bliston

I don't think it's too late to register for the VFS stuff - in fact one slot opened up for an Int/Open 4-way FS team this weekend, too. I would send Ari an email if you are interested in participating. I think there are also some folks looking for teammates, so he might be able to hook you up. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Just had one intermediate team withdraw - so there is one open slot for the 10 round afternoon meet (Intermediate or Open). It'll go to the first full line-up that contacts me - email nhtunnelmeet"at"gmail"dot"com ASAP if you get a line-up together. Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

I've talked directly to Doug (who owns SkySystems) about this. He told me that a lens can be installed on the Vapors - you just need to had super velcro on the insides under the padding and trim a factory diver lens a little bit. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Maki, Ignore the sarcasm from 1000 jump wonders. It's a fair question. You know how on a main parachute the pilot chute and deployment bag are connected to the top of the main? For most reserve systems, the pilot chute and "free-bag" are not connected to the reserve (just held in there by the locking stows - in a similar way that your main deployment bag stays closed when you put the rubber bands through the grommets). The reason that it's designed this way is so that if your reserve pilot chute becomes entangled with something it still has the possibility to cleanly deploy the reserve without inducing a horseshoe malfunction. The downside is that the freebag and reserve pilot chute are free and typical land somewhere distance from your main in the event of a cutaway (if you have a Skyhook on your rig, they often stay connected). A horse-shoe malfunction is when the pilot chute stays connected with you or your gear, but the parachute itself is deployed or partially deployed. It's one of the worst malfunctions to have because even if you cutaway (if it's with your main), the pilot chute or bridle might not release and might not be able to cleanly deploy your reserve. If you get the opportunity - perhaps take a bit of time with a rigger and watch them open up a reserve before they repack it - it'll help you understand the system. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Registration is currently full with 12 Rookie, 15 Intermediate, and 3 Open teams. I may consider expanding the meet and booking more time if there is interest, but new teams may need to go on a wait list. Thanks, Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

sorry again, no coffee last post. That's Monday November 30th through Friday the the 4th for the discounted time. Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Hey Folks, I made a mistake when posting the discounted time dates, please note the corrected dates below - discounted time is available for teams only between the Monday and Friday before the meet. This was my error and I apologize for any inconvenience. Registered teams will be able to purchase discounted training time from Friday NOVEMBER 30th through Friday December 4th at a rate of $360 per half hour or $660 for hour blocks. If you are flying practice time with your team, it would be good to have the tunnel driver note your airspeed and communicate it to me. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Registration is almost full for the event. We have 12 Rookie teams registered now (which is our current max). We'll look into expanding if there are more teams interested, but can not promise that we'll be able to accommodate more at this point. Please email me at nhtunnelmeet"at"gmail"dot"com to be placed on the waitlist. We have a total of 17 teams registered for the Int. and Open classes, with two of those teams that are still a member or two short. If you are an individual looking to participate please get your info on the googledocs spreadsheet (link in the post above). If you are a full team interested in participating, please contact me right away to reserve your slot. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

