BigBUG

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Everything posted by BigBUG

  1. just another funny pic from work well, I am at the bottom... http://cs301712.userapi.com/v301712269/6173/furZvCnhTLA.jpg and do not ask for explanations :)
  2. From my personal point of view doing 2-3 or even 10 jumps per month is not enough to stay current. In this sport you are degrading if you just stop progressing. We here live in Saint-Petersburg, infaumous for shitty weather and frequent DZ operation restrictions caused by nearby airport. So we have quite a lot of jumpers like this. In best case, they are just jumping on their own (because their skills are way behind the rest). In worst cases, they got injured or put another's lives on risk. When I found out that I could not jump as much as I want, I switched to windtunnels and training camps in different places. And last 2 years made me far better jumper than previous 10. Once again, it is just my PoV.
  3. pic says it all :) suit was ok in the air, but this is definitly not tunnel-friendly design http://cs418427.userapi.com/v418427813/934/BuMD6LdtorA.jpg
  4. BigBUG

    Texas Tunnel

    Totally cool, thanks! But I know from experience that windtunnel openings are usually out of schedule :) Anyway, good luck with new tunnel!
  5. BigBUG

    Texas Tunnel

    wonder if it will be running in March :) I will be in Texas and would like to fly there!
  6. You are right. If I took money for coaching, I will not accept tip - you already gave enough. But if I spot and hold someone for an hour while coach just waving hands around - I will be grateful for some beer (or coffee which is my drug) :)
  7. just showing the picture from another POV :) By the way there is a situation when tips or at least beer should be a rule - when safety instructor helps the coach with beginner head-down flyers on the net (holding them while they stabilizing themselves and make first lift-offs). This is really a hard job and good safety helps a lot - not only keeping student safe, but helping them to actually learn HD. Also, bad safety (I mean bad is the SI who provide adequate safety but not helping coaching process) could seriously slow the learning.
  8. Quite an interesting topic. I am working in a tunnel in Russia and here we do not have tips in situation like this - usually they tip only in restorants and maybe taxi drivers. When I got there I have the same impression like 'tunnel rats always work, always making money', but in reality the picture is not so great. Most of the coaches does not have enough students (simply because skydiving in the area is in a bad shape) to ear something sufficient and salary itself is quite low (I do not have any salary at all because I am a part-time instructor/safety and have only staff time as a payment - glad I have couple other jobs to keep up family). Actually there is a lot of micro-loans between instructors in the end of the month when people need to pay their rents :) So please do not look at the tunnel rats like 'they taking our hard-earned money for doing what I would do for free'. This is hard work and salaries aren't big at all. Tip 'em! :)
  9. Ok, so you have a standard sitfly position, cool. now forget it :) for a while Actually it is much easier to learn new tricks in the tunnel, especially difficult ones like headup. What I could suggest is to take yourself out of comfort zone by stealing some from freestylers - like head-up straddle, sit with spead and straight legs, headup helicopter spinnings etc. Here you could find lot of ideas: http://www.winddance.com/ You could try positions which are non-symmetric from the very beginning and hold them - like, grab your knee with one arm. Got it? Grab another with other arm. Or with the same :) Grab youh head with both hands, bend one leg in knee and lay its foot on other knee (this one is really difficult). Try to fly in 'wrong' positions and you will increase your skill dramatically
  10. Bill really is awesome. We just get to DZ, bunch of Russian guys where only 2 or 3 speaks adequate English and in 10 minuts we were in the air :) It was shortest debrief in my life :) On topic - as I understood, there is no lawsuit against TI/DZ? So this fine will be final punishment? (I hope license was taken out earlier :)
  11. Thanks, we have 2 in our new team. Actually I am competition 4-way belly vidiot too. Yes, it helps a lot with discipline, eye to partners and this stuff. Can't wait for next training session :)
  12. Thanks for answer! Yeah, we quickly found out that 4-5 of 2 minute sessions of 4-way drains our stamina pretty quick...
  13. Been there, you guys are just cool :) BR from Russia, that was fun Hopefully get there in March once again...
