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I don't see concrete rebound hammer anywhere.... top

Haha. I fully understand there is a cost to see what it will take for a project to happen. I also understand that are limits in terms of time and money before you either green light or kill a project. How long has the museum been in works? How much has been spent? My projects must produce a profit. I asked the museum and a representive replied that they were waiting on iFly to build a tunnel next to where the museum will be built. They didn’t reply when I asked when will the tunnel will be built. So USPA is giving money to a museum that won’t be built until the tunnel is built and they don’t know when that will be. How is this not a waste of money? Derek V If you know that stop misleading readers that don't understand project management. Also as you may know public sector projects, especially ones that can be funded from many different sources with many of them being public take even longer, 10-15 years type projects. You probably know that some projects take decades and a lot of money just to do tests and figure out permitting. While that likely isn't the case with a simple building, people need to know there are always costs before a project gets the green light and it seems that the museum is still in that stage. I don't have to be a project manager to see when a project is going off the rails. The costs before were not associated with USPA at all. USPA donated some staff time for administration and such, but the costs were supposed to be forever zero to members. Now costs and complexities have increased dramatically with lots of pie in the sky promises. I know several tunnel owners and have discussed this with them, they do not see how this is going to make money. Tunnels are not the cash cows that people think (the one in San Diego has already closed and is probably going to become a homeless services center). They are not huge tourist draws either, they are great for kids' birthday parties. And for blowing through piles of cash. top Jump more, post less!

Of course. As there may be people who want USPA to support the museum, but is uncomfortable talking about it because of all the vitriol. I think it's a bad idea personally. But from the one poll here, feelings are fairly divided about it. And given that, board members may be supporting what they believe the membership wants. The BOD is not supposed to do what the members want, but what is good for the organization. I don't see how this museum arrangement is going to be good for the organization financially. We took an arrangement that had no cost to USPA (land donated and the building to be built with donations) and made it a large financial commitment for years to come with little to no benefit to the organization. top Jump more, post less!

Dang! Calling me out! Confession here: when I was on the Board of Directors, I was also a goat farmer. top Jump more, post less!

Yep.... The USPA protecting manufacturers over members. I have been on the board for the past 3 years and have yet to see a single example of the organization protecting (or favoring) manufacturers or GM's over members. Additionally, I sent a PM to BarryWilliams requesting that he provide the details of the case he posted about so I could get some clarification. He has not yet responded. Before your time, but when I was on the BOD, the BOD voted on the BSR raising the minimum age to 16 without discussion. Against the advice of USPA in-house council. Even though the age limit had nothing to do with safety and everything to do with lawsuits. No member other than a gear manufacturer asked for it. It passed. top Jump more, post less!

I don't have the technical expertise to make it happen. Nor do I want to take on the expense of such an undertaking for the organization. There are actual people at USPA who get paid actual salaries to have this knowledge and expertise. Elijah Florio (Director of Communications) and Jen Sharp (Director of Information Technology) would come to mind, or an underling. However, staff only operate within the directions of the BOD and the Executive Director, so it would still need to come from the top. (Not trying to throw those two under the bus, they are great individuals and work very hard, just showing that there are people already at USPA who probably CAN do this.) top The expense could literally be as little as zero. I've seen BOD meetings broadcasted via an iPhone. Is it the best and most professional solution? No. Probably not something you might want for a BOD meeting at Microsoft. But it works fine in an pinch and even a simple external webcam and mic connected to a computer (which are about $30), is good enough to cover the basics of what's been said. Increase your budget a bit more to $500 and you can actually get a reasonable 1080p 60fps camera and two external mics and speakers which is more than good enough for a small gathering of 15 - 20 people conducting an informal meeting for skydivers. Realize to broadcast to several people does require a little more than that, but there are people that do it for a living (GoToMeeting, etc). The limitation is really the committee meetings, several can be going on at one time. Again, none of this is technically complicated, just takes a modicum of planning. Lastly, I would have to cover the travel expenses, and USPA has the means and people to do the job. Certainly, our members would be better served by this than a museum and wind tunnel. top Jump more, post less!

