hparrish

Uuugh.....My last memories of that pond are not so good. Definately looks like you had more fun than me.

what does that cost? I just bought a D50 for my stills and didn't realize there were issues getting a bite / blow switch to work with it. I don't want to use my D80 fro jumping too much cash on my head. Do you have a link for harbortronics, or can I just google it?

My personal recommendation is 1000 HP landings under a non X-Braced canopy before moving to one. Even then you can still get hurt. Just based on jump numbers I don't think you should start jumping X-Braced canopies. Rather you should perfect your skills on that crossfire, which is an advanced canopy in its own right.

Wow Rhys..............Good Point. First Dock to work on is flying relative. Regarding the other advice, yes the foot to foot and foot to knee is a good beginner dock as well. However the chance of funneling or a knee to the face is higher. I think everyone is different with regard to what is easy and what is difficult. Some folks just pick up on things at different levels. The important thing is to establish flying your slot without grips forst. Once you can do that you are ready to try any of these other docks.

side by side hand dock.

Lots of spare parts, but non are bionic. I have No View Finder in my head or Engine Block I can curl. If you get this joke your'e my age.

3) Try your best NOT to be in the corner. 4) If you are in the corner, don't dig out on rears, use your toggles. Yes I have two new ligaments in my left knee to back this up.

maybe it was the particular Xaos I was jumping but my old VX opened much better than that Xaos. The JVX opens even better.

Don't overlook the good ole Icarus VX. They are still very sweet canopies.

Chuck I left Eugene a message to get in touch with you about the helmet.

Bluu Blah Blu Blah, Blah, Blah.............................. Hey Bill..............I finally figured out what your problem is. You're a Broken Record, that keeps palying the same song over, and over, and over, until everyone is sick of hearing it.

Ohh yeah............The other close calls I have seen are folks that go right into a track at the end of a Freefly jump. That is essentially an intentional cork and very dangerous. It's important at breakoff, to do a 180 or 450 degree turn to check for others prior to tracking off. I've seen some very close calls by folks not doing this.

When Freeflying with others you need to avoid being above or below others. Thats when corking can turn into a serious injury or fatality. No one intends to cork out, but when you are learning to freefly it happens. The scariest thing I see is when somone is trying to get down to a group and flying directly over that group trying to get down to them. if someone corks out that person above is toast. It's really important to stress that no one ever get above or below someone else when freeflying. You come down to the side and then move over to the person or group. That is the safe and proper way to avoid serious injury or a fatality. Regards,

Found It.............Sorry It's so short. Rules are Rules at DZ.Com

Man I miss that Happy Face...........I'll try to dig up my favorite video of Steve. We took him on a HD jump and he had a permanent ear to ear grin the entire jump. I loved that Fucking Steve Kemp.

We had a very hard time putting our Team together. And since two of us are currently injured (knee surgery and femur break), we have found one alternate but not two. There are allot of talented Freeflyers in the Carolina's but the commitment level to join a team is very high. It's tough to get 5-6 folks together who have the same goals and attitudes, and who all get along. We were lucky with the attitude part of it. That's what we built the Team around, over skill level. It's very important to all get along and gel with each other. The other thing we found........Is that allot of very good freeflyers lack the confidence to do VRW. Let's face it.........it's harder and much more challenging than 2 Way, for the most part. And you need 4 folks to all be on par. Allot of very good Freeflyers don't want to have to start over, or not look so good. It's tuff but worth it. If I wasn't on this team, I wouldn't be chllenging myself. I'd probably stop jumping. It's renewed my passion for the sport. Harry P Team Wicked Liquid

Well I guess this is just interpretation. I consider calling someone an asshole or other derogetory comment, as calling someone a bad name. I don't think I've done that. Closed minded seems accurate for anyone who wont take the advice or input of MANY qualified canopy pilots. These are not my singualr opinions. Many Canopy pilots who are allot more qualified than me, agree with me. Maybe not on all my points but probably allot of them. I actually think you are the one that thinks everyone should take your viewpoint on all this, based on your numerous posts. I don't care if Bryan Burke or Larry Hill ever agree with me. They are entitled to their opinions and I am enttitled to mine. They are the DZO and DZM of SDAZ and they can set whatever Policies they want to. And I can decide not to jump where there are policies I disagree with. If that makes me ignorant in your eyes.......well......I can live with that. Harry P

