MajorDad

Sorry to hear about your injuries but two landings resulting in broken bones in your first year is unusual especially since: 1. you are a big lad 2. seem to have a history of poorly executed flares and rough landings 3. the first broken bones was on #44 where the winds were 25 MPH - why were you in the air instead of the ground? 4. didnt let the first injury heal before returning to jumping 5. Broke more bones on a night jump due to an improper flare (were you in the lights for landing or off in the boonies?) This points more to lack of skill/awareness rather than bad luck. You mention that you have done canopy drills on your own but dont mention if you have done any Canopy Courses or had an Instructor critique your landings. Skydive City certainly is a good location for both. Also there is added danger when you jump with hardware and you were lucky on the the second broken bone jump that you didnt screw your ankle up permanently. Hopefully you heal up but before returning to jumping again, have a long sitdown with your local ST&A and work out a program for you to learn how to fly and land your canopy. Otherwise you will have a short and painful career skydiving. Blue ones Major Dad CSPA D-579

In Canada, those winds Gusts are above the level for A License Holders (max 18 mph) so you would have been sitting here no matter how current you were. One of the other considerations is the fact you are a low-timer who is uncurrent. It is very important after a winter lay-off to dial it back a few notches till you do get current. There is a higher number of accidents and fatalities in the first couple of months of the season due to people trying to start off exactly were they were at the end of the previous season. And I am also one of those who would have been on the ground in those winds this early in the season because I am not current (in fact still snow on the ground here.....) Have a good one. Major Dad CSPA D-579

Nah, that is one of the benefits of Alzheimer’s. That plus you make new freinds all the time! Seriously though, Congrats to all the guys on the records. I know I want to be skydiving in my 80's (probably on a Rocket-53 and all the young-uns laughing at the boat I am jumping......) Blue ones. Major Dad CSPA D-579

The innocent people in the car the idiot hits? Shouldn't you be paying attention at the intersections (and everywhere else)? Defensive driving. Survival of the fittest. I drive in Egypt where there are no rules, lights, signs, etc. Most people here do not go through any drivers training to get their license. You have to be vigilant in your driving - really pay attention. You are driving a massive piece of equipment that is capable of killing and so is everyone else on the road - most people don't see it that way. The answer is not more laws/rules/etc. I once spent six months in Syria and living the "Offensive Driving" style of driving. Although it was different driving with very informal rules of the road and essencially zero traffic enforcent, the consequeces of accidents were high. In addition, not a lot of Traffic Lights in the smaller town. They had them in the cities but with the rolling blackouts, they generally didn't work for a couple of hours a day then. Oh, yeah, plus army soldiers with AK-47's at pretty well every intersection (a little better armed then North American Traffic Cops). I'll stick with the North American method. There is enough aggressive driving on the roads without resorting to anarchy. The "informal" rules that apply to driving in the Middle East are not part of the culture or the mindset here. Have a good one. Major Dad CSPA D-579

The innocent people in the car the idiot hits? Major Dad CSPA D-579

First year is always expensive then it settles down. You'll still spend all your disposable income on Skydiving and become really good at cooking up Kraft Dinner and making PBJ Sandwiches. The best part is you wouldn't have it any other way. Have fun! Enjoy the ride!! Major Dad CSPA D-579

Happy Birthday Amazon Get and give lots of Amazon Hugs today!! Major Dad CSPA D-579

Cheers Sandi Good to hear. In addition to some good articles in the Safety Section of DZ.Com there are some good ones on Brian Germain's site such as http://www.bigairsportz.com/pdf/bas-sizingchart.pdf Hopefully you find a DZ that can help with the transition gear. My home DZ has gear with 190's and 170's for use as transition gear but Edmonton is a bit of a commute for you Have fun and welcome back, Major Dad CSPA D-579

Welcome back. I've seen lots of people with 300 jumps get back in the game after a long layoff with no issues and it is always great to see them back. Can you fit a 135 or a 150 into your rig rather than the 120 you were jumping? Along with the other great suggestion people have been making, dialing it back a notch or two on the canopy size for a few dozen jumps is a good move until you get back in the grove. There are also a lot of good quality canopy courses out there as one of the biggest trends over the last four years has been needless accidents under perfectly good canopies. Blue ones, Major Dad CSPA D-579

