tsalnukt

For one reason or another one of our canopiies got peed on by one of our DZ cats. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the smell out of the canopy??

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most of coaching is recognizing what someone is doing wrong and telling them how to fix it. Theoretically, you don't really need any tunnel time to be able to coach somebody. You just have to have a thorough understanding of what you are trying to accomplsh. Olav has been caoching for a very long time and I think if you look at the long list of bad-ass skydivers that have been through "the 1st school" i would say that he is more than qualified to coach someone in the tunnel. The "meat and potatos" of coaching is video debriefing after the flight. According to you..Michael Phelps swimming coach should be able to swim faster than him, Greg Loughanis diving coach should be better than him, Lance armstrong's coach should be able to beat him in the tour-de-france, etc, etc. So he doesn't have a lot of tunnel time and doesn't fly as well as you do in the tunnel....that makes him a bad coach???????

I was in hawaii for a while and I have seen just as many canopies fold up close to the ground with a hook turn as I have with normal straight in approaches. And they all swear that you can't land without doing a dirty toggle whipping hook turns. I don't think it makes one bit of difference as long as you are letting the parachute fly and stay as pressurized as possible. I would like to her form the people that think it's perfectly alright to toggle whip tondems. Why do you do it and do you think (does it actually) give you any advantage over those that fly a "normal" pattern with a surge approach or a slow carving turn to final?

Are they good, bad or doesn't matter. Some say it's safer in high winds what do other people think.

I'm booking a cruise and have no idea what i'm doing. What is this "insurance" that they want to sell me and do I really need it? Any other tips/tricks for the "cruising world" would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Would you get in a cessna with an in-op airspeed indicator? why or why not?

Why do people get all up tight about posting anonymously???? who cares!!!! Its' supposed to be a discussion. Who cares who said it.

Line stows should be tight enough for you to pick up the D-bag by the lines and the stow should stay. if you single stow with a liittle rubber band and the stow fall out when you pick it up you should probably use big rubber bands and double stow. Line stows are meant to stage the opening and make opening less like a BASE canopy opening

Instructors get paid....AT LEAST $20 a jump. I don't know of many that will work for $20 a jump and I would say that industry wide it's probably higher than that. No person desreves a tip. Too many people give you absolutely shit service and then get pissed when you tip the 10 or 15 percent. I have seen many tandem masters not give two shits about their student, barely give them a briefing not say a word to them on the way to altitude, barely interact with the passenger or the video person in freefall, land, unhook them and stand there with their hand out expecting a tip and when they don't get one they go winging to manifest because manifest didin't tell the students that they are supposed to tip their instructors. I say a big F*&% YOU!!!! If you want a tip go that extra mile and EARN it! Does anyone remember what it''s like to work for something???? We have no tacky signs and the people doing the tandem classes and the girls in manifest aren't allowed to talk about it unless a customer inquires about it and then we tell them, "If you had a good time and you think that your instructor deserves a tip, they probably won't say no." It's very obvious at the end of the day who EARNS their tips.

here here. Don't matter how hot it is, door stays closed all the way for take off.

You don't have to give them the song and dance and tell them how absolutely wonderful it all is because hat would be a complete lie. You can however INCLUDE them and make them feel like a participant rather than an inanimate object that is going to make it so you can buy beer and pay rent. All you have to do is show them a good time for 30 - 45mins. You don't have to blow sunshine up their ass and be their best friend, but you should at least give them the opportunity to learn more about what it is that they are doing, and yes, the only way that they will come back is if they WANT to. But you can always make it interesting for them

It is up to the tandem instructors to try and get them to come out again and again. It's in your/the DZ's best interest. Many times the ones that don't seem interested are just "too cool" to act interested or even ask questions. I agree that some are there strictly for the ride and could care less about what you have to say, but you can even interest them into practicing an exit from the mock-up, or how to open the parachute, or even how to fly the canopy. They cam out to do one skydive....it's up to us to get them to come back and do more. I bet that everyone reading this is in this sport because of a love for thrills and a really cool instructor/s that showed you a good time and kept you coming back for more. Tandems are our way of introducing someone to ALL of skydiving not just the "feeling" you get when you jump out of an airplane. In most cases it's the instructor that could care less about the student.....from what I've seen around.

thanks

But what about other brands of batteries that have a diffrent designation for the same battery. I'd be willing to bet that energizer isn't the only manufacturer that has a diffrent label for the same battery. Still waiting for that reply form Argus......anybody?

Yes. We have established that they are the same battery. We know that and the battery manufacturer know that. Does Aviacom, manufacturer of the Argus AAD, agree? They are the ones that need to come up with an answer and relay that onto the skydiving community. Come on Aviacom, talk to us.

I agree. All of the dealings I have had with Argus have been not so good. But, these units are out there and people are buying them and using them and the batteries are going to need to be changed. I have decided to only use batteries labeled CR123A, until someone tell me different, because that is what it says in the manual. I still think that Argus needs to address this situation, because if this question came up in our little loft then I'm sure it'll come up somewhere else. I don't see why this question is so hard to answer.

I hate to be "that guy", but if you read the whole thread that's what we have been talking about. I have tried to contact Argus with no direct reply, and a representative from Argus has spoken up in this thread with no difinitive response either. I am looking for an answer from a riggers point of view. Energizer states that their battery, model number, CR123, is the exact same battery as Argus brand CR123A, (or any other brand). The question has been posed several times and a couple of people have said that they are the same battery and it's OK to use them, but, no one from Argus has actually said whether or not the Energizer CR123 is an acceptable battery to use. It would be nice if someone from Argus would come out and say, "Yes. They are the same battery and it's ok to use it.", or, "NO. Only use batteries labeled CR123A. No exceptions.".

I'm not worried about me going in. I'm worried, as a rigger, about the liability of using a battery that is the same in shape, size, voltage and the manufacturer of the battery claims that ti is the same, except for the numbers printed on the side of the battery. Again I don't see how this is such a difficult question. Does Argus approve of the use of "energizer CR123" batteries? Can anyone answer this with a yes or no?

So, we can use the batteries labled CR123 with out any repercussions? Does anyone have a straight-up yes or no answer for this?

Still looking for an answer. Anybody?

No, and I think some of the other people here would agree, it is NOT very clear. What does all that mean?? Can you put it into laymen's term or just say yes or no. The CR123's that I have are identical in size shape and voltage, and, the manufacturer of the batteriy says that they are a compatible battery to the CR123A, so can they be used legally? Will Aviacom stand-by their product if the batteries inside their AAD are LABELED CR123 instead of CR123A? I'm not arguing because I want to use the batteries. I would just like the discrepencies between the 2 manufacturers to be cleared up.

I don't understand. Can someone please interpret this for me. I think that we have established through the manufacturers that the 2 batteries are one and the same. I guess the real question is...Does Argus support the use of CR123 batteries in place of CR123A? IOW. If "something" happens to someone and in the course of the investigation, the Argus is opened up and the batteries inside are labeled CR123 instead of CR123A, will you get in trouble, or, will Argus support you because the batteries are interchangeable?

walmart. Energizer batteries and they don't have any CR123A.

Just checking to see if there's an answer yet? anybody?