propilot

Members
  • Content

    176
  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never
  • Feedback

    0%

Everything posted by propilot

  1. Post edited because some of my comments are being taken out of context. 99.9 percent of the people at my dz are awesome people, I didnt mean to offend you guys just because i have some problems with one or two of you. I meant to respond to the original question and make comments about flying skydivers in general... and nievely didnt think that anyone would make the connection to where i fly. I didnt mean to sound like our dz has low training for pilots, instead i meant that dropzones in general have lower training than is ideal. Its hard to post online here and get your thoughts out as you understand them in your own head. For those of you at my dz, Just for the record our training for new pilots is above industry standard, same for our maintanence and general operating procedures. 99.9 percent of you people are awesome, are good people and great friends, I wish you the best and hope you didnt take me the wrong way.
  2. Tonysuit. I am 235 out the door and love my tony suit!
  3. All good reasons to skydive
  4. Haha, I think the risk of me hurting myself trying to fly a wingsuit with my jump numbers is greater than me falling out of my rig ;]...definately want to try that wingsuit thing sometime though.
  5. I never blamed the manufactuerer. I dont do headdown.
  6. Well, regarldess of all the bs, it seems to me that a simple 15 min rigging job to make a strap connecting the to leg straps together (like that shown in the article linked earlier in the thread) could make falling through the hole in the back of ones rig an imposibility (well, as close we can come to impossibile). So, my question is, why dont we do it? Its cheap, simple, and only takes a few minutes to add to any rig. I wonder if someone had something about tandem harness adjustment a year ago what the response would be. Perhaps "dont worry about it, it has been known for a long time that certain body types could possibly fall out of a tandem harness but you dont hear about it often, dont worry about it" ? God forbid we take preemptive action. Its just not cool to be too safe when skydiving. Btw, as a jump pilot ive heard the "dont worry about, we have been loading our cessna 182 with 5 jumpers for years" argument. It's still retarded to do it and you wont catch me flying that way. Just because its the status quo, doesnt mean its the best way.
  7. You know, replies like yours are why many people wont post on dz.com. Wtf are you talking about. No $hit you can die, your jumping out of plane. There are lots of ways to die while skydiving, falling out of one's harness should not be one of them! I dont give a $hit if the recent events are tandems. The fact is, I can fall out of my rig. Even if there is a one in a million chance I dont want that hanging on my mind when im about to jump. Like you obviously know, there are already lots of ways to die skydiving. Hell, why dont you jump with an old 70s rig with a belly mounted reserve I mean, sheesh, everyone knows you can die skydiving, why not make it more dangerous. Why would I want to spend 15 bucks and 30 min of my time to ensure I wont fall out of my rig. What a stupid idea. Mx issue? my rig is almost brand new, this is not a mx issue. Wow, I guess i better shine up my bowling shoes cause im obviously not cut out to recogize a simple mx issue. Go back under the bridge troll!
  8. Ok, so I have read the posts about falling out through the hole in the back of a sport rig but didnt give it too much thought since the posts/articles implied that it was more for people with very small containers. ...so Im bored tongiht and read this article http://www.makeithappen.com/spsj/fallout.html and decided to give it a try. I put on my rig, tighten down the legstraps and chest straps as I have them tightned when I skydive (read, tight). In about 10 seconds I could get out of it, through the hole in the back. I bent over, moved the leg straps towards my knees, and pulled the rig over my head. plop...off it comes. I'm shocked. I have been in a sit posistion before where the legstraps came up towards my knees...all i would have taken is a premie... What do I do now? The rig is only 10 months old. I dont want to skydive with it untill this is fixed.
  9. The grammer in this thread is so bad that it's hard to even understand what you are saying.
  10. Its not all bad apples being a dz pilot, and I would for sure without a doubt follow my path again. I currently love my posistion and the multi turbine pic time that im building will propel my career past most of my fellow CFIs. ...just keep our pay in mind when ya start complaining about making 30-50 dollars per jump. :}
  11. Quote$180.00 bucks to do a tandem and all the TI gets is 30 bucks? I dont know the perticulars of taking a tandem but it seems they should get more then that. Considering they risk their life to do this, and the money it cost them to achieve their rating. Quote pfffffffttt Paaalease! Okay, Im sorry I have to say something. IF anyone, by your math, should be getting more money it is the pilots! It costs 30,000.00USD+ to get the ratings/licenses and years to build the time to fly. Most jumpt pilots (C182) get around 6-10 dollars per load. I got 6 bucks per load in a C206 in colorado flying to 18 grand (dz elevation at 6). It took 35-40min for a turn. I got 6 dollars per load. 6! Now, Im not complaining, but christ. tandem masters make 6 times what most C182 pilots get paid. the big plane pilots dont do that much better. Plus, most DZs barely survive (or, heh, maybe most dont)....it costs a lot to run a dz. fuel is going through the roof. aircraft are expensive. etc etc ugh, im done typing, you get the idea.
  12. I dont use ebay. Paypal ripped me off 500 bucks. Since ebay owns paypal, they can both go to hel
  13. What if the dude hanging had a premature opening? You could take out 3 people with on mistake. I think it not a good idea.
  14. Nice attitude, im sure the pilot will appreciate you not giving a $hit. What is wrong with you? Maybe the pilot didnt see the cloud directly below you. He is not perfect. How about the next time you board the plane and forget to buckle your chest strap i'll just say f it. I mean, you ahve already made the mistake, its not like we are supposed to look out for each other or anything right? right
  15. Well, I suppose if the green light is on then its a different story. Rereading the original post, id say the pilot is at fault but also the jumpers are too.
  16. If you indeed cannot see the ground and you are in the U.S., you should not jump. Put yourself in your pilots shoes. He has invested thousands and thousands of dollars and many years..indeed much of his life into a career that you have the power to F up. The FARs say that no pilot in command may allow you to do what you described. All it takes is another plane to query approach why there are bodies dropping through a cloud layer...guess what...your pilot now has a record that will probably prevent, and at the least slow down his advancement in his career. He will likely loose his ratings, need to spend thousnads to regain them, and probably also wait 6mos to a year or more before he can try and get them again. That means no money during that time. How about I come to your work and f up your livelihood? How would you like to go from making 20K a year to even less when you loose your job because you are no longer licensed and must work at Mcdonalds? It is not a joke and it is not cool and it is not acceptable and it is not safe to jump through a solid could deck. I dont mean to lecture, but dont risk my career so that you can get one more jump. I cant believe that the poll is favoring jumping. I hope none of you are at my dz.
  17. arg, I know. Usually I can exhibit self control, laugh, and just move along. ...that post just hit a nerve though.
  18. Only his family can do that, but I would like to respond to the rest of your post. The law is foolish because skydivers cant always spot an aircraft? How the hell do you think an pilot is going to spot your tiny body falling straight down at 150 mph? Second, umm your dropzone? Excuse me? Skydivers contribute next to nothing to the national airspace system. How is it your airspace? Let the pilot walk away from a fatality? Are you serious? Jesus I wish I could slap you. Thats like me saying "I cant believe they arent suiing gusses family for letting him jump through my airspace and putting planes at risk." Do you realize how assinine you sound? I am a Twin Otter jump pilot and a skydiver. You should count your lucky stars that the FAA allows you to make a skydive. You pay for nothing in the national airspace system and you cause risk for every plane nearby. Jesus Christ. Im moving to Canada.
  19. Really? By the AFM or FAR? Can I get a reference via PM? Thanks.
  20. Youd be better off getting a caravan or PAC750 and setting up a Part135 night freight business. Then, when there are several days between flights you could hop over to the nearest cessna dz and fly some jumpers. IE, Based in Columbus Ohio. Have a night freight run from CLM - SLT - SLC. But the freight in SLT doesnt need to be run till 4 days after you get there....find the nearest dz.... a lot easier said than done.
  21. I have had a freefly handle on a mirage rig and absolutely loved it. The custom made mirage however did not fit, so I sold it after 1 year of owning it and ordered a Wings. (I think the mirage problem was a measuring issue from a bad gear dealer..the mirage was an awesome rig, just didnt fit) The wings is amazing. Awesome fit, great design, awesome. by far the best rig that i have owned (out of three). Except for two (should be easy to fix) things. The main freefly handle pud. this has to be the gayest (is that a word?) incarnation of a freefly handle. the tab that slides into the rig is like a limp noddle and is impossible to get into the space between the flap and bottom of container fabric. adding to this problem, is the attachement point of handle to PC. its in the middle of the tab that is supposed to go in between the flap and rig. it forces me to pull out the PC fabric to even get the handle stowed 1/2 way in (which is made impossible because it issooo limp! ...my rig is a tight close, so its hard to get it in there). second, the brake line stows. you end up tearing up your brake lines trying to stuff feed them though the taught elastic...wtf? does anyone else have these problems on their new wings? PS...I absolutely LOVE my wings...out of the entire process the only complaints I have are these two small things...so dont get me wrong. its the best rig ever....just need to find out if im the only one or maybe I should tell wings about it?
  22. Usually you are going slow when you delpoy immediately right? Anyway, I didnt know about the slider bouncing thing..good info. Like i said, im surprised everything turned out so well. My intent in the story is to show that you need to think twice about it with so little experiance and take along a qualified friend who can answer questions...
  23. I seem to remember you saying that before...maybe now it will stick in my head :} Thanks Allen
  24. I did my first baloon jump at about 100 jumps. I packed my main with my slider 1/2 way down and deployed immediately. I exited at 2500ft with my cypress off. everything went well...amazingly.. the opening was one of the best I ever had. I was open around 1700ft according to my log book. I had to land in a 500ft by 50ft grass area with power lines on either side. I survived, but when I look back im surprised I didnt get hurt. If you do decide to do it with 100 jumps, make sure you bring along a friend who you trust and is experianced who can guide you though the entire thing..packing, making sure your cypress is off, spotting, etc. Also, make sure the baloon guy knows you need to go to 4,000 feet and tell the damn baloon guy to fu*k off if he tells you to get out at an altitude below where you are confortable at....I paid to go to 3k, but was told to get out at 2.5. Decide your altitude before hand and stick to your plan. Go as high as he will take you...no sense in getting out lower if you dont have to or if you dont feel confortable with it. Also, make sure there are arrangements to get bacdk to t the dz. I had to hitchhike back.
  25. Bill, are the "no-stretch" lines (im assuming you are referring to Spectra?) stronger than mini risers?