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It is hard to explain as far as it is something you cant understand without really trying it. It is as if you were floating without feeling any gravity. The tandem pilot releases his main parachute at a height of m above the ground level. From this moment you are flying through quiet unlimited space. If you want, you can try to control the parachute down to the height of m above the ground level.
From this point the parachute is back under control of your tandem pilot in order to land smoothly and safely. Landing equals a fall from a height of one step, it is quite easy and safe. You can have your jump documented by another skydiver, who will film you and take some nice pictures of you enjoying the jump. Now only think about if you seriously want to enter the 3-dimensional world with a tandem pilot on your back, or you would prefer enjoying that very special moment in private, get trained and do a first solo jump!
Thats all up to you. This has been one of the best camps for me so far. Great flying conditions, no wind forward launches in the morning up to windy afternoons great for soaring and smaller wings! Amazing full moon water rafting experience, launching my JVX 66 with 50 pounds extra weight, flying Swing Mirage 8,5 alias the smallest speed wing in the US and more! DAY 1 Little bit of wind, without being held I would probably fly away. Thanks to Duane I did 6 flights , but than we decide to wait for better winds, that were suppposed to come soon.
Neos 59 and 25 pounds of extra weight, finaly launched it on the rears! Little bit of extra weight was needed. JVX 66 and 50 pounds of extra weight. Flight was realy great, walking around with the weight belts not so much fun, but it was worth it. Idea was born on a sunny day on the dropzone, when Vendy was observing skydivers and flight crew and was looking for their needs. Used materials showed high quality during testing in aerial activities such as skydiving, ground launching and flying on a strong direct sunlight. Choose what you need and order now at vendy extreme The first event included 2 disciplines: Contrary to outdoor skydiving freestyle team, which consists of freestyle performer and camera flyer, Neo-freestyle team is composed of just one performer, the freestyler!
No need of another team member makes it really easy for everyone who wants to practise and compete! Working time is 45seconds, the same as in the sky. Just 3 rounds of free routine, no compulsory moves!! The first competition in Neo-Freestyle showed a lot of new moves and creativity in the routines. Competitors were mix of different ages, countries, tunnel experience If you are interested in competing in indoor skydiving, you should definitelly try it!
You will experience a lot of fun, meet many interesting flyers, try different wind tunnels and learn a lot! We encourage all flyers of all skill levels to participate. Competitors need to be signed off by the IBA on the transitions required for the class in which they are competing, but local wind-tunnels will be more than happy to suggest events and coaching programs to participate in to get competitors ready.
Watch the gold medal winner and get some inspiration from Drew Steele and his amazing unbeatable routine, domestic tunnel coach with thousands of hours wind tunnel time! Airkix UK , dates to be announced soon: Competitors can register by clicking the tunnel links above or by calling the wind-tunnel. Axel Zohmann at International Bodyflight Association: Special thanks to Dario Jotti and all his family for organizing this special swoop event: Many thanks to all the participants for nice jumps, swoops and everything!!
It was too much fun!! Whoever was not so lucky to make it there, check out beautiful scenarios from swooping the mountains, freeflying and some freestyle action over airport Ambri in Switerland! And don't forget to sign up for the next year, that is the 10th anniversary of the boogie and it will be huge!
Some experiences just can't be described in words. Beach cliff launch is definitely one of them. Why does forbidden fruit taste the best? I was dreaming about stealing a little flight here for a long time and it finally happened. Sunday at Perris Valley Skydiving, one of the biggest dropzones, is super busy. On the other hand, Sunday evening on the beach, shouldn't be super busy and the wind contitions look great!
That's why me and Duane decided to try again. We left the dropzone, get the gear and on the way to the cliff we stopped at the Rattle snake hill for a little warm up flight. From there straight to the beach! As we know so far, no one has ever launched from this point with our type wings before GLX , GLX which actually makes it even better!
But yesterday, it has all changed! It was our day! The best launch ever! Undescribable view, last step from the cliff was super exciting and it was one of my best flight ever! They were such lovebirds all the time, an idea came through my mind: The last training flight I managed to put them in the flight chamber together, with only 15minutes experience each that's realy good job Fun to fly with you ;. Rescue Global is a not for profit organisation providing a disaster risk reduction and response service for natural and man made disasters worldwide.
It was super fun and as always it turned into freestyle! Feel like you need a special training? Feel free to contact us and we can arrange your flying progress! Too much flying is not enough! Flying different types of wings will help you understand more about the aerodynamics and profiles and maybe improve your canopy piloting skills on your skydiving or speedflying wing as well. This international rating is needed in more and more countries for speedflying, eventhough it is a completely different sport! Fully certified intermediate PG2 pilot is allowed to fly without the oversight of an instructor.
The PG2 rating is recognised internationally. The first morning you will learn about the equipment and practice controlling the paraglider close to the ground. Expect bunny hops from a gentle slope. In the afternoon we go to a suitable site for the first major flights. Successive days consist of multiple flights from launch sites suitable to the weather on the day.
Expect about 30 flights, focusing initially on take off and landing skills. Once these skills are acquired we move on to ridge soaring and thermaling skills, allowing you to extend your flight times. Combined with the flying, elements of theory will be taught. We conduct the theory lessons in a natural environment, discussing things as they occur, on the hill or in the landing paddock. There is also a necessary element of classroom theory. If you have the opportunity we recommend some pre course reading.
