livenletfly

parabatix is my new favorite dvd. its team evolutions video. also pd's team has a great dvd out as well. i forget the name. >

sorry if i wasnt clear. theres no info on that site just some swooping pics of the neos. >

theres some on wydyproductions.com. thats wyat drews site. he and dianne both fly the neos. she flys a neos 58!!! tiny little thing! the more recent pics are of them flying the neos. wyat also hung the canopy up and gave us all a great walk threw on the design. icarus put a ton of research into this canopy >

another idea is to change the brake setting's an inch or two deeper. this will speed up openings and be more predictable. play around with different combinations like a smaller slider and deeper brake settings. sounds a whole lot safer than collapsing the slider. >

the 4 people i knew who have demoed the onyx really didnt like it. one person who was offered a sponsership, turned it down to to its poor flight charactersitics. the main complaint was its extremly short recovery arc and mild dive.this may be a good thing if you want the lift of xrsbraced but not so much dive. not trying to bash a canopy here but it sounds like the onyx was a big miss and probably wont be around too long due to lack of sales. this is pure speculation on my part, but id bet im not too far off base. keep in mind i have never flown the onyx, all my info is secomd hand so take it with a grain of salt. the swoopers i got the info from all very good canopy pilots and all compete in the open class on the swoop circut. hope this helps and doesnt offend all you attar folks. >

wyat was recently at my home dz for a canopy coarse. he said the neos will be available in 2007. when in 2007 is unknown. the neos is a pretty amazing design. the arched bracing is really inivative. its suppose to be the most rigid wing yet. the 11 cell neos looks alot like a paraglider. i also like the completly straight leading edge. a few select swoopers got to do some jumps on the 9 cell neos. most where previous vx pilots. they all liked the wing but didnt get enough jumps on it to give it a good review. none staed it was hugley different feeling initialy. what i liiked most about the concept was that the neos is the first canopy designed since the use or rears has become the standard in planing out. im a die hard velocity guy, but id be lying if i said the neos didnt get me thinking about my next canopy choice. we'll just have to see what pd's got instore for the swooping world!!!!! >

f that! you have the skill! kim i just did 75 jumps and 1/2 hr tunnel in 8 days at sdaz. i cant believe how much i improved in a week. you could totaly do this if you choose to. if we did 2 of those weeks we would be ready. whatever the out come it will be rad! ant other takers email me and lets go to nationals baby! >

im trying to find another freeflyer interested in putting a team together for fun and compete at nationals. this is harder than i thought. most people interested dont have the cash to make it happen. im thinking 150 training jumps in 2, 75 jump camps. i have no problems traveling to train. eloy is best because they offer really cheap jump prices for teams. 16.50! i estimate the cost of this endeavor to be around 4-5000.00$ us. thats including getting to nationals and 2 training camps with 150 jumps total. so if you have the drive, money and a great attitude lets talk. nationals is alot of fun! they need more support in freeflying especialy intermediate, so lets do this!~ blue skies >

i dont think anyone would have missed that, do you? it stood out immediatly to me as dangerous. >

im curious as to what the different classifications are and if you cats feel this rating system is a good thing. i like saftey but dont like overgoverning. i wonder if countries with ff ratings have less freefall incidents than we do in the states. one thing i do like about your method is it probably keeps zoodives to e lesser degree. i get frustrated when fflyers get on dives way out of the ability and i spend the whole jump watching these people zoom around rather than having a good jump. thats the reason i dont always care for load organizing. no one likes to disclude jumpers from being part of jumps but this shit is expensive, and its no fun being on a dive that never stood a chance of working because everyone was allowed to play. >

"Edited to point out that with only 1400 jumps don't you think a velocity 96 with that wing loading is maybe a bit much, you will probably end up hurting or killing yourself or even worse someone else by colliding with them close to the ground. Good luck, you will need it " > > most focused canopy pilots are jumping 2.0 w/l way sooner than velo-96. sounds like your really reaching on that one dude. i dont know why your all pissy, your bio says student and your asking about flying on your head and being able to tell your orbiting without a reference. no wonder people are thinking this is a joke. if your jump info was updated this all would have played out totaly different!!! you would have gotten good advice and a have a nice day instead. why dont people understand this simple concept! and p.s i also jump a velocity 96. >

hell yea im concerned, thats why i just said ive trained myself to not got to my main at 2000 or below. also beimg sat up in the saddle your aad will fire hire than 750. more like 850-950. check out the airtech website. the pressure is different not being belly to earth and confuses the aad. look the days of jumping f-111 pd's and pitching out at 2000 ft are over with todays hp canopy's. 2000 ft is now what 1000 ft was back then. >

yes ive seen them before. i dont feel theres anything wrong with watching that kind of stuff. be tasteful about what your watching. its not the time to make comments or jokes, but it doesnt make me a bad guy for having a bit of morbid curiosity. i watch them to remind myself what can happen if i screw up.ehats at risk every single time i leave an a/c or balloon. we're not baking cookies out there. going in is a fact of the sport. it happens. if it scares the hell out of us, good! it should. i dont see any reason to freak out about people seeing hookturns gone bad, someone impacting, or collisions. if you dont like that kind of stuff then obviusly dont watch them. but dont pass judgment on those who will watch umless you've never slowed down to gape at a car accident, or turn the news off when they show that kind of stuff or your being a total hypocrite. just because its about skydiving doesnt make it wrong. >

