1888

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Posts posted by 1888

  3. Back in the day (early 60's) the PCA required the licensee to mail in his license every year along with proof of meeting the minimum currency requirements so that he could keep his license. For a D license it was 10 30 second delays or 6 45 second delays. I note that my D license was signed off for 63 & 64. If I recall correctly logbooks were mailed into PCA for inspection when applying for the original licenses.

  7. Well I'm gonna go back a few years here to 1961. I had gotten word that a skydiving club had recently been formed at my Marine Base at Cherry Point NC. As I had always wanted to skydive I filled out my application & joined. After some ground school and lots of beers we were off to the drop zone. Now this was a rather unusual type of operation in which the guy who brought the most beer got the most jumps that day which were assigned by the Chief Instructor. Neither I nor any other students thought that was unusual as we drank beer during all our other activities, so no harm no foul. We were introduced to our jump plane, a Tri Pacer which was a small cloth covered contraption that the pilot made us wax before he would fly. As we were getting prepared to load we were advised that it was forbidden to take full beers with us in bottles but cans were OK. It was a safety precaution because spectators could be hurt by the empty but heavier bottles which were to thrown out before the jump. We then loaded the airplane, two jumpers per load, again which I assumed was another safety precaution as the plane would not carry three. As we were getting ready for jump run the pilot instructed the person nearest the door, (me) to hook up my static line to the seat belt and get ready to climb out on the left wheel. I did this and while waiting to jump was aware that the loose static line was flowing behind me in a nice horseshoe between my back & the secured end on the seat belt Upon a nod from the pilot I let go, after which the guy behind me was to pull my S/L in unhook & stow it & hook his own after which the exit procedure was repeated.

    Shortly thereafter a real & experienced skydiver appeared and said
    "away the beer for I am here to square this club away." The old jumpmaster disappeared with all the full beer that had been left over, never to be heard from again.

    At the time none of us considered the jumping to be unsafe & were a bit pissed that we couldn't drink beer while jumping any more, but continued on with the program. Only later as I gained more experience did I think of my/our actual peril.

  10. I'm one of the really old farts here, really old. Started in 61 while a young Marine who along with other Marines who are really old now just jumped as much as we could as often as we could. On my 1st jump there were two of us in a Tri Pacer. Acting upon instructions from the pilot we got out on the left strut, one at a time and upon a nod from said pilot pushed off. Second guy out pulled in the S/L from the 1st guy, Hooked up his his own S/L & followed instructions as provided by the pilot. I think I was a jump-master at about 7 jumps and made my 1st demo around the same time (I was out). I instructed, packed & got my riggers ticket so I could legally pack reserves. My seal was an old rusty pair of pliers. We drank a lot of beer, cheap wine & a bit of Moon. I was sporting 9 rigs at the time & never packed on the DZ as we had a lot of students to help. They were old military "rag gores" I modified myself & packed my ass off along with others every Sat night until the we finished. I made about 300 jumps that way, improving on the exit & aircraft as we went along. Had a line over at one point & was so scared of using the 2 shots & belly mount reserve, rode it in. Surprisingly it didn't hurt too bad & I didn't break nothin. Spent a lot of Sunday evenings at the base whirlpool getting better again. Man them was the good old daze! We really didn't give a shit except for each other and had the best times one could have on the pay we made. I got out in 63 & drifted away from the sport for awhile, a long awhile and came back in 92. I have just under 3000 jumps now and have not chopped one yet. I think I have retired - again.

  12. Here's another way to look at it.


    From time there are questions regarding student retention posted in Parachutist and elsewhere. There seems to be many different philosophies, however I don't believe I have ever seen anyone address direct cost to the student. I recently thumbed through parachutist for prices of gear and contacted a nearby dropzone for the price of training up to an A license. In all cases I used the cheapest prices I could find for gear from the various advertisers in Parachutist, with one exception, the selection of a container, main & reserve. I chose the cheapest package price which included a Cypress II, rather than a cheaper price for a system that that did not include an AAD. Listed below are the results.

    $2,750 - 25 jumps to A license, including FJC
    $6,184 - Wings container, Sabre II, Pilot res. & Cypress II
    $ 159 - Altimaster III
    $ 195 - FX helmet
    $ 175 - Brand X jumpsuit

    $9,463 - TOTAL

    Then you gotta figure in about $100 - $200 worth of beer for 1st calls & just being one of the guys, gas to & from the DZ, meals, lodging, etc. and we are looking at around $10,000 as a minimum to get his new sport started, (and I usta thing skiing was expensive.) Lets say this guy's girlfriend/wife also decides to join him & we got a good down payment on a starter home here. Just sayin....

  14. Ya know there are a lot of hero's posting here. Most don't seem to realize that whenever a cop stops a car he has no idea who is inside or what he will do.
    A traffic cop may do this 10-20 times per shift. The cop really just wants to get home for dinner with the wife & kids. He really doesn't want to shoot someone, go through all the paperwork, the investigation that follows and the thoughts/remorse that will follow him the rest of his days as he tries to justify his actions to himself. Maybe some of you should remember that old saying about walking a mile in the other guys boots. Calling this cop an asshole etc. just shows your own ignorance and/or bias. He made a mistake & he's paying for it.
    Oh by the way I was a road Trooper for 20 years and never drew my weapon on a traffic stop, something I am thankful for every day. I was always alert and had the shit kicked out of me a bit and did some shit kicking as well. So you assholes who are quick to tag someone else with that handle, may now go back to your safe job in an office, cubicle, McDonald's etc. a bit safer in your communities because of that cop who is out there at 0300 patrolling your streets.

  15. skycop

    It's been a while since I've posted here, I've been reading some of the threads and thought this would be good reading for some.
    Read up on Columbine, the tactics used simply weren't up to the challenge, plain and simple. There have been many others, to numerous to list, but they also were factors in major changes that require more "military" type tactics.
    This article sums up the feelings of myself and most cops I know. I've been on the operational side of this for pushing 30yrs.

    http://www.uniformstories.com/the-militarization-of-the-american-police-department



    Written by the Chief of Brumfield, OH, population 3,343 (2010)

  16. ******He gets called a pussy for opening at 3500ft and a homo for all his match matchy gear although he gets props for being stupid /ballsy enough to not have a reserve strapped to his front.

    He's also absolutely unable to spot a cessna load and is gobsmacked by people with 8 jumps teaching a FJC.

    I jumped out of a Norseman 52 years year ago with Lew Sanborn on the Load. I landed at Orange, Istel was on the ground & Daryl Henry, (PCA inst. #7), signed my logbook. I was jumpmaster on jump #12, wearing a 28' rag gore T/U, was tossing static lines and teaching FJC at least by then.

    Oh yeah, I did my 1st demo on jump #7, (landed out cause I only had a U) and I could spot the shit out of a Cessna cause it was do or die. We drank beer out of cans so the empties wouldn't hurt the spectators.

    Now I just sit around and read my old log books.

  17. stayhigh

    Did the pills made you feel grey? Meaning you don't get too excited nor happy?

    Most doctor will say that the pills made your brain balanced so that is why you could've successfully got off the pill.



    Not I don't feel anything, except better. A few years ago I approached my shrink and suggested that since I had been depression free for a number of years I might be able to come off the pills. He replied that he would guarantee a 95% chance that I would have another episode & that it would be worse that anything I had had before. That ended the conversation for me.

  19. DrDom

    antidepressants are never better than placebo and if you read about "tardive dysphoria" they can actually make depression worse in the long run. Only therapy helps, and dietary modification/exercise. Big Pharma will tell you there is a cure, but most depression is lifestyle. Get your Vitamin D checked and your testosterone levels as well...



    With all due respect to your occupation and obvious education, you are wrong. I have been there, done that, and meds did it for me after a long trial & error process. It has kept the demons away for many years.

  23. peek

    ***The USPA appears to disagree with you, from the USPA website: B. General conditions for licenses 1. USPA licenses are valid only while the holder is a current regular USPA member; there is no other renewal requirement.



    Sec. 105.45 lists the things that the FAA wants the tandem parachutist in command to have earned, or qualifications to have. I would interpret that (assuming that my interpretation holds any weight) to mean that once the master parachutist license had been earned, that this qualifies the person to be a parachutist in command.
    Quote


    Actually, no USPA member now holds a "valid" or current master parachutist license, because the names "master", etc., were eliminated from the license descriptions some years ago.



    Umm, I am looking at my D license (320) issued in 1963 by the PCA, the father of USPA and it says expert. Nowhere does it say Master. What's up with this Master shit??

  24. I seriously doubt criminal charges would ever be filed in a case like this even if the victim filed a criminal report. Even if they did prosecute, what would the charge be? Stupid or not, this was an accident so unless someone dies or sustains debilitating injuries there wouldn't be much interest on the part of the prosecutors.


    Reckless conduct comes to mind.