Albatross

Katalyst will be there! Bring it on!!

I think that Both Bills and some others have it nailed. In almost no instance are we suggesting that a newbie can't land a Katana or crossfire at 1.4 with 100 jumps or that someone like me with 0 bike riding experience couldn't drive Bill's bike under calm predictable conditions. The problem is that in either case they are not using them the way they were designed and both have the capability to get the user in TONS of trouble if they make a bad choice. Like the canopy it is not the wide open landing area properly set up into the wind that is the problem it is when you get cut off or kit bad air or raod and need to sue the bike or canopy to get out that you are likely to make bad choises and get hurt.
I am not saying that either bikes or canopies are safe in any size ALL of the can kill you if you make a bad choise but having one that is not going to make a move that is faster or more powerful than the operator's reactions and experience will amke it much safer. This is why I am looking at geting a Sexy Ninja 250 or Prowler when I start riding and not trying my GIRLFRIENDS Harley. I may be bigger and stronger but she has been riding for YEARS and know how to handle the bikes.
Does that make me a wimp?? or not as cool? Or stupid?? Doubt it

So it is clear my comment was never that the Quality sucks but rather that the seams were the weakest point in the design. Each suit has a weak point. Many of them are subjective and all are specific to each suit.
I like the design and the construction. I want one.

Yep the people have both put lots of tunnel time on their suits.

Speaking to a seamstress who works on them and talking to friends who jump them. The comments are that they are GREAT. But that the seams are engineered poorly and have a tendancy to blow out.
I am looking at one too but so you know all suits have some issue or another. None are perfect but some individual suits are.

Bottom line is get a bigger or pocketed slider. I ahve a 120 wth an oversized slider and it opens well almost every time. My Sabre2 needs a reline and it doesn't open hard just weird.

The Visor problems for the Oxygen are legendary. Solutions are all those above. SOme others are tape (I think JP said it) and superglueing the ratchets in place. I am debating getting a Factory Diver or mamba for this reason.

What happened to FasTrax??? There were some real glitches in there. Bummer they were doing soo well.

DejaBlue by Shannon Pilcher.

Dom you guys did over a 10?? Wow I missed that. LOL JK.

Hey Tunnel time is Best shared and flown on one's knees

Having little experience in 8-way I would say that you can spin a compressed many ways. DO you want to spin in place, walk it, What are the closes like. If 2 2 way compressed are spinning and then relinking I would suggest doing 1 forward and 1 back maintaining a cheater grip to help with the proximity. The block would break down into comp, box, comp, box, comp. Insides step out maintaining a ceater grip and hold, outsides press toward the center into the box and then it starts again with a new inside and outside.

Dom nope but I have done it with eiher the Oc or the IC havig controling grip on the side body. Like Most of 4-way there are lots of ways to do any of the blocks, it just depends on your team and what comes up

Ummm Dom that depends on your continuity plan DORK!

While all of this is a great discussion it comes down to Don't do ANYTHING that makes you feel uncomfortable. A 4-way TEAM is just that which means that the TEAM makes it so that everyone is in a place that they are comfortable, challenged, and safe. Even in a 300 way you would not be asked to do something that you did not feel good with. Your team should be willing to do SOMETHING to give you the pull altitude you need. Taking the center and having video track, breaking higher... There are many solutions but NO ONE should be jumping and not feeling comfortable about something as basic as pull time.

Dom it was great. I think that there will be some damn strong teams for SoCal at Nationals. I am looking forward to seeing you guys take silver!!

If I could I would jump with Alloy they are a great team. They work hard, skydive well and are honestly one of the best groups of people I have met. They have a great passion for 4-way and it makes seeing them do soo well all the more fun.

That's Right DOm we did put up a 21 But Damn it was a great competition! I am looking forward to the next one

Somehow I think that this is an issue from the older Video days. I have had and seen video with many colors and only at World-Class speed could it have made any difference. I will say that if there is moisture then the dark suit light glove seems to help. Or when the girp is just visable it is easiest to see white on black.
I can't say that I can see any "bleed" with red gloves or what ever.

If you have any question about your reserve, ASK an INSTRUCTOR or a Rigger. DOn't ask us get it looked at. It is likely nothing but WHO knows.

Trust me Quade is Right. There are TONS of people shooting video but when it comes time to compete there are always people trying to get video. Being a competitor and just starting to get a video set-up together, I know how important good video is. A Good camera flier who is there on time, get the exit, keeps a heading, and shoots tight video is a critical and valuable member of any team. Ask Airspeed how valuable it can be.

My experience was that the performance dropped off quite quickly above 1.5 or so. While I know a few people who load them higher than that the landings become much more precisie.

Zhark it is as important to maintain the dicipling on the creapers as in the air. It is MUCH cheaper to creap so make sure you take the time to do angles and "pauses (that is stop drills), before doing flow

The best way to improve your landings is to improve your understanding of how the canopy flys and lands. Get some instruction and someone to watch you.
Some basics are that you should set up a good landing pattern HIGH. you should have a good idea where you are landing and what to do if you need to switch.
On final you should let the canopy fly with NO togle input if possible.
Flare smoothly and ALL the way.
DON'T STOP FLYING UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETELY Stopped.

Dave has the core of it. Bottom line is that the dives will become faster primarily from the team spending less time in the formation rather than by moving much faster. The ideal is that everyone know that the formation is built and ready to key, eveyone keys at the same moment, everyone moves to the new spot, sees that it is ready, picks up grips and the next key comes.
Stop drills force this to happen. A key comes, eveyone drops grips (credit for syncronous keys), everyone makes their move looking at their clone, when the formation is stable shaped and ready a pseudo key is given and eveyone looks at their grips and takes up the grip, then look back to your clone and see the key.
In this mode "points" are given for syncronicity not grips.

Drew I think that you have the right approach. That is assuming tha they do not have unlimited funds and access to a wind tunnel.

Get 2-3 exits I would suggest a sidebody as well, that you can nail reliably. ntermediate may not be won on Exits but it sure is lost.

Next do stop drills or no contact dives with 3-4 points. The focus i NOT on getting many points but making good move and flying your slot, being on level and maintaining eye contact. Once you can do that reliably then move on to grip sequencing and finally syncronicity of keys. After ALL Of that start the bolcks.
It seems like a pin and a lot of work to not go fast. But they are the basics and 23 point ave are only the basics done REALLY well and very fast.