andym148

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I'd heard from other sources since posting the question that agree with what you said. I have to admit i'm very interested in getting a JFX....only drama is i would like to demo one first before buying just to make sure it's right for me. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hi, Could some one explain the difference between PD's Velocity, and NZ Aerosports JFX? Are Velo's more in line with JVX's of are they comparable to the JFX? I'm looking at getting a new canopy, i do mostly team jumping and AFF jumps now a days. Getting back from a deep spot is a must, my Katana 107 i jump a the moment dives to much and i struggle to make it back when a friend gets back on his Velocity 111. I'm loading my Katana at around 1.75. I enjoy doing nice 90's in to land, but i want to learn to go round further and get more of a swoop at the bottom. Anyone who has experience in either canopy, your thought's are welcome. Andy. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey Murv, Take a look at the post above reference BLESMA Trans4mers, were doing the same thing in the UK with our wounded warriors. What can better being taught to jump by 2 UK green berets, were in bound to Elsinore in 2 weeks. Andy At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey Jeff, Welcome back!! I'll be out in Elsinore then, you will not be able to miss us..trust me! Loads of Brits, having fun, come over and say hi. Andy. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey, If anyone is around Skydive Elsinore between 24th March and 7th April 2013, please pop in and say hi. BLESMA (British Limbless ExServiceMans Association) will be out there training 8 new jumpers via AFF; with the aim of getting them fully qualified. The plan is then to meet up with 2 members from the trip last year to create a 4 way FS team (http://www.facebook.com/BLESMATrans4mers?fref=ts) Coaching will be Army Euphoria (the British Army FF team), we will hopefully be coming back over to help run a sister event for the Wounded Warrior project in June at Skydive Perris. The guys will be doing 2 tandems on Sat 16th Feb, were we will teach them canopy control and basic body position. On the second tandem we expect them to register it's pull time and deploy the main parachute, and then steer it to the ground and land; all this is under the watchful eye of the TI. We will then take then to the tunnel where they will fly for 1 hour each before leaving for California, and the AFF course its self. If any wounded warriors or people just want to come by and say hi; please do! Thanks. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

When we discussed this question it did prompt some debate between us, some good some errr bad! Personally we both always have AAD's on (except the one time i borrowed someones rig...yes it cost me a crate of beer and a stern look from her! ), and wear full face helmets. So the chances of things happening like posed in the initial question are slim, but not out of the realms of possibility. Personally i hope i'm never put in that position, but thanks to everyone for their input. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Now that is what im talking about.... "1000ft, pull" At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

I shouldn't laugh..... But the guy did really well! You can see the restraint still around his leg strap as the instructor climbs into the door. Good nice exit - Keep arched and relaxed. Nice heading control. And carried on as taught, on level 3 we teach students to continue down to pull height if stable. Awesome jump dude!!! At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

My misses (fiancé), were discussing what we would do if we were ever in the situation were you had to make the decision of going for the student or for your other half. The question was "the exit tumbles, and the other instructor and the student are rendered unconscious" What would you do, who would you go to first? Now if the other instructor was a friend, the answer is clear cut one to me. I would go for the student. But if the other instructor is YOUR wife or husband, would it change your actions? I made the choice of going to the student on both counts, which ensured a nice evening sleep on the sofa for that answer! We both have AAD's, so if i couldn't do "an agent Utah from Point Break" and do a monster swoop to pin. At least she'd have a chance with the AAD firing??? Interested on what other people would do? At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Heres one for the AFF-I's? We were in Deland recently with a load of AFF students, we had a student who as it turned out was not that keen to jump. When the door opened on jump run, his hands went on to the grab rail that runs along the top of the windows on the inside of the Pac; and credit due to him we couldn't get his hands off that rail! Thankfully there was no emergencyand we landed without further incident, but when we got back to the team room we started to discuss all the "what if's....". What would you do as an Instructor, if on an aircraft emergency your student will not go for any reason? As the clash sang...."should i stay or should i go now?" Do you stay with the student or do you get out? I came to the conclusion that my will to live will be greater than my students grip and he WILL be leaving the aircraft! My first aircraft emergency, was in an MI-8 helicopter in Russia. We were climbing to altitude and then all of a sudden my helmet that was on the floor was suddenly floating at chest height! And then the door of the cockpit was flung open and the flight engineer started shouting at us. Now i dont speak Russian, and i'm not the smartest person in the world but i guessed what ever he was shouting was roughly translated to "get the F**k out"! Even with all the alarms going of and all the shouting that was going on around me, i still found time to find this funny! There was a tandem that was not hooked up being pushed towards the open door, the student was quite rightly pushing back, while the TI was quite rightly trying to get the hell out of there and pushing him closer to the door! I remember seeing the last of the lumber straps being tightened as they went head first out of the small door at the front. I got out into complete cloud at a nice and safe 8k, how ever somewhere in the cloud was 20+ jumpers and a rather large helicopter auto rotating back to the DZ which was somewhere in the general vicinity? Thankfully my nerve held until i came out of the clouds at 3k, i pitched and opened just at the edge of the DZ....and not over the sprawling industrial area not far from the DZ. From then on i make a point of keeping an eye out of the window so 'I KNOW where the DZ is at all times', and i keep a mentality of "what if...." and i keep an eye out for where i'd tell people to land if we ever have to bail out again. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

