Trent

Everything is bigger in Texas! It looks like we'll have even more Generation Freefly support for the October 4-6 Bigways! Max is bringing one of his instructors down to help organize and make sure we all have a good time. If you don't know Patrick Heaney, you're missing out. It's sure to be a wild time now! A quick update on the numbers so far: 6 from Dallas, 4 or so from Waller, 5 or so from Spaceland, 4 from NY, at least 2 from San Marcos. That's 21 so far... DON'T MISS OUT! We'll have great organizing for people not ready for bigways, multi-point 6,8, and 10 ways for after the actual record. We're all going to be better flyers after this event!! Hope to see you all there! Oh, hello again!

We just got back from Nationals and were talking to both AZ Freeflight and AFI guys. They are all really down to earth and EXCELLENT flyers. You can't go wrong either way. Oh, hello again!

Thanks everyone! We were really surprised to come out on top. The top 4 teams in intermediate were all REALLY good. Until the last round, we were all sweating point differences of less that .7. THAT was some good competition. Only bad thing is... we have to compete in open now... there's just NO WAY! Thanks a million, we'll see you when we get back... 1 good nights sleep and an 18 hour drive later! Oh, hello again!

Hey, thanks for all the support you guys! We're out here hoping they'll decide when the freeflying will take place. We're actually competing under a top secret alias right now. Don't know why, but just look for Spaceland in the name. I hope we're as good as you guys think we are!! There are some good flyers out here!! See you soon! Oh, hello again!

Hey Dereck, that's great news... we were keeping our fingers crossed that you guys would make it. It makes all the difference in the world! Can't wait to see you all out here! Hey Ted, and Rachill... keep those dates clear too... there's going to be plenty of challenging dives for you too! Tell your homies. Oh, hello again!

Thanks to everyone who is planning on coming down to Skydive Spaceland on October 5th and 6th for the second round of bigways over Texas! The word is spreading fast and it looks like we'll have a great turnout! The good news is that Max Cohn will be here to help organize and participate. He'll also be doing organizing with less experienced freeflyers to help build skills for the next round of bigways. Professional coaching from Max will also be available on Friday, October 4th and Sunday, October 5th. The fee for bigway participants and any others who would like some quality freefly organizing will be $15. Jumps are $18, High Altitudes (20K) are $36, and record attempts from 16-17K will be $22-$24 (we won't do these until we're close to our goal of a 12-way... and only then, if we really need it). We hope to see ALL levels of freeflyers out here in October for some quality jumping, great organizing, and good vibes. Pass the word! For more info: http://www.skydivespaceland.com Oh, hello again!

Thanks to everyone who is planning on coming down to Skydive Spaceland on October 5th and 6th for the second round of bigways over Texas! The word is spreading fast and it looks like we'll have a great turnout! The good news is that Max Cohn will be here to help organize and participate. He'll also be doing organizing with less experienced freeflyers to help build skills for the next round of bigways. Professional coaching from Max will also be available on Friday, October 4th and Sunday, October 5th. The fee for bigway participants and any others who would like some quality freefly organizing will be $15. Jumps are $18, High Altitudes (20K) are $36, and record attempts from 16-17K will be $22-$24 (we won't do these until we're close to our goal of a 12-way... and only then, if we really need it). We hope to see ALL levels of freeflyers out here in October for some quality jumping, great organizing, and good vibes. Pass the word! For more info: http://www.skydivespaceland.com Oh, hello again!

It's like any other sport, man... you learn fundamentals the RIGHT way early on, so you don't develop bad form later on. It makes learning harder at first, but speeds everything up later on. It is possible to get people to relax while learning a position that is new to them. If it wasn't how'd you learn any body position. It takes time. Among all the pro's I've talked to, the consensus is to teach the X man first, then let people develop their own style. You have to have patience, it takes work to get things right. When I was learning, I put in 262 jumps alone on just sitflying so that I could get it right before moving on. It was hard, frustrating, and it took a long time, but it paid off. I think if you put similar effort into head down, you'll be better off for it. Oh, hello again!

Some of the best flyers in the world feel that you should NEVER have to fly in a full daffy. In fact, every coach I've seen teaches the X position first. If you're a big guy, you might need the daffy to slow down enough to hang with other people, but I know a couple of 200 pounders who STILL don't need to fly daffy. Learning a daffy to start might feel easier, but it will probably give you a hard time when you're trying to learn more advanced movement... like carving, or side-sliding. If you learn to fly X well, you will be able to use a daffy when you need to, like when you're trying to stay with something REALLY slow on your head. Learning the X position first is not bad advice, it will help your learning and progress as you get better at head-down flying. Unless of course we're all wrong. Oh, hello again!

I just talked to Steve, and since we've now got an 02 hookup in the Super Otter, he agreed to take us to 17 or 18K once our bigway gets close to the 12 man mark. That should help us out a little. Oh, hello again!

Just wanted to let those of you within travelling distance to Spaceland... Steve just rolled in with 2 HUGE oxygen tanks for this weekend. Guess what that means??? HIGH ALTITUDE JUMPS ALL WEEKEND!! Hope to see you all here! Oh, hello again!

Once you've finished I think the application cost is like $15 US, so for you it'd be like $45,000 Canadian! Oh, hello again!

Also keep in mind how you can get either award. Anyone can get the 3-D award. You don't need an instructor or a licensed award-giver type guy to give it to you. The AD-D test can only be given by 1 or 2 people, so there might be way more people with a D if they didn't have to fly to Pahokee or wherever to get it. Also, the 3-D award doesn't require a spaceball, which a lot of people aren't allowed to jump at their dropzones. So comparing the 2 tests by how many people have gotten the awards is irrelevant. Oh, hello again!

