genfreefly

yeah, trent, jed and stevie looked really nice in the vid i saw. i was extremely impressed. some really sweet moves, and so nicely executed. great job guys....soak up the glory max

here are a couple of things to consider: 1) function: bridal coverage (is it covered?) main pin cover (does it stay closed when supposed to?) reserve pin cover (does is stay closed when covered?) riser covers (do they stay closed..?) secondary riser covers (does the rig have them? are they needed? [i like them]) most rigs, more or less, do these things, but some better than others. 2) delivery time is a good thing to think about (as it was already said), you'll probably notice a big variance of 3-4 weeks all the way to 20-25 weeks. 3) comfort but with this, ya never really know how a rig is going to fit until one is built for you. and in reality, most people make their new rig their 'baby', it breaks in to their body and its comfortable. so realize that as you try people's rigs on. 4) style all the rigs look a little different, but i suggest you worry about how the rig looks AFTER you narrow it down from the 'function' factor. 5) price you can probably find a new rig as cheap as under $1000 or all the way up to a bit over $2000. try to make sense on your own by asking people, why is there such a big difference in price. 'do you want the 'economy' rig or the 'luxury' rig? sure they both work (more or less), but what perks are you looking for. 6) rig popularity not that it matters so much for what rig is poplular, but its a good thing to think about for re-sale value down the road. you likely go through several rigs in your skydiving life. 7) company reputation is the manufacturer going to take care of you if there is a problem down the road. all you want is your rig the way you want it, right? so mistakes happen (wrong color this, or whatever), so make sure your dealer and the manufacturer you choose will take care of you. i really think that the function aspect is the most important. most rigs nowadays will work (maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but we'll give all the manufacturers the benefit of the doubt). but, not all rigs are as tight with things staying closed. my biggest thing with a rig is that i want to be able to jump out of a plane, and know that its going to stay shut until i decide to open it. i've had good experience with Mirage over the past 7 years, and there are lots of people with positive experiences with other brands of rigs..... good luck max

try rob warner also, his phone is 604.488.9714 and his email is riggerrob@hotmail.com he makes nice ones ciao max

hey, i noticed that no one replied to your post i don't know the answer to your question, but my buddy sonic might. he runs the ranch pro shop at the ranch you can email at sonic@theranchproshop.com i'm sure he wont' mind helping you with that question, he's an experience videographer tell'm max told ya that he could answer your question good luck! max

there are lots of good companies for sure, all with their different styles and such. but just to give some props to Flite Suit, they have a unconditional 100% satisfaction guarantee. and they mean it. No 'if', 'ands' or 'buts'... i think they just ask that if its not right, don't jump it and send it back and they'll fix it. Anyone can make a good jumpsuit, but not all the companies have the professionalism to follow through with their satisfaction guarantee.. from what i've seen and heard, i don't know anyone with any bad experiences with Flite Suit. Not knocking any other companies, but just to tell it like i've seen it with Flite Suit. my 2 cents max

some of my thoughts on camera priorities: first, let's assume you are just talking about video for now. there are several options. either you want the highest quality stuff. or you want the absolute smallest and lightest stuff. or you want some compromise in between. if you want the highest quality stuff, then it'll all be big of course. If you want the smallest stuff, then you'll go with Micro MV (of course then you compromise some quality and compatibility issues, but they are small) if you want something in the middle, then you are in the pc 101/120 range. then, of course, you look at the lens you use, smaller the better naturally for light weight and less surface area (leverage/drag, etc..) another consideration is, do you need a roll cage/d-box? cameras aren't that expensive now a days... i mean, they are not cheap, but they are all around 1200 bucks or so...give or take (where as a few years ago, they were upwards of 3000 for the same camera. if you just use a simple 'l' bracket, and no d-box or roll cage, you have that much 'less' stuff on your head.... all you have to do is be careful with your camera in the plane. I don't use a d-box, and i'm personally happy with that and after thousands of jumps, my camera is in relatively good shape (of course now that i say that, i'm sure i'll bash it on my next jump . for still camera...same thing (although that's not my expertise), smaller ones are less quality, but smaller... I go with the smaller is better philosophy, but i don't do 'professional video work', per say. If i did, i would be forced to compromise small size for higher quality. But, it i had a back injury, and still wanted to jump camera, i would definitely go with the smallest, lightest and lowest profile stuff.... to most people, the quality difference in most cameras is relatively minor (i say relatively, of course there is a difference). Safety is #1....quality #2... also, do you need a ring sight? (more stuff on your helmet). do you need a cam eye? (more stuff on your helmet. things to think about. i hope you heal fast and find the right compromise for yourself. best regards max

my two cents on fall rate, just to be part of the discussion. belly, yeah, round 120...(little more, little less, depends). It alwasy seems that people think head down is like 180, where i think that's a bit on the fast side. a spaceball, for example, goes about 165 ish.. big ways we did went about 157-163...ish... sitting can go from 145-160.... but in general, slower is better, cause its always easier to go faster than it is to go slower.. of course there can be a huge variation, but its better (i think) to try to make your head down in the 160's oppossed to the upper 170's-180's, that's kinda fast... whenever i work with a student and it seems a bit fast, the pro-track reads in the 180's.... not that they are always exact, but they do give a decent ballpark reading. regards max