I sent in a pretty old stiletto to PD three years ago for a customer because even after a putting on a new lineset it was behaving funny. PD couldn't get it to perform to their standards (during test jumps) and offered my customer a free Katana they had in stock. He of course took the deal! Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Thanks for the response, Brian. Yup, I understood that it doesn't change the length of the base leg length, which seems to be the real value in using the "D" point. I guess I was thinking that to make the landing pattern the most consistent from jump to jump, adjusting only the angle of attack from point C to point B would allow the pilot to stay true to the turn initiation altitudes that you presented (1200, 900, 600, and 300ft.). The other option of changing the B point turn to correct for what you think might put you short or long, without changing your angle of attack, would cause you to have to change and improvise your altitude markers. Folks would certainly have to be quite practiced with rears, fronts, and toggles to use them safely while watching out for traffic, maintaining altitude awareness, etc., but for those who are versed in those modes of flight, it's seems like angle of attack changes on the downwind leg might be the "cleanest/simplest" way adjust if you think you're gonna be short/long. I guess then the challenge them becomes hitting the D point right at 1200 feet consistently. I heard someone say once that swoop meets are won and lost at 2500 feet - didn't really make sense to me at the time since people we initiating their final turns at 700 or 800 ft., but now I see the wisdom in the statement. I really like the precision and simplicity of the model you've presented. I know that my base leg has always been the biggest variable from jump to jump for me - I look forward to putting your idea into practice. Have a good one and thanks for sharing your ideas, Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Brian, If a jumper gets to the point where she/he is effectively using the four points you outline, obviously if they can initiate the D point turn at the right place on the North / South (perpendicular to the base leg) line to finish right on target that is ideal. If adjustments need to be made, though (to lengthen or shorten their downwind leg), do you see any negatives to folks adjusting their angle of attack (with rear or fronts) during their C to B leg and maintaining the integrity of the rest of the pattern? Or do you thing it's easier/better for folks to learn to make their turn into the base leg earlier or later based on what they are seeing - thereby enforcing visual cues of their canopy's glide angle at full flight? Thanks, in advance, for your thoughts. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

If any 4-way teams that have access to twelve foot tunnels would like to get the meet draw (Rookie, Intermediate, or Open), just let me know. I imagine that Kurt (Skyleague.com) would be happy to post your scores with those from teams up in New Hampshire. We'd be doing the Meet on Decemeber 5th. Email me at nhtunnelmeet"at"gmail"dot"com if you are interested. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

If any 4-way teams that have access to twelve foot tunnels would like to get the meet draw (Rookie, Intermediate, or Open), just let me know. I imagine that Kurt (Skyleague.com) would be happy to post your scores with those from teams up in New Hampshire. We'd be doing the Meet on Decemeber 5th. Email me at nhtunnelmeet"at"gmail"dot"com if you are interested. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

e've got 23 registered teams so far for the 4-way FS competition (with two or three of those looking for a fourth teammate). We have also expanded the Rookie class to a 12 team limit that we are almost full in that category. Please understand that we have to register teams on a first come first serve basis. I hope we will be able to expand the limits to accommodate everyone, but we may hit capacity for the meet. Contact as soon as you can if you are getting a team together! Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

