dzjnky

How about bonus points for taking docks??? Some of these formations put wingsuits next to each other - moving in that extra foot, and taking a dock should be worth, say, an extra point. Everyone docked in the 4-way line is three bonus points (three grips being taken). Over the course of time, we will see whether it is worth the extra time to take a dock & score more points that way, or just get to one foot away position and zoom to the next point in the formation... I think from a competitor standpoint, seeing when a point is "complete" and keying the next point is going to be "interesting" - the guy who can see that the point is complete is often out of sight of the other competitors... Radios would probably be a huge advantage in keying the next point. I like the addition of the "artistic" scoring to the mix.

Hey Spot, On behalf of all those "non-deserving" folks.... Him.... him..... FUCK HIM!!!!! Seriously, though - totally bummed that I couldn't be there, and that I need to scratch from Elsinore as well... but we will be back in the air soon! Those pics are awesome, especially that 3rd one w/the sun in the background.

The thing about tunnel learning is that you learn precision. It does take time, as others have mentioned, but if you put in the time consistently, your learning curve is much steeper (faster) than if you spread it out over many, many skydives. The skills you learn, and the feel for what the air does to your body, and what your body does to the air directly translates to the sky. Those skills allow you to easily compensate for the differences that the rig introduces when you go back to the sky. What I have found is that my ability to fly to a slot, and stop exactly where I want to stop, in exactly the orientation that I want has improved dramatically as a direct result of the time I have spent in the tunnel. I think the tunnel helps a lot because of the immediate and direct visual feedback you get with the walls so close. You don't have any similar references on most skydives. There are differences - the rig, and also the fact that in the sky, you "strike a pose" and your fall rate adjusts to whatever drag you are producing. In the tunnel, you are given a windspeed, and you must find a way to create the correct amount of drag. This leads to a different way of flying, and in my opinion is one of the big reasons that first time tunnel flyers with many skydives have so much trouble. However, what you learn about flying in the tunnel is directly applicable to the sky, and in fact will dramatically increase your fall-rate range, especially in "slow flight" regimes, so if you do go low, your ability to "get back up" will be really improved. At least that is what I found. And while I love the tunnel, there is still nothing like exiting at 13,000 ft or higher, and you can't fly a canopy in the tunnel... You also can't learn to fly a wingsuit in the tunnel - but that is a whole 'nuther discusson

No way dude - Ever since I earned my new nickname - I've found out how many friends I really have - one is DEFINITELY not a lonely number!!! BTW, good job staying alive! Sorry I wasn't there to chase you trash AGAIN BTW, for the folks who have not heard about my situation, how I got my new nickname, and why I won't be at Lodi, and do not expect to make it to Elsinore ... I am blogging about it on http://www.carepages.com/carepages/rickhough You have to register on the site to get to it, but they make it easy to set your profile for whether you get any spam from them or not.

Whatsamater Lurch, don't know how to search on "Summer Skool" ??? Here you go, you lazy bum!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxgDcCemkHw http://www.vimeo.com/1796807

Hey, they have a 1 hour show on National Geographic channel about Yves's triumph today. I just missed it, but they are playing it again at 11 PM EST, at least here in New Hampshire. The show is called "Flight of the jetman". I am sure they will repeat it, but I am going to get my DVR set up anyhow....

Hey, stop teasing the Lurch with ideas that might, almost, possibly work if they were only slightly different. It's kinda like asking an old-fashioned calculating machine to compute the square root of minus one - it will keep trying until it burns itself out. But then again, the Hard Case DID fly...

Sweet!!! Ah, the memories!!! Thanks yet again for an amazing boogie! Rick

Anne, Let me add my congratulations to the list. Looking forward to flying with you soon! Rick

Hey Lurch - time to fix up that 8-track tape player??? Also wanted to chime in with a "me too!" on this being one of the best boogies I've been to. I don't want to repeat all the details, but if you weren't here, you missed a good one!!!! Thanks to all the participants - it was an honor to fly with all of you! And special thanks to all those who contributed behind the scenes to make it work so well - you know who you are

I can't tell you how bummed I am that I cannot be there flocking with you all this weekend... Unfortunately, health issues have forced my hand, and I gotta take care of business. Will be back in the air as soon as I can. At the very least, I will be hanging out with everyone when you come up to play at Pepperell next weekend. Have a jump and a beer (or several) for me, will ya?? Rick

Something tells me I may be shooting INSIDE video of that move, and probably with very little warning Nothing quite like the flash of a massive red suit inches below you, followed by a complete loss of lift!!! Right, Mike???

