Vertifly

Moving on to better opportunities. Come out an fun jump though. Looks like there will be some good organizing during the boogie. Danielle (from Sebastian) and Miguel (from the Ranch) will be putting on a show. I will enjoy being organized for a change. I may be tempted, however, to carve the organizers during tracking dives and whatever. BEWARE!!! See you here! ps. NORMIS is being a devils advocate here. hahhaaa

I'll be here fun jumping. I will fly with you bro, but I forgot, who is Hommie?! Message me if anonymity is important. Peace.

That's awesome to hear Bones. Looks like your crew and mine are tooling on the same agenda. News flash: will be fun jumping at both boogies instead of working! Hell...yeah.

You are welcome!!! You can moderate me anytime!!

Yep, over all holidays this year. And anytime.

Guess you would have to come to Zhills and find out. Of course I would be happy to help. It is always my pleasure. I could go on all day about this, but I love flying and the sport of flying safely and with many others. In my opinion, anyone who continues to fly for many seasons is in it for the growth. You have to love this s##t to keep on keepin on. Truth is I am getting tired and was somewhat reminiscent in my origical post about how groovy things were and how stagnent flying seems to have become. In my opinion, flying should be out of control by now. Still has a way to go it seems. Hope to see anyone on the East Coast (west coast of Florida that is, at Zhills). It is my honor to work with those who have a passion for flying. That is my take; I hope that it is more clear. Dragging this on is getting weird. Blue One's and be safe. Again, all are welcome to come see us - the East Coast guys and Scarecrow at Zhills over the boogies and at the Ranch.

There are two DZ where I organize regularly. It often includes having a slot covered. Sometimes more, sometimes less. And I travel to various boogies now and again. So, the answer is yes. Where are you going with this Skymama? Be gentle.

That was a funny thread. You have to know that Colon and I are on good terms. We had a beer and chuckled about the thread about a month or two after we both were talking the smack in the thread. I got respect. My philosophy on coaching is to provide it to those who ask me for it. Klueg and the boys (East Coast Freefly) were generous enough to ask me to join them a few years ago. I was honored to join them and enjoy teaching freeflying to those who approach me. I'm a teacher, by nature. And I love to fly. It is my hope to be a fraction of help that the skygod's were to me - the one's that I paid bucu bucks back in the day to teach me to fly. Please also note that we still offer very competitive rates on our web site. The same rates that were offered ten or more years ago. I also provide a full day rate of one-fifty for as many jumps as a person can do. Yes, that is a quotable rate. This is not selling out; this is providing an unsolicited service. Selling out is more like providing freefly video (/ uhhh 'coaching') for someone who isn't sure which discipline they want to be practicing.

You may call me a hypocrite all day long. Those who know me will understand the post; the subject of which went over your head. It was directed at those who are beginning to fly, those who I believe need to step up the game and start treating flying like a fun sport once again. Too many inflated egos and competition at the DZs - where no podium stands awaiting a victor. However, it's true. I have provided coaching at Zhills for the past two winters. I plan to go back there starting next week. I gave up a New York City income to coach full time in Florida, to begin a teaching career, and to be closer to my family. During the winter, I live in a trailer and make enough money from coaching each month to pay my DZ trailer-slot-rent. Call it what you will sir, but using the word hypocrite makes me only wonder about you. If you wish to fish for evidence on people, then perhaps you should look at ALL of the perspectives before deciding to publicize your information to trash someones reputation. I see that the original post went way over your head. It is evident in your response. I have given plenty to this esoteric sport. And I don't really need to explain it to you much further. As far as I am concerned, with an attitude like that, perhaps you should gather your belongings and find a different discipline. This one may not be for you. Perhaps we should open a "Packer" section and let you rant there with all the other grumpy jumpers. Have a nice day.

Yeah. I agree. This thread is gay (in the happy sense). Someone please lock it.

That reminds me of when I was a kid. Boy did I enjoy watching the Gobots.