The AD-D test is really REALLY hard. You have 2 spaceballs. When you put them next to each other you have to: Do a 360, grab both, replace them. Do a flip, grab both, replace them. Do a cartwheel, grab both, replace them. Do an opposite 360, grab both, replace them. Do an opposite flip, grab both, replace them. Do an opposite cartwheel, grab both, replace them. Then you have to retreive one of them, track and pull. You must finish the test above 6,000. (I also heard that sometimes the balls 'accidentally' don't fall at the same speeds.) In the 3-D awards, you're with 2 other people... so that also makes it very difficult. The 3-D award requires you to: Exit in a 3-way flower. Break and build a 3-way round. Break and build an opposite hand 3-way flower. All 3 then transition to sit. Build a stairstep, each person docks on one other person's foot. This has to be re-built twice so that each person takes a turn at the top position. All three then transition to belly. Build a compressed accordion. All rotate 180 to an opposite compressed accordion. Build a round. And you have to do it all in one jump. Either test is pretty damn hard. I think the AD-D is prolly harder, since there's only like 3 people listed on Olav's site who've earned it. Oh, hello again!

We will be doing High Altitude loads this weekend, if any of you guys are interested. (Aug 31-Sept1) Why don't you come out and try it? Worried about the spot? Don't be, on the first high altitude jump we had a cutaway... the main landed right in our pond. Come on out!! Oh, hello again!

While I'm sure I'm not the absolute authority on what it takes to get in on bigways... I'll tell you what we're going to be looking for. People have to have demonstrated the ability to HOLD STILL. Very important if you're in the base or if you're trying to dock on it. One little waver of your legs can tear apart the entire formation. If you can hold still, can you do it for the entire 50 second jump? It's harder than you think. People have to leave egos at the parking lot. If someone knows they're not at the level to do something, they have to ask to be replaced... or not get mad when they are replaced. Stinging on bigways is hard. You have to be sure that your dock is absolutely no tension. Again, if it is... you're making it hard for the people you're docked on and even harder for the people to dock on you. And most importantly, you have to be safe. Realize that you're in the air with a lot of people and be sure to 180 and back track out of your slot at your designated break-off altitude. Since we start with smaller formations 4-8-12- etc. We'll see who in each group is holding their own and has the skill to get on the actual record attempts. Once that base is solid, we add 4 stingers, once that's solid, we add four more. Everyone gets a shot to show their abilities. And remember, setting the record is great, but it's all about fun and learning! Oh, hello again!

Hey, let's keep the word on this event rolling. We've got a couple of guys coming down from NY to help us get even bigger. This should be a great bigway weekend! Tell your friends and family! And we're working on logistics, but we should definitely have organizing for the lower-time freeflyers! Oh, hello again!

I'm looking at the poll on the homepage and I can't beleive that more people would rather have their AD. If anyone is thinking that getting an AD A is harder than the 3-D award, they're out of their minds. In my (pretty much worthless) opinion, the 3-D award is a much better representation of someone's flying abilities than an AD A... by FAR. 9 points in 3 different positions with 2 other people versus 2 transitions and 2 docks with a stationary ball... to me, it's pretty obvious which one is more difficult. Now, if you've got an AD B, C, or D... there's something pretty hardcore right there, but I know a few people who can barely take a dock on their heads who got an A. Just to cover my ass, this is not intended to be a shot at those who got the A on their way to a B or higher. If you go out and get your A flawlessly, that's a lot different than getting lucky on your 5th try at the A. What do you think? Oh, hello again!

I think they were just requiring 100 jumps. Oh, hello again!

Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas has just outfitted their haul-ass Super Otter with one of the nicest oxygen setups I've ever seen. We just finished flying the first "test" load with this system and had an 80 second freefly jump from 21,000 feet! Belly fliers are getting 105 seconds! Their planning on doing high altitudes whenever they can fill a manifest sheet for one, so come on out and get HIGH HIGH. The price should be around $36, much lower than what I've paid before at other DZs. Think of the bigway possibilities..... Oh, hello again!

Just remember, when you're tracking around learning head down... pick a heading that is 90 degrees off of jumprun. This will keep you from tracking over the groups in front of you, or under the groups behind you. Be careful! Oh, hello again!

Awesome guys! We look forward to having you out! Help us spread the word at your DZs and we'll definitely make some nice formations! See you there! Oh, hello again!

To all the Texas freeflier: (and those who want to travel here!) Skydive Spaceland will be hosting a bigway freefly event this October 5th and 6th! We're looking to have all the bad-asses that helped make the bigways at SkyFest a success, and some new bad-asses... help to build another STATE RECORD. We've got several solid flyers here that can help us reach the 10+ mark, but we need everyone to come out and see how big it can get! The event will coincide with a RW 40 way camp, so there will be loads flying all day from both Otters. For more information, or to let us know you're interested... email trentalkek@yahoo.com . We hope to see you there! Oh, hello again!

Hey Dave!! Congrats from everyone at Spaceland! Hopefully you'll bring him over here to visit when he gets tired of growing up in... where was that... Ireland!?! Just teach him right on how to be the ultimate ladies man, okay? Hope we hear from you again soon! Oh, hello again!

Skydive Spaceland FreeFly League 2002 Spaceland Freefly League Meet #3: August 10-18 (extended!!) Compulsory Draw: Sit Only: - Exit: Leg Lock (Horny Gorilla) - Foot to Knee Dock - Hand to Hand Dock - Dual Flip Intermediate/Advanced: - Exit: Compressed Accordion - Mindwarp - Dual Cartwheels - Totem Please note: You have until NEXT weekend to do your routines! Oh, hello again!