Bluefox

Hi Friends! I have been sending lunchbox notes in my kid's lunches ever since they started school. I think its a great way to show them that I care. Recently I started making fun painting, stop motion animated films out of my inspiration for the notes. Check out my latest one then cast your vote on how you feel about lunchbox notes. https://youtu.be/AktKhfqexS8 Thanks for sharing your opinion! CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Yes you have to watch Spectra lines for temperature related friction damage! I have seen someone with Spectra lines land safely after kicking out of severe line twists. Then their buddy walked up yanked on one of the lines and it broke. The jumper got pissed at his friend for breaking his line but then he realized his friend was actually helping and might have save him from it breaking on him in the air. If you have Spectra lines always check them for damage after having line twists.

I was just updating my profile since it had been a while and I could not decide if I have been in the sport 18 year from first tandem or 15 years since off student status. Do I subtract for the years/months when I was just learning, pregnant, injured or what? Figured I wasn’t the first to ask this and did a little search. I came across this post and I have not been able to stop laughing. Good one! I guess it doesn’t matter either way. I may not know how to officially answer the question of years in the sport but your post really put it in perspective. Still laughing. Good one! CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

The best advice I ever received regarding canopy control… “Trust that your canopy is going to do what you ask it to do, when you ask it to do it.” – Brian Germain in 2002 CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

My parents always had the rule once 18 if you are in school you can live rent free and food was provided but you had to cook yourself. The idea was if you choose to accept that deal then you live under the rules of the house. One of the rules was public space remained clean. You could live how ever you choose behind your bedroom doors. A car was provided as long as it was necessary to get to school. We did not have cell phones back then but these days they might fall under a functional requirement. I always thought of this as reasonable tough love. I took advantage of this offer for a while then once I got a job and stopped taking classes I quickly realized that paying rent to live in my parents house and under the rules way stupid. I moved out and never looked back. I now have a toddler and don't look forward to the late teen years. I think the tough love angle is great but right now I don't think I want him to ever move out. Ask me in 15 years.

Employer, teammate, dance partner, co-parent, partner in crime, wife, yes. I guess bringing the psychological aspects of canopy piloting into the conversation sounded a lot like Brian. We have great conversations about that stuff. It’s amazing how important our psychological state is to performance in extreme sports. In the 90s when I got certified as a trimix scuba diver I was surprised when a section on psychology turned up. They actually talked about meditation, which at the time tripped me out and seemed out of place next to all those tables on decompression, partial pressures and oxygen toxicity. Now years later it makes perfect sense. CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Yes, but if it put together in a video and left to be watched by a student, then no. If those videos are used in conjunction with a live instructor then they can be very helpful. Yes I agree that the live part is critical so the student can ask questions. Yes I agree that students often don't realize what they are doing with their bodies. Body awareness seems to require a calm level headed brain state which is not always the case in students or any skydiver for that matter. Which is why we physically practice emergency procedures on the ground so they become muscle memory. Showing videos of someones landing can definitely be helpful to speed the learning process. (the interactive environment allows for this) but from what I have seen students make huge progress from watching other peoples videos debriefed as well. I think the critical point is it needs to be live, interactive and useful information. CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Well a guess a video might be better than nothing but having the opportunity to talk, chat, see, ask questions, share videos, test and more is much better. A completely interactive environment that can reach people who don't have a course near them or can't afford to travel. Now that's even better. CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

AggieDave – Do you believe its possible to learn from someone else? So if you watched a video of someone making a mistake could you learn from it if someone was explaining the problem to you? Most people don’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to fouling up a landing. So whether you can get someone else to video you or not there is still room to learn. Besides the live interactive training portal allows people to share their video and anyone can stand in a landing area and video landings. As for learning from immediate feed back you are true that it can speed up the process but there have been studies that show deeper learning happens over time. A little coaching over a longer period of time can have more lasting results than a lot of coaching in a short time. Your brain has a chance to digest and catch up with all the info CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

When I got my pilots license I had to take ground school. Why not have something like that for canopy piloting. I don’t know about Jim’s online offerings but this is not just online this is a live interactive training environment. Not just an online video CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

4. Brian Germain's BG-Online - Live canopy course delivered to your desktop. Its convenient because we can't all make it to the course but this course comes to you. CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Hey Everyone! Ok for those of you who may not have been able to see the video because I'm lame and used Apple quick time then embedded the video using a code that only seems to work with Microsoft IE. Well now you can click on the link below the video clip and it should work. Hey....I did say I'm a novice. Anyway I really had a blast at SVNH. As I have found previously Laurie, Rob and the rest of the staff went out of their way to be awesome hosts. I want to send a special thanks to all of them for making my weekend so amazing. I swear the vibe at SVNH just seems to get better and better. Not to mention the facilities look awesome. What a great job everyone did getting the facilities up and running. Koodos to all involved. I also want to send a thanks to those people who came out for the canopy course and to fly with me. You know who you are and you all flew like super stars which of course just made me smile more. Thank you! I look forward to another tunnel flying adventure in the near future. SVNH Rocks! Laura CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Thanks Paige. I had fun throwing the video together on an airpane the other friday evening. I had my camera/laptop/wires/remote/ipod/snacks/cocktail out on the plane and my neighboor kept looking at me like I was a freak. It was a great form of entertainment to pass the time. NH is going to be a blast!

