Reginald

Members
  • Content

    1,395
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

Everything posted by Reginald

  1. Oh man your gonna make this hard coach. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  2. Robin, Should I take this as the first actual advice from the coach of Dallas’ new “Flailing Terror” rookie 4 way team? The hook turns sound like a particularly good idea. I think after 50 jumps I’m ready for those high performance landings and I know some of the other team members are too. Of course they have to complete their A License this weekend so maybe we start hook turn practice next weekend. Ron PS: don’t worry people it just a joke…. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  3. Yeah, I really had to twist their collective arms. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  4. I've seen this one. It's got the Air Force Academy Wings of Blue team. I actually met the guys on a plane flight a few months ago. They were thrilled that I had not only seen the show but also recorded it! They were a nice bunch of guys. So since it was the first time we had met I bought beer for them! Hey I had a job and they were students. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  5. First of all I know nothing (onl 50 jumps) so take advice from more experienced people, but the typical reason for “mastering” belly flying is that it is ultimately the basic position of stability. Freeflying is great but you are putting yourself in awkward positions and need to be able to revert to stability before pull time. My opinion (see my first sentence) is that working on basic freeflying is okay but make sure obtaining a good stable belly flying position is not a problem well before pull time. I don’t see anything unreasonable with working on a little freeflying when you are doing solo jumps but don’t neglect opportunities to improve your bellyflying also as it really is the base of all skydiving. Most of all have fun and be safe. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  6. You won't believe it untill you do it but you do fall very slow when you first exit the plane. From 5,000 you have a full 15+ seconds before you hit 3,500. The idea of a Hn'P is to get stabel fast and delpoy. But don't worry if you can't do fast slow is okay you do have time. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  7. [replyI work when I want to and only the jobs I want to. Like I said, If they tell you when to come to work and what to do when you get there, you are an employee no matter what the deduct from your check. And as I said in my last post, "This is for California not Canada". Sparky Um, it a bit more complex than that. There are a series of legal tests dealing with the topic. Your “tax man” gave you an incredibly dumbed down version. The basic issue revolves around “control”. This is a complex legal issue that is challenged in both civil courts and by the IRS on any number of fronts. Trust me if you had any idea how complex the issue is and how many court cases it had been tested in you would not be addressing it so flatly. Currently, every instructor I know of is being treated as an independent contractor for tax purposes. Does this translate directly for liability purposes, no but it’s a good start. Again this is a widely complex issue that I guarantee won’t be resolved here. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  8. CRACK! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  9. Reginald

