ianmdrennan

This one? http://www.devilducky.com/media/46340/ Performance Designs Factory Team

"You got an ATM on that torso there lightbright?" "Now get your 7 foot 2 asthmatic ass back here" "Oh geez he's crying" Performance Designs Factory Team

Love that show. The star wars version is one of my favs, and my fav clip pretty much ever is the Death Star Emperor one you linked to

Not true at all. I don't moderate this forum and have no say as to what stays and goes. IMO it's not an advertisement...just an endorsement...just like I'd give any good dropzone...just like we see daily in the 'bitch' threads - this time though, heaven forbid, it's something nice to say about a service. Now, do you have something constructive to add? Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Nah, I just played it safe. A lot of other pilots had much better runs than I but came up off the water or verted. I am happy about it though, make no mistake. On a side note, special kudo's goes out to Stu for kicking ass and flying like a champ! Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hey folks, Lets not turn this into a Velo vs JVX vs Xaos vs Vx thing. All are good canopies with their own strong points. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I let Surgeons and Doctors set my breaks. I like to stow the excess line on my brakes though

I think you should give him LESS time off..... Performance Designs Factory Team

Jim hasn't posted anything official yet (besides the night of the event). Off the top of my head (and some placings may be wrong), here's the top 10 of 30 that they announced. 1) Jay Moledski 2) Stu Schoenfield 3) Brian McNenney 4) Jeffo 5) Isaiah McCulciff (sp?) 6) Can't remember(Chris Hayes)? 7) Can't remember 8) Nick Batch 9) Nick Boyd 10) Ian Drennan Performance Designs Factory Team

Mile Hi Skydiving has a program like that. To the best of my knowledge they spend a bit of time educating the passenger and don't treat it like a 'thrill ride'. Co-incidentally they also have one of the highest retention rates in the country.....(so I'm told) Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Here's an extract from the thread mentioned above (for convenience sake). Hope it helps Starting out: The temptation is great to simply go and drag water on your first pond swoops. This is generally not something I recommend. I believe it's a good idea for pilots to do a few swoops along the SIDE of the pond, over ground, like they were normal swoops. This allows the pilot a few things: You get to swoop over conditions you are already comfortable with You get to gauge how far you'll go, and where your 'touchdown' point will be. This will help you refine your setup with confidence You will begin to get used to having water in your peripherals while landing You will be less likely to get 'sucked in' As the comfort level grows: Once the pilot has reached a comfort level in this environment they then move over to the water itself. Once again, here there are some factors to be aware of: Getting wet is not the end of the world. Fly consistantly and cleanly for the safest (least erratic) approach. Stick near the edge of the pond so you can bail out if you'd like to Do your first few approaches with no intention of touching down. Stay 5 foot above the water and get used to being over it while giving yourself a little bit of a buffer Don't swoop gates just yet. Focus on getting comfortable on where you need to be in your setup and how far you'll go. The likelyhood of 'diving down' on the gates at this stage is high and you dont need the added distraction Don't stare at the water. Look ahead and use your peripheral vision to help with altitude cues. Also be aware that with huge ponds (like JSC and Mile High) your peripherals will be filled with water as well. Make sure you're looking ahead at the shore in some capacity When you're finally ready to start touching water, gently set yourself down. Don't reach for the water, let it come to you. Be gentle, there's no need to be an anchor and dragging water WILL shorten your swoop. Don't do anything you wouldn't do over land! Once you are comfortable over water: Here the fun really begins. You get to start learning the limits of your wing. Set up gates and get used to swooping through them. Remember to be careful of diving down on top of them. Being over water, staring straight down at your 'entry point' is almost a guarenteed way to hit the water....hard Gradually start exploring the limits of your wing and your skills. It's critical to remember that as you begin to explore new things, you're going to easily fall into a 'rush trap' where you are doing moves before you've reached the surface of the water. Make sure you are level before trying your moves. Be safe, have fun, and enjoy the water. It's there to help you when you screw up but it's just a small buffer. Great for horizontal speed (hence being level = good) but high vertical speeds can still have the same effect as the ground. I've seen people hit hard enough to blow their dytter to pieces and be lifeflighted out. No matter the medium, high vertical speed into the ground/water is bad Hope this helps in some way. Remember to seek out advice from as many qualified people as possible. There are more than a few ways to start your progression over water. Get coaching from qualified pilots whenever possible. Reinventing the wheel hurts, and is unnecessary

hahahahahaha Probably

There's a reason I didn't post it there Chris Hint: It's in the post Performance Designs Factory Team

