SimonBones

You don't really need to be proficient at head down flying, but being an experienced head down flyer translates very easily to angle flying where the opposite may not necessarily be true IMO. Angle flying doesn't really help a ton in trying to learn to head down fly, but it certainly doesn't hurt and it helps more than just belly flying! If you want to work on head down flying, then work on head down flying. You don't need angles as a segway. Angle flying never needed to be "adopted" in the United States, it has existed here for a long time. Except everybody just called it steep tracking or flocking and didn't really make a big fuss about it, celebrate it, or give it new fancy names. It seems that a very small group of Europeans pushed to try and call it something new and different, and everyone else came back with, "umm, this is not new and not very different." Much like (most) people don't think of backsliding as a new/different discipline. There are quite a few old threads about this from a few years ago. You can read all about the science behind relative gravitational winds. It's pretty epic. I've done some big angle flying dives on a few east coast DZs including Crosskeys (Punautti), Suffolk, Raeford, CSS, Skydive Carolina, Zhills, and Sebastian. You just see it a bit less and people don't celebrate it as some kind of revolution. It's just a tracky/flocky dive. It's easy to do, and I've taught people with as little as 50 jumps to do it fairly well. With enough practice you can angle fly with almost any track dive if you stay ahead of it. As far as tips, just go fly with folks who are good at it and have them give you some pointers. Reading about it on the internet won't help much. It's pretty easy when you just give it a try with someone setting base if you can already track well. Just stay on head to head level with the base, tuck your head a bit, control pitch with your chest, hang on your thighs, and rudder with your feet. Plan out where you're headed, sort out the exit order just like a track dive, have fun with it, then drink beer at sunset 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Does Adobe Premier Elements do all this and output to a DVD? It's a bit cheaper than a new Pinnacle and they've got it over at Best Buy. It would suck to spend the money on it and then have it not fix my problem here. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

I'm sure this has been talked about to death, but I'm a real moron and it's all new to me. I'm in a real pickle and could use a little help. I dumped all my videos from my new CX150 not long ago onto a big external hard drive. Apparently they are MPEG-TS files and I can play them on my PC. Now I'm trying to edit them on my trusty old Pinnacle Pro 10 program and it won't recognize them. Hell, even Windows Movie Maker won't recognize them. I've heard that what you have to do is import directly from the camera to make an AVI, but at this point it's already a file in a hard drive. What do I have to do to be able to work with this stuff? 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Section 2-1.F of the Skydiver's Information Manual says the following: Which is found here: http://www.uspa.org/Portals/0/Downloads/Man_SIM_2011.pdf On a tandem jump, the person driving the parachute is an instructor and licensed skydiver. That means there is no official wind limitation for tandem jumps. It is up to the personal discretion of the staff. I am an AFF and Tandem instructor at Skydive Houston so if you ever have an questions feel free to shoot me a message anytime. BTW, there are some local Houston skydivers meeting up at an Irish pub called McGonigels Mucky Duck tonight near Kirby and 59 around 8:30pm. Feel free to join

Welcome to the sport mate! I'll be up in Denver this weekend, but will be back out at SDH the following weekend. Good luck! 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

The original and no longer produced Cypres 1 box couldn't have been that cheap, I can't think of any failures of the box design that resulted in international bannings. Either way, the company decided it wanted to make an improved product and they did, without having the entire skydiving community demanding it be improved. Are you suggesting it was cheap because with enough force someone could smash it? I wish Argus would just address their shortcomings and fix their ongoing problems. I apologize for the poor artwork, but see attached 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Apparently a large multitude of H/C manufacturers, dropzones, and nations have all independently concluded Argus cutters to be a flawed design based on its track record of inabilities to perform up to par and have also concluded that this is a danger to dropzone aircraft and other jumpers. I don't disagree. When you buy "El Cheapo" brand you take a serious risk. When the "El Cheapo" brand company goes belly up because it is plagued with reports of terrible performance, the educated purchaser with a paper weight has nobody to blame but them-self. Not directed at you, but it's really silly to read about all these people who want to blame the rest of the world for their poor purchasing decisions. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Even with a plastic insert, a foreign object could still get wedged between the closing loop and the insert. With a V-shaped cutter AND a plastic insert, that shouldn't be a problem. The fact that it is for Argus, is one of their many design flaws. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Hey Duck here is some food for thought. The 'little ball' being discussed is pretty small. Small enough to fit into the cutter opening. This means that it's also small enough to fit through your reserve flap grommets. Here is a scenario to think about: You've picked up your rig fresh and perfectly packed/inspected by your rigger. You're packing your rig on the packing floor 2 months later and their is a weight bag next to your rig you're not using. Another jumper comes and asks to use it but while picking it up, the bag rips sending little pieces of shot bouncing everywhere. It may be unlikely, but if one of those thousands of little pieces shot bounces under your top reserve flap, it could fall into the grommet on the side of your reserve pin. From there it could fall in next to the reserve closing loop grommet to grommet and into your Argus cutter. Your Argus cutter has no plastic insert to keep foreign objects from getting in there and interfering like some of their competitors have. Something like that could happen when you're not around, it could happen with your weightbelt in your gear bag. According to Argus, this could render your AAD inoperable. According to previous experience, this could cause a premature reserve deployment at an inopportune time. You would have no way of knowing when it got in there, how it got in there, or how long it had been in there. That is a fault in the design of the cutters they choose to use. It does not appear as though they have any interest in fixing these issues or improving their product either. The existence of any little ball around an Argus AAD causes a risk of death to you, and the entire plane load of your friends you sit on. These are the risks you take when you buy "El Cheapo" brand. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

