el_chester

I was having a discussion with a friend about what is trailing from the top of the rudder of this A380 in this picture, and what it's used for. http://www.airfleets.net/show/?pic=61612 Anybody knowledgeable fancy settle our dispute? -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Thanks for posting that Remi. Best regards to you and Karen. I wish I could've been there! The 84-way has sort of the same basic structure as the "petal" dive 2 years ago, doesn't it? The 88-way is cool too. Having someone sitfly in front of you on a 100-ish way is distracting but fun... do you remember the time there were 2 sitflyers in the middle of our big loops at Perris also 2 years ago? I had one right in front of me. One year ago the dive designs with 6-way stars on the outside were pretty fun too... (particularly because on the second one "the tentacles" I got to have one of the outfacing slots! Sweeeet slot...). I really miss not having been there either in May or September... as far as Bigways is concerned I wish I didn't live in Europe... or at least that I would get into the invitation lists for events over here... does anyone know whom I should contact? (yeah, kind of late in the season to be asking that, right?) -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

I was wondering... did anyone take a picture of the designs at the 100 ways a couple of weeks ago? I hear they rocked and would like to see what I missed on... I really wish I could have been there! I miss the bigway crowd... Also, if there are any pics posted somewhere, could someone point me to some pictures of the event? If you want to email a pic to me, PMs are also welcome -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Felicidades Panas! Nice... did you guys know that the all-mexican record stands at 31? So... I guess it's our turn, huh? -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Hi Popsjumper. I find your post funny... first you say: (emphasis mine) but immediately afterwards, you do exactly that: Neither Bill nor I said it was easier to keep track of 410+ canopies (cameramen included!), but rather, that we feel safer because there is a lot more order. Here's snips from our posts: billvon in post #23 billvon in post #26 my post #27 -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

I completely agree. During the World Team 06, traffic was very orderly. And when one attends bigways this is generally the case. However, in my (somewhat limited) experience, the smaller the DZ, the more people get a feeling that the likeliness of a canopy collision is less, and the less clean patterns are enforced (if they are even assigned patterns in the first place!). I can't understand why some DZ don't have fixed rules as to landing direction (such as "always land in the direction that the wind indicator is pointing", or "always land in the direction that the first parachute did" or "for this load, everybody land facing north") and pattern. I might be a bit on the intolerant side, but if someone with over 200 jumps can't make a left or right hand pattern, and have to sashay to make their intended landing area and don't understand that this is dangerous, well, I don't want to be anywhere near them. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

yeah... media is saying cannibalism and drug trafficking were part of the story... and that those are the reasons the other two are missing... anyway... if they did survive 9 months at sea without being seen/rescued, it is a very impressive story -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Did anyone read that news about the mexican fishers who went out to fish in november 2005 and were found THIS WEEK near the Marshall Islands??? Wow... They survived on rainwater, raw fish and birds. Out of the original 5, 3 survived... -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

http://www.solaas.com.ar/dreamlines/applet.php?tema=skydive (It takes a while to load) The last word in the URL can be changed to whatever subject you want. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Who was that? -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

since i moved to germany, i haven't jumped in over 2 months coming from a country where i could skydive all winter long -because winter is merely an idea-, this sucks! i sooo look forward to jumping in thailand in exactly a months time! -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Dude... first of all, I wish you luck and success in achieving your goal. Secondly, I would suggest you to consider the following (in no particular order): Perris Big Way Camps - Kate Cooper/Tony Domenico On previous years they have hosted 2 a year, one in May and one in November/December. This is a great place to get your feet wet. They do require a minimum of 250 jumps, but maybe if you have had some tunnel time and have a good recommendation from someone they trust they'll let you in with a bit less (???). I did the May 2004 camp when I had just over 250 jumps, and at the end of the weekend we safely tried for 66-ways, many of us for the first time. While you are there don't waste the opportunity to go into the tunnel with one of the Perris Performance Plus coaches. Skydive U/Rob Laidlaw Rob (also a Canuk) does some big way camps, and his coaching is amazing. He is a great person to learn from - his teaching technique will make you fly better. Among other things because he is great at minimizing distractions during the learning process and putting your mind and body in synch with each other. Spending time in the tunnel with him or one of the Skydive U instructors is one of best investments I've made so far. Both these camps will teach you all the basic flying skills (approaches, set-up, tracking, canopy traffic, diving, floating, docking). Size of the dives does not really matter when it comes to learning. 20-ways are great for learning! Tunnel training. Get some coached time in the tunnel and have the coach make you fly as slow as possible, then slower. Also have him mess with you (pull you, push you, take your air, ...) and see how much of it you can take. Ideally in a formation you should never have to use those skills, but reality is different, and often (even on 100-ways!) you have to be able to deal with tension on you, or someone hanging on to you because they can't fall as slow as the formation. Save money for this... If you end up liking big ways, you will want to do the more and more challenging events, and the only way to get invited on those is to attend many events in order to be current, have recommendations and earn the organizers' trust. Getting the experience costs a lot of money. I have been pursuing the biw-way skydives for about 2.5 years now - actually that's what skydiving has been about for me in this time. And it all started when I came back to the sport with about 160 jumps and the intention of participating in my country's national record (Mexico). Similar to where you are now. In my opinion the flying skills necessary to fly in a bigway are just as important as the discipline, patience and awareness both in the ground as in the dives. Learn to learn from everybody all the time. Listen don't talk. "Team Player" is the key term here. All the time, all day long. And if you can't get on the Canadian record in 2006, don't worry. A skydiver I admire a lot said to me while we were discussing my chances of getting on a bigger skydive than I (or anyone I know) has ever been on: "Destinations are over-rated. It's the journey that is important." And I happen to agree. So, welcome and enjoy the journey! PS Keep us posted. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Here's the problem... I have seen how this is done with a thin wire to pull the tip of the line into the line itself. Is there any way to do this without needing a rigger? Or would it be a very bad idea? The rigger who did this originally said "you could do this at home if you had one of these" (as he held the thin wire that ran into the line) - that's the only reason I ask instead of going directly to find a rigger. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

