Beachbum

No doubt about the dust devils. I haven't seen any while at local dz's here, but have seen them more than one year at Lost Prairie ... nasty stuff. The first year we went up there, we were sitting filling out waiver forms and watched one roll half a tandem canopy under. TI pumped like mad, and it came back open in time ... student never had a clue I don't think. They're not TOO bad as long as they go over something they can pick up to make them visible, but once it was all nice and green, and they didn't pick up hardly anything so were very difficult to spot. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Someone straighten me out if I'm out in left field here, but I'm not sure I agree with that entirely. Even given the same differential between low/high end, wouldn't the odds of non object related turbulence increase with the stronger winds? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Makes sense to me ... trade an expensive gun for a bit of plastic and batteries ... :) ... Are you in line already John? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Aren't kid gloves and a powder puff issued to all new AFF-I's at the successful completion of their course? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

One thing to consider requesting from them in light of what you stated, would be to ask that instead of trimming the existing plastic, that they use a new (fresh and stiffer!) piece, and see if that helps with your covers popping open by themselves. No clue if they'd DO that, but it can't hurt to explain it and ask! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I know it's not a PD Dave, but don't forget the Triathlons ... ;) ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Mike is back in the air now ... :) ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Bob Sinclair probably qualifies for this list. I haven't seen him in a couple of years, but as far as I know he's still kicking about. Only person I've jumped with who never wears goggles or anything. Taking Carson on what I'm told amounted to an early AFF style jump ought to get him a point or two! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

All three of these guys regularly jump with newbies, so they do give back. It's just rare for me to get to jump with ONLY the 3 of them (I'm not buying beer!). It's usually in much larger groups, or one or two of them on a jump with a couple of us flailers. Jumping with the 3 of them such that I was the only rookie with 3 such highly experienced folks was a real treat for me. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

LOL!! I remember doing that almost right off student status, and I was so naive that I thought I was really getting the hang of it .... until I jumped with someone else with much less experience again. It didn't take me long to figure out that the guy I did the high point 2 way with was good enough to put himself where I needed him to be so I didn't have to actually fly very much, but just reach out and pick up a grip. I hope I'm able to get good enough to do that for other rookies ... :) ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Thanks John and Turtle both! I have been working at it. I need to make an effort to do a bit more 4 way though, I think. Not that I don't enjoy them and learn on them, but maybe doing too many bigger ways where I mostly fly to a slot and maybe one or two other points (IF we make it that far!). and Clint ... you can ask any of the other 3. I screwed up (not really badly, but still) at least 3 or 4 times, and we still did what was a lot of points for me in a 4-way. I had to alter my mindset shortly after exit, when I noticed that I would pick up a grip and look back to the center, and it had already been keyed and everyone else was in the process of moving to the next point ... LOL!! Danged near double my prior best! You would be more than welcome to come fly video to provide evidence ... ;) ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

First, I have to say that I agree with those saying that they don't believe that additional canopy training (or at least, JUST that) will make a big dent in good canopy injuries/deaths, and also with the idea that the FJC sufficiently covers canopy control for the first jump if taught correctly. That said ... I'm speaking strictly from my own viewpoint (just over 300 jumps, still learning a lot about canopy control). IF some sort of post A license canopy training gets instituted, one thing I think would be very beneficial is some proximity flying thrown into the mix. It would have to be a judgement call by local instructors as to exactly when each person is ready to really benefit from it, since we all learn at different rates, but it is very difficult to really determine/learn some things without it (such as Rob mentioned above, how much did your descent rate change). With no point of reference, that's a tough call for the less experienced canopy pilot. I have/am battled(ing) a lot of that stuff in my learning process, and when I went to a CRW camp recently I learned SO much on a very few jumps. I was amazed at how much difference what I considered a minor change in front riser pressure actually makes, etc. You can't get that stuff without proximity flying. Yes, instructors are generally flying smaller canopies at higher wingloading, but nothing keeps that from changing for this type of jump. If it was a goal of that particular jump to DO proximity flying, instructors could get on something appropriately sized/loaded so both could pull high and work on such things. Details as to how to instruct it, who does it, etc. I'll gladly leave to you folks with a lot of instructional experience, but I wanted to toss this out for consideration. I am certainly glad that the USPA is at least making a genuine effort to address the issue! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

if you're lucky enough to be doing 4 way with three people that probably total over 15K jumps. Can't say thanks enough y'all!!

There are exceptions to almost anything, but in terms of overall trends, it is the republicans who are generally the ones to tout personal responsibility, not the democrats. Dems usually tend to be the ones who want responsibility for nothing, and prefer the government "take care" of them ... thus the title. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

TRY to continue the jump as planned, while holding onto my glasses with the other ... LOL!!! I've had to reseat goggles that were blowing off while turning points, so I think I could pull it off, at least somewhat ... just might have to skip a grip or two to allow keeping the hand holding my glasses in place. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

You disagree with my assertion that a lot of politicians would react similarly?? I did not say a lot of repulblicans, since I believe we have plenty of crooks in both parties! If you are referring to the thread title, well, I personally know plenty of republicans who THINK they favor personal responsibility, but in reality (that I've observed, not what they TELL me) they use it as a mantra only, and don't apply it to their actions when it might inconvenience them. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Delay gets convicted of money laundering and conspiracy, and only gets 3 years, and has the nerve to blame the system! "This criminalization of politics is very dangerous" ... then goes on with "It's not enough to ruin your reputation. They have to put you in jail, bankrupt you, destroy your family." First, I seriously doubt the man is bankrupt. He most certainly earned at least that much jail time. Whatever may happen within his family also lays on his shoulders. Why can't he be a man and take responsibility? The bad thing is, I think a large precentage of our politicians these days would have a similar attitude in his situation ... I DO agree with one thing he says, but not from the same viewpoint. The criminalization of politics IS dangerous. We have too many criminals in office!! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I've got a few years on you, but I didn't start jumping until I was 45. At 17 I was too busy surfing, diving, sailing, etc. on the beach, and .... hmmm ... something else, but I forget what it was for some reason. Huge congrats on 30 SAFE years in the sport, and wishes for that trend to continue on, and on, and on .... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Skydive Houston's official reopening at their new Eagle Lake location will be this weekend. Come on out and check out the new temporary digs (nice!!), the airport, and the location for their permanent home (right now, just some stakes in the ground!). The landing area is HUGE, especially for those used to the size of the landing area at Waller. I really like the translucent hangar doors ... lets in a lot of light while keeping the temps and wind reasonable. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

LMAO!!! ... seriously Chuck?? And as an organizer, I'm guessing ... LOL! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Involving restraints is likely to just amp up the volume level ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

How many jumps does it have in the lineset? My Tri160 opens like a dream no matter who packs it. With one exception where I messed up the pack job to cause it, mine has always been really soft opening too ... also a 160. I was taught to never roll the nose on a tri. I use a basic pro pack and barely even tuck the nose. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I am a bit puzzled here. Is your shiny new suit afraid to travel alone via UPS or whatever shipping method? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

If i'm going to do a jump with a newly licensed jumper, the last thing i want them wearing is booties, that increases the chance that they will hit me harder because of the added speed. most new jumps don't know how to control their forward speed very well so before you add a turbo charger you should learn how to fly easy and comfortable first I'm sure no instructor, but my take on that would be this: Booties give someone more drive for sure, but don't turn someone into a rocket. Jumping with a newly licensed person would typically mean a 4 way at max. If you feel that you aren't able to keep track of and dodge a rookie if need be, among 3 people or less besides yourself, then perhaps you shouldn't jump with rookies? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?