I know of a tunnel instructor who is a trainer and examiner with all the IBA ratings, went to a foreign tunnel and was running a tunnel instructors course. One weekend he was bored and decided to go with the "students" to their DZ and do his AFF cse as one of his students was an AFFI. I think level 1 and 2 was normal, then level 3 was head down carving with his instructors! I always advocate tunnel time to my students, you can do soooo much more with students in the tunnel. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

I went from a Safire 2 132 to a crossfire 2 119, i loved the XF2. I bought a second one for my back up rig and put about 700 jumps on them. The XF2 was light on the rears and shut down nicely (WL 1.6/7). I loved the openings, and team training on it left me without any aches and pains. I didn't really notice a marked difference in performance at my home DZ in England (cold and approx 400ft AMSL) but in the states at Elsinore i added 50ft onto my set up to take into account of the altitude difference. I still have my 119, but now jump a Katana 107 (openings not as soft generally) but i seriously recommend trying one! At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Comparing tunnel time V's jump numbers is like comparing watching porn V's having sex! Its great fun to prepare you for it, but it'll never quite beat the real thing! At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hi, I had the same dilemma as you have! I was jumping a Pilot 150 and did approx 150-200 jumps on it, i then tried a Safire2 149 and fell in love with the Safire's openings. I then bought a Safire 2 132 (custom made for somebody else) and kept that for 200 jumps then i wanted more from my canopies and went for a Crossfire2 119. The transition from the Pilot 150 to a Safire2 132 was not that noticeable, it was lighter on the toggles and risers and dived quicker and covered more distance over the ground on landing. But i would of expected this, to go from a Pilot to a Crossfire maybe biting off a bit more than you can chew at the moment? I would def agree with the above statement of trying out the Safire2 before going to a crossfire2. It is an awesome transitional canopy. Hope this helps?? At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey, Just like to add my 2 pence worth to the debate! Mate i know how you feel, you have FF1 and see all the "cool" dudes doing head down and want in on the action; just like i did and still do! This maybe not what you want to hear right now but here goes. Ok so you have 400 jumps maybe more by now, how many have been freefly as an FF1 licensed skydiver? Again i apologise for not knowing so ill assume at least 200?? How did you get to be FF1? From FS1 then straight to FF with no time spent bedding in your new found skills and learning to fly and building experience? Ok so where am i going with this? Think of skydiving as a pyramid, at the bottom you have the foundations (belly flying) the absolute basic techniques that we HAVE to master before we can become qualified and move on, this orientation is the fall back when everything goes to rat sh*t EVERYONE will revert to this orientation, so it needs to be of a reasonable standard. The next floor of our pyramid is "Back flying", this is where we start to crank up the speed and move into the realms of FF. When free flying and travelling at fast speeds back flying will become your recovery position, due to the fact you can ball up and keep the speed on and stay relative to your coach or other jumpers. If you just roll over onto your belly you can go from 160mph to 120mph in a very short time and this is mucho dangerous for all involved and is cold corking. You need to be able to recover to a decent standard on your back and remain in control so you can recover to what ever orientation you were flying. Depending on who you get to coach you will depend on how much you spend backflying, a coach worth his money will take the time to teach you these little life saving lessons; a coach who takes you straight to head up flying should be viewed with suspicion as it will have more to do with money than anything else. When you can fly on your back then we move onto "head up" flying which is the next step on the pyramid. Dont rush this step like most people, take the time to perfect all the skills that you are taught and dont feel like you need to rush to the summit of the pyramid and learn HD. Can you fly HU with anyone? Can you dock onto someone on anybody part without flying off them all the time every time? Can you carve, side slide, and fly absolutely rock solid no matter what? When the answer is yes and you feel ready then start to learn HD. Now comes the hard part learning HD!! Be prepared to be frustrated beyond belief, when learning things will go wrong more times than they will go right, but just remember EVERYONE WILL HAVE FELT LIKE THAT! Invest in a good coach from day 1, money spent on one good coached jump is worth 5 solo guessing jumps. Get a coach do a jump, listen to the debrief and then go and practice some solos until you feel proficient and then get another coached jump to see if you've cracked it or need some more pointers this will maximise your money. Now the important bit, if you skip, miss out or gloss over any of the steps of the pyramid then you will have weak foundations! By that i mean when you really need to be able to back fly, fly HU or HD but you cant because your coach didn't teach you or you didn't think it was cool enough to learn then your pyramid will collapse. Sorry i cannot tell you how to fix your back sliding problem, i have never seen you jump so i cannot fix something i cant see! It maybe something as simple as moving a leg, a foot or just a tweak of your centre of mass?? MY ADVICE to you is to not rush into things but take your time, it will save you time, money, and heartache. And when you do learn head down it will come easier and swifter due to you understanding how your body effects the wind. Fly free dude and blue skies. Andy Freefly Euphoria. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

