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I’m still alive… Barely

Hey everyone!

So I’ve gotten some e-mails asking me where the interview of Rise N’ Shine is and what’s going on, so I figured I’d fill all of you in. I moved over the weekend and am still sort of recovering from some events that happened then.
I’ve been writing up the interview in both English and french during my free bits of time. Be patient, it’s well worth it!

PS: I want to thank UPT and NZ Aeroports for their generosity, they were nice enough to send me some SWAG to give away at Boogie Fest, hope to see you all there!

Blue ones!

Adam

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Coming soon: Interview with Rise n’ Shine

Hey everyone!

I got the chance to interview Rise n’ Shine, Canada’s Artistic Freefly champions today.

Here’s their promo video:

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz2HhOSVqzo&feature=plcp[/youtube]

 

The interview will be posted soon. 🙂

Blue skies!

Adam

 

 

Salut tout le monde!

Aujourd’hui, j’ai eu l’opportunitĂ© de faire un entrevue avec Rise n’ Shine, L’Ă©quipe championne Canadienne de Freefly Artistique.

Voici leur vidéo promotionnelle:

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz2HhOSVqzo&feature=plcp[/youtube]

 

L’entrevue va ĂŞtre postĂ© bientot! 🙂

 

Ciel Bleu!

Adam

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BEER LINE!!!!!!

So this weekend had some amazing weather!

Went to Voltige Saturday night with my girlfriends, had a few beers by the campfire, crashed in a buddy’s trailer on the table we were 8 or 9 people sleeping there haha!

So come Sunday morning, the day began with a 14 way that I woke up too late to participate in, but I got to watch from the ground. Only 2 or 3 people made it back and Skygod bless them for taking it upon themselves to figure out the winds and walk the 2 miles back so that we don’t have to lol!

 

My day started off with a 5 way that involved my girlfriend and 3 others. We planned to do “Doughnut, star – right, doughnut, star-left then caterpillar (for those of you who don’t understand that, it’s basically the names of the formations we did, doughnut is a circle, star is when people turn in that direction and caterpillar is basically where people are a zig zag in the sky).

 

The exit went to hell but we managed to recover it and got our 1st point done however, on the 1st star attempt, I lost altitude and couldn’t catch up in time. On the landing, I tried practicing lower altitude turns (still at about 300 feet) to be able to get some speed and work on my control. The landing went smoothly and I got a fairly nice swoop out of it.

As soon as I landed however, I was rushed to catch my “taxi” (a pick-up truck waiting for me) to get back on the plane as I was informed that I was going to fly with two friends of mine who were on a tandem on the next load. The load was supposed to be one later, but got pushed up. Needless to say, I was rushing like hell and the plane was waiting for me at the end of the runway. At this point, I noticed a huge crack in the visor of my factory diver. =( So I unfortunately had to order a new one.

I was the only non tandem skydiver on the plane, so I decided to myself that I’d do a high altitude opening (10 000 feet) and work on my canopy flying skills. I also got to push everyone out of the way while creeping to the back of the plane haha!

I was working on my front riser controls during this flight, got myself kind of dizzy though and nearly puked inside my now “broken visor” helmet. Wasn’t fun, but I kinda laughed to myself for my weak stomach.
Come time to land, I did the same thing as the last jump, but went out slightly farther so I’d have more room. But this time, I noticed something…. There was no wind in my face… Instead of slowing down, I just kept moving forward farther and farther until I was about 20 feet from the picnic tables… Evasive maneuver time! I flared early, ended up stalling at about 7 feet in the air and landed on my knees about 5 feet from the crowd of people who were all cheering… Why were they cheering you ask? Not because I didn’t hit them… But because I had passed the beer line and I now owed a case of beer.

The tandem masters all came and thanked me, and all day I kept being reminded about how I owed beer haha!

I still owe that beer and I plan on bringing it to Voltige in a few weeks when I go back to do my 100th jump with Nicolas Huard (One of the DZOs) who will be taking me on my 1st CRW jump.

I’m stoked as hell!

I’ll be in Victoriaville this weekend, hopefully back at the DZ if the weather permits, so I’ll have a new post for you guys then and possibly a surprise or two before hand.

 

Blue ones in the meantime everyone!

 

Adam

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2 days to Voltige!!!

I’m heading back to a DZ that I haven’t been to in quite some time. It’s one of the first DZs I jumped at, and is probably the place I feel most at home at.

I’m not speaking about the staff, I’m talking about the people…. The skydivers at Voltige are one of a kind. There is no other way for me to describe it. But I can say one thing. I’m excited to go back!

I’ll be bringing a few people with me who wanted to try out a jump and they’re quite stoked to go!

I’ll have an article up about it this coming week.

 

By the way, I wanted to take a minute to thank Tara at UPT for her excellent service. She is a star and is always willing to help. If you’re looking at getting yourself a container, get in touch with her, she’ll not only take the time to help you with your order, she’ll always be available to answer any questions you have if ever you do. She is back office, so people don’t always get to speak to her, but I wanted to give her a quick shout out!

 

Blue skies everyone!

