Levin

yep, your right dude (still shaking my head). i vote we scrap the whole exit order thing altogether. would likely save alot of confusion. instead we'll just pile up in the plane (whatever order) and give adequate seperation between groups, say 20 to 30 seconds. this way drift (which is adressed by proper exit order) will be irrelevant. of course it may take 3 or 4 passes but everybody got good seperation. so again you are right. exit order does not ensure group seperation, just dz efficiency. levin vSCS#3

for anyone that may find themselves in a load organzing position for a particular jump, this is an excellent piece of advice. levin vSCS#3

hey ann, i think i get the jest of what you are saying. not enough stuff planned for the average freeflyer. i'll see what i can do about that. however there is the gravity rats festival which is not just for the adavanced flyer. and there is also the training camp with Max Cohn. the training camp is for the average jumper who wants to get much much better in one weekend. levin vSCS#3

hey ted, no it's not a typo. what you get is 3 days and 22 jumps in a training camp with Max Cohn. these 22 jumps will include one on one coaching and group coaching (air and ground) in which ever body position a particpant wants to learn. there will be 3 to 5 coaches including Max for a possible ratio of one coach to two participants. I'm am pretty ceratin i will have 5 coaches. these coaches including Max Cohn will only be available to the participants in the training camp. so basically you get 22 coach jumps in 3 days in a structured learning environment with an excellent ratio of coaches to jumpers. so far anyone who wants to make maximum progression in their flying skills in one weekend, this is not only affordable, but it's a damn good deal. levin, vSCR#17

sounds like an nvertigo. does it have a dial on the back? levin vSCR#17

do you have a picture or a link to one? levin vSCR#17

Skydive Houston Event Calendar... April 25 thru 27 – Gravity Rats Freefly Festival. The Gravity Rats Freefly Team is hosting the 2nd Annual Gravity Rats Freefly Revolution at Skydive Houston on April 25, 26 and 27, 2003. As before, the purpose of the event is to promote team freeflying in Texas. There will be team freeflying, solo expression, and swooping competitions. As of Feb 15th there is a cash purse for the team freefly event of $405. First place pays $195, Second $135 and Third $75. Camera flyers will be available as needed. The cost is $25 per person to enter first event and $10 for each event there after. For prizes and details e-mail Bryan Moffett at gravityrats@hotmail.com June 7th – Bigway skills camp Larger formation load organizing available for all experience levels. Primary emphasis is on preparation for upcoming Texas Headdown Record Attempts. June 14th - Night Jumps For those freeflyers that need to make night jumps for their D license, Levin and Nick will be available for 2 & 3-way night jump load organizing so that those requirements can safely be met. June 20 thru 22 – Texas Headdown Record Attempts. Bigway skills camp for advanced freeflyers. Emphasis will be on completing a 12-way headdown formation. All record attempt loads will be to 15,000 feet. For more information or to request an invitation, or if you were on one of the previous two attempts contact Levin at aerodeofreefly@hotmail.com. June 20 thru 22 – Women’s World Record Training Camp The Sugar Gliderz, Missy Nelson & Amy Chmelecki, will be hosting a Women’s World Record Training Camp at Skydive Houston. The training camp is in preparation for an upcoming attempt at a women’s world record headdown formation. The formation will be recognized by both the IPC & USPA. For more information contact Missy or Amy at sugargliderzfreefly@hotmail.com. July 10 thru 12 – Freefly Skills Camp w/ Max Cohn Skydive Houston will be hosting a freefly skills camp with Max Cohn. The training camp is for both headdown and sit flying and will emphasize on both individual and group skills. There will be 3 to 5 coaches available including Max for a possible ratio of one coach to two participants. The training camp will start Friday at 9 a.m. and will consist of 22 jumps. Cost is $650 per participant. A 50% deposit is required by June 1st. Only requirement is the ability to hold a stable headdown or sit depending on the position you wish to work on. Slots are limited to 10 and are on a first come first serve basis. For more information or to reserve a slot contact Levin at aerodeofreefly@hotmail.com. September 1st – Labor Day Contest Fastest Man Contest. 1st place Pro-Track, 2nd place Pro-Dytter Tracking Contest – ½ off Firefly freefly pants Flour Bomb Drop – 1st place 5 free jumps Entry fee for each contest is your jump ticket. For more information contact Levin at aerodeofreefly@hotmail.com Levin vSCS#3

anybody know the results of the first spaceland freefly league yet? levin vSCR#17

i would reply but instead i'm gonna just shake my head at this one. your profile says you have 1700+ jumps. at that experience level, surely you have more sense than to believe that statement you made. levin vSCS#3

as long as proper exit order is followed no one's open canopy should pose a threat to anyone exiting with another group. i have to disagree with you on no canopies being open above 3k. where i jump most all freeflyers are open above 3k. the majority of my jumps today i was open closer to 4k. reasons being, freeflyers exit after the bellyflyers. therefore (depending on direction of jumprun) they may have more distance to cover to get back. the more experienced freeflyers typically exit after the less experienced and a growing percentage of freeflyers (especially experienced ones) tend to be jumping smaller more heavily loaded canopies. thus requiring even more altitude to get back. i have my dytter set for 6500, 5000 & 2000. i keep it set at 6500 for when i'm jumping with a ball but for the majority of my jumps it serves as a pre-warning to get ready for breakoff. this tells me i have just a few seconds left for anything else i want to accomplish in my dive and as an quick opportunity to take a head count and see where everybody is at. if someone is missing a brief "back track is required". and by "back track" i do not mean back track. i mean simply turn 180 degrees and drive away from the formation. since this way you will see where you are going, the possibility of tracking into somebody behind you is eliminated (i had to learn this one the hard way). while you are driving away from the formation look down up towards the sky for that missing person. after say 3 seconds roll over and continue tracking out and away from the group while watching where everybody else is going and again keeping an eye out for that missing person. levin vSCR#17

