alpenglow

It's out now? I saw some rough edits that my Psycho Circus homeboys put together at Elsinore before it was complete. I'll definitely be at the Q this year. Did that freeway divider swoop make the video? - Macaulay

We noted last night that the initials for "Poor Man's Skydiving" are PMS. It's a little easier for us to say "PMSing", but doesn't sound that great around people who don't know what we're talking about. "Hey, you go PMSing tonight?" We should probably start logging our rides. ;)

Actually, my friends and I call it "Poor Man's Skydiving". We put on jumpsuits and everything. The person in the passenger seat of a car holds onto the oh-sh*t handle and keeps one leg in the car. The rest (basically the entire body sans the left leg and hand) hang all the way out of the car. The driver then goes about 100 - 120 MPH. If you do it at night, and use your imagination, it really can feel like freefall. It's fun to keep it up for a few minutes (4 or 5). The goggle idea came after the first time I did it. I actually got used to it, but my eyes burned like crazy. It's fun to do when people aren't expecting it. I've pulled some "Poor Man's Skydiving" on people such as first dates, parents, friends, and friends of friends. The less they know you, the better. In mid-conversation, roll down the window, unbuckle your seatbelt, and just get out. If they slow down, pop your head back in and yell at them to go faster. If you have a ballsy driver, have him/her get close to cars in the lane to the right. If possible, try to make contact with the vehicle. I banged on the wheel well of a semi once, but that's it. I probably could have gotten on the step, and held onto the mirror, but that's just getting a little out of hand. I think I'm going to go do it right now! - Macaulay

A Safire is just fine to fly at your experience level, but only under the right conditions. For the first fifty jumps or so on it, you'll want to stay out of high winds and no winds. Land away from others, too. Avoiding a canopy collision with a last minute turn under an unfamiliar and relatively fast canopy will most likely hurt you. Learn how to clear lineovers from people who fly high performance nine-cells. Know what you can clear, and what needs to be chopped. You're bound to get a line over your first or second cells every now and then. The trick to landing a Safire, or any Icarus canopy, the first few times around is to wrap the steering lines once around your hands. I don't know where you're at, but if it's warm enough, do a hop and pop from full altitude, and just practice basic toggle turns and flaring. It gets really repetitious, but it will be worth it to take the few extra minutes when you finally get down to the ground. The Safire's pretty forgiving... just wrap the lines up once or twice to get a "PD" flare. That's what I did for my first Crossfire jumps. At thirty jumps, I was loaded at 1.27 on a Spectre 150. The Spectre's really forgiving, and does take a lot to flare. IMO, at thirty jumps, if you want a 150, get a Spectre. I've actually seen quite a few used ones on here, and elsewhere on the web. The Spectre can actually build up a lot of speed from a front riser 90, but will also keep you alive. For at least the next eighty - one hundred jumps, you should play with front risers on every jump while up in the air, and then stay off them when you get to the ground. Once you're comfortable with riser movement, try front riser 90s for the next four hundred jumps before you move into anything above that. Being that you won't (hopefully) be swooping for quite some time, the Spectre is the ideal canopy for the next few hundred jumps. ^ My thoughts ^