 

Adam

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BOOGIE FEST 2012

This summer has several promising events at the DZs in the region. One that truly caught my attention was the Boogie Fest 2012 at Parachutisme Atmosphair.

It caught my eye for a few reasons, one of which is that it falls around my birthday.  Another is that it’s a boogie aimed at promoting Festivent which is a hot air balloon festival that is celebrating it’s 30 years.
One of the events includes demo jumps into a stadium full of people. (70 jumps total, all will be free for those of you who have their EJR).

The event will also have a wingsuit camp, 2 plane big ways (Caravan and Twin Otter), a 7 seat helicopter and a Red Bull party.

It is the FIRST major skydive event in the region of Quebec city and I’m planning on being present.

See below for the ad.

 

Blue skies,

Adam

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

 

Cet Ă©té  Ă  Ă©normĂ©ment d’Ă©vènements qui me semblent intĂ©ressantes aux DZs dans la rĂ©gion. Une d’entre elles qui a vraiment pris mon attention c’est le Boogie Fest 2012 Ă  Parachutisme Atmosphair.

Il y a plusieurs raisons pour laquelle elle m’a attirĂ©, la première c’est qu’elle sera aux alentours de mon anniversaire. Un autre est que c’est un boogie qui sert Ă  faire la promotion de Festivent le festival des montgolfières qui cĂ©lèbre ses 30 ans. Un des Ă©vènements inclus des sauts demo dans un stade remplis de personnes. (70 sauts total, tous seront gratuit pour ceux d’entre vous qui ont leur CSD)

L’Ă©vènement aura aussi un camp de Wingsuit, des big ways de 2 avions (Twin Otter ainsi que Caravane), un hĂ©lico de 7 passagers et une soirĂ©e Red Bull.

C’est le PREMIER Ă©vènement majeur de parachute dans la rĂ©gion du QuĂ©bec et je prĂ©vois y ĂŞtre.

Voir l’annonce ci-dessous pour plus d’infos.

 

Ciels bleus,

Adam

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Security day at Parachutisme Victoriaville + my next trip coming up!

 

 

 

(Salut tout le monde! Cet article sera écrite en Français aussi car un des DZ se situe dans un coin Francophone, la version FR. se situe après celle en Anglais)

 

Hey everyone!

 
Sorry about the hiatus, site was down for maintenance over the past little while to upgrade the servers.

 

I want to take a second to thank Mike, my partner and associate at Skydive Addiction for everything he’s done. He is the man when it comes to the web work; he’s put in lots of hours working on improving the site for our readers and bloggers and continues to do so. (If anyone’s interested in checking out his other work, his portfolio is located here.)

 

Now down to the dirty. So last weekend, I got the chance to head to Parachutisme Victoriaville for their security day. It was day 1 of the season for them so a bunch of the regular skydivers from the DZ were there as well as some of my friends from a few other DZs in Quebec.

The weather was a bit too windy to jump, so we took advantage to review the different features of a container and why some of the add-ons are included. We also discussed emergency procedures when in the plane, in freefall and under canopy.

We spent approximately two hours talking about all this. Afterwards, I took some time to wander around the DZ a bit.

They have a Navajo (which seats 10) as well as an indoor packing area (which some people take advantage to sleep in on cold nights).

The DZ is on a municipal airport so it’s super easy to spot from the sky.

The staff is extremely friendly, Luc Carignan is the DZO, his son Pierre-luc and his daughter Joanie both work at the DZ as well.

This isn’t the type of DZ who is going to look at you and say “you have enough jumps, do whatever you want”. They are going to talk to you and maybe fly with you before deciding whether or not you’re safe.

The facilities are extremely modern and the DZ is a place I would suggest you go to learn.

I didn’t get the chance to jump unfortunately so I can’t really speak about fun jumping yet, but I promise that I will head back during the summer and get a more detailed review for everyone!

Weather permitting, I will be at Skydive Gananoque this coming weekend with a few friends and readers who want to try out a tandem, so I’ll have a story and some pictures up by the middle of the week!

 

In the meantime,

 

Blue skies and keep flying!

Adam

 

 

********************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

 

Je m’excuse de l’hiatus tout le monde, le site était en train de se faire mettre à jour.

 

Je voulais prendre un instant avant de débuter mon article pour remercier mon associé et partenaire d’affaires Mike pour tout ce qu’il à fait pour Skydive Addiction. C’est lui qui à fait tout le travail sur le site ainsi que sur le serveur et il continue de sacrifier son temps pour que nôs lecteurs ainsi que nos bloggeurs  aient un site qui marche correctement. (Si vous êtes intéressé à voir son portfolio, vous pouvez le trouver ici.)

 

Donc, pour poursuivre : En fin de semaine dernière, j’ai eu l’opportunité de visiter Parachutisme Victoriaville pour leur journée de la sécurité. C’était la première journée de la saison donc il y a eu plusieurs parachutistes réguliers ainsi que d’autres parachutistes d’ailleurs qui se sont présentés.

Malheureusement, la météo n’était pas de nôtre coté. Il ventait trop fort pour sauter donc nous avons pris plus de temps pour avoir nôs briefings de sécurité. Les coachs présents ont discuté les différentes composantes d’un harnais et pourquoi il y a des ajouts qui sont inclus. Il y a aussi eu une présentation des procédures d’urgence dans l’avion, en chute libre et sous-voilure.

La présentation à duré approximativement deux heures. Par la suite, j’ai pris du temps pour aller faire le tour de la Drop Zone.

Ils ont un Navajo (qui peux asseoir 10 parachutistes) ainsi qu’un aire de pliage intérieur (Ou des gens prennent avantage de dormir sur le plancher lors de nuits froides haha!)

La Drop est situé sur un aéroport municipal, donc il est très facile à voir dans le ciel.

Les employés sont extrêmement sympathiques, Luc Carignan est le DZO, son fils Pierre-Luc et sa fille Joanie font aussi parti de l’équipe.

Ce n’est pas le type de DZ ou on te regardera et on te dira « Tu as assez de sauts, fais ce que tu veux ». C’est le genre de place ou on discutera avec toi, on volera avec toi et par la suite, on décidera si tu es sécuritaire.

Les facilités sont très modernes. Malheureusement, je n’ai pas eu l’opportunité de sauter pour le moment, donc je ne peux pas parler de l’aspect des « fun jumpers », mais je vous promets que j’y retournerai cet été et je vous donnerai un article un peu plus détaillé.

Si la météo permet, je serais de retour à Skydive Gananoque en fin de semaine avec quelques amis et lecteurs qui veulent essayer des Tandems. Je devrais avoir des photos et un article pour vous sous peu.

 

Entre temps,

 

Blue skies et continuez de voler!

Adam

 

 

 

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We’re looking for some new bloggers

That’s right, Skydive Addiction wants you!

Yes you!

We want you to tell us about your experiences as a skydiver.

What brought to the sport? How does it make you feel? What keeps you coming back all the time?

Had a cutaway? Tell us about it!

Got pied? Send us the video!

We want to post your stories, that’s why we exist!

Send me an email here or go to our contact page and send us a note.

 

Blue ones!

 

Adam

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Tunnel time: Best way to clear your sinuses

So I managed to get in a good 10 minutes of tunnel time on Monday… Just enough to remind me how addictive it is haha!

We did some 3 person belly flying, started off with level control and working on mantis flying to warm up.

The next 2 minutes were spent doing doughnuts (You go into a circle holding hands, then everyone turns to their right and touches the person next to them on the leg, then go back into a circle holding hands, repeat on the left)

After this, we worked on our lateral movement by moving side to side in formation and working in a few rotations to get as many points as possible.

The last 2 minutes were spent doing more doughnuts to work on our control as we had a bit of trouble keeping level during our rotations. I ended up hitting the wall and hurting my knee :(, thankfully that was my last 2 minutes in the tunnel as I was limping for a bit.

Overall, it was a great time. I noticed a steady improvement in my flying, going back in the next few weeks to work on some more belly flying, then I plan on buying an hour and learning to fly mantis 100%.

 

9 more days and we’ll be on our way to Gananoque for the season open. We’re about 10-15 people heading down if not more, looks like it’ll be quite the fun weekend!
I’m very excited to get on that King Air! Thanks again to Will for getting me all the info about the DZ, there will be a review of our visit as soon as we get back!

 

PS: I’ll be adding a new section for people who don’t know how to skydive and would like to learn to as soon as we finish with our website update so keep posted!

 

Blue ones!

Adam

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Brushing off the cobwebs

I’m going to  be heading to do some tunnel time at Skyventure next week to brush off the cobwebs, grease the joints and just have some laughs with my friend Luc who was with me on the trip to PST last month.

Important note for those of you who live in the Montreal area: Skyventure is raising their prices as of April 1st 2012. It is a significant price increase, so for those of you who want to get their tunnel time, get it ASAP.

Also, Mike and I are working on a redesign of Skydive Addiction, we have a new logo in the works and we’ll possibly change things up a bit. If any of you have any suggestions, please drop me a line here.

Blue Skies,
Adam

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Follow-up post!

So Will at Skydive Gananoque was nice enough to get in touch with me, I got permission to tell you all where we’ll be.
Hopefully some of you will get to join us for the opener!

For those of you that won’t, well as always I’ll have a review of my stay as well as a bunch of pictures. (But seriously.. Come jump with us)
SIDE NOTE: If you’re not a licensed skydiver, but still want to join us, they have tandems CHEAP!!!!! Book one, it’ll make me smile to see you experience it! (No I’m not paid to say this)

We’ll be heading down on the 30th, partying the night before, waking up at the break of dawn, taking FULL advantage of our day there and our night by the campfire.
Anyone who reads this, come up to me and I’ll gladly hand you a beer from the case I’ll be buying… To find out why I’m buying, you’ll have to ask me in person when I open it for you.
There’s no guarantees that I’ll be wearing the winging beauty crown again, but I’m sure there will be plenty of others to entertain you all.

Blue ones everyone! See you in 25 days!

Adam