exnavykds

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Posts posted by exnavykds

  4. Quote

    I hope the younger jumpers look at it as a learning experience and that we have better luck next time.



    "Younger" is a relative term when you're on a POPS load. LOL

    I'd think it's safe to say I was the least experienced on the jump (if not the youngest at age 43?). To me, just being a part of the 9-way was awesome! Judy is right, I learned a LOT and had a blast doing it! You'll never jump with a nicer bunch of people - thousands of jumps and years and years of experience between them and not a "sky-god" in the lot. Thanks Judy and everyone else who allowed me to be a part of the record attempt. Now I have a year to practice before we shatter the record in '07! :D

    -Kevin


  6. Quote

    I had in my head I would have 150 jumps before my first cutaway... ...it can happen any jump so be ready for it



    Great point! I had my first reserve ride on my last jump as a student. The DZ had old rigs, still fitted with leg-pulls. I completed a two-way, turned and tracked off, went to pull - the pilot chute would NOT come out. Gave it everything I had on the second try and the thing wouldn't budge. Went for the reserve handle and missed it the first time (wearing the WRONG kind of gloves). At this point my mind's eye is seeing the ground rushing up to meet me. LOL Second try I got the reserve open, only to have line twists all the way to the canopy... got the line twists cleared at about 1000ft, just enough time to clear a peach orchard and a fence before landing in a pasture. The DZO showed up in his car and the first thing he asked me, "Where's my bloody handle?!" LOL Seems in my haste to live I'd dropped his reserve handle - gladly paid the $65 he demanded to replace it.

    Point is... I could have looked at it one of two ways, either let it spook me into not jumping anymore, or tell myself that I just proved I could handle a crisis (albeit a small one) and gain confidence from it. I chose the latter! ;)

    -Kevin

  10. Okay, rookie question... I'm planning a group dive with all my best jump buddies for my 100th jump. We're getting it all lined up, Twin Otter, 8 to 12 way formation, video, stills... Would like to hear recommendations for the BEST music for the video. I'm told Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness" works well. Any other suggestions???

    (Thanks in advance!)

    -Kevin

  11. Quote

    if I realize the DZ operation places me into a situation where a violation exists and I point it out to the DZO, in vain, I will go some place else



    I agree, and that's pretty much what happened here. The issues here, at least the ones I wittnessed, really only affected the students and not the licensed jumpers with their own equipment. As Jordan pointed out, first jump students generally don't read the SIM, don't know the difference between a Cypres AAD and a Sentinel AAD, and don't know the hazards of wingloading a reserve at 1.38:1. Maybe I was wrong, but I felt someone needed to speak up for the students.

    Nobody, including myself, wants to see the DZ shut down. We just want to see it made a little safer.

  12. Quote

    Go to any church that uses a bible. You will meet people there who (sometimes) curse, who don't believe the earth is only a few thousand years old, and who work on weekends.



    Hey, I warned you ahead of time that it was a bad analogy! LOL :)
    Quote

    The SIM is just a place to start. (Note that I'm referring to the SIM and not the BSR's here; that's a slightly different story.)



    Very good point. The SIM in general vs. BSR's (kinda like the bible in general vs. the 10 commandments, huh? lol)

    It is indeed the BSR's that are taking a beating at this DZ.

    Thanks Bill for your input and advice.

    -Kevin

  13. Quote

    Seems a lot of the "older" jumpers...people who have been in the sport 10+ years....I'd go as far to say 15+...are always saying "this is how I learned, I survived and am fine."



    The BSRs aren't continuously reviewed and revised because of the many who did things a certain way and lived to tell about it, they're for the few who wont.

  14. Quote

    then a new jumper comes along and says "you know, we should do X!"



    I guess what I'm trying to wrap my brain around is this - When a new jumper (like me) comes along and starts a jump course what's one of the first things you do? You hand him a SIM (which is written by smart, experienced, respected jumpers like yourself - true?) and say "read this." Why does it surprise anyone if we notice that what we read doesn't match what's really going on?

    Look at it this way... (bad analogy forthcoming - lol) Lets say I've never been to church in my life and I decide to go. I go to a small country church where the preacher is also the Sunday school teacher and the organist and the youth director, and he hands me a bible and says. "Go home and study this" and I do. After a few months I start noticing that the Preacher is sneaking off into the woods with the Deacon's wife every Sunday afternoon... Now, I've read in the very book that the preacher gave me that this sort of behavior is wrong. I approach the preacher about it and he does nothing but get irate. So I start asking the church members, all of whom have been here much longer than I have, and I start getting responses like these;

    "If you don't like it you should go to another church"

    "This kind of thing happens at EVERY church"

    "Oh that's nothing, back in my day the preachers used to do the whole choir - and hey, nobody ever got hurt"

    "You haven't even been a Christian long enough to know the difference between right and wrong!"