Perhaps you should re-read your own original Post from Bryan Burke. Which has spawned all these discussions. Sounded to me like they were banning all Swooping. Separate passes, Separate Landing areas etc.....To me that is a Knee Jerk Reaction. You know nothing about me, so please don't make assumptions about my approach to HP landings. Read through these posts and you will see I endorse the following. 1.) No HP Landings at Large Events. 2.) Separate Landing Areas for Swoopers. 3.) Exit Order based on Wing Loading as well as disciplin and group size. 4.) Offset Jump Runs. 5.) Low Pass for Swoopers. 6.) Canopy Instruction. You are obviously biased in your own views. I certainly am not in agreeance with you or SDAZ's new policies. I am entitled to respond and react with my opinions as well. That does not make me reckless, ignorant, or someone who is pitching a fit. Nor am I calling anyone a bad name. Is anyone allowed to disagree with you? Or are your opinions the only opinions that matter?

My response to SDAZ will be that I won't jump there. I will boycott any DZ that has this knee jerk reaction. If others follow suit then they will see that it hits them more than they thought it would. Economics speaks volumes and we are the ones paying for slots. I'm sure that would be much greater than a 20% hit to their bottom line. I also don't see how they will ever get to host Nationals again, if swooping is combined with the other events. You can't win bids to host part of an event. I also think that the massive response to this policy should open thier eyes. If not then they are truely closed minded. We'll have to wait and see.

I'd highly recommend taking Scott Miller's or Brian Germain's canopy courses. I've heard nothing but good things about both.

There in lies the reason that it works for THAT DZ. Agreed and it doesn't work everywhere, but it is an alternative that does not BAN swooping. There are many other alternatives. This is just one of them.

No...... There is a time and a place for HP canopies and a Big Way skydive is not the time or place for them.

We do three things at Carolina Sky Sports that seems to work well and has worked well for many years. 1.) We put Freeflyers our first. 2.) We run a 45 degree offset jumprun. 3.) We determine exit order by discipline, group size, and wing loading. 1 - Freeflyers out first - We have had very few conflicts with Freeflyers exiting first. We do modify this exit approach if there is a Big Way RW Group. And yes at CSS the Freeflyers predominately are the HP Canopy Pilots. When I travel to other DZ's that put freeflyers out last I see significant problems with groups opening on top of each other or at the same level. I have seen instances where my freefly group has caught and opened on level with the an RW group that exiting 2 groups in front of us. Freeflyers are falling on average between 145 - 160 mph. We do catch groups that are falling at 105 - 115 mph. 2 - Offset Jump run provides more than just horizontal and vertical separation. It prevents groups from drifting over previous groups. Yes it consumes more fuel, but it avoids allot of headaches. 3 - loading the plane. The bigger the group the more likely you are to exit first. But not always. Freeflyers usually exit first but not always. We also take into acocunt opeing altitude and wing loading at CSS. We used to have an RW Team (The Angry Beez), who used to always exit first on every load, even though Freeflyers typically exit first at CSS. We put them out first because they all opened at 2K and all had very high wing loadings. Then went the Freeflyers because of our fall rates and wing loadings. Etc...... so there really is no one answer here. Each DZ needs to be open minded and try different exit orders that work. They are highly customized and all these factors should be considered. CSS has been around for 32 Years. We have not had many landing pattern issues. We have experienced staff and canopy pilots, who are not afraid to change things that are not working. We also have a community of jumpers who are not afraid to talk to each other about problems with landings, patterns, exit orders, separation problems. It's been working for us for a long time. It's disappointing to see Larry take such an unflexible stance, on something that has many alternative solutions. Perhaps seeing the 300+ responses and posts to his new policy would enlighten his mindset. I hope so. Canopy Piloting is an important disciplin to the sport. And most serious canopy pilots are responsible canopy pilots.

Zach Monster, Christine, and I had a great time seeing everyone today. We are looking forward to hanging out next weekend. I have a feeling allot of folks I haven't seen in a while are going to be showing up. Sampson, Jon Randolph, Cliff, Pauly, Taxi, to name a few. I'm getting excited even though I won't be jumping.

Spend a year or 400 jumps working on sitflying and head up flying. At 100 jumps most folks have not even come close to mastering head up flying. It's essential to master your head up flying before moving onto head down. I'd recommend a coach for headup flying as well. There is much if not more to learn there. Find a reputable freeflyer whom many others feel is a good freeflyer and coach. Make sure they are someone that you can actually learn from, and that can explain things to you in a manner you understand. Your profile does not list your home DZ so it's tough for anyone to recommend where you could go. Start asking at your home DZ. If No One there freeflies than ask your DZO where you can go.