    Tax write offs

    Your question is a little broad. I'm a CPA and would be willing to give you some directional advice if you PM me. Ron "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  10. I had a master rigger talk to me about this very issue. The straps should not necessarily be even! Most people have one side of their body slightly larger than the other. If you are right handed you right arm will be bigger around than your left. He said this is frequently the same for legs too. He told me to measure the thickness of my legs and see if there was a difference. If one is larger than the other by say, 1-inch, than the leg straps should be 1 inch different. This is not a perfect explanation but you get the idea. He said he laughs every time he sees people making their straps exactly the same length as all they are doing is guaranteeing they are fit differently! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  11. IF it makes sense? I explain skydiving to people as, "it's more addictive than crack and more expensive than golf." Ron "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  12. LOL In the military they call this “unit cohesion.” In short it means you don’t want to look like a chicken in front of your comrades. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  13. Hey, I repeated level 4 four times and level 5 three times. While it sucked financially I guarantee your instructors are not doing it to be mean they are doing it to help you save your life. One of my instructors, the nicest guy in the world, would turn angry when a student talked about "failing" a level; he said it is NOT a pass or fail situation it is a skill building exercise. Once you’ve built a particular set of skills then you can progress on to the next set. This is how you move from level to level. As a guy that repeated a number of levels I can assure you that if you sat your legs on your ass and failed to pull for yourself you are going to repeat the level. Your instructors gave you good input on this forum and I’m sure better in person. I’m a low timer with 37 jumps so I hesitate to give you advice when your instructors can do better but I will share with you how I went from repeating levels to blowing through AFF and my coaching jumps for my A License. I did some tunnel time. It was the best money I ever spent, I went from not being able to control myself properly in the air to not having to think about it at all. I went from being, frankly, scared and stiff in the air to being comfortable because I knew I could control myself. As I said AFF was a piece of cake afterward. Best of luck to you and finally the one bit of advice everyone gave me- Persistence pays off just keep at it you will get there. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  14. Get used to it. I got my "D License" in Hanger time before I got my "A License" in skydiving. Ron (A guy how took himself off a load this past weekend due to winds he was not comfortable with) "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  15. Okay, most of you that used to partake will remember at least once standing in the bathroom holding a gallon of milk wondering what the F*** you were doing there. This is not the state of mind I want to be in plummeting toward the earth at 120 mph. I don't care what you do once the beer line is on but sobriety is a good thing while skydiving. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  16. At some large DZ's at the pilot will pretty well tell most people to screw themselves if they try and make a correction. They have GPS and ten thousand (literally) jump runs at that DZ. Just about anyone other than a long time instructor on the plane will get laughed at trying to make a correction. You might get away with calling for a go around on the end of a long, long run but then again you might not. Yes, you are responsible for your own spot but the idea of a 50 jump A license telling a good pilot he’s 5 degrees off ain’t gonna happen in some DZ’s. Hmm, I'm quoting myself.... My point here was directed toward the original question of "theory and practice". In theory the jumper is responsible for the spot and should signal corrections and the pilot should make them. In practice this is not always the case. Damn right I look down before I jump, but lets be honest in a big jump plane like an Otter at a large DZ with an experienced pilot, in reality when the green light is on get the hell out. Is this the way it should be? No. Is this the way it is sometimes. Yes. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  17. At some large DZ's at the pilot will pretty well tell most people to screw themselves if they try and make a correction. They have GPS and ten thousand (literally) jump runs at that DZ. Just about anyone other than a long time instructor on the plane will get laughed at trying to make a correction. You might get away with calling for a go around on the end of a long, long run but then again you might not. Yes, you are responsible for your own spot but the idea of a 50 jump A license telling a good pilot he’s 5 degrees off ain’t gonna happen in some DZ’s. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  18. I can pack my Stiletto 170 in 5 minutes and over the holidays I was packing my canopy and my girlfriends in almost the same time most were packing just one. Learn to pack faster while still being good and you will make more money. Um, BTW PackerBarry is fast and good. Putting your rig down in a neat orderly fashion with the breaks stowed and the lines walked is just common sense. I believe I’m paying for a packing service, yes, but a little reasonableness is in order too. It’s not reasonable to give your packer a big ball of shit that will take him 15 minutes to untwist the lines before he can even start packing it. Stowing the breaks, etc. only takes a few seconds and presents the packer with a manageable starting point, a big ball of shit doesn’t. Of course I gave PackerBarry a few big balls of shit lately so maybe I’m not one to talk. Hmm, I wonder if that have anything to do with the lineover the other day? Ron "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  19. I had trouble sleeping the night of a skydive when I started last summer and sometimes the second night too! As my eyes would close, I'd drift off and find myself standing in the door of the plane about to exit and my heart would start racing! After I got to sleep sometimes I would wake up with my heart racing. I solved the problem with Ambien (a prescription sleeping pill). It put me right to sleep and kept me there all night! The problem gradually went away and I was able to sleep after a skydive. I started feeling like a real skydiver when after about 25 jumps I managed to take naps in the school between jumps. The instructors would come in and kick me and tell me it was time to get up and get geared up for a 10-minute call. It will get beter my friend. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  20. Cool! Good for you. Darn out numbers are close A-44542 and A44563. I wonder who the 20 people between us are? I'm schedueling a business trip to So. Cal. and will be taking the weekend of Feb 7th and 8th to do a little jumping at Elsinore. I’d love to get a few jumps in with you. Blue Skies, Ron "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  21. Fortunately, several of the experienced jumpers at the DZ have started keeping an eye out for me and giving me advice. Of course, somehow I ended up owing 4 cases of beer before I got out of the plane yesterday. Hmmm…??? Seriously, I realize that I’m still just beginning to learn and I take all the advice I can from the experienced skydivers who are all very welcoming and open with constructive criticism. That’s part of what I love about this sport is it is a tight knit group and people go out of their way to help others. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  22. Well, hurry up and get your A. the weather has got to be nice there, right? I'm planing a business trip to San Diego in early February and would love to jump with you - or anyone....please...sniff, sniff, sniff... "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  23. Balance my friend, balance Thanks for the advice. I exaggerate a little. In all seriousness I’m pretty reasonable about it. I’ve got personal and vacation time for a reason ------- to go skydiving! "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP
  24. Dude, you're right. I mean A-44542 "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP