topdocker

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Posts posted by topdocker

  2. chuckakers

    ***It is common to jump without a hook knife these days?



    I never jump without one. I have one on my rig, but my "go to" is a Jack-the-Ripper in a pocket on my jumpsuit thigh for easy, fast access. I also recommend them to every jumper I work with.

    If you don't have a hook knife when you need one, you will likely never need one again.

    Hey Chuck!

    I used to keep one in the leg pocket of my jumpsuit. And the day I needed it, I was spinning so hard that I couldn't get it out even though I had about four thousand feet.

    My advice is have one where you can get to it easily. See if you can actually get it out under canopy sometime (checking traffic, etc first).

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  4. skydog

    Typical bluffers tactic......

    Smoke and mirrors. What instructor ratings do you currently hold (Have you ever been a TI or AFFI) & when was the last static line course?

    I won't be holding my breath.



    And just because you have some rating doesn't necessarily mean you are super experienced or clear thinking, you have just merely attained a rating. And the absence of a rating doesn't mean you are automatically a toad either.

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  7. Iago

    ***The high end Stihl's are pretty much the top choice, will go for years and take a brutal beating. Commercial grade for sure, but also not for amateurs. - they will cut your fucking leg off, and certainly with stupid people using them can result in catastrophic injuries.

    Send a dozen chains with them as well. i am sure sharpening will be a chore down there, so all the help they can get



    Oh yeah, these will be restricted use. I plan on picking up some kevlar suits to send with the saws, too.

    Big question I'm trying to sort out is if they really need the big saw, or will a smaller saw with a larger bar do the job. The one their asking for is 77cc. I don't really know how power translates to performance in the chainsaw world. If a 60cc saw with a 32" bar will work (i.e. a 460 Rancher series,) even though the recommended max is 24", I'd rather send them that at half the price and put the capital into something else.

    I used a Husq 455 with a 24" bar at my ranch for clearing Eucalyptus trees that were up to three feet thick. Very dense wood and dulls a chain in no time. The 455 handled every situation great, was easy to start and use, swapping out chains was easy in the field as well. A little heavy, so I could only handle the thing about six hours at a time. I had a smaller chainsaw for smaller jobs just so I was lugging that thing around to trim a branch.

    I probably could have had a Stihl work just as well, but the local shop stocked Husqvarna and had plenty of parts.

    These definitely aren't for the noob or the unprepared.

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  8. dpreguy

    Seat packs or backs?
    I do get a lot of Butler pilot emergency rigs. I will watch.

    To defeat ownership rights of subsequent purchasers...you must report these assemblies, (actually the owner has to) as stolen property with local law enforcement; with as much detail as possible. If a rigger finds these rigs, local law enforcement there has to do the confiscating, based upon the actual owner's detailed description and proof of his ownership and the filed stolen property report. The more detailed the description, the better. The owner must file the report, along with your report too. The owner must also provide his proof of ownership in the report - and contact information. That way, when the rigs turn up, all will be ready to go.



    Is this true for my sport rig? It should but there seems to be a disconnect once its a sports rig.

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  9. the_raven

    ***A dozen tandems a day challenges Many muscle groups, endurance, situational awareness, balance, coordination, etc.



    I will 2nd this. My body is pretty destroyed after 20 tandems on the weekend.

    Hmmm. I've done 17 competition CRW jumps in two days at Nationals (8 rotation, 8 sequential with a rejump thrown in). Pretty beat up and sore for several days after. But that might have been the 17 pack jobs as well. Unlike other disciplines, CRW jumpers don't routinely have packers.

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  11. Long-time competitor here.

    If its that crowded, usually my team volunteered to get off the plane! The rest were happy to have the extra space, we could usually be on another plane right away, and this gave us time at manifest to figure out who screwed up. Sometimes it was another group, a tandem and camera, or even manifest itself. Whatever the reason, it just wasn't worth being crammed on a plane to altitude.

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  12. billvon

    >USPA must know that print magazines are dead.

