MikeTJumps

It was definitely at Skydive Spaceland in League City, TX. Dave Boatman brought the Twin Otters from Metro Airlines to the skydiving center in late 1977 when I first got into the sport.

Tom was a good friend and an ambassador of Skydiving. His organization of Mt. Everest jumps was a hallmark of his career.

Gary and I had worked together on several projects for Dan Poynter of ParaPublishing. We talked at least every couple of months so this was a total shock when I got called and informed of his passing. He was a good friend and will forever be in my thoughts.

A longtime skydiver, pilot and friend of the Houston Skydiving and flying community has died in an aircraft accident in La Porte, TX this Sunday, 7/15. His father was also in the experimental aircraft that crashed that day. Death was immediate. His father was apparently a former USAF B-52 pilot as well. https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/La-Porte-plane-crash-victims-identified-as-13081248.php Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

My working relationship with Dan extended over the period of 1991 to 2015 when he enlisted my help as his co-author of PSH and as an editor for several of his other study guides and texts. We roomed together at various PIA meetings over the years and his friendship has had a long lasting effect upon me and I will miss him dearly. Dan, you now fly with the angels and I'll see you again on the other side! Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

That was one consideration for going electronic to reduce costs! Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

I agree with you that it (lifetime membership fees) should have been smaller! Your suggestion closely mirrors something that was proposed as an alternate but shot down in committee. Printing costs for the magazine are currently covered by the advertising fees but if they go to an all (or mostly) electronic version, that cost will be greatly reduced. I would not have objected to a $1500/year for domestic and $3000 for foreign members, but again, I have no vote on the BOD. I'm just a gallery member. I could not and will not ever be elected due to lack of popularity and you better believe that it is a poplularity contest. There are people that have animosity towards me because of the one and only time I represented a plaintiff's side in a legal case. Little do they know about the multiple times I've sided with the dropzones and the instructors themselves. Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

It was a matter of appeasement of those who still wanted to stop the age limitation. By allowing those who are already jumping to get a license, it was "give and take" in order to get the motion passed. Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

There is nothing theoretical about Steve Snyder's Enterprises being sued out of the civilian market, Relative Workshop, Strong Enterprises and Sun Path being sued and losing over a million dollars in judgments, SSK and Cypres being sued and being out several hundred thousand dollars for something they had no part in because a rigger failed to put the closing loop through the cutter. You are welcome to write some big checks to those companies to cover their losses due to litigation both in the past and in the future if you feel strongly about it. Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

This effort has been ongoing for at least the last 6 years of BOD meetings with stalwarts on the BOD firmly opposed to raising the age limit to 18 or the age of legal majority in the four states that have higher age limits. However, many member of the USPA who are also members of the PIA came to the meeting and made their case as to the continual litigation liability of allowing under age (as in not being able to sign a binding legal release of liability [waver]) that would hold up in a court of law. There was a lot of give and take in the deliberation and I've been on both sides of this fence before, insisting 18 or the age of legal majority but when a major tandem manufacturer took his under age daughter on a jump, I backed down on the "18" requirement. However, as one of those people who is on retainer as an "expert witness" in the sport, I must agree that because of the inherent danger involved in the sport, we must make sure that "wavers" are enforceable. The Oklahoma incident is just another stone thrown through the window that got national attention by the news media. If we don't take a stand on the age requirement, what do you think will happen when some very powerful US Representative's or Senator's offspring get injured in a skydive? Can you say over-regulation will be imminent? Yes, under age jumpers as of right now will be grandfathered in if they already have made a jump but they will be required to obtain an A license before 12/31/14 or else they will be ineligible to jump as USPA group member DZs. Yes, DZs can jump them with foreign equipment but the PIA manufacturers have taken a stand that they are going to publicize that their equipment is not to be used by anyone under the age of 18 in the US and its territories with the next publication of their manuals. The PIA also asked for inclusion of Manufacturers, Dealers and Distributors of their gear be included in all DZ wavers as listed third parties to be somewhat protected from additional liability suits and that is something the the USPA will also be publishing to its group members. No amount of money is going to be worth the life of a jumper, but in order for the industry to survive, some protection of it is needed. These are just two of the steps that are finally being made towards that end. Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

As a member of the USPA who took the opportunity to get a lifetime membership over 30 years ago, I am immune to the change in cost of the Lifetime Membership, but I firmly warned the BOD members that this raise with "immediate effectiveness" would make them the butt of many jokes and cause a swelling of opposition to their action. However, they did just that and let me say that the "financial predictions" presented were premature as to the amount of increase necessary. There was incomplete data presented just stating what it costs to continue to support the membership with no anticipation of anything other than constant increases in the costs of doing business. An argument was made that those of us who already have lifetime memberships for more than the past 16 years were being "carried/paid for" by the existing members. By the radical increase in Lifetime Memberships cost, they were concerned that there would be a flood of new applications for such grossing just $1,000 each, therefore they insisted on (voted for) making it effective immediately after the closing of the BOD meeting. I think this is just WRONG but I don't have a vote in the matter. They were also thinking of doing away with the lifetime membership program either immediately, or April 1, or December 31. Fortunately, wisdom struck suddenly and the sponsors of those motions retracted both the motions and the multiple attempts at friendly amendments to those motions, so now they will sit back and look more deeply at the financial requirements/benefits/drawbacks of their decision over the next 6 months and make a further determination (hopefully with more sound fiscal predictions) at the next BOD meeting. I am not going to name the individuals who proposed these actions but I will urge all USPA members to make their feelings known to both their regional and national directors. Now get busy and write or call your representatives and make your opinions known! I was only one of several voices in the gallery at the meeting and I'm sure there will be many more who will protest this action. Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

He wasn't a wingsuit jumper. He's partially paralyzed for life now. I hope you never have the same fate. Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

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Whoops. A typing error on my Iphone. IFR, not IDE! Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

I testified against Bill Dause, not against his DZ. He operated his aircraft in a manner that no other Jump Pilot on the USPA BOD would agree is safe (as in a high power climb during a low altitude exit with a low tail). He has enough problems with the FAA and the fines assessed against him by the FAA are huge. Nor have you mentioned the 9 DZs I have defended as well as their instructors. You know so little yet you claim to know so much. Yes, your veracity is very suspect. You have claimed I have stolen something but made no factual representation of what you imagine I have stolen. As far as I am concerned, you are no longer worth the effort to reply to unless you come clean and state who you are, how you know me personally and what your credentials are. You are obviously in the "Hate and Stop Mike Turoff camp." Good luck with your life. Mike Turoff Instructor Examiner, USPA Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook