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Read the Airtite journal
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
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Competition ends for us
Ok here is how it goes....... the skies were clear today, but the wind was blowing. The tents blew over last night and it did not stop today. We were on DZ from 7am but there was no chance of jumping. At 6pm they made the cut, and still in 11th place we did not make it to the next round (cut at 10th place). The girls are still on standby for their competition and are sitting in 6th place.
Overall we are disappointed that we did not have the opportunity to chase a place in the top ten, but inside we know we could have made it.
Jumping started again at 6:30pm and the girls went up to chase their medal, as did the 8 way who had a round to complete......
For us... I guess this means another 2 years chasing another world meet.
chat later
Andy
Posted at 12:31:33 AM WST by andrew
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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Comp Day 3
Day 3 of comp was blustery but uneventful. Morning rain was followed by high gusty winds. We were lucky enough to get in the air about 5pm for rounds 5 and 6. Not so for the girls team though - first team on the dz and last to leave but without jumping at all.
We arrived at the dz on day 4 to fairly clear weather, although still quite high wind. The storm which blew through overnight took Australia's tent, along with several others.
Hopefully by the end of the day we should have completed another 2 rounds. We are just 3 points behind the Germans, who have a toehold on 10th place. More news shortly...
Posted at 01:35:43 PM WST by andrew
Comp Day 2
We arrived on the DZ early and completed round 4 within 2 hours. Then to allow the Eight Way and Artistic to complete we were placed on standby (planes still on the ground). Hoping we would get a load in at the end of the day. Ae waited until 6:30pm, and were then released until tomorrow.
Washing clothes is a priority now as there was not much room for anything to wear when travelling with 2 rigs.
Andy
Posted at 12:19:26 AM WST by andrew
Rounds 1 and 2
The weather cleared this afternoon and we were able to complete two rounds. The live scores page http://maubeuge2008.org/live/scores_fs.php seems to be having some issues, but keep trying - it just drops out sometimes.
We the first round was not one of our best, but a good score on the second round left us in good standing overnight.
Looking forward to tomorrow...
Posted at 12:21:00 AM WST by andrew
Competition D1
It has been raining today. We have been on standby since 7am this morning (it's now 1pm). The sky is clearing a little.
I'll do a propper update at the end of the day, but to keep you entertained here are some photo's. We cannot use FTP to upload photo's so they are not in the usual place. New photos can be found on Google http://picasaweb.google.com/airtite4way
We had the opening ceremony last night, which involved a parade through the streets with marching bands and all the bells and whistles (including long speeches). Unfortunately we had to skip the banquet dinner as there was the potential for it to be a very late night. A number of other teams also did so which I imagine was a bit of a dissapointment for the organisers who had food for twice the number that attended. The town of Mauberge certainly turned it on for us! I'll post some photo's of the parade tomorrow.
Posted at 07:07:10 PM WST by andrew
France Day 3
Bongior, Hello from France guys and gals.
After a frustrating day of bad weather yesterday, this morning we were greeted to blue skies and light winds.. Much relief by all.
Well the aussie contingent is all here and jumping, and the group vibe is great..
We have just finished three warm up jumps, and these jumps were awesome. The feeling in the team is high, and the porter is now something we are comfortable with.
Was also great to share a load with the Aussie Girls, and Nomes and Dingo.. Thanks guys and good luck.
This afternoon we are off to the opening ceremony and the draw. Hope to have some fast jumps and good pictures for the website tommorrow morning.
Big kisses to all our friends and families
Till tomorrow, blue skies
Jeremy....for Airtite
Posted at 07:12:24 PM WST by andrew
France Day 2
It rained.... And it rained some more. At 4pm we decided that there was no hope for the day and left the DZ, only for it to clear up and the loads started going up. I think we need to realise that the weeather here can change very fast, and not to forget that that jumping continues till 9pm!
Slept in the DZ bunk room last night, but we have been told that we have propper accom tonight.
Clear blue skies on day 3, we are hoping for 2 jumps.
Posted at 02:02:35 PM WST by andrew
France Day 1
Hi from Maubeuge! Yesterday was a long day, which started with a missing passport at the airport, but thankfully once you are in the EU you can fly internally without out one. The day was to be one of waiting. Our minivan (which we had booked) was not at the airport and took almost 2 hours to arive, and when we got to the Accommodatrion at Val Joly it turned out that there is a fundemental difference between the way the french percieve sleeping and the way we do in Australia.
There are simply not enough beds for everyone. We spent 2.5 hours a reception trying to explain to them that 5 blokes were not going to sleep in 2 double beds and a couch, they kept telling us that a double bed is 2 slots, and that our team had booked 5 'slots' not 5 'beds'....... We slept in the bunk room in the end.
So as on to other info... yes the weather is variable. At the moment it is raining, but has been up to 30 degrees in the past week along with a tornado that killed 3 people
And yes, the freefliers totalled 2 cars in the USA by pulling out an not looking in the right direction. But all OK.
Still looking forward to a good comp though...
Posted at 02:39:06 PM WST by andrew
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Wednesday, August 6, 2008
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End of Italy training
7 days 88 jumps, every exit seen a few times, and some changed many times. We are about as ready as we could possibly be in the time that we allowed ourselves.
Fano DZ has been fantastic, we would thoroughly recommend it as a training facility. Thank you Skydive Fano.
We have been hearing a few rumours from France (not sure if any are true)
- Weather variable
- Accommodation cramped
- Freefly team crashed their car
We will find out for ourselves in 24 hours!
Once we get to France you should be able to see scores live, and video of our jumps http://maubeuge2008.org/live/scores_fs.php
Next update will be from France, where we are planning around 5 Familiarization jumps before beginning competition.
Posted at 10:59:42 PM WST by andrew
Here are some photo's
Here is a quick selection of photo's
Photos by Rob
Fano DZ and freefall by Andy
Andrew
Posted at 06:29:19 PM WST by andrew
Day off and last day of exit training
Well the day off was a real god send. Training has been productive but hard and the 30+ deg days have drained us. Our day off was spent at Sas's families house in Fano where we were treated to a traditional 5 course Italian Sunday lunch and maybe a few to many refreshments.
Fresh from Gicinto and Madelana's hospitality we launched ourselves into the last day of exit training. We now have a pretty good idea on the stackups. Tomorrow we start training competition draws from 10500 feet. Looking forward to France - everything seems to be coming together.
Lets go !!!!
SAS
Edit by Andy: Thanks also to Sas for installing all our new Cypres AAD's, and thanks Freefall Factory and Airtec for their support once again.
Posted at 10:45:28 PM WST by andrew
First Day Off - Fano, ITALY
Bongiorno from Italy Guys/Gals,
Well we are heading into our first real day off since we started training on the 24th of July and yep we are looking forward to the rest. Training in Italy has been fantastic and Livio (from Sinapsi PD) has been a wonderful host, and the weather is absolutely amazing. We have completed 58 Jumps in 4 days and the exits out of this strange right hand door (Porter) are starting to gel. Joey Jone's coaching has been great and Lena has been packing her heart out!! We can certaninly recommend training this time of year in Italy at Fano. The people, food, hospitality and vibe is awesome..
As mentioned tomorrow is a day off with Sas's uncle putting on a big italian lunch for us.. Yum Yum!! Rest will be the order of the day after gorging ourselves on lunch..
We have 3 more training days (40 jumps) before making our way to France for the World Championships..We are looking forward to the challenge and the road ahead.....
Love to all our families and friends in Australia. Hello!!!! and we will put pen to paper, as our journeys continue on Monday..
Chiow
Jeremy.....for Airtite
Posted at 09:58:19 PM WST by andrew
Training in Italy
Italy D1
After completing a combined total of 8 hours in the tunnel we got up at 3am to take the plane to italy. a 2.5 hour flight, and a 1.5 hour drive saw us arrive at Fano Dropzone (sorry don't know the website address)
We checked into the B and B, only to discover that they had 3 beds for 6 guys! apparently they did not think anything of us sharing... we however felt otherwise and found an extra 3 mattress's for the floor.
Italy D2
The weather here is abut 30c and as I write this we are 8 jumps into a 10 jump day. We are hoping for 16 per day for the next 3. The porter climbs really well and we are wheels off to back on the ground in under 10 minutes (Going to 6000ft) Jeremy had a chop on the second jump.
We have all felt that freefall seems less windy after Bedford!
As the next few days are just going to be jumping we will update the website again on our day off (Sunday). I will also try to upload a photo of my back which is black and blue from my (attempts at) freeflying in the tunnel.
Posted at 08:59:31 PM WST by andrew
Bedford Tunnel
A safe flight saw us arive in Bedford.. though for anyone who saw the news, the Qantas plane that Gary flew in on had a few issues on it's flight back home.
First day of training saw us get back into the groove, and Andy discovered how unfit he was (Again!), but improved his head-up, back flying, and transitions. The day off on Saturday was well needed by all. 3 hours in the wind on Sunday and again on Monday.....
Will write again when we get to italy
Posted at 12:38:15 AM WST by andrew
World Championships 2008
Here we go again.... Next week Airtite will depart Australia to compete at the World Parachuting Championships.
Before competition we will be:
- travelling to the UK for some time in the tunnel
- nipping across to italy for 100 or so jumps
- heading up to France for competition
Watch this page for updates
Posted at 02:50:44 PM WST by andrew
World Parachuting Championships 2008
For all those people looking for the website for the World Parachuting Championships 2008 in Maubeuge the link is http://maubeuge2008.org
If you have Google Earth on your computer click here and choose 'open' when prompted to see the airfield.
Posted at 07:21:44 AM WST by andrew
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