arlo

indeed there is something missing! i 100% agree with you towerrat. (now, generally speaking) if you break a skydive down into sections, you have something like: exit diving to formation (if a chunk isn't launched) freefall stuff track deployment canopy ride landing the tunnel is great for the freefall portion of the skydive and can be used to practice the deployment portion as well (the "arch-look-reach-pull" portion, that is). exit timing can sorta be done as well. the freefall stuff is where the tunnel is most valuable. it helps people learn to do knee-turns and to fly your body moving parts other than just a dropped shoulder. body flight has progressed sooooooo far in the past few years that the potential hasn't even been met. that's it. tunnel time is not the same as a skydive...it's just an incredible simulation of the parts of the skydive in which you fly your body (sans wingsuit or canopy) and it provides you the opportunity to practice pushing air.

sure the cypres has more jumps on it over the past 12 years. that makes perfect sense. it did not have all those jumps when it was released. i'm not arguing your reason (picking what you let your wife jump). i have a cypres and will continue to do so because there's no reason for me to pay for a new aad now. but comparing 7000 jumps + on a new AAD as beta testing and saying it doesn't touch 12 yrs of cypres jumps (implying beta testing) just does not make sense. regarding majik and maubeuge: the teams ARE sponsored, indeed. i'm not saying "hey THEY jump vigils and you should too." I'm saying that they've put most of those jumps on the vigil in the last year or so AS some of the beta testing so there IS some real world application there. i'm also saying that even WITH the sponsorship, they are not gonna put themselves in harm's way to jump something they think is unsafe...sponsorship or not. no amount of sponsorship will have me jumping something i don't believe will work. i believe they feel the same. i never said they bought anything. i said that they were jumping the vigil. please don't misunderstand MY intent. I don't care which AAD you or your wife use. I don't expect anyone to care what AAD I use. but if you're gonna compare beta testing to beta testing, do so with the correct data, that's all. blues, arlo

i think we could give him some ideas, eh andrea? let the games begin.

sorry, but i have to call b.s. on that statement and make it clear so no one is misled by your comment. they may have turned the air down a bit because you weren't flying totally stable, but it sure isn't because they are afraid of you hitting the roof. i've YET to see anyone unintentionally "hit the roof", as you say. The cone is 42 feet up and you are not gonna touch it. (edited to add: okay, maybe if you're 50 lbs and the air is topped out and the controller is unconscious...THEN you might have to worry about hitting the top.) as far as really having to concentrate on your orientation: well, uh, yeah. the reason people go there is to try and stay stable and fly, not to ball up and tumble around. tumbling around in the tunnel with no heed to basic body flight would be a waste of money. the air is adjusted by the (human) controller based on the person's body size and by the instructor's feedback while in the tunnel. the tunnel doesn't run at full speed right now anyway. ------ it depends on what you seek. sometimes people do get a bit frustrated because they don't fly as stable as they think they can, blame it on the tunnel, and never return. it's just a matter of being patient and being open to learning.

real world proof?? ummm, the current world champion 4-way team Maubeuge and the US National team Deland Majik ALL jump the Vigil. I would guess that's well over 7000-8000 jumps per YEAR between those two teams...and they've been doing it (jumping the vigil) for awhile, too. they didn't just start jumping the vigil yesterday. do you actually think these guys think any less of their lives than you (generally speaking) do? i can, with the utmost certainty say that they enjoy their lives and would not put themselves in harm's way. i think people have this gross misconception that the vigil has 10 jumps worth of testing and that John Q. Skydiver is gonna be the guinea pig. not true. i also believe that people believe the vigil exists as much as the snipes do. that's not true either. i know they exist, because i have some. bottom line is that even the cypres was behind their initial release expectation and as much as it sucks, that's just how it is sometimes. have you ever seen that billboard advertisement that simply says: "made you look." the advertising works. so do the products. a

it was 3 feet and don't you forget it!

is it just me or does anyone else think that a car charger would be a nice accessory for one too? ...and people just THINK we're not paying attention while we're driving, eh? a

hi jeni- nothing but positive thoughts and a bunch of love and light to boot. :) as i mentioned to a friend a few minutes ago: the universe won't give you something you can't handle. the power of positive thinking and energy is an awesome thing (as is the love between a brother and sister). hang in there you two. it'll be a rough road, but you'll be stronger because of it. KNOW that you will recover well and that's half the battle. heal well... arlo (in FL)

uh...no. no such thing as being pre-pied. that was your "i'm 21 again" pie-ing. your 1000th pie-ing is your 1000th pie-ing...period. end of discussion. in other words...you are sooooo hosed. you know, reddi-wip makes a chocolate flavored whipped cream. i think we should just celebrate your b-day today too. hell, i'll just use the rest of the week to celebrate your b-day. xoxo, a

it's kolla (from PD)'s birthday today. happy birthday to you.. you work in a zoo... you look like a monkey... and you drink til you're blue (in the face). :) much love girlfriend!

