Levin

or you may be able to find the actual canopy. call Rodney at Skydive Houston. He bought it from Olav awhile back. He may still have it or he may have sold it to get that new bright orange velocity he is flying now.

Skydive Houston is about 2 1/2 hours away. Take 10E to Brookshire (just before Katy) and then FM362N. $15 jumps from Super Otter + 6th jump that day is free which equals $12.50 a jump if you make at least 6 jumps. Free freefly coaching and load organzing (ask for Meg, Brit or myself). Usually free dinner every Saturday night cooked outside on grill. 1 swoop pond and 1 220' swoop ditch. And you can sleep in the packing room. www.skydivehouston.com

anyone know why the flyboyz or arizona freeflight haven't competed for the past couple of years?

i vote no if yes, then who would i debate racers with? and we both know who wins those debates

Also Congratulations to the 2 other Texas teams that won AE medals at this years Nationals, Spaceland Anomaly for taking silver in open freefly and Houston Breakfast Club for taking the bronze in freestyle. Good job!!! All that hard work paid off.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! to team V.I.B.E. (Jon, Brandon & David) from Skydive Dallas for taking 1st place in intermediate freefly at this years Nationals. You guys rock!!!

hmm. I'm not sure I would call that a malfunction. Back in '98 and '99 before "freefly friendly" became the industry standard we had to make do with what we had. I started jumping at a Cessna DZ and one of the guys I first started freeflying with had a slim line Vector II. He put about 300 HD jumps on that rig with both risers all the way out around his arms. Again that's 300 jumps with both risers out and David Armstrong has video of almost every one of those jumps. He never had a major issue or malfuction. I have had a riser around my arm on my Racer 2000 several times. I've had a brake line come undone twice on my Spectre 120 loaded at 1.2. I wouldn't call that a malfunction. More like a 720 degree off heading opening. I saw this once. My friend Kyle, also someone I first started freeflying with, never replaced the velcro on his rig. David Armstrong has a video of him HD just learning to fly the body position. He's 6'+ and in that video his body poistion was split legs with knees out and his arms were holding pizzas. But on this jump in between his legs even with his knees were both his toggles and and unstowed brake lines. David pointed at the steering lines and Kyle went on his belly and pulled. One of the steering lines snagged on the back of his rig. With a steering line snagged on his rig he decided not to cut-away. Instead he flew the Stiletto 135 in with one hand on a rear riser and the other hand up in the line set above the link. He crashed the canopy right next to me and got up without a scratch. Very interesting malfunction and handled ver well. But the situation could have been avoided had he replaced his velcro. I've seen 2 baglocks on 2 tandems in 2 weeks, but that has nothing to do with what we're talking about. I guess the "don't" part. And the new Racer 2k3 also falls into the category off the lesser of 2 evils. No straws to grasp. The BASE jump has everything to do with a point that I made. Use the rig for what it is intended and it works great. Use it for something it wasn't intended and when it doesn't work people blame the manufacturer instead of themselves. Only if you are reading it with foggy glasses. The Racer 2000 that I speak of is not an old Racer. In fact they still make them. What it reads is don't use a rig for something that it was not designed for. And if you do and something bad happens don't blame the manufacturer. Blame yourself. This whole debate basically boils down to one thing. If you are going to use a rig with velcro; keep the velcro in good shape. Replace it as needed. Don't neglect maintanence on your rig. And if you do and something bad happens that your fault not the manufacturers. After the time I have invested in this discussion I would hardly say I win. The winners are the readers who can now make a better informed decision on the gear they purchase and jump after reading this thread.

