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| FEATURED ARTICLE |  | Team Fastrax and
Start Skydiving Offer Wounded Veterans
Tandem Skydive Opportunity "Blue Skies for the Good Guys and Gals" Honors our Nation's Heroes Team Fastrax Professional Skydiving Team and Start Skydiving are proud to announce their new program, "Blue Skies for the Good Guys and Gals," to say THANK YOU to the men and women who serve our country. The program will provide a tandem parachute opportunity for those Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guard (active duty, reserve or guard) who have been wounded in combat and received a Purple Heart. Team Fastrax has partnered with the Wounded Warrior Foundation and The Thank You Foundation to reach out to Veterans around the country. "These are our nation's finest and brightest and we have an obligation to do whatever we can to lift their spirits and show them how much we care, said John Hart, founder of Team Fastrax and owner of Start Skydiving. "As a Gulf War veteran and 20 year Army service member, I am honored to sponsor an event that will have a special impact on these men and women." The program will kick off at Start Skydiving in Lebanon, Ohio on Memorial Day Weekend as part of the Thank You Foundation Boogie. Selection.com, the nation's premier background screening service, is spearheading the corporate charge to raise the funds to make these skydives happen. For more information on how to help and participate you can contact The Thank You Foundation at : 1-877-280-8893
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The Thank You Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to show appreciation and express gratitude for those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, both past and present. The Foundation accomplishes its mission though several programs and activities such as sending care packages, visiting Veterans in care facilities, providing complimentary tickets to sporting and entertainment events, and presenting Thank You Cards and Certificates of Appreciation to those who have served or are serving our military. Donations can be made directly to: www.thethankyoufoundation.org |
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| Dear John,
At Start Skydiving, we place our customers first in everything we do. This newsletter is meant to keep you informed about the latest events and occurrences at our Professional Skydiving Center. Please take the time to email or call us with any comments that will improve the services we provide at Start. You can help us spread the word about Start Skydiving by forwarding our newsletter to your friends. All you have to do is select the "Forward to a Friend" button to the left. |
What's Up This Week | Week ending 10 May 2008 We are now operating on Summer hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 12:00 pm until sunset, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 am until sunset. Happy Mothers Day from Start Skydiving. Bring your Mother out for the ultimate gift this weekend. We ask that everyone (staff included) park on the grass/gravel area where the Start Parking sign is located at the entrance. You can park anywhere within the orange barrels, to include the grass area if it is dry. Please park your vehicles facing south in the lot in rows. |
| | Safety First! | Things you need to know . DOWNSIZING PROGRESSION
1. Before moving to a smaller size, a jumper should be familiar and comfortable with the following landing maneuvers on his or her current canopy. a. landing flare from full, natural-speed flight b. flaring for landing from slow (braked) flight c. consistent soft, stand-up landings within ten meters of a planned target in a variety of wind conditions, including downwind d. beginning to flare, turning to ten-degree bank, and returning to wings-level before landing. 2. Downsize increments on the same canopy design. a. above 230 square feet, 30 square feet b. from 229 to 150 square feet, 20 square feet c. from 149 to 120 square feet, 15 square feet d. below 120 square feet in smaller increments 3. Before downsizing, jumpers should be familiar with any maneuver they plan to attempt or might encounter on a smaller canopy, including induced-speed landing approaches and braked landing approaches (lowspeed). 4. A jumper who has downsized without performing advanced maneuvers at each increment should practice them on a larger canopy first before trying them on his or her current canopy. |