ooops...oh yeah, they go for $140 USD peace out max

hi john, i got some .5's now (a limited quanitity), but in both 30mm and 37mm (sorry for the tease last time, he he he :-) talk to ya soon max

hey skyjuggler, most lenses (as ya said) come only in 37mm filter diameter. the ip's are so small, the wide angle lens (especially with an adapter ring) adds a lot of size and weight to the camera. the ip's are 30mm filter diameter. you might want to check out the diamond 0.3x, it comes in 30mm and 37mm, and its a lot smaller than most lenses. you can check it out at royal-lens.com just another option for you, its a bit wider than a .45, but it can be zoomed in a bit, to be the same as a .45 cheers, good luck max

thanks, not sure when i'll be in texas again, hopefully sooner than later ;-) fyi, i'll be round lake wales florida over this christmas and new years if anyone wants to stop by and say 'hi' i'll be doing some fun jumping, so coaching and some organizing. over the 27,28,29, GF instructor Patrick Heaney will also be there, we'll be organizing/coaching all weekend... i'll be there from the 22nd through the new year. everybody have a great, safe holiday! max

hi andrea if you are backsliding, then that means that wind in pushing you from the front of you body (somewhere). i suggest you play around with 'pitch'. I mean the pitch or angle your body is at. When you transition, on purpose try to keep your legs in front of your body and your head back. This should make you backslide (as the wind would be pushing the front of your body, you belly, front of legs, face, etc..) then, make a transition and on purpose try to do the opposite, try to put your legs behind you and your head in front. This should make you go forward. This should give you an idea of the two extremes. then, you'll be able to figure out the 'middle' position you need to fall straight down. to fly head down, our muscles and balance have to do lots of things (constantly), so its common for beginners not to be sure of all the pressure and counter pressure. really think about where your legs are when you transition (in front of you, or behind you?). I recommend to try this 'trial and error' method so you can on purpose try to get them (your legs) in front of you and on purpose try to get them behind you, that way, hopefully, you'll notice a difference and you'll start to feel where the wind is hitting you.. If you stand on the ground (on one leg), and practice 'teetering' (as in teeter/totter, like a see/saw, sorry, its difficult to put into words), so practice on the ground 'teetering' with your head forward and legs back for one motion, and head back and legs forward for the opposite motion. when you do this, obviously you'll only be able to move one leg, as the other leg you are standing with. you'll get a feel for the balance of forward and back. remember, the initial goal is to get a feel for the 'pitch' of our body in relation to applying it to falling straight down. Its a lesson on going straight down, by indirectly using forward and back motion ideas to increase your awareness (translation, work on falling straight down before you work on going forward and back) good luck, sorry for a slightly confusing suggestion (its tough in writing sometimes) best regards max

hi ray, i actually just got (am getting shortly) a few 0.5x's, similiar to the diamond 0.3x in size and such. i'll be getting them in my hands in just a day or two email me at max@royal-lens.com and i'll fill you in on availiblity and cost thanks for the inquiry. best regards max

hello, i thought some of you might be interested in checking out the new website for royal lens's diamond 0.3x wide-angle lens. www.royal-lens.com pics, vids, info, customer testimonials, etc.. best regards, be safe max

when we move forward, it a matter of letting the wind 'push' us from behind. we lean back and push our hips forward this creates MORE surfact area than our original sit, which will cause us to....slow down so we have to push our feet down, and go into somewhat of a stand up to 'speed up' to neutralize what our back and hips are doing, then, ideally, we would move forward while still going the same fallrate. make sense? max

i think the legs (we're talking about upright flying, right? should be at least shoulder width (which is more or less 6 inches like you say) Everyone does upright flying with a little different style/position, etc... when i start with people, i usually just see what they do normally, and if they need a guideline, i usually say about shoulder width i guess the real difference 'specific body positions' depends on what you are doing what i mean is if you are just getting stable, then there is a certain merit in not over-exaggerating how far your legs are apart. if we have our legs shoulder width, we have a muscle memory much like we sit on the ground or when we drive a car, for example, so its easier for use to find our balance with the wind. once we start 'flying around' upright (opposed to working on staying still), we will need to use our legs more assertivley, and wider becomes advantageous, but NOT in just 'have your legs wide', its more complicated than that. its about balance, counter-balance, anticipation....grabbing wind with whatever part of your body you need to at the time in general, its limiting to have your legs and feet too close (like almost touching or touching, say less than 6 inches). then you make your legs more like one wing, instead of two wings..... and, your legs create one larger surface area and can more readily catch wind and knock you around. if i'm coaching and i'm upright and giving signal, i have my legs apart pretty wide because i have to compensate for using my hands to give signals... (and following the student at the same time) what do you think? do you feel more stable with them 6 inches apart or wider apart.? I find with my students that they really start to settle into thier own style once we do: movement, speed change, docks, etc.. then they figure out what works best by trial and error.... hope this helps max

breathing is everything. if we can breathe, we can't relax, if we can't relax, we can't think.....if we can't think....then who knows what is going on.. if you are having trouble remembering to breathe, then maybe you are trying to do too much in one jump. simplify...make breathing your #1 priority (along with safety, of course) take deep breaths, without hyperventilating... but make them exaggerated, deep and slow.. don't think 'there's no time to spend thinking about breathing....i want to learn to fly' that philosophy is in the wrong order. if we can breath, we can relax, we can think, we can become aware (or more aware) of how the wind feels against our bodies...and we can learn to work with the wind and learn to fly.. my two cents max

ahh...these forums are addicting...like i don't have enough stuff to do, now i'm spending time replying to posts...oh well, too late now.. i remember when i lived in Nor Cal in 1997, the two things that really helped me were videos, lots and lots of videos...watching, pausing, rewinding, replaying trying to make sense of how the flyers were manuvering thier bodies in freefall (chronicle II was all the rage then) the second thing was that as i understood how we were suppossed to 'fly' our bodies, when i walked around the streets and the house or the DZ or whatever, i'd always be pretending like i was flying headdown. so like every turn i took, i did it as i was flying.. it sounds goofy, but it helped me to get my muscle memory more ingrained in my mind. so then when i got back in the air, i was able to recall faster which way to push on the wind to. you can of course practice on the group 'walking' around in a sit, or head down, or belly....whatever...tracking... just visualize in your mind how you would move in the air in a particular position and use those muscles so you get used to feeling them swimming pools are cool too...in college, when i couldn't jump for some periods of time, i'd go swimming for the 'freedom of movement' just to easy my mental anguish of not being able to skydive.... max

alright, i've been sucked into these forums...i hope you're all happy (and some maybe not...) maybe i'll get off newbie status one day i agree with doing a head down transition from sit. When learning to fly, heading (visual reference point) is SUPER important. if you don't have a controlled heading, then you've got nothin' like the other person said, if you flip front or back, you'll be looking to other way. if you cartwheel (well, 1/2 cartwheel actually) to head down from a sit, KEEP your reference point, even if you are alone (look at a cloud, a point on the horizon, something), if you loose your heading it means you are not really in control anymore, go back to a sit. take a breath, regain a heading, then try another transition. If you keep loosing your heading, then that's a good place to start.. Try to figure out 'how' you are loosing your heading. 'are you falling back, forward, left or right, or whatever' then you have a starting point towards getting a heading. another quick tip: transition from sit to head VERY SLOWLY, two reasons 1) you'll have less momentem, and less chance of over rotation, which will just make things harder to figure out 2) you'll literally have MORE time (cause you are doing it slower) to THINK about how the wind and your body feels.. don't think you have to do a FAST transition. your body will go upside down. ther is no need to 'JAM OUT' as transition really fast, save that for later.. hope this helps... max

hello everyone, thanks for the lively reply, i would have answered earlier, but i figured i'd let some more questions roll in so could address as much as possilbe in my reply. Ok, i'm not on the ballot because i didn't consider running until a conversation in late september with eastern director Mike Perry. In our conversation, we felt that i should run, regardless of doing it as a write in or not. (vote for mike perry if you live in his region!)

reply to 'flyhi'.. hello, ok, i was promoted to run about a month ago in a conversation with Eastern director Mike Perry. We felt that perhaps the board could use a some fresh blood and some motivated people, which i feel i fall into that category. i certainly do plan to attend all board meetings. I feel they are invaluable to a board member's responsiblities. the first issues which i feel i can be helpful in are Freefly safety, training and compeition. all which will need addressing over the next several years. additionally, i feel i would be one of the more active skydivers on the board (over 1000 jumps per year, at many different drop zones), so i feel i could help voice our association members' opinions I would very much like to be on committees such as competition, safety and education. additionally i feel that canopy control (and swooping as a sport) will need representation to keep the USPA safe. I suppose, like all political areans, probably the biggest thing that the USPA needs change in is a continual addition of new board members to keep the board in touch with who it represents and no, Colgate Univeristy (hamilton, NY) is not ivy league , but i like to feel that it has taught me many valuable skills and lessons that i can productivly apply to life and my endevours. thank you very much for the questions, feel free to ask more max max@generationfreefly.com

TO ALL, I am running for National Director as a WRITE IN. I feel i am qualified for the board for several reasons. I have been very active in the skydiving communites since i began skydiving in 1996. I have over 5500 skydives and i have made over 1000 per year for the past 4 years. so i feel very in touch with skydiving community. I am a graduate of Colgate University and i feel my education in both written and social skills can be a help to the board. My experience in Freefly is especially relevant to the freefly related issues that the USPA must deal with in the upcoming months, in Safety, Training and Competition. I am eager to learn more about the USPA board of directors and if elected, i vow to enter my new responsiblities with all my effort and an open mind If you feel i would represent you well, please WRITE IN max cohn for National Director ballots are available in the NOV 2002 Issue of Parachutist. Or feel free to contact me directly and i will send you a ballot. thank you in advance for your consideration max max cohn d-20252 uspa # 119692