hparrish

You are on target with a good fall rate.......Your friends are the ones who are falling too fast. You'll understand what I'm talking about in a few years when you start doing Bigger Ways. Easiest way is to wear a tighter jumpsuit and bring your arms and legs in more. Next easiest is for your friends to realize that 168 mph is way too fast to be able to fly clean and take controlled docks. 145 to 155mph is an ideal fall rate for Freeflying. Adding weights will add to your wingloading, so unless you want to increase your landing speed as well, I would not wear weight. Especially at 300 jumps.

Wow... I hope your joking. If not you're coming off as an Ass.

Are you Hot??? I'll coach you if you're hot.

Hey everyone, it's been awhile. PT is going well.....I might return in a month, starting to do jumping exercises and light jogging. Eric congrats on your Tandem rating, thats great news. So now you can do the tandem and video and get twice the pay. Mike welcome to skydiving, it will be nice to have new energy around the DZ when I get back. Marion.....I saw some info on the CSS website about you. Will you be my "Jump Buddy", when I come back? Easter Boogie - I'm hearing rumors (emphasize RUMORS), that Cliff and Joyce Weaver may be coming. For those that don't know Cliff, he used to be the DZ Manager years ago, and is a great RW Organizer. Make sure you introduce yourself if he shows up. He's a great guy. See you all soon. Harry P

Hmmmm how bout if we just bring the Zach Monster? I'll be there between 2-6PM.

Now there's an interesting thought. That would be interesting to see.

I'd follow the advice in this thread....It is sound advice. To answer your specific question. It's typical for folks to drift apart during HD exists. This is usually because the people in a group are only staying together because they are holding each other together. When people are holding the formation together it becomes obvious. Telltale signs are tension on the grips and the formation spinning or driving. When you let go everyone will sling shot apart. This is happening because no one is flying the exit. If you are flying your slot, you do it from th exit until the end of the skydive. If you are flying your slot when you exit with grips, then letting go should mean that you stay in position, regardless of grips. The best training method (AFTER you are proficcient at HD), is to exit in 3-4 Way without Grips and take them only if you are flying cleanly enough to take grips. Exiting in a group and holding each other together is just going to cheat yourselves, an teach bad habits. Food for thought. Later

Hmmmm I may be interested in the Booth thing, for a couple hours.

Nice Vid man..........Makes me want to get back in the sky. Damn Knee Surgery. Reminds me that I need to do more fun jumping when I get back, not just Team stuff. Harry P

Yeah just give them you measurements and they should be able to build the right suit for ya, if they are a good company, they should know how to size it better than you can on your own. You can always turn your suit inside out and stich a new seam to bring the arms or legs in more. Freakin Suits, Flite Suits, and Ouragan are all good companies fro Freefly suits. My preference is Freakin Suits.

Make sure you get double ply-on the arms and legs, and don't go Toooo Baggy. Also fabric choice makes a big difference. I go with Poly Cotton, it's thicker fabric and helps slow you down more. I also always order parapac on the knees and butt. but that's more for durability. I'm 220 with gear and jump with two team mates that are 170-180 with gear if that means anything. I don't go too Baggy. In usually always bring the arms in so I can turn points more quickly (VRW not belly).

Guess I was thinking ahead......I had my Rigs custom built to support a standard PD 143 and sub 100 sq ft main. I'll bet I paid more than you did. Wish these new reserves were out then.

Owe............hope he didn't trash his knees there.

Mr. Rotten Ass himself.

doesn't work for eveyone.......different strokes for different folks.

Push your hips fwd for slow fwd movement (use this whn your in close and need to drive fwd a little)..... Lean back harder for faster fwd movement (use this to close the gap 50 feet or to chase someone).... Push your feet down, straigtening your legs while leaning back for the fastest fwd movement in a sit (Use this to cover lots of ground 100's of feet, just make sure you slow down about 50 feet out)...

WOW..........Sounds like someones just beggin for some pie.

