jee

I don't agree with this comment. How do you know what his skills are? Jump numbers don't mean jack shit. I've seen many skydivers with thousands of jumps that can't land a Navigator. The simple truth is you have no idea what to tell this person. The only people that can are exerienced instructors or safety advisors that can watch him on several jumps. Ask Kallend about the Stiletto. He started jumping one at very low jump numbers. I'm pretty sure he's still alive.

Well..because he said this: Nuf said?

Rob, no disrespect for the site or its mods intended. However, I call it like i see it - I was spit in the face, and I state that. I explained my story and stated facts only. I would like to make sure my posts stay up. Please explain to me how it was a personal attach ? I merely explained what I did and why I felt it was necessary do go to the extremes of dealing with the police when a fellow skydiver is involved. cya I stand behind vid666 on this deal. I think he and several others really got screwed by Mel. This is nowhere near a personal attack. It is a chronological record of attempts to contact Mel and nothing more than a display of his frustation. There is much much worse elsewhere on these forums everyday. His post saved me personally a canopy possibly. Your response seems a bit personal riggerrob. If you know Mel maybe you can suggest to him to make things right with the people he took advantage of.

My husband's first rig cost us $2000. He jumped it for 3 years, about 400 jumps. We sold it for $1600. $400/400 jumps = $1/jump. Better numbers than yours I bought my first rig for $1800. Put 300 jumps on it before getting a new canopy then another 300 on the container/reserve/cypres. I still own that rig, and keep it so there's a spare in our house should either my husband or I need it in a pinch to turn loads. I only bought my first new gear recently. If someone is hurting for money, there's no reason to go buy new when there are plenty of good used rigs out there. A new jumper doesn't need top of the line. There's nothing wrong with an older dolphin or racer container, both work well and are easy to pick up inexpensively used until finances allow for custom gear and education in the sport allows for better decision making on what to buy. An old Dolphin or Racer? Are you kidding me?

Interesting comment. Nonetheless, my point is to NOT listen to any advice given on this forum including mine. How do you know I have 400 jumps? There is no way anybody can get any accurate advice on these forums from someone possibly half the globe away. The only reason anybody should be reading here is for entertainment purposes only. Anything else is in and of itself irresponsible. And by the way, ANY elliptical canopy is more apt to spin up than a rectangular planform canopy. Not just a Stiletto.

I respect your opinion. However doing as you say did not work for me. The hit isn't as bad as you think it is. I paid $5000.00 for a brand new Infinity and sold it a year and about 200 jumps later for $3800. Ammortized for 200 jumps that's $6/ jump. Hmmmmmm doesn't make sense to buy used to me. But what do I know? You are much smarter than I am.

I wouldn't worry too much about what every body is saying about having more jumps. It really is an individual thing. The people on the forums have no idea of what your skill level is. They can only go by averages. Maybe you can handle an elliptical canopy and maybe you can't. As long as your instructors are on board with your choice and sizing you're probably going to be ok. I wouldn't worry about the Stiletto. The opening problems are a myth. I have several hundred jumps on Stilettos with no spin ups or line twists or anything yet. In fact my Sabre 2 that I bought brand new had several openings with line twists in the 100 or so jumps I put on it.

Good, Good. The other thing is not to own the same gear more than two seasons (replacing it once a year is best). Well, that doesn't make any sense. And it doesn't make any sense to be a smart ass. If you can't afford it then I suppose used gear is a better alternative to renting. But why settle? You get what you pay for. I'm not sure if you're being as arrogant as you seem, or merely naive, but it's probably one of them. Here we go again. You can't post your opinion without getting a smart ass remark or two can you? Well I'm not arrogant and I'm far from naive. I've been through plenty of used gear only because that is what every body suggested. Never was I comfortable until I bought new. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford all new gear X 2. I have a new Icon rig and a new Infinty. Both made to fit and both very comfortable. My opinion is just that, my opinion. Why the animosity?

