Hooknswoop

I don’t know the NRA’s talking points. I am not, never have been, and no plans to be a member of the NRA or support them. Way too extreme for me. I would answer your question, but you never do the same when I ask you questions. You just like telling people how they are wrong if they do t agree with you. Because you are smart and therefore must be right. Telling people how they are wrong makes you feel superior. But when asked direct, specific questions, you just quibble. “I already posted my answer. What was it? If you search for it, you will find it, I’m not reposting it for you. Ok, I searched and didn’t find anything, what do I search for? ............”. I have no desire to engage with you. You use big words and my reading comprehension isn’t at a high enough level to understand your wisdom. Better you don’t even waste your time addressing someone like me, just a waste of your valuable intellect. Derek V

I would put it at 5% and 95%, but close enough. My point is the TSA was an over reaction to a small probability, high cost event. The same type of reaction i see to mass shootings. We spent and continue to spend a not insignificant amount of money, time, etc. and get very little for it. The cost/benefit just isn’t there. Derek V

I’m sure fly commercially often, what is your opinion of the TSA? Derek V

Agreed. I don’t think the hysteria is any more productive than “Those who would claim that controlling those types of weapons is just the beginning of a larger effort to remove more and more killing machine rights? Well, they are correct, it is.“. I would be ok with more regulation if it made a meaningful impact. I do want the current laws enforced vigorously. I do want a felon that attempts to purchase a firearm prosecuted. I do want a program that keeps firearms out of the hands of anyone with mental health issue(s) that doesn’t discourage them from seeking treatment. I am against doing something (ANYTHING!) just to say something was done. For example, the magazine and universal background checks here in Colorado. I believe we are all on the same side. I don’t know anyone that wants mass shootings. I know I don’t. Where we get divided is how to go about reducing/eliminating them. This has been a large part of my thinking on the topic. We all agree on where we want to go, just not how to get there. I think if we keep that in mind, the conversation can move forward. Derek V

Sure, but again, we accept that we are more likely to die in an aircraft accident. I don’t think very many people would support banning general aviation. I know I don’t. The difference is the emotional reaction to an aircraft crash vs. a mass shooting. Derek V

Yes, I understand that. But what would it cost to require new cars to be limited to the speed limit for the section of road they are on? Or to be equipped with ignition breathalyzers? Or tech that would prevent phone usage while the vehicle was in motion? What would the benefit be? I’m not saying ignore the problem. I am saying look at how big the problem is, what it would cost to address and what would the return be on that cost? If banning assault rifles resulted in no more mass shootings, I would support that. What impact did the 1994 assault weapon ban have on mass shootings? Derek V

That is a simple question to a complicated problem. What impact would a ban on assault weapons have on the issue of mass shootings? How many lives need to be lost every year to general aviation aircraft accidents before you would support the elimination of private aircraft ownership? We are more likely to die in an aircraft accident than a mass shooting. We have to look at the cost/benefit. I don’t think any constitutional right is unlimited. Jerry- I haven’t posted in a while, that is true. But I have been reading and thinking about this. I didn’t feel like I had anything worthwhile to contribute. My “silence” doesn’t mean I don’t care, just didn’t want to add to the noise. Did you have anything to add? Derek V

You are right, and I agree. Murder is higher priority than cheeseburgers. But is less than 1000 from mass shootings a higher priority than 30,000 from vehicles accidents? We could cut that number in half very quickly. But we don’t because it doesn’t have the emotional impact of mass shootings. Derek V

https://www.mediamatters.org/white-nationalism/cnn-pro-trump-commentator-steve-cortes-starring-new-prageru-video-rewriting uh huh. Derek V

No posts about the 40 victims of gun violence in Chicago over the weekend? Or does 1’s and 2’s not get the headlines and emotional response that a mass shooting does? Neil Degrasse Tyson is right. Hard to argue with numbers. Is it about saving lives or gun control? What are the leading causes of death in the US? Around 74% of all deaths in the United States occur as a result of 10 causes. Heart disease. Cancer. Unintentional injuries. Chronic lower respiratory disease. Stroke and cerebrovascular diseases. Alzheimer's disease. Diabetes. Influenza and pneumonia. kidney disease. Suicide. Lifetime odds of dying in a motor vehicle accident- 1 in 108. (Just missed making the top ten, it is number 11). Lifetime odds of dying in a mass shooting- 1 in 11,125. Where should we as a society spend our time, energy, and resources to get the most lives saved for least effort spent? I’m not saying do nothing or nothing can be done. I think we should enforce the current laws for sure. What I am saying is if I am not breathing and have a cut on my leg that is going to require stitches, don’t start discussing the best way to sew me up. I get it, we are wired to react emotionally to mass shootings. The same way there can be 30 people die in separate motor vehicle accidents won’t make the national news, but 30 people dying in a bus crash will. But if we focus on bus crashes, how many lives will be saved per year vs. if we spent the same time on motor vehicle crashes? People complain that nothing is done after a mass shooting. That is because there are no easy fixes to that issue. Derek V

I tried cutting a line over. On a jump where I knew I would have a line over. On a PD-170. From 13,500 feet. Couldn’t do it. Cutting a line over is not a good plan. Better than doing nothing, but your odds of finding the correct line and then cutting it are not good. Derek V

I wouldn’t try this on a main canopy, I definitely would try this on a reserve canopy. Derek V