| Upcoming Events | We've got some great upcoming dropzone events. OSU Go Bucks! May 17th & 16th We will be training more than 150 skydivers on this weekend. Both Caravans will be flying, with one dedicated to our up-jumpers, and one designated for students. Come out and enjoy the weekend with this great group of soon-to-be skydivers. Blue Skies for the Good Guys and Gals Media Day May 16th Team Fastrax, Start Skydiving, The Thank You Foundation and Selection.com will be taking four Purple Heart recipients for tandem skydives. JTM Meats will be grilling out a free lunch and Senator Jean Schmidt will be on hand to thank these heros. Come out and show your support at noon. The American Cancer Society Run For Life Media Day May 16th Start Skydiving will be taking several cancer survivors for tandem skydives on this date to kick off an awareness campaign for the Kettering Marathon being held on May 17th. Start Skydiving and Team Fastrax will be providing a free demonstration jump at the race May 17th. Thank You Foundation Boogie May 24th, 25th & 26th Come out and show your support for our troops! $10 from every tandem is being donated to the Thank You Foundation during this event. Big-way organizing by Fastrax, a BBQ and all sorts of other events will be going on this weekend. Mid-East Skydiving Meet #1 May 24th Everyone is welcome to participate in this 4-way meet. There will be on-site 4-way organizing for anyone not already on a team but wanting to join in. This is an excellent way to meet people and improve your flying skills, while having a great deal of fun. Fastrax Canopy Skills Course and Mini Swoop Meet May 24th & 25th Hosted by one of the top canopy pilots in the world: Stuart Schoenfeld of Team Fastrax Swoop. If you are looking to become a swooper, or just improve your canopy skills, you won't want to miss this opportunity. There is a small registration fee for this event, contact
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for more information on the course. Head Down Ohio Record Jumps May 24th, 25th & 26th Calling all head down freefliers! Start Skydiving is hosting the Head Down Ohio Record Jumps. We will be making practice jumps on the 24th and 25th, in preparation for record attempts late Sunday or Monday. The goal is to build a 30-way, but there is room to add up to another 20 if enough people register for this event. Contact Nick Hice at
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for registration information. |
| | DZ Happenings | | Here is the scoop! It is time to put your big way plans together and let's set some DZ and Ohio records! Check out the Start Skydiving Events Calendar and mark your schedules accordingly. We made 346 skydives this weekend and that's with the bad weather on Saturday. What an amazing weekend it was with all of these young students learning how to skydive. Our staff set the standards for every DZ in the U.S. to try and emulate. Great job Start Team! A special thanks to all of our fun jumpers that came out and helped this past weekend, John has something special planned for Memorial Day weekend for all of you. The new covered packing area was a hit this weekend. Help us keep it clean by throwing your garbage away. A special congratulations goes out to Paul Heinrich for earning his A License this past weekend. You must be 18 years of age to make a tandem skydive at Start Skydiving. 16 & 17 olds can perform Accelerated Free Fall skydives with a notarized parental consent form. BIG WAY CAMP Want to learn how to fly well (and safely) on any size RW formation? Are you just starting out with RW and want to learn more? Are you an experienced FS skydiver and want to brush up on your skills? Then this 2-day camp is for you! As long as you have an A-license and can fly competently on small formations, you qualify to attend. This 2-day camp will give you a chance to practice everything from mental preparation to exits to safe diving to proper tracking. You will receive a DVD of all your jumps. The plan is to make 8 jumps with video debriefs and John and I being available for questions at any time. To increase the learning curve, we will break the camp into two groups with John Hart taking one group and Ed Lightle the other. Then after the individual groups have demonstrated the necessary skills, we will combine the groups and do a bigger formation to wrap up the camp. When you finish the camp, you should be qualified to skydive competently on 20-ways and slightly larger. Place: Start Skydiving Dates: TBD (probably mid-July) Times: 8:30 am - 6 pm Saturday and Sunday Cost: $325 per person (includes 8 jumps, DVD, and cost for videographer) All interested parties should email
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In both aircraft do not to re-buckle the seat belts. Someone could catch a foot in the seat belt as they are exiting the aircraft. (really bad, really, really bad) Also in the Grand Caravan (Spaceship)remember to shorten the belt by the door so that it will not beat against the side of the aircraft. And always remember, If you're in the market for new gear, make sure you check out our sponsors on the left side of this newsletter. All the manufacturers we support are top-of-the-line. Ask manifest if you are in need of something; Kip or John will sit down with you and explain the benefits of having the right equipment. |
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Skydiving 101 at the Ohio State University conducted by Start Skydivings professional instructors and staff. |
| National Skydiving League |  Four Way Tips John Hart, Team Fastrax Greetings Four-Way Junkies, People continue to ask me why flying the Mantis is superior to the boxman position. I hope the piece below helps you understand the difference in the two positions. I encourage you to contact me with any and all questions you may have regarding 4-way or building a team. . THE MANTIS All flying maneuvers are built around a skydiver's chosen body position. It is this foundation, whether made of steel or sand, upon which every move is built. We all have personal experiences with the effects of poor body position - reach out for a grip and backslide, reach down for a grip and flip into the center of the formation. We did not like the results, but we're unable to prevent them because we failed to understand that bad things happen when your body position is one that provides a limited range of motion, forcing you to break out of 'neutral' with each move you make. The results are predictable - you find yourself somewhere you don't want to be. There is more than one body position that allows a skydiver to fall straight down, maintain stability, and turn in place. The body position typically taught to AFF students can produce all of these things, as well, the 'Boxman' body position can. The real issue and what we are all interested in knowing is: "What is the best body position and why?" The best and most efficient body position is the one that allows you to maximize two things: 1. Range of Motion 2. The Ability to Replicate Your Moves Range of Motion refers to your ability to move in any direction and to pick up and present grips without material interference to your ability to maintain stability and control. Replication of Your Moves is exactly what it sounds like - the ability to duplicate a successful move again, again and again. This is important!!! There might be a better way to turn or side slide, but what we are teaching is a body position that will allow you to replicate with consistency. We have all seen the person who can turn fast, but can they do it in place 9 out of 10 times? With this course of instruction, this can become reality. When we think of body position in a general sense, it is important to understand that any neutral body position (whether AFF, Boxman, Mantis or any variation thereof) is simply the product of (a) arm placement, (b) the degree of arch through your hips, and (c) leg extension. Throughout this tunnel skills camp you will learn the body position commonly referred to as "The Mantis", (this name was given because when flown correctly you look somewhat like a praying mantis). Your Fastrax coach will spend a great deal of time making sure you "Get It!" Your body position is the basis from which all your moves originate; the better the body position the better the moves. Our opinion is that the Mantis provides the best base from which to manipulate the air. In order for us to properly teach you to side slide, stop on a dime, or to crank the fastest turns, you have to work from the Mantis position. The neutral Mantis body position is characterized by: 1. Arms in front of your head at a 45 degree angle (Holding the Ball). 2. Head held up. 3. A slight arch through the hips with your legs extended only slightly past 90 degrees. The Mantis is the body position that will allow you to maximize both Range of Motion (Range) and Replication of Your Moves (Replication). The Mantis will be demonstrated in more detail during the classroom portions. The following chart illustrates where several body positions fall on the spectrum between a hard/maximum arch and minimum arch. At one end of the spectrum you find the hard/maximum arch, which is characterized as super-stability and Range only in one direction. Just down the spectrum you find the typical AFF body position. The AFF body position is very stable (which is why it is successful for AFF students) but provides a limited Range. Go a little further along the spectrum past the Boxman and to the Mantis, you lose some stability, but gain a large amount of Range and Replication. The Mantis is the point on the spectrum that simultaneously maximizes both Range and Replication. As you continue moving across the spectrum to the Style Tuck, stability will continue o decrease rapidly as will both Range and Replication. But as with the AFF position, the body position serves a purpose. The Style Tuck is intended to produce only turns and flips, and a stylist has no contact with others throughout their event. As you move from the Style Tuck to minimum arch, you quickly lose remaining stability as well Range and Replication diminishes - one slight move and you are wildly out of control and flipping on your back. Team First, John
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Meet 1 - May 24 Meet 2 - Jun 21 Meet 3 - July 19 Meet 4 - Aug 16 NSL Playoffs - Sept 20 - 21 Rain dates are the Sundays. If good weather prevails and the meets complete in one day, we'll have organized big(ger) ways on the Sundays. If anyone has an interest in doing some 4-way this summer, feel free to contact me directly at
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. We're here to serve. Here's to a great season in 2008! -Mike |
Thank you for making Start Skydiving the place where great people become skydivers and skydivers become great! Blue Skies, The Team at Start Skydiving |
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