flycurt

It was beautiful and it was truly a wonderful tribute to our friend, Adria. So many people showed up, I believe there were more people outside the chapel, than in the chapel. To hear the things being said about Adria and how she lived her life, is an example to us all. Adria never wasted a moment, she lived her life to the fullest and even in moments, where most people might or would give up, she found the ways to make the most from the situation. Thank you Adria. Take care of each other, Curt

Kbone- Do you have anything positive to say? Anything for Adria's family or friends? To answer your...questions. There was no casket, because this was a memorial service, not a funeral. You are correct, it's none of your business, but the service was in a place where many of Adria's family and friends gathered together. I would estimate over 200 people gathered. I'm sorry no one "checked" with you on how to conduct this service. You obviously have not a clue of what Adria's wishes were in this case. No one was offended by the segregation of services, and I am very sorry if this offended you. I will say this though, both of your posts concerning Adria slightly offended me. But, considering the source, I realize I am wasting energy on feeling this way. In your future postings, maybe you could read what you wrote before posting. Anyone can find negativity, it takes a genuine person to look for and find the positives. Thank you for your concern.

Thanks everyone who came on the Sunset/Moonrise dives at Perris on Saturday. It was absolutely fantabulous. For the trackers, we had a relaxed and memorable formation that everyone on the ground was able to enjoy as well. After we broke off and deployed, we were treated to the most incredible sunsetting I've experienced at Perris. As Lew said, there was that silver rising moon, big as any I've seen. It was an absolutely spiritual experience for us all. Another group, in their own plane did a clear and pull, cross country dive and were able to experience the scenery for a bit longer, with everyone landing safely. Alex Allen, the last cross-country jumper to land, dropped a bag of rose petals over the landing area before landing. Once we were all down, everyone seemed to be in awe of the skydive. A jump dedicated to the loving memory of our Guardian Angel and wonderful friend, Adria. Thank you for the incredible view, Adria. Rob, the pilot of "the Shark" did a low altitude, "slow-by" over the landing area before landing, in her honor. After sundown, we moved over to the memorial park at the south end of the runway and held a candle light memorial, with the planting of a tree and expressing our sentiments and memories of Adria. Thanks so much and take care of each other.

I would like to apologize, I misunderstood a detail of the information concerning Adria's memorial. This will be a memorial only, there will not be a casket, only flowers, pictures, family and friends. Again, I apologize for the misundertanding.

Memorial services for Adria will be at the: Glenabby Memorial Park and Mortuary Tuesday, 31 Aug 2004 @ 2PM in "The Chapel of the Roses" Glenabby Memorial Park and Mortuary 3838 Bonita Road Bonita, CA 91902 (619) 498-4600 This will be a closed casket memorial service. The funeral will be at a later time for family only. Any donations, in lieu of flowers would be greatly appreciated, in Adria's name to her favorite charity: Mama's Kitchen 1875 2nd Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 233-6262 Mama's Kitchen Thank You

As was done for Nate Gilbert just a short time ago, I would like to propose a Nation-wide Tracking dive in Adria's honor, to take place at Sunset on Saturday, 28 Aug for Adria. Please post any video, pictures or links to such here. Thank You All so much

We spoke with the family this morning and no word yet for a memorial service. When I get it, I will post it here immediately. But, it seems that her family may opt for a private service, but that is not solid yet. If so, I will post information where people can send flowers, cards and such. If not, I will post the information regarding her memorial service. Also, in the event a private service is held, plans are being made to hold a separate memorial service that anyone can attend. I will post this information on the Bonfire soon. Thank You

Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die! I am the song that will never end. I am the love of family and friend. I am the child who has come to rest In the arms of the Father who knows him best. When you see the sunset fair, I am the scented evening air. I am the joy of a task well done. I am the glow of the setting sun. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die! by Mary Frye & Wilbur Skeels

I am terribly sorry to have to report this, but Adria's family called us a couple hours ago and Adria has died. There will be info to follow concerning a memorial for Adria as soon as her family has had time to deal with the situation at hand. We all Love you, and will miss you tremendously Adria, but we will never forget you. My condolences to her family and friends.