We prefer you to do this course in a block of 10 days, as beginners generally learn easier this way, however if you have a problem getting the time off work you can split the course into stages. The most beneficial part of the paragliding course was detailed information on weather in particalur, thermal development and effects on your wing!
Special thanks to Lisa, the most licensed paragliging instructor in New Zealand and John, crosscountry hang gliding record holder, for all their nice instruction and fun times! For detailed info about the course, visit www. I decided to arrange a pilot job for myself with a smaller sport aircraft so as to stay current and get some experience!
That was when I started my own little business and named it after my little baby parachute Icarus Extreme FX The start of the season was really good. My plan for the season was to combine aerial activities, keep working on my pilot ratings, fly with more international students and travel and especially to introduce skydiving and the delightful feeling of flight and freefall to more people in the Czech Republic! I accepted thinking that not too many people would be interested anyway, but it turned into a big deal and we sold over skydiving trainings!
That was the start of my little business! I was asked to do an interview for the biggest Czech TV station about freefall at the end of April. I spent many weekends with my Czech students and sometimes it was really hard on me with 15 first time jumpers per day , but together we managed to do everything safely and at the end everybody was happy and satisfied.
I did however sleep all Monday after these super tiring weekends. One day as we waited for him to finish talking to a friend I asked him whether I could start the airplane engine myself. He laughed and told me: Of course, if you know how! So I did it and you should have seen his shocked expression! A few months later I was offered a job piloting sightseeing flights for this company and I got my dropping rating so I was able to drop my students when they were jumping with another skydiving instructor!
Since I was my own boss, I still had the opportunity to travel and organize my own time, so I managed several training and coaching trips to Spain, California, Switzerland, China etc.
I extended my skydiving training and I made several longer trips to California where I practiced speedflying and ground launching with my canopy piloting coach Duane Hall at the GL Centre Lake Isabella. I fell in love with this incredible style of low level proximity flight that has rapidly spread through the flying community all over the world. I launched my JVX66 several times, which is probably the smallest wing ever launched!
I started combining more and more wind tunnel training with my freestyle training. The greatest thing that could happen to me just happened in May I started cooperation with the windtunnel in Prague, they gave me a sponsored dealership and I become an indoor skydiving coach! I was really happy that I could practice so many freestyle moves and be aware of my movements without a camera flyer!
That was why being able to train at the wind tunnel in Prague was a great opportunity for my freestyle. It helped me to create new freestyle moves and it made me so happy! In the end an international competition opportunity finally emerged when I was invited by the IBA to the first Neo-Freestyle competition in Indoor Skydiving at the end of February I became independent on my camera flyer and I was finally able to compete again. I traveled all the way to the iFLY Hollywood wind tunnel and placed 6th at an international suggestion , which I consider one of my biggest successes in my skydiving career!
This was only about a year after I started doing gymnastics again! This competition was so much fun and I also placed 6th I moved to a new apartment from my parents and my sister I used to live with, I finished another year of doctoral studies at the Czech Technical University, and I met many new interesting people, established many friendships, saw many smiles on my student's faces and learned a lot! Over super nice openings of my baby JVX 66 in the past, but not this one! Beautiful day over Empuriabrava, head down freefly coaching with my student is going well, unfortunately after break off the opening is not going so well!
To fly during the night is fun! It has all the beauty of a typical day sightseeing flight, but it requires its appurtenances, especially trained pilot with a night rating and proper airport services. That's why not so many flight schools offer night sightseeing flights. We do have everything ready to take you for a night flight! You will be impressed only by the atmosphere of the airport during the night. You can enjoy nice views with all the remarkable lights, take your partner for a romantic night experience, it is little bit more adventurous than a day experience!
Just think about where you want fly and how many people would you like to bring with you and go to our ESHOP! Would you better fly during a daylight? Do you want to go crazy? Check out our new video Freestyling over the palm, one of the worlds best skydiving views! Click on each picture to view more! Many people have some prejudices about what happens when the engine of an airplane stops.
Here is a real proof. The reality is very easy, when the engine stops an airplane just doesn't climb anymore and it becomes descening like a parachute! Every pilot should be always considering a landing with engine out and fly only close enought to some emergency landing areas. You can clearly see here, that EXTREME 66 is not scared to practise a real engine shut down and so you don't need to be scared to fly with us! Choose from selection of aerial adventures: Little business named by one of the fastest and smallest parachutes all over the world, Daedalos JVX Introduction to the world of 3D freedom!
Enjoy the best pictures of the season If you like to use sport products, it is necessary to have an activated registration for sport flying. Sport flight means that you can practise flying on your own and there will be just one safety instructor in the door to the flying chamber, or you can hire a professional coach, who will illustratively show you what to do and guarantee the best progress for you! Each participant have their own equipment or can rent the equipment at our wind tunnel. Less experienced flyers can use prepared programs that lead to improvements in skills and techniques under the guidance of our experienced coaches.
Sport training in the windtunnel is suitable for starting skydivers and for the experienced skydivers as well. All you learn in the safe atmosphere of the windtunnel will be ready to use in the sky with the parachute on your back! I was thinking about going to the famous Mountain Gravity boogie for a couple of years, but I never had a chance to participate due to some competitions, flying, school or whatever reason, but this year it has finally changed! When my freefly students and great friends from Switzerland visited me at Cypres boogie in Prostejov, they started talking about going to this boogie and ask me to do some coaching over there.
