frost

The dates for Canopy Piloting event are from Sunday Sept. 16th to Wed Sept. 19th. 4 days total, probably for weather...

Beek good to see you here man!! :) You gotta come dude. Work it out, make it happen - use your military training. See ya in a few weeks in CO

does that mean we will have another great video of the swoops? :) SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Who is going to the 07 Nationals for the swoop part?

thanks! I also have been reading a lot here and on camcorderinfo.com about all of the mentioned camcorders. Thought HC3 was the most trusty one, so i got it. any video shaking in the sit with HC5 as they report? SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Sticking with sony fo rnow... So far the choices are in MiniDV and solid state: HC3 HC5 HC7 CX7 As far as CX7 - i read about the image ghosting for moving images. Has anyone used a solid state camera (not just sony) for skydiving? I currently jump the HC3. I love the camcorder, but the issues i read about HC5/7 as far as video shaking in a sit are apparent on HC3. I havent seen how it looks on HC5. Or HC7. Has anyone actually jumped both? Also, is low light video quality worse on HC5/HC7 as they predicted due to more pixels in the same space? What i'd really like to hear is some opinions to this question: What would be the better choice for skydiving HC3, HC5 or HC7? Thank you! SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

How big was the purse and payouts? SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Nothing really surprising, just the excellent benefit of seeing great pilots fly four of todays top performing x-braces and displaying different turn techniques in various rotations and being able to see the results of those techniques. Being able to see the body language of the pilot throughout the turn, how canopy reacts... it's hard to come by a good video like that. Even when you compete you dont get to see all of the swoops from start to finish. It was interesting to see how double front slow start into a "cork screw" turn is used by JVX and Velo pilots. How a well placed 450 or 270 produces a MUCH better result then a so-so executed multi rotation. How 9 cell and 7 cell fly after the transition to toggles at the final seconds of flight... Lots of other little things too... This should be a great learning tool to EVERYONE. Not just beginner or advanced swooper, even the best of the best can benefit from it.

dude i am watching it and i am almost in awe! what a great video, VERY well shot and a wealth of info in it. Different canopies different turn techniques, styles, results... thanks again!

Respek! Great vid, good job. Thank you for posting it HC3 RULEZ, doesnt it?

I have been hanging on dz.com forums since 2001. Some of these threads repeat themselves with clockwork like consistency. Same questions, same kind of decisions, same kind of advice... with the same results. I dont even participate much in these topics, other then a smart ass remark like the one i made in the beginning of this topic. BTW, another thing i find amusing is the wise advice from "yahoos" that have broken themselves due to their poor decisions. Now that they have a little more experience they are saying i did it got x-rays to prove it so don't do as i did. I am not pointing fingers at anyone here, but if you get upset at this statement... well, then i guess the shoe fits... I probably sound like an asshole or a smart ass... that's quite possibly because i am. But what kind of attitude can be expected when you observe the same bad decision making, arrogance of a fresh D-licensed "expert" and bad shit in the air and on the ground repeating themselves month after month, year after year? SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

jump whatever the hell you want, why are you telling people here? SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Hi, what type of a quick release plate are you using there?

I was told this weekend that PD has seen some major damage to the lines and slinks with these mods. I am talking about the "ring in the Slink" set up mostly. They have seen partially severed slinks, major damage to the steering line from the way the brake is stowed... Even with the way i did my mod, there is a good chance of wearing the steering line a lot faster... so please, if you have this mod or variations of it - keep an eye on your steering lines and slinks. P.S. Longer risers (23 inch ones) solved the problem of the steering line getting in the way when applying rear risers.

i had a 6 inch longer lineset on my VX and did not dig the flight characteristics and the way rear risers felt... This weekend i switched to 23 inch risers (from 20's) on my VX and man do i love flying that set up! Feels like a power house and now there is no need for the ring mod (remember it was discussed a few months ago?) I can easily reach everything too. Very little to no altitude changes were made to the initiation point

Thank you for that reply. It does paint a better picture me.

