freeflydrew

Ari that video was huge!!! I bet it would be like 2 megs if the extra footage and audio was removed. Dude, that's sooo cool that you were on the 82 way state record... you probably had the least amount of jumps, right? Congrats! -drew

that pic was on the cover of parachutist November 2000. It was taken by Norman Kent over DeLand, and it's Nicole Angelides and Hunter Roberts.

do ya'll have an events schedule for the season?

Since the Kodak moment thread turned into a pic posting free for all, I just figured we should start a new thread for posting pics... Not for criticism, just for fun! Post your hottest swoop pics... I know the "panoswoop" isn't that hot, but I think the stitching looks cool Reason for edit: To post the pics, again

I never suggested those things... "YM4 did... I added to it (just so I'm not misinterpreted in this discussion)... And I would imagine that the arguement developed because the word Swoop was thrown around in a landing that didn't really look like a swoop... maybe not in the first post, but certainly soon after!

I completely disagree with you... Often people think that what they're doing is phat, or perfect, or super-duper and everyone who sees it is like "what the hell are they thinking" or "if only they could see themselves swoop"... People that are into swooping, watch swoopers, watch video, slow-mo the transfer from front to rear risers, ask lots of questions, listen more than they speak, etc, etc, etc... You don't have to fly that wing loading to know what constitutes a good swoop... You have to be educated in high performance landings, be aware of the smaller details of one's technique, be humble enough to realize where flaws exist, and man or woman enough to admit them. You do not have to fly it to recognize what a good landing is... it's obvious if you know what you're looking for. -drew

Maybe this is why you don't agree with the criticisms that some of the more experienced canopy pilots are making about the swoopless swoop pics posted???

After rereading the discussion from the beginning, I don't think that Tree's comment is that different from some of the comments that Steel has also made... only Steel's weren't directed at one single person in particular... instead it's "feeding the trolls" or "the person who wrote that". I like reading what Tree has to say... it sheds light on things like body position, and apparent jump techniques that are being discussed. At the same time, it's interesting to read steel's point of view on why he likes to fly the 55 and why he thinks he has optimized his technique to his liking... Most of us haven't seen too many people flying this small of a canopy, and there are techniques that we expect to see that we don't, and there's nothing wrong with pointing that out... I don't think that Tree, Steel, or anyone for that matter has stepped out of line in this thread.

Wow Bruno, that was a really discreet insult!... so much for a constructive discussion about Swooping and Canopy Control, right? My comment had everything to do with maximizing performance and what I imagine is an ideal wing loading for such a small canopy, and NOT about you keeping your current wing-loading.... it wasn't a low blow or an insult, or an assumption... it was an educated, objective, and constructive statement about swooping and canopy control in general (like the name of the forum, right?). "Alaska Jon has many many skydives, isn't the biggest guy in the world, and is a bad ass swooper, and he's on a 69 VX (trying to think of people flying small canopies)... Many of the competition swoopers these days are actually flying canopies a bit bigger than in the past and they're wearing weights to load them more... they're getting 350-420 foot swoops under those canopies, and I'll bet the swoops are still super decent in stronger winds. " I DO know something about what I'm talking about, and am always open to learning more... this is clearly one of those times... Would you like me to post pics of my landings for criticism? -drew

Maybe 55 is a little too small for high performance landings? I mean, the rest of the flight is definitely high performance... just doesn't look like the landing is. Alaska Jon has many many skydives, isn't the biggest guy in the world, and is a bad ass swooper, and he's on a 69 VX (trying to think of people flying small canopies)... Many of the competition swoopers these days are actually flying canopies a bit bigger than in the past and they're wearing weights to load them more... they're getting 350-420 foot swoops under those canopies, and I'll bet the swoops are still super decent in stronger winds.

ditto that addiction bud. Pass the pipe to the right...

my god I thought he'd never actually say it out loud... He could have addressed this before we bombed Iraq, and maybe more people would have spoke out against the the administration's justification to attack?

do people jump in 30 mph winds?

make sure you're logged into the gallery... or go ask in talk back?

How about the Universal Freefly License...

