Skwrl

Why not both? It's the wingsuit with a surprise. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

This is true. It's not as easy to pierce the corporate veil of a well run corporation or LLC as one might think. The problem is that a lot of people don't run their legal entities well. For example, you need to maintain books and records of the LLC as if it was a separately running business. Do you have minutes of meetings? Do you maintain separate bank accounts? Or do you mingle funds of yours with funds of the LLC's? Do you hold yourself out as an LLC to the people who you are providing services (instruction) to? There's a ton of ways to screw it up. A side note: if you set up an LLC, you want to make sure you're still referenced as a beneficiary of the dropzone's waiver. I've seen some waivers that talk about waiving liability for the DZO and his employees... But in this case - and in a lot of cases, I gather - the instructors aren't employees but independent contractors... Also, make sure you have a good tax accountant if you're setting up a multi-member (i.e., more than one owner) LLC - partnership tax is tricksy, to say the least. /not legal advice. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I'm closer to your level of experience than most of the people here, Butters, and for what it's worth, I can testify about how not to do it. I had 200 skydives (maybe a couple more, maybe a couple less, my log book isn't a model of clarity) when I started. I never thought I was an amazing skydiver, but I figured I was pretty good. I had done a bunch of tracking dives, and practiced the wingsuit pull a ton of times. But I knew I wanted to wingsuit badly. And that's exactly how I did it: badly. I did a series of coached jumps with great instructors, but I generally fell like a rock. My pull times were like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. I was the king of line twists. On solo jumps, I found new and exciting places to land off because of my poor navigation. At 200 jumps, I wasn't inherently ready. But I got a ton of good coaching from guys who knew I wanted to wingsuit and was really dedicated to being able to do it well (or, at least, not badly). I spent a lot of time watching wingsuit videos, not so much to go "neat, I want to do that!" but to watch for subtle nuances of body position. My instructors were wise enough to keep me from large flocks where I easily could have done some real damage. I started very small and gradually, fitfully, improved. So what's my point? "The work" is not something you complete. You wrote of "the work" as like a binary switch: something you complete and then you're done and qualified to be a pilot. Like a lot of stuff in life, that's not how it works. Learning to fly a wingsuit is a process of gradual improvement - for some, it's quite fast, for others, much slower. In my opinion, whether it's 200 or 500 or 1000, jumps when you start, you're best served by: - practicing everything without a wingsuit (exit, flight, navigation, deployment); - finding top notch instructors who are willing to spend the time to work with you and actually tailor their instruction to your strengths and weaknesses; -learning as much as you can about how your wingsuit works (what control surfaces are most effective if you need to shift your yaw without rolling, what's the optimum position for your shoulders, for glide? for speed?, etc.); and - practice, practice, practice. Personally, I think the better approach is not to worry about whether you met someone else's perception of whether you "did the work", but instead to do what's called "beginner's mind" in Zen - as a beginner, you're constantly absorbing new information: you're never saying, "well, shit, I know how to do that". As a result, you discover ways to do what you do better. For what it's worth. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I'm sure there are scantily clad men, too, I just didn't notice any. I hope you can make it - it's a fun time. (I am hoping for a kickback from the Puerto Rico tourism authority... ) Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

They got kicked off of the Puritanical photobucket hosting site... (That behavior met with my approval, by the way.) Seriously, folks, this is the event to come to... Even for you Europeans - last I checked it's winter in February in all of the Northern Hemisphere. You simply can't beat the weather, beaches, rum, scantily clad women, rum, scantily clad women and rum that this event offers. Did I mention the rum? Yes, you have to fly to a US territory, which probably requires a tissue sample for Homeland Security, but it's a small price to pay... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Scotty shouldn't take the blame for the second video. That messy editing was my doing. Bottom line: if you fly teh squirrel suit thingy, go to Puerto Rico. In addition to what I'm sure will be some amazing flocking organized by Bland and Shorb, you will have an opportunity to... Discover new rums: http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Huxley71/?action=view¤t=panaramaofrumparty.flv Make an impression on local government officials: http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Huxley71/transportedbythecops.jpg Discover new forms of transportation: http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Huxley71/?action=view¤t=onlyinpuertorico.flv Watch a few epic sunrises (if you're not too hungover from aforementioned booze): http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Huxley71/Sunrise-1.jpg Learn what makes Tonysuits so popular with the ladies: http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Huxley71/JordanSamanthaCheetahTony.jpg Discover the local fauna: http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Huxley71/Picture13-3.png See how you size up with the competition: http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Huxley71/Hunglike.jpg And generally have a crapload of fun: http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j164/Huxley71/IMG_9740.jpg Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Pffft. That's nothing. You've never seen me fly. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Nice looking. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Yep. Not saying it's a "pilot" thing. I think it's just one of the consequences of being, you know, human. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

[Quote] Here's the pitch . . . "Dropped – A Life on Thin Air" [/Quote] Slow clap, 90's style. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

And pilots would come up with new errors. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Scott - That's self-inflated, right? Not a CO2 cartridge, correct? The reason I ask is that it's difficult (impossible?) to bring a C02 cartridge on a commercial flight. So I'd have to ship it down to PR in advance by mail... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