    "Oh, you mean that adultery commandment!? That's always been waiverable."

    ;) Okay, okay... this is all a little tongue-in-cheek, but you do get my point, right?

    Thanks again for letting me share things from my point of view.

    -Kevin

  15. Quote

    not one single extinguisher was found to be in working order. i ended up putting the fire out with 2 liter bottles of Mountain Dew



    I've talked to other DZOs, S&TAs, Instructors, Pilots, and Riggers around the state (and even in Dallas), they all seem to have a horror story concerning this DZ.

    Quote

    the next attempt to take the A/C to altitude resulted in the engine quitting halfway down the runway



    I said earlier that I thought the place was relatively safe for licensed jumpers with their own equipment. I may have to rethink that.

    Thanks Gump for your input.

    -Kevin

  17. Quote

    I hope you are still reading this thread..



    I am Pops, thanks :)
    Quote

    Start by asking local instructors why they are not following BSRs



    The DZO has only one instructor left, the rest have quit and gone elsewhere. The one that's still there stays because he can't afford to go anywhere else. He knows that if he rocks the boat he won't be instructing there for long. I had already spoken to him about what was going on.

    Quote

    Your S&TA should be spoken to



    The DZO IS the S&TA

    Quote

    USPA BSR violations should be reported to your USPA Regional Director



    Done.

    Quote

    FAA regulation violations should be reported to your local FAA Flight Standards District Office



    Done.

    Quote

    You can take your business elsewhere



    Done.

    Quote

    You have a moral responcibility to promote safe practice and ensure that those around you are not placed in unnessesary danger



    I couldn't agree more. I'm thankful to everyone here who took the time to post and share with me their thoughts and ideas.

    Kevin
    POPS 9791, CSA 696

  19. Quote

    BSRs aren't laws



    Rule: An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.

    If we're going to call them rules (BSRs) then lets treat them as such. Otherwise, lets call them BSGs (guidelines) or BSSs (suggestions).

    Quote

    In reality, most paid packers aren't riggers and aren't supervised.



    Thats absolutely true. But, in this case, we're not talking about paid packers. We're talking about students with 5 or 6 jumps packing, completely unsupervised, for other students.

  24. Quote

    From my perspective, you're complaining without offering anything; you're not even identifying which DZ it is



    If my intent were to shut the guy down or grind an "ax" then it would have made sense to identify the DZ in the very first post. As I said before PM me and I'll be happy to tell you (any of you). But, unless you're willing to go there and see for yourself, to help persuade the DZO to update his equipment and training methods then naming him here would only look like a personal attack, don't you think?

    All that aside, I've learned a lot from the input here. Thank all of you very much. I appreciate the advice and the constructive criticism.

    -Kevin

  25. Quote

    I would be really interested in you posting some hard facts of what the Injury rate is there or even death rate @ YOUR DZ in question.



    How would you propose we accurately do that when the DZO doesn't submit incident reports? I could state that I witnessed three broken bones in a two week time span, (four days of jumping) but I'm sure you'd say that was a fluke or an anomaly, right? And do you really suggest we measure the safety of a DZ by its "death rate"? If this is the mentality of EXPERIENCED jumpers then it's no wonder DZ's like this one are allowed to continue.

    Quote

    Man That List really cracks me up..........



    So what part makes you laugh the most? That students are jumping without AADs? That 240lb. students are jumping with 180 reserves? That the student rigs don't have BOC pockets? That students with 5 jumps are packing, unsupervised, for other students? That reserves are often 12 months or more between repacks? I admit, I have a pretty twisted sense of humor too but, try as I might, I just don't see it.

    The main division here seems to be between those who see the BSRs as "rules" and those that see them as a loose set of guidelines.

    Quote

    Kevin you sound REALLY pissed off.



    That may be true, but its the result of the indifference shown from those few who seem to care more about a negligent DZO than the students he endangers. If your heart is truly in the right place, then act like the sky-god you claim to be and go check it out for yourself. Go observe a class of first jump students in action. Look over the equipment. Talk to one of the former instructors who now refuses to teach there. PM me and I'll give you the phone numbers of EXPERIENCED, D-licensed jumpers who have, like me, moved on to other DZ's, of riggers who have seen this DZO's work first-hand, or the FAA themselves who just completed an investigation of this drop zone based on "numerous complaints from multiple sources".

    But really, what does it matter? In your eyes I'm the villain here. I'm comfortable with that. I'd rather be the villain pushing for a safer dropzone than a complacent, indifferent up-jumper who's not concerned about the well-being of students.

    -Kevin