DougH

7 hours ago, Nabz said:

On the hook knife subject, is a hook knife strong enough to cut a tandem bridle ? I thought I read/heard they were made from a type of kevlar ?

Look at Chuck's post replying to me, post #13.

1 hour ago, jacketsdb23 said:

Hi Doug.

We had our child in February of 2019 and I purchased term insurance that specifically covers skydiving. Our insurance provider is Principal. The cost was 2 dollars per thousand of coverage, which was by far the cheapest I found. I actually have two policies due to the expense. 500K that covers skydiving and 500K that excludes skydiving. One policy that excludes skydiving is about 400. The other that covers skydiving is about 1400. I have super preferred rating based on physical.

I found through the process that some insurance providers would downgrade your health status if Skydiving was included. That never made sense to me. I found Principal to be up front with everything and very easy to deal with.

The policy that does not cover skydiving has an aerial exclusion...due to my answers to the questions on skydiving. The policy that covers skydiving doesn't have the exclusion. I only mention this since I had been expecting a 'rider' to cover skydiving but its not set up that way.

Good luck and congrats! Let me know if you have any questions.

Marcel

Thanks Marcel! Congrats to you and your family as well.

This is great information, I will take a look at Principal.

On 9/25/2020 at 7:01 PM, turtlespeed said:

AND . . .  you generally don't attend many protests and do the looting.

Just like the 99.9% that attend protests and "don't do the looting".

Crazy thing this right to free speech and right to peaceful assembly.

You can still cry in a exotic car, but it is better than crying in a run down geo-metro. 

I am surprised. 

5 minutes ago, chuckakers said:

Not true. Check out the video link clearly showing a Jack knife slicing through the bridle like hot butter.

https://www.facebook.com/frickflyer/videos/3597604893625570

As for trouble reaching the bridle, I think adrenaline would solve that problem.

That is awesome, thanks for sharing that. I have a Jack-the-ripper on every one of my jumpsuits including the pants I wear for tandems and camera suit, but I had always thought it would have a hard time in this circumstance.

On 9/22/2020 at 2:56 AM, Binary93 said:

Should the cameraman cut the bridle while still in tow with tandem or should they wait for the tandem cutaway?

Updating this reply after seeing the videos that Chuck shared below. I have always assumed that in this scenario the drogue would be hard to physically cut, but maybe I underestimated the hook knives function here.

I think your best outcome is still relies on the tandem instructor following the procedures to a t, so you can free yourself once the tandem pair is free from you. 

10 hours ago, Westerly said:

who cares. ifly is an absolute garbage company for more reason than one.

More sour grapes? Shocker!

I found Bill's post infinitely more interesting than your response but that is par for the course.

Is there anything even remotely involved with skydiving that you haven't become upset and bitter about? Have you stopped to consider why you may be feeling this way, and how you may be contributing to all of your poor experiences?

On 8/27/2020 at 10:08 PM, wmw999 said:

There’s that whole statute of limitations thing. Also the benefit-worth-the-cost thing. 
It’s kind of like saying you’ll spend whatever it takes to catch every lady welfare cheat. Program cost: 5 billion. Enforcement cost: 10 billion. But at least we punish people. 
Kanye is a musical and business genius, who is mentally ill and a political joke. 
Wendy P. 

There is no concept of benefit versus cost. Just look to all the individual freedom loving, pro small government "conservatives" that would love to enforce mandatory drug testing for state aid recipients.

They would gleefully spend millions to take a few 100k of benefits away from people. 

So you are going through a student progression?

My Prius has been a great purchase as a commuter car, and I don't mind driving it at all, despite having owned large lifted trucks and sport cars along the way.

I bought it as a commuter car with 30k on the ticker to drive a 100 mile round trip commute. 200k miles later it is still going strong, and all I have ever done for service was to replace the non-hybrid battery, and change the oil.

We are slowly moving in to our new house and I am amazed at the amount of stuff I can stuff in it with the seats down because it is a hatch back.

On 8/26/2020 at 6:48 PM, wolfriverjoe said:

In a perfect world, maybe.

But the problem is that if/when someone gets hurt, the lawyers cast as big of a net as they can. 

There's no way any manufacturer can shield themselves from that liability. 

 

Yes, but does that reality really vary between a 17 year old jumper and a 30 year old jumper? 17 year old jumper goes in and the parents/estate will sue everyone if they get the right (wrong) lawyer gets in their ear. Same outcome is just as likely with our 30 year old.

I see the argument on a tandem jump, for example where the Sigma specific waiver is shielding UPT, would be deemed invalid for a underage jumper. There is much more of a relationship between UPT and a tandem student. UPT makes the rigs, but they also train instructors, and they have a whole system that continues to interact with their equipment, the equipment owners, and their instructors following the sale of a tandem system.

That is not the case with non-tandem sport parachutes. Aerodyne doesn't have evaluators to certify instructors that are taking students on AFF jumps using their student rigs. There isn't a continued relationship there after the sale to the rig owner. 