We've got 23 registered teams so far for the 4-way FS competition (with two or three of those looking for a fourth teammate). We have also expanded the Rookie class to a 12 team limit that we are almost full in that category. Please understand that we have to register teams on a first come first serve basis. I hope we will be able to expand the limits to accommodate everyone, but we may hit capacity for the meet. Contact as soon as you can if you are getting a team together! Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Members of Dallas Rogue/Mass Defiance and SkyVenture New Hampshire will be hosting our second annual formation skydiving tunnel competition on Saturday December 5, 2009. Our goal is to have a fun meet and give 4-way junkies something to hold them over until the snow melts – this meet will also be a great opportunity for folks interested in forming teams for next year to meet potential teammates. There will not be any cash purses, but prizes will include tunnel time and donated prizes from manufacturers. There will also be a 2-way VFS meet on Sunday December 6th. Ari Perelman, who will be the meet director for that event, will send out more details about the VFS meet later this week. Registration prices this year (for the Saturday FS events) will be $60 per competitor regardless of her/his competition class. Price includes a pizza lunch, bottled water, a DVD of your team’s flights, your meet flights and warm up time, and if you register before the November 20 deadline, a free t-shirt for each team member. This year, we will be adding in a Rookie Class event that will take place in the morning. This will be a 5 round meet, and two competitors will be paired with two veteran 4-way folks who will serve as “player coaches.” You can either form a team with experienced 4-way competitors from your home DZ, or we will pair you with folks that have won medals in the Advanced or Open classes at USPA nationals (at no additional charge!). Two minutes of practice time will be included in the cost of $60/person ($120 per team). Competitors should be on site by 7:15AM to complete paperwork and payment before the 7:45 briefing and warm up time for the Rookie Class event will be flown from between 8:00 and 8:30AM. The Rookie class meet flights will be completed by 11:30AM, and awards ceremony will happen as soon as the judges can finish (before the Intermediate/Open class meet). Rookie flyers should sign up with as a pair and provide me with a team name. If Rookie class competitors also wish to participate with an Intermediate class team in the afternoon meet, they may do so at a discounted rate of $45, however, the rookie class is designed to give folks that are new to 4-way a chance to get involved – no sandbaggers please! In the afternoon, there will be an Intermediate and Open class competition. These teams will complete 10 competition rounds. Two minutes of practice time will be included in the meet fee of $60 per person ($240 per team). Teams should arrive no later than 11:00AM to complete paperwork, make payments, and prep their warm up time before the 11:30 briefing. Practice time will be flown before between 12:30PM and 1:30PM. The final briefing and draws will take place immediately after the warm up time. Competition rounds will be completed by 7:00PM, and the awards ceremony will either happen as soon as the judges finish (at about 7:30PM) The meet will be modeled in NSL fashion for the three divisions of 4-way. The Open class will have 5 to 6 points per round and use a modified dive pool for the meet (all random formation plus blocks 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15, and 17), the Intermediate class rounds will have 4 to 5 points per round and consist of random formations and a few blocks (blocks 7, 9, and 14), and the Rookie class will have 3 points per round and consist of only random formations. Judges will score each round based on the tunnel video, and it is the team’s responsibility to stay low enough in the flight chamber for the judges to see all the grips in each formation (this means staying well below the top of the door frames of the tunnel). Three teams will enter the tunnel chamber at the same time and then will each complete two separate meet rounds during that flight session. Therefore, teams will have about a two-minute break between round 1 and round 2, and then they’ll exit the tunnel and another three teams will enter the flight chamber. For each meet round, teams will have a one minute flight session to enter the air column, compete their 35 seconds of working time, and then safely exit the air column. Teams will have approximately 45 minutes between each flight session to prep their next two competition rounds. The maximum number of Intermediate and Open class teams (combined) will be 15 and the maximum number of Rookie class teams will be 9 – teams will be registered on a “first come first serve” basis. To register for the meet, all you need to do is email Ben at NHtunnelmeet”at”gmail”dot”com with the team name, the competition class you will be competing in, the full names of all four team members, each team members email address, and each team members t-shirt size. All payments will be made on site at SkyVenture New Hampshire on the day of the meet. Remember, teams that register before November 20 get a free t-shirts. If your team needs an additional member or two, or you are an individual looking for a team, go to the following google spread sheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ApFFDKFiX0PedHctZnRiUzRwVEtNLTR1cUJVYVB2bEE&hl=en There you can enter your information if you are looking to find a team, or look for potential teammates if you are short a person or two for your team. Please be careful not to change or delete any fields besides your own as the changes will get save automatically. Registered teams will be able to purchase discounted training time from Friday November 27th through Friday December 4th at a rate of $360 per half hour or $660 for hour blocks. If you are flying practice time with your team, it would be good to have the tunnel driver note your airspeed and communicate it to me. Lastly, discounted rates at the Radisson hotel are available for registered teams. Price is just $52 plus tax per night. To book a room you should contact SkyVenture New Hampshire at (888)SKY-VENTURE and leave a message for Laurie Greer with your check in date, your check out date, how many beds (double or king), your name and phone number, and your credit card number. She’ll book the room and call you back with a confirmation number. The Radisson has a pool, sauna, hot-tub, health club, free internet in the room / wifi in the lobby, full restaurant, bar and more. We look forward to your participation! Please contact me by email if you have any questions about the event. Blues, Ben Liston, Meet Director NHtunnelmeet”at”gmail”dot”com http://www.skyventureNH.com http://www.massdefiance.org Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

