Gary73

Dave, No offense, but that sounds a lot like telling a whuffo: "Hey, don't bother paying an AFF Instructor to learn how to skydive - just hook up with a recent AFF graduate!" There's more to being an Evaluator than skydiving badly, and there are good reasons for the 100-AFF-minimum to become one. (Some I/Es even insist that you have 500 AFFs before they'll train you to evaluate!) Anyway: Learn the dive flows. Jump with a current Evaluator. Start with "great student" scenarios to get the rhythm, then work your way into "not-so-great-student" scenarios. Attend the pre-course either way. That'll help fill in any gaps in your preparation, and when the I/E thinks you're ready, go for it! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

With the "observe and report" part, definitely. That's part of why being a Coach and doing actual coached jumps are pre-course requirements. But normally a Coach shouldn't chase a student; he should provide a stable reference point, so coaching doesn't help much with flying skills. I'd agree with those who recommend making practice jumps with an active AFF Evaluator. If you can't do that, four-way FS jumps provide the best in-close flying practice. Either way, definitely attend the pre-course. Many I/Es do the pre-course and course as essentially a single course, which is probably the best approach. Good luck! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Really? All I see there is an advertizement for TRC. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Usually 10 to send the King Air. Yeah, we had some scheduling problems a couple of weekends ago. I believe that those have been addressed. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Sounds good, as long as we can get some of Don's Lemon-Pepper Chicken as a side dish! Of course it's not like I'm the only one who likes cheesybake. I never even got a second helping last time! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Spence - definitely come out on Saturday, and bring a bunch of those wood blocks you mentioned. I'm in the mood for some creative pyromania! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Considering that your next reserve deployment may be at (or above) terminal velocity, never exceed the maximum recommended exit weight on a reserve. If you want to downsize your main below the limits of your current container, talk to your rigger about padding the main D-bag. It's fairly easy and allows significant downsizing without changing the container or reserve. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Rhetoric: The use of exaggeration or display in language. (Random House Dictionary) Bill, The discussion was about a mother's right to abuse her unborn child by denying medical care and by forcing him/her to ingest alcohol and other drugs, not about violence done by another person. I stated that unborn children have no rights. You stated that only the mother is allowed to determine what is good for her unborn child. Sounds like you're agreeing with me. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Hard to say without having been there, but you're okay, so even if it wasn't the ideal decision, it was good enough, right? People put too much emphasis on landing into the wind. Downwind landings don't kill people. Low turns, bad swoops, and canopy collisions are the things that do us in. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/27/airliner.fly.by/index.html The pilots are now saying that they were on their laptops looking at and discussing company policies. While being out of contact with ATC for 90 minutes. Amazing. And yeah, neither of these guys should ever fly with passengers again. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Right. That's where the DZO, Chief Instructor, and S&TA come in. But all too often, the DZO is more interested in getting the load up than in getting a student properly trained. And if the CI, S&TA, and Instructor don't comply, they don't have their jobs for very long. Or at all. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