Well, I was going to post this in the wind tunnel forum but decided not to as I wanted jumpers who may not visit that forum to know how impressed I was with Colorado's tunnel AND instructors and that it's not a 'tunnel rat' tunnel. All the instructors were skydivers, current or inactive, with a good number of jumps. I just got back from a trip where I had the opportunity to freefly in the tunnel, comfortably, in my regular freefly suit AND included in tunnel price is coaching....pretty damn cool. The recirculating air makes the temperature very comfy and the airflow is super smooth! If you're ever in the area and are looking for some good tunnel time to hone your skills I can absolutely recommend it! Thanks to Jason, Brad and Derek for helping me have such a great time! Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Water can bring about a number of different situations that swoopers may not be used to dealing with: Depth Perception Fixation Glare to name a few. Peej started a thread a little while back about swooping ponds when JSC's was built. Check it out and see if there's anything in there that helps. Pond Swooping Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Rain-Man and Dave, Stop with the digs at each other and please try and stick to the topic at hand. If you two really want to duke it out, please do so in PM's. Rain-man is right in that we should TRY to answer all questions constructively, HOWEVER, Rain-man please do not try and goad Dave. He's been a good contributor to the forum over the years and has a lot of good info to offer. Don't be so quick to discount his thoughts. For the record, I happen to agree that the Velo 120 is not the appropriate canopy at this time for the pilot and they'd be better off mastering the Katana they currently own. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

It was a great comp, with great conditions and 30 competitors. Winners of the individual events: Distance : Jay-Mo Speed: Jay-Mo Carving Accuracy: Jeffro and Brian McNenney (Tie) Freestyle: Noah Banson Overall: Jay-Mo I'd expect the official overall final results to be posted sometime in the next few days

Sorry, you're right. Practice day is the 14th, comp starts the 15th. Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Ditto - went from a PDR 113 to a Optimum 126. Blues. Performance Designs Factory Team

Not at all. I have a range of altitudes that I'll turn within. The altitude will depend on the type of turn I'm doing (slow, slow - fast, fast, or abort). Because each canopy has a 'window' these altitude windows will obviously change according to size, type, turn speed/type and loading. Do the appropriate turn for the altitude. If the pilot has spent enough time focusing on setup and pattern they should be able to place themselves within their window - sometimes on the high side, sometimes on the low side of their initiation point (note: Not rollout) - to perform their turn safely. I try and visualize the ideal glide slope through the target with the ideal rollout and then turn to intersect that path with my current path, smoothly. I guess what I'm saying is that if for some reason the pilot isn't going to make the 'window' for their canopy, I believe they should have recognized that way before they actually get to their initiation point. Of course, everyone makes mistakes and misjudgements so sometimes we find ourselves digging or skipping off the water even if we started with plenty of altitude for the turn. Those in of themselves aren't necessarily an indication that the turn was done too low, but rather that the inappropriate turn speed was used. Basically, there's a crapload of ways you can screw yourself

It's the obvious answer, sure. However, given the no traffic criteria the 'whenever I need to' answers beg the question "How late is the pilot leaving the decision process?" Personally, I believe in identifying the issue BEFORE the turn is made. Not saying the other responses are incorrect by any means - doing whatever it takes not to pound in is the obvious answer. Just questioning the decision making process...... Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Added it to the poll

Before I reach my Initiation Point. ie: Before I make my turn to final. If I don't have the altitude I simply do a 90 degree turn onto final and land 'normally' Blues, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

yep. That is why I will be sitting paris`s car with my pants unzipped for the next few months. Think it will work? *cough*, now Jay, what are you trying to tell us? Performance Designs Factory Team

[King Roland has given in to Dark Helmet's threats, and is telling him the combination to the "air shield"] Roland: One. Dark Helmet: One. Colonel Sandurz: One. Roland: Two. Dark Helmet: Two. Colonel Sandurz: Two. Roland: Three. Dark Helmet: Three. Colonel Sandurz: Three. Roland: Four. Dark Helmet: Four. Colonel Sandurz: Four. Roland: Five. Dark Helmet: Five. Colonel Sandurz: Five. Dark Helmet: So the combination is one, two, three, four, five? That's the stupidest combination I've ever heard in my life! The kind of thing an idiot would have on his luggage! Performance Designs Factory Team