link to full post details above or find the link in the wind tunnel forum. Over 15 teams already registered! Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Members of Mass Defiance / Dallas Rogue are working with SkyVenture NH to put together this year's meet. Once again, we putting it together with volunteers to keep the price down for competitors. The meet details are shaping up nicely and I think folks are going to be happy with the improvements and changes from last year. Below is some information and the official announcement with will all the specifics will go out in the new few days. 1. There will be a rookie class event that runs in the morning. This will be a 5 round meet, fee is just $60 for each of the two rookie class competitors and they will get two player coaches (free of charge) to fly with them, help prep the jumps, and keep things safe. Folks can sign up as individuals, but it'll be best if they sign up with me as a pair and with a team name. We're working on reduced fees for rookie competitors who also want to fly in the afternoon intermediate division as well (likely $45 additional). Draw will likely be a bit easier than the intermediate draw - fewer points per round and all randoms. Start time for this event is still in the works, likely around 8:30AM and it should finish by 11:30AM or noon. This class is designed for newer competitors who have limited or no 4-way tunnel experience. No sandbaggers! If you have a Rookie class team that your are organizing with a teammate, let me know the names of the full line-up. The player coaches I'll be assigning to teams will all be folks who have won medals at the national level. If you are interested in volunteering as a player coach, let me know. 2. Fee of just $60 per person for the 10 round Intermediate and Open classes covers the registration, pizza lunch, H20, warm up time, flight time, and a DVD for each team. Intermediate and open teams should plan to be at the tunnel by about 11:00AM and will finish by 8:30PM. Classes will be the same as last year with very similar, if not identical dive pools. All randoms for both classes, blocks 7, 9, and 14 for Intermediate, and blocks 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15, and 17 for the Open class. Working time of 35 seconds for Rookie and Intermediate will start when the first grip of a star is broken, open team's time will start when they launch from a standing position on the net. 3. I'll be contacting manufactures that supported the event last year this week and hopefully we'll get some new ones on board, too. If you have contacts with manufactures or sponsors you think would like to support the event, please have them email me. 4. There will be a 2-way freefly/VFS meet that will be held on Sunday, Dec. 6th. More details to follow. Ari Perelman will be running the Sunday stuff. 5. Discounted lodging at the Nashua Radisson is available - please contact Laurie at the tunnel (888)SKY-VENTURE for details. rates are around $52 plus tax and there's a pool, gym, free Internet etc. To get that price, all reservations need to go through Laurie - she'll need a credit card, the number of beds and number of rooms, and then will call you back with a confirmation number. 6. Free meet t-shirts for everyone that registers with me (payment goes directly to the tunnel on meet day) by the registration deadline of November 20th. 7. The tunnel will again offer discounted tunnel time during the week prior to the event for registered teams. I'll send out info about booking procedure, exact rates, and the dates as soon as it's finalized. 8. There will likely be New England media covering the event, so come looking sharp! Registration will likely be limited to 15 teams for the afternoon event (intermediate and open classes) and 9 teams for the rookie class event. We might be able to extend it to 18 teams, but no promises on that. Registration will happen on a first come first serve basis starting right now. No payment necessary before meet day, just your word that your team will be coming. To register, email me your team name, the class you'll be competing in, the full names of all team members, email addresses for all team members, and shirt sizes for all team members. I don't want to even come up with a cancellation policy. Just register when you are sure can make it and show up to make life easy for me. Lastly - I'm looking for rated judges to help out. Please contact anyone you know with an FS rating (regional or national) and try to get them to help out. Have judges contact me directly to confirm their slot. As with last year, I'm volunteering my time, as is Ari for the freefly stuff. Judges will get fed and get a free t-shirt, but I'm really hoping to get folks to volunteer their time so we can keep the costs down. The email to use for all FS meet questions and registration is nhtunnelmeet"at"gmail"dot"com. Blues, Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

link to event description Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 - free coaching and seminars from Dallas Rogue (and past Mass Defiance team members) at SkyVenture New Hamphsire. The four separate seminars will be on individual skills/movements, 4-way principals, big way skills, and freeflying. All levels are welcome, come as an individual or as a team. This event is totally free, come on out for the seminars, to do some flying, or both. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Here are more specific details: Free coaching and seminars at SkyVenture New Hampshire! On Thursday, October 1st, members of the formation skydiving team Dallas Rogue will be offering free coaching and seminars at SkyVenture New Hampshire starting at 7PM. Team members Ben Liston, Brian Stephens, Ari Perelman and Scott Latinis will be on-site and at your disposal. Come on out for the free seminars, to do some flying in the tunnel, or both! The coaches/presenters… Ben Liston and Brian Stephens competed with the Mass Defiance 4-way FS team from 2004-2008, winning the advanced class gold medal in 2005 and posting a 19.3 average in 2007. They have competed with the US Army Golden Knights in the 16-way event for the last couple of years. Ben & Brian have done extensive tunnel and freefall coaching work with the West Point Parachute team and civilian teams around New England. Scott Latinis has been competing at the national level in formation skydiving events for over a decade and has over 9,000 jumps. He has won four gold medals with Arizona Airspeed in 16-way and was a member of Arizona Vengeance in 2002. Scott is the captain of the Dallas Rogue 8-way team, and also has also been selected as the Alpha Team Co-Captain for the 20010 and 2011 World Team, which aims to complete a 500 way in 2011. In addition to being a talented 4-way and 8-way FS competitor, Ari Perelman is an accomplished free flyer. He won a bronze medal in VFS at the US Nationals in ‘08, and has participated in both FS and VFS record attempts. He has a plethora of experience and has logged over 700 hours of tunnel time as a competitor and coach. For the free coaching… All you need to do is book time with SkyVenture New Hampshire (normal rates apply), and Rogue members will be available to help you prep your flights, fly with you or coach you from a standing position during your flights, and debrief your flights all free of charge. Come on out as an individual or with teammates. All levels (from student status to advanced flyers) are welcome. Rogue members will be happy to help you with basics skills, individual and team 4-way techniques, freeflying and VFS skills, and/or essential skills for big ways. Simply call the tunnel to book your time and mention that you’d like a Rogue coach to join you. And for the seminars… At 7:30PM, Ben will be presenting a 30-minute seminar on basic and advanced individual FS skills. He will cover principals about effective body positions, turns, slide slides, forward/backward movement, carving, super-positioning (moving laterally and turning at the same time), fall rate control, and burble hops. Free electronic versions (iPod and Quicktime) of the Mass Defiance instructional FS video will be available for anyone who buys tunnel time during the day or evening, just bring a laptop with you! (He’ll try to bring some extra CDs as well). At 8:00PM, Brian will be offering a presentation on principals of 4-way FS. He’ll cover general block technique, and explain how to get the most out of your random work. Additionally, Brian will talk about slots, principals such as “the long axis,” and how to best utilize the tunnel as a 4-way team. He’ll also welcome specific questions about anything that has been challenging you or your team. At 8:30PM, Ari will run a seminar on learning to free fly in wind tunnels (from back flying to VFS). He’ll be covering specific techniques of different body positions and transitions, as well as approaches to learning them. Whether you are new to free flying or interested in VFS, come on out to learn how to reach your goals. At 9:00PM, Scott will be presenting on principals of large formations and record attempts. He’ll cover skills you need to develop to get invited to big ways and be successful once you’re there. Scott will explain radials, the stadium principal, how to approach and dock on a big-way, the "half" rule, etc., along with how to use the tunnel to help you fly successfully with several hundred of your closest friends. Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