    Honestly I don't care if people think print magazines are dead, or if USPA is "behind the times." USPA should do what its members want, even if it's not the most fashionable thing to do.



    Yes and no. If continuing to have a magazine means we bankrupt the organization, then it is the wrong thing to do. I bet a majority of members would vote to have $5 dues!;) That doesn't make it the right decision.

    More what I mean, is that USPA should be looking at an elegant way to exit the magazine business while still getting information and entertainment to its members.

    And fashion does matter when it comes to attracting the next generation of jumpers.

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  13. chuckakers

    ******Especially when more than 8 out of 10 members want the rag.



    No.

    8 out of 10 respondents to a survey (that was in the magazine?) answered they wanted the rag, not 8 of ten members. I would bet, many members (like me) didn't even see this survey.

    You can get whatever answer you want from surveys if you design them correctly.

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    I stand corrected on that specific sentence, as that was an oversight in wording. Look at my reference earlier in the post and you will see that I said "81.4% of those surveyed..."

    I believe this was an online survey, and to address your comment on the amount of people who took it, 3,635 people answered the question about delivery options - or about 10% of the members. That is IMO enough to give a fairly good representation of the membership in total given that there were only 3 possible 1st choice preferences and the other two scored so low. Even if you include a margin of error the print option would still be the overwhelming choice of respondents.

    I'm not pro or con on print delivery, but as I said in my post we need to look at the big picture, especially when more than 8 out of 10 members who cared enough to voice their opinions want the rag.

    Chuck-

    I know its a picky detail of semantics, but it is an important differentiation. Thanks for responding and recognizing, I really appreciate that. That's a good response rate, but those that really like the magazine are more likely to respond than those who are apathetic about it.

    Parachutist has really gotten away from its intended purpose: to be the official information conduit to members. Back in the day, the magazine was how you heard what the BOD decided, who won the Nationals (and every competitor had their pic in the "Nationals issue."), and incident reports. Other entertainment articles appeared, but those were not the focus of the magazine.

    Today it is completely different. The magazine is trying to entertain a broad spectrum of jumpers (age, experience, disciplines, location, Nationality) and the information aspect is minimal.

    I work in two dental offices with stacks of magazines out in the reception area. They are in near pristine shape after months of being out there, people just do not read them. USPA must know that print magazines are dead. The questions are how long are you going to ask the members to subsidize the dying patient and for what reason.

    Hope all is well.
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  14. Best advice: stay in shape. This pays off no matter what you are doing.

    Second: consult a sports med doctor, but make sure they have a real grasp on what skydiving is all about, not some vision of you jumping off 10 meter towers in training.

    Third: Listen to your body. If you are hurting, stop and assess what is going on. Better to skip one jump than miss a season or end a career.

    Fourth: don't lean on the wing of the AN-2, its fabric

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  15. chuckakers

    Especially when more than 8 out of 10 members want the rag.



    No.

    8 out of 10 respondents to a survey (that was in the magazine?) answered they wanted the rag, not 8 of ten members. I would bet, many members (like me) didn't even see this survey.

    You can get whatever answer you want from surveys if you design them correctly.

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  16. billvon

    Quote

    Sure, but there's no incentive to do so right now. Discount the dues for people who don't want the mag, and i'll check the box.


    OK, so you don't care if you get the magazine or not. Sounds like a non-issue then.



    A few years ago, I lived in a house with about ten members living in it. Parachutist mag was more common than dirty dishes! I mean it was everywhere in the house with multiple uses from leveling tables to a stack used as a footstool. The original purpose of the magazine was to inform the members of official business and current events. That purpose has long been surpassed by email and the web, far more current and easier to access.

    I'm not surprised dues are going up, like taxes, they never go down. I just wonder if Group Membership rates are going up the same percentage. That would only seem fair.

