Wingsuits: Powered by Cisco

Iwan van der Schoor, www.iwanvanderschoor.com, a fellow NorCal jumper and wingsuit pilot, contracted Ill Vision to work on a promotional video for Cisco this fall.

All aerial footage was completed in 2 days, thanks to Ed Pawlowski co-ordinating shot sequences with Iwan for in-air shots, and the production crew, headed by Laura Marks, Tim Fink Productions, for landing shots. www.timfink.com

Ed Pawlowski and David 'dingo' Royer from Ill Vision and So Cal wingsuit expert Brian Drake pulled together their flying skills and got the needed shots. Producer Laura Marks was having a blast, she did a tandem the same day, stayed for beers afterwards and is working with Ed to learn the sport! www.northerncaliforniaskydiving.com

TonySuits built custom S-Birds for the shoot, they were ready and at the DZ in less than 10 days, amazing turn-around time. www.tonysuits.com

Iwan customized his camera helmet to fit the Sony XDCAM-EX1 with great results, watch the clarity and color below:

Wingsuits: Powered by Cisco from teamillvision on Vimeo.

Wing Suit Record 2009, Elsinore.

This year again, we were part of the Wing Suit Record attempt in Skydive Elsinore, California. Taya Weiss and Raisethesky.org were organizing this amazing event. After 5 days, on November 11th 2009, we got a new record: 68 people, slot perfect formation! More than just a record, this event was also a fund raising for non-profit CityYear.org which helps kids to graduate.




Chief Captain Ed was leading our plane, motivating all of us, espically for the freezing cold 6 am morning starts! Surprisingly, he only had to give a few yellow cards to a few badly behaved individuals. Kenneth Gajda, Alex Frey, Craig Poxon, David Gershfeld and former team member Cliff Ryder were all wearing red and purple team suits!




Devon Steigerwald stayed we us in Elsinore for a couple days, shooting many awesome picture. Amazing what a professional photographer can do! Above pictures are courtesy of Devon.








The Ill Vision tent was set with all the comfort you can expect: chairs, picnic table, a cooler of beverages, snacks, etc. After a well spent day participants were welcome to come grab a drink.

After the official record jumps, Top Gun and Ill Vison teams planned an ambitious formation. Sadely, the weather did not cooperate and the "Top Vision" (or "Ill Gun") jump was only a dirt dive. But it will happen sooner or later!


Photographer and friend Michelle Hood brought all her equipment for a photo-shoot. Jhonny felt the need to customize the picture a little and give it his own touch!

Damien

ILL Vision Takes Over Bridge Day

Team ILL Vision showed up in full force this year. All members arrived and jumped in costume to the crowds loud applause and cheers dressed as jailbirds. Damien, Dingo, Harry, Jhonny, and Ricardo rounded out the team this year, with Harry serving as EMcee for the Bridge Day event.

Team members were quickly picked up by the press and photographed and interviewed extensively. Jumpers made an average of four jumps a piece. Jhonny Florez even trained up a student from Brazil between jumps and packing lessons.

The new venue this year proved a much different attraction and the constant rain hampered some efforts of the event but overall everything went smoothly under the direction of Jason Bell and his dedicated staff. If you are interested in more info check out the Bridge Day web page. Jumping photos courtesy of Jason Bell.

Jumper For The Cause FINAL

By Team ILL VISION Teammate, Kris Sosso
Follow up to the Jump for the Cause Event held at Perris Valley Skydiving.


Right now, I am sitting in my kitchen, drinking coffee in beautiful Vallejo, CA typing this post instead of going to work which is completely necessary for me to afford skydiving.
But there is no need for me to try to make you pity me. The week invested for Jump for the Cause was completely worth it, no matter how much pain and suffering- I was a floater (yes, I just had shoulder surgery one year prior) and it was FREEZING in the mornings and 103 degrees by 10AM - such consequences (ha ha).
Being the only current female team member for Team ILL Vision, I represented our team at this charity and world record event.
Jump For The Cause was a fundraising event for City Of Hope supporting breast cancer research as well as a women’s world record in Perris Valley, CA in September 21st through September 27th, 2009. 9 aircraft lifted 180 female skydivers to approximately 18,000 feet with oxygen.

Athletes who qualify to participate in World Records must give up some of their daily comforts in order to do what is best for their team. Whether it be missing sleep, spending a little less time with friends, or simply not having time to just sit down and relax or eat or even go the bathroom. 

Nowhere is this more evident than participating in a World Record- where qualifying for the event, staying current, staying healthy and training is a regular routine. Especially during the event itself- there is little time for leisure or comforts.

At, six thirty in the morning (This means us girls were getting up at 5-5:30AM everyday!), while most jumpers are drooling on their pillows, the women were stretching and gearing up on the creeper pad to prepare for hours of dirt diving, listening to directions, sitting on the ground with gear on, sitting in the planes with gear on, walking back to the DZ from a long spot in 103 degree weather , packing, debriefing, and participating in mandatory dinners/events (often not getting us girls back to our room before 11PM) . 

Though the timing of the early morning dirt dives may be freezing, uncomfortable and tough, we know and feel it is worth it if it means performing well, and that it is not as bad as we make it out to be. But at the time it is miserable….lol…I feel that the hardest part isn't the actual dirt diving, but just working up the strength to get out of bed and repeat the same routine EVERY DAY until the record is made- mentally tough….BUT it’s was all worth it.
What does it take?
Having a good exit off the plane, getting to the formation in a stadium approach and on your radial with no red zone violations.
Docking softly, flying your slot and flying the formation
Eye contact with the base and staying level.
Results?
The 180-Way Women’s World Record was made on September 26, 2009. 


Switzerland 2009 Update!

The International News reporting agency Reuters Interviewed Team Ill Vision, regarding BASE Jumping in Lauterbrunnen Switzerland. In this interview you can see some videos and pictures of Team ill Vision in Action during our last trip to Europe.

Team Ill Vision, was seen in all the mayor Newspapers in the world, from Switzerland to New York to Washington and all over the Internet.
Enjoy
Cya
Madusa

Reuters Net

Washington Post

Comcast

Macleans

Parachutejump.net

Boston

Some other pics at:
Reuters

Satic Stuff

Here we come people, our vision is global!!!!

New Woman's World RECORD!

They did it!
Kris Sosso of Team ILL Vision helps set a new woman's world record with "Jump for the Cause."
Check out the celebration below and check out the website for all the pics and info.
Congrats Kris!

Team ILL VISION Jumping for the Cause!

Kris Sosso sports her new pink suit for Skydive Perris' "Jump For The Cause" event. Jump for the Cause is a fundraising/skydiving event that has several goals:
To raise money for & awareness of Breast Cancer Research
To set new Women’s World Record in Formation Skydiving
To be role models for other women and young ladies
Kris is there lvin' up to it jumping hard, helping with the The event Tweets at JFTC2009 and raising money for Breast Caner. There is tons to check out on themain website including an open blog at http://www.jumpforthecause.com/. Kris will be flying with the beloved "lambchop" on Friday. Avery Badenhop of Team ILL Vision help sponsor the event and Kris Raised money and awareness.
This is one BIG event down in Sol Cal. Take a look at the ever changing webpage and the video below of a very recent jump.

ILL Vision Invades France 2009

Immediately after the team finished with Switzerland, Avery Badenhop lead the team to France with the help of teammate Damien Dykman and Guillaume Richard, both native Frenchmen with tons of experience in the area.
This dynamic duo led us to many of France's hidden treasures while all ten of us stayed at the more then generous couple Stephan and Val, who let all invade their small apartment, just minutes from the biggest cliff site.
Five days of jumping yielded over six different sites. Teammates were challenged with an array of site specific hurdles and everyone learned something new, polished current skills and gained a new respect for French BASE jumpers and their sites.

Video Contest Needs your vote!

Fellow wingsuiter and BASE jumping ILL Vision Teammate “Jimmy Hopper” made a little video, "Leap of Faith" and made the cut for the contest. Video centers around Team ILL Vision’s latest trip to Little CO for some big wall BASE jumping wingsuit action.
Take a quick look and support with a quick vote.

http://reelrocktour.com/#/contest/

Switzerland, Team ILL Vision Europe Tour 2009

Directly after The “T” Mobile demo, Avery Badenhop lead Team ILL VISION to Switzerland for some BASE currency and skills practice armed with brand new Sevens by Asylum Designs. Five days in Lauterbrunnen netted an average 12 jumps per person despite three days of iffy weather and rain.

The highlight of the trip came on day four as the weather broke into bright blue skies. Professional mountain guide Martin Schürmann, of Mountaineering For Everyone, lead the group to the top of the Eiger Mushroom via Air Glacier’s fast and powerful helicopter. Team members made two jumps from the Eiger mushroom and successfully pulled off a 9-way flock.

The majority of jumps took place within the Lauterbrunnen Valley utilizing trains and cable cars and quick walks to exit points. The High Nose and Klettersteig easy access exit points makes them very popular jumps and this summer season was as busy as ever.

Even with two months notice the Team found it hard to find lodging and lucked out packing 10 guys into a few rooms at the familiar and comfortable Oberland Hotel ran by Ursula and Mark Nolan.

In the middle of the trip the team’s presence caught the attention of a Reuters news crew who followed the team their last day of jumping interviewing team member Damien Dykman. The story focused on BASE jumping in the valley and the views and impact on jumpers, farmers and tourism. Stay tuned here for the breaking story.

Many of Swiss’s biggest BASE jumping stars showed up including Matt Gerdes, of Ozone, who helped the team in planning and execution of the Eiger jump. Geraldine Fashnacht even made an appearance. Geraldine is a very well known professionally sponsored snowboarder and her sponsorship has carried over to her BASE jumping career. The elusive and busy Andy West was spotted at the exit points a few times as well as professional climber Dean Potter.

Enjoy the pics. More to come on a professional gallery soon.

T-Mobile Demo over San Francisco

Team ILL VISION organizes 15-way wingsuit formation over San Fransisco August 5, 2009.
Sorry to keep this short. Leaving in four hours to Switzerland with the team.
On a hot tip, Team ILL Vision got the chance of a lifetime to work with Skydiving Innovations who organized the show for "T-Mobile."
The big city demonstration jump brought attention to the launch of the T Mobile's myTouch 3G phone, The colorful show featured 100 skydivers. Three groups formed a "T" in free fall including the 15-way wingsuit formation. I believe it is the largest skydiving demo in US History.
Raise the Sky, Fog Head Stuidos, Flock "U"niversity, Craig O'Brien Photography and others including David Major of Ace Aerial Cinematography participated in the event.
Four Landing areas ranged from a huge field near the famous Golden Gate Bridge, a baseball field and very tight PRO Rated landing areas within the skyscrapers.

HP

Craig O'Brien got the shots. Check them out here.

Check out some of the coverage:
San Francisco Chronicle Pics & Chopper Video

New TV Raw ground to air footage of JP Plaza field canopies and landings. Lots of smoke.

Geek Sugar - Good ground shots. The Show. JP Plaza and more.

Cnet News, Nice ground shots of JH Plaza

RymanTolentino.com Personal Blog. Nice jet, ground to air RW and ground shots, OB, Avery and others.

Pic

Photos by Johnny "madusa" Florez


From Left to Right:
Ed Pawlowski, Ren Huschle, Brian Drake, Jimmy Hopper, Justin Shorb, YoYo, Avery Badenhop, Harry Parker, Kris Sosso, Taya Weiss, Brian Soby, Jeff Nebelkopf and Scott Callantine.

proximity project: soaring, fort funston, ca

Proximity Project: Funston from David Royer on Vimeo.

Team ILL Vision Goes to Switzerland

Recently, I travelled to Switzerland on a mission from Marty at Asylum Designs. First order of business, deliver a new logo Seven to Ueli Gegenschatz, a Swiss Red Bull jumper . And second, jump the hell out of the new Feather, a lightweight version of the Seven from Marty.
After a short train ride from Zurich I arrived in Lauterbrunnen in the Swiss Alps near Interlaken. Lauterbrunnen is surrounded by cliffs ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 feet. Easy access to the cliffs from trams and trains make it a haven for BASE jumpers from all over the world and tourists as well for the magnificent scenery. I quickly met up with Ueli at the Horner pub, and after excitedly hooking up his new canopy he invited me for a jump and off we went. Less than a day in Switzerland and already jumping a sweet 2,000 ft cliff!
Over the next 12 days I jumped as much as possible,making fifty jumps total. The weather slowed me down a few days, but I quickly made up for it as soon as it cleared again. I did over thirty jumps on the Feather, which performed even better than we had expected, and the rest on Seven. Both canopies have a monster flare, extremely slow sink rate, and long glide. As I did more jumps, what amazed me most was the consistency and how easy it is to control the opening speed, even with spectra lines on the Feather. The quick deployments were planned, and soft buttery ones are easy to achieve by rolling the nose more.
All the jumps were amazing, but the two that stand out are a jump from the Eiger, and my final jump of the trip. I was invited up the Eiger by Julien Boulle and Geraldine Fasnacht, both very experienced wingsuit jumpers in town for the Nissan Outdoor Games . We made our way up and around ice covered rock and waited three hours for clouds to clear, time spent talking, laughing, and thinking about jumping through the clouds rather than finding our way back down. Finally the clouds cleared and we quickly jumped. We flew together down through whispy layers of clouds that melded with patches of snow on the alpine below. One of those dream jumps that still gives me shivers when I think about it.
The last few days Avery, Jhonny, and I spent jumping as a team working on flying together, and getting good photos and video. The jumps were great, and we had a great time cruising around the valley looking for mischief and tagging cow bells with Ill Vision stickers.
We finished up the last day with a jump from klettesteig or via ferratta, named for the steel ladder that you climb down to the exit point, and on the advice of a local went to a restaurant at the end of the valley where we feasted on traditional Vienna Schnitzel.
Avery and I had to get up early to catch our flight, but as I was packing the nearly full moon was shining on one of the walls above. The serpent was hungry and I grabbed my rig and ran for the train to Wengen. After reaching the exit I sat for a long time smoking a cigar and gazing into the valley below. The moonlight lit the waterfalls pouring into the valley silver, and the snow covered glaciers at the end of the valley glowed. One of the many amazingly beautiful sights I have been lucky enough to see since starting this sport. The jump was surreal, I relaxed and watched the wall in the moonlight accelerate past and flew out over the valley pulling high to enjoy the view on my last jump of the trip.

Ren Huschle