Yah, for the most part it is invisible text. But you didn't miss it. It's been visible for awhile. What I'm reffering to everyone's extreme readiness to bash a manufacturer's product for any reason because 1. they don't like it, or 2. they don't jump it. After awhile people believe it and whenever they see it, they agree with it. And in all fairness to the manufacturer; it's not fair. The riser covers on the new Racer that Brit refers to in her post more resemble the Vector II's riser covers; which prevent the entire riser from becoming exposed and "freely flying in the wind". Now I know this is not what you are talking about, but you did come to her defense. Why would she make an eggagerated statement such as she did and why would she make such a generalized statement that all new Racers suck because of this one minor incident? Just because Mike Vail's old Javelin has a riser around his arm in Chronicles 3 doesn't mean that all Javelins suck. And exactly why do they have that bad rep? Did they have this bad rep back when they were being manufactured? The old Racers and the Racer Elite 2000 were designed for belly flying. Are the problems supposedly inherent to these rigs common when being used for belly flying? Or do the supposedly inherent problems emerge when being used outside the parameters of their intended use (freeflying)? If these problems are associated primarily with freeflying, then whose fault is that? The manufacturers or the users? I have a Racer Elite 2000 with a Spectre 120 that I use for tube dives and bird-suit jumps. The rig was designed for belly flying and is perfectly fine for wingsuit jumps; however it is obviously not "freefly friendly". I would rather use a "freefly friendly" rig so that all potential problems would be eleminated. But a Racer 2000 is what I have. Rather than waiting till one day when I can get something different, I choose to use the rig. I choose to use the rig because I know the rig, I know at what speed it will blow a riser around my arm and I know how to deal with risers around the arms thru experience. But let's pretend for a moment that I jump this rig and the worst case scenario happens. A riser comes out, a toggle gets loose and wraps repeatadly around my arm, the malfunction isn't clearable and I go in. Now whose fault would that be? Mine for using my equipment in an unsafe manner? Or the manufacturers for making a Racer? How many people do you think will come to the conclusion that all Racers suck because of the incident and decide they need to share their opinion with the world before the same thing happens to someone else? The fact that you can forget to cock your pilotchute is also a potential problem. Any rigger that packs Racers should know how to set the pull force within legal limits. Even on Power Racers. I'm not sure which one, but I know there is an FAR that prohibits jumpers from tampering with the reserve system on their rigs. If a jumper cranks his pop-top down hard enough to cause an impossible pull and they die then whose fault is that? The manufacturer's because the user isn't responsible enough to keep his gear safe? Or the user's for using such poor judgement? If a jumper goes in because their rigger cranked the pop-top down to tight, I would point fault at the jumper for taking the inherent risk involved with skydiving. I wouldn't outright blame the rigger because that points liability and is not good for the sport. But in the back of my mind; hell yah I would blame the rigger. You're right. The BASE jump has nothing to do with freeflying, but it has everything to do with making my point. The BASE jump is okay for this rig (with all these inherent problems) and receives no complaints because it does it's job just like it is designed to do. But when used for freeflying all kinds of bad shit happens and everybody damns the manufacturer and it's entire line of products despite the fact that the rig failed in a situation it was not designed for. Yah, I saw in another forum that you were needing a wingsuit for the AOT boogie. You are welcome to use my Classic. It'll fit anyone from 5'8" - 5'10" and 130 - 150 lbs. It'll fit you perfect. Cya in a few weeks!

i have a classic 1. i've only put about 30 jumps on it since i bought it new in 99. i've only wore a Pro-Track a few times. The last time it said 54mph.

