Team ILL Vision Makes Para MAG

Page nine of 2010 October Para Mag, Full Page, CRW Fly By.
Congrats guys!

Please check out our new website!

Team ILL VISION.com

"Courage in Sports Awards" features Team Ill Vision!

By Ed Pawlowski

The "Courage in Sports Awards" is an annual one hour program that will air nationally on CBS November 14th at 2pm PST and 5pm EST. The show will honor and profile athletes who have demonstrated exceptional courage, character, and perseverance in the face of great challenges in order to succeed in their chosen sport.
Past honorees have included professional athletes like former Olympic gold medalist Muhammad Ali, 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, and current MLB All-Star Josh Hamilton. But, the heart of the program lies in the stories that often pass us by and go untold each year. From individual athletes and coaches, to teams and organizations, these unique stories possess the rare ability to inspire hope in ways that few others can.

Intersport Productions was looking for a some of the best wingsuit pilots in the world when they called Ed Pawlowski of WestCoast Wingsuits , and Team Ill Vision fit the roll 100%.
Team Ill Vision will be an abstract element in the show, somewhat helping tie the show together. Shooting the preparation, the ascent, the jump itself, the flight, and the landings are all of what they were looking for.

In the program Team Ill Vision explains an encompassing story arc of what it is to overcome a fear and persevere.
We hope you enjoy the show!
TIV

Wingsuiting the North West Coast Terminal Cliff

By Damien Dykman

Summer's too hot? What about those mountains up North of the West coast to get a little fresh air? Four of us and our close friend Arnel Sanchez decided to go for a quick weekend trip before the end of the season. Not the perfect place for a first wingsuit BASE, but decent enough given his experience wingsuiting and BASE jumping. With Tom and Bill, two friendly locals, we had a good crew going.

Saturday, the weather was great. Low winds, cloud patches. Perfect conditions for Arnel's attempt. But first, you have to earn it with a healthy hike. From 3 years ago, I had remembered it as a mellow 2 hr hike...


Well, at least it wasn't too hot. Perfect hiking conditions. At the exit point, Bill and Tom opened the game by a sweet 2-way to show the visitors how it's done. Brian, Jimmy and Dingo followed with a red & purple 3-way, so that they could shoot ground footage of Arnel's first.











I could feel a bit of tension, but mainly concentration. He was ready to do it. Last radio contact with the boys at the bottom to make sure the cameras were rolling. Arnel did a powerful push that got him flying almost immediately. He took a nice conservative line, carving right towards the dry part of the lake where we land. What a great smile he had on his face after landing, walking towards the rest of the group!

After a quick hike back to the car, we went for a great lunch in the local post office / grocery store / hardware store / restaurant. From the campers hanging out on the lake People to the local shop owners, everybody seemed so nice and friendly.

We took a digestive hike... back to the exit point. That one felt even longer... but again, it was worth it! Though, we had to wait for maybe an hour for the fog layer to clear before being able to jump.

The following day, conditions weren't as cooperative. Good thing there's a small cliff in the vicinity. And what a good excuse to relax instead of going for a long hike again!









To end-up the weekend, our buddy Doug and 2 of his friends took us for a night bungee jumping session from a 200+ ft local bridge. Super quick to set everything up. How do you get back up? Well, what do you think the pickup truck is for? We'll pull from right back on the bridge!

ILL Vision Shark'n the Crew Dogs

More press for Team ILL Vision in Skydive the MAG out of the UK. The Team flew all the makes and models of the Phoenix fly line.
Check it out.

In Loving Memory, Allisyn Beisner-Martinez

August 23, 1973- July 22, 2010

We mourn the loss of Allisyn Beisner- Martinez, and our thoughts are with her husband Nicola, her parents, her family, and the community she was a part of.

In memory of Allisyn's birthday this Monday, Nicola, and the NorCal Skydive Community invited Allisyn's family and friends to Skydance Skydiving in Davis, California, for a celebration of her life.

It was an honor to be a part of the jump where Nicola released Allisyn's ashes, and her beauty and passion was felt.

David Royer.

Allisyn Beisner-Martinez Memorial Jump from David Royer on Vimeo.

The Great Book of BASE

If you or anyone you know has ever wondered what BASE jumping is all about, this is the book. Who is the audience you may ask? The Great Book of BASE was written in a way that appeals to a wide demographic. Whether you are an experienced jumper already or are simply intrigued by video you may have seen on TV or the internet and want to know more, this book has something for everyone. The photography alone is worthy of owning a copy to be placed on your coffee table.