Yes, using fronts will alter the AoA of the entire canopy, but that alteration first affects the portion of the wing connected to that riser, so as it's AoA is changed relative to the rest of the canopy, the entire wing will then change its AoA and "behave" according to the control inputs given. The word "distort" might be misleading or is the wrong description but using a front riser changes the shape of the wing, and this shape causes the wing to fly into a dive. I am not an aeronautical engineer by any means, but my comments are meant as general references, not necessarily the exact engineering terminology. Angle of Attack: The acute angle between the chord of an airfoil and a line representing the undisturbed relative airflow. Chord: A straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges of an airfoil.

I spoke with Adria's Mom this morning, she wants everyone to know that without the support everyone has shown and given, she said she wouldn't have been able to make it through this time. As I said before she wants everyone to know how grateful and thankful she is for all the support. With that being said, this time from now forward is Adria's family time. They are together with Adria now and have asked that no more visitors come to the hospital. Also, please do not call them, they would like to left alone with Adria and would stay in contact with me for updates and status. Please look here for that information. Thank you.

I'd have to agree with this jumper to some degree. Whether using toggles, fronts, rears, harness or whatever combination of canopy controls a pilot decides to use, you have to ask yourself, what is the goal of the pilot under their canopy? If you are a video person who likes to whip your canopy around with toggles and are safe in doing it, so be it. It's what you know, it's what you've done after 100's or 1000's of jumps. I don't believe it's as safe, but people who do it enough know it's no big deal to them. But as you point out it's not a great example of what to do for students. Unless of course they pull every student aside and educate them on what and why, which I know doesn't happen very often. If you are a CReW person, you're going to use all kinds of combo's, ask a CRew Dawg what inputs are needed to "warp" the canopy. Sport accuracy jumpers, these jumper's sit in brakes alot of the time until they arrive at just the proper angle/altitude. But if you are doing HPL's or diving turns to build up speed for distance or a speed run, you are going to use your fronts to change the shape of the canopy to turn and dive. This will keep the canopy fully pressurized, without deflecting the tail, which would slow the canopy. It doesn't make alot of sense to slow the canopy if you are trying to build up speed. Using toggles deflects the tail to whichever side the input is given. This begins to "move" that side of the canopy toward a stall, slowing or "appling the brakes", to the side of the canopy that is deflected. And the turn is then initiated by the other side effectively "out flying" the stalled side. Then, once in a diving position the canopy controls can be put to a neutral/full flight position where the canopy will settle on heading and pick up more speed as you descend and begin to swing back (pendulum effect) under the canopy. Using fronts distorts the shape of the wing to effect a diving turn, allowing the wing to immediately build up speed as it descends through the air. You still get into the diving position as you do by swinging out using toggles, but by the time you reach this position using fronts or harness you are going considerably faster and have used up more altitude to get there. There are established maneuvers and control inputs for desired effects, but the proper way to land depends on your end goal of how you like to land. Be safe!

