listo

Sure, I learned a great deal of respect for high performance canopy flight and more importantly, just as you said, the sport taught me. I didn't teach myself and noone else taught me. Yeah there were people who expressed concern. I believe that a good DZO should come up in a situation like that and say....."look man, what you are doing is potentially suicide". "If you want to jump this "rocket ship" at your low experience, then fine, but the first time you almost kill yourself or someone else, then you are going to have to find another DZ." If someone had put it to me that way, then I might have been a little more careful. Sometimes a strong word or altamatum as a last resort is what is needed. In my case, it definately was and I really regret that the bystanders and first jump students had to see me get stupid. It wasn't like I was making my first jump on that canopy. It was after quite a few close calls. (my own health) I will be the first to admit that what I did was stupid. I can see that now. At the time I was someone that was accellerating very fast in the sport and I was extremely good for my jump numbers. All I am suggesting is this. As a high performance canopy pilot I take special precaution to watch each high performance landing at my home DZ. I think that when someone is ready, then they should downsize by all means if they want to. The great thing about where I jump is this. We all get along and talk about things on a weekly basis. We have a big dropzone and a lot of different types of skydivers, but we all get along and respect each other. The main reason is that when you get there, you will notice EVERYONE talking about things. The skygods are not really that relevant there. If you have an attitude, you will be shunned. We keep each other safe no matter what the experience level. I have had people that have less than 100 jumps come to me after a swoop and say "little low there Sam" and to which I reply according to the way I feel. Usually in one of two ways. I either know that I was low or there was some other reason, or just thank them for bringing it up to me. If it was just bad judgement then fine. I ACCEPT it from EVERYONE. That is how we have people learning. They talk WITH us, NOT TO us or us TO them. At the same time, I along with other HP Canopy pilots will congratulate each other and critique each other. It makes us better, safer and closer to each other. Personally, one of the things that I dont like the most about this sport is the people with the inflated attitudes. If you are good, share the wealth and how you kept your health. Don't just preach to someone how to do something.... share with them how you did it and stayed alive doing it. Use some of the worlds greatest canopy pilots for referrences and take the time to actually learn some of their jump numbers and when they downsized and what they downsized to. Almen, Slaton, Canni (World Champion), Colclasure, Farrington, Gilbert ....all of these guys are great canopy pilots. Everytime I get a chance, I talk to these guys or people like them. I dont know everything and probably never will, but I DO KNOW that I can learn, refine and share knowledge. Don't be afraid to tell someone that they ARE NOT READY for a certain wing loading. If you are going to engage in this conversation, be prepared. Be prepared to offer them advice for refining what they currently do and be prepared to stay with them while they learn. If you are not qualified to help them or not ready to commit to their learning, then point them in the direction of someone who is capable. Please, dont just say..." the sport will teach you if you are going to be stupid" There aren't very many people in the world who have the desire to fly the way we do. Lets do our own part to keep our "species" alive. High performance canopy flight is definately only for mature people. Even though most of us are goofs on the ground. In the air, you have to be responsible for you own actions. Some people learn this from watching, some learn it from conversation, some learn it from experiences. I say take the time to really explain what we do and why we really do it. I would suggest to anyone flying a high performance canopy that is doing it to look cool, upsize. It may look cool, but we are explorers and we need to respect what we do in a mature manner. People who TRY to look cool, seldomly are. The ones that ARE cool, DON'T TRY. BE smart not only for yourself, but for others around you as well.

ok, but my point is this. If someone is interested enough to even talk about high performance canopies and their flight characteristics, then care needs to be taken not to wrongfully influence them. Live today as tomorrow may not come

