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That is pretty much how I am thinking about it. It is another way to do things, and it may work well for you.

Hey, there you go, that's it! That is why I like it. Plus, it is a bit entertaining to me I must admit. I seldom post there, and when I do, I usually regret it. I'm an easy target because I am not as conversant as most of you are on the types of topics in Speaker's Corner. Carry on, everyone. Have fun.

A system exists where a BOD member can ask that their vote be recorded "by name", which means it will show up in the meeting minutes. (Some of us do that from time to time, but for some reason I did not do it for this vote.) The draft minutes of the meeting do not show that anyone did that. So you will need to ask the individual BOD members how they voted. It might be a good exercise for you, to see who cares enough to respond to you. [email protected]

I think it can be said even more accurately that the BOD was lobbied hard by some museum folks, and it convinced 13 of the 22 BOD members who voted "for" this. FYI, I voted "against".

Even better is that, for quite some time now, individual members have been able to create their own personal account (login) at the USPA member database online, and accesss/display their credentials. It no longer requires that the DZ do this as a Group Member. (It also does not require accessing a third-party web site, although you may want to do that.) So wherever you are, if there is access to the internet you can prove who you are.

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.

Wow, that is a rather radical decision. I suggest that you are possibly eliminating some dropzones where you might jump and have fun in a safe situation. It just depends on the individual dropzones, which you must judge individually.

USPA banned wingsuits for several decades. On what grounds? Because there was an increasing number of experienced jumpers dying while using them. Note: The design of that generation of "wings" was not anything like what wingsuits are now. Do some searching and look at the pictures.

What dropzones are those that violate BSR(s) on every load? Which BSRs? What area of the country? Does it matter? Most DZs do at least one thing is questionable. All drop zones have at least a few fun jumpers who dont take safety seriously. Some are better than others. Some care, others dont. I've seen TIs do 270s about 100 feet off the ground and swoop their 380 Icarus tandem in. I've seen HP landings a few from AFF student landings. I've seen half the load land north and half land south, all at the same time, in a small landing area. I've seen guys with several thousand jumps on a WL of over 2.0 yell at someone with 50 jumps because he 'got in the way' flying a standard pattern when the dude was trying to set up for a 720 HP landing. I've seen AFF-Is tell guys "you have your license now, you dont need to fly a pattern. That's AFF shit". Some DZs do this stuff all the time. Does it matter? Well, only if you truly care about safety and about our sport. If you don't have the courage to be specific in a forum, then at least ask some questions if you are present when these things happen. Having said that, your last example is questionable. What kind of instructor would say something like that?

I appreciate your thoughtfulness, and the topics you bring to this thread, but I'm going to have to throw your insistance on examples back at you! :) What dropzones are those that violate BSR(s) on every load? Which BSRs? What area of the country? In my area, I'm seeing good compliance with BSRs and other important activities related to safety.

The important question is exactly what training they received in the tunnel. As we see utilization of this BSR change increase over time, I think we will see the tunnel training items evolve.

One example I learned of a while back from a DZO was that the usual group of freeflyers, who are normally falling faster than belly flyers, and who usually should be exiting later than belly flyers, were using smaller canopies than the usual group of belly flyers, and therefore arriving at the pattern at the same time as the belly flyers. They determined from experience that having the freeflyers exit first prevented this conflict and did not make their opening proximitry an issue. The only point I'm trying to make is that we all need to ask questions, but also we need to be flexible.

Just want to make sure that you know... exit order is not specified in the BSRs. And... many DZs have modeified their exit orders from the "standard" exit order, and for good reasons. (Having said that, the instructor you referred to could have been making a mistake.) Some of this stuff just isn't that simple.

Yep, that is what I do. I had cards printed many years ago, and have not yet run out of them. Unfortunately, so many riggers and dropzones now think that information besides that of the reserve must be present on the card, that I kind of have given up, and just use the preprinted cards available. I guess I'll design a new card whenever I run out.

How about we just dispence with the Tyvek card and use paper that we can write on with a simple pen? Does Tyvek really add that much to the usefulness of the card? Heck, I have paper cards that have lasted for many years, and with no smearing of the ink. Why Tyvek anyway? Is it moisture that people are worried about? If so, the rig is being exposed to even more moisture. A card is supposed to be in a nice protective pocket.

This is one of the most important aspects of all skydiving training (as well as other sports and activities.) DZs and instructors can set their own trainings standards, as long as they at a minimum follow the BSRs. Instructors must always be confident that a student has the minimum skill, knowledge, and attitude for a safe jump. (Some solo students might even need to be told that a tandem jump is their only option after some evaluation by an AFF instructor.)

I'm placing this in the Instructors forum because I think more people will see it here. At the USPA BOD meeting this weekend, a BSR change was made to allow tunnel training to be used so that initial AFF jumps can be made using only one instructor. I put information about this on a web site that I maintain (mainly for USPA Central Region members, who are my constituents). http://www.skydivestlouisarea.com/USPACentralRegion/TunneltoAFFBSRchange.htm It will be interesting to see how many tunnels and dropzones take advantage of this change.

A large slider or a pocket slider solves the problem, period. There is no need to worry about death! I suggest doing some more reading up on the subject. There is a lot of history to enlighten you.

Absurd? Well, I'm sure there are many of us that think that making a slider is not that big of a deal. And you know, some time after my study, many parachute designs other than PD had rather large sliders. So maybe there is something to that. (A pocket slider is another good option, and easier.) I understand your point that manufacturers should design their parachutes to work well without modification, but abandoning a parachute and purchasing another is expensive.

You know that the original Sabre can be made to open quite nicely with a larger slider or pocket slider? One source of information: http://www.pcprg.com/hardop.htm

Thanks for the information on MarcoPolo. I had been wondering why no one had mentioned strictly RF systems. Why pay for a subscription to anything? Some people may say that 2 miles is not far enough, but it should be for a regular cutaway. If you are doing Canopy Formation work and you wrap and cutaway up high it might be an issue, but for most people that should be far enough.

Thank you very much. You answered my question. I did a test and that is exactly what is happening. The stupid part is that I had been wondering what those beeps were in my (company) land line when I was talking on it. It was probably customers that I was ignoring while having a lengthy conversation with a friend!

For the second time in recent months, I have been on a land line, and someone on a cell phone called that number. They later said that the line "just kept ringing", as in "no answer". However, it should have been giving them a "busy signal". Anyone else experiencing this that you know of?

I'm surprised that no one has yet offered Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Congratulations to Randy Connell. https://prflightfeatures.blogspot.com/2018/05/us-indoor-skydiving-hires-randy-connell.html The May 01, 2018 post on that page is rather significant too.