Levin

seems like we haven't done that in awhile. i'll bring the beer. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

Hard to say. Last year there were about 20 contestants. This year I've re-scheduled twice due to bad weather and TSL weekend. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

The Fastest Man Contest has been re-scheduled for this Saturday, October the 4th. 1st place wins a plaque, free Pro-Track, 100% off Firefly freefly pants and a full day of free jumps at Skydive Houston. 2nd place wins a plaque, free Pro-Dytter, 50% off Firefly freefly pants and 5 free jumps. Third place wins a plaque and 3 free jumps. Contest runs all day. Your entry fee is your jump ticket. Only requirments are a secure container and audible altimeter. For more information contact Levin at aerodeofreefly@hotmail.com. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

The Fastest Man Contest has been re-scheduled for this Saturday, October the 4th. 1st place wins a plaque, free Pro-Track, 100% off Firefly freefly pants and a full day of free jumps at Skydive Houston. 2nd place wins a plaque, free Pro-Dytter, 50% off Firefly freefly pants and 5 free jumps. Third place wins a plaque and 3 free jumps. Contest runs all day. Your entry fee is your jump ticket. Only requirments are a secure container and audible altimeter. For more information contact Levin at aerodeofreefly@hotmail.com. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

From my own personal experience L&B has the best customer service out of anybody in the skydiving industry. Firefly runs a close second. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

i voted country or i ain't comin under other. *other* what a jip Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

Yall should trade them a demo jump in exchange for some real music. slightly off topic, I've always thought that Alabama would be the perfect band for a skydiving boogie. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

that's a good one. infact it's ann's new desktop background. thanks for posting Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

sorry i missed your question. actually part of it i've already ansered in the other thread. this one i know i've answered already. it will be up to the freefly community in general to police the coaches/ballmasters. i'm still kinda pondering this one. but the answer will be the simplest yet effective method i (or anybody else once it's posted) can think of. For example to ballmaster you will have to hold one of the higher end licenses and have somekind of endorsement from a dz. only problem with that is if a dz endorses it then it could possible make them liable. but i'm sure there will be an easy sollution. no, that's too bureaucratic Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

sorry dude. i missed the humor in your comment. maybe because of the tone of the thread set by the crashed casa pic. on the other hand i wasn't trying to be an ass, just making a point. maybe we both should use emoticons

Let's not forget that the CASA boogie you jumped last week for so much $$ was hosted by one of these poor cessna dropzones so that it's jumpers could enjoy a big cool plane. Since they don't have as large a jumper base they cannot absorb the cost of the plane as easily as a larger DZ that flies turbines every weekend. The great thing about that particular cessna dropzone is that they measure the success of their boogie by how good of a time evey one has instead of primarily on how much $$ it brings in. That being said, everyone that jumped their was a winner last weekend. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

Rick Duran from Skydive Dallas will be oraganizing RW dives. Also FMI, the East Texas Skydiving Club can be reached at (903)845-JUMP or (903)SKY-DIVE. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

Rick Duran from Skydive Dallas will be oraganizing RW dives. Also FMI, the East Texas Skydiving Club can be reached at (903)845-JUMP or (903)SKY-DIVE. Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

it's not dieing out. i'm just taking my time at the moment to be sure that it is done right. shouldn't be much longer. Levin vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

Mike Mullins Super King Air Boogie! October 10th - 12th RW Organizing Freefly Organizing and Free Freefly Coaching by AeRodeo Freefly Free CRW Coaching by Catfish. East Texas Skydiving Club located at the municipal airport in Gladewater, TX This was Steve Boyd's first DZ before he opened Spaceland. Which means Very Nice Facilities!!! Gladewater, TX is located about 10 miles North of I20 and about 10 miles West of Longview, TX. FMI, visit www.extremeskydive.com or email the East Texas Skydiving Club at extremeskydive@cox-internet.com This is going to be a fun event and a great chance for teams to make alot of training jumps before Nationals. Hope to Cyall there!!! Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com edit: add attachment

Mike Mullins Super King Air Boogie! October 10th - 12th RW Organizing Freefly Organizing and Free Freefly Coaching by AeRodeo Freefly Free CRW Coaching by Catfish. East Texas Skydiving Club located at the municipal airport in Gladewater, TX This was Steve Boyd's first DZ before he opened Spaceland. Which means Very Nice Facilities!!! Gladewater, TX is located about 10 miles North of I20 and about 10 miles West of Longview, TX. FMI, visit www.extremeskydive.com or email the East Texas Skydiving Club at extremeskydive@cox-internet.com This is going to be a fun event and a great chance for teams to make alot of training jumps before Nationals. Hope to Cyall there!!! Levin AeRodeo Freefly vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com edit: add attachment

dates have been changed Sept 27 & 28 are the correct dates TSL weekend at Waller. Maybe next time. Levin vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

slightly confused. the date on your post is for today. yet the event you are advertising happened yesterday and the day before. ??? Levin vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

that's why I always suggest less experienced exit before more experienced freeflyers (regardless of group size following them). Lighter less experienced jumpers before the heavier ones. And if there is a possibility of them shooting across the sky I recommend the next group wait a couple of extra seconds. Levin vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