1. Justin Shorb (Flock U) 2. Jeff Donohue 3. DSE 4. Scott Gray 5. Lurch 6. Steve H. 7. Chris Gray 8. Andreea 9. Rick H.

Spot, Let me toss in my thanks for an amazing weekend as well! I know you put in a boatload of work pulling this event together, and I hope the weekend surpassed all your expectations. Farnsworth Run was such a cool experience - I will cherish those memories for a lifetime! And many, many thanks to Lynda for all that she did behind the scenes! She rocks!!! Skydive Utah - what can I say?? A great group from DZO to manifest to packers to pilots to instructors - fantastic hosts, and thanks to you for all the background work that made this event possible. And thanks to all you talented mother-flockers that came out and made this event the huge success that it was! I have never had so much fun jumping a King - that was some sweet flying! I am still looking for links for the other papers that came by, but here is a link to the article that was published in Monday's Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9873424 Be sure to look in the photo gallery - there are some "unpublished pictures" available on-line that didn't make it in the print version. C'Caw!!!

My contributions to the personal best list... 165 sec (2:45) from 12,900 ft to 2,500 ft. I am 6', 210 lbs nekked, flying a Mach 1. My neptune told me once that I had a flight of 183 sec from 13,300 to 3,000, but in looking at the plot, about 50 seconds of that I was still in the plane, a slight descent before exit confused my Neptune. I can surge my suit into the low 30's (MPH) for fall rate, but mid 40's seems to be what I can hold for extended periods of time (ie > 30 sec) Not too bad for a fat belly, eh Tony?

Sweet... All that was missing from Jeff's narative was the "BANG!!!" That was some funny stuff. Glad we finally answered that Mythbusters thing about having a conversation in freefall...

Funny - I always thought that a sweet spot was any time you got out of the plane within striking distance of a sweet puffy Getting back to the DZ is just bonus points tweet

1. Scott Gray 2. Chris Gray 3. Jeff Neblekopf (Heffro1) 4. Justin Shorb (PhoenixRising) 5. Andreea (Supergirl) 6. Rick Hough (dzjnky) If you are coming then you know what to do!!!

I lost track at around 10 hrs, but probably have something like 20 - 30 hrs by now. I really don't feel like going back and adding up all those charge card slips (edited because I can't type...)

clicky: www.Flockuniversity.org

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eI0pN9-ETBk I've seen a lot of people not able to figure this out, so a quick lesson: When drafting your post, click the URL button just below the text box you are editing in. This will insert a URL tag. Next insert the URL itself in quotes inside the tag. Then, add text that you want underlined, after the url tag, then finally close that text by clicking on the /url button, which will insert the close url tag (slash URL).... in the create post window, it should look kinda like: url "http://youtube.com/watch?v=eI0pN9-ETBk" http://youtube.com/watch?v=eI0pN9-ETBk /url I had to substitute and for the actual square bracket characters to be able to display the details. Remember to use the "Preview Post" button to look at your post and see if it worked right. Sorry mods, if this is the wrong place for a lesson like this

I really like the sound bite where Jeb says "This will be the first time that a human being has reached terminal velocity and landed on their face at over 110 miles an hour, and gotten up and done it again. You know... that is a very special thing". Yup... very "special" indeed

1. Scott Bland (notsane) 2. Scott Gray (The Brothers Gray) 3. Chris Gray (The Brothers Gray) 4. Todd Statdfield (DaMan) 5. Michelle Statdfield (EmLo) 6. Justin Shorb ( Flock U) 7. Jeff Nebelkopf (heffro1) 8. Chuck Blue (Z-Flock Wingsuit School) 9. Mike Masheff (Grey Mike) 10. Phil Peggs (boring uncreative name) 11. Nick Rugai (#1 gay guy) 12. LoudDan 11. Tyler Smith(jumpinfly) 12. Scotty Burns (Scottygofast & Z-flock) 13. Tero Paukku (Aerodynamite) 14. Matt Hoover 15. Rick Hough (Flock U) 16.

Just because a satisfied customer chooses to speak well of a tunnel doesn't mean that there is anything sinister or underhanded in those posts. I think that tunnelmom DOES have a clue - there are some great tunnel owners out there, and they strive to treat their customers well. For the "regulars" a tunnel can feel like home. As with so many things, it is unfortunately impossible to please all of the people all of the time, so there are some folks out there with axes to grind. Some choose to take out their frustrations in a public forum like this one. That's fine - everyone is entitled to their opinion. Including Pamela39 and tunnelmom. I think it is great when people choose to talk up how great tunnels are, rather than trying to tear them down through innuendo.

Last year, SkyVenture NH had a deal where you could buy something like 5 hours of tunnel time for a really good price - cash up front for a deep discount on the time. It was an awesome bargain if you had the cash available... Anybody know if they are going to renew that offer???