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There is nothing wrong with wanting to do only static-line jumps, but you are just going to need to talk the DZO and an instructor into it. Skydiving is oriented toward "progressing" toward freefall and licenses, and it is going to take a major mind shift for them to want to accomodate you.

Yeah, they did OK. The large hangar they use has a second level, and they have enough staff that they had a lot of help moving it. The nice part is that a nearby airport in Creve Coeur, 1H0, let us tie down our airplanes there for no charge, and is letting St. Charles Flying Service operate out of their airport and office. How's that for the brotherhood of aviation?

I suppose that many of you have heard about the severe flooding in parts of the Midwest. Here is a photo of the owner of the FBO and flight school at St. Charles County airport (KSET), about 2 miles from the river. Fortunately he still has a sense of humor, but then again, he doesn't have a choice. I have a hangar there, but I don't think my airplane is going back there for quite a while.

The short answer is that some of the plastic ones are weak and crappy, but most of the metal ones are very good. Take a look at the variety of hook knives available, for example, http://www.paragear.com/parachutes/10000061/SKYDIVING-KNIVES Ones like the K11505 are crappy plastic ones.

John Mitchell is profiled on page 14 of the June 2019 Parachutist. Well deserved John!

Dave was one of the greats in skydiving and parachute rigging. Always cheerful. Always helpful. I'm going to miss him.

I have a Kestral 1000, and have found it to be very good, however, as I search for "handheld wind meter" I see many types and prices. I don't see why a cheaper one would not be as good as my Kestral if all you need is wind speed. Others have many other functions that you may not need to be paying more for.

Bill, you are right, I missed that one. I think though that any type of communication with any of these individuals would suffice, and with the communication options available nowdays, that it could be done. (Even defining "the appropriate" might be a challenge. Since the defacto Regional Director for foreign DZs is the USPA HQ Director of Safety and Training, I guess he gets the email or the text!)

Peter, I wish I could provide that clarity in all cases, but I cannot. At least people like Mike Mullins and myself think about and discuss these issues. Many members do not. To answer your main question, it is in the BSRs under "applicability". I would not argue with anyone who thinks that is too inclusive, or that it could be worded better.

#1 This was a problem, but has been taken care of by a BSR change (from about a year ago I think). It added the verbiage "or those training personnel under military orders" SIM section 2-1: BASIC SAFETY REQUIREMENTS, A. APPLICABILITY #2 Advice for water and demo jumps is not BSR related in another country. #3 It is a BSR violation to violate an FAR, but in another country the FARs don't apply. Unfortunately, this stuff is often not easy to understand. Mike and I have often called each other to discuss what some things mean and how to interpret and explain them.

I took the attached picture back when this thread was new, and have been waiting to use it. This is my zero porosity Manta in the bag, waiting for me to check the grommet position and close the bag. (Yes, those are black Dacron lines.) It starts out stack-packed with the tail ever so slightly wrapped around the canopy. It is packed "wide", to fit the bag. (I don't fold it into the bag, rather I fold and stack the folds, then put it in the bag.) This is how I have packed all of my canopies for decades, including the Stiletto. All wonderful openings.

That is the opposite of my experience! What is that based on? What canopy? What era, etc.? Me and some friends have some older Flight Concepts canopies lined with Dacron, and have 500-1000 jumps on them, with little to no change in the lines.

I suggest that the first thing to do is determine what kind of fear she has. Is it fear of injury or fear of looking bad? If it is fear of injury, someone needs to convince her that a good PLF will almost completely remove the chance of injury, however, some people will probably still comment on the "crash" landing, and she will just need to ignore them. Specific coaching from a sympathetic instructor that knows her will likely be needed.

Hey, wait a minute, that was my cool idea! I agree that its importance is long gone. I created it back when a number of people were wondering why they got so much grief for posting certain questions and not having any profile at all. (They looked suspicious and I wanted them to know why.)

I'm leaving this afternoon for the USPA BOD meeting, then I will be at the Symposium until next Friday morning. Why? It is because that is what I have been doing for so many years. The BOD meeting is "challenging" to say the least, but the Symposium is pure fun. I get to see people that I have not seen in 2 years. It is like a family reunion.

You guys are doing fine! It takes time to do things like this.

You are going to need to give them some time to correct the problems. They had to start with a completely different software package and add all the features we are used. This is difficult and time consuming.

Thank you Rich for a very good report! I hope that enough people take the time to read and understand the significant parts of that report.

Now who would that be?

And how much do you think they are planning to spend to get that? Last number I heard was 14 to 16 million dollars. When I asked one of the proponents of the museum plan why the costs of the planned museum couldn't be moderated a bit, they angrily said, "What do you want, just manequins with rigs?" (paraphrased) So there you go. There is the current attitude about how to spend donors (and USPA members) money. This is an excellent idea, and one that has been discussed by numerous people.

So why are you not complaining about tandem to single instructor AFF training too? The same issues and interpretaions apply.

Please feel free to discontinue posting on dropzone.com out of protest to this treatment.

My original post has been there since April 2014, and you are just now commenting? Sorry, but you are going to need to explain better what you are commenting on. Is this about USPA? About dropzone.com? I'm confused!

Well actually, the AFF instructor could simply be outside the tunnel watching the (possibly AFF unrated) tunnel instructor doing the training, and then log the training much like a skydive. But I know what you mean. If I were that AFF instructor, I would be wanting to get in there with my future student!

Yep, I have responded to members outside my region when their RD did not. I can't imagine not doing this if needed. It's, you know, like ... easy!