It didn't take too long about 5minutes ; and I just get online and bought the flight ticket to Zurich and the decision was done! Few weeks later, Thursday morning, Patrick and Ivonne pick me up at ZRH airport and first day we spend with little bit of sightseeing in Zurich, super nice weather, very clean city and I was especially impressed with the super clean water at the Lake Zurich. In the evening we are having nice barbecue with Michael and Rolf, friends I haven't seen for a long time since the last time we jumped in Spain together.
Day number two was supposed to be sightseeing in Bern, but we stopped on the way there on a little dz with Pilatus Porter, unfortunatelly they didn't jump on Friday ; We continue to the capital city of Switzerland. Again very very nice day and afternoon we cool down jumping in to the river. On the way back we try to stop at Beromunster DZ, but we are already late for the sunset load, so no jumps today Now lets get back to the 3D part of the trip, Saturday morning we finally arrived at Ambri, little dropzone in the valley in between the mountains.
The airport elevation is m, but we are still climbing to m above the ground level. The weather is nice, I am curious how will fly my JVX66 at this elevation, but I find out very soon that it actually doesn't feel as such a big difference. The beautiful view over the mountains is filling me up with energy and good mood as everybody who is jumping here.
The boogie has a really nice mood and people just seem to be happy! Next day we want to start swooping the mountains, but the wind is kind of strong, so the mountain is closed for non-crossbraced canopies. That happens the next day, nice no wind conditions in the morning and we all go together with leader of our group Tim Porter. Tim shows me some pictures of the valley we should fly in and warns me that may be I will have to go in front of him with my little canopy and have to land first, so I really make sure I can recognize the landing area and our way to go in the mountains.
I look out of the plane and it looks kind of crazy, mountains everywhere, I exit second right after Tim, pull, nice straight opening feels good and try to fly as slow as possible to stay with the group. All works fine, Tim is a perfect leader and I follow him, not as low and deep for the first one I am being more on a safe side and little conservative. The view is amazing! I am approaching the landing area next to the fuel station and I finally understand the recommendation written in big letters on the manifest trailer: Next jump we cant do anything else than swoop the mountain again, we are able to go on our own after the first run, so I am leading my group this time.
Lets make it challenging! Little bit of headdown coaching for Patrick and Rolf, jump pack, jump pack and the day is done. I feel so good! Next day I wake up and the weather is perfect again, as always Patrick is already awake and starts screaming: After few jumps my friends are teling me it is too hot and they are getting tired from my drilling and that they will take me to a nice river and we will swim and have some fun on the 2D level.
About an hour of drive we are there. Than it comes, I see the bridge we are going to jump! It is incredibly dangerous-looking crazy bridge. I was told that everybody jumps there, but I actually see down there hundreds of people sunbathing on the stones but nobody is jumping at all. The lowest altitude I have ever jumped was feeling like the biggest adrenaline in my life! No main parachute, no reserve, just crazy! I am totally amazed by this crazy feeling and I must do it again.
After 2 jumps I feel totally drugged with adrenaline and we drive back to the dropzone! I thank you again my bridge coaches for this perfect experience ;. It seems like my stay in Switzerland is just every day getting better and better and next day is my freestyle day. Tim comes to me: That was my best jump of the year, not only the freefall part of it was completely perfect, but also my landing and the final turn was so nice!
As everything nice also the Mountaing Gravity boogie passed quick, next couple of days of freeflying, swooping the mountain and sunbathing went by and all of a sudden I have to go back home and teach another First Solo Jump class in Prague straight next day At the end of the story I would like to thank to everybody for nice jumps during the boogie, great dropzone organisation and a lot of fun. I hope to see you soon somewhere in the air guys, by than you are welcome to come and fly with me in Prague!
First of all you have to go through little bit of paper work in order to be able to jump here! The drop zone is mostly tandem factory, but it also offers some slots for sport skydivers. Local staff is very helpful providing all important information about the airspace, landing area and rules for fun jumpers. You have to fill in easy online registration, pay 75 NZD and it is done. This biggest suprprises here were several special safety requirements. When the airplane climbes above 1 ft everybody can adjust according to the exit order. Due to another incident, fatal landing in the lake on a windy day, everybody has to wear a life jacktet on every single jump.
The drop zone elevation is 1 ft above the mean sea level and the first pass is usually 12 ft above the ground level. You can get here without any special requirements. If you want to go higher than that, you must be breathing an external oxygen. The higher altitude pass is 15 ft and if you are fit you won't be struggling from hypoxia yet, even without the extra oxygen, but the rules are the rules! And as you can see, there are many rules around here! Once you get through the inicial registration, exit weight check, put on a life jacket under your parachute and pass the high altitude test, you are ready to jump as much as you want!
Unfortunatelly you can't find many sport skydivers here, because everybody around here is either tandem master, camera flyer or an AFF student! Sightseeing flight in a smaller sport plane is way different from a big airliner and it is definitelly an experience you shouldnt miss! We offer you super nice view from bird eye perspective. Even places you know pretty well will fascinate you once again. Places you have not visited yet will take your breath! It is only up to you, where do you want to fly.
Also, Bader did not get on with the newer generation of squadron leaders who considered him to be "out of date". We are business partners and friends in a real life, so by this coincidence, he also have seen my facebook post! Your satisfaction is our pleasure, we focus on a good mood, informal atmosphere and an escape from everydaywork problems. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged. Next day I wake up and the weather is perfect again, as always Patrick is already awake and starts screaming: After 2 jumps I feel totally drugged with adrenaline and we drive back to the dropzone!