Being a good flyer isn’t enough… If I was a once proud, even skillful, freeflyer then perhaps it is my humble opinion that it isn’t enough. It’s a tough world. Challenges and challenging people around every corner. So much so, that often times it will seem as though people are simply there to put others down. My endeavors are varied too. Whether they be scholarly, financial, toward serenity and comfort, and ideological every one of them; there is always a challenge or challenger right there. To be a great flyer, the challenge will meet you if you don't get ahead of it before it begins. To focus on freefly, no other esoteric form of perfection is any different. Art, they say, is not judgeable. The level of skill an artist possesses can be scrutinized, however. Picasso, with a great many others, was recognized long after they were gone. Many of them were out of balance. Some simply didn’t reach the right people while they were around. Balance in all things, maybe. Freeflying is an obsession though. A modicum of obsession is out of balance. So know my point, as out in space or fluttered and out-of-focus as it may sound. Flying well isn’t enough. Those who are great in the ‘sport’ of freeflying do more than just fly well. Those who are great are active at flying in front of cameras. Good flyers do things for others but know their place in doing so. Just because you can fly upside-down, doesn’t mean you are great at it. Funny what adrenaline will do to inflate the heads of young beginners and amateurs. Control takes time, in all aspects of life. Flying is no different. Flying in control takes a lot of time. A lot. Money, yeah that too, but that isn’t what I am talking about. I’m talking about commitment. Good flyers are advertisers. They are slightly ahead of the time and invite people in. They have a theme and an excellent purpose. Good flyers work well with others. They excite others about what they want because it helps everyone understand the art. I’ve flown with the best and have impressed the best. I’ve been on the great ways and have been kicked off of the great ways too. If you don’t have a big ego, then be true to yourself and your ego with never be affected. I’ve quit freeflying many times. Just like some of us have stopped eating too much, or too late in the day before we go to sleep. I can’t though. It’s like food for me now. It will be a long time before a flyer becomes famous, rich, or win a gold medal in an Olympic game. Not long ago, it was a dream that closely resembled a reality. As I started to write this, however, the indirect message to those who are interested in flying (freeflying), is that you will have to be much more than a great flyer to be great in flying. Take the time to plan your ideas, make them interesting, even competitive if you must, and act on them. Consider those who dedicate themselves around you and recognize the talents of others. A great flyer will have a below average ego and do more but talk less. How do I know this. Well, I've seen great flyers. Names I could rattle off that many may even go 'who?'. 'when?'. They existed. They changed it for the better. And now they are gone. Long gone some in fact. But they were radical. Better than me, in some ways, that is for sure. What was great about them. They flew well, as a standard. But it isn't enough. They were great at promoting themselves. They had egos yes, but didn't care about them, they just kept building and building. Like it was a school project. They advertised, created videos, ran parachutest pages, made it colorful, created excitement, had great ideas, involved nearly everyone, and made it interesting for each of us. They were greater flyers than me. But I was the person who flew greater. There names have taken me years to sit on top of. Now things ar ea bit different, but it could have been better. I am proud to say that, at times, people say hey ‘there is that guy’…’you know him’. That is awesome. Someone with real skill in my opinion was intimidated to be on a jump with me last year. It was a bit confusing at the time. If only he knew that I felt the same way. True, I always wanted to be a great flyer. But it is my experience that I never reached such a place. Being the best flyer doesn’t always mean flying the best. Give until you are exhausted. Then give a little bit more. Rest later. Paying the rent on flying is silly unless you decide to make an assembly-line out of it. Flying should be an art. Keep it an art and a sport. If being a great flyer is important to you then make plans and write them down. Sounds corny, but it works. Your goals will be met in half the time. Just follow through. Be the best in your plans. Be consistent in the sky. Be safe everywhere. Shun those who do drugs and drink, when they fly especially. They are dangerous and may even die doing the thing that we love. I’ve seen it. On that note, if committed to this thing - people will die. They die all the time. Then they don’t, then they do again. Open your heart to the people that you come in contact with. Spend money to fly with someone who openly appreciates your talent once in a while. Show them the ride of their lives and inspire them. Selling your skill is a sellout. Let people who want to be taught ask you to be taught. Those are the ones who are interested in hearing about it. If those who you come in contact with have an ego that seems to blanket you, then keep your eye on them and smile. The people who they idolize will humble them. It isn’t your job. Take a seat in the nosebleed section and watch the show. It’s quite entertaining indeed. Please trust me on this. There is a time and a place for competition. That is at a competition. All else is fringe or less and shouldn’t warrant a shun. In other words, lower your ego. Skydiving is a fun sport. Yes a sport, not a hobby. Hobbyists don’t last very long or are somewhat into self-mutilation and that’s just weird. If you must compete, then challenge yourself to something that you do not already know. Challenge yourself constantly. And treat flying like a sport with the safety requirement of a commercial airline pilot or slightly more daring, a jet-fighter pilot. Just like a jet-fighter pilot, you can't eject (cut away) if you are spinning to fast or facing the wrong direction. Collisions are deadly. Landing downwind can be costly. On that note, don’t land in the wrong direction on the runway. The control tower (the S&TA) tells you which way to land. In priority order, this almost always means the direction that is agreed upon by the people in the plane or the direction of a windsock on a relatively windy day. Don’t be stupid and kill someone. This includes you please. What else? I hope someone can take the sport of freeflying to the next level. I am getting too tired to make a difference now. I always focused on flying great, not being a great flyer. Fly great and be a great flyer too. Someone needs to take the reins on this. See everyone out there.

