skynole

Any word on if the Skyvan is going to be there for sure?

I thought this too, but talking with the PD team they said that of all things they've done to reduce drag (RDS, clothing, body position, etc.), switching to HMA has been the most noticeable difference. But like you said, the reduction in drag is really only that beneficial for the top swoopers. Technique is 95% of the swoop.

Looks like I'll be able to make it. Is there a registration fee?

I have no idea if that formula is accurate or not, but from my experience, that seems about right....in full flight mode. I was very surprised when I first got my Velo (WL ~2.0-2.1) that it was not as fast as I thought it would be. In full flight, it really wasn't all that much faster than under my Stiletto (WL ~1.5ish). As Ian stated though, once you start talking about speed building maunevers, it's a whole different story... Edited to answer your post more fully: There are many other factors to consider when downsizing besides just the forward speed of a canopy due to increased WL, namely planform design, line length, sq footage, etc... I can expand on these if you would like but it's been covered extensively in here.

Sorry dude, couldn't resist.... Maybe a Freudian slip though, and I won't take offense

I've warned you about that...but there you go again not listening to advice. (Couldn't resist, you left yourself open!) Back to topic... Skydivers in general, like some have already mentioned, have certain degree of ego. This leads to selective hearing in some cases and more importantly IMHO, that it's all in the presentation of the advice. I've seen some instructors/upjumpers have an asshole, drill sergeant, talking down to, etc. attitude when giving advice. Even though the info they are passing along is good, it never really sinks in because of the way they pass it along. I experienced this when I was first getting started by some, and all I got out of the conversation was thinking about what an asshole this person was. I really keep this in mind whenver I'm in the position of giving advice and always try my best to be patient in the conversation and ALWAYS talk "eye-to-eye".

I don't think they do much jumping here anymore, but Seminole Skydiving on the Florida panhandle has some of the prettiest scenery I've seen. Poke around their site and take a look at the different pics. http://www.seminoleskydiving.com I've attached one.

Exact same thing happened to me. I had a funky opening and the riser smacked the quick release on my Hawkeye. Unlike you though, I never did find mine as it fell into dense forest. Besides the tape, anything else survive the fall? The good-news from my loss was that I contacted Jim from ArrowDynamics Inc. and he was understanding of the situation and he offered me a new, custom Hawkeye at cost to him - like $80 or something. I would suggest that you get in touch with him and tell him what happened.

I was lucky enough to be able to watch it about a month ago and all I can say is....AWESOME!! The promo clips are definitely teasers. Cisco did a great job of putting together the DVD and the camera work by the PD team is very impressive throughout.

Bring it! Hey Diginthecorner, you better not be sandbaggin' bro!...that fro just didn't look right in Parachutist. See all you guys there...looking forward to it, should be fun!

Well he better have won considering he was swooping against Mantas and Navigators! Nah, in all seriousness congratulations Justin! Aubrey - What was the format of the comp? Brian

Dee - Please shoot us an update when you talk to Greg today. Thanks!

Gotta go with you on that one....GREAT song! Funny story with it too. I was in Key West a few years ago - and for those of you that don't know, Jimmy helped put that place on the map...original Margaritaville - anyway, we were at a Kareoke bar. It was pretty packed for the size of the place, 100-150 people....and these people took there Kareoke seriously...some of them were pretty damn good! Unbenounced to me, my friend signed me up to sing Pirate Looks At 40. The MC calls my name and I'm like WTF!!...but I'm pretty shit-faced by this point so I say screw it. I start singing (if that's what you want to call it) and I'm just doing Jimmy no justice at all and the crowd is letting me know it. So my friend jumps on stage and starts dancing like a Hawaiin skirt/belly dancer to help diverge the attention from me. We finish and exit the stage to mix of boos, laughs, and applause. The next day we are at a Pizza parlor eating lunch and this couple walks up to us and says "Hey you're the guys from the Kareoke bar! You gonna perform again for us tonight...we haven't laughed that hard in ages!" Jimmy might have made that song famous, but that weekend we made that song INFAMOUS in Key West! Sorry for the long post, I had just completely forgotten about that story until I read this thread.

Hey Dee - I'm not 100% sure if I can go yet, but if do, Fortson was nice enough to let me be a stow-away in the luggage compartment! I'll let you know what my plans are and see if we can figure something out. Moss Point is great DZ and you'll know a bunch of ppl there. I'm surprised a big way sky-god would even consider talking to us freaks....let alone let us in the same plane that isn't part of DZ operations!

And that's putting it nicely! There's a good chance I'll be heading to Moss Point that weekend and I'll gladly help with weight distribution in the plane if you need an extra body ...but I ain't packin'! Congrats on the 2pt - 121way!!

I wasn't on the 12-way, just the 9-ways. And why weren't you there that weekend...oh wait, you probably wouldn't have jumped anyway as the winds were gusting 1-2mph. You going the comp in May in Deland?

You have good points as I do know what you are saying about slo-mo. Also, I'm only speaking in terms of freefall as I rarely use it for ground footage. Personally, I feel that lighting is optimal in sport mode for freefall footage (in most cases...). I've experimented using most modes in freefall and I just like the results I get from Sport mode the best. I feel the pro's outweigh the con's...but like you said, it's totally subjective. What mode do you predominantly use?

I lost mine when one of my risers hit the release button and yanked my chincup from my Hawkeye on a slammer opening. I think it was charma because I called in sick to work that day and it happened on the first jump of the day! Spent the rest of the day searching through the DENSE forest of Deland looking for it but never found it. I really wasn't worried about retrieving the helmet and camera because they probably wouldn't have survived the fall intact...but my ProTrack and ProDytter most likely would have. ArrowDynamics Inc. was understanding and they gave me another custom Hawkeye at cost to them.

Don't mean to hijack, but would you mind expanding on this comment. I almost exclusively use Sport and get great results. Have you had bad results using Sport as oppossed to other settings?

Yeah everyone was flying real solid...no tension or waves. The pic is just a captured frame from Jay Moledski's video. Definitely a cool angle - notice the horizon on the bottom, right-hand corner.

Hope you guys do this again soon. It was a lot of fun....thanks. Here is a pic of one of the 9 ways.

Since you are already have such great jump prices, are you guys going to be offering Hop n' Pop lift tickets as well?

Crossposting this just in case you are replying in this forum and not Swooping & CC control.... How much much for Hop 'n Pop tickets? Any pics of the pond? ....ianmdrennan would like to see pics before he gets up close personal when he face-plants!

How much for Hop 'n Pop tickets? Any pics of the pond by any chance?

You didn't have your camera rolling, so therefore I don't know what you are talking about....it never happened! I see your first meet is in my backyard...it'll be fun kicking your ass! Stay safe buddy, see ya around.