FEATURED PRODUCTS

The 'Learning to Fly Backfly' DVD This DVD is the first in a series of six videos created to help skydivers learn how to freefly in an easy to understand manner. The DVD also has Multi-language sub titles, interactive 3D animation, and extra tracks with freefly coaches commenting about safety and other tips for beginner and experienced freeflyers. $39.95

'Learning to Fly Sitfly' DVD "Learning to Fly Sitfly" is the second in a series of six freefly training DVD's. It is the natural pregression in freefly training and offering the essentials of freeflying with an excellent starting point for beginners or fine tuning for the experienced. It has subtittles in 8 languages and provides specific and easy to understand instructional training with 3D animated virtual training, combined with wind tunnel and freefall footage to provide the ultimate in teaching techniques. It's excellent training for any skill level. $49.95

'Human Flight Basic '  Coming Soon! "Human Flight" is the first in a series of Three Interactive Training Software for Skydivers.  It is the natural progression in belly fly training since the first jump course topics, equipment, safety and basic canopy progression until the first skydiving certification.  Will provide specific and easy to understand instructional training with 3D interactive virtual graphics, combined with videos plug in, writen material in .pdf format  to bring you the ultimate in teaching techniques and excelence in skydive learning. It's an excellent training program for any skydiver student at the begining skill level and instructors training aid at the DZ's schools. $69.95

'Spotting (HARP) Calculator'  Coming Soon! Load aerial photographs of your LZ and your winds aloft data to accurately calculate the perfect spot for your skydive.  DZs can print the current spot for your pilots or post for your jumpers to review.  Allows you to accurately determine spots for HAHO/Cross-Country jumps too.  Download & playback your jumps when using a Garmin GPS.

TO VIEW ALL PRODUCTS, VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE

JUNE 2010

The next installment of Skydive University's Learning to Freefly series is now available!

HEAD DOWN:  Freefall and windtunnel footage, 3D animations and training drills.

Review by Kylies Rhoads:

Like many of you, I've been eagerly awaiting the release Skydive University's newest DVD in the Learning to Freefly series, Learning to Fly Head Down, and I've finally managed to get my hands on a copy!  Suffice to say it lives up to the standards already set by the 3 previous DVD's: Backfly, Sitfly, & Transitions, but it goes above and beyond.  Though it starts with a warning that these DVD's are only to be supplementary educational tools, if you've had the privilege of learning from any of them, you know they are so much more.  Combined with the guidance of a professional freefly coach, the information you learn here will allow you to grasp and utilize the skills so much more quickly and in a much deeper way. Once again SDU approaches the information so that no matter your type of learning, the information is going to sink in. Like all good skydiving videos, they've included some fantastic skydiving footage, but rather than just leaving you to sit in awe on your couch wishing you could execute those maneuvers, they've taken the time to break it down so everyone can understand. The animated 3D body model cuts away all the distractions and allows you to focus strictly on the anatomical movements needed to fly your body in that manner.  Combined with the slow motion footage of precision tunnel flyers, it becomes easy to see just how they make it look so smooth.

Also like the previous DVDs the Head Down DVD puts so much necessary focus on safety, though not just on the flying portion, but also on gear use, exit order, and safe transitions to aid in adequate separation after a skydive. Without paying attention to these important aspects, we cannot hope to achieve safety while flying, so the reminders are necessary and welcome on every DVD.

With a wealth of information, this DVD appeals to both advanced and beginner head down flyers. While the beginning covers the aforementioned safety issues, it also reviews the transitions necessary to place yourself in a head down orientation while flying, but it also shows you how to maintain your flight and begin working on a basic progression of movements using the SCS (start, coast, stop) method discussed in the previous DVDs. The advanced flyers also use this method to safely learn maneuvers such as side slides, grips, carving, acrobatics, etc. So, while the final chapters of the DVD may not apply to beginners presently, it's extremely helpful to see the big picture of progression.

Suffice to say, I'm super excited to have this DVD in my collection. While I'm just learning the basics of head down flying, my friends who are advanced have also given this DVD the stamp of approval and its permanent home on our DVD shelf.  Not only that, but all of us have decided to go back and re-watch the entire series of DVDs.  So whether you’re a fun jumper looking to take charge of your progress or a coach looking to offer even more worthwhile information to your students, SDU has once again made it just that much easier and safer for all of us to be ridiculously awesome in the sky!

Kylie Rhoads