Meet #2 April 10 - 13 Meet #3 May 22 - 25 Meet #4 July 24 - 27 The Gravity Rats Festival is April 25 - 27 Levin vSCS#3

yall should have come back sunday. the weather was great. we got 7 jumps in. could have made 9 if we'd skipped lunch and later made a now call. levin vSCS#3

imo, there's a big difference between a home made dumb bomb and a box of llegos. i think firearms would have been a better comparison. they are dangerous. little kids 12 and older can shoot them however it is much safer if they do so "under the supervison" of an adult. maybe we should be treating spaceballs with the same respect we would give a loaded gun instead of something made by mattel. i still do not agree with you on testing the ball for unqualified people for marketing purposes. since unqualified people should not be jumping the ball then there is no reason to test to see how well it will do with unqualified people so that it can be marketed to them. levin vSCR#17

check your email levin vSCS#3

sounds alot like somebody else i know. levin vSCS#3

***Kim and I will be at Skydive Houston Saturday morning if the weather is good. *** cool. been awhile since we jumped together. hopefully the weather will work out and we can do some cool dives. cya this weekend levin vSCR#17

i'm not sure if i'm following your logic here. are you saying that since the vladiball is going to be jumped by people who may not be ready, then people who are not ready should test jump it to see how people who aren't ready are going to do with it?? i think anybody jumping with one, who does not posess the skills to stay with and retrieve it everytime, is a safety concern. you either do or do not have the skills to ballmaster. if you don't then you don't have any business doin it. simple as that. just because the ball is designed to bust open at a certain altitude does not make it a guaranteed fix to the problem. there is always a chance it might not work. couple of weekends ago one of these "real jumpers" came out and took the ball on a test jump. and just like a regular "real jumper" he did not get any advice on spotting or anything. he asked me to ballmaster for him. (i have 30+ ball jumps). with all the bad weather down here we haven't been able to jump much. i told him i didn't feel current enough to take a chance jumping with one (i don't take any chances with skyballs). i recommended he get bryan to go, but he was busy videoing. since it couldn't wait until the next day. up in the plane he went. i knew before i asked him that the ball was lost in some field. i think to have the attitude that the vladiball is safe is reckless. and i'm afraid that is the attitude of the average so called "real jumper". before if you didn't have the skills to jump with a ball then you developed them first. now all you have to do is get a vladiball. just keep this in mind. if the vladiball malfunctions and kills somebody, the pilot will lose his license, the dzo will get sued. you will go to prison for involuntary manslaughter and the faa will ban the use of skyballs forever. i know everyone wants to jump with a skyball but if you don't have the skills yet then there are better things you can do, such as 2-ways with coach, to develop those skills. then once you have the skills to safely jump one go do it. since you will be able to retrive it you will no longer be hazard to people on the ground. and it's much more fun to jump with one when you have the skills to do cool stuff next to it. levin vSCS#3

there are 3 different competitons or leagues this year. 1. gravity rats freefly festival 2. spaceland freefly league (3 of 4 meets) 3. texas freefly league (3 meets) the gravity rats festival was alot of fun last year. went on my first -organized- bigway after the competiton. i'm sure this years will be even better with even bigger bigways. the spaceland freefly league is really good for the upcoming freeflyer. winners are determined not by who's best but by who shows the most overall improvement. the texas freefly league seems to be a bit of a mystery. not much information has been made available. dates and locations have been set. therefor it is to late for your teams registration to count towards the # of meets held at your dz. the 3 meets each consist of 6 speed rounds judged on a point system. from what i've gathered it will be geared more for the experienced freeflyers. but maybe not since, like rw, a handicap point system will be used. just wonderin who or what teams will be competiting in these. if anybody has anymore information about the texas freefly league would you please share it. a list of maneuvers would be nice so that people can start practicing. edit--> anybody planning on competing at nationals in intermediate? levin vSCR#17

imo, the "real jumper" still has no business jumping them unless they have the skills to stay with and retrieve it. the same skills omar possesses. levin vSCS#3

i also agree that slower is better. imo, 155 - 165 is best alround speed for freeflying. for instance, if you do a transition or a manuever on one of your axis and say you accidentally present to much surface area. at 160 you may float a little. at 180 or 190 your outta there. spend the next few thousand feet diving back to the group. and slower speeds are also safer. levin vSCR#17

160 is most comfortable for me freeflying i can do 77 in a track and 54 with wingsuit levin vSCS#3

trent from the dz.com forums and his teammates stevie and jed all from spaceland were invited. trent had a list of names of the particpants. he said it looked like all the talent was going to be there. good luck guys! levin vSCR#17

nah dave, i say we discuss it all over again . dude, get a pair of firefly pants. they have excellent customer service and alot of experience building jumpsuits. plus they'll make what ever design you want. www.fireflysuits.com levin vSCS#3

i have only seen a few of their suits. but all of them were way to baggy especially in the upper body, hips and even the waiste. in my opinion and this is only my opinion. i think they are going soley off of sizing charts and templates instead of any actual experience building jumpsuits. for somebody who is okay flying a jumpsuit off the shelf then these suits will probably be fine but anybody that needs custom tailoring may want to check out other brands. levin vSCR#17

skymama was nice enough to unlock it for me so that i could make a much deserved apology to ann. thanks skymama!, you can lock it back now. ready to put this one behind me. levin vSCS#3