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Flight Club - you can hear the difference

We have been dreaming about this for a long time and now it is real. In air communication systems, allowing us to talk and communicate in freefall, in the wind tunnel and under canopy. An ideal tool for instruction, but not limited to only just that.
Flight Club is now using the in air communication systems acquired from RareDynamic.com.
The in flight systems arrived just in time, on the second to last day of a Freefly skills camp with the Golden Knights Tandem Team. The Golden Knights chose to receive coaching from Flight Club and improve their Freefly skills to become better all around skydivers. They were the
perfect group to introduce this technology to. The results were incredible. Both Flight Club instructors and The Golden Knights witnessed and experienced a much faster learning curve. The Knights produced positive results including faster reaction time and better understanding of what the instructors wanted from them.
Other students agreed with the Knights. Diane Oelschlager (1202 jumps) said: "Absolutely kick ass technology! Hearing your instructor's calm soothing voice, instantly relaxes you and lets perform at your best." Cheri Johnson (130 jumps) added: " Not only did I see my instructor but I actually got to hear him. Even on landing! When the winds seriously picked up to he point where my canopy was almost flying backwards, it was comforting to hear a voice confirming my actions and guiding me down safely."
Instructors agreed that when the student hears the command, there is a faster reaction time compared to making the association and translation of hand signals. The instructor can also give more elaborate instructions. In comparison, hand signals, are somewhat limiting; one could command “legs out”, however, how do you give someone the sign for a more complex message? It is simple, now with the air-to-air communication system you can clearly communicate in detail.

This helps to avoid miscommunication and decrease anxiety and apprehension with students by helping to manage arousal levels through for example breathing. Instructors can continue to use hand signals as a secondary form of communication.
"This system is totally off the hook", says Benjamin Forde (520 jumps). "I could not believe how clear it was. Imagine having Omar chatting with you and pointing out the kinks, real time, crystal clear, no more guessing, no more trying to remember the 20 things that happened during the jump once on the ground. I get it! I will get the learning equivalent of 3-5 traditional coach jumps for every one I do with this system and these guys... and under canopy, its awesome, swoop training anyone? You are no longer alone—it's THE absolute revolution in coaching."
Flight Club offers in flight communication to all students for all disciplines. Visit their web site for more information on their courses.
Flight Club

By admin, in Gear,

The Long Haul

There are many areas of this sport in which we can invest ourselves, so many avenues in which to excel. By focusing heavily on a single discipline, we are able to achieve significant notoriety in a fairly short period of time. By utilizing the superior training techniques, personal coaching and wind tunnel rehearsal, modern skydivers are able to reach significant prowess in just a few months of participation in the sport. Although the speedy gratification of our desires is tempting and rewarding in the short term, there is a larger, more important goal. We must survive.
I asked Lew Sandborn what he thought was the biggest problem in the sport today. With very little hesitation he stated that what concerns him the most is "new jumpers trying to make a name for themselves before their skills are ready for them to have that name". We want to get it all in one shot, and instantly achieve all of our goals. In a pursuit as complex as skydiving, it is impossible to get all the necessary information in a short period of time. We have to keep learning, and hope that our knowledge bucket fills up before our luck bucket runs out.
It is difficult to see the big picture of our lives from where we are at any given moment. We forget that the medals we strive so hard to achieve will not mean much when we are older. They will just represent more stuff to box up when we retire to Florida. In the end, the things that matter most pertain to the choices that we wish we could take back. Twisting an ankle today might seem like a small issue, but in fifty years from now, it will be something that effects whether or not we can ever jump again.
Picture yourself forty or fifty years from now. Are you still skydiving? Do you have pain in your joints from a bad landing? The quality of your life in the future is dependant on the choices you make today. If that wise old geezer that you will someday be could somehow communicate to you in the present-day, it might sound something like: "Stop trashing my body!"
We are insecure when we are young. We are so uncertain of who we are that we feel a need to prove ourselves at every opportunity. We think that who we are is based on our most recent performance. We go to great lengths to show the world what we can do, and often pay a hefty price for our impulsiveness. Short-sighted goals neglect to take into account anything that does not achieve that goal. If looking cool and wearing the right gear is your highest priority, you may find yourself joining the dead skydivers club before too long.
I hate sounding like an old fart. People assume that being safety oriented means that you have to be boring. Not true at all. We can have fun; we just need to keep the throttle below 100% thrust if we are to control where we are going. The long-term survivors in this sport all seem to have this perspective; whether or not they talk about it. We sit around in trailers at boogies, shaking our heads at the ridiculous behavior that repeats itself over and over. We watch people eat it in the same ways that they did last year, and twenty years before that. It’s like the message did not get out or something. The message is: "Pace yourself, this is a long journey".
On every jump there is a way for your life to end. No matter how many jumps there are in your logbook, the Reaper is watching for the moment that you stop paying attention. He is looking for the one thing for which you are not prepared. This fact does not require your fear, it requires your attention. If you are to be there at the Skydivers Over Sixty Swoop Competition, you must let go of your grip on trying to prove yourself, and stay focused on the stuff that really matters.
The real identity of a skydiver is not in how many medals they win or how stylishly they swoop. It is in how long they jump and how safely. There simply are no Skygods under the age of sixty. If you want to prove yourself, stay alive.
BG
Brian Germain is the author of The Parachute and its Pilot, a canopy flight educational text as well as Vertical Journey, an illustrated freefly instructional book. Brian is also the President of Big Air Sportz parachute manufacturing company, and teaches canopy flight courses all over the world. To learn more about Brian, or to order a book, go to: www.BrianGermain.com.

By BrianSGermain, in General,

Stretching for Freeflying

Freeflying is a physically demanding sport (as are other disciplines in skydiving) and like any physical activity it is much easier to damage your body if you do not prepare your body properly. Stretching helps prepare your body for the physical activity it is about to go through, by offering some of the following benefits:
Relaxes your body (which is always good in freeflying)
Helps your coordination and allows for easier movement
Gives you a greater range of motion
Increases your body awareness
Improves circulation so if you do damage your body it will repair quicker A lot of freeflyers seem to think stretching takes a long time and that it isn’t important. It is very important and if you plan on jumping for a long time then stretching is the way to allow you to keep on jumping as you get older.
Stretching can take a long time but it can also be a short 10 minutes in the morning. The following is a short and basic stretching routine to help you prepare yourself in the morning. This doesn’t mean you should only do this in the morning when you go jumping, try to do this every morning, it only takes 10 minutes.
Guidelines for stretching
If you do not stretch right you can damage your body just as bad as if you do not stretch. Some people think that stretching should be painful, this is wrong. You should feel comfortable in your stretch, feeling a mild tension in the area that your are stretching. You should never bounce into a stretch, take your time, and ease into it until you feel the mild tension mentioned earlier.
Stretching routine
You should try to do this routine every morning to get the best effect. Start off by making sure you are warm, a hot shower to warm you up in the morning can help.
Start by lying on your back, keeping your spine flat to the floor and look up at the ceiling/sky with your head. Start with one leg, bend it at the knee and pull it towards your chest until you feel a mild tension. Hold this position for 20 seconds and then move onto the other leg, taking a 10 second rest in between. [Figure 1]
Next, lay on your back, keeping everything straight and looking up at the ceiling with your head. Bend your legs, keeping your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head and lift it up until you feel a tension in the back of your neck, still keeping the rest of your back on the floor. Hold this tension position for 5 seconds and then slowly lower your head back to the floor. Repeat this 3 times. [Figure 2]
This is a good one if you have bad landings and find you hurt your ankles every now and then. Sit on the floor and have one leg flat. Grab the other leg just above the ankle. Rotate your foot clockwise providing a slight resistance with your other hand. Repeat this 20 times and then do the same but rotating your foot anti clockwise. Do not rush this. Now do the same with your other leg, again making sure you do not rush yourself. [Figure 3]
Start by leaning against a wall with your head resting on your hands. One leg should be closer to the wall and bent with the foot facing straight forward. The other leg should be straight and behind you, foot facing the wall and the heel touching the floor. Slowly push your hips forwards, keeping your back straight, stop when you feel a mild tension in your calf. Hold this position for 30 seconds and then slowly move your hips back and relax. Repeat with the other leg, again taking your time. [Figure 4]
Start by standing up straight with your feet shoulder width apart and facing straight forward. Slowly start bending from the hips keeping your knees slightly bent at the same time. Relax your neck and arms, keep bending until you get a slight stretch in the back of your legs. Hold this for 20 seconds and then slowly move back up. [Figure 5]
Start by standing with the side of your body next to a wall, put the palm of your hand closest to wall against it just a bit higher than your head. Now slowly and gently turn your body away from the wall until you feel a mild tension in your shoulder, You should be between one and two feet away from the wall at this point. Hold this position for 15 seconds and then slowly turn back and relax for a few seconds. Now repeat this with your other hand. [Figure 6]
Start by sitting on the floor and put the soles of your feet together, hold onto your toes. Now start to gently pull your self forwards towards your feet. Make sure you are moving from your hips and not bending from your shoulders or back. To help try resting your elbows on your knees for stability, this will make it easier. Keep moving forwards until you feel a good stretch in your groin. Hold this position for 40 seconds and then slowly move back and relax. [Figure 7]
Now you’ve finished the stretching routine make sure you wrap up warm to get the best effect. Do this every morning and you will see a marked improvement in your flexibility and you will be much more relaxed in the air.
Louis Harwood is a freeflyer from the UK and jumps at Target
Skysports, in Hibaldstow. He has competed for the last two years in the Artistic nationals, he has two silver and one gold medal in B catagory freefly, freestyle and skysurf. www.avalore.co.uk

By fuga, in Disciplines,

The History of Atmonauti Fly

Atmonauti is a human flight technique, body free, invented by Marco Tiezzi in 1998. Developed and perfected with the help of Gigliola Borgnis, it was presented for the first time in 2000 at the World Freestyle Competitions, the European Espace Boogie, and the Eloy Freefly Festival.
The technique consists of flying diagonal with a determinate relation between angle and trajectory speed of the body, to obtain an air stream that permits lift and a precise control of flight. The aim is to fly in formation at the same level and angle, and to be able to perform different aerial games, such as freestyle, three-dimensional flight formation with grip, or acrobatic freefly maneuver (see the 'guinnes' page in www.atmonauti.com).
All this is not executed in the normal vertical trajectory of the gravity force. The atmonaut creates his own diagonal trajectory, and thanks to this technique, he regulates with extreme precision all the parameters, such as the angle (trim), speed, and direction, becoming a real 'flight pilot' of his own body.
The term 'Atmonauti' ('atmonauts' in English), coined by Marco Tiezzi, is defined as: Atmosphere Navigators (like 'astronauts', that mean astro=space nauts=navigators), the ideal 'definition' of this new way of fly.
Revolutionizing the concept of skydiving, where all the different disciplines are performed in the vertical fall (the trajectory of the gravity force), Atmonauti fly is a very complex kind of 'relative' work that occurs during a real 'flight'. There is a considerable horizontal displacement, and above all longer flight time. In fact, the Atmonauti fly permits the jumper to remain in the air for a 50% longer time in respect to the vertical free flight, confirming a real 'human fly performance'.
In continuous development and evolution, the Atmonauti fly marked another important step in 2001. Gigliola Borgnis discovered the possibility of flying in the angle trajectory with the feet first instead of head first, realizing something that was considered impossible since then... another revolution that confirms and opens the potential of the Atmonauti fly!
In 2002, Marco Tiezzi invented the "Atmonauti tandem", experimenting with the technique to maintain the same angle and speed of a normal Atmonauti fly, but with double the weight (without drogue of course). The tandem Atmonauti offers the passenger the exceptional possibility of trying a real sensation of flying, instead of falling.
In 2002 Atmonauti became a reality, known and practiced all over the world. The Atmonauti fly also entered into the compulsory of FAI competitions of free style and freefly.
At the end of 2003, the short-film "Atmosphere Navigators", composed of only images in Atmonauti angle fly, won first place in the Flyboyz Film Festival for its unique images and technical contents of the highest level. (The movie is available at www.atmonauti.com.)
And again, in October, 2004, Marco discovered the possibility to fly Atmonauti in the wind tunnel: "Tunnelnauts" = "wind tunnel navigators". That consisted of flying around all the perimeter of the tunnel in a side Atmonauti position.
Gigliola Borgnis and Marco Tiezzi, of Team Atmonauti, will feature another article on the Technique of Atmonauti Fly in the near future. Until then, more information on beginning your "Atmosphere Navigation" can be found on their website at www.atmonauti.com.

By weegegirl, in Disciplines,

Beginning Freeflying

Whether you are interested in freeflying as a main discipline, or you only want to make the occasional "fun jump", you will still want to follow the best and safest learning progression. Though freeflying can be a very fun discipline to take part in, it can also be very dangerous if you get it wrong. It is not something to rush into. You should take your time and enjoy the experience of flying in this new dimension. This article will introduce you to the steps you need to take to have a safe and fun experience and carry on doing so throughout your freeflying career.
Not Just Vertical
Freeflying isn’t just about learning to fly headup and headdown, it’s everything (yes belly flying too). As your skills improve you will realize that you can use all angles and positions between headup and headdown. Once you are proficient on your back, belly, feet and head, you will see that everything flows together and you end up moving in between these positions with ease.
To get to this stage you need to have a solid base in all these positions and an understanding of what the air is doing to your body. Too many people, especially now that freeflying is becoming so popular, go straight to headup flying after AFF and quickly move to headdown. The majority of these people are limiting themselves in the future and will find that they have to go back and learn basic belly flying and back flying to progress any further.
I will now go through the steps I believe necessary to become proficient at this discipline. Future articles in this series will go through some of these steps in more detail, explaining how to do them, how to practice them, and drill dives to improve these skills. You should try to learn these skills in the order listed to increase the learning curve.
Belly Flying
The most important thing is to become proficient on your belly. This doesn’t mean you need to become a 4-way master, but learning how to move around the sky with control certainly helps (especially now that hybrids are becoming more common).
You should learn the following:
Fall rate control
Horizontal movement (forwards, backwards and sidewards)
Center point turns
Diving to a formation
Docking on a formation
Superpositional moves (e.g. sidesliding while moving forwards – known as carving)
Break off procedures (flat tracking) It also helps if you experiment with barrel rolls, forward loops and back loops to get used to not just being on your belly. All these skills will become very beneficial in the future. The other advantage to learning to fly on your belly is that you will be getting used to flying close to other people and will be learning the necessary skills to do this, even though it is in a different position.
Tracking
By now, you should have already learned how to flat track. It’s time to take tracking one step further. Find a coach or someone who has experience leading tracking dives and learn the following:
Tracking on exit
Heading control
Fall rate control
Speed control (speeding up/slowing down)
Moving Sideways
Break off procedures (different on tracking dives) Tracking is a big part of freeflying. Learning these skills will help on breakoff, especially with larger groups, and will also help you when it comes to tracking dives.
Back Flying
Back flying is the first big step towards learning headup flight. You won’t be able to see the ground and you will start to get used to feeling the air on your back and the other side of your legs. This skill can be used a lot in freeflying when you get low on a jump or become unstable. This position is used to get back where you want to be, while preventing corking (suddenly lose speed) and hurting someone.
You should learn:
Heading control
Fall rate control
Horizontal movement (forwards, backwards and sidewards)
Turns
Barrel rolls from belly flying to back flying and back again
Front/Back loops from belly flying to back flying and back again The advantage of back flying is that its speed range is huge. You can stay with a belly formation quite easily, but you can also speed up so that headdown flyers can stay with you without a problem. This diversity is what makes it such a useful technique in freeflying.
Headup Flying
This is where things start to get a bit different. Because you are in a vertical orientation, you have to learn how to move your body differently, move your arms and legs differently, whilst remembering that arching doesn’t make you stable at all. In later articles we will cover all of this in a lot of detail, explaining how and why, but you must always remember that an article is in no way a substitute for a coach. Whenever you have the chance, get coaching!
Things you need to learn:
Heading control
Fall rate control
Horizontal movement (forwards, backwards and sidewards)
Turns
Transitions (cartwheels, front loops, back loops)
Independent arm movement (altimeter checks, taking docks, etc)
Correct exit technique
Breakoff procedures (you can’t simply go to your belly and track) Headup flying is much faster than any of the other positions. Because of this, every movement has a much larger effect than it would if you were going slower. The air is moving over you much faster and therefore has much more power behind it. Therefore, you have to be very careful with your movements to ensure the safety of yourself and others.
Back Tracking
Back tracking is a very important skill in freeflying, especially when starting to learn headdown. During breakoffs it adds a whole new perspective and gives you more awareness. Once you have learned headdown this position will open up more angles and add fluidity to your jumps. Backtracking is what I call a power position, this means that when your learning it you have to put in a lot of energy to keep an efficient position and to speed up, etc..
