lurch 0 #26 May 8, 2003 ...? I didn't make that clear, sorry, going into a stand was so I could at least get level with the group...I was about 100+ yards away by that point, after exiting I never even got within rock-throwing distance of them but didn't want to be "somewhere" above them and have lost visual contact by the time they deployed...so I elected to break form to get level with the group..... Second unclear point is the guy who approached me wasn't on that particular dive I referred to anyway. That one was months ago. I've never even jumped with this guy. He simply overheard me talking to another jumper about what I was doing in my freefly attempts and what I was shooting for on this dive....which was another solo freefly just to get a stable stand and hold it. I still don't trust my stand or sit enough to do more than solos or very distant 2-ways where I have a huge volume to cork and flail in and can't possibly hit anyone unless I go oblivious and head their way for 20 seconds solid. Since I will not allow THAT to happen I can flail in peace and not worry if I suddenly get flipped over out of control cork from 160 to 125 mph and sideslide 40 feet at the same time. I just try to stay in sit or stand and stay level with the guy alongside me a few hundred yards out. When I can get through several freefly jumps without corking out of level or going flat even once, THEN I will try freefly with others at closer range. I used to feel out of control when flying flat as a student. Now it's like riding a bike or walking. Comfort zone default secure position. I get that same "whoa" wobbly walking-a-tightrope-about-to-lose-it feel in a stand now that I used to get as a student...but just as in aff last year, that feeling grows less and less with every jump and by now I know its only a matter of time before I have the same familiarity comfort and control standing that i have now when flat....I have that same "just about got it" feel I had around aff 4 or 5. Last, I don't really WANT to join the RW guys, I haven't done any RW in awhile except my 100th, which was a chunky chaotic 8-way in which I picked a paperweight (thanks ken!) and used him to drag me up to speed for everyone else to dock on. The video was wild. I get the hunch jumping 100th alone would have been some kind of sacrilege. I've never been much for team stuff, turning points kinda leaves me wondering "huh? why?" Its just that theres this conflict...I keep getting hijacked when manifesting for solos by RW guys who tend to go "come on join us...you cant fly flat that fast? nah just float out after us, arch, youll be fine". Well, I've been told by every jumper I respect not to miss an opportunity to jump with more experienced others...which is in direct conflict with my desire not to wind up on dives where I know I can't fly that fast. After awhile I got more assertive about it and stopped letting myself get hijacked into small-ways. By then I knew better...and now I get hijacked from solos to 2-ways by freefly guys I can't quite keep up with yet.... but just about. Now I say ok, but keep your distance....long distance.Live and learn... or die, and teach by example. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lurch 0 #27 May 8, 2003 relaxation and practice are ESSENTIAL. It feels great when you are on a jump and you know you found it. Hell yeah. Last jump I had held a semistable stand for awhile and felt the speed build up and felt like I was standing in this invisible pressure tube, but getting pushed around, fighting it trying to stay upright. Suddenly feeling like this was starting to get familiar, "at home" like bellyflying alone, i realized how tense I was from fighting to hold and thought "hey what if I really just relax now that I have something of a grip on it? Ease off." and relaxed. Wow. The invisible tube tightened up on me like heat shrink tubing, I stabilized right the hell out, got a LOT faster suddenly and I couldn't believe I was hauling ass at 160+ mph....and not moving at all. At the same time I stopped wobbling upward and levitated right down to the level of my partner some ways off. What a victorious rush standing there looking at that guy as I came down to his level for once under concious control at full stand speed. One thought in mind at the time like a burst of light: "I GOT IT!!!!!" Thats the reward I fly to seek. Made my day.Live and learn... or die, and teach by example. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
froglady 0 #28 May 8, 2003 I'm with you on this one. This year all jump money is for team training. FrogLady Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psw097 0 #29 May 8, 2003 Was last year different somehow? Freeflying, bellyflying, camera..etc its all just pushing air around. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
froglady 0 #30 May 8, 2003 Had more money to spend on jumping last year. Could afford to jump on zoo loads and just goof off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freakous 0 #31 May 8, 2003 I would think with Webbers on you're team that even you're training jumps are Zoo jumps.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
froglady 0 #32 May 9, 2003 More like a blender Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerm 0 #33 May 9, 2003 Being a good freeflyer requires knowing how to bellyfly -- otherwise you CAN NOT fly on any axis, and are not a well-rounded freeflier the Advanced division of the ranch freefly league last year had belly-flying moves in the compulsories... you can't very well do hybrid jumps without belly skills, cause that's how they start Belly skills are becoming much more a part of freeflying that just "the pull position". So get proficient at belly first... it's 1 axis, it's a good base, you learn all the rules that the disciplines have in common. Be able to turn some points, dive to a formation, breakoff properly and track your ass off, then worry about getting vertical. Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
