oldbastard

Thing that worked best for me - when I used to do head-down in the seventies - yeah that's right Olav Zipser, in the seventies! - was tie a rope on a bowling ball, toss it out the plane and hold on like hell!! Guaranteed to getcha flyin' head-down in only one jump!

Religion isn't bad - everyone should have religion. Organized religion is what's bad - the brain-washing of the masses! I too, am not a Christian, nor do I believe in a god. I am often offended by the mindless sheep that feel it their duty to promote their religion to others and denounce those who differ in belief. That being said - I also believe that mindless sheep have the right to display their religous symbols and beliefs - they should just learn how to respect others. You can't exactly blame them - most Christians have been brain-washed from birth. To denounce religion would be to denounce their family, their community, the church they've been going to since a kid. So - you see it's not their fault they are sheep. What this society needs to do - is start teaching kids about all religion - and yes, we need to teach religion in schools. Atheists get all bent out of shape about that notion and feel it violates the separation of church and state. The separation of church and state was designed to keep the govt. out of religion - not religion out of the govt. No matter - if we taught schoolchildren about all religions and let them see that no one religion is right or wrong - more people would really begin to question religion - instead of being forced to believe it. Then, human society, could more quickly evolve to a society that recognizes religion as many beliefs that began from many different regions and times and see clearly that no one is right. Who knows, we may even make it to the day when religion is taught only in history and we can see ourselves for what we really are - animals scurrying from one scarce resource to the next.

Was just at Airkix - had a darn good time. I've been flying in wind tunnels for a while now - trying to learn freeflying. I noticed an instructor - Mike - chap from South Africa - not many skydives and is amazing. Infact - most of the instructors are a lot better than me and I have been working on this a while now. I saw Joe and Rusty there - instructors from the Orlando tunnel and they were coaching some of the U.K. staff - I hadn't really seen Joe at the Orlando tunnel much - but he was freakn' amazing. I felt like I learned more just watching him coaching than I had flying the many hours I have flown. Does anyone know if he coaches anyone other than the staff or does he only coach staff - and is he why the staff at the SkyVenture tunnels are so good? I didn't get a chance to talk to him while I was there - I know Rusty does some coaching - but what about Joe? I know the instructors do a lot more flying than most - but it seems that even the new instructors progress at such a faster rate than others. Anyone else notice this? I really think if anyone gets a chance to visit the U.K. they should stick around to watch the instructors fly - I especially loved watching Michael. Joe and Rusty were amazing. SkyVenture Orlando has some great flyers as well - as does Arizona and Perris - were they all trained by Joe?

Nice cool thick air. A suit that fits like a glove. A couple pals. Pure flight. Thoughtless transitions. Effortless carving. Fluid docks. Complete control - without thinking about it - just flying. Two - thirty in the morning - missing the sky. Pushing against the air. It pushes back. I slip to the side. Push again - I slide further. Push legs back - I move forward. Swing legs forward - I go back. I stall... slow fallrate.... legs together.... faster.... Follow my head back to a sit.... to a stand... ahhh... have to pull. Canopy opens.... quiet again... just me.... laughing... sun dipping down.... on top of the world.... nothing below me matters.... I pull hard... harder.... I let up.... fly the contours... pull easily down and pop them just a bit... gingerly step upon the earth. Canopy sways to the ground.... still laughing!

Well... all dat sounds pretty darn official if you ask me... to say it another way might be that if you are a fat ass who munches down twinkies all day - four electric fans might not have the power to lift your fat sweating ass off the grate. Skydiving is a sport. Most sports are played by athletes not linebackers. Linebackers just stand on the field to block for the athletes running and catching the ball. (The one's that actually score the points) So you see it is all very simple... if you are a fat ass then you might find your fat ass a handicap when it comes to participating in athletic activities. Sorry if this comes off sounding a little crude but I just call em' as I see em'.