My Brother-in-Law was a cop in British Columbia when they brought in Photo-Radar. He was a pretty straight character but one night he went on a rant about Photo-Radar and said that the cops at his detacthment didn't like them 'cause they were getting tagged too. He went on about a night when a couple of them snuck up to a Photo-Van at night on their own time, took off the Van's License Plate, then put in on one of their personal vehicles. Then they blew through by the Photo-Vans Zone several times before putting the plate back on the Van. Would have love to see the technicians reaction to developing that roll and matching up the plate to the van that took the picture! The games cops play when they are bored..... Major Dad CSPA D-579

Snowing here Hmmmmm..... Beer....... Three weeks till opening day! Major Dad CSPA D-579

Are you going to translate "RUTR" for the Am-mer-ee-cans? Major Dad CSPA D-579

I didn't take your statement as an absolute and yes there are plenty of asshat instructors that have serious attitudes and don't know how to act professionally. There are plenty of those asshats who have never been in the military. As far as the OPs question, I was the second one to answer it in this thread. However, based on some of the comments I will add some more of mine. IMO if a person is qualified and meets the standards then they should recieve the rating. The standards should be known up front and they shouldn't change at the will and pleasure of the CD. However, if the standard isn't met then like you I don't believe that they should receive a rating. If a person just barely passes the course and just barely meets the standards, they should still recieve a rating and that is when people like the OP should help the new rating holder to improve their skills. FWIW I also don't like instructors that try to intimidate students. I much prefer instructors who try to teach. What I was trying to imply with my initial statement was that I prefer instructors that are direct with their critisisms. i.e. here is what you did wrong and this is how you can fix it. I didn't mean to imply that the same instructors couldn't also give positive direct feedback as well. I agree with JustChuteMeNow. I am not famillar with the USPA Coaching System but in Canada, the Coach 1 Course is the entry level course for all the other ratings in Canada (Coach 2, PFF, JM, Tandem). A candidate needs his B License (as little as 50 Jumps) and it allows the Coach 1 to do 1:1 instruction of a portion of the skills grid on the ground and watch the student in the air (no contact). Even if the individual does not use the Rating and decide that Coaching or Instructing is for them, they still gain the benifit of the course. For many from the civilian world, this is their first experience in learning how to teach and how to observe skills. I have seen many people gain confidence and experience by entering the Coach system and gain life skills which carry on into the "Real World". From the OP's original Posting, the Candidate comes across as a quiet guy with skill and potential. Hardly unusual. The Course Conductors come across as Gatekeepers to prevent the unworthy from entering the club by preaching Standards. Which is better for the sport: having a new Coach that the OP and other Instructors on his Home DZ work with to see if he can develop the skills to become an instructor or keeping someone from becoming a junior Coach and souring him on the program altogether? Major Dad CSPA D-579

Right on Guys! Show the PUPS how it's done... Major Dad CSPA D-579

Your best bet is to lose weight. Not the answer you are looking for but there it is. A friend of mine was 250 or so when he started and got up to about 280 afterwards. After he blew up his second parachute, he decided to listen and lose some weight. Fortunately he only blew up mains and not his reserve. In addition there were very few people who could jump with him until he learned to fly (and more than a few laughed as I took two weight belts to the scales to load up for a coach jump with him - instant downsizing!). As for larger people in general, they are also higher risk for injury from skydiving and we pay attention to them during the first jump course. What an average person can get away with on a student parachute may break a bigger boy. If you havent been on a drop zone and seen skydiving, go to one; hang out and talk to the DZO and the instructors (hang out at the bonfire afterwards too). You'll get a better appreciation of what the others are saying and what the risks are. In short, rather than getting the sport conform to you, you may have to make some changes to conform to the sport. All of the rules in place are from results of experience and blood. Good Luck. Major Dad CSPA D-579

Happy Birthday 'Chelle (and to the girls as well) Blue Skies, Major Dad CSPA D-579

Since John L. is making a distinction between modern canopies and the older canopies, would it be fair to say the drill for a Manta in turbulence would be 1/4 to 1/2 brakes while the drill for a Sabre 2 or a Stiletto be full speed? Major Dad CSPA D-579

Seems to be a rash of Skydivers wondering about it recently May cut into your skydiving time and funding though..... Major Dad CSPA D-579

Condolences to all her family and freinds. My heart goes out to them. BSBD Major Dad CSPA D-579

We have a number of big guys at our drop zone. One of my friends weighed around 270 or so when he started and I had to strap on 20 lbs of weight when I was coaching him (and I normally dont wear weight belts). His skills improved and he also experimented with jumps suits and falls at around 115 mph now. One thing that may help is swoop cords for your jumps suit. It is a $5 option on Tony Suits but I dont see if it as an option on Bev Suits Order Sheet. Pretty simple and I find it great when I am jumping with teeny, tiny people or am on a jump where I know I want more range (ie late docker on a larger formation). And of course going up with a coach or senior jumper may help with developing skills to slow down your fall rate (or identify things you could do differently). 235 lbs is hardly an unusual weight for skydivers. Lots of them out there. Blue ones, Major Dad CSPA D-579