I maybe wrong but I believe the rig in question that Brit refers to holds a Cobalt 135. Small by some standards, not mine. The rig Brit refers to is definetly not a big rig. i think it does. i think it's very possible for a packer to get in such a hurry that they don't pull the riser down tight to the bottom of the main pack tray. instead they close the riser cover of a ton of riser slack. maybe the tuck tab doesn't close all the way. maybe the air blew it open in freefall since all the slack made the tuck tab want to come open anyway. speculation. but i think it's what most likely happened. i agree. it's bad. i didn't say it wasn't but i don't think it's as bad as most people do or as bad as other possible scenarios that could cause a malfunction or injury. I don't think it is so bad that I would damn a manufacturer to hell for it. In my experince the worst offenders have been Vector II's. Thanks for the offer but i know all about that. My red/yellow racer came from the manufacturer with a 52 lb. pull. Now, no one has ever accused me of being muscular but I can tell you for fact from experience that a 52 lb. pull is nothing. I've never pulled a reserve handle on an old racer, but i have pulled mine twice in actual use and several times on the ground with a spring whenever it gets re-packed. The b/w racer i had before pulled 54 lbs with a spring. The late Tommy Thompson, my former rigger, fixed the problem on my red/yellow racer. I never had to use one of his pack jobs in an emergency, but on the ground after his first pack, it pulled 22 lbs. The pack job itself looked just as good as the manufacturers and the pop top was not loose. I think the hard pull might be common with all Racers, Power Racers for sure. But I suspect it is mostly the rigger's fault and not the container's. I have an old Racer. I'm not exactly sure how old it is but the reserve in it is an old 5-cell 175 if that gives any indication. The rig is huge and much wider than I am. If Brit wants to donate the re-pack then I'll start jumping it every weekend as an extra rig just to prove that not all Racers and not all old Racers suck. It's a good rig and I have every confidence in it. Brit was confident enough in it to make her first BASE jump on it at Bridge Day.

bring a sweat shirt or long sleeve shirt, shorts and a belt. the belt is for keeping your shirt from blowing up over your handles. if not then we'll try and find a suit for ya. cya this weekend!

CONGRATULATIONS to all on the record. That is one kick ass formation. Maybe next year yall will turn it a couple of points.

Are all racers sst's? if they aren't the same rig as yours but have the same name does that still mean they all suck?? just trying to understand your logic.

this incident in question is hardly worth mentioning and i can't understand why you bothered bringing up. the incident happened to a staff member that is on almost every single load. he uses packers to pack his rig. the packer is always on a 15 minute call with his rig and often has to take it to the loading area. the packers also have a gazillion other rigs to pack including tandems, teams and fun jumpers. needless to say the packer has to pack his rig in a super fast hurry. in freefall the right tuck tab came undone a small part of the riser came out. not enough to cause a problem, no where near enough riser out to get around his arm. in fact the design of the side flaps prevented the riser from coming out anymore than just off the top of the shoulder. yah it startled the guy cuz it had never happened before, but it certainly was not a life threatening incident. being a rigger and a professional you should have a better clue than jumping on a bandwagon such as this. i don't know where you got your facts but i heard the story straight from that person's mouth. Brit, you know me and my gear. How bad do my rigs suck??? i'd really like to know since i jump them every weekend (w/out incident).

there's another option. they don't offer any kind of free coaching or cheap jumps but they do offer a damn good time. i always have fun when i go to aggieland. i really should make it out there more often. cya at AOT!!

i'm not sure of your discipline of choice but when you are there find either Meg, Brit or myself and we will coach in sitflying for free. if no one else is there wanting coaching then we will coach you all day for free. note, that is a big incentive for coming out on friday and monday. not as many fun jumpers come out and quit possibly you could get a coach all to yourself for the day for free. cya this weekend

Skydive Houston flies Friday thru Monday and is closed Tuesday thru Thursday. If your still in town then come out to Skydive Houston this weekend. $15 jumps all year + 6th jump free = 6 jumps for $75 = $12.50 each. Free Freefly Coaching and Freefly Load Organizing for all skill levels. Free dinner cooked on outside grill. 2 swoop ponds and a swimming pool. The air conditioned packing room and showers are available for anyone who plans to stay overnight.