It's not rhetoric. If a mother forced her one-week-old child to consume alcohol and other drugs, she'd be locked up and the child would be taken away. Why do we deny an unborn child the protections that we demand for born children? Birth is a surprisingly unimportant event in the development of a child. Kids born a month early don't immediately take on the physical and mental characteristice of full-term babies. With proper care, they develop just as they would in the womb, and take on those characteristics in about a month. Likewise, kids who are born late don't just press pause at the nine-month point; they continue to develop both physically and mentally the whole time. Birth isn't like fertilization, implantation, or even the beginning of the formation of the heart or brain. It's just a shortening of the supply chain. So no, my comment wasn't rhetorical, just sarcastic. Mothers are allowed to abuse, neglect, and even kill their unborn children, right up to some point which is defined legally, not biologically. But don't worry: I don't think it will help to imprison pre-natally abusive mothers. It'll probably just drive them even farther from proper care for their children. So sad. So very sad. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Deedy, Haven't you heard? Children aren't human beings until they're born. Before that they're property, without even the rights that we grant to pets or cattle. Remember: convenience is always more, well, convenient than responsibility. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I really can't see a good reason for the dropzone to hold on to student logbooks or A cards. Sure, students will forget to bring them occasionally, but so what? Just give them a blank logbook page to document the jump and sign off the A card the next time they come around. If they're not planning to come back to your DZ, make a note in the logbook that they completed the item and wish them good luck. A cards, whether 2- or 4-page, belong to the student, not to the dropzone. Regardless of the stated intent, the result of DZs holding on to them is to prevent students from easily going to other dropzones. If you want to keep students at your dropzone, offer good training at fair prices. Sean, just because you haven't witnessed a certain behavior, that doesn't mean it has never happened. There are plenty of dropzones "out west", and their policies can change over time. As for not naming dropzones who do this, I fully understand that. All too often, greedy bastards are good enough at what they do to afford lawyers who can make a person's life miserable just for telling the truth. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Unfortunately there are a number of DZOs out there who are greedy scumbags who do everything in their power to keep students from jumping at other dropzones. Some hold on to A cards; some even hold on to the student's logbooks. Bastards. I guess you could try phoning the dropzone to see if they'll fax a copy to you, but they'll probably refuse, 'cause after all, they're greedy scumbag bastards. Given that, I'd say start a new card and sign off any new accomplishments. If the student won't be going back to the old DZ(s), a lot of the A-card requirements are things that we take the student's word on or which can be done in a few minutes or a few jumps. Also, encourage all students to note in their logbooks whenever they accomplish things on the A card, etc. As for the ISP, personally I think it's overblown and unnecessarily expensive for the student, though it's still better than AFP. Seven-level AFF and the two-page A card work just fine. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Unfortunately we're not yet mature enough as a society to put the welfare of an unborn child ahead of the convenience of the mother. Once we acknowledge that a mother has even greater obligations regarding her child than a Tandem Instructor has regarding his/her student, the problem won't even come up anymore. Side note: Last I heard, in France the national healthcare system actually pays pregnant women to get prenatal care. That saves money in the long run by reducing complications for both mother and child. Too bad we're not as smart as the French. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Another fallacy, IMHO. Certainly, ground preps should be thorough, and certainly there's a correlation between training and performance, but it's not 100%. I've seen a number of students do flawless ground preps, then have complete meltdowns in he air. I've also had students who were marginal on the ground and near-perfect in the air. As I tell all the AFF-I candidates, "AFF is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get!". "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I'd say that a first simulated skydive requires a simulated case of beer, so just write "Case of beer" on a piece of paper and put it in the fridge. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Ditto! I've done about 1,300 AFFs and been an evaluator at five courses, and every time I think I'm within sight of having seen it all, I see something new. Some are scary as hell (like the Level 1 who reached UNDER her main lift webbing and almost got the handle before I stopped her), while some are funny as hell. The other day I had a Level 1 climb out just fine and then go: "Prop! Up! Down! Uh, prop! Up! Down!", then he crouched down, looked at me and asked "Should I go now?".

I've had similar problems with ours, but was always able to clear them. Things to try: Check the bobbin area for thread tangling things up. Turn the machine off and on a few times, with the needle bar in different positions. Press the foot lifter pedal a few times. Tap the GO pedal a few times. Go through all the above a few times. Good luck. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Probably. Plus another $10 to fly in the BIG tunnel, after the regular one turns out to be a leaf blower. But seriously - Atlanta, as long as it's not another goddam Skyride ripoff operation. I know of a nice piece of land near the big airport. The previous development plan failed and the land's been sitting idle for 10+ years. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Yeah, I'd like to see that too. I suspect that it'll look ugly enough that no experienced jumper would jump it. Meanwhile, here's a photo from a vaguely similar PCIT that was caused by a weird collapsible PC with the kill-line window on the bag side of the pin. The pin got into the window somehow and just stayed there. Don't know who made the PC; don't think I've seen another like it. The rig was a Mirage; the photo was taken after the jumper and rig were returned safely to the DZ. The view is from the top right corner of the right flap, looking toward the bottom left corner of the rig. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

The Skyride case proved that the USPA Group Member Pledge means absolutely nothing. USPA should eliminate the Group Member Program and replace it with a department that provides safety-related services to any U.S. dropzone. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Maybe, but keep in mind that they wrecked that plane before it even had three minutes of flight time on it! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

If I could get a good GPS for $135, I'd do that!