http://www.aaronkoblin.com/work/faa/index.html -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

You cheap bastard, you offer to buy drinks when I'm not going to be there Damn... I will be there but if you won't, then my Rodriguez Brothers initiation will have to wait until next time (when will that be?) Remster and others, I'll see you all there -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

N/A

http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/1911/ Interesting spot... one wouldn't think that of Norway. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

I'm a flint/flame/inferno artist (FFI-Artist) Used to be freelance in Mexico Will be staff in Germany starting in a couple of weeks -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Hi all If anyone is getting or passing through DFW around 11am this thursday on their way to the DZ a ride will be very appreciated. Regards, Chester from MeXico (Eric Schaechter) -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

During the z-team bigways there was a similar incident from a casa while we were doing a 60-way. i was jumping with camera from a right trail otter and have video of it (not very good video but the premature opening of one of the base-plane guys is on it). Since the ramp on bigways gets pretty crowded, this is one more thing to take care of. Another person actually bounced off the stratched lines as the main started to inflate. BTW, the person who this happened to was the only one to make it back to the airport because of a bad spot. I will look up the video and probably post it on skydivingmovies.com. When I do I'll post back here. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

If someone from Perris is attending Roger & Mary's bigways next week, would you mind bringing me a copy of may's Perris bigways DVD? PM me if you can do me that favour. Chester - team MeXtreme -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

sorry 'bout that. my bad. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Scary video!!!!!!!!! Forget about symmetric vs. assymetric flaring. You did a low front-riser 180 at a very low experience level. Things could have been really, really ugly. Glad you didn't brake yourself. Please, PLEASE study this video with your instructor. Be wise and slow down. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Same here. Me and my girlfriend chose to not have a TV or cable. We listen to the news on the radio on internet (sometimes french news, sometimes public radio, sometimes BBC, sometimes mexican radio - gives us a mvery interesting perspective of how things are viewed according to different countries). I agree with you Rosa, it feels good. I don't really feel my life is less interesting because I don't know jack shit about 24, CSI, the sopranos, 10 feet under, friends, the batchelor, you name it... Funny, cause I work on vissual effects for advertising and am usually surrounded by no less than 10 monitors where I work. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

1.5 on a Stiletto 135 @ 220 jumps (my 1st canopy which I bought after coming back to the sport and doing 60 jumps in 2 months on a borrowed sabre 150) My ignorance put me there. The fact that I'm alive and unharmed is I guess mostly luck that I only once was in a situation that left me few options or little time (picture attached) and even then I didn't get hurt. Haven't changed WL yet and don't plan to for a long time, although I moved to a Pilot 132 which I love. Currently doing slow 90s when traffic permits. The attached picture shows the only close call I had not many jumps after getting the stiletto. First I slightly hit the ground with my knees during the flare. It was not a corner thing, I just misjudged the length of my legs . We were all landing in a slight downwind, I was going fast (by my standards), so when I brushed the ground with my knees I freaked out by the sudden involuntary balance shift and stopped flying the canopy correctly and you can see how the wing is not helping my landing... this wrong reaction was the result of my lack of proper skills to handle a surprise. For those looking to be aggressive, be careful. You will most likely eventually screw up, and if your skills arent up there yet, only luck will keep you unharmed then. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.