Hey Fellow Tunnel Loving Flyers! I just posted some old video that I finally got around to editing from the 2005 Tunnel for the Cause. Special thanks to the Paige Rudolph and the other flying ladies of TFTC 2005, plus Shane Tully from WINDWORX productions for sharing such great video. Check it out http://www.foxforce4.com/svnh.html While you are there note that I'm going to be up playing at SVNH March 3-4th so if you want to come out and play let me know. Everyone is welcome! Also Brian Germain will be there teaching a canopy course at the tunnel. Check that out here http://www.bigairsportz.com/event.php?EID=108&strMonth=03&strYear=2007&fdate=03/3/2007 Addendum - I'm a novice webmistress at best so please forgive the crudeness of my site. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the video. Laura CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

It is over-reaction as a result of excess adrenalin, aka fear. CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Crazy speed...I'm still day dreaming about our amazing adventures in NH. The tunnel was fantastic and Laurie/Rob were super cool along with all of their friendly staff. They really go all out to show you a good time. Thanks you guys Rock! The tunnel was so crazy fast that at one point I stripped down to my shorts and tee to fly with Dave and Kyle from Team Mandrin. (thanks for the fun guys!) The recirc was so smooth with none of the speed fluctuations you get from the open SV models. Besides being able to hang out under the chamber while people fly my favorite feature is the lighting up top. The first time I went high I was siked because it was open, you could see and there was still some clean, smooth, light air up there. Crazy! Oh and to watch some of the tricks Kris and Dan were pulling off up top was sick. Lets just say you won't believe it until you see it. As for the flying I had a blast! Everyone flew their butts off and it was so cool to get a chance to fly with all the ladies again. (I can't wait for tftc ) There is such a positive vibe hanging over SVNH that I can't wait to go back and visit all of my new friends. Thank you everyone for being there and making our experience so amazing. And a special thanks to Laurie and Rob for inviting us to their wonderful tube of pleasure. I hope to see everyone soon! Laura CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Ok to give you a better idea of what I mean here is a picture. Since we already have the lovely Paige as our model I stole one of her pictures because it was the best example I could find. I hope ya don't mind girlie. Its subtle but made more clearly here because there is no suit. Ok hopefully no tunnel coaches will take me out for sharing the family secrets. If you see she is carving right but her left trailing foot is sideways and a little lower with her heel cutting into the air. You would need a whole lot less of this for the sky but the concept is the same. But there are many ways to make yourself turn or fly sideways so it might be different for other people. Some use their feet by pressing more on the opposite side but you can also use your arms by cupping air and pulling yourself. With HD carving the slicing heels seems to work well…in the tunnel. As I said before I should probably stick to posting in the tunnel forum so take it or leave it. CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Ok...I'm going to jump in and tell you what I do so you can take it or leave it at that. I'm not sure exactly what I do in the sky because I have only done it a few times and did not think about what my feet were doing. Chances are it was similar as in the tunnel because of muscle memory. Anyway, In the tunnel my legs are bent a bit but that is more for lift which you don't need so much in the sky. Basically you use your legs to drive forward and also you turn your feet sideways a little so that your heels are facing the direction you want to carve. The angle, relative to the wind, of your feet deflects air and drives your feet in a direction which helps you fly sideways. But like I said that's what I do in the tunnel and this is the freefly forum so take it or leave it. One other note is that its definitely easier to do with someone who already knows how. You might start out just turning in place keeping eye contact but eventually you will start driving forward and turning which is basically the components of a HD carve. Laura CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Hey Paige and Ari! It was awesome to hook up with you guys in AZ for some tunnel flying fun. Everyone flew awesome but you both were especially rocking it out in there! The tunnel in AZ is amazing! Its super huge, super fast and the staff were super friendly! Of course all the upper protrusions made flying up high a bit freaky but I got more used to it as the session progressed. I started out having them throttle it down and wore my zp tunnel suit. Then I tried flying my sky suit which worked out very well and made it possible for them to crank it up a bit. Of course my favorite part was hopping in there wearing shorts and a tee. It blew my mind that there was enough speed that we could fly in there with out a suit! The dvd video is hilarious and maked me roll on the floor laughing the first time I watched it. Near the end of the 2 min session I started to lose the strategically placed back side rubber bands and my shorts started filling up with air when I flew around on my head. Not to mention the last few seconds I almost lost my shirt entirely. Equally funny was Paige in a tank top and long shorts carving around on her head trying to hold her kittens in the basket. Ari’s Tee shirt of course had so much up and down play it was 12 inches longer when he got out. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. I can’t wait to go back and try it again. What a blast! Thanks for all the tunnel fun and I look forward to flying with you guys again soon.

Hey Dawn! I caught about 2 seconds of the flying but would like to see more. Did you say you posted the video somewhere? I tried to find it on your site but was unsuccessful. Thanks girl! I really need to come down and visit you this spring. I had a blast flying with you and the girlie gang at SVO but it would be awesome to get in to the open air at AAC. Then you can teach me some old school tunnel flying moves. Laura CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Whuwho!!!!! Let’s just hijack this thread! World Team Rocks!

I agree that it really is subjective when it comes to how much tunnel you can fly and that has a lot to do with skill and conditioning. My comment was referring to a new person learning how to freeflying in the tunnel. Under those circumstances I think we can make a few assumptions. I personally can do hours of RW in a day and still be some what productive but freefly takes a lot more energy. (this relates back to a previous post I made about wind speeds and freefly vs RW. Basically with FF you hold yourself up the whole time where with RW for most people it’s all about changing your arch or wearing lead.) Of course flying an hour each day for 3 days would be great!

I agree but mostly because of fatigue and the ability to absorb new skills. Knowledge retention seems to be enhanced when it is spread over a few days, especially when it has to do with muscle memory. You would get more out of your time and money by doing 30 minutes spread over 3 days then you would by doing 1 hour in a day. Even if you are extremely fit, fatigue will turn you into a useless blob when you first start freeflying in the tunnel. Back flying is not as tiring but once you get to sit you want to make sure to spread your time out so you get a chance to recover between flights and sessions. On that note it’s a good idea to be well rested, fed, hydrated and not hung-over. Being at the top of your game will help increase your performance and progression. (I have personally figured this out the hard way. A lesson we all learn over and over again.) I don’t agree that it’s not worth pursuing tunnel freeflying beyond the basics. I think this is a matter of how much you want to spend and how good you want to be. It is true that it takes a lot of time and money to get to the point where you can safely pull off crazy moves like HD or back carving but there is so much to learn leading up to that stuff. All of which helps your flying. With a good coach (this is key) there is tons to learn and each person gets different skills and progression out of their tunnel time. I do agree however that if you can get to the point where you are sitting stable off the net you are pretty much golden. There seems to be a huge learning spurt after you reach that point because you find a solid position that you know is not moving around the tunnel or sky. I think finding those solid base positions can be the foundation for learning to fly each position. It’s kind of like an AFF student who just figured out how to stop their unintentional spin. Suddenly they have the basic foundation for every other move, their recovery position. (Of course I will probably catch a rash of crap for presenting body flight in such a compartmentalized fashion by separating each position. Ultimately of course the goal is to transition though each position with ease and control.) Ok so this is all just my opinion from someone who is sitting at work day dreaming about flying in the tunnel.

If you are talking about what you are doing with your feet during back fly and HU then I agree. I think the whole hand thing is a bit different. As to the point in Mikki_ZH’s post, that I was trying to clarify, I think it just has to do with the basic point of visual orientation. I think it happens naturally for most people so they don’t realize its happening. The best example of this is when people fly on their back with head tilted back so you see the world upside down. This is done so you get used to the visual orientation for flying HD. Some people really struggle with this where others just seem to always know what’s up and what’s down no matter the orientation. (ok I just reread Mikki_ZH's post and realized that he was talking about movement. So maybe my point was true when you talk about visuals but not movment.) Anyway yes I agree that the ultimate goal is to get better at flying your body smoothly and in control no matter what the orientation. Personally I would be happy if I could figure out how to fly my floaty ass self at the same speed as everyone else in any orientation. As for Joao’s new DVD I have not seen it yet. I did buy his back flying one and it rocked. I think his series of DVD’s are and will be the most comprehensive on the market. CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com

Huh? I would like to raise this with a "whaaaa?" I think Mikki_ZH was referring to the visual picture. Flying on your back helps you get used to the visual picture of seeing things upside down while still being in a very stable position. This is helpful for some people trying to learn head down flying. Belly flying is similar in that respect to sit flying because it’s the same picture yet it's a very stable position. For someone just getting into skydiving you have to learn how to get comfortable in a belly to earth position. (I think we can all agree on that since it is the optimum position for deploying a parachute.) That means not only getting used to the feel of the air but acclimating to the visual picture. Luckily it’s easier for us because it's relatively the same picture as we see on the ground. Now think about what it's like when you’re on the hill. It's different. At the beginning of a sky dive you have to be aware that the relative wind is coming from a different direction which will change the visual picture. This requires getting used to whether you are trying to fly belly to earth or on your back. So I believe the point was that belly flying visuals are the same to sit flying as back flying visuals are to head down. Just my $0.02 La CANOPY COURSE Video Training with Brian Germain at AdventureWisdom.com