buckwheatzulu

We keep a 390 around in the event we need it for passengers with leg mobility issues. It is always nice to be able to shut down the forward speed, to minimise the potential for injury, in these cases.

Tandem Instructors, try this on the next tandem jump you do: When the door opens up on jump run, whisper in the passenger's ear "NOW would be a good time to tip"

I stop doing tandems when it gets cold enough to need this type of gear. I can deal with the cold, but how about the passenger?

The question regarding the discounting of tandems and TI pay is a tricky one... Is your Tandem operation a business (for profit) or is it a way for us to share our experience.. Is your TI activity your job, or your hobby.. Let's face it, if managed correctly, the tandem business PAYS for us to have turbine aircraft, air conditioned packing areas, good student training facilities, clean washrooms, etc... ...we could always go back to running out of an un-heated shack, with some gutter gear, on the other side of the airport. We have evolved....sigh! Personally, as I do not rely on this income for my livelyhood, I would take a hit on what I am paid to do tandems, but ONLY if I knew this was being passed onto the customer/passenger.. I am an over-paid drouge tossing monkey anyway... I was able to afford to get into this sport only because the S/L instructors were working for peanuts at the time I started (thanks).

I think the photo is fake (photoshop), and someone is trying to wind us up.

Well Dave... All I can say is.... I expect to have you hold a gun to my head, when it is my turn to crawl thru the window to the "other side". Miss you my freind... We had some laughs! Say hi to Rollie from all of us....

Is this the Dave McDonough that lived in CA, formerly of OH?

Cliff was truly a man of honour.. I had a 'negotiation' with Cliff back in the late 80s that involved a Sweet Hog rig and the fatality of someone very close to me. Most people would have gone in to CYA mode, but Cliff rose to the occasion and instituted a safety notification AND shortly after that became the North American distributor of Cypress products. I like to think that he did so as a result of the situation. Cliff....Thanks

There are MANY people that continue to jump with 'hardware', with varying degrees of complexity. It is very unlikely that any Doctor would give their 'approval'. It will end up being a personal choice, which will weight the benefit to the risk, as it is with us all. Good Luck, and Blue Skies

Pookie, Yeah, it's me. If you do an intentional cut-away, and I am in town, I will do one as well, and we can do CRW on our reserves. It is safer that way, as there are no pilot chutes to worry about tangling. Give TK a big punch in the nuts from me. Be well!

Pookie, Congrats man!! SUPREME effort. I hope we get a chance to do another down-plane Lonnie, You crazy %#cker. I hear you broke the damn chair in China when you landed it. Did you get it fixed? A

I have been to quite a few well established DZs throughout North America and Europe, both large and small, that have provided a terrific skydiving experiance, but Nouvel Air has now set a new BENCHMARK. The owners and staff ALL put a lot into making this DZ the best it can be, and are using a 'continuous improvement' philosophy to make it better. The surrounding Quebec towns and countryside are also idylic, for those who like to leave the DZ. Well done!

....but that was when you had to work for a living, and not so fat.........

RP, I had the same thing from tossing drouges at PST. My Chiro suggested to wear a soft brace (tensor bandage for elbows) whenever I did any physical activity. It went away in 2 months and has not returned. You can get them at any pharmacy. AS

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Mario, Having done a bit of instruction with persons with various leg disabilities, a great advantage would be to have a device that would allow a person to adjust the position of their legs (angle at the knee). The current methods that we utilise consist of fixing the knee angle in order to avoid uncontrolled motion. The ability to change the knee angle in freefall is a major advantage for control. Perhaps a remote control, hand operated? A good resource for this would be Dale Elliott in Australia, as he has just recently conquered the art of freefall, while being having a lower body disability.

My name is Angus Smith and I am a tandem skydiving instructor in Toronto Canada. I have approx 6000 skydives (27 years) and 1700 tandem instructor jumps (16 years). I have done approx. 20 tandems with persons of various disabilities (paraplegic, quad., MS, MD, blind, etc....). Recently I started tandem progresion jumps with Minna Mettinen, who requires the use of a wheel chair. She is ABSOLUTELY determined to be able to skydive on her own, and I have committed myself to help her get there. We are planning to do some tunnel training in April or May before moving onto AFF jumps. This is why I am writing to you for assistance. Are you able to provide information that would help us? I hope to hear back from you with whatever assistance you can offer? Blues Skies, Angus