Things you should learn:
Back tracking exit
Heading control
Fall rate control
Speed control (forwards/backwards)
Moving Sideways
Break off procedures (different on tracking dives)
Transitions (back to belly/belly to back) Once you have learned these skills, try going on a tracking dive, getting next to the base and transitioning to your back track position, while staying relative. Talk to an experienced freefly coach and ask about leading a tracking dive; you’ll learn a lot.
Headdown
Learning headdown brings a whole new level to your freeflying. Everything flows together much better and you can move around the sky with more ease. While moving around becomes so much easier, collisions become much more of a danger and you must be even more cautious. This position is not a power position. By this I mean that once you are used to keeping your legs wide you will be able to move around smoothly and fast without having to push into your movement.
Again you should aim to learn the basics before you start work on complex manoeuvres. Use this list:
Correct exit technique for jumping with others
Heading control
Fall rate control
Turns
Horizontal movement (forwards, backwards and sidewards)
Transitions (front loop, back loop and cartwheel) both to/from headup and from headdown to headdown
Independent arm movement (altimeter checks, presenting for docks, etc)
Correct breakoff procedures Once you’ve done this you can start to work on using your skills to take docks, carve, etc.
Jumping with Others
When you start to jump with other freeflyers, you have a lot more to think about, including where the other jumpers in your group are at all times. As a minimum you should specify the following for a freefly jump with others:
Exit
Content of jump (don’t just say ‘we’ll see what happens’, have a plan and stick to it)
Base (specify someone as a person, everyone should then work towards them for a level)
Breakoff (what is the breakoff height, make sure everyone knows where the others are and do not go straight to their belly and track, slowly decrease your speed as you track away) When you are just learning freeflying you should only be jumping solo or with an experienced freeflyer. Use the following as a rough guide to how many people, maximum, you should be jumping with:
0-100 freefly jumps: Solo’s or 2 Ways
100-300 freefly jumps: Up to 3 ways maximum
300-500 freefly jumps: Up to 5 people maximum
After this I try to use good judgement and common sense If you have only ever done 2-ways then at the most you should only allow yourself to go on 3-ways.
Safety
Freeflying can involve a huge range of speeds, trajectories and positions, which presents us with many possibly dangerous situations. Because of this you need to ensure you have the correct training and also the right equipment.
Your container should fit well. You should not use a leg throwaway system, only BOC throw out or pull out is acceptable. The leg straps should fit right and not easily slip down your legs. You should also have some kind of bungee between the two leg straps to make sure they do not move around in freefall. It should have good riser and bridle protection with an absolute maximum of 1” exposed bridle near the BOC. Your pins and flaps should be tight. A good test is to gently lift your rig by each pin cover separately - if the covers stays closed then you’re good to go, but if the cover opens when lifting then get the opinion of an experienced rigger.
You should have a minimum of 2 altimeters: one visual and one audible. This is important as when you are learning to freefly it can be difficult to see your visual altimeter and it is easy to forget that you will be falling much faster than you would be if belly flying. The audible altimeter will remind you of this.
Wear a hard helmet. Don’t think you can get away without a helmet or just a frapp hat. Hard helmets might not save you from everything, but can mean the difference between life and death. If you’re just starting freeflying, don’t even think about wearing a camera helmet. This just adds to the list of new things you will have to think about and will take your awareness away from other more important matters. Some people get away with a full face helmet but if you are learning to freefly then I would suggest an open face. This allows you to keep better eye contact with your coach or other jumpers.
Any clothing you wear should be durable and secure. It shouldn’t be able to cover any of your handles and shouldn’t be excessively baggy. A good all round freefly suit will do the job. When learning headup, a lot of people like to wear trousers and a baggier top to help them. If you’re doing this, then make sure the top is tucked in well and is secure.
You should always use an AAD of some form when freeflying. You can easily have collisions when freeflying and closing speeds can be upwards of 100mph. It is also very easy to lose altitude awareness. An AAD could save your life, fatal collisions have happened to very experienced freeflyers, why couldn’t it happen to you?
The next article in this series will concentrate on how to do the things mentioned in this progression list. There will be ground exercises and tips on performing these in the sky.
Louis Harwood is a freeflyer from the UK and jumps at Target
Skysports, in Hibaldstow. He has competed for the last two years in the Artistic nationals, he has two silver and one gold medal in B catagory freefly, freestyle and skysurf. www.avalore.co.uk

By fuga, in Disciplines,

The Vampire V-1 by Phoenix-Fly

The result of 6 continuous years of research and development, Phoenix-Fly proudly introduces the Vampire V-1 wingsuit.
The PF Vampire V-1 wingsuit features:
A revolutionary CAD-designed 3D arm wing
Semi-rigid plastic ribs inside the arm and leg wings
Newly designed leg wing leading edge
Advanced leg wing design with increased surface area
Increased back deflector size
Integrated arm wing sleeve design
Redesigned wingtip grips
Adjustable arm tension swoop cords
New low-drag materials
New wing release handles The Vampire V-1 was designed with both skydivers and BASE jumpers in mind. All V-1 features are highly beneficial for both disciplines.
For skydivers, the V-1 will enable you to fly further, faster, hang out in the clouds longer, with more controllable flocking dives flown in tighter formations.
For wingsuit BASE jumpers, the V-1 is the ultimate choice, offering the best performance available and permitting longer flights, both in distance and delay.
The V-1 is not an “off the shelf” product, but rather a tailor-made suit designed to fit exact flyer measurements. Each suit is unique and customized to fit your body, which maximizes comfort and performance.
Price: 990 Euro or 1,250 USD
With new revolutionary design, low-drag materials, custom-tailoring and higher performance, many people might wonder how the Vampire V-1 can be priced comparably to other wingsuits. Is this too good to be true? Absolutely not! Because of streamlined option offerings and scaled-down color selection, manufacturing complexity is greatly reduced. In addition, Phoenix-Fly’s overhead and operating costs have been simplified – a savings that is passed directly to our customers.

The V-1 will be available beginning December 1, 2004 and order forms will be available on www.phoenix-fly.com from November 30.
Note on lead times: During the initial launch phase of the V-1, Phoenix-Fly will be faced with the challenge of trying to keep up with demand. As observed with the initial launch of the PF Pants and Jackets, lead times may be up to 8-10 weeks, during which we will endeavour to keep you updated on status. Once order volume has stabilized, we’re aiming for a 6-8 week lead time. We ask for your patience during this time and promise that you will be rewarded with an exceptional state-of-the-art wingsuit that far surpasses anything that you’ve ever flown.