I would recommend you a nice sightseeing flight over Prague, some little castles as Konopiste, or water reservoir Orlik. If you are up to flying even little bit further, you will surely appreciate a flight to the Alps, or romantic trip to a little island in the southwest part of Baltic sea. Sightseeing flight is also a perfect 3-dimensional gift for your friends or family. Nobody will forget about such a strong emotional experience! And you can fly all together, so it will be a pleasure for you as well ;. Just think about where you want to fly and how many people would you like to bring with you and schedule your flight!
Have you already tried a sightseeing flight and are you looking for something even more extreme? The Aero L Albatros was produced in large numbers by the Factories of Aero Vodochody, the worlds largest producer of military training aircraft. Apart from the popular L Albatros, Aero Vodochody has also built its predecessor, the L Delfin and its successor, the ground attack aircraft L Alca.
The Albatros is however still used in many airforces as an attack aircraft for air to ground support missions or as a tactical reconnaissance aircraft. The most amazing fact about this jet is, that with us you can fly this military training aircraft as a civil person, no need to be a part of the military! We are very proud to have our customers flown by the test pilots of this aircraft manufacturer in their own aircraft.
These Aero test pilots are amongst the best and know their aircraft like nobody else in the world. And even after thousands of hours, they still enjoy every flight in their jets - you will feel it! The L impresses with good maneuverability and excellent visibility from both seats in the cockpit, you will see! Very good performance at sub sonic speeds make the L jet the ideal aircraft to experience a cost effective flight in a real fighter aircraft.
Do you feel like fighter jet aerobatic experience may be little bit too much for you? Few months earlier, Partnership coordinator of 11Eleven Project asked me to participate in a world collaborative documentary, highlighting different ways of life around the world. He was looking for willing pilots, skydivers and just general people of the sky to contribute.
I work as a skydiving instructor, pilot and wind tunnel coach. When I started thinking what to do for that special day, I wanted to do something that would be really nice and extreme, but not only for most of the people but for me as well ;. As a result I decided to use this project as a perfect opportunity to show people, how can you spend time in the airspace over Czech republic and fly your body in different ways And except for the activities that are on my list to do almost every day I decided to use this special day and fulfil one of my biggest dreams, to fly a jet aircraft!
The Aero L Albatros was produced in large numbers by the Factories of Aero Vodochody, the worlds largest producer of military training aircraft and it is used as an agile jet trainer, tactical reconnaissance aircraft and light ground support fighter. I was visiting pilots for about month and studying checklists, sitting in the plane for couple of hours just going through all the instruments and trying to adjust the seat to find out if I am not too small for it, but everything seemed to be ok!
The biggest possible risk was the weather. In the morning when I wake up, everything outside was just fog, fog, definitely not bluesky… but the forecast was good for the afternoon, so we were waiting and imediatelly as the mist dissapeared and the sun showed up, we started the operation! I was so happy, excited and curious! My first time in the jet fighter, woow!! In the next few minutes we are taxiing, taking off, doing some crazy aerobatics, than we fly to meet another airplane in the air to do couple of pictures, and it is time to fly home.
I ask test pilot Vlada for inverted flight: Let me do one more looping on my own! Just couple of pictures with the jet for sponsors and we are good to go skydive. Friend of mine flew in with his little Cessna , I take my rig and here comes another crazy feeling for me. I just flew the jet few minutes ago and I am all high with the adrenaline, I am too excited and to be honest my brain is still flying inverted in the aerobatics airspace.
But the sun is getting down and we have to go now. So I double check everything and again and again, try to concentrate my distracted mind on that skydive and I am taking off again, this time in a small Cessna with one of the fastest and smallest parachutes all over the world on my back, the Daedalus JVX I am trying to concentrate as much as I can. Everybody is watching, the pilots think I am crazy! It turned out into a beautiful sunset jump! I can even make it to my trampoline training.
It is 19,00h and I start feeling little bit tired! I start stretching before the training and than quickly film couple of flips and trampoline moves, I cant stay too long, because I want to make it to the final part of today's program! When we arrive at the windtunnel in Prague it is already dark, but just being there wakes me up! Nice staff guys are not even angry that I want to fly again that late and we go fly! We are the last flyers of the day. I booked just 10minutes of sport flying, I think for today it is way more than enough!
I have plenty of time to practice some of my freestyle moves and enjoy the 3Dfreedom of the flight at the end of the day! Super nice and intense day! I am pretty tired now, but I have to do something like that again! At the end of my report I would like to thank very much to all of the sponsors of my project and people who helped to make everything work!
Do you want to stay at home, eat sweets and visit relatives or fly to sunny Spain and jump over the beach on one of the biggest dropzones in Europe with extreme The choice is up to you. Book your coaching jumps at rosina extreme How does the Camp Work? You will be rotating with up to 2 other flyers. This will give you enough time to relax between your flights and debrief every flight with your coach!
The total cost of the camp includes tunnel time, coaching, preparation, debrief and video, accomodation and transport to the wind tunnel. The camp starts at approximately 10 a. During the day, you can expect to spend your time before the session preparing and talking through technique and theory. You will be spending all of your time in the tunnel with an experienced coach. This enables you to have the most effective learning available. After each flight, you can see your flight on the screen next to the flight chamber, at the end of the flying session we will debrief with video, talking about good things from the session and improvements for the next.