Flover is short for fag-lover. You get two fag lovers (not necessarily fags, just fag-lovers) to face off, cheat your bodies into the relative wind, and do an undocked sit exit. Sorry, I just drank some pretty strong beer. Was that politically incorrect?

You were the best.

Hommie, Don't play that.

I'd like to tell you that there was a challenge. I'd like to say that there was a race, a competition, and some heated flying. However, it is my regret to tell you that Total Body is no longer flying. Totalbody is at Wings and shows up at the DZ to do other things like stand around and hang out. Man, did I want that helmet. Thanks for checking back. Many loyal flyers continued to ask me about it, but unfortunately the situation was diffused by lack of interest in the sky anymore. Come up to the Ranch and I will race anyone who thinks they've got a pair.

This is making me cry!!

There is a 108 way going on in like 10 days from now. Where is all the hype happening? Common people, it's one hundred and eight freeks attached in the sky. That better than eggs benedict. Would you agree?

Thanks guys for the backup, but I think Skymamma is right. I just hope everyone has a great summer. Seeya around!

Whatever J. In my world people treat one-another better than you.

Bump

Far as freeflying goes we got: About seven peeps comin up from the Raeford and Skydive Carolina area. Katzu is here from Tokyo, Japan after doing about 60 tunnel hours since January. Scarecrow is onsite selling new long and short sleeve T-Shirts. East Coast Freefly is onsite doing lots of organizing. Amy Chmelcki (sp?) and bigman Jason Peters are onsite doing VRW and basic freefly training camps. James Penifold is going to be onsite, all the way from the UK. Then there is not to forget the Ranch local freeflyers- Serge, Karina, Agentlead, etc. etc.. You know..the Russians, some hotties, Rachel and Talia and some notties, Dennis and Eric. Likely the regular coaches too. Anyway, I'm just chillin there with my boys and girl this weekend. Peace.

Simon, I believe we are talking about good business practice. People seem to be confusing it with whether new skydivers and fun-jumpers are having a good time at Skyfest. Put a few planes and skydivers together and we're going to have a good time. One of the best things about being a skydiver is that we are ALL fun kinda people in our own way. The idea being surfaced is about the event organizing. It continues to be followed by poor business practices. It affects a lot of skydivers in a bad way. I think that a lot of us would simply rather support the people who care about the sport (as a whole) rather than the future of a boogie that travels around. -Dave

Why don't we just go have a drink one day? Just you and me.

Give me a break dude. This event is a lawn mower. Every DZ that has Skyfest at it gets mowed down. It's blatent at this point dude. Look at the track reccord. Get real. 2007....Find DZ. Have the boogie. Screw people. Move on. 2008....Find DZ. Have the boogie. Screw people. Move on. 2009 ...Find DZ. Have the boogie. Screw people. Move on. Plan it out and have the boogie. See what happens.