druspork

I was wondering if Escondido was coming. Look forward to proping up the bar with you. Dru Damn Zebra

Are their any teams on this forum going to Spa? UK has three teams in "A" - Helix, Evolution and my team - I think it's a strong group in this class. I think we have two teams in "AAA" and one in novice, but I'm not sure who they all are. What about the other European teams? Dru [Team] Damn Zebra

The brain -lock stuff in AAA must be entertaining. But is that exactly what the guy is saying? Put it this way, we are a UK intermediate team (sits between A and AA, closer to A), and a couple of times i would definitely prefer the AA dive plan to the A dive plan. imho AA has sometimes been faster. Dru

unless there is an update that I have missed, mario's excellent info is out of date. Dru

If you just want something that should hold even if presentation is less than perfect - I'd always recommend the sidebody. Some guys prefer satellite, but I still think sidebody. Just get tail low and make sure the guys inside the plane dont push through the guys outside. Then the Meeker. It teaches good slot presentation skills. (different jobs for different slots). And if you have licked the stairstep diamond, then there really isnt anything that shouldnt follow... Dru

I like it. Go fast Rhem. Dru

Hey Rhem wanted to ask for ages... why did you let the thought police get to you? Your sign off may now be "PC" but what thte hell was wrong with: Slow isnt fast. Fast is fast. Works for me. Dru

I dont know if it's of interest or not - UK juniors is similar to Rookie (but includes all 16 exits). We used to have a jump limit - max 900 (after cat A) between three slots, 4th slot unlimited. Jump number restrictions have now been removed - to free up entry by POPS, freeflyers etc. Over here, no-one would even blink at 1 guy in a Rookie team with 500 jumps. Dru

And the answer was... c) none of the above - at least in Junior and Inters, everything was redrawn as if there had been no rounds. Some blocks/randoms were repeated. Dru

Generally agree with Rhemwa but here's my 2p: 1. You pretty much live in that suit when training. No bootie zippers may be sturdier but not very practical. Get the biggest leg zips you can. If you need a super sturdy suit, then invest in (two suits and have) a competition only suit with no bootie zippers. 2. White gloves, black suit. It's pretty well established now. There are occasionally conditions where white suit with black gloves is better - but it's rare. 3. Chunky grips - they just kinda feel good. 4. Some suits have a better rep in the tunnel than others - this meant we ultimately chose Bev over Tony. 5. I also like pockets. 6. Dont use light stretch material in the back - your rig will wear it down. 7. Go for the latest mega bootie that your brand offers. 8. Liners that reduce sweating are good. 9. Dont bother trying to adjust fall rate with material selection unless you are really heavey or light. Allow lead to do the job. 10 Get your girlfriend to double check your measurements before you send them off. Rather than shoe size we just draw an outline of a shoe to get the shoe size right. Our Bev suits have managed 2 seasons and more than 10 tunnel hours - that not serious compared to some teams but the Bev suits have required hardly any maintenance. We like them. Dru

Are we absolutely sure? This might be a minor difference but... is it a) the blocks/randoms as drawn last week but not yet jumped - re-drawn or is it b) the full dive pool minus what has already been jumped - re-drawn. Sorry to be a pedant. Dru Damn Zebra

Hi Chris. We've had good turn out at Grand Prix this year let's hope the Nats is even bigger. DamnZebra and Helix are coached by Pat McGowan but dont count out Evolution. If they can "kick in" at the Nats then watch out. Snurge Munkeys are fast improvers and could medal. Mission Impossible is back after being cold for two seasons, and an inter team from Langar has been claiming astonishing random work (rumors of a 27 point jump). In seniors - watch out for Airkix the Britain womens team. I wonder how Spank are going. Junior scores have been low-ish this season, but the Nationals usually brings in additional talent. What's great to see, is not only the junior + inter teams progressing, but we seem to be building a critical mass of experienced jumpers and this seems to be leading to more senior teams. I wonder if the UK will actually manage to create an AA category next year. Surely there are enough teams for it. Dru Damn Zebra

After last weekends competitions, I'm just itching to see some footage of Black Magick. It's been great telling people just who we beat - just didnt mention about being upside down. Dru

Great vid Gorgeous! Did I spot some short footage there over Morcombe Bay - hope you didnt get as close as we did! All the best for the rest of the UK Grand Prix circuit. Dru [Damn Zebra]

I wouldnt bother keeping a sequential number of total of RW jumps or anything. Just log what you do with each jump. RW is RW, cant be solo (obvious really) but 2-w works and so do fun jumps. Dont you think RW is fun anyway? I would not call tracking jumps RW, but then if I needed 300 RW for the herc boogie and had to count a few tracking jumps to be there, what the hell. In the UK we have a reputation for getting very anal on the log book. Dont be bothered by it, just record what you did each jump. If you need to count a particular type of jump, then the info is all there when you need to do the count. Dru Spork

Are you so sure Remster? You can only guarantee separation from the group in front, and then only on the basis that there is no hot tracker pummeling down the line for longer than should be the case. And no control on separation with the group behind. A 4-w needs space for only 5 people, imho there's no need for any of them to track down the drop run. Dru

The direction of the track(s) is more important than the turn that got you there. 180 is standard and easy stick with it. The tweak to consider is to make sure no-one tracks down the jump run. Keep away from other groups, the better you can track, the more important this is. Dru

Thanks for the correction Dru

Easiest to explain if you work both toggles/risers towards a stall. Pull both toggles a bit and the brakes engage, this distorts the rear edges of the canopy immediately effecting laminar flow over the wing. The result is slower forward speed and increased drag (a bit). If you keep pulling the toggles, it ultimately folds along a line half way between the left and right side of the canopy. Pull both rear risers a bit, you keep laminar flow but change the angle of attack so forward speed doesn't change but you float. Keep pulling the rear risers to stall and it ultimately folds along a line half way between the front and back of the canopy. Erm, I didn't do a degree in aeronautics, but I think I got the basics together. Dru

Usually rear risers instead of toggles give better flow over the canopy. Does this apply to turbulent conditions the same as "normal" conditions? Still, it's a good time to practice alternative skills in the bar. Dru

Just watch for stress levels with the on-going drills. You don't want them getting despondent. Consider a "fun" jump at the end of each day. It's still training but perhaps revert to a 3 point random - with full grips. Round/square randoms initially. This will give the team a chance to gauge for themselves how they are traveling and give them something to talk about when the beer comes out at the end of the day. Dru

My home dz [UK] policy is the student covers the slot. The coaching is not necessarily 100% cutting edge - but then not every dz has Airspeed managing the FS coaching. I dont claim internationally astonishing coaching ability, but I will offer my service where I can, and it's nice to have the slot covered. The rest of my 4-w team is the same. We love to help out, what we coach is as current as one US training camp a year allows. If we have to cover our own slot when coaching there is an obvious temptation to stick to our own training. Fact of life really. As a coach I'm not Dan BC - if that's what the student wants they have to go to Perris (or Eloy, or Deland, or Empuria yadda yadda). Dru

I think I've got the picture guys - keep a good eye on those brake lines. All the same, dont forget we ended up adding 10". Out of interest, if the brake lines shrink this fast, what about the rest of the lines? Dru

I doubt it's line shrink - I bought the canopy new and have approx 200 jumps on it. Dru

I had my brake line trim checked in a canopy pilot course over Easter. Ultimately we added a full 10" to the brake lines. Now the canopy actually flies on front riser input. previously front risers got the canopy shakey because the brakes were inputting along with the fronts. This seemed to be a known problem, the thinking being manufacturers wanting to ensure early brake engagement for digging out of corners. Anyone else come across this? Dru