My name is Curt Swanson, I have been a FreeFly Load Organizer at Perris for nearly 2 years; I have over 1800 High Performance Landings (HPL) and am qualified as an advanced class pilot on the Pro Swooping Tour. The information I am writing here is for reference only and to be used at your own risk. It is not a substitute for "Qualified" instruction, which should be sought out by anyone who intends to pursue HPLs on any style of canopy. Additionally, if you have not trained all your techniques up high before bringing them lower to the ground, you are skipping important steps in proper progression, placing yourself and others at added risk. "Outs" are alternative landing lanes or headings a person would take if their intended landing must be aborted due to low altitude, winds, traffic or any other reason. Outs should be part of a person's landing plan, at least 2 outs are part of a good plan. Outs are your safety net once you have committed to a diving turn, but they should be planned and used if indicated. Also, consideration must be given so that if you need to use an out, you still have clear airspace through your out. This consideration is given before the execution of your turn. This means that if you decide to take an out, that you aren't going to cut across another jumpers path or buzz another jumper close aboard, where your sudden presence causes them to take some evasive action that now puts them into a dire situation. If that happens more than once, you are either just a selfish ass, or you need more canopy piloting skills before continuing with swooping, in which case you need to STOP doing HPL's or diving turns until you can demonstrate improved judgment in your canopy control and piloting skills. Execution of an out is fairly simple. To properly learn how to do a HPL or diving turn, Your airspace should be well clear(~500' radius around you) and you should be looking at least 90 deg AHEAD of your turn, in the direction of the turn. As you begin to descend, if you feel you might not have enough altitude to complete the turn to your desired heading, stop the turn by going neutral on your controls, make sure you don't have traffic, use your out, and land on this new heading. Additionally, the out that you are taking should not end up going across an area where there is potential danger, i.e...the main landing area, the runway, into the packing area. These would be examples of poor planning if you need to use them. Dirt dive your landings and visualize what you would do if the unexpected happened. Use common sense. Ask questions. If you are learning and/or training to perfect your technique on HPL's or diving turns, don't do them over the main landing area if there is any traffic whatsoever, you should be using hop~n~pop's for clear airspace, or a landing area well clear of the main landing area if you are in such a status. Just because a qualified or seasoned swooper might be doing them over the main landing area, does not mean you should. I have an advantage of being able to see many top swoopers at my DZ and I watch them when I can. I have on many occasions seen them abort a HPL due to traffic; if they can abort their landing, so can every other person, myself included. There is no reason to force a bad situation. Good Luck!

If you are planning to visit Adria, please look here for updates on her visitation status. Her Dad is expected to arrive at the hospital tonight, 24 Aug, and he expressed he does not want anymore visitors. I am not sure to what extent this implies, but he wants only privacy for now. I'm sure everyone can understand this. Unfortunately for the many people who hadn't been able to make it to visit her yet, they may have missed their chance, for the time being. If and when she is "available" for visitors, please check here and pass this information along to anyone who may have the same intentions. Also, her Mom, JoAnn wanted everyone who has Adria in their thoughts and prayers and who were able to visit her, that she really appreciated this and extends her thanks and gratitude to us all. Frankly, she was overwhelmed by the turnout of people and all the concern for Adria.

The injured jumper is also a friend of mine. He’s is a good person, who really doesn’t deserve a “reward” such as this. I’m sorry this happened to him, but not surprised to know he has injured himself; I’m thankful he wasn’t killed, as I’m sure he is as well. Theses preventable misfortunes should suffice to send a clear message to jumpers deciding to pursue HP canopy piloting, but they don’t. He proved to every one who cautioned him, that they were right to do so. Should we have done more? What could we have done? I believe most people can probably handle a ‘little hotter’ canopy in perfect conditions for a few jumps or so, but add extra traffic, a bad spot, dust devils, a low turn that eats up altitude, or anything less than ideal conditions; now 95% of those people won’t be able to safely handle or land, this ‘hotter’ canopy. Not only that, they have become a potential problem to other jumpers as well. So how do we, as a community, control or reduce these types of preventable incidents? I guess we could start by asking the people who survived their moments of poor judgment and/or inexperience, what they think might have kept them out of their accident? We could all come up with 10 different ways to keep everyone from enjoying skydiving and canopy flight, potentially reducing the frequency of these accidents, but for me, it comes down to a simple premise. Once a jumper decides to leave the aircraft, that jumper is responsible for themselves, their gear and their actions in the air, until they are safely on the ground and out of their harness. But before they load that aircraft, they should ask themselves, are they ready to accept these responsibilities? “Old Timer” skydivers are old for a reason. Don’t let a 10-second swoop, turn out to be a lifetime of misery with no skydiving. Education, and a more proactive role by experienced jumpers on the DZ are key to prevention here. Peer pressure can sometimes contribute to these incidents; maybe a different sort of peer pressure might have prevented this one. Where I first learned to skydive, I remember all the experienced jumpers taking active roles with every low timer, making sure they knew what was going on around them, being that low-timer’s good judgment for them. Asking questions, helping them to make good decisions, even being abrasive in front of other jumpers to make their point. But also talking with them, explaining themselves to further educate these newbie’s. That doesn’t happen much anymore, we wouldn’t want to hurt someone’s little feelings, now would we? I hope the best for my friend, along with a quick recovery and rehab.

