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The judges really seem to have their sights set on the US FS4 team. Anybody know why (and where) Airspeed got busted twice on round 6? I looked at it a few times, but didn't see anything abnormal compared to other teams.

True, the lazy bag has undergone some evolution and the latest model (no velcro) now costs 100 Euro. AFAIK the Belgians are the only ones making the lazy bag.

The lazy bag has been around for quite a few years in Belgium. Those that have one really like it. Have a look at www.compal.be

Coming weekend the European Skydiving League finals will be held once again at Spa. As this finals is quite popular in the Netherlands, the Dutch delegation will consist of 12 teams: 2 in AAA, 2 in AA, 5 in A and 3 in Rookie. Unfortunately none of the top 3 AAA teams will be there, but we managed to form a pick up team with members from these 3 teams. Anyway, what teams will the other ESL countries (Belgium, UK, etc.) be sending to Spa?

I have one reserve ride under a Decellerator 120. It opened well, goes down pretty quickly (you won't cover much distance with it) and the flare is not that much. Still, it felt reliable and my landing was ok (standup and not that hard). I was happy I had it with me

What I mean with type, size and coolness is the following. Most canopy manufacturers produce canopies over a wide range of performance: docile student canopies, intermediate performance, high performance and ultra high performance canopies (like cross braced stuff). What I see happening is that people with limited experience tend to go for a high performance canopy and oversize it, instead of going for a lower performance canopy that is more suited to their experience level and take the appropriate size. Why they do this? Maybe because they think it's cool to jump a high performance canopy? I don't know, but the rationale behind it escapes me.... Anyway, it's maybe not really something for this thread, but it just popped up in my mind. As for the coolness: same here

This year I bought a new Stiletto as I already have one in my other rig and I still love to jump it after all these years. Funnily enough I got a question back from PD: "Why not go for a Katana?" so they seem to try to push the Katana instead of the Stiletto (which is a pretty old design I guess). Anyway, both Stilettos fly the same (the old one is from '98) and IMHO it still is a great canopy. On a different note, the idea of going to an oversized high performance canopy when you have little experience strikes me as odd. Wouldn't it make more sense to select a canopy type based on your experience level and then go for an appropriate size or would that be totally uncool? I had that discussion once with a friend of mine whose wife was considering a new canopy. He was thinking of a Stiletto for her and then oversize it in view of her landing skills..... I hope I convinced him to rethink that.

My worst experience in 4-way? Probably funneling a 4 exit on round 1 of a worldcup. However, finishing that round with double figures was pretty neat; everybody was d*mn eager to make up for the lost time so that took away a lot of the bad feelings :-) My best experience in 4-way? Getting into a flow during a random jump. It almost feels effortless and slow, but once you start counting the points... It's still one of the reasons for me to do 4-way. There's nothing quite like getting into a rhythm with your team, especially during a world meet :-)

Roosendaal opened just two weeks ago, so they're first trying to make money and fill the tunnel. They're not running up to capacity. So no sales or last minute discount, but you can get bulk discount. I heard they were thinking about offering cheap rates when they've got a cancellation, but I guess that would only happen once they get a decent turn over. And this rate would only be for frequent flyers or something.

No idea about freefly (I'm a belly flyer), but 4-way is very comfortable as they can adjust the speed to the team's speed and they've got enough power to suit any team I would say. I haven't seen any headdown yet, but I'm not there on a daily basis

I heard a rumor one of the glass walls got broken already...is that true? Apparently someone (not one of the locals) collided with a glass panel mounted above one of the doors (if my info is correct) in a headdown angled attitude. Judging from the resulting damage it would seem he was pretty much out of control and in a way lucky that the window absorbed that much energy.... Of course it's been repaired already. Got another half hour of booty flying in today... Awesome!

Since December 23rd we have our own windtunnel here in The Netherlands: www.indoorskydive.com. It's a closed circuit design with a diameter of 4.27 meters (14+ ft) and is big enough for a 4-way team. The airflow can be varied and it doesn't need to shutdown for entering or leaving the flight chamber. On the 23rd there was a "skydivers only" day as a try-out and it was great! My team booked around 100 minutes and enjoyed it immensely. Clean strong air, solid walls, creeper area, bar+restaurant: it looks pretty complete to me! Anyway, now that I have a tunnel almost next door (ok it's a 1 hour drive), I've got something new to do in winter time except from watching the clouds go by

The Netherlands had a bit of both in AA this year: one team (Daltons) dropped down from AAA and the other team (NRG) stepped up. The one that dropped down only did one season in AAA and they really would have fitted better in AA if it had been available in the Netherlands. So I'm not sure if there is a simple compromise for the small countries like Belgium and Holland, other than using common sense when entering teams in AA. BTW, after the comments they got, I don't think those Donut teams will drop down again next year.....