There have been some good suggestions for names. I like universal freefly the best, but it seems the majority seem to perfer something along the lines of VRW. IMO, VRW by definition narrows the scope of the licenses. But we will go with whatever the majority perfers. I don't think there would be anything wrong with using freefly in the title. I think if a certain someone were to try and sue me over that it would be there own undoing. I was able to read all the post before they disappeared. Please don't get mad at the moderators. I asked them to make sure this stays on track when I first posted it. As far as license requirements, still working on that. At the moment it looks like two categories. One category has 3 licenses. It deals with safety, bigway skills and uses a spaceball. The other category will include 4 maybe 5 licenses, does not use a spaceball and is focused towards two-way freeflying. I have to be careful that the requirements are the best ones possible, being realistic and attainable and make sure they follow along a general learning curve. As soon as I'm done I will get some second opinions and then post them here. Hopefully sometime next week. Levin vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

I've kinda got Rebel Freeflyer grilled in my head so I don't know how helpful I will be in trying to think of something better. I'm totally up for suggestions. Maybe not even something final. Just some ideas we can think about and vote on in a couple of weeks. That would leave plenty of time to make sure we had the best name. Levin vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

At a first glance, I imagine it appears I am “over thinking” this. Those that have read both the threads and understand the scope of what I’m proposing know that I am giving this exactly the amount of thought it needs to make it a success. Just as it appears you have given your plan exactly the amount of thought it needs. 1. The AD system is Olav’s. To use the exact wording of his test as part of an overhaul by someone other than himself resulting in a new system would be totally inappropriate. 2. That is exactly what I did. I took that system word for word, analyzed it, recognized the flaws and proposed a new system that addressed those flaws with the best possible changes. Again the AD system is Olav’s. For me to take over his record keeping would be out of line and inappropriate. First off, this suggestion does not address who can give the test; which is relevant to safety. Mailing in video of every test would require a lot of postage and a lot of tapes to dispose of. Not everyone keeps their tapes clean, especially vcr tapes. Requiring video of every test will wear my video equipment out prematurely. The best most respected flyers I know do not have time to commit to sitting around judging videos all day. Neither do I. Not sure if you meant post the videos or just the names. The videos would require a lot of server space and a huge hosting bill. This comment sounds as if you feel what you have proposed would be an inconvenience or a chore. I agree that geographical unavailability is one of the biggest flaws in the system. And often the few people that can give the test are together in one area. But that is not the only flaw in the system. For starters the AD system serves the interest of one person and a minority of freeflyers instead of serving the best interest of the entire freeflying community. The objective of the AD system is to determine who’s ready for advanced skydives and as a ticket to enter the spacegames. Test availability is restricted in an effort to keep 100% of the procedes going to one entity. It does not offer goals for those that are most goal oriented; the majority of freeflyers struggling on the intial learning curve. The requirements are insufficient for the level of skill the ADA suggest one possesses. Overall the system has become obsolete. you may not be aware but the “c” requires two ballmasters so that would be two representatives. Since you are assigned a ball, the skills required are no more than those required to “film” (ballmaster) an “a”. Personally I see no need for a skills test that uses 2 balls. Even though it’s of lesser importance, the system needs to have a good name to catch on. Although “under thought” this is the kind of feedback I am looking for. But you kind of left me hanging. You would suggest changing the name to….what? The only way to go about change is a with a completely new system for a couple of reasons. One, the AD system belongs to Olav and any attempt to manipulate or in-part take control of his system without his consent is wrong. Two, the short comings of the AD system are too many to warrant anything less than a new system. So, no offense, but your plan sounds like a wet band-aid. Levin vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

The dive flows for each level of the license might be posted as early as wednesday or as late as next tuesday. That post will also propose requirements for coaches/ballmasters as well as any other details that pertain to the tests. The actual test are what's going to make or break the idea. So before we can get the ball rolling this part has to be well thought out. Ramon coined the term Rebel Freeflyers. He had an idea similar to this last year. Even though I was in favor of it, at the time I felt most confortable on the sidelines and declined to take an active role. The idea was quickly forgotten once the summer season got into full swing. Levin vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com

careful, most of the old vector 2's are not freefly friendly. if a knowledgeable freefly coach isn't available, ask a rigger. Levin vSCS#3 www.freeflyers.com

I have to agree. But when does it become over regulation? In my view, if a system is put in place and it succeeds thru voluntary participation then it is self regulation. When a governing body, typically with less knowledge about subject/situation, puts a system in place and makes it law then this is over regulation. none, particpation is strictly voluntary. the only persons that would be in a position to break rules would be the coaches/ballmasters in which case the would loose their privilage to administer test. mentorship based programs vary from dz to dz. a license program such as this would be constant across all dz's. This program would be more versatile and would likely gain wider acceptance. i think i covered this question in the first 1/2 of the initial post for this thread. After reading again, let me know if the reasons do not sound sufficient, if i've left something out or if i need to try and elaborate more. the one weekend a month skydiver would benefit from what i wrote in the first 1/2 of the initial post to this thread. for example at a major dropzone this skydiver would likely recognize less faces and be recognized less. their skills will be in question and they will question the skills of others since they are not around often enough to know the skills of everybody. A license serving as a quick reference of skill would benefit everyone in this situation. especially if this skydiver is visiting another dropzone. we also have to keep in mind that this skydiver, unless they can already freefly, likely does not stay current enough to make much progression. Thus the goals that this system sets will only benefit this skydiver to the degree that they place value in them.In final answer, overall this skydiver would be unaffected by such a system. The 7 day a week skydiver makes 800 to 1200 jumps a year. The benefits to this skydiver would likely be in the form of administering test and/or load organizing. For the most part this skydiver would be unaffected by such a system. Levin vSCR#17 www.freeflyers.com