By unclecharlie109, in Gear,

Jeb Corliss Gets Set For World Record Landing Attempt

Perris, CA (November 23,2004)- Pioneer B.A.S.E. jumper Jeb Corliss and Go Fast! - sponsored test pilot Luigi Cani, have paved the way for a world record landing attempt of a wing-suit—minus a parachute. Jeb and Luigi teamed up to gauge speeds and gather data to safely land Jeb’s wing-suit. Testing was critical, as no one has ever survived a landing attempt without a parachute. Jeb flew in free fall donning a parachute alongside Luigi, who was at the controls of the world’s smallest and fastest parachute—known as the ICARUS VX-39. The two were able to gather data using GPS systems attached to Luigi that tracked exact forward speeds, exact fall rate and glide angles needed for a safe landing.
After two days of test piloting, Jeb Corliss said landing the wing-suit was possible as early as next year. "We found there is a definite and reasonable speed for a landing attempt sometime next summer. We’re now developing four different types of technologies to land safely—it’s very important to land with zero injuries," said Corliss after analyzing data from the test flight.

Showcasing the evolution of the sport of skydiving, Luigi Cani remarked on the uniqueness of Jeb’s wing-suit project. "The testing shows the technology of the sport—nowadays we can jump a parachute that flies as fast as a person in free fall and currently we’re discovering technology to land a wing-suit without a parachute," said Cani. "If Jeb lands the wing-suit without a parachute and survives—he is going to be my hero," added Cani.

About Go Fast Sports & Beverage Co.
Go Fast Sports & Beverage Co. is the producer of Go Fast Energy Drink and Go Fast Sports Apparel. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Go Fast is involved with sports and athletes of all kinds – from triathlon, parachuting and mountain biking, to B.A.S.E. jumping, climbing, skier-x, motocross, kiteboarding and more. For more information, please visit www.GoFastSports.com, or
call 303.893.1222 or email Heather@GoFastSports.com

By weegegirl, in News,

Bridge Day, 2004

More than 390 BASE jumpers made 645 jumps from the 876’ tall New River Gorge Bridge during a rainy 25th annual Bridge Day celebration in Fayetteville, West Virginia. The October 16th silver celebration of Bridge Day allowed for legal BASE jumps for six hours from the world's second longest single arch bridge, although a mid-day storm halted jumping for approximately 25 minutes.
Bridge Day continues to be the largest extreme sports event in the world held on the third Saturday in October every year in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Bridge Day is unique in that it is the only day visitors may walk across the bridge, BASE jumpers can parachute from the railing, and rappellers are allowed to descend and ascend fixed ropes. Bridge Day is West Virginia's largest one-day festival and is rated one of the top 100 festivals in North America. Despite the weather, the crowd was estimated at 75,000 to 100,000 this year.

Four jumpers were transported to the hospital, but only one sustained injuries requiring further care. Several rappellers dangling below the bridge required rescues during the high winds that hampered the event at approximately 1:30pm. "Despite the fact that I broke a few bones, spent most of the jumping hours in the ER, was pummeled by the storm that came through when I finally did get back onto the bridge, and the fact that this year had the worst weather out of all four years I've been to Bridge Day, I still had the most fun", reported California jumper Russel Metlisky. "This year was the first year I really felt like I was a real part of the BASE jumping community. And that's what Bridge Day seems to be about, the people…oh yeah, and some jumping as well."
Russel, paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in 2000, was awarded paraplegic BASE #1 by Nick Di Giovanni during the post-jump party. A special exit bar was constructed by the Vertical Visions crew so that Russel could sit at the end of the exit ramp, then hang from the bar before releasing himself into a 2-3 second stowed free fall.
BASE jumpers have jumped from the New River Gorge Bridge every year since the first Bridge Day on November 8, 1980 (the only exception being the cancellation of Bridge Day 2001 shortly after 9/11). The first Bridge Day saw five skydivers making BASE jumps from the bridge in the early days of the sport of BASE jumping. Over the years, Bridge Day became the place for thousands of skydivers to make their first BASE jump.


