cpoxon

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Posts posted by cpoxon


  1. topdocker

    ******Is it possible in your country to have the condition of his release that he not be involved associated, or within 500 feet of any skydiving activity?

    top



    Yes.

    Quote


    Additional Licence Conditions
    2.4 Licences may also include additional conditions, for example, exclusion zones or noncontact restrictions, provided that these fall within one of the categories prescribed in the 2015 Order.

    2.5 These categories are:

    (1) residence at a specified place;
    (2) restriction of residency;
    (3) making or maintaining contact with a person;
    (4) participation in, or co-operation with, a programme or set of activities;
    (5) possession, ownership, control or inspection of specified items or documents;
    (6) disclosure of information;
    (7) curfew arrangement;
    (8) freedom of movement;
    (9) supervision in the community by the supervising officer, or other responsible officer,
    or organisation.



    I wonder whether a parole board would automatically consider this or whether it would have to come from a victim (who would be asked to contribute to a parole hearing).

    Or could the Association speak on the behalf of participants

    top

    Perhaps:

    https://www.gov.uk/getting-parole/parole-board-hearing says,

    Quote

    Who’ll be at the hearing

    You must usually attend the Parole Board hearing.

    There will be other people at the hearing, for example:

  2. your solicitor (you may need to represent yourself at the hearing if you cannot get legal aid or do not have a solicitor)

  3. a prison psychologist

  4. the victim (when they’re reading their victim statement)

  5. the victim liaison officer

  6. witnesses


  7. Quote

    who don't want to lock their gear down between jumps, constantly check if equipment has been tampered with, etc.?



    But you'd have to be married to him, have a life-insurance policy and for him to have racked up debts again to be at risk? :P I guess the rationale would be if he's capable of it in one situation, he's capable of it in others, but I would argue (having done his time, subject to evaluation) it is unlikely that the public at large would be at risk.
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  8. topdocker

    Is it possible in your country to have the condition of his release that he not be involved associated, or within 500 feet of any skydiving activity?

    top



    Yes.

    Quote


    Additional Licence Conditions
    2.4 Licences may also include additional conditions, for example, exclusion zones or noncontact restrictions, provided that these fall within one of the categories prescribed in the 2015 Order.

    2.5 These categories are:

    (1) residence at a specified place;
    (2) restriction of residency;
    (3) making or maintaining contact with a person;
    (4) participation in, or co-operation with, a programme or set of activities;
    (5) possession, ownership, control or inspection of specified items or documents;
    (6) disclosure of information;
    (7) curfew arrangement;
    (8) freedom of movement;
    (9) supervision in the community by the supervising officer, or other responsible officer,
    or organisation.



    I wonder whether a parole board would automatically consider this or whether it would have to come from a victim (who would be asked to contribute to a parole hearing).
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  9. yoink

    ***Membership and licence are two different things. A licence is a certificate of proficiency and can't be revoked once earned. The card you are talking about to be endorsed refers to the membership card.



    I'm not sure about the license thing. Technically you're absolutely correct, but the reality is that we ask people to prove their capability despite having a valid license if they've been out of the sport for a while before they get in the air on their own... That implies that a licence does indeed have an expiration or can be revoked if capability can't be shown, doesn't it?

    The only thing the Operations Manual says is,

    Section 5 (Training) - Para 11 (Restrictions Following A Lay-Off)

    Where a Student or a BPA ‘A’ Licence parachutist has had a lay-off of two months or more, approval of the CI must be obtained as to the type of descent to be made next.



    It can't be revoked; a CI might not let you jump but that doesn't mean the licence is revoked. It is at the CI's discretion to chose to go above and beyond the specifications of the Operations Manual and require that someone undergo revision if they feel it necessary for someone to jump at their dropzone, but that's not to say that another CI might not be so stringent (although I'd hope not) and I would imagine that overseas the scrutiny would be more lax. If there was such a revocation it would imply that there would be a reversal of the process; we don't require people to reapply for their licences.

    All that would be required in order not to raise the suspicions of an instructor would be to be able to satisfactorily talk the talk, claim that logbooks had been lost in house fire (not too far from the truth with Cilliers) and say jumps had been made recently (perhaps overseas making it harder to verify). Given what this guy has done, I can't imagine he'd be averse to telling a few fibs.

    We seem to be getting wound up in minutiae.
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  10. obelixtim

    ***So here's an interesting question; has it actually been prejudicial to the Association? Would people think less of the sport and the association because of the actions of a criminal? Or do they think it is the act of a psychopath who could have used a number of methods to carry out his crime? If he'd tampered with the brakes of the car would it be prejudicial to the manufacturer of the car?