In the evening we can go for a little bit of sightseeing in Prague and taste the czech beer! We are able to customize camps to any skill level, we can organise a camp that suits your needs and flying abilities. For more info about the best deals on tunnel time, go to www.
Enjoy the great video edit from Jens and schedule your own flight at fighterjet extreme And even after thousands of hours, they still enjoy every flight in their jets, you will feel it! Special thanks to Jens from Sweden, who send us this great video edit! Check out the view from one of our customers and schedule your own fighter jet adventure at fighterjet extreme EXTREME 66 was there representing Czech Technical University and the Department of Air Transport in order to inform public about the poor situation in education for high performance canopy pilots and the reality of the most dangerous discipline in skydiving - swooping or so called high performance canopy piloting!
You can download the presentatio n describing the essential points of our research. Help us increase the safety of our sport, support life important research and stop unnecesary incidents! All the contributions will be used in order to improve our education program for increasing safety at the airports! Check out the video report from one of the biggest skydiving events of ! Helicoper Mi-8, Turbolet L, balloon jumps and more ;. Once I made such a resolution that if I would fly with a parachute on my back while piloting, then I would also jump with it just to know what to pull in case of emergency.
This changed an email with a solo jump training offer from Rosina, my previous lector within my studies at the Czech Technical University, field of study Professional Pilot. Theoretical training took place on Friday's afternoon in a small cafe in centre of Prague, but only me and one of the girls showed up. Then we started with important steps of the jump and concentrated more on the part about solution of extreme situations.
After passing the theoretical training we met the next day on the railway station Praha-Holesovice, target destination: On this airport we were going to finish our ground training and then jump from Cessna On the airport in Ceska Lipa we passed the ground training, i. I was hanging in the parachute rig on the tree practicing how to cutaway the main parachute and pull the reserve one. Eventually we practiced several jumps out of the plane just with the plane standing on the solid ground. During the next week I had a phonecall from Rosina, we were going to jump in Pribram this time from L and I got a mission to accomplish — get a car.
We were taking off from the Letnany airport enjoying the beautiful morning view of Prague. After a while we arrived to Pribram. Just on time as preparations for jumps with parachutes were going on, with two Turbolet L aircrafts getting ready to fly. We booked for load no. Rosina was reviewing my knowledge of each single step of the jump, of emergency situations and I repeatedly jumped out of the plane on the ground. We were checking each other's parachutes and trying the exits for the last time on the ground.
Then I realised this would be the first plane which I wouldn't land in. Turbolet was like an escalator and I could observe on my altimeter how we were rising up, passing m which is a critical altitude, in case of plane's failure skydivers has to jump out and open the reserve parachutes directly , then I released my seatbelts and the indicator on altimeter was getting closer and closer to 1 m. The skydiver sitting next to the door just opened it.
Sitting without seatbelts fastened watching 1 m from yourself a hole leading to 1,5 km of air is a really paralising feeling. Meanwhile another man left the plane, I stood up, put my right leg on a door-step, leaving all my feelings on a seat. It's an awsome feeling to be hanging in the air, having the ground below your feet. I had enough time to try different type of turns and the most important thing — the flare I will need for nice and smooth landing.
During the flight I was staying above the airport, checking the altimeter, and in m I started to prepare for the landing pattern, in m I started flying downwind, around m I turn on baseleg, the ground starts getting closer faster than in 1 km, m — final turn and below m as a student I am not allowed to do more turns. I found out that I'll be little short but there was still a huge flat grassy area behind me and ahead of me, in about 5m I started pulling the toggles and then landed to slight run on my feet , some people were trying to scare me before with some notes about hard impacts, but I would easily compare this landing to the jump from two steps while running.
Then I took off my helmet and was trying to take whole parachute and don't entangle it at the same time , full of adrenaline I went to the wind sock, Rosina was also coming to me after filming my landing and asking how I felt. This time pilot forgot about us little bit and we jumped from 1 m, where it felt little bit colder. All the jump passed as same well as the first one. We packed our stuff and then we boarded our plane and flew back home. This flight was also without problems, we landed this time without using parachutes back in Letnany. To sum up my whole training, it was a great experience and an unforgetable adventure.
I overcame the extended myth around pilots, that skydiving is misuse of a rescue equipment and that it is the same as taking shower with the fire-extinguisher. Stepan was so excited about his first jump, that he also did a video cut with his song he mentioned in the article, check it out! She specializes in architecture, public space, land-art, paintings, graphics and other "on the ground" topics.
Contact Vendy for more art projects at: Buzz buzz buzzzzzzzz ….. My alarm wakes me, looking to the window I see that the sky is still moon lit…. Then I remember The Balloon! Assembly beings under head lights of our vehicles, the burners are attached to the baskets and tested releasing a almighty roar!!
Spitting fire into the sky in a spectacular display, before being laid on there sides in the direction of the large flaccid balloons. Fans are positioned and we assist with inflation……. Light blue and orange pascal colours light the sky as the sun slowly rises over a sea of sand dunes along with our altitude there is literally no noise apart of the occasional blast from the burners our balloon climbs quickly the pilot gives us some pre-jump instruction: POP ……pop their chutes open and now its my turn I climb out on and stand on the edge the basket looking at the ballon arch back and release myself into silence of a dead air exit.