The average Bridge Day 2004 BASE jumper was 35 years old and had performed 64 BASE jumps and 1199 skydives. Approximately 11.1% of all participants were female. Nearly 100 jumpers made their first BASE jump at Bridge Day this year with the help of free first BASE jump courses, packing classes, and the guidance and knowledge shared by hundreds of experienced jumpers.
Most jumpers fell from the bridge for 3-4 seconds before deploying their parachute. The next 20-30 seconds were spent floating down to the designated landing zone located within a National Park (New River Gorge National River). Every year, the National Park Service issues a permit to land parachutes on park property during Bridge Day. BASE jumping in all other National Parks is illegal, although recent efforts to change decades of rubber stamped denials are underway by groups such as the Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists.
A $250 cash purse, along with a variety of other gifts donated by sponsors around the world, was up for grabs for the annual Bridge Day accuracy contest. Competition rules required jumpers to hit the accuracy pad without falling to the ground or they would not be scored. Brian Daniska from Ohio took first place, Todd Griswald from Arkansas came in second, and Anthony White from Canada was third.
Notable jumps include those made from a boom truck basket, a scissor lift, and the popular 16’ commercial aluminum diving board. The Red Bull Air Force performed two "rope swing" stunts where one jumper swung underneath a second jumper who was already under canopy. The first jumper would then cutaway from the rope and deploy his own parachute, which got the crowd pretty excited.
Triax Productions, who filmed the Bridge Day event for a soon to be released DVD, premiered their "Continuum II" video at the post-jump party in front of hundreds of jumpers. The Bridge Day 2004 DVD will be available by the end of the year at www.triaxproductions.com . Earlier in the week, the Bridge Day 2004 BASE VideoFest awarded "Continuum II" by Triax Productions with first place, followed by a "Mexico BASE" video by Adrenaline Exploits (Jay Epstein). Third place went to Robert Pecnik of Phoenix Fly and his amazing BASE wingsuit and track pants footage.

Bridge Day was broadcast on live TV to over 1 million households throughout West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio - perhaps the first live broadcast of a BASE jumping event in the US. While some technical glitches kept wireless cameras on jumpers and at other vantage points from airing, the broadcast was revolutionary in that it focused on the technical aspects of BASE jumping. Interviews explaining the components of a BASE rig were shown to educate the public. Extensive jumping footage provided by Vertical Visions and Red Bull started and ended many commercial breaks, adding to the experience. A condensed one-hour version of the Bridge Day 2004 Live TV broadcast will air on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN) on November 12 from 12:30-1:30pm EST and on December 9 from 12-1pm EST in front of 60 million households across the US.
"This year, BASE jumpers battled their way through some of the worst weather since 1992, my first year here", reports Jason Bell, Bridge Day 2004 BASE Jumping Co-organizer. "However, we still got to jump for the majority of the day, everyone got to jump at least once (one jumper made five jumps), and it was definitely my favorite Bridge Day from both a jumping and organizing point of view". Jason was assisted this year by his wife Jennifer, co-organizer Bill Bird from Canton, Ohio, and more than 75 staff members.

Vertical Visions’ plans for next year include the expansion of Bridge Day beyond the standard six hours, in addition to a device that will permit spectators to pull a lever and drop a jumper from a long plank, similar to a dunking booth. "We’re going to charge spectators to pull the lever and give the money to charity. Now, I just have to figure out how to make it", reports Jason.
For those considering the jump next year, registration for Bridge Day 2005 starts on July 1, 2005 at www.bridgeday.info .

By base428, in Events,

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By admin, in Dropzone Locator,