    I suspect it is all moot as I too doubt he would ever visit a dropzone ever again.



    I think it would reinforce the perception amongst the great unwashed that skydiving is an incredibly dangerous activity, and so it could be argued to have damaged the sport.

    Although it would be unlikely to change the minds of those so prejudiced anyway.

    Yep. To those too stupid to not read past the headlines and see that it was an evil action that caused the problem here, but I don't think you are ever going to persuade people who are that dumb.

    Besides, she survived a double (induced) malfunction; how dangerous can it be? :P


    Quote

    But it is bad PR, especially for those making a living from skydiving. I've spent a lot of time over the years educating the public about skydiving, so anything that reinforces an opposite view is a negative, in my mind anyway.



    Is there such a thing? Interest and bookings always increase after such events, don't they?
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  11. shorehambeach

    Just asking that's all !

    Does the BPA have the power to ban anyone from jumping at a UK BPA affiliated DZ ?

    Has it ever revoked someone's BPA license ? Or given them a lifetime ban?



    We seem to be going round in circles here. A licence is a Certificate of Proficiency and can not be revoked. The Articles of Association state,

    Quote

    6.2 A Member shall cease to be a Member if he or she:

    ...

    6.2.3 is expelled by a simple majority decision of the Council acting in its absolute discretion for conduct prejudicial to the Association, providing that the Association’s disciplinary procedure has been followed;



    but as I very much doubt he is a current member Council would be unable to do anything until he reapplied for membership (at which time he would have served his time, albeit remaining on licence for the rest of his life).

    There have been bans in the past, in relation to fixed-object jumping fatalities but they turned out not to be lifetime (I'm confused as to whether that was the intention or not), but there were threats of lifetime bans if BPA Members were found to be BASE jumping afterwards. The BPA Operations Manual later changed to state that Fixed Object jumping did not come within the provisions of the Operations Manual in order to distance itself.

    So here's an interesting question; has it actually been prejudicial to the Association? Would people think less of the sport and the association because of the actions of a criminal? Or do they think it is the act of a psychopath who could have used a number of methods to carry out his crime? If he'd tampered with the brakes of the car would it be prejudicial to the manufacturer of the car?

    I suspect it is all moot as I too doubt he would ever visit a dropzone ever again.
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  12. shorehambeach

    Would the BPS's blanket insurance policy that covers us have any provisos that would preclude him from future blanket coverage?



    Not that I can see. Again, what would you be looking for? A blanket ban against all criminals? Just ones with unspent convictions/on licence? For specific crimes such as murder? For extreme edge cases such as when carried out using parachute equipment? Besides, the insurers and / or policy will probably change over the next 18 years.
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  13. Membership and licence are two different things. A licence is a certificate of proficiency and can't be revoked once earned. The card you are talking about to be endorsed refers to the membership card.

    I get rather uncomfortable when people (especially lawyers) talk about "shoehorning" things! :P

    I realise that this is very close to home and that makes it all the more abhorent, but I think you'd be surprised at the number of ex-cons amongst our numbers. Picking on this very particular crime and the method in which it is carried out could perversely lead to us being accused of discrimination, as ridiculous as that sounds.

    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  14. I don't think we have any power to remove a licence (unlike a rating), only membership. And licences have no validity period either (unlike a rating). I very much doubt he's a current member anyway so we have no power over him until he tries to rejoin the association. But then (Devil's Advocate) he will have served his time, paid his debt to society, no? I note that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 says that custodial sentences of over 4 years are never spent, but that is primarily to do with employment purposed.
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  15. pms07

    Never had a BPA temp membership, never had to pay for anything extra related to insurance, was allowed to jump with USPA. I can't speak what is required versus what is enforced in any country. It has been a couple of years since I've been in Europe however, maybe things have changed in some locations.



    I'd be interested to know which BPA dropzone you jumped at and when. Section 12 of the BPA's Operation Manual states,

    Quote

    1. PERSONAL DOCUMENTS

    1.1. All parachutists, riggers, packers, judges and DZ controllers must be current members of the British Parachute Association. Except in the case of other European Union (EU) parachutists, who are current members of their own country’s parachuting governing organisation, have proof that they are not classified as student parachutists, have a minimum of 100 descents and hold current third party liability insurance to cover of a minimum of 1,500,000 Euro.


    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  16. Received this from Bill Legard,

    Quote

    Announcing the formation of a new parachute company, ICARUS World, LLC.