The issues with this Skydive have been covered very well already. I won’t recover them. What continues to be an issue is how this is being received. There is a process to learning from a mistake. Step 1, own it. As a part of the group, you were part of the decision making process, even if you chose not not speak up and participate in that process. Therefore, a poor plan is your fault. Once you accept that this was your fault (and everyone in the group should do the same), you can move on the step 2. You skipped this step and that is why there are so many replies to your post. Step 2, identify the mistakes. Step 3, identify what should have been done to prevent each mistake. Finally, Step 4, implement these solutions (learn from the mistake(s)). If you skip step 1, step 4 doesn’t really happen because if you didn’t make a mistake, why would you need to fix anything? Yes, it is ok to laugh at mistakes that by luck didn’t result in a problem. But only AFTER steps 1-4, not BEFORE. Derek V

Did you check the kill line length with the bridle under tension? Derek V

Do you have a spectra kill line PC? The spectra will shrink with heat from the friction with the bridle when the PC collapses. To check it, the bridle has to be under tension. A kill line will look correct with the load tapes taking the force until you tension the bridle, then the kill line will be taking the force and not allowing the PC to fully inflate. Check the length of your kill line with the bridle under tension. Derek V

I have been thinking a lot about Trymp supporters, Republicans, and Democrats. I have asked Ron & Rushmc some tough questions and, not surprisingly, they have not answered. But I think I have a better understanding of where they are coming from. Please do not confuse understanding with agreement. Imagine if a football team lost 42-7 and the defense scored the 7 points on the losing team. In the locker room after the game, the losing team’s defense was celebrating. The quarterback asks them why they are celebrating and they explain that they ‘won’. “They scored more points than the offense.” They don’t care that the entire team lost, just that their part of the team ‘won’. I think people like Ron & Rushmc only care if ‘their’ team wins, even if the real team, The United States of America, loses. The wall isn’t about immigration or national security, it is about ‘winning’ over the Democrats. They have lost sight of the big picture. Derek V

Answer mine (questions from my previous post) and I’ll answer yours. Bonus bonus round: Is Mexico going to pay the 5.7 billion? Derek V

Ron- How many miles is the US border with Mexico? How many of those miles already have a fence/wall/barrier? How many miles of fence/wall/barrier will 5.7 billion buy? Where will it be built? How many illegal immigrants will those new miles of fence/barrier/wall stop? How many of the 3000+ “suspected terrorists” apprehended in 2018 would 5.7 billion worth of fence/wall/barrier stop? Bonus round; Which former US president(s) told Trump they supported his wall building efforts? Derek V

A couple of pilot bail out rigs can be opened and reclosed without breaking the seal, if you know what you are doing. That would be intentional tampering, something a reserve seal isn’t intended to defeat. Any rig is susceptible to intentional tampering, seal or no seal. It is a non-issue. If the FAA didn’t require it, I wouldn’t put a seal on my rigs. Derek V

You are correct. Can you open your reserve and reclose it without breaking the seal? Derek V

The reserve seal is required by the FAA. It cannot prevent intentional tampering of any reserve system. It does prevent someone from opening and repacking the reserve on almost all containers. Derek V

https://apnews.com/6002358ea2b94880a3bb6007201fdbf0 Ron- Check where AP New falls on your chart. I would like to get your opinion on this article. I don’t want to argue point by point. I would like to get a better understanding of why people support trump. Derek V

My concern about the Racer is not intentional tampering. The reason I will not pack a Racer reserve is because the owner (or anyone) can then tighten the closing loop without breaking the seal. If they over-tighten it, creating a high/impossible pull force. At that point there is nothing to show the loop was tightened after it left my hands. This is not some clever intentional tampering, it is following the instructions in the manual to re-seat the reserve PC after the pack job settles. Derek V

Yep. Given that I have asked the museum for more information and they have stopped responding and the onus is on the museum to present that information since they are taking our money, I have met them more than halfway. I am justified at this point in criticizing USPA's donations to the museum and the museum's failure to provide more information. When asked, they did not say they are working on a new plan, since their current plan is not going anywhere. They sticking with the current, unworkable, plan. “Saturday, March 28, 2015 - 21:01 The Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame is pleased to announce it is collaborating with Skyventure iFly to co-locate the Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame with a 16-foot iFly wind tunnel in North Orlando, Florida. The museum is currently working with a leading design firm to combine building space and functions and iFly is actively searching for a suitable piece of property as a venue for the combined facility. The co-venture is expected to open its doors in 2018.” "Good morning, as soon I answer your question, I will be wrong. However the best estimate we can give you is that we are three-four years from opening the doors. However, if iFLY accelerates their timeline, we will move sooner." "Good day, iFLY has identified a few pieces of real estate in North Orlando and are in discussions with the developers; that is the most we can tell you at this point in time." Derek V

2 problems with this; 1- If USPA is giving them our money, there shouldn't be a "behind the scenes". We should be given that information. 2- I, and others, have sought out the information behind scenes since it was not forthcoming. What we have gotten is either an unworkable plan, or nothing. If the museum wants our money, they need to be forthcoming with this information. I am not against the museum. I am against USPA giving them a lot of money that could be used elsewhere (I know you keep calling it not much, but $150,000+ is not chump change) on a project that we don't know enough about. And what we do know is that it looks like USPA is wasting the money. Either am I. Derek V