I rotate then open up extend my limbs to stop but continue to turn in the dead air so I tuck again and rotate before hearing that familiar noise of terminal I open my canopy and I fly over HWY 66 land at the DZ. Rosina stands on the side of the balloon basket, exits and completes a perfect single slow rotating back flip before opening her canopy and expressing cheerful joy! I highly recommend the ballon jump at the desert campus, its a great experience and the desert provides a number of safe alternate landings if you can't make it back to the DZ, information for the jumps is posted on Dubai desert campus Facebook page regularly.
Our crew of 3 czech pilots and skydivers arrived at Fano just before sunset, ready to jump! Just 2,5 hours flight, yes that's how easy it is to fly from Prague to Fano with little Cessna ! Except for the comfortable flight direct to the dropzone, we enjoyed some funjumps over the beach, little bit of sightseeing in San Marino on a weather hold and few drinks on the way back to Prague while refueling in Slovenia.
The Amazing Aerobatic Adventure of RAF Bunny - Kindle edition by James Aloysius McTague, Patrick McTague. Download it once and read it on your Kindle. Patrick McTague is the author of The Amazing Aerobatic Adventure of RAF Bunny ( avg rating, 1 rating, 0 reviews).
If you like beach jumps, fun and sun, you are welcome to join us in summer ! Adventure sports and thrill-seeking vacations continue to be extremely popular pastimes. Fast and powerful airplanes rank among the favorites. Nowadays it is used as a demonstration aircraft. They understand the airplane like nobody else, and can offer a ride unmatched by anyone. Our customers can manipulate the controls during the flight if they wish, or simply relax and go for a ride that makes amusement parks pale by comparison. Loops, rolls, zero-G - no roller-coaster can even come close, and the view is spectacular.
Royal airforce placed an order for Bulldogs in , they were used extensively by the Royal Air Force as a basic trainer, in particular as the standard aircraft of the University Air Squadrons and, later, Air Experience Flights, providing flying training. Aerobatic flight is the art and science of maneuvering an aircraft completely around three axes.
All the manouvers can be devided into lines, rolls, loops and stalls. Most aerobatic maneuvers involve rotation of the aircraft about its longitudinal axis or lateral axis. Other maneuvers, such as a spin, displace the aircraft about its vertical axis. From the pilots point of view aerobatic flight can be thought of as ground reference manouvering.
All aerobatic maneuvers are always performed with reference to ground and horizon reference points chosen in advance by the pilot. Aerobatic flying requires a broader set of piloting skills and exposes the aircraft to greater structural stress than for normal flight. Aerobatics is an unforgettable experience even for a skilled pilot. There is no way you can imagine how it feels without trying! In Bader, teamed with Harry Day, successfully defended the squadron's title in the spring that year.
IIA, K , of 23 Squadron, [33] apparently on a dare. His aircraft crashed when the tip of the left wing touched the ground. Bader was rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital , where, in the hands of the prominent surgeon J. Bader made the following laconic entry in his logbook after the crash:.
In , after a long convalescence, throughout which he needed morphine for pain relief, Bader was transferred to the hospital at RAF Uxbridge and fought hard to regain his former abilities after he was given a new pair of artificial legs. In time, his agonising and determined efforts paid off, and he was able to drive a specially modified car, play golf, and even dance. During his convalescence there, he met and fell in love with Thelma Edwards, a waitress at a tea room called the Pantiles on the A30 London Road in Bagshot, Surrey.
Bader got his chance to prove that he could still fly when, in June , Air Under-Secretary Philip Sassoon arranged for him to take up an Avro , which he piloted competently. A subsequent medical examination proved him fit for active service, but in April he was notified that the RAF had decided to reverse the decision on the grounds that this situation was not covered by King's Regulations. With increasing tensions in Europe in —, Bader repeatedly requested that the Air Ministry give him a posting and he was finally invited to a selection board meeting at Adastral House in Kingsway.
It appeared that he would be refused a flying position; [38] but Air Vice Marshal Halahan, commandant of RAF Cranwell in Bader's days there, personally endorsed him and asked the Central Flying School , Upavon , to assess his capabilities. He did not wait; driving down the next morning, Bader undertook refresher courses. Bader subsequently progressed through the Fairey Battle and Miles Master the last training stage before flying Spitfires and Hurricanes.
In January , Bader was posted to No. Squadron Leader Geoffrey Stephenson, a close friend from his Cranwell days, was the commanding officer, and it was here that Bader got his first glimpse of a Spitfire.
As Bader had no legs he could remain conscious longer, and thus had an advantage over more able-bodied opponents. Between February and May Bader practised formation flying, air tactics, and undertook flights over sea convoys. Bader found opposition to his ideas about aerial combat. He favoured using the sun and altitude to ambush the enemy, but the RAF did not share his opinions. Despite this being at odds with his preferred tactics, Bader obeyed orders, and his skill saw him rapidly promoted to section leader.
During this time, Bader crashed a Spitfire on take-off. Despite a head wound, Bader got into another Spitfire for a second attempt. Leigh-Mallory made Bader a flight commander of No. Bader had his first taste of combat with No. The campaigns went badly for the Western Allies and soon they were evacuating from Dunkirk during the battle for the port. He believed that the German must have been a novice, taking no evasive action even though it took more than one burst of gunfire to shoot him down.
