neural9

I went last year to the tunnel and seeing as though I can't flat fly, I tried to freefly in the tunnel. It's hard. It's been quite a while so they might have changed things to make it easier, like cranking up the speed. Are there any freeflyers using it regularly? I have seen some lighter freeflyers in there (i.e. 7/8 stone) doing some fantastic things though. Let me know how you get on. Rob[n9]

Good question! Not many people bother with side sliding, but I've found it to be more useful than backwards movement! The main trick is to orient your torso sideways, which you can do either by shifting your hips or learning into the wind. If you bring the arm you are moving towards in a little, it'll help. Some of the problems you'll encounter are basically to do with turning and speed. Because you have a greater surfance area when side sliding, you'll slow down, so bring the arms up and feet down a touch more - whatever you normally do when moving forwards and backwards. As for the turning, you've gotta make sure that your legs aren't causing it. When you're on your side, if you keep your thighs parallel, then one leg will be lower and hence a turn will start. However, if you push both legs down, you'll also start to turn. What to do? I wish I knew! It's a balance thing, you could twist a little, to counter the turn, but it's going to be your thing. As with anything, keep your eyes on the horizon or a partner and just keep practicising! Let us know how you get on. Rob/n9

When I was on hols with a load of mates in the states, a packer was letting her new kitten hang about the place. Unfortunately the kitten had bowel problems and relieved itself in Paul's canopy while it was laid out to pack. He only recognised the problem after he deployed. We had an interesting afternoon with shed loads of paper towells and disgusted spectators. hehe. The manufacturer was superb in their dealings with the problem and the DZ bought the canopy off him. All merit due to the DZ and manufacturer. Rob/n9

Glad you're ok, thanks for making me a little more nervous about my one

In total I have 257 jumps, weighing 240 out the door. I've been in the sport 2 years. Canopy progression :- 15 X Manta 280 @ 0.85psf 100 x PD Spectre 210 @ 1.14psf 140 x PD Spectre 170 @ 1.41psf And two reserve rides :- 1 x PD Reserve 190 @ 1.26psf 1 x PD Reserve 170 @ 1.41psf Rob{n9}

Alton Towers UK have a new ride which looks kinda tracking/ish/kinda. It tips to put you head first at least. Allright, it aint tracking - but it looks fun. Rob/n9

No you weren't. But I like yours

Dophins are ok. I have a couple of friends that jump them for freefly and they work. If you are adding a cypres to that, it'll come to £2100. You could get a 100 jump Vector3/mirage/jav rig for that (and a bit) and get the extra brand/quality/resale that comes with it. There are some dolphins for sale in the classifieds. Dropzone Classifieds Just my 2p. Rob/n9

I'll be in Deland bitching about the weather around 2pm on Sat. I'll be the Brit hanging with the www.tattooedmofos.com and the www.freeflywiggaz.com. My jumpsuit is blue and black trousers - hope to catch someone from dz.com there! I'm going to bed - gonna take nearly 16 hours to get there from leaving home! Rob / n9

Being a hardend Brit, I didn't think it snowed in Florida - are these record figures for last night? A little more interestingly, I'll be in deland with the www.tattooedmofos.com and the www.freeflywiggaz.com between the 2nd and the 10th. Hope to see some friendly freefly faces from dz.com there! Out of interest, what's the weather been like there over the last few days? n9 aka Rob

Hey Goat, I pay the Freedom of Flight School @ Deland $32 plus two slots. This is worth every penny - I have half the number of jumps with the people I jump with and I still kick ass :-) I attribute this from excellent coaching from Jimmy Tranter and Hunter Roberts from Deland as soon as I finished my AFF. Doing things this early makes all the difference. If you are strapped for cash and people actively want to jump with you and you have the skills to cover thier need - then charge them over and above your slot cost. If you can continue to jump without thier contributions then don't charge them at all - if you are getting fun out of it and would do it anyway. I jump in a small DZ in the UK with no freeflyers except absolute beginners. I charge my slot, plus £5. In return they get all the usual good quality coaching in safety, but it also allows me to do other things that benefit skydivers at the DZ in general. This year I will be holding several freefly weekends where I'm preparing smeinar material to deliver to people that want to learn. I'm not charging for it, but what I do get from coaching I push back into the DZ so that we can all learn. And yeah, I'm having fun! n9 aka Rob

I find that whacking my legs out induces some instability for me. Maybe I'm doing it too hard! I would suggest transitioning slowly - you'll "pop" into a head down if you simply take the position. When you transition, you move from a stable position (with your arms) to a stable position with your legs, you don't have to lock them out, just give them more drag than your head. Another suggestion would be to lower your arms into a V so that you create that arrow profile, and then move them into place after transitioning. Try to do everything real smooth and things shouldn't go wrong for long. If you haven't already, get your coach to take you head down out of the plane and at least experience the feel for it - stop bad habits before they start and all that. hth, n9

http://www.2kcomposites.com/home.html I also jump 2k, but a FF3. The FF3 is £200 and contains both an integral cover for your camera and a flat top for stills etc. Steve Swain is a very amicable guy and each helmet is made to fit exactly - so no more buying off the shelf. You wouldn't do it with a jumpsuit, why do it with something that protects your noggin and your video equipment? n9

Hey Dave, I had the same problem when starting out- I'm 230 and 6'. Practice your sit with wide open legs. Also push your feet further forwards, so that the angle from your knees is more like 100deg rather than 90. Push arms lower than your shoulders rather than higher - but only slightly, you are aiming to create a bit of a burble rather than sheer surface area. With headdown, Daffy is the way to go - it also looks way cooler than straddle. With the Daffy, you have nearly the same surface area of a sit, except that you're head kinda acts like a missle nose cone. so again, bend your knees so that they're not 90 degrees. Convince your group that you want to be base for the dive too. It'll make them speed up - they'll appreciate it in the end! Later, n9

I'm pretty new to still photography. I've been jumping video for a while now as a kind of point and record video log. I would now like to experiment with stills. I would like to use the camera on the ground first, but prepare myself for using it for freefly capture. I've settled on a Canon EOS 300 (Rebel G) for the body and I am looking for the right lens combinations. As a general all round first lens, I'm considering the Sigma 28mm-105mm. Although this is great for ground work, is it suitable for capturing freefly? I know quite a lot of people use a 15mm, but I'd like to keep the costs down at the moment while I practice, practice and practice. General focal settings would be useful too if anyone has a particular choice. For my video I have strapped on the obligatory .42 kenko lens and leave it on infinity focus - is this the same for general stills? What about AF? I am aware of the configurability of the camera and that I would use different settings to capture different things, but at the moment this is a little beyond me before I start practicing on the ground. From what I know at the moment, I would be inclined to use a high shutter speed with 400 ASA transparancy film. Would I also drop the aperture to f16 or similar and set the focus to infinity? Am I way off track? Probably! Any advice? n9