In Britain al parachuting is conducted in line with BPA guide lines (with exception to exiting altitude) but how can you compare a person jumping an LLP/T10 round parachute in the same terms as a man who jumps a S/L Square canopy? I have a few jumps on round canopy's and in no way IN MY OPINION is it the same as a S/L Square jump, where you have to physically steer the canopy as opposed to drifting with the wind. S/L rounds - NO S/L Squares - Yes Besides you cant swoop T10's.......yet At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey dude, Things to think about to try and stop backsliding, if you put your neck into the back of you collar and tilt your head upwards as if there is a bad smell about and look down your nose this will force the head back and your chest out. In this position it is almost impossible to lean forward and create a back sliding position. Having your arms level at the shoulders and putting a 90 deg bend in them so you can see your thumbs in your perifial vision and not be allowed to be pushed backwards again will help prevent a back slide position. Hope this helps? At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Flew in iFly Hollywood last week, and its weird thats for sure! It has an oval design and is only 10ft i beleive. There is a big area of burble right above the door that extends into the tunnel, It does only have 2 fans but we managed 6 way head up linked round in there..so it is plenty powerful enough! The air is not smooth like airkix Milton Keynes/Manchester, its more like the tunnel in Arizona, real choppy. It might take a few seconds to get used to it, but what takes time to get used to is outface carving in an oval..with no referances Have fun! At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hmm nice try!! We are brining along Andy Newell (World Champions Volare) to help coach us. Andy is happy to help coach other jumpers as well; to fit in, around, and after our training jumps (cost tbc but expect minimal) Anyone wanting coaching, our just wanting to come and jump the week away come along! Blue skies!! At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey Guys, The British Army Freefly team will be in the San Francisco Area between 20/02/10 untill 28/02/10, we are looking to conduct a seven day FF camp at Lodi (Parachute Centre). At the moment we are hoping to get enough jumpers to fill the plane to allow us to make up to 12 jumps a day. If anyone would like to join us at Lodi over that week please come along and help us out! We have no financial link to the DZ! Thanks and blue skies, British Army Euphoria At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey guys, Were canvassing for jumpers to help fill the Caravan at Lodi, California. The British Army FF team will be at Lodi over the time period 20/02/10 untill 28/02/20 conducting team training, we would like to do up to 12 jumps a day (weather) permiting! If any jumpers are wanting to help fill the plane please come along and help out Thanks. Team Army Euphoria. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Cool, Same as my home DZ! See you guys in Lodi on the last week in Feb! Blue skies. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Cheers Rob, What aircraft are they currently running with mid week and weekends? At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey Guy's, I read on here a while back that Lodi had all its planes grounded by the FAA, i understand that there leased from a seperate company? Is the DZ still open to jump? I know a few teams from the UK coming over to Lodi to make use of the cheap jump rates for our team training in Feb and Apr. Can anyone shed any light on the situation? Thanks. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

I've read all the post in this forum with some interest, and i can see where most people are coming from. yes people get in this sport for numurous reasons, some because they want to try something exciting and dangerous, and some to try and find that something thats missing from their life. But almost everyone i've met have quoted that they love the freedom they feel when jumping. I jump on my weekends off from work, and as such its my time to get away from the normal grind of daily life, and what im guessing at is that most people will agree when it's my free time and MY MONEY that i'm spending, the last thing i want is some DZ "hitler" giving me a hard time telling me what i can and cannot do..... HOWEVER!!!! In Britain under BPA rules everyone must have a gear check ( this is also A DZ rule before boarding the A/C, and you usually sign a slip of paper confirming you've been checked off and it states who checked you off). I do agree with getting a check even now, even just if it's my reserve pin and ensuring my PC is cocked. But when i'm coaching someone, i BELIEVE it's MY RESPONSIBILITY to ensure my student is set to go with all the relevant checks done. I get the feeling on here that people dont want to help or give advice to individuals, but what about the JM? In the UK, if your acting as the JM, its your responsibility to sort out the jump run and know what each group is doing and at what height there deploying at and aslo to enquire what canopy people are jumping to roughly work out the landing order. So in that away i can give advice to people on whats best for that group to achieve what they want to do, but in the safest way possible, and in a way thats not condecending to that individual/group which i think is the key. To quote william Burke, "No man makes a greater mistake, than he who does nothing, because he can only do a little." At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!