I just think its the wrong approach thats all As someone stated earlier, when you are working with people you praise in public and reprimand in private. Great when you are in the physical presence of the individual. However this is a chat group (to point out the obvious). And the internet is nowhere near as effective communication tool as face-to-face. It sounds like Marko has taken this lesson to heart and hopefully it sticks. Sometimes people go back to their old ways after the lesson fades. Hopefully not in this case. If the lesson sticks, great! Cause it was physically painless and only the ego has been bruised. Most "Marko's" I have seen need to break themselves before they learn the hard lessons of the ground. The sport can be very unforgiving for those who dont know their limits and dont listen. It may seem like people are piling on Marko, and saying "told you so", but sometimes you have to punch someone in the gut to get their attention. I am glad that Marko posted the video as I will use it as an example when working with other junior jumpers who want to downsize too quickly so they have the chance to learn from the mistakes of others before they make it themselves. It may seem impersonal, however there are some very good lessons in this thread once you strip out the emotion and venting. Blue Ones, Major Dad CSPA D-579

The CSPA information on this can be found at http://www.cspa.ca/en/npa. In short, the NPA was published 15 March and interested parties have 60 days in which to respond to the designated person within Transport Canada (i.e. by mid May). Transport Canada has to respond to the points raised. Depending on the issues raised, the NPA can then be pulled completely (which is what CSPA wants), modified and re-published (re-doing step 1) or slightly modify it if there are no significant (to them) issues in Gazette 2. (Edited: this is authorized by the Order In Council Andrew talks about). Once it is in Gazette 2 it is a done deal and we have to live with the good, the bad and the ugly. Transport Canada was intending for this to come into full effect 1 Jan 2009. The intent of engaging MPs was to work that front as well. Regards Major Dad CSPA D-579

Have to disagree with you on this one on a couple of points. First off the federal government should no more regulate skydivers after they leave the aircraft any more than they should regulate scuba divers who use boats or skiers who use helicopters. While the NPA should not adversly affect most existing CSPA Operations, it may be impacted by overzealous Transport Canada Inspectors or may be a problem for new operations starting up. Either way it is leveraging the issue of protection of the First Jump Student into regulating a voluntary High Risk Sport. Transport Canada also seems to be heavy handed in their approach in that they are ignoring mandated Risk Assessments and minimizing dissent to portray concensus on the NPA as presented. CSPA has posted a couple of draft letters on the website at http://www.cspa.ca/en/npa.htm. These are currently being reviewed/discussed on the CPSA.Chat group but it is a start. The Important one is to be sent to Transport Canada as they have to collect and respond to the concerns raised by the industry and the public as part of this process. That is why there has been so much discussion on CSPA.chat so that the points being raised are based on fact and logic as opposed to emotion and BS. The other letter is for your MP. Even though in your case, he only votes in the case of a tie in the House, he can speak in caucus and in the back rooms. He also influences the House in that he calls on who speaks next. While I dont see the NPA as influencing my skydiving career as I stick to the BSR's and can always head to the states, if the NPA is adopted in its present form there is a potential to set up a regime that can erode the sport in Canada. It would be sad if the impact was only the larger centers could continue operation and all the smaller ones fade through attrition. If nothing else, CSPA is taking a stand and making it easy for Members to respond by providing letters with envelopes to send in. People who do nothing more than sign it and put it in the mailbox will help the effort. Please take the time to do at least that. Regards, Phil Major Dad CSPA D-579

Maybe between his self induced malfunction plus the heat he has also drawn from the Free Flyers Forum he has realized that he has become "That Guy". And you dont want to become "That Guy"! Hopefully he learns from his mistakes and learns to listen before he breaks himself or takes out an innocent bystander. Some do. Some don't. Some fade away. Some hang around. A friend of mine used to have a tag line that "Maybe my life was meant to serve as a warning to others".... Major Dad CSPA D-579

I was thinking exactly the same thing as I read the list. When I read about a kid being expelled for bringing tweezers to school, I just shake my head. If you plopped todays under 20 year olds into the back country the vast majority would be screwed. Mind you every generation thinks the "new" generation has gone to pot. Ever since the Roman times. 'Cept this time it's true Major Dad CSPA D-579