sky4meplease

Strong Enterprises has a new flex pin, not a new design necessarily but some production and materials changes. Give them a call for details. I was given a thorough explanation of the production process new and old which provided some valuable insight. Overkill is under rated.

My point is that from my perspective (experienced skydiver/DZO) it is awkward for the jumper/student/passenger as well as the friends/family watching/spectating. It's not gender specific on either front. Overkill is under rated.

I have seen both male and female set that way so it's not just a female thing. It bothers me to the point I am ready to say if that is how they will hook up it has to be in the back of the ride and students sit on the floor until final hook up and adjustment altitude. And for Gods sake let them know ahead of time that is how it is done so the customer can opt out if they want. I would! I have seen it done that way in a few different places and it never sits well with me. Thanks for the input. Overkill is under rated.

Does anyone else think the climb to altitude with a Sigma TI is awkward when they have someone on their lap the whole time? We jump a Cessna and I can see how if riding up front you may need to place the student there prior to take off due to the fact that hooking up lowers and adjusting is difficult with the door closed. In the back of the plane the student could sit between TI's legs on floor then hop up on lap prior to jump run. I don't know it just creeps me out and I feel awkward when my customer finds out they or their daughter or wife will be sitting on some strange guys lap for twenty minutes or even one minute for that matter. Overkill is under rated.

Jacob, Are you new to the area? Overkill is under rated.

And you think I'm crazy? Overkill is under rated.

Terry, You still have to shut them off to change the needle. Overkill is under rated.

I will bet there is a sweet spot for any TI shooting handcam where the subject framing is perfect or as good as it will get given the equipment they are using. The key is to find that spot and hit it every time. Go back and look over your videos and try to see where that spot is. Sport professionals do this all of the time. Go to the tape. As for safety... I do handle checks with or without cameras. It was part of my training and is now part of my routine. You can see me do them on my videos. I have had multiple reserve rides with tandem passengers and the cameras have never been a problem. Overkill is under rated.

If you want to argue outside video vs. handcam try this one in the photography and video forums. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4277871;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; Overkill is under rated.

My Home DZ has students do two tandems and then move on to IAD if they themselves are ready. First tandem is to simply have fun. Let go... arch... knees up to land. Most never come back for further training no matter how revved up they are to light the skydiving world on fire the day of there first jump. Sad but true. Second tandem is more of a training jump with altitude checks, deployments, landing pattern etc.. A prep for ground school. That being said, I have students return every year for more tandem fun knowing fully well they will never make a solo jump. Good for the OP for knowing his/her comfort level and wanting more information and training before moving on. Overkill is under rated.

I suppose there is a chance an FAA inspector just happened to be standing on the airfield watching this guy make one poor decision after another. Now lets pretend he wasn't there ( however unlikely ). Then someone would have had to contact the FSDO to prompt an investigation into an aviation related accident. Hell maybe the jump pilot radioing ATC or other traffic in the area that there was a canopy descending from 10,000 feet prompted a call. That call could have come from a number of different sources. Overkill is under rated.

Good question. Someone contacted the FSDO office to prompt an FAA investigation. Overkill is under rated.

I'm not a doctor but if his says they will hold have him fill out a waiver, take him up with a canopy that has a few hundred jumps on it, open with the wind at your back if you can help it and HAVE FUN! Overkill is under rated.

How soon we forget. Remember when Grandma " almost " fell from her tandem harness? Overkill is under rated.

I would stop watching so much television. Overkill is under rated.

Apology accepted. Thank you. I look forward to meeting you as well. Overkill is under rated.

Overkill is under rated.

I too at some point had a long speech typed out for robinheid and decided to delete it. I came to the conclusion that this is a man probably my fathers age and my father is a little crusty as well. I also realized I was five years old when robinheid started skydiving and that deserves my respect. Sadly enough the instructors who really need to read this thread and others like it probably don't. Overkill is under rated.

