rehmwa

Back in. Got the visor upgrade and love it. This old helmet, though, in the tunnel, when I'm on my head and the wind is up,...now the visor pops open at random times. Wondering if the newest models stay better.......

I'm thrilled with this tunnel. The new generation tunnels are fully round, so this 12 footer is effectively bigger than an 8, 10, 12 sided 12 footer for us. 4 way is fine in there. We've done decent with the following blocks (new 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, new 13 (not fully free, but a good workable practice), 14, 15, 16, 17, 21-ish). I haven't tried the other yet, but expect to able to find ways to make them work. The question will be if the workaround helps or hinders practice. That said, greatly enjoying getter better on back and sit also. (head down within the month likely) The best is being able to coach this stuff without planning a big trip. I expect great things from this tool for our local talent.

There was a bad batch of rings a while back (like decades ago). There hasn't been a problem with rings ovalling since. None at all. yup - spinning the rings is old school, but a hard habit to break. Another consequence we were told (don't know if true today) is that spinning will deposit a film from the rings into the harness material and that will make the harness stiffer - which is to be avoided. I still touch each ring during a check. I can't for the life of me remember if I still turn a ring when I check the rig I'm wearing though. I don't intend to. I don't when checking another's gear.... ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

YESSSSS!!!!! 1 - The DZ needs a policy and 'whatever' it is, everyone follow (whether it's follow the guys, set landing area, or into the perceived wind) it. The idea is predictability is safest as a good general rule not some specific option. 2 - Then, if some asshat breaks the rule, go land over in the alternate landing area and avoid his shit and the fallout from it. Cause I don't like the idea of the 3rd guy down now posting a thread about the confusion the 2nd guy added to the mix. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Gimmicks are stupid. Avoid them at all costs. Clean air flow is what you want. So clean fabric surfaces are optimal. IMO - anything other than standard (but full sized) booties are a DETRIMENT to performance. So an extra $100 and 3 week delay for something that's worse? silly regular booties are absolutely more than fine (especially if you are small) you will be amazed at how much power you gained (once you learn to fly them correctly) - you should be super happy Edit: RockSkyGirl's comments are perfect and I won't repeat them as she did a better job ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

You just stole 17 seconds of my life I want them back....... (nevermind, I would have wasted them anyway) ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Hi Wendy - FWIW every time I've jumped there I've had a great time and SUPER positive and friendly attention from both Bill and Kathy. The only other DZ in the region I've visited was ok, but not even close to as welcoming It's been a long time, I don't get to Cali much anymore. But if I did, I'd go jump there. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

For your situation, you are right. Smooth surface beats flapping skin and normal fabrics for going faster (99.99999% of the time). It probably still applies, even if you have booties and bigger grippers - no booties and smaller grippers would speed you up even more. But I think booties are a MUST. get a weight belt, take some mantis training with fall rate drills. You'll be fine. In general, you can get a suit fit and fabric combination to speed up, slow down, etc to some extent. For that matter, even if you want to slow down, I'm not a fan of bagginess except as a last resort. Skin drag (material type) is better. Bigger control surfaces and things that DON'T FLAP can slow a person down without sacrificing fine control in freefall. Fast or slow, you want a suit that you can fly, not a suit that flies you. Suits are more than just fall rate control. The right cut adds stability, good designs provide more predictible air control surfaces, sturdy material protects your skin, etc etc etc ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I'm not a big fan of calling that "lift". But I know what you are trying to convey and agree with your intent. Kallend is an excellent tracker, Whitey, and a few others I remember from Couch when I was learning had it figured out and I learned a bunch watching. My best experience was local. We had a few bigger loads and someone on the ground pointed at one flyer simply screaming away from the rest of the group at breakoff. A local packer said "oh, that's probably Bill (me)". That made me proud that he assumed it was me.. (it was, on that jump). Be careful assessing from the ground though, angles can hurt or help one's impression of how someone is tracking. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

no, not even close ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

You want the track that will give you the most horizontal distance from your starting point - if everyone does that and the lines are separated evenly, then that gives the most separation on average from the rest of the team. (exceptions for organized tracking groups where you pretty much want to just go to your targetted opening region) And since we choose an opening 'altitude', not a 'duration of tracking time' - then that means your shallowest glide angle relative to the planet. (take into account that we are all drifting en masse in the same air column, so just visualize that on a no wind day) Think of it in these terms - breakoff at 5000 ft, open set at 3000 feet - you want to travel as far from the center point in 2000 feet. That's a purely distance based metric. Whatever it takes to get as far as you can horizontally by the time you reach pull altitude.. Frankly, the best trackers I know 'appear' to the rest of the group to do both - they go faster horizontally AND appear to also rise and track up and away (slower fallrate) relative the rest of the team..... ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I have nothing to add beyond Derek's (Hooknswoop) original post. If I'm in a situation where I'm concerned about the tracking abilities of my teammates (noticed before or during the dive), I might just focus even more on out-tracking the field (general dives) or being even more diligent if it's an organized track pattern. I'll look over my shoulder before squaring up, but that's an old habit and not always friendly to on heading openings with today's canopies. Barrel roll would have to be a very unique situation (very high, small group, I 'sense' an idiot right behind/above me) Track your best, clear below, wave off big to help those above clear below them. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

It speaks to society also, as a result of the isolation, impersonalization, and anonymity of social media. e.g. How far will a troll go just for laughs, how quickly mob mentality takes over, how quickly joining that mob can turn on you, the ease in which people dehumanize others, etc etc etc. It resonates a LOT with what we see today. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

Had a woman on a Cat A do the tuck and flip and I ended up with her in just a perfect two hand grip with her on her back just as stable as can be. the other AFF closing slow. She looks at me: - Super clear eyes. - She makes eye contact, smiles...... - She calmly checks her altimeter - and then arches just as pretty as I could have asked for ----easiest flip I could ever ask for. ---- I love it when they are aware and clear headed. so much fun I also had a really heads up guy go to pull early and he eyeballs me and I smile and shake my head 'no'. he then looks at his alti a bit more, and then at pull time looks over and nods - essentially "how about now?" - that had me chuckling I once also gave the 'practice pull' signal - at our dz it's an open palm. Student high fives it. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

I just want to point out - these are seriously the most fun types of jumps I've had. I learn so much. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants