freeflydrew

...The inlets are such that they do not inflate when I'm in a sit or head down. So no you won't look like an inverted clown. ... What's funny about that line is that when freeflying was in it's earlier developments, being a clown was a good thing, especially cool when you were inverted! There was a bunch of people who called themselves the freefly clowns... Olav, Charles, Mike, Alaska Jon, Omar, etc. (Freefly Clowns, Chronicles 1, 2, 3) -drew

"The riser covers stayed put where they belong unlike my other rig, a Javelin DOM 94" Do riser covers on any rig from 1994 stay closed?

Levin, I'm all about plugging my favorite companies, or maybe the ones who hook me up with stuff, but are you implying that Matter Clothing doesn't produce proven gear, nor isn't a proven company? That's kind of what I got from that... Beavdog, I'm not so sure that you really need the gils to fly head down, nor how the birdman pants may or may not aid you in your quest to fly head down... There are a lot of companies out there offering very similiar products with a couple of mostly cosmetic differences. I mean, pants are pants, right? It seems to me that certain body types seem to stick with certain companies and cuts. I've found that in my personal experience people that want a tighter cut tend to fly firefly suits, merlin suits, Tony's Spacesuit, Freedom means Choice and from pictures that I've seen, Matter suits. (I'm sure that there are people jumping larger cuts from all of these, but I'm simply stating what I've actually seen either in person, on video, or in pictures). In my own personal experience, I've found that people that are jumping jumpsuits with baggier cuts tend to fly Bomber Pants, or Bomber Freefly Suit (both by Flite Suit), Tony Suits, DaKine Rags, or Michigan. (Again, I'm not trying to list every manufacturer on the planet, instead I'm making a couple of generalizations here, you know?) People who live or jump near certain manufacturers tend to purchase their products. For instance, if you go out to Davis California, it seems like the entire dz jumps in Flite Suit jumpsuits, or pantz. The Manufacturer happens to be right down the road. I think that whichever manufacturer you choose, from a to z, you will be happy with. They'll all offer you custom fitting gear, and depending on which company you choose, you can add any number of mostly cosmetic options. Very soon, you will control your body regardless of which way is up and which way is down, regardless of which pants, shorts, or jumpsuit you're sporting. You may eventually find something like gills annoying or unnecessary... You'll probably find that you won't need any help slowing down on your head (outside of a normal baggy jumpsuit) . My first "jumpsuit" was a pair of Bomber Freefly pants, cut pretty baggy... After about 500 jumps and feeling pretty comfortable on my head, I opted for the Tony Space Suit, cut tight. Now I've just ordered the Matter Pants and JAcket cut somewhere inbetween. I never really considered the Bomber Gills... seems a little unnecessary if you ask me, even if you're a big guy. I know nothing about the Birdman Pants... don't they inflate or something?

My pro track is set for anywhere from 5000 to 6500 depending on the group size and type of dive, time of day, and what's happening on the load. (If there's 3 4ways going out before us and our spot may be a little far, I want to make sure to break off a little higher to get good separation before I dump a little higher) The second alarm goes off at 3500... that really never changes. The third alarm had been, for the past three years, set for 1500 feet. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a PD Rep who strongly sugested that that altitude was changed to 2000. It makes sense to me since if you're having a high speed mal, 1500 is actually cutting it closer than you may want to be, and what's really the difference between 2000 and 1500 for the final alarm... (Strictly Freefly) So... 5000 3500 2000 -drew

A quick search of the forums will yield many results discussing exactly what you're asking here. This is a well discussed topic. http://dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search; BTW, Congratulations! -drew

Yes... i know two people... I'm not sure if both have suffered injuries in the past to their shoulders, or if only one has and the other is a leftie! They're out there -drew

"Delete the cookies" Thank you, thank you, thank you! -drew

I was at a boogie two years ago, jumping out of the skyvan... This older timer actually pushed me towards the door in an attempt to exit the airplane quicker. I guess sometimes people get really really bent if you're not exiting as fast as they think you should! -drew

Since yesterday, whenever I try to look up someone's Full Profile via any Forum thread, it gives me this weird expired session message. It doesn't matter if I log in and go right to the forums and click the same or a different full profile link, the message returns. The only thing I did was try to logout yesterday (which didn't work anyway). I haven't changed, installed, or deleted anything on my computer, nor within my profile. The problem exists after a restart. I'm running the most recent versions of OS X, and Safari... again, no changes to anything. Thanks for any feedback -drew

I'm not so sure that they're using the triple risers with that configuration. Got any pics or anything to support that? AND- I have seen a mod that one of the guys was checking out with an additional line on the control lines... Is that what Zennie could be talking about? The additional line carries a lot of slack when flairing, but is tight when using the rear risers... -drew

Vibes, Vibes, Vibes... Hope you're ok! -drew

she closed the door and answered the phone...

her phone rang, and she heard a knock on the door...

Any plans to post some video then??? -drew

totally...

I had 360 jumps when I first jumped with the ball (thank you Sven) and have jumped with one a bunch of other times... If you feel ready and safe, then go for it. It, of course, doesn't hurt at all to wait another 1-2-3 hundred more jumps though! The one big thing that I noticed when I first started with the ball is that I wasn't aware of my altitude.... only the ball... instant tunnel vision and tunnel thought. I was surprised to hear my ditter go off! Of course, the jumpmaster was there and "he's aware", but that's not what it's about right? I think that if I had 600 jumps instead of 360, I wouldn't have been so fixated? Maybe that 's one of the skills that you'll have by waiting until you're more experienced? Who cares if you can jump out and chase a ball? I personally think that being a safe, knowlegable, heads up, and experienced skydiver is much more impressive. Some of the many things to think about when you jump with the ball are those basic safety standards you should be using in every skydive. I bet that when you tell who ever it is you're going to jump with how many jumps you have, they'll definitely want to do a dry run with you without the ball. They may do something like jump out and just stick out their fist like the ball and see how you do flying with that... Depending on the result, they'll either say no or go.

repeat posting!