That, ladies and gents, is why I started as a math major, but gave up. (when I learned that -e^(i*pi) = 1, I just couldn't get my head around how that worked... you gots two irrational numbers and an imaginary number... srsly, WTF?). That, and I figured as a math major I'd never get laid. (Then I discovered that it wasn't my major that prevented me from getting laid...) Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Well, if we're going to mess with the numbers, I want a number that reflects me properly. 001) ScottyBurns.com 0) Justin Shorb (PhoenixRising) 1) Notsane (Scott Bland) 2) Butters (Tony) 3) fmmobley (Marion... bringing my whuffo wife) 4) Supergirl (Andreea) 5) stoney3434 6) yeyo (gargamel) 7) dzjnky (Rick... "I'm back!!!!") 8) Chris Gray (Booyah!!!) 9) Scott Gray 10) Brian Barnhart pi) Jeff Donohue (teh Skwrl) 12) Danny (droquette) 13) Jose (Turtle) 14) Nacho 15) Purple Mike 16) Bill K. - another fat azz, hope I can keep up 17) Tony suits 18) Phil Peggs 111) The111 (Matt Hoover) 112) DSE (arriving late after PIA) z) Zach Irrational. Just like me. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

My great grandparents were a hoot, weren't they? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I second that. Whoo hoo! Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

If you're working with a CX12, you might want to consider top-mounting the box. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

1) Notsane (Scott Bland) 2) Butters (Tony) 3) fmmobley (Marion... bringing my whuffo wife) 3) Supergirl (Andreea) 3) The111 (Matt Hoover) 4) stoney3434 5) yeyo (yeyo) 6) dzjnky (Rick... "I'm back!!!!") 7) Chris Gray (Booyah!!!) 8) Scott Gray 9) Brian Barnhart 3) Jeff Donohue (teh Skwrl) Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

We did a high alti wingsuit jump onto the beach last year. We took the plane out about 2 miles off shore, flew with the plane another mile, and then turned around and flew back to the beach. Plenty of time, even given that I pull at 4k. We were (of course) led by Purple Mike... We made it back easily - had time to take docks. In retrospect, it wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done (imagine losing a bootie...), but it made good video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ytlbusHnkc I can't wait for this year's fun. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I suspect the first we will see of it will be the publication in the Federal Register. For those not familiar with all this non-sense, under the US Administrative Procedures Act, if an administrative agency like the FAA wants to propose a new regulation, it needs to provide notice to the public and the opportunity to comment (typically, 90 days). Agencies give notice by publishing the proposed rule in the Federal Register. You can find the proposed rule on repacks here. http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/TEXTgate.cgi?WAISdocID=022715168317+0+1+0&WAISaction=retrieve The proposed rule is not usually the final (implemented) rule; in fact, the final rule may differ significantly from the proposed rule. Pretty much as long as the final rule is not arbitrary, capricious, or outside of the agency's power, it will be upheld if it's challenged. I'm guessing that none of that will happen here... When the final rule is issued, I'll post a link to it (unless someone else beats me to it). Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Wharrgarbl? Well, I'm not getting in the habit of defending Justin (that would be a full time job) but that is one of the wackier comments I've heard in a while. Let's break down all the [sarcasm] massive [/sarcasm] press coverage Flock U has got, starting from most prominent to least. There was a recent article about us in the Boston Globe. For what it's worth, Justin didn't call anyone about that. That was me. I mentioned to a reporter friend of mine (Susan) about the Pepperell boogie. The tip off: why do you think I get quoted in the story, and not someone with a clue? After all, her specialty is "odd ball" stories. Who is more odd ball than us? (Resisting urge to make joke about one of our members...) A number of years ago, Lurch was in the Globe when he was one of the only wingsuiters in New England. Go Lurch. Now let's turn to slightly smaller media. There was a story about Justin in his home town newspaper in Wyoming. I guess when you're from Wyoming (where the population what? 100?) having someone start a wingsuiting school is sort of a "home town boy does something interesting" angle. Lord knows, the paparazzi won't stop chasing Justin after that article. We get them a separate Otter so they can take pics from it. That's why I hang out with Flock U, by the way - it's all the groupies. (It's also a great excuse - "Why can't I stay in my slot?" "It's all the chicks throwing their underwear at us...") There have been a couple of articles over several years in the local Pepperell news paper. They usually run in connection with Pepperell's boogie, and many include Flock U as a side note. If you've been to Pepperell, you'd know that it's not a hot bed of exciting news action (i.e., what the hell else are they going to write about in August?). I'm leaving out the part in which we got on the History Channel. That wasn't a press piece. They wanted to talk about wingsuits, Justin gave them wingsuits... So... ummm.... what was your point again?

Oooooh! So one way to increase my wingloading is to cutaway!

Waaaaait... I gave up the chance to be in the largest gathering of people only wearing underpants to be part of the whole Elsinore thing? Man, do I have poor judgment. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Back in my day, Trolls had big goofy looking faces, poofy hair and were collected by weirdos. Now they appear to be collected by internet threads. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

[Accent] Push! [/Accent] Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork