hippydiver

I hate to hijack the thread, and perhaps this is a discussion for a new thread, but i don't quite get the statement: My wing loading and canopy choice have saved my butt on 1 or 2 low-turns while learning and putting myself into a bad spot on approach. Could any of the highly experienced canopy pilots out there give their opinions on this? I've never heard/read any of the top guys say learning to swoop at 1.23-1.3 WL is a dangerous thing??? Most of the really good swoopers I know personally have said they were at 1.2 or so for most of their first 1000 jumps. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

I am currently learning to swoop on a Safire1 loaded at 1.25 to 1.3 (depending how much beer I consume month to month) and having a blast with it. It recovers fast to get me out if I screw up, but I can cover a lot of ground with it when I do right. I'm no expert, but I'd say jumping to a 1.6 on a Sabre2 is aggressive if you really only have 300 jumps. I'll probably spend at least 500 more jumps at 1.3 on my Safire before I downsize and still be having fun. EDITED TO ADD: I don't know if you've tried it, but loosening my chest strap all the way and stowing my slider behind my head has added a ton of performance as well. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

wow. I wasn't out there on Sunday. Can anyone tell us how this collision occurred? I assume a hybrid dive if Tom Jenkins was on it? Big vibes, I had a blast jumping with Amy all day Saturday. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

Alright here it is. A short clip of me on my belly flying with Robert (78RATS) on his head and Blake (ifics) shooting video. http://hippydiver.no-ip.org/skydivepics/WTF-the_arch.wmv ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

it's all about the U arch ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

I couldn't agree more Wendy. And thanks for the real world example Bill. As for skydiving planes, i know they pollute, as well as my car (that's why i carpool), but it is nothing compared to the industrial pollution being released around the world because it's easier on the profit margin than cleaning up facilities. Here is a quote from the Eco-Watch section of the Houston Chronicle this morning: "Five industrial facilities in the Houston region reported accidental releases of pollution during the last week. The eight so-called upsets released an estimated 41,000 pounds of pollution into the environment, according to state records." This is not an unusual occurrence in this city. And it makes me wonder, how many go unreported? I hate to be negative, anyone who knows me knows for the most part I am an extremely positive person, but sometimes it isn't so easy to grin and bear it. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

i've never listened to a day of NPR in my life my friend. all you have to do is look around you. turn off the radio, turn off the 'news', turn off the pundits from the 'left or right' and look at the world around you. Try and tell me that most of your clothes and shoes and your own children's toys weren't made by other children being paid next to nothing to die without even having a life, try and tell me that when i look out my window and can't see more than 2 miles on a clear day because of smog i'm just imagining things, try and tell me that when we couldn't get more than 12.5k ft last weekend for jumping because of the thick haze wasn't caused by all the chemical and coal plants and suvs, try and tell me why counting civilian casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan isn't anything worth the time or effort of our government. Yeah, i must just be one of those crazy liberals, that's it! ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

amen brotha. i forgot where i heard this recently, but it fits well, the United States is like a 15 year old spoiled brat holding a gun to everyone else's head. we can't even take care of our own people. instead we'd rather spend our whole lives helping the super rich get richer and remaining oblivious to freeing ourselves and the rest of the world from our own corporations/government that would rather use child slaves to build things, blow men women and children up for oil, cause more terrorism than they stop, and let American families rot on the streets than lose the profit margin. (edited to add: oh yeah, and smog up our skies too) sports are not too blame, but the disgusting commercialism and corporatization it's all become is another big piece of it. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

Thanks Meg, Shannon, and Robert for organizing this league and teaching us everything we know about freeflying. I think this is the first sport i've ever won anything in. It was a ton of fun. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

yeah, that's what i meant to say ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

sweeeeeet ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

for me right now, it's all about flying head up and tracking. I'm working on my headdown, but at the moment, there are few things I like more than going out with other solid sit/head up fliers and rocking out some good solid docks and formations or playing around with different things on tracking and flocking dives. mmmm. and i'm amazed at how many of the good headdown fliers i've met who can barely hold their sit. In my opinion, being able to fly 3-D/all directions is where it's at. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

I think i can squash into that. Gonna try anyway. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

How about it Chuck, going to be able to get some PHI demos for Skyfest? ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

any chance of there being PHI demos at Skyfest in July? ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

someday.....someday....

You rock as an organizer Robert. Always keep the dives challenging, interesting, and new, you always have the best exit ideas, and breakdown the jumps afterwards in a positive way. I'd say just make sure you keep the beginners and new people interested and learning and you got it down brotha. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

I'm about 80% sure i'll be there with Levin's classic. Only thing is Team Vibe is having a "Freefly Photo Event" in Dallas that same weekend. So many choices... ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

I believe that happens a few times in Total Recall if memory serves correct. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

i believe this picture was taken at least 10 years before Olav even jumped from a plane. i'd like to give big props and thanks to ALL the "old guys", new guys, "old ladies", and new ladies who have given anything to this sport and any of it's disciplines throughout the years. edited to add: oh yeah, and that's a great pic. robert, we should make an attempt this summer. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

anyone having problems opening it, i would try changing the extension from .avi to .asf The encoding appears to be in asf format. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

this is definitely one of the coolest short videos i've seen. thanks. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

Duh, you know i'll be there babe. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

I was in the same boat you were a year ago when buying used gear and went with a rig that had a tempo 150 in it. I have had one ride on it since then and it worked just fine. The steering and landing was mushy compared to my 9 cell ZP safire, but you can't expect a 7 cell F-111 reserve to compare. It may not have as good of landing characteristics as a PDR, but if you stay in the weight limits on the Tempo it will save your life as any other reserve. I wouldn't pass up a rig solely because it comes with a Tempo reserve, in fact, a Tempo is a plus to me, especially a brand new, unused one. my 2 cents anyway. ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.

haha. just let me know when you want them back ---------- gravity rat formula 109 Team Gonzo and Team Jamaican Me Crazy no bullshit, let's just fly, be safe, and have fun.