  14. Hi, Now we have a great wind tunnel here in Saint-Pete, Russia - so we come up with the idea of creating fun 4-way VFS team. We found dive pools and few videos from IBA and Arizone Drive websites and get basic ideas - but there is no one around to help us with the rest. Could you please share some wisdom with us? Any help, links and materials will be greately appreciated - explanations, training tips (especially aspects that we should train solo and in 2-ways), general advices etc. Thanks in advance! PS I believe thet this topic was discussed - but failed to find it, sorry
  15. I do not think you'll need a medicine Good stretching and real intensive warm-up are the keys. You will feel your body afterwards, that's for sure; but it shouldn't be like you can't go on without painkillers.
  16. friend of mine was there he is a lightweight but he could not sitfly there, so do not expect miracles
  17. New closed-type Indoor Skydiving (Bottrop-type) 14 ft FLYSTATION tunnel starts operations near Saint-Petersburg (about 10 min by car from subway station Devyatkino). Superb even airstream, friendly staff (English and German speakers available). We have our own coach staff and possibility to organize training camps with leading Russian freeflyers and RW champions. Cosmetic construction works are still in progress, so price is reduced until final acceptance of the whole building (appr. 15 November) and is 16 000 Rubles (appr 400 EUR) for hour, group rates discounts (over 10 hours) are negotiable. Saint-Petersburg itself is a great place to visit, BTW :) Everyone is welkome!
  18. I do not know much about China, but I am responsible for work with foreigners (usually US and Canada citizens) here in my Russian company. And I usually require the same information from anyone who is going to visit us and want to do it through official business visa process, not getting general tourist visa (for example if they bringing some samples or equipment). This is hard, time consuming and boring process to organize such visits and I had experience when our guest gave me wrong info from the start. So I always ask for passport scan, just to avoid wasting couple of weeks of work. I do not know about this particular deal, just describe how bureaucracy here works - and I am pretty sure that Chinese bureaucracy is not smaller than Russian one.
  19. Let me ask - should we ever convince _anyone_ to jump at all? Now I am working in the tunnel and there is a bunch of people asking me how to jump after their tunnel session. I found out that now I am very careful with this and give them only very basic information, not 'convincing' anyone. I was very enthusiastic and invited everyone to jump - but now I think that this is the decision that person should take by himself. After all, it really be a life-changing decision. That's why I generally not like when kids under 12 doing tandems.
  20. :) We once has 4-year girl doing tandem. Need to find video, it should be somewhere in the pile of old footages in my desk. I personally do not like when so young kids jumping, but flying kids in the tunnel is a great fun and 99% of them likes it.
  21. iFly Singapore looks great on Youtube videos! Happy flying :) Could not wait when they complete a big (Bottrop-type) tunnel here in Saint-Petersburg - should be this summer.
  22. Exactly! And to convince the coach to let you on your head you need to show him that you could control any un-stability. This is where total tunnel time hours came back to the game - or you'll need to find an instructor who just don't care :) Funny thing, but it could really help (it happens to me when I switched from over-controlling coach to the guy who let me do mistakes and learn from them).
  23. About experience and habits - there are two pretty common versions of Russian MIL-8 helicopter: Mi-8MT and Mi-8MTV. One day I have seen very experienced aircraft engineer (Afghan War veteran) when he was doing his pre-flight check and walking counterclockwise around the bird, which was already powered up and spinning; he was saved by another guy just seconds before he walks into tail rotor. The thing was that during last few month he flew Mi 8MT which has right-side tail rotor; MTV version has it on a left side... He surely knows what he was doing and he surely was aware of the danger - but the outcome could be fatal. Habits are hard to beat.
  24. Generally couple of hours from initial net headstand. It depends of yours previous experience in the air (it could be both positive and negative) and the position you are comfortable in. For example I could not fly 'mantiss' unitl I done it in the sky but learmed 'romeo' pretty fast and it was much easier for me. My buddy has exactly opposite experience. Plus you'll need to learn layouts. You could not just take 'total tunneltime' out of equation - recovery skills are essential and you'll need to be very comfortable and solid in sitfly and backfly to try HD safely.