Bob_Church

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    1,887

  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

  • Feedback

    0%

Posts posted by Bob_Church

  1. "Always cut away a total. "

    That tactic has kept me alive. Also, Pat Works' advice to build muscle memory of your handles and procedures. If you have to look you'll be in big trouble if you get low. Ground rush is downright mesmerizing.

    But the main thing is to select how you're going to do it then practice it until your body will do it for you.

  3. headcase

    Personally IMHO we need less regulation not more. I applaud the original poster for going through the aircraft with an eye toward safety. 182's in aviation are aging, 182's in skydiving are old AND bruised.
    Having said that inviting more regulation? For a sport already on a tight shoestring I would worry about asking for more regulation. Besides most accidents by a long shot are pilot error.



    I've always seen USPA as a central body that represents skydivers. They mostly defend us against those people who see skydivers as an unnecessary problem. There are occasions where they need to act on something but the idea of actually wanting to set up a group that oversees us, I think, says more about the person wanting it than USPA or skydiving.
    Some people can't imagine a body of people without someone being in charge and enforcing rules. It's like when we were kids and we'd start a club and the first thing we'd do is set up rules and the punishments for breaking them. Most of us grow out of that. But not all.
    Personally, I'd rather be skydiving.

  6. Westerly

    ***They informed me they are more into informing than enforcing and they definitely acted that way. They're actions backed these words. Hopefully this helps prevent any future incidents in the future.

    \

    You're kidding right? "inform not enforce" translates to "I can do whatever I want because I wont get in trouble for it anyway". Imagine if the police only 'informed' citizens about the laws they broke and not actually enforced any of them. The FAA needs to step in the other direction and start handing out larger fines, revoking pilot licenses, and grounding aircraft permanently. What do you think would motivate a DZO more to do maintenance, threat that the FAA will come over to them and 'inform' them about the FARs they broke, or threat that the FAA will fine them six figures and ground their entire fleet?

    Are you really having this much trouble, or maybe I should say lack of trust, at your DZ? Was it an incident or something else that made you feel like you aren't safe when you skydive where you do? Have you talked to anyone else at your DZ to see if there isn't a way to address it locally?

  7. Ron

    ***>>Note that it says nothing about funding.

    >Notice it says TRAIN?

    Yes it does. Train != fund.



    Well, while you are technically correct.... It does not say "fund"...Try to give an example of where providing training in skydiving does not require spending any money.

    Tunnel? Money
    Jumps? Money
    Gear? Money
    Get them a book on mental training? Buy the book or spend funds on an employee finding one for free, or copying it, etc.

    So it does not say "fund"... It does say train and you will be hard pressed to help train several teams without spending any money.

    BTW, It also does not say 'fund a museum.'

    I don't get where you're coming from on this. DZs and boogies offer load organizing. Many DZs offer coaching jumps. To even start skydiving you need first jump training and then the training that goes with whichever type of student program you choose. These are all forms of training but there's never any question of who will be paying for the jump tickets, and even the tickets of the coaches.

    Bob Church

  8. 6185

    I am interested to hear about what type of Alti combos they use and what they like/ don't like about it.

    Do you wear two?
    Audible/Digital/ Analog?
    What do you like? What do you not like?



    I wear a chest mounted MA2-30 as my primary altimeter. I also have a Neptune 3 wrist mounted. I half jokingly refer to it as my toy. I like the information it gathers and sometimes its handy when under canopy to have an altimeter that I can see when looking up and another when looking down.
    But I wouldn't run out and buy one just for this but since I have it I put it to use.

    And on a side note, have any of you jumped with the Titanium model of basically a Alti-3 that they sold years ago. It was limited edition and I keep trying to find info about it but no luck. If anyone has pointers to information like how many made, that sort of thing I'd really appreciate it.

  9. VTmotoMike08

    It is somewhat rare, but if we are doing anecdotes now, then I can think of at least six people I know who have lost a canopy in a chop (myself included). Canopies are pretty expensive these days, even if it only gives a little better odds of getting it back, a cheap GPS based tracker could really be useful. And they are pretty cheap.