I hear they have great health care plans there... SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Kirk, First, thank you for the tips and coaching you gave my boys (Ranch Pulse), for helping them win the gold at the Nationals. I know first hand how much dedication, hard work and money they put in to achieve that goal. Some of the tips you gave them about 4-way training and competition mindset have been an inspiration to me as well, as a competing canopy pilot. About what you said - NO DOUBT! He who wants it, who is willing to make sacrifices - will find a way to make things happen, no matter the cost. he who doesn't want it bad enough - will find excuses why he couldn't do it. No goal is unreachable if you have the will to go the distance. The main reason i was asking these questions is to better understand what a world class team/competitor has to go through in different countries to be able to adequately train and travel to events and how much government and skydiving organizations give to their best athletes that represent their countries at the international meets... Seems like the US athletes have the shittiest situation... Again, thanks for your reply. Hope to see you at the Ranch. Mike

Hi My question is for US (and other countries) World class competitors. I am not a visitor to this forum, so i dont know if we have anyone here with such experience but still i'd like to ask. Being a beginner competitor myself, i know that we have to pay our own way through everything. And thats understood. But what about the pros that officially represent their countries at the World level events? How does the system work for supporting you in your training and competitions? Do you get any help from the government (this may seem weird to US competitors, but in other countries there is such support)? Does USPA (or its equivalent in other countries) provide any real support and funds? what does it amount to in terms of what is covered? More importantly, are there any government sports organizations that support World level skydiving teams that represent their country at the World comps? I guess Golden Nights are the only team that enjoys full support of the government in the US? As an example, does Arizona Airspeed pay their way at the international events such as Malevsky Cup in Russia? or FAI World Formation Skydiving Championships in Germany? Sponsorships cover their training jumps in the US and abroad? Gear too? Plane tickets, hotels, food etc.? Does the government pay anything? USPA? Hope to hear real info from experienced folks who have seen and participated in such things, not guesses or thoughts... Thank you in advance.

Yes, i have. 4 broken technora lines, nasty and i mean NASTY spin, one attempt to stop it, then realizing it's not possible, then chop. Couldnt get stable for a good 3-4 seconds. People on the ground saw me kicking like a little girl at 2000 feet. I got stable by 1800 and pulled the reserve.

you can only be on top for so long... it's a fact. Jay has proven year after year that he has what it takes and will not give up his spot that easy But what i have seen in FL this season makes me believe that there will be some new names to learn this year... Just look at the top three FL CPC spots, especially my hero Craig Saucier - taking 1st overall with just 1300 (!!) jumps. This boy will go far, you'll see.

Any body wants my JVXs? Good job, bro.

the only asshole here would be a guy with 600 jumps loading a cross braced canopy at 2.1. And since it's a 120 then it would be a pretty BIG asshole. But there is nobody here like that, since: Good decision. very good.

lol, deja vu. Is anyone keeping count of how many times someone with barely marginal experience shows up here and asks something like this? Then the same iteration takes place. People say pretty much the same thing in different ways... The guy says he's been a quick learner, raced motorcycles all his life, studied martial arts, in tune with his body (pick the right option)... Some more clever replies from people... The guy gets annoyed that he does not hear what he wants to hear... Boring! Don't feed the troll! SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

By the topic title i am not sure if we're talking about how other competitors could cope better with an accident during a comp or about the possible causes of this particular accident. I'd like to talk about the first part - the psychological impact of a massive injury or death during a meet. Specifically, its impact on competitors. At the 5th final round of FL CPC in Deland we lost a fellow competitor and a friend. Some of us watched the accident first hand close up. we're still guessing what may have happened. The approach was a solid one. Then a sudden and deadly toggle input too close to the ground... You can read about the possible causes and guesses in the accident forum, i wont list them here. It was a big psychological burden on all of the competitors, but most of us chose to finish the meet. Dale was a very close friend to a couple of guys in the circuit... They chose to continue the comp also. As difficult as it was for them - they were able to collect their mental strength and show their best results. "He'd kick me if i didnt continue", "he'd want us to go on" they said. But we all thought the same. I think that we all dedicated our efforts in this comp to his memory, even if it went unsaid. It was a heavy burden on all of us. Some are still dealing with it. Sadly, these things have happened before and will happen again. To go on or to pull out is a personal choice. There is no right or wrong way to deal with a death of a friend - whatever works for you. But let these things be reminders of just how fragile our bodies and our efforts are... All of us, not just swoopers