i know not what you speak of wally..... a

gordo baby! how cool is that?! of course, the girls will never want to do 4-way with me again since it was SUPPOSED to be all serious business closing that 14, but i was busy geeking. . great seeing ya at nats, btw. :) mar: i know you've got my back...that's understood. turtle: you met me. i was hiding behind the door when the boob fairy came by. cornholio: duplicate boobies, eh? 2 just ain't enough. it has to be 2 over and over again. geesh. did i leave anyone out? lol

nope. you must show that you can fly stable on your belly, then on your back (because that is the recovery position when you flub), and then you start your sit. that's how it works. it's a little different freeflying in the tunnel because you have a 12 ft diameter to work with. blues, arlo

well, i did a search on something, didn't find it (it was a QUICK search, mind you) so i posted the pic. but someone beat you to the punch ivan.

i fear the wrath of ivan.

ivan? for what? i know not what you speak of. BTW, i did a search but didn't see it. oh well. :)

i hope that this gives everyone a better appreciation of soft serve. a

i think kate's that freefly chica in CA that has been known to frequent PVS...i could be wrong. anyhow, as i sit here eating a few of these wonderful, lip-smacking royal dansk danish cookies, i can't help but wonder, 'boy...what it would be like to be 29 again....' kate, if you were here, i'd give you the whole can of these danish wonder cookies for your b-day!!!!! these things are so good you can't decide whether to kiss 'em or eat 'em up. here's to ya on your b-day dear!!!! xoxo, arlo

brian, thank you so much for listening with an open mind. i'm a firm believer in stacking the deck in one's favor and i think you've just done that by holding out a bit to downsize. stay safe and bluest of skies to you... arlo

if you look at PDs canopy sizing chart for the navigator, you'll see that for a 240, the EXPERT wingloading has a weight of 288 lbs. your exit weight is 290-ish. the NOVICE weight is 192. that's 100 lbs less than yours would be under that canopy and that 192 is in the novice range. 290 is in the expert range. that's my concern. there really is no need to start downsizing in the next 20-30 jumps. am i off topic? oh wait, yes, 1.3 to 1 is too high a wingloading for a reserve for your experience level. just remember, size DOES matter. :) blues, arlo

george (one of the guys that works at skyventure) took the pics of the tunnel camp. he does a great job of it, too. dave, you're right - the pics are taken from inside the antichamber thru the open doorway. that is one of the only times a camera is allowed inside the tunnel doors. for the person mentioning wearing weight belts in the tunnel: like with any skydiving, you have to maintain the same fallrate as the rest of the skydivers, so weight is very common in the tunnel...as it should be in the air during a normal skydive. most people don't have the same fallrate, so weightbelts (or vests) are used to compensate for it. if weight isn't used, it tends to build in bad habits during your skydiving (i.e., the heavier person sticks his/her ass up in the air in an attempt to dearch/slow down creating BAD body position/muscle memory). the tunnel just makes this very evident. if you don't use weight and you're arching your ASS off to keep up, what happens if you have to move or take a grip? as soon as you change your superarch position, you become less aerodynamic and you pop-up/float/bellycork. the closer you are to a natural arch position, the better your control surfaces work, the less time you spend trying to maintain fallrate and the more time spend on remembering the dive. :) weightbelts are std equipment like a jumpsuit or alti.

good on ya, phree! it'll be a beautiful day when we no longer have to save people from themselves.

ummmmmm, did your dzo think that canopy would be "great" for you now? Glad to hear that you want to wait on hitting that 230, because you'll be loading that canopy at 1.26 to 1 and that IMO is just a tad bit steep for you...but sounds like you already know that. shame on your dzo for trying to sell you his stuff already when it is OBVIOUSLY too small. good on you for realizing it. even with 15 jumps, you're at 1.1 to 1 on the nav 260... take care, arlo edited to add: i'm sorry, but it bothers me when people that students look up to/listen to have "the perfect set up" for you right off student status. it almost makes me think people are trying to sell their own stuff for personal gain...instead of trying to keep the newer jumpers as safe as they can. i'm sure i MUST be mistaken, though.

if i'm not mistaken, joe and carlos from SV orlando are going out there this weekend to do some follow-up trng with the new instructors at SV perris. that info was from tuesday, so it may have changed. FYI: for them to do the trng, the tunnel must be operational.

the clipper is also made of F-111 versus zero-porosity fabric. i wouldn't jump this canopy if i weighed more than 170 pounds. otherwise, there's nothing wrong with 'em...except that it's F-111. blues, arlo