MagicGuy

Thanks, Howard

Jumptown in Orange, MA will be hosting the first annual Q Memorial Boogie (aka the Casa Boogie), next week from July 4th through the 8th. Along with the Casa we also have our Super Otter! Lots of events happening - CRW record attempts (lots of CReW dogs coming), freefly and RW organizing, wingsuits.. it's going to be a blast. Of course there's going to be some special stuff for Q, too, including a dedication of the new Memorial Garden that lots of Jumptowners have put a lot of hardwork into. If you've never been to Jumptown, come check it out! It's quickly starting to become the premier DZ of New England. Bonfires every night, amazing facilities and lots of good people. Our new airplane kicks ass, too. You won't be disappointed. Hope to see lots of DZ.commers there!! We're open from tomorrow through the 8th of July (yes, every day!), with the Casa arriving on Wednesday, the 4th.

I'll be there. Jumptown is my second home and I'll be there all week. I have a yellow and red tie dye Wings rig and tattoos on my arms, spikey hair. Come introduce yourself! It's going to be a blast, you're gonna love Jumptown.

I prefer no wind days to anything. I can maximize my surf and get mini swoops, especially if I time my flare just right. I think a staged flare is more important on a no wind day because you want to finish the flare completely. Stage, plane out, finish finish finish. I've seen way too many people burn in on no wind days because they only flare half way.

I'll be there during the June dates. But you should consider Jumptown during the 4th of July. Casa, baby..

See: backyard[i/] At the other DZ I jump at (Jumptown) there is a C License and above landing area, and a general landing area for students and A and B licensed skydivers. We are currently working on a section for high performance landings.. just trying to figure out which idea will work out best for everyone.

I agree about the doing solos part of the arguement. Doing solos here and there is great. It's nice to not have to worry about anything but pulling to just take everything in. But jumping with other people is part of the learning process. Does that mean that newly A licensed jumpers should be doing 4 ways? Well, not necessarily. But if there are 3 experienced jumpers willing to take up someone who has 4 way or other RW stuff in their future, why not? Even if the person can't track all that well (because if they have an A license, they CAN track), the other 3 are there to compensate for that. I was doing decently sized RW jumps fresh off of A license and I think it was great for my learning. I do HIGHLY agree with the canopy skills. I've said from the beginning that there should be more emphasis on it. People aren't dying in freefall, they are dying under perfectly good parachutes. If anything, more emphasis on flat turns at least. With the "no low turns" comment burned into students' brains, knowing how to do flat turns effectively, in my opinion, would be a huge help.

Find a way to obtain an AAD. Rentals are expensive. One thing, though. At 4 jumps, I HIGHLY doubt that your instructors will let you jump your own gear just yet. Didn't want you to be disappointed if they told you forget it.

A buddy of mine has a Turbo ZX 185 and he loves the thing. I've watch him fly it and it seems to fly really well, glides amazingly, but it does seem to come in pretty fast for landing. I've never seen him eat it, but every landing I've watched he has ran it out, especially on no wind days. He loads it.. MAYBE at just 1:1, and he only has like 40 jumps so he's still learning how to land. I packed it for him once and the line groups are weird! Sounds like 1.1 might be coming close to it's limits based on what everyone else is saying.

I'm taking a Skydive U Coach Course, Level 1. Ahhh!!!!!!

That thing is pretty tiny. What's in there for canopies?

I couldn't resist, Doug. You made it too easy! Come meet me at Danielson so I can fuck up some jumps with you.

I have a Talon 2 and a Wings. The Talon 2 was my first rig, was very well taken care of and is still in awesome condition. It's unpacked right now, and may be getting sold, but it treated me well and I hate to see it go. I'm currently jumping the Wings and I love it. So comfortable, great pin protection and it's a nice looking rig. I'd buy another Wings any day. And I got an incredible deal on it.

Doug's got a big tick on his dick, you can see it because his dick isn't that thick. Doug's got a big tick on his dick, he better get it off real quick, because if he doesn't, noone will want a lick..

Thanks for the tips, Chuck! Exactly what I was looking for.

Exactly. I have also been told by a few select individuals that at this point in my skydiving I should be able to do it. I was also curious about the transition. If after planing out on my rears if I should finish with my toggles. The way I land now with my toggles.. I stage at a certain point and plane out above the ground for a short distance (a sort of mini swoop, if you will) and then finish my flare accordingly. I have a feeling that with my rears it's going to be somewhat similar. I do rear riser stalls and flares all the time under canopy. I've become quite accustomed to using my rears on this canopy to get myself back from not-so-decent spots. I wouldn't want to land on my rears if I hadn't practicied this stuff up high. I was just looking for some tips on not getting hurt while doing it to land.

I've been wanting to land on my rears for a while now, both for practicing in case I lose a brake and practice for swooping later in my career. I am confident in my ability to do it, although I chickened out on it this weekend Just looking for some tips, really. Should I try it first on a low wind day or on a windy day? Should I start my flare the same time I would if I were flaring with toggles? Any other tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Oh just for the record I'll be doing it on a Triathlon 160 wearing my weights, so loading it right at 1.0.

Doug! You crazy fucker. Doug has a tick on his prick! Oh man, wait until the next time I see you buddy...

I've seen black Diamondback fade. I've also seen it start to unravel and fray. For the price of an Odyssey, I woudn't want this happening to my rig. I'd stick with Cordura.

I love hearing you guys speculate how this shit works! Good stuff. Honestly though, why do you want to know how it works? Believe me - most of the methods behind these illusions aren't nearly as glamorous or spectacular as you may think. Usually when people find out how magic is done they are pretty disappointed. It totally ruins the experience. Oh and Criss Angel.. he's pretty terrible. I will say that he used the cameras and his 'spectators' to his advantage in just about everything you see him do.

I wish I had some! No video on that one, other than the two seconds that Justin got of me whacking my hand on the door when I opened my wings prematurely!

Here's some pics, I hope they aren't too big to upload.. I'm the one in the orange Prodigy.

I'm suffering right now. Sweet weekend of jumping. First really warm weekend of the season. Made 11 jumps, did my first wingsuit jump (!!!), did some freeflying.. great times with great people. Mondays suck.

I made my first wingsuit jump this weekend at Jumptown. Fucking crazy! Purple Mike took me under his wing and trained me. We made a pretty sweet jump and besides blasting my hand on the door on exit and getting blood all over my lines.. it was a blast! Looking forward to the next one. Thanks for coming to Jumptown, guys. There should be some pictures uploaded soon.

Yesterday I got a free 6 pack of beer for doing some magic tricks at a liquor store. Red Hook "Copper Hook" is the beer. It's a Spring Ale beer, light brown in color with a nice taste. I don't know what it is about this beer, but it is getting me buzzed very quickly. Two beers down and I am already half in the bag. Although I'm a lightweight (135 pounds) I can usually kill a 6 pack before I'm cocked. I feel like if I drink two more of these I'm gonna be down for the count. Anyways, just felt compelled to share my thoughts on this beer. I approve. Anyone ever had it?