ActionAir

I was there. It was my first Boogie, with less than 100 jumps. Changed my direction in life! Scotty was defiantly one of a kind. Got to know him better and enjoy his antics while jumping with him at Pope Valley, on the Super Bowl XIV jumps in 1979. AAP

lay off your rubbish. Ed scott is a great guy and has a job to do, and he did (and does) it well. and to everyone else that enjoys the "Why are we in USPA and what good are they": If you would prefer....you can go it alone and petition the FAA to be recognized when you decide that you can form your own 'better' sport skydiving organization. One that will have no members because you hold everyone 'accountable' for their actions, and therefore drive away your base. If you would prefer 'teeth in what USPA does, then perhaps you can then petition the FAA to add the BSRs to their list of FARs so that government inspectors can show up and not only suspend your rating, but impose civil and criminal penalties based on those rules that you demanded be enforced. I am sure it would be so convenient in this new organization with 'teeth', whether it be your 'utopian USPA' or a local FSDO inspector to come out and remind you as a Tandem Instructor how your drogue on your tandem rig should be maintained and whether or not they like the stitch pattern on that repair, and then ground your system because the way they see it from the book, you are doing it wrong. Because maintaining your USPA ratings only costs $55/year or whatever it is. But for most, maintaining your FAA certifications costs HUNDREDS of dollars or more per year. What do you get for your membership? The single most important event that happened financially for your membership was a successful bid by USPA to shut down a federal excise tax on aviation that would have jacked your jump ticket by 10% in the 1990's. That single event alone would have cost everyone 10% more every jump.....figure it out how much that would have cost you and now, figure out your membership costs and get back to me. They battled the Sales Tax issue for tandems along side a couple of dropzones, ours included and together we successfully used a federal law to rule against any state or county level taxation on ANY skydive. So sure, go it alone. You take on the federal government and let me know how that works out. I choose the organization that helps develop standards over having non-standards. I choose to have representation and partnership in government matters than NOT having said representation. And most of all, if you do not like it, then get elected and change it. +1 +1 AAP

Miklos Talyak - a long time skydiver here at SkyDance SkyDiving will make his final skydive tomorrow afternoon, 10/24/15. Miklos past away in his sleep a few weeks ago. Miklos was a colorful character at the DZ for many years. He was a Hungarian freedom fighter, the 1st Hungarian to skydive at the North Pole and made a number of 30,000' HALO jumps at SkyDance. A loved character everywhere he went. He was adopted by the USA Golden Knights at the US Nationals one year in Skydive AZ. There he competed in Accuracy and was made a member of the Golden Knights 10 Way team, coming home with a Gold Medal. AAP

For every "fun" jumper that thinks its cool, there's one that hates the airplane ride. And unless you are a owner/operator you typically have no clue what gyros & instruments cost. You want to do aerobatics, buy your own airplane! AAP

I just spoke to the DZO. Evidently this guy (jclalor) has not jumped at this DZ in a couple of years. I've messaged jclalor to confirm dates. Several years ago a pilot did barrel rolls in another PAC (not mine). That pilot was grounded at our DZ because he couldn't fly and was untrainable (IMHO). I informed the owner of that PAC at that time. If this is an old story, why post it like its new news? What's the agenda? If this did happen, please confirm date and place - anyone? My plane is flying at this DZ now. And I have a zero tolerance policy against "Pilot Antics". You can contact me at [email protected] AAP

***My favorite is when one BOD DZO tried to deny nearby airport access to another BOD DZO. How many folks remember the BOD member that was impeached? According to USPA by-laws he was to be removed from office. Instead he was impeached behind closed doors and got a hand slap - behind closed doors. Bet that really hurt! This is the same kind of gig. AAP

SkyDance SkyDiving (Davis, CA) has Camping, Bath house, wifi and a swoop land. www.skydanceskydiving.com AAP

Pull your reserve ripcord. RSL is now disconnected. AAP

It is (or should be) common knowledge that there are a number of ways to measure sq. Footage. If you follow the PIA standard, PD canopies are approximately 15% bigger than the name. This is why they pack bigger - because they are. AAP

Simple "T" mod. Can be installed with very little sewing or hand tacking. AAP

Riggers do not certify future airworthiness. All we do is certify airworthiness at the time of packing. Mark that means for the next 180 days. Aka the (short term) future. Like it or not, that's how it is. @ 181 days your'e in the clear. But you already know that Actually when you sign and seal the rig you are certifying that it is airworthy at that moment. Once you return it to the owner, you have no control over it. So if someone cuts the harness or pokes a hole in the container / canopy, its on the user not the rigger. AAP

Attached is the FAA ruling on supposed life limits. I recommend you print this out and present to your rigger. If you rigger in unwilling to do his job - insect, repack and recertify a parachute, you might suggest that he / she change occupations. Then find yourself a new rigger! Thanks goes to USPA for following through with this, for its members. AAP

In Response to: RIGGER The post is: Would you grounded this h/c ??? ------------------------------------------------------ The rigger that made this mistake (closing loop not through the cutter) went through retraining after this incident, then decided to quit rigging. So the problem was address and handled. The jumper wanted an inexpensive rig, which is what he received. As far as the equipment was concerned, it was completely airworthy. The rig owner was not allowed to jump this rig in Israel. I ended up refunding the owner his $ for the H&C, reserve and Vigil AAD (because RIGGER would not allow Vigils on his DZ). I provided him with another H&C and sold him a PD reserve and CYPRES at cost to help him out, so he could jump in Israel. Trying to justify your BS by diverting attention to a what - 4 or 6 year old incident is lame. But it may work for the uninformed. Good luck. AAP

OK, let me be clear. The question "would you ground this canopy" was "tongue in cheek". At least a few of you get it. It's basically a few pin pricks on a main canopy. It's completely air worthy. Anyone that would try to ground this canopy is either nuts or has an ulterior motive. It's a main canopy! AAP

Does it have nicks like this all over the canopy or something? Quote Negative. The 3 that I took photos of only. AAP

We received this canopy, a Silhuoette 150 for repair. It was grounded by a (the) rigger in Israel. Really!! Canopy had 400 jumps, by a jumper that might weigh 100 Lbs. She was also told it would have to be re-lined. IMHO, this canopy & the lines are completely airworthy. BTW, he wanted $600 to patch and re-line the canopy. AAP

"It is the flat stow diaper that Security used that they licensed from Hank Asciutto (sp ? )." JerryBaumchen It was GQ Security's own design (simular to Hank's). not licensed. AAP

Have any of you ever looked at your UPT Owners manual? There is NO warantee and by using the equipment you specifically waive any rights you might have. Silly buggers. AAP

AC105-2d was recended and it only refers to TSOed items. The Drogue is not TSOed. Here's my real point. Riggers have privileges that they have earned, especially Master Riggers. But people like shlomo are willing to give up all of their privileges to the mfg and just tow the line. I am not. Unfortunately this forum is full of opinions with very little knowledge. Which I why I rarely engage. That is all, AAP

But they went through a process to make sure it would work, not so with the drogues, right? Matt Now you are ASSuming things. Thanks for the banter. Bye. AAP

*** "If the Cessna "Mod" is wrong, how is the Rig "Mod" right?" That's the point. It is not "Wrong". And Blackhawk did not need Cessna's blessing to do the mod. They went through the STC process. It is a great conversion. We have a Blackhawk, 850 HP, Grand Caravan here. Cheers, AAP

As another UPT/USPA T I/E and FAA DPRE I'm saying that this is pure BS. A master rigger can determine compatibility between TSO'ed items. And if it is not a TSO'ed item, you are free to use the best product you can find. The idea that the MFG is the ONLY one that can determine compatibility is absolutely wrong. It just so happens that the MFG only approves the items that you can ONLY buy from them. That's a great way to stifle innovation and competition. And this "wise" bit of info comes from a DZ that flies a Blackhawk converted Grand Caravan. Guess what, Cessna does not approve! This guy will also tell you that on its 20th brthday your reserve canopy, which may not have been packed more than 40 times and may not have ever seen the light of day, is no longer airworthy. That is also B.S. The FAA has just clarified this issue. Any life limit stated is a RECOMMENDATION only. And is not a rule or limit, unless the MFG can substantiate a safety issue. Then an Airworthiness Directive (AD) would have to be issued. It is a Rigger’s job to inspect and repack a parachute, thereby “recertifying” it as airworthy. If Shlomo or any other rigger is not willing to do their job, they should retire their rigger’s seal and change professions. AAP

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I met Roger when he was commander of the Military Freefall School (HALO committee). I worked for Security Parachute Co. and was demoing our Ram Air System to him. He sneaked me on to the C-141 plane & let me jump with them. He said if he went through the proper channels, it would take weeks and the answer would be "No". So he made up fake papers, told me to keep my helmet on (to hide my long hair) and stay in the middle of the group. No S,T.I.W. Roger was a no BS straight up guy. One of the Best! AAP