Howdy... my real name is Steve And I admit... I have a problem too! I reply to stupid posts made about stupid crap!! As far as the amount of time I have in the tunnel (SkyVEnture of course - as if there were another) I couldn't tell yah and frankly I've never cared. Hell it could take one person an hour to learn what it takes another in a month... so time... like jump numbers.... really don't matter. I know people who have a couple hundred jumps who blow away jumpers with several thousand - as far as counting hours anyway... you might as well ask a crack-whore how much whoring she's done - hell she don't know! Unless your one of dem anal people who writes down every little thing you've done... or tried! Anyway... I got lots of time and I still suck... being an old bastard makes it tough to learn! Well at any rate... I challenge y'all to quit your bragging about how much of your time you've spent floating in some air and let's see you spend more time jumping! Hell... a lot of you claim your better in the tunnel than you are in the air... sounds like you've been spending too much simulating and not enough of the real thing! O

Heard a SkyVenture is being built in New Hampshire and scheduled to open this year! I hear there will also be one going up in New Jersey and New York City but you'd have to call SkyVenture and ask them for any specifics. At anyrate I'd say the SkyVenture in Orlando is really the closest for now. A two hour plane ride and a twenty minute drive from the airport sure beats a road trip to Pigeon Forge anyday!

yeah... bought me some tunnel time (an hour!) and if anyone WANTS TO BUY SOME TIME... let me know!

All these people complaining about the IBA and wonderin what it is all for... SkyVenture created the program so that instructors, coaches, and flyers can move about the numerous SkyVenture tunnels that are going to be opening world-wide... it does not regulate all tunnels... if you are flying in tunnels other than SkyVenture then you don't have to obtain an IBA... so I hear... the IBA is only for SKyVenture.. If anyone has concerns I know the folks at SkyVenture will be glad to answer your questions... I asked a couple of their instructors about the program and they assured me the program will be more beneficial for the customer... the customer can travel between tunnels and not have to prove their skills and they won't have to worry about hiring a coach who hasn't met SkyVenture's standards. All in all it will benefit the customer... if the coaches don't like it...maybe there is a reason other than what they are saying... maybe they can't meet the standards! Hah... I don't know... but I'm glad the IBA is coming... I'll be standing in line waiting for mine!

Well... I've been reading all these questions about who is the best... how do I become a tunnel coach... which coach can help me... and if you ask me... no one has given a clear, cut and dry explanation of the best way to choose a coach. I've read lots of opinions and I've seen a lot of different website addresses - but no answers. So if anyone out there is thinking about buying some time or hiring a coach ... I offer you the following... all just my opinion... but I hope it helps. 1. How much time do you plan of buying? This is probably the most important factor and one the coaches may not ask. Not how much time you want to buy - but how much training are you going to take? You can't buy an hour and magically be a better flyer. It takes time. So if you're only going to buy an hour or less... don't hire a coach. The instructor's who work there will be just fine. If you plan on buying more than an hour and plan on making the tunnel a training tool... invest in a coach. 2. Selecting a coach. All this talk about who is the best... who should I have coach me... who should I... hell... why not ask who should do the training for me too! GO TO THE TUNNEL! Do you want to know the best tool for selecting the best coach for you? It is the observation room inside the tunnel. You can go to the tunnel and spend all day watching the many different coaches and their many different styles. You can even find out what time a particular coach will be there at the front desk so you can go and watch the ones you might want to hire. I have done this many times and I personally get training from one of the instructors at the tunnel... just because I like his paitence. When you come to the tunnel and watch you will see coaches get frustrated with their students... you will see coaches fly as much as THEY can... and you will see coaches stand outside of the tunnel and TEACH their students to fly. Many of the coaches that some of the threads have named as the best coaches are the same coaches I see flying a lot of their students time. They demonstrate something again and again and then let the student try. I can get that from watching a video. If you go to the observation room and watch the coaches and talk with the STUDENTS... you will see who is improving and who isn't. Usually the students who improve are the students who have coaches who let them fly. By this, I mean that some coaches take up half of the tunnel so that they can fly and others stand outside and coach while the student has the whole tunnel to fly. More room to move... less worry of other people... and more focus. That is what a good coach does... you don't see football coaches running down the field catching balls and yelling, "DO IT LIKE THIS". Do you? You don't see your swimming coach smimming laps around you while you splash around trying to stay afloat. Do you? Your tunnel coach shouldn't either. If you have a coach who does a lot of flying on your dime... you should ask yourself what are you paying for... the coaching or his flying time. Find a coach who isn't afraid to make you back up... I often see coaches who try to progress their students as quickly as possible... just so they can tell their students that they accomplished something. Instead... a good coach will recognize when someone isn't ready to move on and will even go back... maybe this student needs to fly on his/her back more... or spend more time walking... by the way if you want to be a good sit flyer learn to walk in the tunnel... yes walking!...anyway... the whole point is many coaches try to push you to a goal... don't let them set goals for you... instead find someone who will teach you what you need to know - not what makes it easiest for them. 3. Have fun... if you're not having fun.. something is wrong. 4. Watch the instructors who work there too... they see all coaching and all levels of coaching... they see the AirSpeed camps... they watch Magic coach and they see the poor coaches... and they are some of the best flyers! They didn't get that way by chance... they know how to fly and they know flight mechanics... the only draw back to going with the tunnel instructors is that they can't spend a lot of time with you if they are working... but if you find one you like you can ask them to coach you on their days off... and usually they are cheaper than some of the other coaches... who do a better job at marketing themselves than anything else! The point is... if you want to learn to fly your body in all styles... go to the tunnel and sit in the observation room and you will find your coach! It is something you have to take an active role in... you can't just sit at your computer and ask... who is the best coach?