    Fernando de Caralt and Bill Legard have joined forces to create this new company to market, sell, and distribute the newest line of sport canopies in the industry.

    The ICARUS brand has been a known force in the parachute industry for many years. The brand name has been used on products designed and manufactured both in New Zealand by NZ Aerosports since the late 1980s and in Spain for Icarus Canopies, Incorporated since the late 1990s. The companies had differences regarding their working relationship and their agreement was terminated in 2016.

    ICARUS Canopies has since, independently, designed a new line of products for the sports market. Drawing upon its 20 years of manufacturing expertise in sport parachuting and its 70 plus years of global leadership in the military and aerospace industry, they put substantial R & D resources into designing a new breed of canopies and brought them to market in 2017. All canopies were designed using fluid dynamics and are built in a state-of- the-art ISO certified facility.

    The new lineup now includes the S FIRE, a semi elliptical 9 cell canopy that serves a broad market from those just off student status to highly experienced jumpers who want a canopy that offers outstanding openings and a powerful flare. The TX2 is an innovative tandem canopy, incorporating some key designs from the military and aerospace teams. An exclusive Drogue Attachment By-Pass system significantly improves the durability of the tandem canopies, lowering the maintenance expenses and extending the life of the product. The X FIRE is a high performance, fully elliptical, non-cross- braced canopy that almost defines a new canopy class. X FIRE is a beautifully shaped wing with breathtaking performance. These canopies incorporate a number of cutting edge design elements such as parabolic reinforcement tapes, ram air stabilizers and other innovations developed to meet the demands of the aerospace market.

    These new canopies join a solid lineup that includes the OMNI 7 cell, the EQUINOX student canopy, the very popular ICARUS Reserve and the NANO low pack volume reserve.

    Bill Legard will be President and CEO of the new company which will be headquartered in DeLand, FL. Bill is an active skydiver approaching 10,000 jumps. He has a BA in Economics and an MBA, both from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He has over 30 years of management experience in senior positions with International Paper and Chesapeake Corporation and was President and CEO of the skydiving company Aerodyne Research from 2008 through 2016.

    “I am very excited to join Fernando in the creation of ICARUS World and to bring the most contemporary fleet of canopies to our sport. We are structuring our business to offer best in class service for distributors and jumpers from our new headquarters in DeLand, Florida. Our growing inventory of stock canopies and expansion of production capacity are calculated to bring optimal market responsiveness. We are committed to having a knowledgeable staff of skydivers and growing our business with them. The global skydiving industry has really grown up around the world class facilities of Skydive DeLand, and it’s great to be a part of this community. Our R&D team is hard at work, so expect the innovations to continue. And call your local distributor to arrange a demo soon, you will be impressed!”

    www.icarusworld.net


    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  17. Did this guy miss the court cases?!

    http://www.timescall.com/opinion/letterstotheeditor/ci_31359376/ed-ruskus-skydiving-planes-are-ruining-homeowners-weekends

    Quote

    I live south of Longmont in Boulder County. I've lived there since Jan. 1, 1993.

    The noise from the planes that the jumpers use on the weekends is out of control. This past Sunday was the last straw, they buzz my home every 20 minutes as they leave Vance Brand Airport then circle around my home again to gain altitude. They started at 7:30 a.m. and ended when the weather got bad. On a nice day they will go until sunset.

    This cannot continue. They've ruined my Saturdays and Sundays at home. They have a right to be in business but not to take away the sanctity of my home. I do not live near the airport. What if I went to the owner's home and flew a drone over it every 20 minutes? I'm sure the cops would be called for harassment. Why isn't this considered harassment?

    This past Sunday they were running two planes at once. It's just unbelievable. How can they be allowed to do this? I've called and talked to the people who answer, who I will say are very nice, but nothing ever changes.

    If my dog barked excessively, or my music was too loud or I rode my motorcycle up and down the street every 20 minutes, I'm sure the sheriff would be at my home. I don't know what to do, I'm getting desperate.

    The Longmont City Council doesn't seem to care, the airport manager apparently doesn't, and the owners of the Mile High Skydiving apparently don't.

    I have lived in my home for almost 30 years. These guys showed up around 2007, I think. We as a community need help.

    Ed Ruskus

    Longmont


    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  18. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ifly-calls-on-indoor-skydive-australia-group-to-back-down-from-its-announced-breach-of-contract-300523178.html

    This is PR released by iFly themselves.