I am not going to argue publicly with some one who has 38 years of skydiving experience about who is a low timer or a newbie. My guess is that in robinheid's eyes... everyone is and if that makes him feel better that's great. Robinheid is right that some students need more time pre-jump than others and any system that is put in place to give them that extra instruction would be worth the effort. I still think that once the wheels leave the ground it is not a system but a properly trained, respectful instructor with good common sense that will bring your student back safe. Overkill is under rated.

Thank you robinheid for the personal attack. Even though you don't speak very professionally, I do agree with you that there needs to be a system in place which allows more time for students that require it. What I don't agree with is your list of questions that put your prospective students into the "out of spec" category. What about scared people? I have seen scared people do things that make tandem skydives much more dangerous than being a few pounds overweight or having a few years under your belt. You should include airsickness. I have jumped with people who were in better shape than me who passed out or became motion sick from canopy descent and made our situation downright scarey. My point here is that you can put your student in front of the DZO, a TIE, the S&TA, and a certified rigger before there jump and there are still certain things that can and will happen during a tandem skydive that only the Tandem Instructor will be able to address. Without some common sense or critical thinking skills on the instructors behalf your student is in big trouble no matter how many systems you have in place. As for me, I don't appreciate you attacking my skills as an instructor and presuming I will make decisions that will endanger someones life. You have never met me and have never seen me work with students which is something I take very seriously. Overkill is under rated.

What we need is more common sense! Hell... look at what is hurting or killing most of our sport jumping brothers and sisters... bad decisions under good parachutes. Look what some of the students in this sport ask about on this site... "how do I get this camera attached to my head and when can I downsize". Staying alive in this sport and not breaking students is as much about common sense as it is about knowledge and experience. Our scheduler and manifest have a combined one hundred jumps. They don't have the knowledge or experience to make the call about who should jump. It's the instructor who is going to let the student outside of the aircraft who needs to make the determination as to weather or not it can be done safely. I have personally never refused a jump for someone who has met the weight requirements (which is more or less a gear manufacturer thing for us). I have however, highly recommended certain people come back on another day with better conditions for there particular needs. Not one of these students decided to jump anyway. The moment I lay eyes on my next student I am calculating how I will get them back to the ground safely and that includes multiple gear checks, paying attention to the aircraft and pilot on the way to altitude in case we need to exit early, keeping an eye outside of the a/c so I know where we are at so I know my options for landing in the event of an a/c emergency, looking for indications of ground winds including campfire smoke and where the smooth water lies on the lake so I know how far off the trees the turbulence plays, watching and talking to my student and calculating how they are going react, hooking up adjusting and explaining one more time how we are going to get out of the airplane and stable and who is deploying the parachute and at what altitude. Under canopy it's an immediate controlability check and how was my spot. I always do practice landings up high and we do them until it's as good as it's going to get then I calculate how I will set up and land based on that (sometimes it means a tandem PLF and there not pretty but it gets them to the ground without me on top of them. I do all of this while making sure my student is having the time of there life. This is what common sense tells me to do to be a thorough tandem instructor. If I can't do ALL of those things then common sense tells me NO. Overkill is under rated.

Our DZO's have left it to the TI's to determine weather or not it's ok for the tandem students to wear these. I wouldn't recommend it to a junior TI and I require them to be secure but otherwise they don't bother me too much. Honestly, it's the young jumpers that want to wear them mostly and in general they are physically fit and leave me a little wiggle room to make sure they don't kill us or someone on the ground with there gear. FWIW, I have never seen video or stills from these jumps that was worth anything. Overkill is under rated.

That's a great photo Airtwardo. I think almost anyone can jump given they have the right instructor, gear, weather and attitude. Overkill is under rated.

You don't think disabled tandems should NOT be skydiving? That could be considered out of shape. Elderly people could be considered out of shape too. Not too long ago we determined hyper flexible people can come out of a harness as well. So if we don't let disabled, out of shape, pare shaped, hyper flexible, elderly or over weight people jump out of airplanes then we can damn near kiss tandem skydiving goodbye. And I will be forced to start hooking again. Overkill is under rated.

Maybe it's a " Porn-et "? Sorry we got weathered out today.