Here we were jump'n one day... at this here boogie see. Pretty big boogie... biggest in the world they say.... We had spent the hot ass summer day jumpn'... which meant we was all doin' a lot of packn'! So after like the sixth or seventh jump of the day... we were like fuck it... let's crack open the beers. I threw my rig in the tent and pulled a nice cold hein-e out of the cooler and started throw'n em back. After half a cigar and three or four beers later... the loudspeaker breaks in over the tunes and announces that they're manifest'n for the DC-3 load. We look at each other... get that shit eat'n grin on our faces and are like... dude... let's jump the DC-3! We grabbed our jump tickets and designated one chap to go and manifest us. He comes back ten minutes later and says we've got about fourty-five minutes... because it's the SUNSET LOAD! Holy shit... we thought.... the sunset load..... Well we popped open another hein-e and celebrated!!! Fourty-five minutes later we're kick'n a hackey sack around the DC-3 wait'n for them to fire it up. A couple minutes later and closer to dusk they fire it up and we climb inside to Blink 182 jamm'n from the speakers. We were sitt'n in the middle screamen our heads off and try'n to sing. I think somewhere around eleven to twelve thousand feet that alcohol has gone through some magical transition... maybe due to the lack of oxygen... but shit we were trashed. Thrown' our helmets on we realized we didn't have an idea of what the fuck we were going to do. Sit fly sounded good and sit fly it was. After a quick ritual of the fists we climbed out the door! Shit I don't even remember the count... but all I know is that my friends are rolling all over the sky in a fetal posiiton laughing their asses off.. We pointed at each other... got a three or four way together and then broke and pulled. The canopy ride was one big giggle and that ground hauled ass up the sky. I slid my shades up my forehead so I could try and see in the dark... just to pull a sweet hook and flare. My longest as of that date. Laughed about it all week and even that summer... hell I'm laugh'n about it now.... point is .... this is the bonfire.... and there's nothing like hearing some funny shit at the bonfire. If someone dumb ass wants to drink and make a jump... go for it!!! Just let me here about it when we're standing at the bonfire!!!! and oh yeah... save the politics for somewhere else. The soapbox maybe? Quote

In the old days skydivers existed as an entirely separate class of people. They were people who didn’t belong to society or its beliefs. They were a person who would rather give up the house, car, and 2.3 kids to live a life that seemed reckless to most. They existed on a single notion that whatever awaited them after life was brought a little bit closer in the sky. That’s not to say that that doesn’t exist today. You can still find those people – they’re the ones with the rusted out camper at the end of the dz. They’re the ones with names like Carbone or Bird – they’re the ones that eat high off the hog when it’s blue skies and scrounge when it’s gray. They’re the ones who search for the meaning of it all. When I visit the dropzone today, I see a lot of young well dressed kids pulling up in nice cars and pulling out brand new rigs. I see students huddled together telling their friends on the other end of their cellphones that they’re now only minutes from jumping out of a plane. I see them when they’ve returned from their ride and are watching themselves on the monitor as they throw out signs and gestures to their videographer. So what I wonder, is how did this sport change so much? Was it all the television ads or all the Xtreme sport shows that featured skysurfers alongside skateboarders and BMXers or has the passion that once pushed someone to test their limits grown scarce? Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not trying to put anyone down. Anyone who returns for that second jump is okay in my book. I just wonder if what brought them to the dz was the result of a search to find their inner selves or just something they’ve always wanted to try. Of course there are a few I see that make me think that passion is still there. Occasionally, I see a middle-aged man standing over some older looking gear neatly making each fold and carefully measuring each stow. He might ask around to see if he can find someone who wants to make a jump but usually he’ll manifest himself and wait quietly for the plane. Then there are that small percentage of freefliers who you know by name because their also dz residents. But, if you ask me, the most passionate are often not even on the dropzone. If I had to pick the most passionate – I’d have to say it’s the base jumpers. They test the limits more than any of us. Hell they often begin their journey where we bail. Us skydivers reach two thousand feet and we’re either under canopy or pull’n. Whereas basejumpers begin there jump from well below. Yeah, I’d have to say basejumpers are some of the truest skydivers out there – pushing even closer to that great beyond. The hard-core ones, not the ones who buy their little ticket at bridgeday and stand in line at the fair to make a jump… but the ones who are out there when the rest of us are sleeping. The ones who climb through that misty fog and catch that first hint of the approaching sunrise – the ones who put it all on the line to capture that feeling… that feeling of truly being alive. That feeling that comes only when you realize how insignificant your life is and how funny those ants scurrying down that highway with their cellphones really are.