I wish there were a way to make time move faster or make Carolinafest come sooner. I'm super stoked!!! 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

I think your #1 is great but really more a function of the H/C system. Otherwise an AAD would have to be modified for every type of different H/C system. That would just spell trouble. Your #2 (assuming we're talking expert mode, not tandem), should really fall within my #2 of appropriate time. We're probably just splitting hairs at this point. But in reality, if it's not broke, don't fix it. I think we can agree that there is an AAD option on the market that is not broke and doesn't violate either of our expectations/requirements. I've just never understood some people's willingness to buy 'El Cheapo' brand over a few poor gimmicky marketing points, especially when it comes to a last chance life saving piece of equipment. Our sport is dangerous enough. If I had life-threatening peanut allergy and worked next to a peanut factory, I wouldn't insist on buying the 'El Cheap' brand Epi-Pens. I guess some people are truly suckers for gimmicks. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

An AAD should be expected to do TWO things: 1) Properly cut the reserve closing loop and 2) Do so at the appropriate time (high speed, low altitude). The Argus has failed multiple times to do #1, and so we ban them until they can sort their shit out and perform under expectations 1 and 2. The Vigil has failed multiple times to understand #2. If I owned an H/C company, the Vigil would be banned as well until it could perform under expectations 1 and 2. If only there were an AAD manufacturer that did so. Maybe someone could recommend one to me. I'm preferably looking for one with a 20 year track record. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Congrats! Maybe I'll see you out at the skydiver pub crawls around H-town 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Not according to the USPA website: http://www.uspa.org/USPAMembers/RecordsAwards/ExistingRecords/State/FreeflyandVerticalFormationSkydiving/tabid/460/Default.aspx Good luck! 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

That depends on the skill level of the AFF-I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lihAHNZiMIQ If a 100lb AFF-I can fly their body well in all orientations, no single fall rate would be an issue. Sadly, most people will only practice belly flying to prepare for AFF 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Ari would be a good guy for sure. For some reason if he is unavailable when you are in Florida, you could also learn a lot from Luis Prinetto and Scott Palmer (Plamer). Luis hangs around Skydive Sebastian a bunch and the last time I was there they put together some fun jumps: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=499766624861&subj=1296321030 You could probably meet Luis at zee mook up . -Simon 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Aw man Muppet was such a cool cat when I would go hang out up at Jumptown. It was always so nice to see him again at Bridge Day after moving away. This blows. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

I can, it's called the Vortex 2 by Parachute Systems http://www.parachutesystemsusa.com/index.html 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

http://fayobserver.com/video.aspx?path=/2010/12/1204parachute.flv 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

Here are a couple shots I snapped off from the warm ups, it was a pleasure to be involved. Congrats ladies 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

I am thinking you are doing enough of that for both of us Your tunnel instructors may be beating your ass now, but enough time practicing these exercises and you'll be beating them off with both hands! 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbsSeVr5NSI Hands down best option. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

I know who DB Cooper is. I had started to suspect it for a while but thought there was no way it could actually be true. One night about 2-3 years ago I got a bunch of tequila in him (old man can't handle it anymore) and flat out asked him. I'm not the only one who knows, but that night I got to join the lucky few. DBC is alive, well, and still a crazy bastard. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

I think I can explain to you why you're having trouble getting a GA state record together, and I really hope I can do so without offense being taken. If you want people to show up for your freefly events, you have to show up to theirs. In 2010, VA, NC, and SC all set new head down state records, mostly because people in VA, NC, SC showed up to each others events. SC is only one state up, but nobody from GA showed up to the new 14way state record. Shit, when we did the 23 way Texas state head down record, even when announced publicly right here, nobody from GA showed up (yet we had a showing from VA). Earlier this year I drove alone 12 hours straight from Houston to GA to go freefly, and drove alone 12 hours straight back with a broken arm, but not one person from GA showed up to the TX state record event. This situation is very easily highlighted when Dave responded: All those folks were the ones doing the VA, NC, and SC state records (and even TX). GA doesn't know them because GA hasn't been showing up to anybody else's freefly events. These guys have several state records under their belts and could teach GA a lot about getting a state record together, but what's the incentive? To go visit those who didn't show up to their events? Really, no offense, but you want a big showing for your freefly event but don't know anybody just a couple hours away who have been organizing state records in each others states all year long. I hope you are able to get a giant state record together, but in the future, I hope you're willing to make the drive to even an SC event and actually get to know the other freeflyers around you instead of just hyping up on dz.com and praying for a showing. It's a lot easier to get to know the folks in the other states, then pick up the phone and call up your new network of freefly buddies and personally invite them to a record event. I think this is the kind of thing Harry P was talking about when he discussed "serious organizing". This year alone, I've been to freefly events in FL, AZ, IL, SC, CO, TX, and GA. In the next few weeks I'll be hitting up VA and CA as well. I know from first hand experience that doing your best to show up to someone else's event, even if it means driving straight overnight by yourself, gives people a much stronger reason to reciprocate. 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook

I think you'll find all those names on this certification. A camp would not be necessary. Those mofos are VIP 108 way head down world record!!! http://www.simonbones.com Hit me up on Facebook