Trent

I always notice that a persons vehement opposition to wing loading BSRs and DZ rules is inversely related to their jump numbers and/or apparent experience. Coincidence? That wingloading chart is not that unreasonable at all. To the people who REALLY don't like it because they don't fit into the categories: Maybe you ARE a canopy prodigy, but not everyone can be the exception... or else you wouldn't be an exception, would you? The rules are there to protect the "normal" jumpers at this dropzone and to protect the DZ itself. If you don't think you have something to learn within those wingloading breakdowns, think again. Oh, hello again!

If you DO decide to jump in the Houston area, Spaceland has rental rigs down to the 150 sizes, and I'm sure, like Dave said, you'll find more than enough people willing to let you use their rigs. Have a nice trip... it's gonna be a long long drive! Oh, hello again!

What's funny about this scenario (well, not HAHA funny, but ironic) is that if Col. West had not gotten this info from this guy... his soldiers might have been attacked and killed. Then, 3 months down the line... the press would have learned that he had held a man that COULD HAVE provided information that would have let them avoid the deadly attack. Then we'd be reading reports about how our government has yet again failed to act on credible information regarding terrorist actions and Col West would be a scapegoat again. People seem to think that getting information like this is easy and polite. Maybe he woulda given it up if we offered him some smokes and a sandwich, right? Get real. Col West did what I would like to think I would have done if it concerned the lives of people under me. Oh, hello again!

Thanks everyone! What's even cooler than winning a silver medal is that everyone likes our free round. That's all we expected to do was to raise a few eyebrows and to let the other teams know that they needed to watch their backs. Doing so well was just icing on the cake. Thanks to everyone who helped us, Dads, Spaceland people, friends, EVERYONE! Regarding video of any Nationals footage. It is my understanding that Airzone Extreme owns all rights to use the footage from the cameraflyers. We'll see how that goes over, but we told them they need to release video from all teams, all 7 rounds, because competitors and other people want to see it. That was a new idea to them, but we'll see if they do it. Thanks again, we're all really happy that you guys liked our free round. That's all we wanted!! Trent Oh, hello again!

Think about the shape of the person's wing. Instead of being flat and straight, he's kindof in a sit position with his head low and in the direction of the track. Why does this let him keep up? In my experience, it's a number of things working for him to stay ahead and above the track dive. First, the forward movement: How can he keep up if his legs are spread and bent when everyone else is pinned out in a flat track? He's using the pitch of his torso as his wing for the horizontal movement. Since he's looking down and back at the dive, his torso is tilted somewhere close to 45 degrees to the horizon. The torso is a shorter wing than the legs, but it's got more solid surface area and can actually contribute a lot to forward speed. Now how about fall rate: If he's angled steeply, how come he doesn't fall past the dive? That's where legs and arms come in. Usually I'm grabbing air with legs and arms to keep me from sinking when I'm in front of a track dive. It also keeps your horizontal speed in check since you can use your thighs as brakes since you're moving so fast using only your torso. This lets you keep your camera on the trackers and keep up with them as well. It's very similar to Atmonauti. Oh, hello again!

I just want you all to know that I didn't start this post. Seriously, I have a capital T and one less t on the end. But thanks for the advice on the condoms though, I never could figure out what to do with those. Oh, hello again!

This camp is for ALL levels of freeflyers. Everyone has something to learn, and we've got the coaches that will help you out no matter where your skills are. There's a 2 to 1 student to coach ratio, and everyone has very individualized instruction. Everyone in our last camp took home a lot of valuable skills... and with the faster airflow now... it should be even more applicable to your freeflying. Please let us know if you're interested by emailing me at trentalkek@yahoo.com. We haven't set a firm date yet, but we're looking for December/January dates. I'll post more as we iron out the details. Oh, hello again!

Anyone notice all the little red dots in the movie? I thought it was just a scene or edit marker, but it kept showing up exactly the same every time. What is that? Oh, hello again!

It's that time again! The Orlando Skyventure has upgraded their engines which makes freeflying much easier in the tunnel. Spaceland Anomaly will be hosting their 2nd tunnel camp, coached by tunnel champions Juliana and Fabian with Joao. We're looking at some dates in December or January. It will be 3 nights in the tunnel, 2 hours per person (fully coached), and hotel. The best part is... it'll be less than $2000!! Please let us know if you're interested, we have 6 slots available. We'll get dates worked out down the road, but we'll be sure to let you know if you drop us a line at trentalkek@yahoo.com . Oh, hello again!

It's that time again! The Orlando Skyventure has upgraded their engines which makes freeflying much easier in the tunnel. Spaceland Anomaly will be hosting their 2nd tunnel camp, coached by tunnel champions Juliana and Fabian with Joao. We're looking at some dates in December or January. It will be 3 nights in the tunnel, 2 hours per person (fully coached), and hotel. The best part is... it'll be less than $2000!! Please let us know if you're interested, we have 6 slots available. We'll get dates worked out down the road, but we'll be sure to let you know if you drop us a line at trentalkek@yahoo.com . Oh, hello again!

