SkymonkeyONE

Under the circumstances I consider that a legitimate question. I am tired of telling newbies that they need to get a grip.

-I clearly remember driving to the hospital in our AMC Rambler stationwagon to pick up my baby sister. I was two and a half years old and I vividly remember that she was so small that she fit in a shoe box. -I remember blowing up a mailbox with M-80's at a house down the street from my grandmother. I might have been seven or eight. That house and the rest of the road it was on was razed and now HWY 280 runs straight through it. The highway right of way also caused my old elementary school to be bulldozed; sad. -I remember nearly driving my go kart off into our fishing pond when I was around six because the throttle jammed and I could not reach the brake pedal. I chose running it into a briar patch instead and got cut up badly. That house, under 1000 square feet, and on seven acres recently went back on the market for around 105k. My dad paid 20k for it back in 1963. -I remember catching baby frogs on the dirt road leading to our cabin on Lake Martin (known simply as "the backwaters") when I was a child. Everyone on the lake back then had flat-bottomed jet boats with big-block chevy 454's. Ours was called "Huzunga." -I remember when my mother and her best friend owned a daycare in the Pepperell mill village when I was a tyke. I was so small that I would ride in the dump bed of my old Tonka truck down the hill in front of the place. The site it existed on is now a grassy field. -I clearly remember the first time I held my breath and went under water. It was at Bama Park on the backwaters and my grandmother taught me. I was maybe four. -I remember the first time I opened my eyes under water. I was seven and we lived in Fort Worth, TX. -edited to add: I remember, very clearly, my dad jumping into Midway Plaza in Opelika, AL dressed as Santa every year. I don't think I figured out it was my dad until I was around four. It's incredibly funny in retrospect that they used to fly over the big parking lot in the C-182 at like 200 feet and dump candy out the door! Nice.

I thought it was a fantastic movie. We use NetFlix and it was one that Katie, I think, put in rotation. Either that or we rented it in Raeford; who cares. It was a really deep movie and it really made me think. Some parts of it were incredibly sad to me, but Jim's character's overwhelming need to undo what they had--both--done was heartfelt and totally sincere. It's definitely a DVD that I will buy at some point. Chuck

Most people do not wear their belts for "fun" or "work" jumps, strictly training and competition. Personally, I don't wear any lead at all in meets due to my already high 2.23 wingload.

Huh? Are you referring to the total/drogue-in-tow that I had? Sorry, bro, but there was no pulling that cutaway handle in that situation. It was firmly jammed in place by the third (drogue cutaway) cable. No amount of force I was able to apply did anything to un-fuck that situation. Since you gave the "angry" face, I am assuming you think I fucked up; such is not the case. Oh, and who are you calling Redneck, Redneck? Chuck

I would just like to say that in today's swoop meets you are not going to win jack shit under a 75 square foot canopy. A larger wing loaded to it's optimal wingload is a far more useful canopy, both in meets at that wingload and day to day at a far more manageable wingload. My 79 is too small a wing to be competitive these days and I would be much better off with an 84 and a 90; maybe even a 96 as the larger one for use in distance rounds. It's not that I am overloading the 79 by any means, just that it's the wrong tool for meets. FWIW, Luis "Luigi" Cani now wears FIFTY pounds of lead in competition under a canopy a full twenty feet larger than his old competition wing. Chuck

Just so you know, the Katana is definitely not a beginners canopy. It is a very high performance nine-cell. At 300 jumps you ought to probably steer well clear of wings like that.

Do you have the VCR tape special on "the perfect season?" I do.