It sounds like you are both becoming stable in a sit. And you are now learning lateral control. What is happening is that when you both drive forward to close your proximity, you most likely aren't properly countering your lateral/forward motion. So to keep from running into each other, you pass by and begin your orbiting. You body position is probably fine otherwise you probably wouldn't be able to stay on level or close during your orbits. But the beginners basic position is: Chin up, arms level with shoulders, spine is VERTICAL and straight, knees are level with or below hips, ankles are DIRECTLY below knees, knees just a little wider than shoulders, feet flat at 45 degree angle max. Try this: Select the base, in the air face-off and work on staying directly in front of the base, assuming the base isn't zooming all over. Then, while remaining on heading back up 20', stop, advance 20' back to the face-off slot, stop. Switch the base and have the other jumper repeat the manuver. Remember: when driving at another jumper, your heading should be a few degrees offset, in case you lose control, you might avoid a collsion. Also, a carve is an intention manuever, an orbit is a lack of control. If you two are orbiting in a 10' circle, setting who will be base before every jump will get you on the right path. A basic base has solid heading control, consistent fall rate and has little unintended lateral movement. Many people seem to think being the base is a bad thing, truth is, it's not easy to be a good solid base. Good Luck

Hey Blu- Fantastic vid! I felt like I was right there in the base, dude. I hope to see more at da 'Boyz next film fest. Thanks and congrats, lets do it again soon! Curt

A great big Thanks with Hugs and Handshakes, to everyone I was able to jump with during the camp and the attempts. It was so cool to jump with, and meet so many talents in this awesome sky~jumping community of ours. A huge Grassy Ass to Perris and its staff, especially to Alchemy and the Flyboyz. This was such a memorable time, these pros know how to get the job done right. Got Perris? And to Rook Nelson, Jason Jerusalem, Matt Lewis, Charles Bryan, Greg Compton, in the Base! thanks guys, let's do it again sometime. And last but not least, the Camera flyers, Cisco, Jason P., OB, Pun and any others, Thanks for being there! C-ya @ the DZ! Fly Free...

***"this one isolated incident seems to indicate a need to review the policy regarding the responsibility of the LO. i personally would like to know why this particular LO did not measure up. sunset is the worst case scenario to landing off in this rugged terrain." QuoteWell put, Chuck. I think you hit the nail on the head. Just one of the many reasons the LO slots aren't really free, and there are or should be, responsibilities that go with them. Not all LO's are created equal, no matter what their skill level. I consider them working jumps, but still manage to have fun most of the time. ~Not too deep in the corner...

Well, it took Mike Michigan's suit great looking fit to pull my other suit from my clamped grip. Bottom line - the suit kicks butt in every way I looked at it. Not only that, I was expecting an overnight package to arrive on friday. I was heading to the DZ Saturday morning, but hung out at home a few more mins, maybe fedex would be early, nope. Bummed out.....but when I got to manifest, Dan give's me a package with my new Michigan suit. There it was waiting on me, "Right on Mike, thumb's up." We were working on hybrids that day, so I didn't freefly with it until sunday. I did hang a couple hangs and was on my belly the rest, I lead a tracking in the afternoon, too. But on sunday, we did freefly. It took me a few moments to adjust a little, but after landing, the Pro-track revealed a 145mph-avg/56sec head down jump. I am 215lbs exit weight. I went with baggy legs and loose arms, Chaps-style cut, in supplex nylon. The construction is awesome. It's comfortable and has a nice, finished appearance inside and out. It fits like what I would imagine a custom suit fitting like. No need to send it back for any adjustment. I highly recommend it so far, will post again in a couple hundred jumps of use. Ordered 18 Feb, took delivery 20 Mar. Thanks Mike, just a question, What's in the pipe? Curt Swanson