Good, Good. The other thing is not to own the same gear more than two seasons (replacing it once a year is best). Well, that doesn't make any sense. And it doesn't make any sense to be a smart ass. If you can't afford it then I suppose used gear is a better alternative to renting. But why settle? You get what you pay for.

I wouldn't buy anything but new gear. Period.

I say being a pilot goes a long way towards piloting a canopy. And just being used to being "up there" is a tremendous head start. But don't let it get to your head. There is nothing worse than a newbie or any skydiver at the dropzone bragging about his type in a 73 or arguing about some aerodynamic fact that he knows because he's a pilot. You will find there are all different walks in skydiving but mostly you'll find they are different from what you are used to as an airline pilot. Animosity is abundant. Good luck in your new endeavor! I think you'll find it to be a blast. I know I did. BTW..where I come from a doctor killer is a V-tail Bonanza.

Painting a car is like skydiving. As a beginner you can own the best gear have the latest and fastest canopy and read all of the books and then you could jump but............... get my drift? I however was like you. I just did it anyway (paint the car that is). After about 20 paint jobs I could let somebody else look at it without having to explain this run and that run and how I was going to buff out the other imperfections. I worked for a Lexus dealer at the time and had full access to state of the art equipment. Good luck! It can be alot of fun.

Try one of these: http://www.offroute.com/product/view_product.asp?x_ID=149171&CatID=14348

What a dumb-ass.

This came up a while back in south Texas. The guys at the San Antonio FSDO were aware of and very clear about this situation. If your permanent residence is outside the US then the rules of that country apply to only the OWNER of the gear. Any one else jumping the gear goes by the FAR's including all applicable TSO's. It doesn't matter where the gear is made. The guys name at the SA FSDO was Tarwater. He may still be around so maybe you can call him and ask. Or, call your own FSDO. It doesn't matter what the DZ's opinion is or the USPA's for that matter. Or anybody else who may have written an article. It's up to the person who's going to issue the citation to the pilot if the FAA gets involved. I know. I'm a pilot and I've been there.

I say forget all the extra wing and swoop cords and I won't suggest that maybe you have some other problem. I find it disconcerting that some are suggesting this type of gear considering your jump numbers. You are only asking for trouble using a swoop cord. I would suggest you find a jumpsuit maker that will line the inside of the arms and lower legs of your new jumpsuit with zero p fabric and then line that with a more comfortable material that will be against your skin. Although it will be hot in the summer months there is nothing better to slow you down until you are ready for the zero p wings and swoop cords. (The swoop cords however are useless while freeflying) This is similar to what some of the tunnel guys are doing. Not only does it slow you down because it is layered and thick and flaps a lot less but the zero p lining creates a pressure differential that is similar to what makes a wing fly by not allowing air to flow through it but forces the air around it, albeit the effect is minimal. I am 245 lbs out the door and fall very fast. With my jumpsuit I can match fall rate with my freefly partner that is 135 lbs. Try TonySuits. That's what worked for me.

I just got mine the other day but I think you would rather look at this lateral instead: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=71803;