More details to follow shortly, but there will be free FS and freefly coaching and seminars from members of Dallas Rogue (and past Mass Defiance members) at SkyVenture New Hampshire on October 1st. Ari Perelman will be handling the freefly/VFS side of things and Ben Liston, Brian Stephens, and Scott Latinis will be available for belly flyers. Folks still on student status to full 4-way teams are all equally welcome to come on out. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

I have a pair of risers that are designed to hold two canopies off of one set of main (large) harness rings... pictures attached. They seem to be designed to be used with reverse main risers and don't need an extra cutaway handle, just pull the yell tabs to remove the pin that secures the type 2a loop... I might be willing to part with them, PM with any offers. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

Interesting fact I heard from Kolla about a year ago is that (at least at the time of the conversation) every PD Reserve that has been sent back for inspection for reaching the 40 packs jobs or 25 deployments mark has been re-certified for use. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

10 days left before the downloads become inactive. Email for the links to electronic copies (DVDs no longer available) if you'd like QuickTime and iPod versions and are willing to donate to the NSL. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!

I hate contributing to a thread that has gone so far off it's original topic, but feel compelled to respond. The skyhook will save you if you have to cutaway low. It is also more likely (because your reserve will open higher) that you'll be able to make it back to the main landing to land a canopy that you're are less familiar with. You'll also likely be able to pick and get to a more suitable out, and maybe be able to land into the wind, than if you were under a reserve at a much lower altitude. The Skyhook not only gets a quick reserve - it gets TIME - which can be invaluable. You might not need it if the spot is great and you are quick to recognize the issue and apply the appropriate response. I've been doing this for a little while I have lost two friends in accidents that involved partially inflated reserves - they both had thousands of jumps and were current, capable skydivers. Both would likely be alive if they had Skyhook equipped rigs. The Skyhook also (in almost all cases) gives you a much cleaner reserve deployment than a standard RSL. I have jumped the Skyhook on an intentional cutaway jump and also had two live cutaways on a small highly loaded elliptical. For one of these I was on my back under a fast spinning mal and had a perfectly symmetrical and on-heading reserve deployment. I watched one of my teammates have a cutway on a skyhook equiped rig last month after an 8-way training jump and he was higher than me AFTER his reserve was open (he's a better tracker than I am). I'm continually impressed with the speed of the Skyhook. Obviously you are very set in your opinion and I don't expect this post to sway you in the slighted way. I just hope others (particularly new jumpers aren't influenced by your disdain for what I believe to be a (as a jumper and as a rigger) as a great safety option. One that should be learned about, and considered before investing in, but none--the-less a great option. Of course nobody will need it if everything goes as planned, or even if you have a mal and handle it efficiently. Sometimes things just don't go that smoothly... The other things I like about Vectors, since you brought it up before is the upward closing main flap (I see more bottom closing ones come open on exit and in freefall), the new design that eliminates binding tape on the inside - makes is really comfortable, the super construction strong webbing used throughout the harness, the new recoiling spectra reserve ripcord, and the magnetic riser covers. They open more evenly with less resistance, are very secure, and are thin enough (the magnets are about 1/8 of inch thick) that they really don't increase bulk - what difference does a little in that part of the rig anyway. I have had riser cover hang ups in the past and appreciate that I won't have them ever again. I have owned Javelins, Wings, Racers, and Vectors, and like the comfort and performance of my Vector the best. Rigs are great these days - and almost all manufactures make good products, Infinity rigs are great, too (they have some awesome innovations, are super well built and designed, and I love their integrated housings on their main risers). Infinity would probably be my second choice for a rig, but when I weigh out all the options and features, Vector3s come out on the top of my list, but to each his own. I agree with other folks that if you pack your main cleanly that the possibility of a line/flap entanglement in very very minimal. I'm paranoid about a lot of things, but that certainly isn't one of them. Ben Mass Defiance 4-wayFS website sticks!