Knew this guy once back in Nam, called him Tek - he was always gettn' yelled at for not wearing his helmet. Crazy thing was he'd usually have it on - it was only when the bullets started flying that he'd take it off... said he couldn't aim well with it... couldn't get his head down close enough to his gun. Used to piss our Lt. off something fierce. Well one morning... after a few days of no action.... we find ourselves right in the middle of a Charlie stronghold.... turned into a free for all with everyone running to find some shelter. I jumped into a damned rice pattie.... with just my arms and head stickn' out from the water... leaning up against the bank.... I'm firing into the bush... where most of Charlie seems to be coming from... Well I see something running towards the bush out the corner of my eye... it's Tek running straight for Charlie firing off in every direction he jumps into a ditch... throws off his helmet and starts dropping Charlie like flies.... Seventeen minutes later... LT. yelln' for a cease fire.... seems Charlie had enough and retreated deep into the jungle... so we're all standing up - looking around to scope the casualties... I look over at Tek... he's walking back through this pattie to find his helmet... We found this other guy... helmet on so tight the straps left a mark in his skin... he'd taken shelter behind a pile of wood... This guy was always doing things straight by the book... real straight arrow if you know what I mean... never got in trouble... didn't even smoke... Course not of that mattered after a bullet entered his skull about a half inch below his helmet... right next to his eye. Point is... you can be the type who goes through life taking every precaution and that bullet is still going to find a way to kill ya. That's the funny thing that happens on a battlefield. No differnt in skydiving - sure its become safer over the years. Equipment gets better and better... instruction gets more detailed... planes are better maintained.... but in the end, you're throwing yourself out of a plane thirteen thousand feet above the earth and relying on a piece of fabric to keep ya from bouncing... sooner or later that bullet is going to find someone. When it does all you can do is remember that person and know that person died doing what they loved... we should all be that lucky. And if that thought seems a little harsh to ya... maybe you should think about why your here... why you choose to jump from planes... and if maybe this thing you call a sport is right for you. Cuz in the end there's no sport in jumping... it doesn't matter how tight that helmet is... the ground will find someone sooner or later.