Wow that's just wrong to send someone in Basic a Care Package...........Thats just harrasment in a box. The best is when Mom sends cookies, that really gets folks into trouble. Anyone with any military background knows what I'm talking about.

Yeah Man...........Aint they sweet?

Hey Chuck don't forget about Eric Davis and Jon Randolph's Hangar adventures 8-9 yrs ago. Definately not a first, but I do agree with the WUFFO Factor. It's quite dramatic Television for those that don't know any better.

I don't think space is an issue, unless they are talking about choping the board. This would require being able to jump over an area where you can safley chop the board and not hurt anyone. IE......a swamp, woods, or open area where the board can't strike anyone. This would also apply to jumping with space balls or other objects. Sean McCormack is one of the best sky surfers in the world and is a super nice guy. I belive he is jumping down in Florida now. Looks like you are in Michigan so not sure that would work for ya. Mary Tortomasi is out of Perris, CA again not sure if that works for ya. Not many folks sky surfing anymore, so you may have to travel to get coaching. I wouldn't recommend teaching yourself. I've seen some very skilled freeflyers have to chop a board, that they thought they could tach themselves to fly. You can spin out of control so quickly you can spin yourself unconscious. So seek coahing. Later, Harry P

How proficient is your sit? Have you mastered the following with your sit flying? 1.) Exiting in a sit and mainting the entire dive? 2.) Fwd, Bwd, and Side movement in a sit? 3.) Controlled turns in a sit. 4.) Transitions in a sit......ie...front flips, back flips, cartwheels? 5.) Sit flying with 2-Ways, 3 Ways, 4 Ways. 6.) Control of horizontal separation with others in a sit? 7.) Control of vertical separation and flying level with others in a sit? If you can do all these things in a sit, then it's time to start working on Head Down. I highly recommend you find a qualified Freefly coach to learn the basics of HD. Then spend some jumps practicing what they taught you. Then get more coaching jumps. I'd highly recommend you stick to solos, unless you are jumping with a coach. I wouldn't try to learn HD with more than one other person. And I'd make sure that 2nd person is a skilled freeflyer. I would say its cool to jump HD with others when your mentor feels you are ready. As long as you are doing solos. i think your approach is sound but a coach with video will make you prgress much more quickly than going it alone. You may not realize you are driving fwd or backsliding, or turning, or tracking instead of actually going HD. When I am coaching someone I always hold onto their harness and give minor head, arm, and leg adjustments until the person is flying correctly and relaxed. Then I let them go and they can see if they are backsliding, driving forward, turning, or corking. Usually if there is allot of separation when I let them go they notice......and I guarantee it's not me backsliding. Once they are flying relatively well in HD and making progress with flying down the tube, and have the ability to purposefully move fwd and bwd, I start drill dives and make them follow me around the sky. This usually takes awhile, about 50 jumps. Just make sure whomever you get for coaching, knows what they are talking about. But more importantly make sure you can actually learn from them. Not all good Freaflyers make good coaches. Ask around I'm sure you can find someone good. I personally hate having folks pay me or cover my slot. I think folks should give back to the sport to a certain degree. Unless you want someone for 8 jumps a day for an entire weekend. Then covering the slot seems reasonable. But not everyone is generous, and you may have to pay them and cover their slot. Good Luck, you seem to be off to a good start. Harry P

I'm diggin this picture, very nice. Good Freeflyin, awesome bacground, great colors, two levels of clouds, and the lake. Very Nice Picture.

Yeah I've heard this too from several resources. I remember discussing this with Justin at Mirage. And of course my rigger and I have discussed it. Mirage actually recommends replacing the Type 17 Mini risers between 200-400 jumps, which is in line with new Line Sets. You can find this info in Mirages Owners Manual. And I'd agree with replacing SLINKS with the Risers. That's when I replace mine. I'd think that the SLINKS are taking more shock on opening than the risers are, since they are the true attachment point between the canopy and risers.

SWEET !!!! I'm glad he stayed on the underside of that wing. That was bad ass.