i understand the advantages of a ffc and a bmi. i meant the question to voodew1 in a different context. what i was getting at was that bird-man isn't able to do all the promo stuff that other gear manufacturers can do. there is no point in bashing them publicly. a fleet of demo suits and instructors isn't neccessary, it's a novelty. perhaps i should have said "My question is why are BMI's neccessary to introduce someone to wing suits?" if someone feels wronged that a manufacturer couldn't provide a certain service then perhaps the better course of action would be a boycott rather than publicly bashing them. By boycott i mean recommending Matter suit or something else to those he turns on to wingsuits at the boogie.

if so, why do the BMI's need extra incentive to work towards a free suit? shouldn't they already have their free suit? if not, what were they sponsored? a title? sponsorships are usually limited. they awarded based on your much better than average performance in a sport. you can lose a sponsorship if somebody else surfaces that is better than you and/or can promote a product better. sponsorships aren't for sale for $300. A BMI is not a sponsorship, it is a rating. Once a BMI, always a BMI. And like any other dealer they get incentives for selling alot of products. True, but everybody needs 2 canopies. Not everyone needs a wingsuit. The major manufacturers make more off their military contracts than they do sport canopies. Wingsuit companies will never have the market or the resuorces that canopy manufacturers have. Wingsuit companies financially cannot do all the things a canopy manufacturer can do such as promotional events. Mostly loan it out but I may use it once or twice. Depends on what's going on. Mostly plan on freeflying and flying my fx. I use a spectre 120 with the bird-suit. For me the spectre is greatly reliable but just too boring.

who is right? Egon didn't say Racers suck. Egon said... or were you reffering to chileanxaos, whom also did not say Racers suck. Chileanxaos said... What kind of personal experience are you basing yor opinion on? Or are you just jumping on a bandwagon? For freefly the Racer is my favorite rig. For swooping the Racer is my favorite rig. For serious CRW I would stick a sock around the pop-top or get a different rig. The new Racers are velcro free and have an excellent tuck tab system. FWIW, I perfer the velcro on the sides. The new Racer 2k3 is in my opinion one of the ugliest rigs I've seen. IMO, it's a good example of what happens when you mess with perfection. If I ever had to switch to a different brand of container I would go with a Vector Micron or a Wings.

maybe it's for their love of both skydiving and money. what about freefly coaches? what's their primary motivation? money or their love for their sport? why not? i would think that a wingsuit instructor that represents the sport of wing suit flying instead of just one particular company would be better. the instructor's opinions would become unbiased and potential wingsuit customers could get a better idea of which suit is best from them from an unbiased instructor. And the incentives for being an instructor would be better because the incentives would come from more than one manufacturer. but in reality i don't think this could ever happen. instructor ratings would turn into sponsorships and would once again lead to biased opinions. what market? the world wide market for wingsuits doesn't even compare to the skydiving market in the US. Skydiving is already a pretty small market. My question is why are BMI's needed to introduce someone to wing suits? I have a classic 1 that will be available for anyone that wants to try it providing that someone can stand their landings up (solid white suit). The suit is sized for 5'8" and 130 - 140lbs.

Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, TX. '91-'92 / '92 - '93. Graduated in 1993 Alpha Company 2nd Platoon 3rd Squad cadet lance corporal Expert Rifle badge 4 ribbons but can't remember what I got a one of them for. Rifle team fall '91, all of 1992 many AWOL trips to S. Padre 30 minutes away Never went to Mexico. www.mma-tx.org/

Yah well, BASE jumpers condone, support and encourage trespassing. One of the forums on this site is an incitement to commit a criminal offense. Depending on how you look at it. bored now. that wasn't advice I offered. It was hindsight bummer dude. FWIW, I got a good chuckle out of this.

depends on whether you hired an ambulance chasing attorney to represent you. That sounds about right. If you do not have an attorney then an insurance company is going to try and lowball you with a settlement of only 1.5 x's the amount of the claim and they will try and strong arm you to get you to accept it. They probably didn't seem very negotiable did they? Had you had an attorney they would have likely offered 3x's or about $2400. The attorney would have taken 1/3 of it for his fee. That would have left you with $1600. Not much more than what you got without one. The best you could have probably done was bluff. Decline the settlement. Be nice about it. Simply say, I'm sorry, but I really would like to consult an attorney and see what they think before I agree to anything.

