

You could use a locked luggage carrier and then lock that to some permanent object at the dz. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I was there and chatted with Judy and Chris, her husband and former BOD member, before and after the meeting. I paid attention at the meeting and members. I too agree with Judy that it is extremely disrespectful for BOD members to be texting during these meetings. Sometimes at committee or plenary sessions, there is a reason to contact someone outside of the meeting, but those instances are few and far between. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Well you could go to the General Membership Meeting this Friday, July 11 at Springhill Suites, located at 85 West Court Avenue, Memphis, TN 38103; (901) 522-2100 at 7 pm. You can ask any BOD member any question. just saying... . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

So the guy being investigated is doing the investigation? Ah, you have noticed one of the flaws in the system. I sent the following to be on the S&T Committee agenda: "Address the issue of replacing members of the DG when one of the persons cannot or may not serve on the DG. Preference should go to former S&T Comm chairs and Dir of S&T BOD members. " To my knowledge this is on the S&T agenda, that should be published on the USPA web site shortly. BTW, I did ask, in real time, for a replacement be made, but that suggestion was dissed because there was no 'rule' about it. The truth is that the BOD could have made a replacement. At the risk of being sarcastic, I'll find it hard to say to Rich, say what kind of rule do we need when the S&T Chair can't serve on the DG because he's the one being investigated by the DG? Should Rich monitor the discussion? Or should someone else be in charge of that issue? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Wouldn't a member's Regional Director be the most appropriate person to make initial contact with? Seems to me the member's RD would have the most direct responsibility to assist a member from his/her region. Sometimes it's appropriate to contact the RD first. But from experience, I have learned that not all members of a region like or know their RD. In the long haul, contacting someone you know works best. There have been times someone has asked me about abc issue because they know me. If I don't know the details or don't have the expertise to respond, I'll send them to a person that can answer their questions. Then when they contact the person, that possibly has the answers to their questions, they are taken more seriously. It should be that they are taken seriously from the get-go, but we all know life does not work that way. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Doesn't that strike you as rather odd? I'll assume you are talking about this email, posted by Martin. That email does have an amazing resemblance to an email sent by the Prez via the Member-at-large. The email written by the Prez, appeared to be 'this is the story, end of story' type missive. There was no confidentiality warnings attached to the email. It was sent at the beginning of a weekend. There was one particular point in it that I thought was 'fishy'. I had to wait until the following Monday to find out the scoop on it. During that time, a rather large number of emails were generated amongst the BOD about the contents of the email. Then there was an OMG missive from the Prez that said - 'all this discussion is confidential.' - even though the original missive really came across as the 'answer' to give to members about the incident. If a BOD member did pass that email on, it really should not have created any heartburn. (as to disclosure. It would create heartburn in relation to disciplinary actions.) After significant protests by a large number of BOD members, a 2nd investigation by the DG was set in motion. As I said before, this investigation was compromised on several levels. Oh gee whiz.... now you have access to information protected by HIPPA laws? It's kinda like you are saying "good thing you got hit by that truck and sent to the hospital, otherwise we'd never know that you had XYZ disease." People don't want to see him get a 'free pass'. He screwed up. Other members have been kicked out of USPA for very similar incidents. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Does that mean you are about to write your FIRST email to a BOD member? I always take members' inquires seriously. Not every BOD member does, but there are fewer of those types on the BOD now than before. It's best to write a BOD member that you know. Depending on the topic, writing to all at once via [email protected] works. Usually, very controversial issues will see a bunch of member emails to the FB just before the BOD meeting (sent on the travel day, Thursday). It'd be better if those emails were sent the Monday before the meeting as checking email Thursday night or Friday morning sometimes has internet access issues at the hotel. The text and tone of the email should be respectful. Most of them are written professionally. At the upcoming meeting in Memphis, there is also a General Membership Meeting on Friday night. This would be a good time to have the local jumpers attend the meeting and ask questions directly of the BOD members. If you can't attend, find someone that you know that can ask your question for you in person. The meetings are open to the public and you can video them. I will encourage members to write the BOD, as a whole or individually. You can write about any topic germane to USPA business. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Well, I am on the BOD and I don't know what happened on that jump. Spot and Twardo keep implying that they have additional information about this accident that they apparently got from other BOD members, but won't share it. And then go on to admonish others about not contacting members of the BOD or picking up the phone. I asked Rich what happened. He said it was all his fault, but when asked for a play-by-play type description of the jump he never replied. He also never returned my numerous phone calls. Rich, aka as Para5-0 on DZ.com, has NOT made a post here since the accident. He was a prolific poster, posting numerous times everyday, pontificating safety and canopy control. I think that speaks louder than anything. If it was something that he could not avoid, then one would expect that he would come forward and explain and describe what happened. But he hasn't done that. After an improper investigation by the President, that was objected to by numerous BOD members after the President informed us about what she did, a formal 1-6 aka DG investigation was done. The official investigation was compromised by several factors. The RD eventually said that the DG found no fault in Rich's actions and no change in his status was recommended. I repeatedly asked the RD for a play-by-play description of the jump. I received no answer. Not even a "I'm not gonna tell you." I've read and heard LOTS of versions about the jump description, but none from Rich or any member of the DG. What I do know is: - that picnic tables do not walk around the landing area, even though they have legs. - a person sitting in the spectator area was hit and put in the hospital for several days. - there are plenty of outs near the accident site - a guy that definitely knows what those loopy thingys are, maneuvered his canopy in such a way that it caused great bodily injury to himself and others. The BOD meeting is in a few weeks and every USPA member deserves to hear about the details of this accident. Members should write or call BOD members and HQ to make sure this information is forthcoming by the next meeting. Bitching about it here won't do anything. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

