OzoneJunkie

I don't. I have a tiny bit of video, but it's only on my camera at the moment. Adam (my teammate) and I have done some sidetracking together, but he was without a rig for a while, so he haven't done that many together. I've done a bunch of solos. It's very fun. Balance is a bit hard at first, but slowly transitioning from back to side is the way to go. If you rush the transition, you'll most likely flail it. At first we speculated that the whole body would be more like a V. Arms and legs. However, this puts you more headdown. When I did solos, I experimented, and found it much better to keep the legs together, and downside arm in. When Adam and I did a few 2 ways afterwards, he did it the old way (open V), and I definately outtracked him, as well as stayed flatter. You don't go as far as a back/front track, of course, but you definately get some movement out of it. Great fun for sure... Also, I find myself using it in short bursts when with others (small groups). Lots of side/back (inbetween) tracking to sideslide :)

Ah, someone else into sidetracking.... Nice !!! :) When sidetracking, I keep my groundside arm in, and my legs together, with my skyside arm up. I open my legs to adjust the angle (open them to go more headdown). To move forward and back, I simply bend a little bit at the waist. If I want to cover large distances, I balance between side and back tracking. Takes some practice. EDIT: btw, should we come up with some name for this... Atmonasty???? (please, no special name...)

Jumping can be pretty dehydrating, especially for first timers. Couple that with drinking, might do it. But, yeah, prolly just didn't want to have sex with yah :P

2 things I'd suggest. First off, (re)-read the tip about doing the pendulum exercise. It will hopefully teach you more about the dynamics of flying headdown, position-wise, as opposed to being in a singular, static position. Secondly, train your muscle memory. In a mirror, practice standing straight up, with arms down at the sides, and legs closed. Then open up your arms in a "better" position than what you think you're doing headdown. Open your legs to a desired position. Then spend some solos doing this same thing in the air. Often, I find that exagerating a correction is a good way to enforce a fix - in other words, try specifically bringing your arms very far forward, and making sure your shoulders are even and square. You don't want to "lock-in" this new position, but basically teach yourself to become aware of specific body parts while in freefall. It doesn't mean that you should always be thinking about each body part all the time. But, I do find myself doing quick little analysees at times to monitor myself, especially if I detect something wrong. gl - hope this helps...

Assuming it's safe to do so (no objects and/or people). Cutting across the landing traffic pattern is obviously dangerous as well...

Bring lotsa water. Gets hot.

Yeah, sweet vid. btw, check your temporary internet files folder "SwoopingTheFarm_Episode_1.wmv" while the page is still open (and has been completed downloaded)...

There's a number of ways to do it, but most often, and usually most effeciently, it's done by twisting your torso. Keep your shoulders level, then turn/twist your upper body/shoulders. This goes for headdown as well.

As far as performance on a straight in approach: I flew a stilletto 120 loaded at 1.9 to 1, and now a velo at 2.2 to 1. The velo lands way better than the stilletto on straight in approaches. The stilletto was very sensitive to flare timing/speed at that wing loading, while the velo has much more range in the timing/speed of the flare on straight-in approaches.

I'd say it it's happening when leg straps are even and legs are even, then, as suggested, check the line trim.

Legs strap even? Check Legs even? Depending on how you come in (one leg forward, one behind, or whatever), this can effect things as well. I've heard people ask the same question (built in turn) about velocities. Most often it's a leg strap, leg position thing...

We've played around with 3way headup flower (with free hand grabbing shoulder), with some success. The main thing is to hit the angles properly - person facing tail leans forward. Hardest position is the person who is facing into the plane - they must fly at a sideways angle. Fun stuff... :)

Is the audible mounted on the inside or outside of the helmet? I have 2 audibles, one in, one out. The outside one - I had to drill a hole in my helmet for that one. Then, I took a pen cap, cut the end off (at an angle) to make a tube, and taped that at the hole. The other end sits sideways (with the angle sitting flush) against the padding right next to my ear. Without that, I doubt I'd hear the outside one.

Nice job to all. Sup Max. Sorry I didn't make it out there :|

Yo Dan, sup. Looks like a sweet ride. What sizes are those? - John

Freeflying (and skydiving in general) requires the proper balance of muscle tension - you don't want to be completely rigid, nor do you want to be completely relaxed and floppy. Try a few solos, where you purposely tense up your whole body, or specific regions. Do the same for relaxing your whole body or specific regions. Hopefully this will teach you how to monitor your muscle tension better.

yep, extremely good point. Horizon is key ;)

I check my visual alti sometimes. I wrote a freefly tip about how setting your alti higher for break off can be a good thing, if yer interested: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=962770;search_string=Tip;#962770

I found 2 mains last year cuz I followed friends/gear down. My buds do the same for me. Only time I won't is when it's obviously dangerous. But, our dz landing area is on the smallish side, so opting for a soccer field is like a step up ;)

I used to (and still do) like to bust out 1 or 2 solos in the morning - to warm up, try some new stuff, etc. Then, jump with others during the day.

Sometimes. Most of the time at 5k. Read the above tip. We break based on the circumstances.

Those are the settings (6, 3.5, 2) I've been using for the past 4 years. They work great for me.

Cool. I gotta send back a version 1 skytronic (non pro) see if they can fix me up :)

I psycho pack my velo 103, and, for me, it helps tame the openings. It still searches a bit, but not as much as my normal pro pack.

If you're having a problem pushing your legs down, you may be curling your upper body forward, attempting to "sit up" - trying to pull yourself up. Try actually arching just a bit, so your upper back catches air, and pushes you upright. Or you may have too much bag in your suit, on the legs, which can make pushing your legs down difficult.