CanuckInUSA

Cut me some slack here (oops I forgot, there is no spare slack to be had around here). I should have said "high performance rear riser flares followed by a toggle flare". Don't you think I already know this? Read the post again, I mentioned that I would be doing hop n' pops and it'll be a while before I attempt a high performance landing. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Who said anything about not knowing how to swoop? I like to swoop (damm look at my profile) just as I like to be accurate with where I am going to land (I'm not perfect, but I usually land very very close to my intended target). I'm not afraid to land in crosswind (heck I LIKE landing crosswind and really wish my DZ would adopt a similar landing standard that Eloy has in their main landing area, but that's not going to happen anytime soon because many people don't like crosswind landings). And I'm not afraid to land downwind (I was forced to land downwind numerous times at Rantoul). All I said was that I felt like I wasn't ready to be doing high performance rear riser flares (heck should I start doing them? Then maybe I'll end up in the hospital like this other poor guy so that you can criticize me as well). Besides rear riser flares, I have plenty of experience doing the things you claim we need to do before we downsize. And if I ever find myself with a broken steering line, you bet I will be landing with my rears (knowning I may need to PLF), but it's not going to be high performance front riser carve. Instead it'll be a nice conservative straight in approach. Am I an advanced canopy pilot? I don't know? I don't know what that means. I didn't want to say yes to Ron because then I would have played right into his argument about the topic. But if you've seen my landing videos you'll see that on at least one of them, I was performing a crosswind swoop after setting up with a nice conservative yet aggresive front riser carve. I have been trained (by good people), but I also understand that no amount of training will make up for one moment of bad judgement. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Good job. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You are close (wing loading is more like 1.35, but you are close) and in the not too distant future I will be switching to a Crossfire2 loaded at about 1.5 (let's not forget that Icarus recommends a certain wing loading for the Crossfire2 and I did demo the very same canopy I am buying in Rantoul, but it will behave differently in CO). Some may say that I too may be an accident waiting to happen based on this wing loading. But without knowing how I fly, how could they be sure. I have posted three of my landings on skydivingmovies.com for people to view and judge if they want. I have two landings where I could have messed myself up and believe me those experiences are in my head when I fly. I know I'm not invincible. And when I start flying the new canopy, I will spend time doing hop n' pops to learn the canopy and it will be a while before I begin trying high performance landings. But like anyone regardless of skill or experience, I will always be at risk doing high performance landings because the margin for error doing high performance landings is slim. Do I think I'm an advanced canopy pilot? I don't know. I do think I have reasonable skills ready for the Crossfire2 (once again I have publicly posted video of my landings from a few months ago). But I do know that I put my life in my hands on every jump and reckless behavior will surely be my demise. As far as this accident is concerned, I suspect that the injured skydiver attempted to do a high performance maneuver which he was not ready (skilled) for. I have seem some of my peers do rear riser approaches and thought that at some point I should try them. But I don't think I'm ready for that yet, just as I'm not ready to swoop the pond yet. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Time heals all wounds? I know I have loved someone in the past and this was a good thing. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The first thing I asked TallGuy when I met him at Rantoul was what sort of canopy was he flying? I hope he wasn't insulted (I don't think he was because he answered my question). But I just couldn't help but think of my fall rate challenges I've experienced in this sport and guys like him are 2x the size of someone like myself. But TallGuy is a cool cat (heck he made it on stage in Rantoul during the wet t-shirt night). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Why do you assume that everyone within the 100-500 jump category considers themselves to be an expert? I know I'm no expert. Just watching the good guys swoop the pond in Rantoul served to remind myself how much better some of those guys are compared to myself. Sure some hot shots (usually, but not always young males) believe they are invincible and worthy of flying that hot pocket rocket. But not all of us think that way. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

How old is old? Unless I'm mistaken, a ProTrack isn't like a Cypres (with a finite lifespan). Sure you don't want your ProTrack to fail (I've had one fail on me once while in freefall), but ProTracks are only there to assist with our altitude awareness not to replace it. So if it functions properly and you can save some $$$, go for it. But I'm sure a more knowledgeable person might shoot me down on this one. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If you don't count the ex-whuffo girlfriend I cutaway from this last spring (and I believe she was happy to cutaway from me as well), I haven't really dated since I became a skydiver in the summer of 2002. But that's mainly because I know my current skydiving addiction is serious and I don't really want to subject another non-skydiver to it. I think the ex-girlfriend initially liked the idea of dating a skydiver until she really knew what it meant to date a skydiver (despite the fact that I warned her when we first met). So here I sit, thinking that the only women I can date are skydivers and you know the ratio of men and women in this sport. I'm sure I don't know the whole story, but I must think the skydiving-chicks have it good as far as selection is concerned. I'm all for dating and I do like the companionship of a good female. But with my current mind set, she's got to be a girl who either jumps or at the very least is independent enough to allow myself to jump. So in many respects, I'm like the people who think about getting out of the relationship before it even starts, which is actually kind of a sad state to be in. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

