IslandGuy

One word - Excellent! Thanks Matt - this will bring back fine memories of some very nice jumps for a long time. Already looking forward to next year.

Now, if you are suggesting that Matt moved to Texas because of TWAT, then I'd say there is probably a lot of truth to that.

Excellent pics Matt. Thanks for all your great work! Looking forward to the next time we fly together... but, now that you are in Texas (BTW, does that make you an automatic member of the TWAT? or is there some kind of initiation? ) it might be a while. Can't wait for the video.

Stoney, That was awesome and epic - never in my wildest dreams had I thought that I would see anyone land a wingsuit at FnD 4.0 - but you did it - number one! Congrats... and, you even kept your ass up. Play like your life depends on it.

Flew with him Sunday - first flight. Happy to report no flappage. Looks good - flies stable.... and that goes for the suit too. Play like your life depends on it.

I'm hearing the rules are going to be changed - it won't be the same race. IMO... last year's "Distance Challenge" morphed into this year's "Pussy Challenge". Well, if the rules get changed anything like I've heard, we're not going to get a chance at Jeff's "Distance Challenge" title (this year) as we'll be in a totally different race. Yee haa... see you birds tomorrow!!

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT The $45 Pre-registration will end this weekend. Starting Monday, registration will cost $55. Get signed up now and save. Also, if you don't pre-register, there is a chance there will not be a shirt for you. Kathy needs your payment (credit card number) by Sunday evening. Fill out the registration form here: http://www.baserigs.com/ Simply follow the links to the registration page. As has been pointed out, the link on their web site is not secure, so your best alternative is to FAX the credit card info to them at: 813-788-7072. Their office is closed this weekend but the FAX is on. Registration includes some pretty cool stuff such as... Dinner Friday and Saturday night. Beer on Saturday night. Wing Walking & Beer contest! Chance to win Free Phoenix-Fly wingsuit or Tracking suit. (excluding V-2) Chance to win Skydive City jump tickets. Chance to win Morpheus Laptop bag Chance to win Morpheus skydiving gear bag. Chance to win $50 gift certificate to Sunshine Factory. Chance to win 50% off of a Wings skydiving container. Plus more!! See ya there!!

Awesome pics Matt. Thanks for all the excellent work! Play like your life depends on it.

Jarno, Would you know the specifics as to what happened in these incidents and/or elaborate a little more on what went wrong in these cases specifically. Were they flying opposite to each other? Did they collide vertically? Did it happen at break-off? Etc.... (sorry if this was described elsewhere - tried to find it but couldn't) Also, in your opinion, what about the planning was faulty? Bad formation choice? Lack of communication? Wrong plane? Etc. etc... Anything you can offer might be helpful. Thanks, Mike Play like your life depends on it.

Sure looking forward to seeing the data. I saw the device yesterday and it was very clever and inovative. Without stealing his thunder, basically he designed a pitot/static system that would record airspeed in line of flight providing true glide/ratio information based only on air speeds - no GPS stuff (and especially helpful on days like yesterday where we had 40+ knot uppers). Hopefully he will post a picture of it - sure would go a long way in explaining how it works. Good going Yuri! Play like your life depends on it.

As it has been said before, the multi-plane big ways definitely seem to be the defining event for Flock and Dock. I think it’s expected that a big-way attempt of a size equal to the number of interested and qualified flyers is going to happen, be it 20-way or 80-way. I also think the plan Scott has put out there is good, and certainly as good as any I’ve seen. To me, doing a 90 and getting t-boned at 100 mph isn’t much better than doing a 180 and going head-on at 200. At least a 180 gives you a chance to see them coming so you can dodge – something a 90 doesn’t. I don’t think high break-offs are safer, I think they are more dangerous. If I break-off at 7000 feet, do a 90 and fly – I’ll be in the next county by pull time landing in someone's back yard and taking a bus back to the DZ. It is simply not necessary with WSs. Worse yet, high break-offs lead to a bunch of mini-flocks – folks only paying attention to each other (and often on their back ) and not looking at where they are going or who they are running into – bad thing. To me, the way people fly after break-off is about as important as the direction they fly. Some dive and drive, others pop, others dive then pop. With this mix, you get a lot of vertical separation and the possibility for high vertical closing velocities. We’ve all seen videos. I think controlling this aspect of the break-off could help with horizontal separation as well as reduce the possibility of vertical collisions. Something like having the flyers on the outside dive away and the folks in the center fly away at minimum sink velocity, which would help fill in the space in the middle of the break-off circle. Getting everyone to understand the plan and on the same page is a requirement for success and safety, and the document Scott’s put out there is the best start I’ve seen, at any flocking event I’ve been to, to do this. It should be mandatory reading for participation. Furthermore, a ton of safety stuff and any changes to the initial plan are covered during the dirt-dives and debriefings. If you are talking during this time, you and whomever you are talking to are not getting the information thus making you dangerous and a liability to the rest of the group. It is mandatory that this be a quiet time. Even with big-ways, Flock & Dock is still all about “no flyer left behind”. It could be said another way – “something for everyone”. You will have a great time whether you are making your first wingsuit jump or your thousandth - big-ways, tight-ways, acrobatics, max-performance, 3-d sequential specialty flocks, legs-out sunset flocks, tons of new suits to try, meeting old friends, making new friends… something for everyone. Play like your life depends on it.

I saw a couple people do all those things this past weekend. Maybe not in that exact order, but it only took them about 5 seconds.

What a great boogie - thank you all for making it happen! I had a blast and already looking forward to next year. The flocks went well despite the wide range of experience. For me, the flight a mile out into the intercoastal waterway was the most memorable. Just something about looking around at breakoff and seeing nothing but water (well except for a few spoil islands) that inspires you to fly your best. It was by shear luck alone that we all managed to stay dry. Although, Scotty took lots of awesome video and stills, my vote for best-of-boogie goes to Jeff's clip of that flight, and actually, not even the video but the sound track - I still can't keep from laughing when I think of it. Jeff, you've got to post at least the first 30 seconds after you pull!! Do it soon - I need a good laugh. The Saturday Night event was a real show. Jeff's Ice Carving (complete with liquor luge), Letisha's fire dance/twirling, Harry's fire breathing, great tunes, Jeff catching on fire, and the list goes on - what a party!! Then Sunday, well what can you say, hard to top Saturday but this came real close. Great food, a beautiful exotic belly dancer who put on one hell of a show, free beer, it was an awesome time. My first time jumping at Sebastion and this turned out to be one heck of an introduction. BANG! Play like your life depends on it.

The base you know...as #1: 1. Scott Bland (notsane) 2. Scott Gray (The Brothers Gray) 3. Chris Gray (The Brothers Gray) 4. Todd Statdfield (DaMan) 5. Michelle Statdfield (EmLo) 6. Justin Shorb ( Flock U) 7. Jeff Nebelkopf (heffro1) 8. Chuck Blue (Z-Flock Wingsuit School) 9. Mike Masheff (Grey Mike) Can't wait already! Play like your life depends on it.

Good going Tony, I bet the women appreciate your thoughtfulness in designing a suit with characteristics that favor/fit and address their general builds. No denying there is a difference (thank goodness

Excellent work Matt! Thanks a bunch for documenting the great time we had.

Yesterday was one of those wingsuit days I'll remember for a long time - first flight on a Mercury. I don't typically write about my wingsuit experiences simply because that is all they are - just my experiences. But what made this different (and special) was that never have I gotten so much performance out of a suit with so little effort. As it went, the suit Tony had to demo was way too small for me but I gave it a go anyhow. Followed him out the door (Scotty Burns behind me) and got tired of chasing him down after a short time , headed off away from the DZ for about a mile, turned around and headed back, trying different body positions, practice pulls, stalls, turns and dives, generally just messing around. Ended up with 3.2 miles (exit to pull) on the GPS and just over 3 minutes in flight (13.7exit to 2.6 open). Time wise that may have been my best ever (distance wise, not). The suit (even though it was ill-fitting) was easy to fly, stable except when it got real slow - close to stall - where it got a little squirrelly (like driving on ice), and, had a lot of range. No problems at pull time, and (compared to other suits I've owned and flown) virtually effortless. For me, after 3 minutes of hanging from my arms, it is an effort to reach back and toss the PC, but this suit gave me virtually no fatigue. I'll wait for the second flight to see if it was the adrenaline or not.

I voted for 200 but think currency is also important – perhaps with at least 50 in the past 6 months. Also, I believe it is important to share thoughts on this topic. However, that said, I’m not sure why this discussion was started by this fatality. It is my opinion that when no handles are pulled, it is not a wingsuit fatality. No-pulls, under any circumstances (wingsuit or otherwise), are rarely ever properly explained. After all, it is something that is repeatedly drummed into every student from their very first day in the sport. -Mike Play like your life depends on it.

OK - more numbers... add Tammi, Rigger Ryan, and Jon.

Hell ya, had a blast last year. Great bunch of folks, great parties, all round fun time. The scenery is beautiful, especially the beach jumps. Plenty of planes, reasonable ticket prices, big landing area, lots of packers, big tents to keep you out of the sun, lots of close by accommodations, good food, perfect weather (everyday/all day - except for sunset on the beach when sometimes clouds move in), really nothing could be better. If I could do only one boogie a year(besides Flock&Dock), this would be it. -Mike Play like your life depends on it.

1. Scott Bland (notsane) 2. Matt Hoover (The111) 3. Justin Shorb (Flock U) 4. Jeff N. 5. Steve H. (Flock U) 6. Jose 7. Yeyo 8 Josue 9. Ivan 10. Melvin 11. Danny 12. Scott Campos (LouDiamond) 13. Chuck Blue (SkyMonkeyONE) 14. Bob Futrell (FlyinBob) 15. Matt Wells (Tennessee Matt) 16. Mike Masheff (Grey Mike) Play like your life depends on it.

Excellent work Jarno! - great captions, great skits. Looking forward to the next one. Play like your life depends on it.

Awesome... have a great time over there and come back with some good stories. (Like always. ) I'm headed to the islands tomorrow bright and early - won't be back till late Wednesday so I guess I'll have to give one of those Mercury's a try when you return. Safe travels friend - see you soon. -Mike Play like your life depends on it.

Tony, Where's the one you thought would fit me??

Hey Peggs, I'm pretty sure the DZ is closed Tues. and Wed. (summer hours). I think they go back to 7-days/wk on Nov 1. Might want to call the office to make sure or hit another DZ. I'll see ya there Thursday though.