    Quote

    iFLY Holdings, LLC and its subsidiary SkyVenture International, Ltd (collectively, "iFLY") today issued written notice to ASX listed Indoor Skydive Australia Group Limited (ASX: IDZ) and its affiliates (collectively, "ISAG") that ISAG is in material breach of various agreements between the parties.

    As stated by ISAG in its 1 November 2012 Prospectus for its Initial Public Offering, each license agreement authorizing ISAG to operate iFLY vertical wind tunnels ("VWTs") in Penrith, Perth and the Gold Coast, "restricts ISAG from directly or indirectly acquiring access to VWTs from other suppliers (than iFLY) during the term of the agreement and for 2 years thereafter."

    In return for access to proprietary iFLY systems, processes and know how, ISAG further promised not to compete with or assist others in competing with iFLY. Nevertheless, in public statements on 14 February 2017, 1 May 2017 and 4 July 2017, ISAG declared its intention to develop, construct and operate an indoor skydiving facility in Malaysia with equipment provided by a third-party manufacturer. This constitutes a material breach of ISAG's various agreements with iFLY.

    On 4 September 2017, ISAG further announced that it entered into a binding memorandum of understanding with a third party for development, construction and operation of indoor skydiving facilities across China, including Hong Kong. Use of third party manufactured VWTs in such projects would also constitute a material breach of ISAG's various agreements with iFLY.

    iFLY reserves all of its various legal rights in connection with this matter, including obtaining a court-ordered injunction to halt construction and operation of the proposed Malaysian facility. In addition, if these material breaches are not corrected within 30 days, iFLY has discretion to terminate the agreements and associated licenses and prohibit ISAG from further use of the Penrith, Perth and Gold Coast VWTs. In that event, iFLY also has the right to prevent ISAG from using its highly regarded "iFLY" brand or any of iFLY's world-leading support, safety and training programs or operational expertise. In addition, iFLY holds numerous patents on the technology used in ISAG's and other competitor's wind tunnels, and iFLY fully intends to enforce its rights to prevent unauthorized use of its patented technology.

    iFLY General Counsel Kevin Fiur commented, "iFLY's technology has brought the thrill of indoor skydiving to thousands of Australians. We look forward to flying with many more in the months and years ahead. iFLY intends to vigorously protect our rights, and we call on ISAG to do the right thing, honour their agreement, and work with us to grow the iFLY brand across Australia."



    I think the ISG tunnel in Arizona was quashed by a lawsuit but whatever happened regarding San Diego?
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  19. Hybrid Electric Aircraft Propulsion Case Study for Skydiving Mission

    Quote


    Abstract

    This paper describes a case study for applying innovative architectures related to electrified propulsion for aircraft. Electric and hybrid electric propulsion for aircraft has gained widespread and significant attention over the past decade. The driver for industry interest has principally been the need to reduce emissions of combustion engine exhaust products and noise, but increasingly studies revealed potential for overall improvement in energy efficiency and mission flexibility of new aircraft types. In this work, a conceptual new type for a skydiver lift mission aircraft is examined. The opportunities which electric hybridisation offers for this role is analysed in comparison with conventional legacy type propulsion systems. For a conventional commercial skydiving mission, an all-electric propulsion system is shown as viable, and a hybrid-electric system is shown to reduce aircraft fuel costs and CO2 emissions whilst maintaining conventional aero-engine operational benefits. The new paradigm for aircraft development which hybrid electric propulsion enables has highlighted significant issues with aircraft certification practices as they exist today. The advancement of aircraft design and production to harness the value of new propulsion systems may require adaption and development of certification standards to cater for these new technologies


    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  20. http://uspa.org/News-Events/News/View-Article/Article/2325/USPA-Summer-Board-Meeting-Concludes

    Quote

    Beginning November 1, USPA will no longer be involved in indoor skydiving by supporting indoor skydiving national championships or selecting U.S. Teams for international indoor skydiving competitions. USPA will seek to cooperate with any emerging national governing body for tunnel flying.


    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

  21. jlmiracle

    ***I think you're onto something regarding who reads the magazine.

    Maybe the USPA should develop a one-off special issue that gets sent to jumpers once they get their A license, kind of like a 'Welcome to Skydiving!' thing. It can be specifically tailored to them with articles on gear selection, what to do after AFF, what boogies are and how to prepare for them, how to travel for skydiving, common mistakes to avoid - stuff like that.

    You'd only need to update the articles very occasionally and you could do one-off print runs for the year based on the estimated number of new jumpers you expect.

    Then make the general skydive mag available online and save all of those printing and mailing costs.



    LOVE THIS IDEA!

    Kind of like the BPA's Starter Mag but for those just qualified.
    Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live