I served two terms already. I had no misgivings about the size of the organization or the money involved, but I took the job seriously and tried to provide the members my best effort. And while some aspects were mundane, it was great to know you were serving the sport. In general, I think the BOD does a good job, but I know they can serve the members better. top Jump more, post less!

I don't have the technical expertise to make it happen. Nor do I want to take on the expense of such an undertaking for the organization. There are actual people at USPA who get paid actual salaries to have this knowledge and expertise. Elijah Florio (Director of Communications) and Jen Sharp (Director of Information Technology) would come to mind, or an underling. However, staff only operate within the directions of the BOD and the Executive Director, so it would still need to come from the top. (Not trying to throw those two under the bus, they are great individuals and work very hard, just showing that there are people already at USPA who probably CAN do this.) top Jump more, post less!

OP The US distributor seems to list them in next year's catalog. Page 14 to 16. http://www.adamsusa.com/ And many sites are selling them. top Jump more, post less!

No reason to do anything like that. Most are just running on name recognition, not substance. Unless that changes, expect more of the same. In this day and age, there is no reason that the BOD meetings are not broadcast via web. We can see the world meet judged live, but heaven forbid we see who cast a vote for the museum! Again, unless enough members demand change, expect more of the same. top PS I will call you back in the future, Gary! Jump more, post less!

If by "an incident" you mean knowingly allowing an unrated person to teach multiple ratings courses at his DZ and then employing those improperly trained jumpers? Yes, every DZO who has that kind of "incident" should be chucked out of USPA. Never been to Lodi, never met Bill or anything. But... After all the info about inadequate training and faked credentials came out, a few "Lodi Alumni" told me flat out that Lodi is Bill's kingdom, and that there is absolutely zero chance that this could have gone on without his knowledge. It was strongly suggested that Bill would have been the one who wanted the course 'shortened' to save time. Ten years ago I would have whole-heartedly agreed with that statement, but Bill is a little older and a little slower and may not have realized exactly what was going on. Bill didn't "need" more TI's at that time, he had plenty. And I hear we had another DZ in the area recently with an unrated AFFI jumping and signing students off.... The offending instructor was hammered by USPA, but not the DZO/GM. Way to be consistent! Ron has a point. He may be a little enthusiastic about how he is talking about it, but we all have seen over the years shenanigans at a DZ that just go completely without any rebuke to the DZO or GM status. The real issue is that such a program of inspections and citations just doesn't carry any weight. The most baddest thing USPA can do to someone is kick them out of the organization and inform the FAA of any violations. As much as we want to self govern our sport, the job of enforcing the FAR's falls to the FAA, not USPA. Personally, I wish USPA would drop the GM program, or splinter out another organization to do it. Trying to represent both the consumer and seller of a product is impossible, as they have competing interests. Ultimately, the organization has to make compromises to please both sides which means neither side feels truly represented. People on this thread (especially Mike Mullins and Gary Peek) have been amazingly patient. And bonus points everyone for the thread drift! top Jump more, post less!

As a dentist, I see sooooo many broken partials, dentures, flippers and retainers broken because they were put in a pocket "for just a second." USE A CASE! Something to protect that investment from being broken while you jostle around. top Jump more, post less!

Almost no one starts out with CF as their main discipline. I'm betting you did not. I did! top Jump more, post less!

It is ironic that the number of jumps for getting a tandem instructor rating are fairly low in my opinion, but the stated reason by members of the BOD that defend it is that smaller dropzones have trouble getting jumpers to a thousand jumps. I would have been much happier with more canopy course requirements at each license level, not freefall formation requirements. You know, what is killing and maiming our members still. After over 25 years. The more experienced ones. All the time. top Jump more, post less!

So just like keys, wallets, watches, jewelry, phones, ect, if you want to have it when you get back down on the ground... Leave it on the ground. The real issue too is that these things can take time to replace, not just a day or two. A partial with a cast frame and hurrying as much as possible can easily take over a month to fabricate correctly. In the meantime, you are short chewers or smilers or both. Yeah, we can make a temporary to show, but that just adds to the expense too. top Jump more, post less!