ridller i wouldnt sweat it too much. i wouldnt change my canopy if i were you. i was pretty pegged out about how long my velocity takes to open (1000 ft), but to tell you the truth it hasnt been a problem. going as low as 2000 ft is not common at all in aff. do your job well and be prepared to go right to silver. personaly if im not able to deploy till 2000 or a little lower i, jumping my velo would probably go for the sure thing, that being my reserve. throwing out at 2000 ft is not the time to have a longer than normal opening or a mal. ive trained myself to go for reserve at my last squeeling alarm on my audible set at 1800ft. i cant say adreniline wont overide my thinking but i have trained myself on the ground that that crazy tone means reserve now!!! >

its not that hard to believe. my velo for instance, i reach back at 3500, toss the pc probably 100 feet lower. for a good 2 seconds im waiting to be sat up in the saddle, theres 250- 300 more feet right there, then the inflation procces takes the rest. when i start the deployment process at 3500 im under a fully pressuized canopy by 2400-2200 feet. thats about 800- 1000 feet for the canopy to completly open. i do agreee that it seems people exagerate when i hear about their 1500 ft openings. they probably dont look at their altimeter immediatly after opening. i have watched my alti throughout the entire sequence, i assure you it is correct. >

i agree with skymonkey. i dont think its wrong for a small girl competiter to strap on 20lbs to even the odds, but we will soon see someone strapping on 100lbs. to increase their odds, and that folks is fucking rediculus. (sp?). nuff said. p.s the pic is my sweet ass new velo! i just wanted to show it off. >

awsome q'. one that should come up since the mile high cpc. j.t i heard had 70 lbs. of weight starpped on. this is getting a little crazy. for starters, people posting the reason for weighting up is to increase w/l are wrong, and havent thought it threw. if that was the only reason the pilot would just simply downsize to a smaller canopy.the reason is more than that, its too at times keep the same w/l but with a larger wing. bigger wing has more lift than a smaller with the same w/l. if jumping weights is so benificial, what i dont understand is this; why wouldnt someone the size of j.c rarley be beaten by someone the size of heath r. jc flies a velo 120 loaded around 2.3. heath probably loading his 88 around the same. would you say j.c has that much of an advantage that its worth a jumper to strap on 70 pounds of weight to jump a larger wing? if yes than why wouldnt a weight class be a good thing. it would. some people arent ready or willing to strap on a shit load of weight. they shouldnt be at a disadvantage because of this. more people dont use weight than do. so i think when swooping has enough competiters to have sepperate weight class it would be a good system. as well as some kind of structure to the amount of weight would be great! in alot of other sports in which a competitors weight gives hima significant andvantage, theres always a weight class system to keep the competition about the skill and talent of the athletes. i like this idea. maybee im totaly wrong here cuz i dont competete nor use more than 10 lbs of weight for doing aff. im speaking as a spectator so i understand if people dont agree with me, but i do want to knwo why you dont agree. >

bingo!!! >

jump alot. seriously, you have alot of skills to attain before you start competing. the only way to get good is to jump as much and as often as possible. then think about a team. plan evey dive and dive what you planned. get coaching when possible, stay current, travel to other dz's. most importantly have fun. freeflying aint just about getting better, its the journey. its kind of like playing an instrument in high school. everyone wants to be in a rock band more than they want to be a musician. enjoy yo self >

we start 8am sharp, and class ends usually by 1-2pm. up to 6 students. seen classes small and smart done by noon once. they all did great. so id say average of 4.5 hrs including breaks. >

no i made my decision when i put it in. im not worried about it firing in a swoop right now because im not reching the speeds it could fire yet. as i get my swoops more dialed i will consider getting an argus aad. they turn off after opening shock. plus they are water proof. i cant wait to be done with airtech's maintence squdeule's and 2 year batteries. the vigil is great but i cant belive they didnt make them waterproof!!! stupid move considering they are trying to compete with the cyprss 2. my aad has just a few more years left and ive come close to ruining it in the pond. wich ever comes first and im done with that company. im so sick of having to send that flippin thing back to them every other year!!!! now i have 2 rigs and it feels like im always due for some bullshit! i love the vigils maintence program and battery life. if they come out with a water proof version i think ill get one. if not, the argus looks like a good choice. >

thanks tom, your info means alot to me. i really love doing aff but i know i have alot to learn. today i had a humbling experience on a reserve side level 1. alot can and will go wrong, even with a non release sd. thanks again >

being a new affI i try to make my decisions on the ground not at 2000 ft and terminal. so with that being said, what situations would cause you if any to chase a student below 2000 ft. student having an aad and trained in ep's i dont see a logical reason to do so. i do see an emotional reason, that being if your in that situation as an affI you fucked up. yes it does happen, but why put your life dangerously on the line when a student is trained and has back up equiptment? im very interested in actual accounts and the reasons that put you and your student in that situation, as well as the thought process that led to the decision to blow threw the instructors hardeck. thanks for helping me learn >

damn my velo looks purty. never got to see it other than under it. thanks kim. our pond rules!!!!! >

hey stupendous stu, vicki is definatly going to be a judge for you all sat. i will video as much as i can if theres not alot of aff students so get your swoop on! next year i want to try the comps. peace stuy now get a good nights sleep and stomp these mutherfuckers sat! i got money riding on you. >