September 16, 2003 | Daily Mislead Archive President Bush Shortchanges Funding for His Own Emergency AIDS Program The President heavily promoted his emergency relief for AIDS after announcing it at this year's State of the Union speech, signing a $15 billion law to be spent over five years.1 But while the President is publicly calling for full funding, he's actively seeking to underfund his own program. The President said in Africa this July that "The House of Representatives and the United States Senate must fully fund this initiative, for the good of the people on this continent of Africa,"2 Less than a week later, he sent a letter to Congress asking for 1/3rd less than full funding.3 The law that Bush signed authorized $3 billion a year, but President Bush has requested only $2 billion in his 2004 budget.4 Despite the claim to fully fund the program in the State of the Union, the Bush Administration is now claiming that AIDS service organizations cannot absorb full funding immediately.5 The service organizations themselves disagree with the White House's position. The Republican-led Foreign Operations subcommittee also disagreed when it approved a doubling of the commitment for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS from $200 million to $400 million, despite a letter from the White House requesting the lower figure. It was later scrapped by the full committee under White House pressure.6 And the bottom line? The president's push for $1 billion less than authorized by Congress (and promoted by the President himself) blocks 1 million people from treatment and nearly 2.5 million new HIV infections that could be avoided.7 Sources: 1. Public Law 108-25; "Activists Turn to United States and Hope," St. Louis Post Dispatch, 6/1/03, p. B4. 2. President's Remarks in Africa, 7/14/03; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030712.html. 3. http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/press071603_additional.html 4. "US Seeks Cuts in Health Programs Abroad", Boston Globe, 2/5/03, p. A10. 5. Presidential News Conference, 7/30/03, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030730-1.html. 6. Global AIDS Alliance, http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/press071603_additional.html. 7. Global AIDS Alliance. Somebody please address this!

Well said... 100% on every issue... sounds like someone watching the news and not listening again!!!

What's your question???

is this some democrat / republican arguement or something? I have nothing to say about someone's party preference, only how ridicilous the current administrations track record is in terms of deceit, honesty, and integrity!

I'm not surprised that there's NO evidence of Weapon's of Mass Destruction, no connection, no justification, no prewar plan, no postwar plan, no honesty, no etc, etc, etc... No Connection between Anthrax in the mail and Iraq!!! People who support whats going on in Iraq just say these things about liberal this, or tough luck that, but fail to address the original issue... I have yet to hear a single positive thing about this entire campaign in Iraq, and most of this administrations decisions over the past three years... http://www.misleader.org Remember to open your ears when you're "watching" the news...

Maxim October 2003 Top Gear pg. 173 Full Page picture of some funny looking dude wearing a birdman suit... You can see a pd logo, a birdman logo, and a protrack logo. Very very very cool! (Except he's wearing the alti on his palm instead of the back of the hand. "Look up into the sky! It's a bird it's a plane! It's a howling psycho, gliding along in a Birdman Classic II wingsuit..." -drew

not another windows problem! (sorry, I just had to...) Life is short, use a mac

I had 10 or 11 jumps when I transitioned from spring to BOC... I'm glad that I was using the school's equipment when I did this because of a couple of reasons. The first is that I was under the direct supervision of my AFF instructor, and it seemed like He taught me all the possible errors using a BOC that I could encounter. Second is that the school rigs didn't have collapsible pilot chutes, so during this transition period, there's no chance of not cocking the pilot chute and dealing with that high speed malfunction. Third is that I didn't have to buy two separate pilot chutes early on in the skydiving career. The packers at the school were very nice and explained to me the proper packing sequence for using the BOC, cocking the pilot chute, and also where to look for wear and tear on the rig with regard to the BOC components (kill line, the little window on the bridle, the boc pouch). I'm glad that I made the transition when I was a student and I think that it's the most appropriate time...

http://www.surfflite.com/vladiball.html Just so you can at least learn about the original one...

I cheated and used google, but... You know you're trailer trash when the halloween pumpkin on your porch has more teeth than your spouse... ...You think loading a dishwasher means getting your wife drunk... ...Anyone in your family ever died right after saying,"Hey watch this... ...One of your kids was born on a pool table... ...You've been married three times and still have the same in-laws...