Yeah, I like that my jetta with intake can scare pedestrians when I take my foot off the gas. Couple more modifications and I'll be almost 2 fast 2 furious. Just kidding. Can't void the warranty just yet... Oh, hello again!

Shifting at 8100rpm??? What kinda car are you treating like that? I think the fiber stuff is asbestos or something. Try a turbo so then you can have rrrrrrwheeeeeeeePSSHHH snick-rrrrwheeeeeeePSHHH. Oh, hello again!

20 out of 20. Don't believe me? Check the screenshot. Don't be faking shit around me!! edit.... Did you see that vampire lookin dude? Creepy. He had fangs and stuff. Oh, hello again!

I really think the Vengeance is a great canopy. I often hear that people heard from people that heard that they open hard or have off-heading openings, but I don't see any of that in my 2 107's. In fact after about 400 or so jumps, they seem to open better than my old Sabre2. I rarely turn more than 90 off heading. On the other side, my teammate jumped a Samurai 105 for a while and tried my Vengeance. He said he felt that the Samurai opened quicker and was more prone to dive off heading. He also preferrend the riser pressure on the Vengeance, but liked the dive on the Samurai better. Either way, they're both great canopies. I love my Vengeances as a step before Velocities. Oh, hello again!

We did a ton of test jumps with these things and it seems that the ball has a best weight for its size. We did try with all steel and a shorter tail, and didn't like it as much. It seemed that it got more and more unstable the lighter it got and the shorter the tail got. The setup I mentioned before was the best we found for speed and stability though. Feel free to experiment... Oh, hello again!

Unfortunately, we didn't measure exact amounts of each type of shot. we just did it by trial and error to get to the appropriate weight while completely filling the ball. If the ball is almost totally full, the shot can shift in freefall and it may wobble. Oh, hello again!

When we've tested and used the Vladiball for events, we found that mixing lead and steel shot (#9) gives the best results. 1lb 3.8 oz 6.5 inch long x 6/8in wide, cut straight on the exposed end. That should give you near 155 and be fairly stable. Make sure the ball is as full as possible, that takes some work when mixing lead and steel, but it's not so bad. Let me know if you need more help with the ball. Oh, hello again!

Just to clear it before someone gets their panties in a ruffle... I didn't take that pic, nor was I on that jump. I just posted it for you guys. But like I said, look for us to do some Big 'Ol Texas Style Hybrids soon! Oh, hello again!

I have no clue what his last name is. Check on the weekly updates from SDC. I think it'll be in there from the update after Summerfest. Oh, hello again!

I think his name is Todd. He's longish blonde hair, kinda tall. Nice guy. Oh, hello again!

I think it was 21. Here's a pic. Stay tuned for Spaceland Anomaly and Deguello to be putting together some formation load Hybrids this fall. That's right, we're looking at (the base alone) 20 and 32 ways. Now just add stingers! Oh, hello again!

I jump a Cypres. I have jumped without it. My gear will always have an AAD. To see so much debate over this perplexes me. You guys are going around in circles, and have been for years! --"AAD's suck because people think they can depend on them and will do stupid things" --"AAD's rock because it might save me if I, for some reason, cannot." --"Well, if you didn't have one... maybe you'd find a way to save yourself or not put yourself in that position!" I like the fact that I just might have a second chance if I am unconcious or have both arms incapacitated. The fact that I have an AAD in NO WAY increases the chance that I may be knocked out or have my arms dislocate. Do I depend on it? Yes, the same way I depend on my reserve: If I need it, I hope to God it works. Why not give yourself the extra advantage? I've seen a few Cypres saves and I am thankful that those people are ALIVE today, despite any mistakes they have made that led to the incident. If you won't jump one, fine. You think that a situation where you need an AAD won't happen? That's like thinking that you'll never have a cutaway, it just might happen for one reason or another. No one in this sport has a 0% chance of ever needing an AAD. Given all that... I choose to stack the odds in my favor as much as possible. The choice is personal and always will be. Do whatever makes you feel good about yourself. Oh, hello again!

Since you posted that VSCR picture to demonstrate your mastery, does that make me a master sitter since I was docked in a sit? Come on dude, none of us have mastered ANY aspect of skydiving. I like that I have weak points, it gives me reason to work harder. I know that this dude's pissed you off, but don't make yourself look snobbish or something because of it. I know you, that's not you. I don't know anyone who'd say they mastered some aspect of skydiving. Oh, hello again!

This isn't really a DZ designed to do anything more than low-ball tandem rates and make a few bucks that way. I seriously think that fun jumpers, much like at San Marcos, aren't really all that welcome. But that's just me. Oh, hello again!

This is what I think people were responding to. Usually we don't see pizza boy arms after a hundred or so HD jumps. Everyone has a different style, not just US vs European. Look at AZ Flight Force's compulsory round at last year's nationals. Almost as flawless and smooth as it gets. Look at AZ Freeflight's rounds, if that isn't smooth and freestyle oriented I don't know what is. As far as aesthetics go, that's purely subjective. There are good teams innovating many different things, and I think they're all badass for that. Oh, hello again!