CanuckInUSA

Or you could be like Luigi and wear everything as weight but the kitchen sink. I got to hold what Luigi jumps yesterday and I had a hard time holding it let alone swooping with it strapped to my body. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Ship them out here for a while to CO to jump for the summer months and one of two things will happen: 1) They will get busted up. or better yet ... 2) They will learn how to complete their flare. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Swooping is fun. But make sure you're NOT doing it by trial and error. Seek coaching from qualified people. It's well worth the money. I still have tons of work to do to make my swoops more consistent, but I just came off of another weekend of high performance canopy coaching out in Perris Valley and it's pretty cool to watch the video of my first jump of the weekend before the coaching kicked in, and then the video from the last coach jump I did. Man it looks like I actually know what I'm doing and well I do kind of know what I'm doing thanks to Jim's first rate coaching techniques. PS: If you'd like to see the before and after videos, PM me with an email address that I can send it to (there are two compressed WMV files). It's pretty cool to see the progression before and after my coaching. And of course I have so much more to work on and learn. But this was a very good weekend for me. I can't wait for our new pond to be built at the DZ. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I was off in Perris Valley this weekend where I received my latest round of high performance canopy coaching (yes swooping). Good stuff I tell you, good stuff. These guys know how to coach. Anyway, you know what could have been the most dangerous part of my weekend? You might think it's the swooping. But no. It was when I found myself going downwind low to the ground getting back from a bad spot on my last jump of the weekend (no swoop for me on this jump). But did I execute a low turn to turn into the wind? No, I knew better. Making stupid decisions under canopy is what kills people not some discipline of canopy flight. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

CPC competitions. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

7:15:0 7 high performance canopy coach jumps out at Perris Valley this weekend (coaching is worth the $$$). 15 total jumps made at Perris Valley. No beer owed. PS: Thanks to the good people of Perris for their hospitality. Now can't you guys dry out your landing area a little? California is nothing but a swamp right now. It's good to be back in Colorado. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's nothing that 10,000 jumps can't fix. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

How do you guys feel about Ground Launching off of BASE objects? I know it's not a BASE jump, and thus wouldn't log it as one. But I'm interesting in pursuing a Ground Launching BASE number. Es and Bs shouldn't be too difficult to do and I know of at least two As which could likely be launched off of. But the S will be a little trickier without building a platform or jumping a span with little to no rail. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's not going away. But it will evolve just we the people jumping will evolve with our interests in the sport. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That sounds crazy (and dangerous). I think it should be banned so that we could stick to something safe like swooping. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Think Colorado in September. It's not official yet, but something cool might happen here in that time period. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

My sanity. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Imagine how pre-occupied Girlfalldown would be if she was actually Boyfalldown and played with ... well you know ... all day long. I mean she can't even use the excuse of having too much testosterone in the system. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Cool ... please do so (there's always BASE jumping and Ground Launching to keep me busy). Why would I want to be around someone like you with such a close minded view towards this ever evolving sport. Better hope you don't ever hurt yourself under canopy as you are going to look rather foolish when it's reported. And if you think you're immune from doing this, you better start reading the incident reports again. Anyone of us regardless of how many or how little jumps we have, what gear we jump, where we jump, or what disciplines we choose are capable of being hurt and dying in this sport. It's not just the swoopers who die. Swooping is not a safe activity, but then neither is jumping out of airplanes to begin with. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

High altitude hop n' pops & wingsuit jumps. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

And a lot easier to call yourself a World Champion when you're the only one contending for this championship. This is a dig, so flame away. I just might not be listening, that's all. "More jumping, less bitching" people. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

And Bill O'Reilly didn't use his money to buy himself out of a recent sex scandal? All media outlets have their own politcal agendas. I say turn off your TVs are you'll be a better person for it. "Less bitching, more jumping" should be our moto here. But many people here on Speakers Corner would rather argue with each other than head to the DZ and just jump. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Every day is Bridge Day in Twin Falls Idaho. That span is one of the best you'll ever find. But please don't be hucking yourself off of any Buildings, Antennas, Spans or Earth objects without: 1) Becoming proficient with your landing accuracy using a large BASE like canopy. 2) Become very knowledgeable with your gear. 3) Learn how to pack a BASE rig. 4) Learn BASE ethics. 5) Get some sort of mentor. 6) Jump Spans and Antennas before you jump Buildings and Earth. BASE jumping looks and sounds sexy. But it is an order of magnitude more dangerous than skydiving. Okay enough of the serious shit, back to having your fun. By the way, I know of at least one BASE jumper who doesn't have a skydiving (or even better a BASE jumping) girlfriend. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Naked BASE-chicks are even cooler. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Not so sure about that. Not that many normal women are interested in guys like us as far as relationships are concerned (one night stands are a different can of worms). They (the women) think that we're going to die on them or something (which is always a possibility). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Ha ... I'd be willing to bet that you'd change this opinion of yours if you got to hang out with us sometime when we're at the bridge or out in Moab. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

And on a related note, people need to be aware of the local swooping lanes and avoid over flying those areas under canopy. Case in point, a couple of weeks ago there I was set up at 800 feet above our swoop course and looking pretty good to initate my 270 turn. Except for that damn tandem canopy directly below me over flying the swoop course's entry gates at about 400 feet. What could I do? The tandem was the lower canopy and thus had the right of way. I was screwed. I might have still performed my turn, but the reward was not worth the risk. Of course tandem masters are Gods at this DZ and they can do whatever they want to do and us fun jumpers (let alone those aweful swoopers that you obviously don't like) can't go up to a tandem God and tell them not to over fly the swoop course without getting shit thrown back at us. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I've never seen chickens thrown off of a bridge, but I have seen paraplegics (with huge balls) thrown off. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Why the sudden hostility towards swoopers? When I'm doing a 90 why am I not following your beloved Downwind, BASE and Final pattern? How about a 180? Where have I violated the pattern? 270s can be a little funky for those who don't understand what we are doing (it's usually the new jumpers who get confused, but then a new jumper should never be trying to set the landing direction). But as Ian pointed out, a 270 is basically a 90 preceeded by a 180. Now I will agree that anything above a 270 gets hard to read. Hey I'm all in favor of having separate landing areas for swoopers, students and everyone else. In fact (assuming they build the pond as they say they are), the DZ where I do most of my jumps will have these separate landing areas. But not all DZs have this luxury. For sure swoopers need to know when to abort their swoop when traffic dictates, but why are we so evil for doing what we do when the window of opportunity presents itself to us. As far as this thread is concerned, what gets me is the jumper spiraling down over the landing area under a biggish canopy thinking that they can set the landing direction. People need to observe who's on the load with each other and try to evaluate what sort of canopy they are flying, what sort of jump they are doing and determine if they have a chance at setting the landing direction or if they would be better off hanging out up high and waiting to see what develops. I made the mistake last year of thinking I could be the first one down at the Eloy holiday boogie (I was flying a bigger wing back then). But I learned my lesson. For me I'd rather look for my window of opportunities. And to do this, I've already evaluated who's on the load before I've jumped and then I scan the skies, trying to find a window of opportunity as I approach my setup point and abort my swoop if it looks like I will conflict with someone else. What is so wrong with that? In many cases, swoopers (with experience) do know how to control their canopies. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

So I guess I'll be swooping the pond even if I'm not actually swooping the pond this weekend. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over