In the old days skydivers existed as an entirely separate class of people. They were people who didn’t belong to society or its beliefs. They were a person who would rather give up the house, car, and 2.3 kids to live a life that seemed reckless to most. They existed on a single notion that whatever awaited them after life was brought a little bit closer in the sky. That’s not to say that that doesn’t exist today. You can still find those people – they’re the ones with the rusted out camper at the end of the dz. They’re the ones with names like Carbone or Bird – they’re the ones that eat high off the hog when it’s blue skies and scrounge when it’s gray. They’re the ones who search for the meaning of it all. When I visit the dropzone today, I see a lot of young well dressed kids pulling up in nice cars and pulling out brand new rigs. I see students huddled together telling their friends on the other end of their cellphones that they’re now only minutes from jumping out of a plane. I see them when they’ve returned from their ride and are watching themselves on the monitor as they throw out signs and gestures to their videographer. So what I wonder, is how did this sport change so much? Was it all the television ads or all the Xtreme sport shows that featured skysurfers alongside skateboarders and BMXers or has the passion that once pushed someone to test their limits grown scarce? Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not trying to put anyone down. Anyone who returns for that second jump is okay in my book. I just wonder if what brought them to the dz was the result of a search to find their inner selves or just something they’ve always wanted to try. Of course there are a few I see that make me think that passion is still there. Occasionally, I see a middle-aged man standing over some older looking gear neatly making each fold and carefully measuring each stow. He might ask around to see if he can find someone who wants to make a jump but usually he’ll manifest himself and wait quietly for the plane. Then there are that small percentage of freefliers who you know by name because their also dz residents. But, if you ask me, the most passionate are often not even on the dropzone. If I had to pick the most passionate – I’d have to say it’s the base jumpers. They test the limits more than any of us. Hell they often begin their journey where we bail. Us skydivers reach two thousand feet and we’re either under canopy or pull’n. Whereas basejumpers begin there jump from well below. Yeah, I’d have to say basejumpers are some of the truest skydivers out there – pushing even closer to that great beyond. The hard-core ones, not the ones who buy their little ticket at bridgeday and stand in line at the fair to make a jump… but the ones who are out there when the rest of us are sleeping. The ones who climb through that misty fog and catch that first hint of the approaching sunrise – the ones who put it all on the line to capture that feeling… that feeling of truly being alive. That feeling that comes only when you realize how insignificant your life is and how funny those ants scurrying down that highway with their cellphones really are. Live like there’s no tomorrow! Now where’s the beer!!!

what if the student/instructor were unconscious? what if they were bleeding profusely? i would surely want someone to land out with me if that were the case! Huh... just readn' this for the first time... but wow... a tandem instructor gets a drogue chute caught around his arm/hand and waits until 3' to pull a main!!! What about the reserve... with a drouge caught around your hand/arm and most likely out of the way of a reserve... maybe you'd want to pull a reserve after fighting with it for ten thousand feet!!!! Hell... I think after two or maybe three thousand feet enough is enough.... Which makes me only assume that this Tandem I had a Cypress fire if he infact went for the main at three which would definetly explain the dual canopies out.... I hope USPA and the tandem manufacter (what was he jumping... Strong/Vector) takes a look at this... this instructor should have reacted a lot sooner... sure it is easy to say that it is no big deal now.... but the Tandem instructor is lucky he and his tandem student didn't die that day... had he reacted correctly to the situation... his student might have landed safely at the airport waving and smiling at the videoman... You said you would provide the e-mail address of the S&TA but I didn't see it... not that anyone should go attacking this instructor... like you said what's done is done... but this is a great example of what happens when you try to fix a problem too long... instructors and jumpers alike need to train themselves to try and fix something only twice... if you can't fix it in two tries... pull your reserve... no reason to spend the rest of your life trying to fix something.... As far as the other tandem instructor goes... I don't think landing off was necessarily dangerous... so long the field wasn't a cornfield and was open and flat... but it definetely in no means was heroic... you said what if the tandem pair had been unconscious or bleeding... well what if they had been... what would a tandem instructor with no supplies do... try to wake them... maybe wrap a jumpsuit around the wound... no better to take a bearing at where they landed and safely land your student in the landing area. I think what both instructors did shows us how necessary recurrentcy training is ... not so much in the jumping part... but in training ourselves to not allow our emotions to cloud our judgement... I'm sure the first instructor panicked and thought he could shake the drouge free... the second probably let his concern for a fellow jumper cloud his judgement as well.... I think this serves as a good lesson... and your dropzone and the entire skydivng community alike should think about continuing training... I think a Safety day a month would be a smart thing for dropzones to provide... especially for their instructors.... Enough ranting on my part... I hope everyone involved learned from it and will never make that mistake again... now let's drink some beers!

Well I've been to both the Perris and Orlando tunnels and in my opinion the Perris tunnel has a long way to go before it is up to par with the Orlando one. The only reason Perris costs more is because of the huge difference in operating costs... electric costs so much more there... that's why Perris only operates certain hours and they shut down for a good portion of the day... cuz they're restricted on the times they can pull so much electric for their motors. As far as air quality goes Perris is just as good as Orlando ... in fact since it's newer it is a little nicer... it runs quieter and looks really good... but that's all it has on the one in Orlando... The coaches in Florida and the Orlando instructors are a lot better than the ones in Perris... I've had a few hours of coaching in Orlando and when I went to Perris... I was flying better than most of their staff... no way could I dream of flying better than some of the Orlando staff... Not only do they fly better but they've been coaching much longer than the Perris folks and really know how to teach you the mechanics you'll need to know. They've pretty much turned bodyflight into a science... But if for no other reason, I like Orlando better because you just can't get the same nightlife anywhere... In perris you are stuck on the dropzone... period... unless you want to venture out into crack central USA.... course everyone at Perris is really cool and they like to party... but in Orlando... the tunnel is right on the main strip and you've got a dozen nightclubs all within ten minutes and you can see Universal studios from the tunnel... when I was there last we all walked to a bar at Universal and watched a cool live band and partied all night... And if you want to put your new skills to work... you've got Z-hills, Deland, Lake Whales, and Sebastian all within an hour and a half's drive... Titusvilles in only an hour... but I prefer the dropzones with a nightlife and SpaceCenter (titusville) is a student dropzone more than anything... great view though... definetely worth going there to make a jump or two... but my favorite is Z-hills!!! They've got lots of beer and a many good times to be had!!!

So maybe I drank a bit too much or that cigar given to me had some of that funny tobacco in it... what they call it wacky or something.... but I sat down and suddenly got this zen like feeling... almost like I was back in Nam... everything all around me turning into hell... then suddenly it all got quiet and I could for the first time there see it all so clear... I knew exactly where Charlie was and how to get through em... hell won me a medal that day! So the point is I was watching this freefly video and suddenly realized the whole big secret to freeflying... the one absolute truth. All dem fancy moves are nice - being able to cartwheel and transition and all dat... but the one thing that makes you great... truly allows you to master the flight.... [now listen up]..... is the ability to hold and prevent drive. That's it... no greater skill.... the ability to have a huge forward drive and to be able to stop it... not by changing your body position so as you would no longer have forward drive... but to be able to create huge drive and not accept it.... the ability to create massive drive with your lower body and counter it with the upper... when you learn that .... i think your close to mastern' true bodyfligt.... Well like I said... don't know if it's the whiskey or the cigar talking here.... or maybe my arse had to put in its two cents... .but that's what I think... that and that I need another shot of whiskey!!!

Yeah... I think next time I'm in that area I'll have to stop by. Pictures I've seen look pretty cool... what's the airspeed like though? Cuz... it takes a bit of air to keep me flying... course I'm not happy til my skin starts pullin around the side of my face... (makes me look younger!)... Any decent watering holes around there? Flying always makes me thirsty!

Heck... sounds like the ole' what came first crap... the chicken or the egg.... simple fact is you can't fly without gear so what good is it going to do ya getten' that fancy coaching if you can't put it to good use... plus i hear that the perris tunnel ain't as nice as the one in florida... unless your taking a camp or something.... one of those airspeed ones... otherwise i think your money's better spent on the rig... not to put perris down ... was out there a couple times... nice folk and all.... but some of dem sound like they talkin out there you know whats.... tellen me i'd fly better without doin all dem shots!!!

Heck... it ain't no problem to pull on your level one! Your instructor will have you touch the ripcord three times before you actually pull it so... hell... you've already done it three times before it's actually time to do it for real.... best thing to do is just relax and force yourself to take a deep breath just before that needle drops to six... and then if you remember to the wave thing and if not... who cares... just pull it.... then when you get on the ground and are celebrating .... pour a shot for me!

Nope... don't know jack about kurupee suits... but if you want to order the absolute best freefly suit ever developed - you should check out Ouragan suits!!! Not too many heard of them but some of the greatest flyers in these parts are starting to wear them... and i can see them becoming bigger than any other freefly suit out there.... cuz they are made so much different than any other. I don't know the number you call but i know the girl who makes them is Nancy and that she jumps at Deland... so I imagine you could call Deland or maybe she has one of those web places or something... anyway.... i'm getting ready to order one since I'm going to sign up for some advanced freefly lessons... some new freefly school starting up in florida .... sounds real dapper... lot's of good jumps and plenty of beer!!

Yeah I hear John Suiter is a darn good tunnel flyer... can't wait to see if the tunnel in N. Carolina becomes a reality or not... that Phil guy who works at Venture likes to tell dem war stories of the early flyaway days... but i didn't think you could run up the walls there since the column doesn't reach the walls... course i only flew there once and they made me wear this ridiculous looking balloon suit... looked like my old brand x.... and then wouldn't turn the air up that much... lots of fun though...especially after a little whiskey!