Well that is about the worst way I have ever heard of anyone talking about downsizing. It is the same thing I heard at jump #120 when I went to a Viper 120 @1.7. I was smart enough to handle it and was told that I wouldn't die. I started hooking it and 36 jumps later I was in the hospital for a week with a shattered femur, broken hip and broken back. If you are going to be a smart behind when it comes to downsizing, please for the sake of the unknowing, keep your mouth closed. A responsible high performance canopy pilot has two major responsibitlies to deal with. First he/she has to keep themselves alive. Second, he/she has to realize that people are more than likely learning from what they are doing. If they have a wreckless attitude, then the people who are learning are going to have the same thing and more than likely end up hurt or dead. Valuable information is priceless, but a "smart behind" comment might not be understood by a low experienced person the same way it is understood by an experienced jumper. Keep that in mind when you(everyone) make comments about such a serious matter! It is true that some people have the ability to learn faster than others, but who are we to judge whether or not they can "see" the picture when their life is in danger and we can't talk to them .....ie, in the corner. There are standards as far as experience levels and wingloadings for a reason. Typically, they are right on the money! If you see someone that is above standard, keep the thought to yourself and encourage them to learn more. You might be keeping them alive. If you see someone who is behind the standard, keep the thought to yourself and encourage them to learn more as well. You can't teach high performance canopy flight to someone. You can only give pointers and ideas, what that person does with it is up to them. Personally, I would feel pretty bad seeing Joe "Wonder" Wildman getting really good, me encourage him to do what ever he feels is right for him and then he goes out and pounds in. I would much rather keep that person's mind in the experience level that he is in and let him progress on his own. When he is good enough to downsize, it is when he can't get anything more out of his current canopy. Meaning he has done hundreds of jumps in all kinds of conditions and in all kinds of scenarios. It is impossible to learn a canopy in 100 jumps. IMPOSSIBLE! More importantly, I guess I should say, it is impossible to learn how to fly a canopy to its full range in less than 100 jumps. However you want to take that Be safe and be aware of what you are saying when it comes to high perforamance canopies. You may never know who is listening or how they are going to take it. I have recovered from my accident quite well, luckily and have progressed into a very safe pilot. I came back to a Stiletto loaded at 1.4. When I was bored because I could do nothing more with it. I downsized to a 1.65, the same thing there. I couldn't get anymore out of it and now I am jumping at 1.9-2.0. I have not had any close calls since I got hurt, but I am also a lot safer and more conservative. Live today as tomorrow may not come

well....I pose this question to all that have posted to this. Is the best free flier in the world the one person who can do all of the tricks and look like a swan while doing it or is it the person who can fly in any given attitude with the proper speed relative to what is going on .....and who is willing to teach anyone the safe principles of free flying without putting themself first. I personally believe that the best free flier in the world is that one person that is willing to teach anyone, anywhere, anything and do it all for the sake of making the discipline safer for all invlolved. The key attribute of this free flier would be that they would do this not for profit (ie, all of these large FF schools) but for the personal satisfaction that they taught someone their own personal knowledge soley for the reward of watching the so called student progress into becoming a safer free flier and to see their enjoyment that results from what they have learned and the fact that they too can fly with the most disciplined skydivers in free fall.... Again, this is just my opinion, but.... that is what this post was all about in the first place wasn't it?

ok guys.....I am sorry that I got irritated and posted my feelings. This subject is one that I feel very strongly about though. I AM new to the forums and did a horrible job of expressing my views...I appollogize. Here is what I have seen in lieu to what I wrote earlier on. I have SEEN dolphins with reserve bridles snaking out on sit fly jumps. I have SEEN numerous dolphins on head down jumps with the riser covers coming undone (tuck tabs, velcro, snaps) and the jumpers ending up with one set of risers over an elbow or close to it. I have seen three instances of this and have all of them on video. All three were on the riser cover types that I stated. I come from a dolphin based DZ, at least that is where I started. AS for the relflexes. I have seen a reserve bridle snake out on one of those as well. Granted, a good pre-jump gear check might have kept these bridles from sneaking out...maybe, I dont know. I am just stating what I have seen. I have also seen the reflex riser covers come undone on head down jumps and the jumper had a riser on his arm. If a comparison of all rigs were possible at one time, then the design differences in reserve flap design and placement as well as riser protection would be extremely evident. I am not bashing any one particular rig. I am just stating that I have seen the only "close calls" on these two types. ......ladies and gentleman, again, I appollogize for my terrible etiquette earlier on. Blue skies, Loooooooooooong swoops Live today as tomorrow may not come

I really don't understand how press like this could possibly be good press. It just means that wuffo's are going to be coming to the DZ to try and talk about things in which they know nothing about. We need to do our best to inform them about how things work and that this was such a freak accident. My heart goes out to everyone in the skydiving community. As a tandem instructor, I have obvious concerns. But more importantly.... my personal skydives will always be a bit safer. Please everyone, make sure you do gear checks! Never let a running plane cause you to "hurry up" or make anything less than a 100% effort to make each skydive as safe as we can. You never know when "murphy" is going to visit you, but we can make it harder for him. I dont know anything about the accident and I am NOT making assumptions either. I am just ASKING each of you personally to do your best to keep our sport as safe as you can....... Live today as tomorrow may not come