Excluding tandem jumps I don't think that the DZ waiver, regardless of its legality, offers any protection for the manufacturers.

Think of all of the other risk activities where equipment manufacturers have products that are used by minors. Climbing, skiing, driving. None of them are lobbying to have all use of their products restricted until the age of majority.

12 hours ago, dudeman17 said:

I usually agree with most of what you have to say, but...

Huh? We're not that big of an industry, and wrongful death lawsuits can result in huge judgements, on top of what it costs to defend and appeal them.

 

I think they did, and what they came up with was an age-of-majority age limit.

Who is not that big of an industry? Sport skydiving (to include instructors, fun jumpers, DZO's and clubs), or skydiving equipment manufacturing. They are interrelated but they aren't one in the same.

Who put their heads together? The manufacturers or the USPA board. The impression I got at the time was that the board put the age limit in place at the direct request of the manufacturers. That isn't who the USPA is supposed to represent. 

I will admit that it is a silly detail for me to be hung up on because in general I don't think minors skydiving is a great idea. I personally wouldn't take a minor on a tandem even if I was allowed by UPT or Strong unless it was my child or an extremely close personal family friend. It just isn't worth the personal liability unless there are major legal changes or a state law that would provide legality to the waivers. I just think that should be a DZO and an instructor choice.

20 hours ago, wmw999 said:

This is a marker thread for some hard opening discussion from Incidents. They deserve a thread of their own, because it's an important topic.

I recently bought a used Hornet because of its ease of packing; however, after using it for a day, I've probably retired it as opening too hard. It already has a giant slider, and I did psycho-pack it on the last try. However, I figure the chance of hurting myself trying to get it to open well is just not worth it.  BTW, what I consider to be a good opening is firmer than a lot of people like, so I'm not looking for a 1000-foot snivel or anything. Frankly, I just wanted something really easy to pack. I have a comparably-sized Stiletto...

So -- thoughts? And I'd like this to be a thread for people to talk about hard

I used to roll the outer nose cells on my hornet, and stuff them into the center cells. It still opened hard. Other than that characteristic I really did like that canopy.

There shouldn't have been an age restriction in the first place. That was a handout to the manufacturers, and I don't recall ever paying dues to the United States Parachute Manufacturers Association. They already have PIA.

Maybe I am recalling the explanation incorrectly, but I don't buy the argument that the entire equipment industry was one lawsuit away from disaster, and that we had to protect them to protect our interests as skydivers.

If they wanted to limit their liability from minors from using their equipment then they should have put their heads together and gotten their lawyers involved.

The more I noodle this idea the more I hate it. Sorry, you get points for initial creativity, but they all get taken away for not being creative enough to envision all the problem. Please don't play around with this idea, it is a problem in search of a fatality, not a solution.

If you use the system like a tandem drogue where it is deployed out the door then no one will be able to skydive with you if you intend on creating a drogue fall speed that will have any meaningful impact on max opening forces. Even at 60mph freefall speed you can still potentially have a hard opening with high g's.

Why bother with the freefall at all, or the complexity at that point, just do short delays on hop and pops and high pulls.

If instead you use it to slow down at the bottom end of a jump you have basically created a high speed malfunction, and PCIT, which will then need a second deployment action. So you pitch the drogue, you wait for a decrease in speed, then you pull a drogue release. All at the bottom end of a jump.

6 hours ago, headoverheels said:

When I had term insurance (quite a while ago now), it was through a professional group, IEEE (electrical and electronic engineers).  Their policies had no exclusions including acts of war, except suicide within the first two years of coverage.   Perhaps there is a professional accountant organization you can join, which has similar insurance plans.

I calculated that just the odds of a skydiving fatality gave me a positive expected value.  I was in my early 30's, so term insurance was quite cheap.

Great idea. There are similar professional associations for accountants, the main one is the AICPA. You may be right, they may have a similar lack of exclusions not unlike employer group policies. Thanks!

8 hours ago, TriGirl said:

Sorry, my policies were all Whole Life, not Term.  I thought I did pretty well with the premiums, though they were higher than Term policies I've heard of.  On the other hand, they didn't charge me extra for extreme sports (but they did as a 'smoker' because I admitted to enjoying a cigar every year for the Marine Corps birthday)

The nice thing about my WL policies was that, because they are long-term, they built up equity.  I recently converted all four policies into a "reduced, paid up" status -- meaning I never have to pay the premiums again, and the combined payout to my beneficiaries is worth $96k based on what I contributed over the years already.  The combined value of the four policies while I was paying premiums was $250,000, with premiums of about $260-ish/month (as I recall -- it was part of a lump sum I paid to my combined retirement account that went to pay mutual fund contributions as well as insurance premiums).

In case you want to check them out, the company is Liberty National.  YMMV.

Thanks TriGirl.that is an option for sure. Whole life policy premiums are normally significantly higher but you do build equity like you said, there can be tax advantages too. I think I would be looking at 4k to 6k in premiums a year for a 500k death benefit for a male in my age range. I wish I had taken one out in my early twenties when I first started working and I had some financial advisors pitching them, but at the time the premiums seemed even bigger to me relative to what I was earning right out of school.

4 minutes ago, gowlerk said:

You have outdone yourself this time. Congrats.

I honestly don't know why the owners of the site allow him to continue to drag down the forums in general with his drivel. It is unhelpful trolling, drunken rambling about how terrible tandems are because he has social problems and was a shit employee, etc. Much of the useful posting is long gone and we are left with monkeys that spend their time flinging shit.

I was seeing if anyone had any recent policies written so I could narrow down which companies are willing the underwrite the high risk surcharge.

Go climb back under your bridge, you are equally useful under there. 

1 hour ago, Westerly said:

You only need to add skydiving to the policy if you want coverage in a skydiving accident. If you're fine with no coverage for skydiving but coverage for everything else, there is no need to add it to the policy. Considering the likeness of death while skydiving relative to the additional cost, basic math and statistics would show it's not in your favor to add the coverage.

No shit huh? Why do you think I would be asking about life insurance that COVERS a skydiving accident on a Skydiving website if that wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. I have a CPA license, I think I have a rudimentary understanding of how math and statistics and insurance all works. 

Consistently helpful though. Big thumbs up.

It doesn't matter if the odds are low. I want to protect my wife and kids if Joe Fuckstick hooks a 180 in to me in the pattern. Or if I end up with a really awesome set of tension knots on a tandem reserve. Etc etc.

The low odds won't pay off the mortgage or living expenses if I am on the wrong end of the percentages.

There have been some old old posts on this but current data is everything with insurance. I am going to throw this out to FB but I am hoping this query will get some action on here too.

Does anyone currently have term life insurance policy that was written to include high risk activity (skydiving for fun, skydiving for hire).

Looking to find out what Companies are writing policies, and what the high risk premium surcharge is running.

I haven't been jumping at all this season because I have a newborn and COVID. But I want to get back up in the air, but I want to make sure my wife and son are covered. I do have a moderate group policy from my employer that doesn't specifically list skydiving or flying as an excluded activity, but I would like my own policy that was written to specifically cover the activity, even if it is spendy. Additionally, if I lose employment I don't want to lose all life insurance coverage for jumping so I have the option to sling drogues to make ends meet while I find new work.

I thought the USPA partnered with an insurance company for something similar, but I was struggling with their links.

Ruined your whole week?! Buckle up kiddo, if you think that is disappointing just you wait. You are going to love all the other shit that comes with being an adult. 

2 more years will fly on by.

You are going to create many additional problems on your quest to solve the hard opening problem.

Many others have mentioned this, but the malfunction decision tree is much more complicated for a tandem system because of the addition of the drogue. Additionally the drogue on a tandem is intended to be deployed early at the start of a tandem jump. On a tandem this keeps the pair from hitting tandem terminal, and also provides response time if there is an issue with the drogue deployment so the instructor can respond.

Your system will be deployed much closer to the hard deck, and would allow almost no time to respond to a drogue related issue. Drogue in tow at the bottom end of the skydive, you are screwed. Drogue entanglement at the bottom end of the skydive, you are screwed. I could continue but you get the point.

If you don't get motion sickness in other parts of your life then there is a good chance that this will be limited to tandem jumps only for you. Also likely that this could have been a one time thing.

Tandems are more likely to induce nausea and motion sickness. Your body is overloaded with adrenaline. There is often movement under canopy that you are not initiating. Additionally tandem harnesses can limit blood flow to your lower extremities due to to a combination of fitment and body type. 

We include tandem jumps in our AFF progression, and I have students that experience nausea that never shows up again once they are on their solo jumps. 

9 hours ago, Westerly said:

I tell it like it is. The fact that you're disappointed that you're not in fact a total rock star filled with nothing but exemplary talent because you're a TI is irrelevant. The facts are as they are. All things considered, tandem jumps are not complicated compared to even your everyday average 4-way belly, FF, CRW or WS jump.

You are so full of shit that I am surprised that it doesn't come flowing out your ears. It is definitely coming out of your fingers.

Tandems instructors don't need to be Skygods and many aren't because they get stuck hucking drogues all day, but they are complicated jumps due to the equipment and the unpredictable cargo strapped on the front, and TI's need be consistent and reliable.

You claim you have a tandem rating, so you should be familiar enough with some of the tandem fatality reports. Things can go really bad on tandems when procedures aren't followed. All of those fatalities prove the point that they aren't just another jump.

Your average 4-way belly doesn't normally lead to a drogue entanglement if someone fucks ups. The jumpers on your average FF jump don't have a malfunction decision tree nearly as long or as complicated. 

I am trying to figure out your angle on all these asinine posts about tandems. I think I am settling on the fact that you were a shitty instructor, which is ironic considering how "simple" you make it out to be. 

I thought there was a manual for the hornet with all of the line trims at the back, but it is 10 years since I owned one. I'll check but im sure someone has one.

I think MEL used to do linesets for them, haven't kept track.