In the next patrol Bader was credited with a Heinkel He damaged. On 4 June , his encounter with a Dornier Do 17 , which was attacking Allied shipping, [47] involved a near collision while he was firing at the aircraft's rear gunner during a high-speed pass. After flying operations over Dunkirk, Bader was posted to command No.
Despite initial resistance to their new commanding officer, the pilots were soon won over by Bader's strong personality and perseverance, especially in cutting through red tape to make the squadron operational again. Bader transformed Squadron back into an effective fighting unit. Upon the formation of No. Once attained, the Germans would attempt to launch Operation Sea Lion , the codename for an invasion of Britain.
The battle officially began on 10 July On 11 July, Bader scored his first victory with his new squadron. Bader was alone on patrol, and was soon directed toward an enemy aircraft flying north up the Norfolk coast. Bader continued his attack and fired two bursts into the bomber before it vanished into cloud. On 21 August, a similar engagement took place. This time, a Dornier went into the sea off Great Yarmouth and again the Observer Corps confirmed the claim.
There were no survivors. Later in the month, Bader scored a further two victories over Messerschmitt Bf s. Bader almost baled out, but recovered the Hurricane. Other pilots witnessed one of Bader's victims crash. Enraged, he thought about ramming it and slicing off the rudder with his propeller, but turned away when he regained his composure.
Bader vociferously campaigned for an aggressive policy of assembling large formations of defensive fighters north of London ready to inflict maximum damage on the massed German bomber formations as they flew over South East England. As the Battle progressed, Bader often found himself at the head of a composite wing of fighters consisting of up to five squadrons, known as the " Duxford Wing ". Achievements of the Big Wing were hard to quantify, as the large formations often took too long to form up, over claimed victories, and too often did not provide timely support of the over-committed 11 Group.
The episode probably contributed to the departure of Park, who was replaced with Leigh-Mallory in November , and Dowding. They both believed, according to Bader, that it was impractical to use it in 11 Group, as the command was located too close to the enemy and would not have enough time to assemble.
Douglas was all for the Big Wings to counter the German formation[s]. I think there was room for both tactics — the Big Wings and the small squadrons. It might well have been fatal had Park always tried to get his squadrons into "Balbos", for not only would they have taken longer to get to their height, but sixty or seventy packed climbing fighters could have been seen for miles and would have been sitting ducks for higher s.
This does not mean, as Bader pointed out at the time, that two or three Balbos from 10 and 12 Groups, gaining height beyond the range of the s, would not have played a terrific part in the fighting. The first was P , in which he scored six air victories. The second aircraft was unknown, but Bader did score one victory and two damaged in it on 9 September. The third was V , in which he destroyed four more and added one probable and two damaged by the end of September. The machine was lost on 1 September while on a training exercise.
By this time, he was an acting squadron leader. On 18 March , Bader was promoted to acting wing commander and became one of the first " wing leaders ". These were missions combining bombers and fighters designed to lure out and tie down German Luftwaffe fighter units that might otherwise serve on the Russian front. One of the wing leader's "perks" was permission to have his initials marked on his aircraft as personal identification, thus "D-B" was painted on the side of Bader's Spitfire.
These letters gave rise to his radio call-sign " Dogsbody ". Bader flew a Mk VA equipped with eight. His tactics required a close-in approach in which he felt the lower calibre weapons had a more devastating effect. At the time, RAF trials with wing-mounted cannons had also revealed a number of shortcomings that precluded a widespread acceptance of the armament.
Bader's combat missions were mainly fought against Bf s over France and the Channel. On 7 May he shot down one Bf and claimed another as a probable victory. The German formation belonged to Jagdgeschwader 26 Fighter Wing 26 , which on that date was led in action by German ace Adolf Galland , and was also when Galland claimed his 68th victory.
His victory was witnessed by two other pilots who saw a Bf crash and the German pilot bale out. The first was shot down between The following month was more successful for Bader. On 2 July he was awarded the bar to his DSO. Later that day he claimed one Bf destroyed and another damaged. Squadron Leader Burton saw the entire combat and noted the Bf "fell away in a sloppy fashion", "as though the pilot had been hit".
It was marked as a probable. On 6 July another Bf was shot down and the pilot baled out. On 10 July Bader claimed a Bf and one damaged over Bethune. Later, Bader destroyed a Bf E which blew up south of, or actually over, Calais. The other was shot down by Squadron Leader Burton.
Bader did not see his Bf crash, so he claimed it as a damaged only, despite the fact pilots of No. Bader had been pushing for more sorties to fly in late but his Wing was tired. He was intent on adding to his score, which, according to the CO of No. Ultimately, Leigh-Mallory did not want to upset his star pilot, and did not invoke any restrictions. Between 24 March and 9 August , Bader flew 62 fighter sweeps over France.
Smith, who was described by fellow pilot Johnnie Johnson as "leechlike" and the "perfect number two", [] was unable to fly on that day due to a head cold, so was in London being fitted for a new uniform ready for his officer commission. Bader dived on them too fast and too steeply to be able to aim and fire his guns, and barely avoided colliding with one of them.
Bader was just opening fire on a second Bf , which trailed white smoke and dropped down, when he noticed the two on his left turning towards him. At this point he decided it would be better to return home; however, making the mistake of banking away from them, Bader believed he had a mid-air collision with the second of the two Bf s on his right that were continuing straight ahead.
He jettisoned the cockpit canopy, released his harness pin, and the air rushing past the open cockpit started to suck him out, but his prosthetic leg was trapped. Part way out of the cockpit and still attached to his aircraft, Bader fell for some time before he released his parachute, at which point the leg's retaining strap snapped under the strain and he was pulled free. Although Bader believed for years that he had collided in midair with a Bf , two other possibilities have later been put forward; that he was shot down by a German Bf , or alternatively that he may have been a victim of friendly fire.
Feldwebel Max Meyer of II. Furthermore, Meyer mentioned that he had followed the downed Spitfire and watched the pilot bale out, something which seems to match this passage in Bader's memoirs:. I was floating in the sunshine above broken, white cloud I heard an aeroplane just after I passed through. A Bf flew past. Adolf Galland, Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 26 JG 26 or Fighter Wing 26 , went through every report, even those of German pilots killed in the action, to determine Bader's victor.
Each case was dismissed. Bader was flying at the rear of the German fighter formation, alone, and his squadron were the opposite side of the Germans. In a letter to Bader on 28 May , Casson explained the action. While this source made it into the public domain, it was severely edited. The nature of the letter, that it was from Casson to Bader, was removed. Crucially, an entire paragraph, which mentioned specifically the tail coming off "a Bf " and the pilot struggling to get out of the cockpit, was completely omitted from the original source, still in the Casson family's possession.
Saunders stated that this was not absolute proof, and that it would be helpful to find the "Bader Spitfire". The quest to find Bader's Spitfire, W , shed light on the demise of another famous wartime ace, Wilhelm Balthasar , Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 , who was killed in action on 3 July when his Bf F crashed into Ferme Goset, Wittes , France.
It was recovered in March Inside was a flying helmet with the letters "DB" written on the top. It was later identified as a Spitfire IX, owing to the findings of a 20mm cannon which Bader's Spitfire did not have , and ammunition dated as Bader's aircraft was not found. It is likely that it came down at Mont Dupil Farm near the French village of Blaringhem , possibly near Desprez sawmill.
A French witness, Jacques Taffin, saw the Spitfire disintegrating as it came down. He thought it had been hit by anti-aircraft fire, but none was active in the area. There were also no Spitfire remains in the area. The lack of any remains was not surprising, owing to the Spitfire breaking up on its descent.
Historians have also been misled as to the whereabouts of the Spitfire because of a mistake in the book Reach for the Sky , in which Bader stated his leg had been dug out from the wreckage but was damaged, indicating a definite crash site. Bader's leg had actually been found in an open field. The Germans treated Bader with great respect. When he baled out, Bader's right prosthetic leg became trapped in the aircraft, and he escaped only when the leg's retaining straps snapped after he pulled the ripcord on his parachute. The Germans were less impressed when, task done, the bombers proceeded on to their bombing mission to Gosnay Power Station near Bethune , although bad weather prevented the target being attacked.
Galland stated in an interview that the aircraft dropped the leg after bombing Galland's airfield. Bader, according to Rall, personally arranged for Rudel, a fellow amputee, to be fitted with an artificial leg. Bader escaped from the hospital where he was recovering by tying together sheets. Initially the "rope" did not reach the ground; with the help of another patient, he slid the sheet from under the comatose New Zealand pilot, Bill Russell of No.
Russell's bed was then moved to the window to act as an anchor. A French maid at the St. Omer hospital attempted to get in touch with British agents to enable Bader to escape to Britain. She later brought a letter from a peasant couple a Mr. Hiecques , who promised to shelter him outside St. Omer until he could be passed further down the line. Until then, their son would wait outside the hospital every night until there was a chance of escape.
Eventually, he escaped out of a window. The plan worked initially. Bader completed the long walk to the safe house despite wearing a British uniform. Unfortunately for him, the plan was betrayed by another woman at the hospital. He hid in the garden when a German staff car arrived at the house, but was found later. Bader denied that the couple had known he was there. They, along with the French woman at the hospital, were sent for forced labour in Germany.
After the war, French authorities sentenced the woman informer to 20 years in prison. Over the next few years, Bader made himself a thorn in the side of the Germans. He often practised what the RAF personnel called "goon-baiting". He made so many escape attempts that the Germans threatened to take away his legs. Keen to meet the Tangmere wing leader, he dropped by to see Bader, but when he knocked on his door, there was no answer.
Soon the alarm was raised, and a few days later, Bader was recaptured. It described Bader's disability and said he "walks well with stick". Twenty years later, Bader was sent a copy of it by a Belgian civilian prisoner, who had worked in a Gestapo office in Leipzig. Bader found this amusing, as he had never used a stick. After his return to Britain, Bader was given the honour of leading a victory flypast of aircraft over London in June On 1 July, he was promoted to temporary wing commander.
He and Bader had been junior officers at Kenley in , while serving in No. Bader was given the post of the Fighter Leader's School commanding officer. He received a promotion to war substantive wing commander on 1 December [] and soon after was promoted to temporary group captain. Unfortunately for Bader, fighter aircraft's roles had now grown significantly and he spent most of his time instructing on ground attack and co-operation with ground forces.
Also, Bader did not get on with the newer generation of squadron leaders who considered him to be "out of date". Bader considered politics, and standing as a Member of Parliament for his home constituency in the House of Commons. He despised how the three main political parties used war veterans for their own political ends.
Instead, he resolved to join Shell.