    As electronics get smaller and cheaper I could see doing this for a freebag and pilot chute.

  10. michaelmullins

    ***USPA did donate from our dues the 25 grand per year and I sure as hell didn't vote on it! How many years have monetary donations been made to this paper musuem? Ottley had donated enough cash to build it in VA. After the BOD voted to sell the land it was touted as enough cash to start building it in Florida. It's time for this 501c Non-profit to be audited!



    USPA, like our federal government (just recite the pledge of allegiance) is a republic, as is every state government. You elect board members that then handle USPA business by vote.

    I believe that this is the first monetary donation that USPA has made to the museum. However, USPA has made "in kind" donations by allowing the museum to use USPA office space.

    You say "after the BOD voted to sell the land". I do not know what land you are talking about. The museum owns a plot of land next to USPA HQ, it was paid for by them, and they still own it. USPA did not donate any money for that land and it is up to the museum to sell it or keep it. USPA has the right of first refusal if the museum does sell the land.

    In my opinion, the museum made the right choice by co-locating with a wind tunnel in FL. There is no way the museum could attract enough visitors in Fredericksburg, VA, to sustain it.

    Bottom line, it is $0.62 per year per member, and, it can be terminated by USPA at any time for any reason.

    Mike Mullins


    Call me unimaginative but I can't imagine not wanting a Skydiving museum and I can't imagine anyone but USPA doing it.
    I just really really hope they use that article "The First 50" about night stacks from 1982 as the basis for a bronze plaque.

  11. "Bottom line, it is $0.62 per year per member, and, it can be terminated by USPA at any time for any reason.

    Mike Mullins "

    The increased time between reserve I/Rs alone saves me more each year than my membership. And I have no illusion of that happening without the USPA's getting behind it.

  12. Westerly

    When I collapse my slider, the sides of the slider still flap around like crazy and are loud AF. It's actually worse with the slider collapsed than uncollapsed sometimes. Is there anyway to silence the slider altogether without stowing it behind your head?



    I wonder if the cords are too long between the locks and where they're sewn into to the slider. Mine has plenty of slack even when uncollapsed so talk to your rigger about the possibility of shortening those. It sounds like maybe it doesn't collapse it enough and actually makes it louder. There's no reason you should have to switch to something else, a lot of people are using these successfully.

  13. Volare500

    Any advice? I've been jumping for a year now and it's time to get serious about purchasing my own rig. Buying all new gear probably isn't an option for me. I don't have that kind of coin... I'm down with buying a complete used rig, if the right one pops up for sale. As long as it fits right. I'm tall/slim.

    What about piecing one together? Going used for the reserve, main and AAD, and then ordering a new container. I like the idea of being able to pick my own colours and having a harness that will fit perfectly.

    Pros/cons? It's a lot of money, so any tips are greatly appreciated!



    This is just my preference but I like to think of the reserve and container as a single unit. I have a Strong container with the Strong reserve that it shipped with but have had a couple of different mains in it. It just seems like it would be less likely to run into any compatibility problems and someday having a rigger say "I'm sorry but I'm not comfortable repacking this reserve into this container". But, that's just my opinion, I haven't seen anything that backs it up and I don't buy gear often enough to run into exceptions.

  14. Smitty23

    Hello

    Dug out my original Sky Systems Benny helmet the other day after a few years inside a hold-all.

    Helmet is obviously sound but the liner, whilst fine, has some spots of a rust-like substance on it. Must be some kind of exotic mould maybe.

    Anyway, since the liner is just attached by velcro, I would like to wash it.

    Anybody done this? And if so, what temp, hand wash or machine etc. I just don't want it to shrink or anything.

    Cheers



    If this doesn't work out for you Paragear sells a replacement set for a lot less that I'd have figured.

  16. peek

    ***Was there any discussion on membership cards?
    Still haven't received mine after being told there was an issue with them this year, nor my PRO sticker.
    I miss my PRO sticker, I'm building a layer of them on the card!
    :D:D



    From what I recall the source of the blank cards was delayed until recently. Make sure you have indicated in the database that you want a card.

    No more Pro card with picture. No more stickers. Pro is going to be on the membership card.

    Something that's handy is that most member DZs have a computer that's online and can check directly with USPA. I showed up once and realized that I still had last year's card but it wasn't a problem and wouldn't have been if I hadn't had any card. They just verified my membership online. Most of the places I jump don't check so I forget to replace it.

  17. Westerly

    *** Has anyone ever figured out the average number of jumps for when someone switches from worrying about everyone else and seeing the importance of just working on their own skills and procedures?



    I guess the answer would be whenever they become complacent? Other people's mistakes can harm you on the plane, in the sky, under canopy and on the ground. Maybe one should worry about what other people do since their actions can harm you.

    We watch out for each other, we scan each others chest straps and do whatever we can to support and keep each other alive. But that has nothing to do with what I'm talking about. The sport gets a lot safer when we start spending more time worrying about our own attitudes and practices than trying to find some way to judge others. In that case, safety becomes an excuse, not a reason.

  18. This is something I've been wondering about for years. Has anyone ever figured out the average number of jumps for when someone switches from worrying about everyone else and seeing the importance of just working on their own skills and procedures? The "why yes, I am my brother's keeper" phase seems to kick in somewhere about fifty jumps but I've never figured out when it stops, but have observed it happening over and over again. Maybe 300 jumps? Or is it even jump numbers, maybe its some other factors.

  19. "That is exactly what it means. I am that rigger.
    The 20-year policy was established before I started here, and to be honest, I like it."

    My only problem with it is that I LIKED having that particular rigger pack my reserve. I always felt like I could really trust it afterwards. I don't feel that way with all riggers and I don't like the possible hesitation of even half a second to give it one more chance to open that that lack of absolute trust can give me. I'm not the sort to just drop my rig off with someone I'm not familiar with then pick it back up in a week. I've even pencil packed in years gone by because I thought it was safer than the riggers I had access to at the time.
    It took awhile to find a replacement this time.

  23. RonD1120

    ***See, this is evidence of something I didn't even know. It turns out I am a racist, it's the only explanation. You see, in my twisted bigoted excuse for a brain, the idea that all of this very real and very documented social injustice means that a young black man who wants to stay alive SHOULDN'T feel obligated to do whatever a scared cop aiming a cocked gun at him was the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Can you believe the depths of my racism and delusion? Maybe I should take one of those racial sensitivity programs where, using small words and speaking slowly, they can explain to my simple mind the way having the world stacked against him makes a young black man immune to bullets.
    I've got so much to learn.



    Yes, you and I have so much to learn.

    I am considered a racist because I posted some years back that I do not like being in an area where gang bangers are expected to frequent and I have a CCW permit. Furthermore, I do not believe in open borders.

    Therefore, I am a racist.

    I was getting tired of Nazi anyway.

  24. SkyDekker

    ******The big difference is that the colour of your skin determines which level of stupidity will get you killed. That is what BLM tends to object to. Which is likely why you wouldn't see signage like that.



    But why do cops feel that they have to be so much more careful when pulling over a young black man than a young white man? Even if the cop is black?

    You really think there is a one size fits all answer for that?

    How about cops just treat both the same?

    Because every time a young black man pulls out a gun and kills someone life for all young black men gets more dangerous. I'm not saying it's fair, but I think it's true.
    Another thing though, not so much about your posts but a sort of feeling that comes up in all of these discussion. That it's only blacks who die when dealing with cops. Cops kill twice as many white people a year as black. Yes, I know, it's a smaller percentage, but it's still not like only blacks die when interacting with a cop goes bad.
    No matter what your race is, if you force a cop into a position where they think you are going to kill them they'll defend themselves.

  25. SkyDekker

    The big difference is that the colour of your skin determines which level of stupidity will get you killed. That is what BLM tends to object to. Which is likely why you wouldn't see signage like that.



    But why do cops feel that they have to be so much more careful when pulling over a young black man than a young white man? Even if the cop is black?