UKFSChick

I am carrying the equivalent of the weight belt I used to wear for tunnel flying - ah glory days... At least I am used to it I spose! Be nice to take it off once in a while but them's the breaks :)

Shannon's not that old, and I hear he's been in training to help him keep up... ;-)

If there had been more lending regulation by the Bush administration over the past 8 years, the country would not have been in this financial hole to begin with.

...although I do take issue with all the haters who see the vid and say my piece-partner was carrying me....

Kid is 14 and doing a 21 average. Is your post meant to make people hate her less???? ;-)

Why, thank you But I have to disagree, between each load I actually HAVE been looking for a cure for cancer (and AIDS), but I keep finding those pesky test-tubes make a bloody mess when I stuff them down my jumpsuit to make the back-up, and I can't get the camera-flyer to hold the microscope for me during freefall... (Some BS about "needing both hands free in case he has a mal"...primadonna team types eh?)

Sh*t that's everyone I know! (Are there loads out there where this doesn't occur? What do you do on the way to altitude without your invisible grips???)

4-way geek

Well you wouldn't look more foolish than I do with 30lbs of lead in a solid tube from top of ribcage to bottom of pelvis...

There *may* be another reason for the faster-faller situation...call me crazy...fat is a relative concept ;) What r you trying to say??? Do you want to pass the rock, does is the 22 average (since you canned me, ahem ;-) offer some consolation for the perma-de-arch of the past 2 years? (PS - Get those webbed gloves, no-one will laugh at you. I promise. No, really. Go on.)

don't be That Guy

We have Javs. RI went out of their way to ensure they had the correct measurements including liaising direct with Sunpath. Sunpath were very helpful, bearing in mind this was a sponsor deal with them at the time. I think the wraps are incredibly secure-looking and would not even contemplate using one unless they were top-notch and had been approved for use by the relevant tunnel. Elan had them, AZ Directe have them, Airspeed also use them AFAIK.

www.rigginginnovations.com I don't think there is anything on their site about the rig wraps, but if you call them up or email they should be able to help you. I think it would be Brenda or Sandy. We were very happy with ours and they have been approved for use at SkyVenture AZ and Bodyflight - I don't know about other tunnels. Unfortunately, tunnel flying with a rig on is much more tiring than without! We were stunned at what a difference it makes.

That is very true, although, as Dutch said, Airspeed Odyssey have posted 25+ and 26 averages (even over ten rounds) in the last year. This massive leap coincides with the opening of 16 and 17 ft tunnels, where teams can train the whole dive pool rather than just randoms and some of the tighter blocks. It is very different without a rig, I agree. You are much less restricted, with better visibility, less drag in certain positions, less weight to move around, less momentum and increased flexibility. A rig can really affect your body position without you realising. One solution I tried was to buy a rig wrap from Rigging Innovations (Skydive Arizona) which lets you train in the tunnel with your own rig on. At some tunnels (eg Bodyflight) you can also use their specially made tunnel rigs for a similar effect. Many teams are already doing this and this has probably contributed to increased performance levels. There is no reason newer jumpers shouldn't also be able to benefit from this more realistic simulation of freefall. I think it is possible for some people to improve their body flying skills more in 1 minute of tunnel flying than in 1 skydive, if they have a good coach in there with them. The tunnel allows people to learn in a relaxed environment without the distraction of a planet coming up at them at 120mph. From a safety perspective, there is no substitute for skydiving, but having better skills and being more relaxed in the airflow also helps.

Actually she is 13... Probably...

Check out Ellie, age 13 and already doing an 18+ 4-way tunnel average at her first meet - this was in the PRO class, right behind Fury and Airspeed...(Try to disregard the old gits clearly slowing her down in there...) http://www.skyleague.com/pages/news/showArticles.php?story=903 It is amazing how fast kids can progress without some of the learning hang-ups (and bad habits / stiff backs!) adults usually have. They make it look easy

I found this on a City-Data forum, discussing the merits of putting up a massive new theme park in the city of Eloy. 3rd post down: http://www.city-data.com/forum/phoenix-area/190180-rock-n-roll-theme-park-3.html Not sure if the poster is more concerned that a jumper might land on a roller coaster and horrify riders with his nudity, or that hundreds could be pureed each year by errant space balls...

Anyone know where I can get hold of one of the FS Stampy Man rubber stamps, preferably in the UK or US? And /or a software program that helps you create bigway dives? Thanks :) EB

Hi Sam Sounds like you've had a couple of crappy experiences at UK Dzs, I'm sorry about that. There was an article in Skydiving a while ago which talked about poor retention in the sport. Unfortunately, most DZs are not brilliant at marketing - neither acquisition or retention. Most DZs don't have big budgets and most don't have specialist marketing people. Personally I agree that it would be great if instructors and long-time jumpers made more of an effort to encourage new people to stay in the sport (retention), but mostly people just want to do their 'job' and don't look at the bigger picture. DZs make their money from tandems and it is not really their responsibility to 'grow the sport'. Wind tunnels on the other hand are a great way to get people to try a jump. Airkix especially targets non-skydivers and they have the marketing knowledge and budget to reach a large audience of non-jumpers (through TV, radio and national papers) - something DZs don't generally have. Once a first time flyer tries tunnel flying it is a short step to connect their experience to skydiving. Airkix has links with DZs and promo material all over the walls about the sport of skydiving. They have sponsored skydiving teams. This in itself serves to grow the sport in a way DZs can't. On top of that, all top teams train at wind tunnels. These training tools allow skydivers to excel in the sport, which in turn generates media exposure for skydiving. Coverage of skydiving in the general press as a sport (as opposed to just a horrible way to die ) promotes a positive image which encourages people to contact DZs to make a jump. And maybe, to become skydivers... The BPA in addition has also done a lot to promote positive coverage of the sport in the general press (see the BPA website), even though, as someone else mentioned, it is not actually their remit...

You might find this article helpful: http://www.onthelineskydiving.com/files/Train_Smart_AV_3_1_.pdf Have fun :)

I know a lot of people are at work, bored, surfing dz.com, so.... If you have a spare minute, check out http://www.xfmuploaded.co.uk/thelondonfractures and vote for this band, they were the featured band on Xfm last night and are bound to be the next big thing (oh it's my brother's band by the way...and they keep threatening to make their next vid in the tunnel...which would be cool) Thanks, hope you enjoy

And a big congrats to Ellie McCoy who took bronze in the 4-way PRO class behind Perris Fury (silver) and Arizona Airspeed (gold). This was Aeon's first meet together (www.onthelineskydiving.com/News.html) and we were all really proud of her for performing so well under meet conditions (we did an 18.2 average). Ellie is only 13 and did a fantastic job alongside the top teams. (Is there something in the water up in Colorado?!) Great meet and a great event, thanks to Jason and everyone involved :)

Team Elan (formerly called Team Airkix) are providing free coaching at Hibaldstow this weekend for 4-way teams. We are also giving a talk on 4-way and team topics. On Thurs / Fri we are looking for teams to train alongside us out of the Dornea, which is the UK Nationals competition aircraft so a good warm up for Nats. We managed 40 jumps with bad weather at Hib in one weekend recently, so it's well worth making some training there if you can. Please get in touch with Hib or email [email protected] if you are interested. The coaching will be over the Grand Prix meet (Sat/ Sun) and also the Thurs and Fri for any teams who come. In case you are worried about the weather and formerly flooded bunkhouse (!) I just heard from James at Hib that it will be fixed by the weekend so business as usual