So I am bit intrigued about this, Spot. Did you talk to the USPA President? Did you get any information about the accident? Did you talk to anyone involved with the investigations? Did you get any information about the accident? Did you call the BOD member in question? Did you get any information about the accident? What 'disgruntled BOD member' sent out an email? and what did it say? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Please note that Eike's services are given at this url http://www.evans-brownmortuary.com/obituaries/Eike-Hohenadl/#!/Obituary (The notice upstream has the wrong address.) RIP Eike. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Terry I have a manual called TM 10-1670-264-13&P for MC-3 Freefall Personnel Parachute System. Dated 10 June 1977 Has pics of the sleeve, but no schematics for it. It does have a parts list that may be used to track down the schematics. There are some good pics of the sleeve, but the canopy does not have anti-inversion netting. Lemme know. You know how to contact me. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

DougGarr- We thought about doing some sort of sliding fee based on how old you are. HQ dissed that idea. Keep in mind they can't even handle renewal for multiple years with a slight discount. Although when the new membership software is working correctly, that (multi-year renewal) is an option that HQ said it would consider. DanG - The $20-24 per member per year for the magazine takes into account all expenses and income related to the magazine. MikeT & Twardo- Electronic version of the magazine won't happen for a number of years mainly because many people want the printed magazine. michalm21 - It would be nice if USPA could squirrel away the dues money for 30 years and reap a great profit on it. But this is a business that has to pay bills in a timely manner. MikeO - The LTM ends when you die. You cannot bequeath it to anyone. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Here are two graphs. I don't want to get into all the equations, so I simplified the argument. Each of the rectangles in the Dues vs Year graph represents $50. Someone that became a LTM in 1985 @ $550 would use up all the green rectangles in the second picture. All the red rectangles represent the deficit that USPA has to come up with from other sources - namely increased annual dues. The red area will grow with time. IOW, to prevent annual dues from increasing faster than they should, the sensible thing to do is to not issue LTM any more. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

For domestic: The magazine is about $20-24 per year. Insurance is ~$12 per year. USPA Overhead (maintenance of SIM, SCM other docs etc, services to members (rating renewal etc)) makes up the most of the rest of the annual fee. About 2300 active LTM. New LTM for 2013: 129 New LTM for 2012: 98 44 yo median (all) Domestic: 50 yo median Foreign: 42 yo median I do not have #s on how the distribution looks like for how long the LTM have been LTM. But just looking at the median age, it does appear that domestic LTM are heavily weighted to long time jumpers. IOW, they have already passed their 'break-even' point and USPA is now incurring a loss for their membership. In recent years, foreigners have been the majority of LTM and many of them are in their 20s. Life expectancy was given as 79 for domestic and 72 for foreign. (I think those numbers are what were said, but I didn't write those down.) It actually, does not take very many LTM to create a deficit. I have an example that shows the calculations, but it's not ready for prime time. In a day or 3, I should have a graph of how annual dues & LTM fees have increased over the years. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

This has NOT been explained by anyone who represents USPA or was present at the BOD meeting. Are they hiding? It's because the LTM is a losing economic scenario for USPA. Annual dues would have to be increased to cover the costs of the LTM. After a certain number of years, LTM are taking more out of USPA than what they paid in. It's unfair to make the annual renewing members to pick up the costs of the LTM. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Looks good. What you could do is make the thickness or fatness of the arrow represent the speed. IE the thicker the arrow the faster the winds. Still have a pointy point to indicate the direction. Or maybe a windsock in the middle. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

The actual motion (from Summer Meeting 2005) was Motion 48: Passed 14/0 (Ms. Murdock) “Move to allow anyone who has been a member of USPA for 50 years to receive a free lifetime membership upon their personal written request and provide a 50% discount for lifetime membership to those who have been a member of USPA for 25 continuous years and is at the current age of 65.” This motion was rescinded. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I am reading this thread. I believe the last time we tried this we wanted to have a hard wire internet connection and that came with additional (significant) fees. You really can't depend on the hotel's wifi to be reliable enough for a live video stream. In LV, it was VERY spotty, disconnected all the time. Perhaps, just an audio feed might work at first. But with a hard wire connection video is the way to go. Unless you can give me remote point and zoom controls of the camera, we need a camera operator. Years ago I used to bring a wireless router to set up a LAN so that it was easier to trade files. Before that we used the pass the thumb drive around technique. Internet is much more convenient. And the two BOD members that broadcasted the meeting via Skype are no longer on the BOD. BTW, salaries that are disclosed are also publicly available in the 990 submitted to the IRS. Why there is such a big issue about this at the meetings is a mystery to me. Most of the plenary sessions are very boring. Sunday's is the one that is interesting. Committee meetings vary in intensity depending upon what issues are brought forward. I definitely will support and help in any way to get the meeting live-casted. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker