Canuck

There are 19 teams registered in freefly right now. That's only 5 less than 4-way FS. I think that's a pretty good turn-out actually. I was afraid it might be less than 10. Canuck

I desperately need a Sony PC model PAL camera for worlds this summer. If anybody can help, please see my ad in the classifieds under photography. Moderators, please take pitty, and don't treat this as an ad. Canuck

Looks like a Demon... Sized like a Demon... I'm going to go ahead and call it a Demon. So, I will likely see one again, because there are a couple people that jump them at my DZ, just with the horns on the bottom rather than diamonds. Canuck

What are you jumping? Looks like a Demon, but with the Atair Diamonds... Canuck

You had to see that coming... Canopy Relative Work (CRW) turned in to Canopy Formation (CF). Relative Work (RW) turned in to Formation Skydiving (FS). In a quest for legitimacy, it's no suprise that the name of this new discipline has changed to follow suit. Canuck

Well, actually Guano is the shit... Yeah, great guy, and the air-to-air communication system he uses is pretty cool. It allowed him to communicate with me without always having to be in front of me. Canuck

Just back from a short training camp in Cali, and thought I should pass on some props and thanks where due. First stop: Davis. What an awesome little DZ - sweet plane, great people, nice facility, enough said about that. I had set up some coaching for our team with Chris Salcone, which turned into coaching from all three of the boys from Guano. Fantastic! These guys are top notch in every aspect. We learned more as a team in two days than we have in the last two years - seriously. Next stop: Perris. Perris was good, despite a couple rainy days, and the fact that we never got one foot over 12,500, even on the sunset loads. And I can't believe that tunnel is still in business - it ran for about 5 hours total in the five days we were there. I spent the last day getting some coaching from John Chisholm. I've had coaching from some of the big names in the business, and I gotta say, this is as good as it gets. So, for anybody who wants to get better, go see the boys from Guano, and go see Chiz. Thanks guys. Now it's time to rest and detox... Canuck

Hey, I was on that load and landed with your freebag! I knew the chick who picked us up was named Lisa, but I didn't know it was that Lisa. Cool, I know some real life DZ.comers! More about my trip to Davis to come in another thread... Canuck

Of course not. Enjoy - Velos take the fun out of freefall. Canuck

This might bring on a few flamethowers, but... If you really think you need to be doing 20+ hop and pops just to feel the canopy out, then you're probably not ready for the canopy. You know?? I'm not saying that you wont learn lots in the first 20 jumps on any new canopy, I'm saying that if it takes 20 or more jumps to feel comfortable enough on the canopy to integrate it into your regular jumping routine, there's a problem. My suggestion is to do one or two high(ish) altitude hop and pops to make sure everything is set up right, find out where it stalls, check out riser pressure, etc. Then, just take it easy for a while, and go back to square one on your swoop progression. Canuck

And we wonder why skydiving will never hit the mainstream. If WE wouldn't pay to watch the best of the best do their thing, then how can we ever hope to convince anybody else to. Canuck

I don't think this is like a Sabre1/Sabre2, or a Safire1/Safire2 thing - the one doesn't precede the two, they are both available for different purposes. If I remember, Jim basically said that the JVX2 wasn't really intended as an everyday canopy due to its more unpredictable openings and gigantic pack volume of the "sail fabric." I do remember him saying that an 85 packs up like a 135, so I doubt you have a 2, or you would know it. Canuck

Hey Jody, Put the sight on whichever side of your helmet you want. Right is most common, although if you're left eye dominant, you might want to take that into consideration. In it's final position, the sight should sit as close to you eye as possible without getting in the way of your goggles. You will find on the flat top that the sight will sit quite high in order for it to match up with your camera allignment. You need to mount the camera first (or at least a temp mount) so you will know approx where the sight needs to be. The angle that the sight comes in on isn't important, only that the sight ring is flat to your face. The biggest thing is to keep everything as close to the helmet as possible to reduce snagability. Cut off any excess you can. And as I mentioned to you before, I would seriously consider mounting that gigantic still camera on the top rather than the front - you are just asking for neck trouble otherwise Much easier for me to just swing by and help than explain all this stuff in a post... Pete

Yup. Just like helmets. And they are a very tidy package, and depending on the rest of your set-up can highly reduce the chance of a snag, and that's worth something... The weight thing is BS though The Sony lens that most of us use (the cheap one) is smaller and lighter than pretty much any lens out there other than the single element varieties. Canuck

Not to be a nay-sayer, but question for you - has Jim not competed at a few events, including the 2004 WC, under a JVX? Certainly you would consider him a full time and very proficient pilot, yet I don't think he has ever gone anywhere near these kind of distances. I have no idea what size of wing he is flying, or how much weight he is packing, but presumably he knows where the sweet spot is. Canuck

I disagree. If Honda spends a bunch of money developing a racing bike, I doubt that there is much trickle down in technology or sales into their street cruisers, dirt bikes, scooters, etc. That's where PDs bread and butter are: Spectres, Sabre 2s, etc. and x-bracing hasn't even trickled down into these canopies, never mind z-bracing. Last Summer I heard straight from the horses mouth that as soon as the PD team stops winning, there will be a new canopy over their heads. Until then, it makes no real sense to put the Velocity on the back burner. Canuck

Angels and Demons. People are either going to think that you're into some kind of wierd Illuminati cult thing, or that your name is Nic Canuck

Yes you can, you can't zoom much though. But my camera is ALWAYS on infinty, whichever lens I am using. Looked like absolute shit when I tried it with my .3 lens - I would have had to been really drunk to think the image was in focus. You will also see that every manufacturer of single element lenses advises NOT to use the infinity setting. Zoter - No argument that they are as close to snag proof as any lens comes. Mind you, I think my ringsight, still camera, etc. pose more of a threat than any lens. Canuck

I've had both, and much prefer the Sony. Frankly, I wasn't impressed with the Royal (I had the .3). There was no vignetting, but the image was definitely distorted around the edges. The Sony is crystal clear, and I really like being able to use the infinity focal setting (which you can't with any of the single element lenses). Canuck

Situation 1: Skis are used to assist in a parachute descent down a mountain. Situation 2: Parachute is used to assist in a ski descent down a mountain. Two very different things. Looks fun as hell to me. Would have been a waste of all that phat powder to be 3 feet above it the entire time... Canuck

If by Icarus you mean Team Extreme, that team was disbanded several months ago. Not sure what Clint and Luigi are up to, but I'm sure neither of them will have to "self sponsor" either. Canuck

JP, you're right, money does not grow on trees, but of all the sponsorship that we see in skydiving, I think this is the money most wisely spent. When Airspeed wins, nobody, with any sense about them, thinks it's because they have PD canopies, or Javelins, or Tony Suits, etc. All have negligible affect on their freefall performance. If JC wins the next worlds, right or wrong, lots of people are going to think that him flying a Velocity had something to do with it, and head straight out and buy one. PD is banking on it. Other companies should maybe learn from that. Canuck

Chicken or egg - which came first? Does PD sell lots of canopies because they have all the top pilots (your words - not mine), or do they have all the top pilots because they can afford them because they sell lots of canopies? Canuck

Or they could have used one of the up-shots from underneath and used the light blue sky for the background. I always prefer the up-shot to the down-shot. Canuck

Is the Performance Designs Factory Team and the Flight-1 Team the same thing??? Or is it just that PD sponsors Flight-1? Canuck