They're operating in a grey area of the market, the internet. Just because federal law makers haven't caught up to the scammers in regards to internet business, doesn't make it right. Look at the classifieds here on DZ.com, or think about e-bay. They both have a system in place to deal with, and expose fraud. The reason they have to handle it themsemlves is because the lawmakers can't keep up. The scams change everyday, they're interstate or international, and the sheer numbers all add up to an area where crooks can operate freely. What Skyride does is not a case 'good business' that it's competitors are jealous of. What they do can hardly be considered 'business'. It's actually closer to organized crime if you think about it. They come in, use deceptive advertising practices to lure your customers into their fold, then hold those customers hostage and force the DZ to cut Skyride into the profits those customers will generate, or they will send them elsewhere. I could see if Skyrie actually owned a DZ, and was willing to do the work themselves, then it would just be their superior advertising that earned them a customer, that would be good business. But the fact is that they don't have a DZ (in 99% of the cases). They sell a product they cannot deliver on, and then bend the actual service providers over a barrel in the aftermath. DZs are forced to either accept the certificates, or watch customers in their area drive past their DZ to a location that will accept them. It really is some straight up gangster shit. I could see if this was a huge market, like cell phone service, or garbage pick-up, services than almost everyone needs creating an endless pool of customers. But that's not the case, DZs have a limited number of customers to pull from, and they need each and every one of them to remain solvent. Ever heard of Skydive Chicago? Crosskeys? Mayeb Perris Valley? Sure you have, those are huge DZs. The secret to their success? Easy - Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. They have the population to draw from to grow into the mega-DZs they are today. Ever heard Skydive South Iowa? Or how about East Nebraska Parachuting? Me neither, actually I just made them up, but I know there are DZs just like that all over the place. The real problem is that Skyride poaches customers just as hard in those places as they do in the big cities. It's all web based so it's cheap and easy create a website that covers EVERY geographic area possible. How many tandems do think that Skdive South Iowa can afford to loose each season? My guess is very few, so they are backed into a corner - either deal with Skyride or go out of business, and that's fucked up. I agree that this is very grey and isn't very nice. However it is very similar to websites such as hotels.com and expedia.com. Albeit they don't actually "ghost" the way skyride does. Have you ever made a hotel reservation on expedia.com? You are not paying the hotel. You are paying Expedia. Expedia then contracts with a hotel at a substantially lower rate unbeknownst to you. I am in the hotel business and even though I don't like it I have no choice but to deal with these people. They're advertising power takes much of my potential business. If I didn't deal with them I would simply lose business to the other hotels that do deal with them. I really don't see much difference here and I'm afraid it's going to turn out that the Skyride business is perfectly legal. That doesn't make it right just not nice. Welcome to the free world.

hey thanks Thanatos, I have to wonder though.....as deceitful as this business seems are they not taking advantage of what would be available to anybody living in a country based on capitalism? That of an open and free market. Has anyone stopped to think that this may be the sour that comes with the sweet? There are many other businesses that advertise in a similar manner. Have you ever looked up a plumbing company in the phone book yellow pages? Make no mistake about it, I am not advocating this type of business. I am only playing devil's advocate to get a better understanding of the situation. What's the difference with this business other than the lawsuit against the USPA and skydivers in general? Is anybody being hurt physically or financially? Is anybody not getting what they're paying for? Food for thought.

The lies and fraud have been endlessly discussed in these threads. If you don't consider lies and fraud to be "discrepancy", then I have to wonder. Well Mr. Kallend, wonder you may wonder you might. You are however right. The lies and frauds have been discussed. WHAT lies and frauds seemed to be buried deep within the bowels of the threads. Thanks for clearing things up for me. I can now understand much better the animosity felt by many.

what's the big deal about skyride? i've seen and read many threads but nowhere have i seen what the actual discrepency is.`

Prolly not or it wouldn't even be finished yet. sweet.

What I want to know is why a virtually brand-new museum already needs a taxpayer-funded $8.3 million facelift? In Texas? I expect they didn't use union labor to build it.

Hmmmm... I'll have to look before she goes away, but I think N121PM (Desert Express... aka: The Cal City Otter) is serial # 14... or at least the I.D. tag on the empenage says s/n 14... , if I'm correct. Anyway, where did you see the Cal-City Otter advertised for lease? Hmmmm....I'll be damned. Well that makes sense. The N # of our airplane is 122PM. Everybody here thought this was the oldest flying Otter. I can't wait to pass on the news. I saw the Cal City Otter advertised right here on DZ.com.

Correction (I think??)...The oldest flying Otter (serial # 15) is in Fentress, Texas at Skydive San Marcos. Retrofitted of course with dash 27's and a 200 series wing. I see though that the Cal-City Otter is advertised for lease.