Looks like all ya freeflyers getting your arses kicked in the forums... every other discipline has all these new posts and freeflying ain't got nuttin new... what's that say about freeflying... i don't know... Does it mean that freeflyers aren't as numerous as the others or that they're all too poor to afford a computer... maybe it's because all the freeflyers I've known tend to live at the dz and don't really use the computer... kind of an different breed of skydiver... freeflyers are always the dirty- rough looking type... they don't shower often always smell like the party from the night before.... hell a true skydiver if you ask me... back in my day that's what a skydiver was... hell now all these jumpers with their brand new rigs and shiny clean jumpsuits going out and turn'n a point or two... then going home to mow the yard.... yeah... freeflyn is a whole differnt sport...

Blue skies, black death... Knew this group of jumpers once back in the day... they'd come out and set up at the dz for days on end... all of em' bike riders. They'd set up this flagpole and would fly a torn black flag... under it would fly the shirt of a jumper friend of theirs who'd burned in... all tattered and ripped... scary group of guys too...don't know what happened to em' but they say that blue sky, black death everytime they got ready to jump

well... i read most of it but I skipped past some of the trackin'. Sounds purty good but I notices a couple things I'd do differently. When your back flying you want your arms more above your head than off to your side. Picture yourself in a sit-fly position... your arms are off to your side with elbows bent. Now if you take the relative wind and move it so it is coming from behind your back... the arms in a sit-fly position would lose most of their surface area (elbows up). So you simply rotate them ninety degrees back so you look like some tribesman running around the campfire with his hands up near his head! Anyway... this is going to help balance out the legs and prevent unwanted forward movement. Now to go forward... I thought you had it ... straightening out the legs but you can also slowly start to pivot your arms down to your side. Think about holding their shape ( still bent at the elbows) and rotating your arms at the rotator cuff so your hands go from the side of your head down to your waist. (you should be pushing the air with your hands now next to your hips) THis will give you maximum forward movement. To move the other direction... you don't want to pull your legs to your body as you said... instead you want to think about bringing the upper body up while keeping the lower body low. To achieve this you want your arms in the normal position (hands to the sides of your head, elbows bent) and slowly extend them out... like your lifting something heavy over head... this is the only time you'll actually want to take your head and roll it towards your chest. Your legs actually stay in the same position (the sit-fly position) but instead of keeping your calfes parrallel to the ground you want to slowly drop your feet down. This will slow the fall rate of the upper body while increasing the fall rate of the lower body... this should give you the most efficient movement. To turn you were right that you can use either you arms or legs or even both together... but you don't push with your legs. You do with your arms.. think about having your arms in the position I talked about earlier... hands at the side of your head... palms up. So to turn with your arms... You take one arm and rotate it forward and strethching the arm out so it is now off to your side palm facing down. Almost like in a tracking position. With the other arm... you just want to move your hand a little closer to your head. This will cause you to turn away from the extended arm... like your pushing your body away. To turn with the legs you don't want to push them down... keep their normal sit-fly position... (only a little wider - that will give you more stability and make you less likely to roll)... to turn you want to use only the portion of the leg from the knee down. Simply point your feet in the direction you want to turn - lowering your heels into the wind. You want to use them like rudders. Anyway, I hope you understand all that ... It's hard to explain without being able to show you. To adjust your fall rate ... you don't have to arch unless you need to make up massive gaps or you really want to go firing away from someone... instead just slowly extend your arms and legs at the same time... remember to use more arms than legs as your legs have so much more surface area. And always keep your chese and head flat. Once you've mastered that and you want to sit it up... you don't want to use your legs for that... what you want to do is keep that ninety degree bend in your legs at the hips and knees and instead lean your head back towards your back and take both arms to your side... extended all the way out palms down. Then slowly push against the wind and inflate your chest. Like you do when you see a hot chick walking across the tarmac... puff those pecks out as far as you can... This will cause your shoulder blades to come closer together - creating a pocket. Coupled with the use of your arms this will quickly decrease the fall rate of your upper body... with your legs held strongly in the sit-fly position... the fall rate of the lower body is a lot faster than the upper... this will cause your body to pivot at the hips... once your head up... your can bring your arms to your side and get into your normal sit-fly position. Well I guess I could go on and on about the movements in a sit fly ... but me fingers are cramping up in my old age and I need a beer!!!! Hope this helps or maybe it all just sounds crazy... but it works!!!