He had a pretty intricate cutaway system to release the wing...

Here you go... I seem to remember hearing something about the wing being cutaway and breaking or something... I don't know. ***There are no engines installed on this wing... He was testing the wing without them*** No idea what his name is... everyone called him Buzz Lightyear. Anyway, here's what I got: buzz1.jpg-Getting ready to Flair buzz2.jpg-Flairing buzz3.jpg- Dude walking back with Kevin and Sonic... buzz4.jpg- Profile of the wing... buzz5.jpg-You get a good idea of the wing's size, and how big the engines would be if they were installed... And, check out the smaller wings on his calfs! buzz6.jpg-Engine housing close-up, attention to cut of wing around rig, and detail on the engine housing... buzz7.jpg-Close up, notice the spring loaded pilot chute system... buzz8.jpg-You can see the wire (lower left side) going to the control unit on the arm... buzz9.jpg-Notice the control unit on the left arm, and the very large red helmet with reflective lens... buzz10.jpg-Again the control unit on the left arm It really happened! 12/00-01/01 Eloy, AZ

I was there... I have footage!!!!... I never saw him load the engines, but I saw him fly the big wing without the engines in it. He even had a control unit on his arm. There was an intricate cutaway system. Dude was around 25 years old. Everyone was calling him buzz lightyear. Definitely happened... I'll look for the footage and try to upload a still from it...

Explain to them that it's a computer that automatically activates your reserve parachute if something were to happen to you in freefall. It can be turned on and off, and is considered safe and accepatable by the FAA for commercial flight. If security gives you a problem, show them the documentation from Cypress, found on their website in pdf form. They may ask you to open your reserve, explain to them that, according to regulation, it can only be opened in an emergency skydiving situation or by a certified rigger. Immediately ask for a representative from the FAA to be present. If the security people don't know what they're dealing with, the rep from ther FAA will know and will tell them to let you go through. I've seen this done, and although we waited for about 45 minutes, it totally worked. (I just flew from AZ to NY on Tuesday, and the security was crazy! They made me turn on my digital camera, they looked at my ipod, and even went so far as to open my rand mcnally roadmap... Lookout!) Link to User's Guide:http://www.cypres-usa.com/english_users.pdf

Chris, Here's my thoughts... New... If you're buying new, any of the major manufacturer's rigs are good... Sunpath, mirage, infinity, vector, voodoo (R.I.), wings... Performance designs, icarus, precision, Cypress, etc... Used... If you're buying used, the type of rig that you buy has to depend in some ways on the discipline you plan on learning. If you're going to exclusively fly rw, then which rig / year / model is much less critical than if you were to learn freefly, or be an all around flyer. If rw is not your thing, then you must make sure that your rig meets certain criteria... it must be freefly friendly... The pilot chute must be BOC, not on the leg, there should be a bridle cover, the main flap should not open easily, the rig should fit you well. Have a rigger check out the gear for discreet wear... if it doesn't feel right, do not buy it! When you try it on, keep it on for 10 minutes at least... strap it down and feel it out. MAke sure it feels a thousand times better than the student gear you had been jumping. Reserves... As for reserves, go with a performance designs reserve, at or close to a 170. People will argue that it doesn't have to be a pd reserve, well here's my personal opinion... There is no better reserve on the market... it's that simple. Main canopy... On to the main... this really depends on what you've progressed through and to so far, and how you're flying and landings have been. How's your understanding of a landing pattern? I would think that a 190 is being safe, a 170 is being overly confident, and a 150 is just stupid. Now, you may do 50 jumps and then decide to get the 170, and that's all good... for now you should probably go with the 190. Sabre 1, sabre 2, spectre, safire, nitron... I'm sure that there are others but I can't think of them right now. Again, have a rigger look at the main for you. Look for wear on the lines, at the attachment points to the canopy, look for wear on the slider and on the grommets... Check the canopy itself for wear and tears. I personally send each canopy that I've purchased back to pd for inspection and reline... It's not too expensive, and I feel great knowing that They've looked at it and it's passed. (Look for a rig where the largest canopy that will fit into it is a 190, or else you'll have to downsize rigs in order to downsize canopies). AAD... If you don't buy a new cypress (which you definitley don't have to do), you should look for one that has already had it's annual check, and has batteries are up to date. Cypress go back every 4 years, and only last 12 years... I'm not sure about the exact details of the battery life time, but either way, everything should be inspected and working. Get a new dytter, and a new altimeter, and a jumpsuit with dark colors (won't see the grass stains or dirt marks) I'm sure I've missed some details, but others will surely add. Be safe -drew

I agree about buying used... You'll save money, which you can in turn make more jumps with... you won't have to wait 2 or so months for the custom stuff to arrive (renting in the meantime)... You will find what you're looking for... I have just about 900 jumps and I have yet to buy a new rig... I've only purchased 2 reserves, and one main canopy as new... the rest were all used. I've spent a total of about 4800 bucks (after selling the old stuff and reinvesting the money on it's replacement) on 3 rigs, 3 reserves, 7 canopies, and a cypress... I never made any profit on a single thing that I sold. I think that it's a waste of money to buy new as a student... Hell, I still buy used! Search the web, check message boards, and spread the word... Call gear stores... You can find what you're looking for. -drew