Have you worked out how much altitude you lose in this maneuver? Apparently not, or you would not be "working it down". The way to figure you final turn altitude using any degree of turn or method of inducement is to practice the move repeatedly at altitude while watching your neptune/alti. Averaging out the altitude loss of those identical setups and turns at altitude will give you a base altitude to start working with. Simply eyeballing it and throwing turns when "they feel right" is not the way to go at it, especially as someone just starting out. This topic has been covered over and over in this forum, so do a search using the keywords "90,180,270". Chuck

If you are biffing landings straight in, then you really don't have any business inducing speed-building turns in order to "help" you. You ought to absolutely be able to land any canopy safely, straight in, and with no other diving input. If your canopy lacks the bottom end to set you down safely, or you simply lack the skills to shut it down straight in, then either your canopy is worn out or you ought to upsize. Contrary to modern thinking, a 150 is still a very small canopy. That said, one basic principle you seem to be missing about speed-inducing dives is your canopy still needs to bleed off that extra speed before you put your feet down. If you are throwing a turn (or double-fronting) prior to landing, the last thing you want to do is put your feet down early. The entire point of these turns is to get you gliding across the ground farther, not to make your canopy more "landable." Chuck

No truer words have ever been spoken. To me, it's all about travelling around and meeting, jumping, then partying with others. I really love to travel and there is no smarter way for a skydiver to get to another event than in the plane flying there anyway.

Doing a search on the term will get you all the info you need.

WAR DAMN EAGLE!

And what of the PST, Jim? Do you mean that I am now going to have to join a fourth entity? ECPA, PPPB, PST, now this new thing? Is this the same thing that Sonic drafted last year? If not, are you talking about going against his plan? Ultimately, like we were all talking about at nationals, I feel that successful qualification and competition in any new sanctioned league ought to qualify you for the PST or any USPA event. Dave Wall and I had even discussed a Carolina league last year for getting people the experience they needed to compete in the larger events. In my opinion, so long as everyone running these leagues maintains a base-level criteria for qualification, then they should all be recognized. Chuck

Any reason for that personal attack?

That system is called "static line assist" or, in some places "PC assist" and, basically, it is a SL with a closing pin on it which attaches to the bridle with velcro (at every place I have seen use it) below the spring loaded PC. I have heard that some places use 80-test cord to attach the SL to the bridle, but can't confirm that. Chuck

The fulltime guys at Crosskeys definitely do that many.

There are more than a few people out there who would have no problem whatsoever docking on Luigi under that 39. The fact of the matter, though, is that he doesn't want anyone near him in a suit with a camera because they are putting together stuff for another "for sale" video and/or TV spot and don't want other people releasing video of such stuff. I talked with him about doing some stuff at Rantoul and that's what came right out of his mouth. Luigi is a nice guy and a great canopy pilot, but he is simply protecting his livelihood. Having other video out there of him or other people doing this lessens the value. Any very-accomplished wingsuit pilots out there wanting to play with a similarly competent wingsuit pilot/pro swooper under canopy need only ask Jay Moledzki. He loves the stuff.

And there you have it.......AGAIN......straight from the mouth of a travelling PD rep. The factory, which Isaiah represents on the road these days, takes a very firm stance when it comes to whom they will send a canopy to. Sure, there are chimps out there who will sell you anything you ask for so long as you have cash money, but the fact of the matter is that the factory and any accomplished skydiver/swooper with a brain in his head is not going to let you jump a Velo till you are qualified to do so. Sitting in on Scott's or Brian's or Jim's course will not qualify you to do so either if you have under 1000 jumps. Jump the right tool for the job (at whatever your true experience level). Very, very few skydivers under braced canopies have any business jumping them. Most people jumping them these days do so because they think "it's cool" and they do good to live through the landings. I regularly see people sawing the lines on approach and toggle whipping their shit in full-on Gumby mode. But hey, they must be cool, right? "I got's me a Verocity! Sheeeeut! I be loading my shit at two-point-five!" If you are one of these guys, and believe me when I tell you that you guys are all over the place now, you need to seriously take a step back and check yourself. If you are pounding into ponds, hip-skipping off the dirt, and looking like you are out of control, then you should have never spent that money. There was a post just a few up saying that it wasn't bracing per-se that was the problem. When I talk about braced canopies, I am talking about those bought specifically for swooping (or perpetrating like you can swoop), loaded in the two-point-zero and higher range. Yes, it's possible for a small person to get a Velo 120 and not be loading it high at all, but once again, that would be a dumb purchase as you won't get anything out of it but hefty pack volume and a big dent in your wallet for your trouble. Chuck

Absolutely incorrect! It doesn't matter which canopies are winning the PRO competitions; what matters is one's ability to fly a canopy through a set of entry gates safely and stay within the confines of a course. No, you are not going to show up and win any PRO meet these days (at least in the USA) under a Crossfire (or whichever non-braced canopy you jump), but that is not the point. If you haven't wrung every bit of performance out of your non-braced wing and you can't take that non-braced wing through a course, then you don't have any business trying to do so with a crossbraced canopy. There are very, very few people, even on tour these days, who exploit the full potential of crossbraced wings. There is simply no way that some regular person is going to switch to a crossbraced canopy and magically be competitive. If you do not possess the basic skill-set then you are simply increasing the speed at which you are going to impact the ground when you blow your turn trying to make gates. Seriously. There is nothing stopping any of you from qualifying at the entry level and competing under non-braced wings. By comparison, do any of you believe it plausible for a person to go from driving your family car straight to racing at 200 mph in a NASCAR Nextel ride? There simply must be some sort of advancement criteria followed in order to lend any sort of safety. Watching the race on Sunday does not qualify you to drive that car. Likewise, neither does watching the end of year PST video or "Swoop" qualify you to go out and buy a Velo at 300 jumps and think you are going to qualify for a meet, much less WIN it. Run what you brung, squeeze everything you can out of it, then, when you can truly exploit the more-rigid wing, go ahead and get that braced canopy. Until that point you are truly just making the worst kind of vanity purchase. Use some common sense, please people. Chuck Blue D-12501 a touring PST professional (among other things)

Note to others: If you go to Deland and get invited on a motorcycle ride with Kat and Roger you need to understand that they are very serious about their bikes. They are straight-up roadrace types and have not only very trick stree bikes, but track bikes as well. Katie and I went on about a 60 mile loop with them last time we were there. Us on our Harley in tanktops and no helmets, them in body armor and wearing doghouses on their heads. Clearly, we were ill-suited for that kind of a ride, but we still had a great time, rode faster than Katie liked, and did, eventually, find a bar to stop at and have drinks. They are great folks and run a great business. They have totally hooked both Katie and I up. Also, they are getting married pretty soon! Chuck

Levin in a bulldozer Brit standing on stilts Where's Brit? Must.....stop.....thread.........drift!

Personal choice as an experienced skydiver. I skydived for over 18 years without an AAD and I am still here to tell you about it. 4100 skydives and two out of five reserve rides without an AAD; four out of five rides without an RSL. AAD's are great and are advisable in nearly ever circumstance, but they are not mandatory. Likewise, there are instances where one could argue they are not warranted. Solo accuracy exits from 3000 feet don't really mandate an AAD in my opinion, nor do solo competition swoop jump exits from 4000, therefore I do not have an AAD in one of my rigs. The original CYPRES in my blue rig isn't that fond of water so, obviously, I try to either jump my red rig or try not to chow in ponds with it. Likewise, my red rig is my primary wingsuit rig and I simply don't feel I need one in it. Once again, personal choice as an experienced skydiver. If Santa Claus bought me a CYPRES 2 for that other rig I would not turn it down (obviously), but jumping with neither an AAD (on occasion) and an RSL doesn't bother me enough to spend another grand I don't have. Chuck

I, on the other hand, find that moving them by the hips best centers them under me if they ever get caddywompus.

The PIA symposium is a "must attend" for the serious skydiver wanting to learn all he or she can about gear. The last one was my first and I will absolutely not miss another one ever again. I will absolutely be there.