Scrumpot 1
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QuoteQuoteAt the risk of dating myself...Does anyone do 10-way speed star nowadays? I mean just for fun? (and it is a helluva lot of fun!!!)
Not sure what speed stars were like back in the old daysbut we do them all the time at our dz. Everyone exits separately, we never launch a base. We often have 10+ people in our speed stars... they're a shit load of fun!
Sounds awesome. As far as pure crazy fun goes, speed stars are great. You can throw together a group of all skill levels and (provided the attitude is right) everyone has a blast. Great for boogies.
It's like, First you have to minimize the chaos out the door, and then create order from whatever chaos you get.
Where I started jumping, the standard exit altitude was 7,200ft. For a beginner, a 4-way was like speed star. Just a friggin drag race!
I believe you have my stapler.
NWFlyer 2
QuoteJust a friggin drag race!
Since one of the USPA Nationals 10-way teams this year was called "How'd I Get This Black Eye" I think the spirit is still alive.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
Please clarify for a noob.
A speed star (after watching the videos) is what I understand to be "a round", with the exception that the exit is not docked? Me likey.... What does "no show" mean?
Just missed a DC 3 load doing a speedstar and I was curious what it was and I really wanted to give it a go, but the winds have me grounded.![[:/]](/uploads/emoticons/dry.png "[:/]"){kind=small}
jonstark 8
QuotePlease clarify for a noob.
See attached for the start of a sub-four second ten way round out of a DC3 in 1986. No part of any jumper is allowed to show outside the a/c before exit. The clock started ticking when the first part of a jumper broke the plane of the door and stopped when the last grip was taken on a star that then held for at least 3 seconds. In the old days we left all holding on to each other. Now the rules are different.
jon
skyrider 0
QuoteQuotePlease clarify for a noob.
See attached for the start of a sub-four second ten way round out of a DC3 in 1986. No part of any jumper is allowed to show outside the a/c before exit. The clock started ticking when the first part of a jumper broke the plane of the door and stopped when the last grip was taken on a star that then held for at least 3 seconds. In the old days we left all holding on to each other. Now the rules are different.
jon
yep, now there is a taped line on the floor and once anyone crosses it, the clock starts! It is a one point dive, and that formation is not always a round...it is very challenging for camera people to get the perfect exit, the judges want to see all feet behind the line...
I've been kicked in the head, and lost a lens off my camera from being kicked, while filming tenway speed, (They drop the name star from the title)
Sweet! That looks and sounds like a lot of fun. Hopefully the weather gods will grant me the chance to try it tomorrow.
skyrider 0
QuoteSweet! That looks and sounds like a lot of fun. Hopefully the weather gods will grant me the chance to try it tomorrow.
at 61 jumps, be sure you tell an organiser yoru level, speedstar skydiving gets dangerous!
63
There are some great organizers around this weekend. They know where I'm at and are keeping it fun for me and the other low time jumpers. I was kind of surprised that we tried a 10 way today.
What makes it more dangerous?
skybill 22
Hi vi,
"Speed Star!" eh? Time sure flyz when yer havin' fun!! Sparky, Stark et al will tell ya',"Ya' shoulda' Been there!!" The idea of a "Speed Star" back in the day was probably a misnomer! Hell, we were all learnin' and there were no cookbooks on how to do this stuff!!! From 12-5 to 3-5 (breakoff alt back then for round canopies)and more than once we had a 9 man with the 10th on wrists or various other senarios!! Seems like yesterday and now it's yesteryear!! Nevermind the 10 man just go for 8 so we can get a case of beer for the newby's "SCR!!" The extra 2 people are gravy!! 'Back in '99 I survived a carwreck when another driver hit my S-10 Chevy and turned it over with me inside!! Got a few scratches but the truck was totaled! Well the Emergency people and paramedics show up and check us out and this one guy just about wants to throw me on a stretcher and start an I-V and yelling,"Where are you hurt!!" I stop and in a moment of lucidity I say,"If I'm no more beat up than I would be after a day at the DZ doing 4 each, 10-MAN Speed Stars outa' a small door Beech 18, wearin' "guttergear!" I'm Fine buddy, just Fine!!!" Those of us who were there can attest.
People doin' 10-MAN today ain't like it usta' be!!! Out at places like Elsinore and Scare-Us-Valley on a quiet calm night just listen to the light wind blowing and you will hear..... the ghosts of the Stars of yesteryear!!!
"Speed Star!" eh? Time sure flyz when yer havin' fun!! Sparky, Stark et al will tell ya',"Ya' shoulda' Been there!!" The idea of a "Speed Star" back in the day was probably a misnomer! Hell, we were all learnin' and there were no cookbooks on how to do this stuff!!! From 12-5 to 3-5 (breakoff alt back then for round canopies)and more than once we had a 9 man with the 10th on wrists or various other senarios!! Seems like yesterday and now it's yesteryear!! Nevermind the 10 man just go for 8 so we can get a case of beer for the newby's "SCR!!" The extra 2 people are gravy!! 'Back in '99 I survived a carwreck when another driver hit my S-10 Chevy and turned it over with me inside!! Got a few scratches but the truck was totaled! Well the Emergency people and paramedics show up and check us out and this one guy just about wants to throw me on a stretcher and start an I-V and yelling,"Where are you hurt!!" I stop and in a moment of lucidity I say,"If I'm no more beat up than I would be after a day at the DZ doing 4 each, 10-MAN Speed Stars outa' a small door Beech 18, wearin' "guttergear!" I'm Fine buddy, just Fine!!!" Those of us who were there can attest.
People doin' 10-MAN today ain't like it usta' be!!! Out at places like Elsinore and Scare-Us-Valley on a quiet calm night just listen to the light wind blowing and you will hear..... the ghosts of the Stars of yesteryear!!!
SCR-2034, SCS-680
III%,
Deli-out
III%,
Deli-out
jonstark 8
We spent literally hours practicing our line-up. We'd line up against a large tree so that we could actually push the whole thing to simulate the effort required to eject it out of the door. The first four jumpers acted like a plug in the door that 5,6,7 had to punch out with 8,9,10 hanging on trying to keep up. #10's feet often left the floor a long way from the door and then would just barely miss the top of the door on the way out.
We found that exits slower than 1.5 seconds were precarious and highly unlikely to result in an intact ten way. If we could get everybody out in less time nobody was likely to hit the door. At 1.5 somebody was probably going to hit but not harder than their slot specific armor would take. Any slower and somebody was gonna get hurt. Each jumper had to learn where they were likely to hit the door even if they never found out where on the door they hit. You then designed and wore armor plating to prevent injury. I wore a bandana around my face like a bandit because I would get road rash on my chin from the jumper in front of me's reserve. Soccer or hockey gear was common. There ain't nuttin' like it!
jon
We found that exits slower than 1.5 seconds were precarious and highly unlikely to result in an intact ten way. If we could get everybody out in less time nobody was likely to hit the door. At 1.5 somebody was probably going to hit but not harder than their slot specific armor would take. Any slower and somebody was gonna get hurt. Each jumper had to learn where they were likely to hit the door even if they never found out where on the door they hit. You then designed and wore armor plating to prevent injury. I wore a bandana around my face like a bandit because I would get road rash on my chin from the jumper in front of me's reserve. Soccer or hockey gear was common. There ain't nuttin' like it!
jon
kuai43 7
QuoteQuoteSweet! That looks and sounds like a lot of fun. Hopefully the weather gods will grant me the chance to try it tomorrow.
at 61 jumps, be sure you tell an organiser yoru level, speedstar skydiving gets dangerous!
Just ask to be base. Then all you have to do is arch (brace for impact) and hope for the best. Did my first on my 79th.
Every fight is a food fight if you're a cannibal
Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. - Anthony Burgess
Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. - Anthony Burgess
skybill 22
Hi Jon!!,
Yeah yer talkin' about "Phase II' Speed star outa DC-3's that came after the Beeches!! We learned!! We inovated! We Grew! From those beer barrel shaped style & accuracy rigs to Hank the Crank's flat pak pigs!! It took a while. Techniques!! Originally base and pin were 1 and 2 outa the plane then someone came up with the idea of dumpin' 4 floaters as a chunk, base and pin followed by 4 divers and everyone met in the middle. There for a weekend or two down at O-Die, Mack's Beech was down for maintenance and we did get some 3 Cessna formations and pulled off some good stars,...even faster than the Beech as we had 3 chunks of 4 people close together. WOW what fun. We got the star really high......then we looked around the star with this expression of...."Now What?" How about everybody let go ...and...try another formation?? "Sequential R/W!!" But don't tell the serious Speed Star freaks!!
Yeah yer talkin' about "Phase II' Speed star outa DC-3's that came after the Beeches!! We learned!! We inovated! We Grew! From those beer barrel shaped style & accuracy rigs to Hank the Crank's flat pak pigs!! It took a while. Techniques!! Originally base and pin were 1 and 2 outa the plane then someone came up with the idea of dumpin' 4 floaters as a chunk, base and pin followed by 4 divers and everyone met in the middle. There for a weekend or two down at O-Die, Mack's Beech was down for maintenance and we did get some 3 Cessna formations and pulled off some good stars,...even faster than the Beech as we had 3 chunks of 4 people close together. WOW what fun. We got the star really high......then we looked around the star with this expression of...."Now What?" How about everybody let go ...and...try another formation?? "Sequential R/W!!" But don't tell the serious Speed Star freaks!!
SCR-2034, SCS-680
III%,
Deli-out
III%,
Deli-out
chuckakers 425
QuoteDefinitely. 10-way speed (not just stars, but other formations as well) is still an event at USPA Nationals, and there are many "speed meets" still going on (two I know of are the Elsinore Speed Meet and the Perris Rumble Seat Meet, though I'm sure there are more).
While speedstar (actually sppeed formation now) is still an event at Nationals, it's been butchered.
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX
D-10855
Houston, TX
jonstark 8
QuoteHi Jon!!,
Yeah yer talkin' about "Phase II' Speed star outa DC-3's that came after the Beeches!! We learned!! We inovated! We Grew!
You Beech nuts had to wear Bell motorcycle helmets. We got away with hockey helmets and Frap hats with a few strategically placed pads of cardboard or shin guards. Phase II saw nothing like the carnage out of the Beeches.
jon
skyrider 0
Quote63
There are some great organizers around this weekend. They know where I'm at and are keeping it fun for me and the other low time jumpers. I was kind of surprised that we tried a 10 way today.
What makes it more dangerous?
Exit, Docking, Tracking, Deployment, Landing, other than that...nothing!
Here's a pretty picture of a 10-way exit. Looks like 4 floaters, 4 base and 2 divers.
I believe you have my stapler.
Andy9o8 2
QuoteIn the old days we left all holding on to each other.
?? Not in my neck of the woods. The whole idea was NO CONTACT with the jumper in front or in back of you until you cross the threshold of the door. Anything else lacks ... purity.
Hey Mike, that's pretty good.
Here's a couple similar, ... x3!
Meaning - 3 groups of 10 each. Each 10-way exiting out of separate aircraft. Yup... 30-way "speed".
Single-Point
3 Points!
The second one, actually turning 3 points! What's so special about that? ...I'm glad you asked!
1. The jump was done from under 9,800ft AGL (low ceiling forced)
2. These were designated POPS jumps
Not bad for a group of OLD FARTS, eh?
And to the OP - yeah, 10-way speed (true no-show/no-grip exit) is still around too. Although not quite as common for sure, as it used to be.
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