So is Phoenix's economy grinding to a halt? Damm dude ... it's easy to joke about this event when it doesn't effect you, but people's livelyhoods depend on getting around. It's not such a big deal if you work at home or can ride a bike to work (assuming people won't suffer heat stroke in the afternoon). But I'm sure this isn't the case for most of Phoenix's residents. Any signs of the pipeline being brought back online? PS: Did you ever sell you Crossfire2? I still can't buy it (I ordered a bigger one than yours), but I'm just curious. See you at the Eloy Holiday boogie. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I thought you liked being dragged by your hair? Just kidding ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Happy 3rd Skybirthday Pablito. I hope to jump with you again in Eloy this x-mas. And Happy 2nd Skybirthday to Riddler. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

How many people live in Phoenix? 2 Million or more? That's incredible that they is no gas. Sucks to be you guys (at least in the summer when it's too hot to jump and you've got no fuel). But then again, I'd love Eloy to be my home DZ Oct-May. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

As long as your didn't mess yourself up, I'm looking forward to seeing the video of this chow. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If the people who made the "Adrenaline Rush" movie are correct, risk takers have low MAO seratonan (spelling?) levels. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Oh I agree, and I didn't buy my Birdman pantz for tracking but instead bought them in the hope that they can help slow me down a little while freeflying. But Jason S was talking to me this weekend and he had a good point. No matter what sort of clothing we choose to use, we need to learn their characteristics and fly our bodies appropriately based on the dives we are on. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

LOL ... I guess I was guilty of not properly reading your original post. And who's fault is that? Actually based on a close call I had in Calhan about one month ago, I realized that despite the fact I have had some canopy control training (and am a licensed private pilot which doesn't hurt), I am still very much at risk (just as anyone else is) of hurting myself if I use poor judgement while flying my canopy. I also believe that had I been flying a higher loaded canopy at the time of my Calhan close call, I'd have something written about me in the DZ.COM incidents forums. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Freeflying rocks dude. But unless you've got some other big people to jump with, you will have fall rate challenges you'll need to over come. I firmly believe that my own personal fall rate issues have been my biggest freefall challenge (and I'm about 200 lbs naked). But in time, once you (and myself included) master our fall rate issues, then we'll only be better skydivers because of it. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It may not have been exactly the same, but didn't Brian Burke come to some conclusion about Holly's accident which sounds very very similar to what happened to you? It's a good thing you weren't flying a highly loaded canopy. Was this something that happened after your controllability check? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Do I have to organize some tracking dives for you? Actually I'm not the best tracker either, but my tracking should get a little better ever since I started flying my Birdman Freeflyz Tracking Pantz (which I've only jumped 7 times so far with). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yup Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Assuming you're into freeflying, a couple more movies which are very good are: "Flyboyz Party Mix" and "Chronicles III". The "2001 Pond Swoop Nationals" is a great video if you're into swooping and another swooping video (I can't remember it's name) recently was released (but I haven't seen it yet). By the way, our own SkymonkeyOne (Chuck Blue) is one of the PST competitors in these swooping videos. As far as training videos are concerned, one of the best (it's a little dated, but still good) is "Breakaway" which deals with most emergencies we may expecience as skydivers. It's good to review this video every once in a while to keep you mind fresh thinking about the different sort of shit that can happen to you up there. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

With all due respect, you have soo much to learn. Some of us crazy freefliers who video every jump drive the ladies away with our videos. But there are a few freefly friendly ladies who can appreciate the value and entertainment of video. They're just few and far between. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Happy birthday Mary. I hope to see you (and many others) back at the Eloy Holiday boogie again this year. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Well I'm glad to hear that nobody was hurt out at Brush yesterday and it's possible that Mother Nature was responsible for this, as some of us feared that a few people would be trying to go big what with all of the cameras and the need to do better than the next guy. I mean face it, there's not that many truly qualified pond swoopers here in CO. I wasn't there for a few reasons: 1) Rantoul took a toll on my bank account. 2) I don't think I'm qualified to swoop the pond yet. 3) The winds seemed to be blowing fairly strong yesterday. 4) I didn't want to witness some friends messing themselves up. As to speeding up or slowing down the footage, it's possible that your software doesn't do this (I actually had to upgrade my software from the original bundled version to get this much desired feature). But having seen Hook swoop when he briefly worked at Mile-Hi and/or I visited SDTR, I know he comes in fast and totally believe that that was his actual approach speed (plus he did swoop much farther than most of us can). PS: Maybe with Hooks approval, he will let me include some of his swoop footage in my amateur not-for-profit skydiving movie which I am in the process of making (I have three songs completed with another three in the works) for friends and family. I'll need my reserve repacked in the not too distant future and might talk to him about it at that time. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over