According to Mayberry, honesty and respect left before the cops could show. I tried to reply to this earlier. I guess I have a slightly different perspective on this than most skydivers. My brother and I have each had 6 wrecks. I was at fault in all of mine except one. My brother was only at fault in one of his. We have a bit of experience with the system both with and without attorneys. The reply I wrote was very long and polite. This was kinda a bad day and had alot going on. So I worked on it off and on thru out the day. Just before I was fixing to post it my computer locked up and I got pissed and smashed it. Again it was bad day. Too bad though. I doubt what I had wrote would have changed your black and white cut and dry opinion but I'm quit sure it would have made you think a bit. I was trying to challenge you to consider that it is not people or I guess "people like me" that cause your premiums to go up. Definetly not because of me. Everytime I have wreck it's my fault. Rather instead it's a screwed up crooked system that is neccessary to us. The sytem caters to the ambulance chasing lawyers. Those lawyers have a system with the insurance companies. They work together very efficiently to ensure that the ambulance chasing attorneys make maximum dollars and the insurance companies loose minimum dollars. Cases are resolved outside of court as rapidly as possible and usually settled for an amount that is in the insurance companies best interest; 2.5 - 3.5 x's the amount of the claim. The Attorneys make up for the smaller out of court settlements by resolving cases as fast as possible and taking 1/3 from the defendent. In court both the defendant and their attorney can win or loose, but outside of court only the attorney wins. The defendant always get screwed. So instead of blaming people for your premiums going on up, blame the attorneys and their ambulance chasing commercials. Even though the system benfits the attorneys it was built for the people, so they can't be blamed. As for exaggerating to the insurance companies; they lie to you too. Think about it. A claim is an undetermined debt that is owed to you by an insurance company. Do you really trust them to determine in your best interest the amount of that debt for you? No way, it's their money. Without an attorney you will never get what you are entitled. And with an attorney you will likely never get what you are entitled. Insurance companies typically low ball and strong arm those without an attorney for a settlement of around 1.5 x's the amount of the claim. And you will likely go thru a bit of hell trying to get a bit more than that. However with an attorney an adjuster will settle quick and up front for around 3x's the amount of the claim. The attorney keeps the case out of court, quickly settles and then moves to the next claim. How does that benefit the defendant. Doesn't really. It cost the insurance company twice as much, but the attorney gets a 1/3. You get just .5 x's more than what the insurance company initially offered. The defendant always gets screwed. So what's so bad about the defendant playing the system a little. Their getting screwed already by both the lawyer and the ins. company. I guarantee you there is no amount of "exaggerating on a defendant's part that can outweigh the impact ambulance chasing attorneys have on your premiums. The ins. companies freely give all that extra money to attorneys to stay out of court. Then they raise your premiums to compensate for it. And inregard to high premiums in America, what about the cars?? H2's, $40,000 trucks, V8's and Corvettes. I may be mistakin but I don't believe many other countries have V8's and super expensive cars. Add to that America has the worst drivers (including me). Isn't that a world wide known fact? Americans don't take driving seriously. Or atleast not like they do in Europe. Americans have alot of wrecks. Cars are alot more expensive than a 2 cent claim for a stumped toe. So instead of accusing me for your premiums being high, instead accuse a corrupt system built for the people without it having their best interest at heart. Instead accuse the ambulance chasing lawyers for marketing lawsuits on TV. Blame the insurance companies. Better yet, juct accept the fact that your premiums are high because this is America. In regard to my first post I didn't completey read the initial poster's post. I read the conversation part and then quickly skimmed over the rest. I missed the it was just a bump wreck. I saw rear-ended and assumed it was a real crash. Present company considered, I admit my first post was a little morally wrong. Sorry if I offended anyone.