But for those who can't afford to buy a top rig AND make a lot of jumps, surely buying a cheaper (yet still freefly friendly) rig and using the money they saved to pay for jump tickets would be a good idea? I'd rather buy a cheaper (still safe) rig and make 200 jumps a year, than blow all my money on a top rig and only be able to afford to do 50 jumps a year.*** Ok man, you are getting to me a little here. Once again, you know nothing of what you are talking about. You make it sound like I am some kind of rich boy that can do whatever I want. Well mister here is some info for you. You obviously want to know since you have been bashing my profile, making snide remarks in here and the such. If you are SO INTERESTED IN ME.....HERE YA GO!!!!! I do tandems, static line, and video jumps to pay for my gear and fun jumps. I have learned the hard way about inferior gear. I currently jump a 2nd hand Quasar II. It doesn't even fit quite correctly but it is much safer than the old dolphin that I had. I paid $500 for it and the reserve. Granted, it was from a friend so I got a little bit of a deal. Lay off man! once again you have opened your mouth and not your mind. You really shouldn't say things about people or insinuate them without knowing the truth. I am a blue collar worker when I am not skydiving, my car is junk and you my dear friend are a jerk! Good day to you sir! Live today as tomorrow may not come

hmmmmm, sorry I dont keep up my profile every weekend for ya there skreamer. To be honest....I have made more than twice the number of jumps this year than that of which you have posted on YOUR profile! Anytime you would like to come learn how to skydive better....please feel free to join us. I dont come on here to bash anyone or anything...I have seen Reflexes get people hurt for various reasons while freeflying. Some of which may have been a riggers fault and some of which are just by the design of the rig. IT IS JUST AN OPINION! Isn't that what the purpose of this forum is little buddy? Live today as tomorrow may not come

Hey Dan, I have heard rumors that front riser inputs on that canopy cause it to do some really weird things... what did you find in that area? Also that front riser pressure is ridiculously high. (understandibly) Live today as tomorrow may not come

alright people........if you are going to inquire about what is a good free fly friendly rig I think that you should talk to people that actually jump year round. Talk to people that make between 500-2000+ free flies a year. You can listen to joe schmoe who might have 500 jumps over the last 2 years or you can talk to people that know about this stuff. Personally, I would suggest a Mirage G3, G4, G4.1, Javelin or infinity. Reflex's are death traps waiting to happen and they are a Rigger's nightmare. Racer's are OLD technology. Some people swear by them, but how many new racers do you see out there compared to other manufacturers. Don't be afraid to call some of the LARGE Fla. DZ's and ask to speak to someone that is highly ff experienced. Money is not an issue in this sport. Your life and well being is. Hell if you are so worried about money, go buy a friggin dolphin and mame yourself or get killed, it is up to you! Live today as tomorrow may not come

lmfao! I USED to jump a dolphin and I was doing some FF'n. I since bought a used Quasar for 1/2 the price of a used dolphin and I am 10 times safer now. Use your head people. Dolphins are nothing more than shitty student gear. Free Flying is for experienced skydivers and experienced skydivers should be smart enough to know what is good gear and what isn't. If you can't afford something free fly friendly, then stay on your belly until you can. Your life isn't worth it. Geeze...use your head before you lose it! If you see someone flying something unsafe, refuse to jump with them. It might save their life. They might think you are an ego case or a jerk, but they will thank you for it when they learn better.Quote Live today as tomorrow may not come

ok, lets use some common sense here guys. Sure it might have been possible to have 29 g's, but how long was that load sustained. Then, how long was the 6 g's sustained. You can experience 29 g's for a 1/4 of a second and then experience 6 g's for 5 seconds and you will feel the 6 g load a lot more. The 1/4 second 29 g load will feel like a slight jerk compared to the sustained 6 g load. Lets get back to using common sense here guys. PEACE! Live today as tomorrow may not come

well, I have jumped both canopies. The stiletto is much more aggressive in both speed and ease of riser input. The Crossfire has a much higher front riser pressure than the stiletto. As for the length of the swoop, they are about the same. However, I would offer the same advice that was given to me. If you need to ask about swooping techniques at a 1.6 wing loading, you are probably highly inexperienced and I would suggest taking your time. It will come to you in time. Don't rush things. I have a titanium rod in my left femur and a broken back because of a stiletto 120. There is no room for mistakes when you start trying to swoop. You really need to ask yourself is your life more or less important than looking cool doing a fast long swoop. Take your time and live long. You have the rest of your life to master your canopy. Dont make your life too short! Good luck Live today as tomorrow may not come