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  17. wolfriverjoe

    ***The minimum age in the UK (BPA) is 16yrs. I always assumed the US (USPA) was the same; I didn't know it was 18yrs.



    It used to be 16 for the USPA. Then the manufacturers got tired of being sued when a minor got hurt and made USPA raise the age to 18.

    It can be waived. There is a 16 year old who got his A last year. DZO's kid. Both parents on board with it. Dad is DZO, he & mom aren't together anymore but mom is fine with it, proud as hell actually. She "likes & shares" a lot of the jump pics.

    Absolutely not true.

    The tandem rig manufacturers feared lawsuits. Certain states do not allow parents to sign away juvenile rights. Most states do, especially those with a large tourism/sport industry. Having sat through the BOD meeting where it was voted through, it was complete BS. The BSR had nothing to do with safety and everything to do with a lot of BOD members wanting to keep their gear discount or sponsorship.

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  21. timski

    ***it took you 4 years to dig this post up ? :o



    IMO THIS thread should be deleted...

    Adam has brought up some and continues to bring up some serious issues. This is the forum for exactly that.

    The question is: really does he have a real basis for continuing these complaints?

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  22. Thirty years ago, I just wanted to finish static line and do a couple of freefalls.... see what that is like.

    Since then, I have traveled the world competing at CRW, been on the Board for USPA, been an SnTA, set world records, and met some of the most awesome people on the planet while doing hundreds of jumps a year.

    And somehow I also managed to raise two awesome kids, get married a few times, get divorced a few times, own a successful business (not skydiving related), and am about to become a grandparent.

    You will get out of skydiving what you want to get out of it. I got a great life, amazing friends, a finger that won't bend, unbelievable stories, and a satisfied sole.

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  24. billvon

    >No, my argument is that USPA does not primarily serve its individual members.

    I was discussing your claim that USPA has "mandatory membership." They don't.

    >The best example is the one you ignore, the GM Aircraft Maintenance program.

    I have no experience with that, so I can't comment intelligently on it. It's something I have not used, seen in action or needed.

    >Not if I want to jump at USPA GM DZ.

    Correct! And if you don't join your local soccer club you might not be able to play in their games. But that doesn't mean that membership in your local soccer club is mandatory.

    >Not if they want to be sanctioned by the USPA.

    Correct. If a drop zone wants to be sanctioned by the USPA, they have to join the USPA.

    To me it's a pretty simple decision. Is what I get from USPA worth the cost of membership? To me, it is. For other people, it's not. Both are OK.



    If a jumper has access to a non-GM DZ, then they have a choice. If they don't they must join USPA. It's that simple.

    Certainly the cost of membership is worth it when amortized over the year to jump in the US. I just wish USPA, as much as they spout they are here for the members, have really become an organization that serves too many masters.

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  25. DJL

    Quote

    But let's be real no one on that board is going to anything to support or even comment for a GM or individual member who contacts them with a violation and they just blow you off . But hey that TI who just hit his one hitter and then grabbed the tandem rig to take up the customer could be comeing to dropzone near you, cause crouch didn't care.



    Let me guess, you wanted to get USPA involved in your personal pissing match and they told you they can't pull a rating just because you said you saw a TI using a 1-hitter. If you saw this and you give a shit why didn't you do something, this is very fucking serious but you did nothing and complain that someone else should have?



    It is USPA's job to get involved in exactly that situation through the SnTA or RD. USPA took on the role of policing the TI's and does a horrible job at it because no one really knows what to do at the field level or just blatantly looks the other way.

    Twenty-five years ago, when tandems were a small, small fraction of the money pie, USPA listened to the members. They had no choice, we were the sole source of income to USPA. Then, they added the Group Membership program and had to serve two masters with competing ideals of how skydiving should be. Lately, the manufacturers (specifically the tandem manufacturers) have heavily influenced USPA. Now they serve three masters and the members are the ones with the least amount of political pull.

    And you pretty much do have to be a member of USPA to jump in this country. I don't think there are ten DZ's that are non-Group members in the US. USPA essentially is a monopoly and certainly acts like one.

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