While there are many other BASE related resources out there, this book is special in that so much information has been organized and illustrated in one place. It is hands down the most comprehensive reference you will find about the sport of BASE jumping. Author and fellow BASE jumper, Matt Gerdes, has done a phenomenal job capturing the essence of the sport in his own descriptive and entertaining writing style. The Great Book of BASE is a huge contribution to the sport carrying more positive impact than any other action attempted to since the days of the CJAA. It's brutally honest and portrays the sport in an educational and realistic capacity.

Purchase your copy of The Great Book of BASE or download free sample pages.

Team ILL Vision is honored to have been given the opportunity to contribute photography and writing for this project.

SkyDive the MAG

From the British Parachute Association Magazine!
Congrats guys!

Team ILL Vision International Press

For the past few months Team ILL Vision has gone international with it's press. From Canada to Norway Team ILL Vision antics are being covered by the world.
Attached are some pics from Fritt Magazine from Norway. Over the last year other international magazines have featured the USA based Team ILL Vision, including, Paramag from France, AirPress from Brasil and Skydiver from Austrailia. Team ILL Vision has also been recently covered in Skydive the Mag out of the UK on the July 4th Wingsuit Flyby and the Phoenix suit formation.

Team ILL VISION, livn' up to it!

Thanks for all your support Fans! You rock!

HP

All American Wingsuit Flyby

By Brian Drake
Alternate Team Member

On Saturday, April 24; at the Parachute Center in Lodi, CA; Team Ill Vision, collaborating with a team of local skydivers, planned and executed a wingsuit formation flyby of a 1000 square foot American flag (suspended under canopy); a feat requiring precision timing, group coordination, and flying ability.

The massive American flag was flown by Rex Pemberton, who was jumping at the Parachute Center to prepare for an upcoming public exhibition. While watching Pemberton's practice flag jumps throughout the day, the idea for a wingsuit formation flyby was hatched. A three person wingsuit formation consisting of Brian Drake, Jhonathan Florez and Ed Pawlowski would attempt to fly by the flag while being filmed by wingsuit camera flyer Jade Tatum. Chase Bradshaw volunteered to provide canopy-to-canopy footage.

After designing the flight plan, the safety considerations, and the camera angles, the team boarded the Twin Otter for the sunset load. Due to the fall rate and ground speed disparity between a canopy trailing a 1000 square foot flag and a wingsuit still in freefall, the setup, approach, and flyby offered a very small window of opportunity. With the additional factor of the desired sunset lighting and Pemberton's travel schedule, this was truly a one-take shot.

The canopy pilots (Pemberton and Bradshaw) exited the Twin Otter at 10,000 ft before the plane resumed climbing to normal exit altitude of 13.000 ft AGL. While still in the plane, the wingsuit team watched the canopy team deploy and begin to navigate the agreed flight pattern. Quick thinking and flexibility were brought into play when it was realized that due to the change in wind conditions, the canopy team had reversed their flight direction to maintain landing distance to the dropzone. Wingsuit team leader Ed Pawloski adapted the flight plan to compensate and communicated the revised strategy to the canopy team via one-way air-to-air radio. Confident in Pawloski's leadership, the wingsuit team exited the plane, wearing the signature red and purple Phoenix-Fly wingsuits of Team Ill Vision. Pawlowski led the formation with Florez and Drake flying in slot offset behind him while Tatum flew outside camera.

As the formation completed its setup and began final approach on the flag, all flight skills were brought into play as Pawlowski ably varied fall rate and forward speed to maintain the desired interception angle. With timing the crucial element, the team waited until just the right moment before "punching it out", transitioning their wingsuits into full flight performance as the flag loomed ahead. The 3-person formation rocketed past the Stars and Stripes at a distance that caught each person's breath as the enormity of the flag was appreciated up close and at very high closing speed. As the wingsuits cleared the flag, shouts of exhilaration were heard as each pilot pealed off from the formation to seek their own airspace for safe canopy deployment, while those jumpers watching from the ground exhaled in relief breaths held in nervous anticipation. The energy and excitement was palpable as the team landed, congratulating each other on a job well done. Another vision accomplished for Team Ill Vision.

Another Way to Get High

By Jimmy Hopper

Team Member

Thanks to the introduction and encouragement from teammate, David “Dingo” Royer, paragliding has become one of the mainstays of my weekly routine here in the Bay Area. Our local site, known as Mussel Rock in Pacifica, CA, is a fantastic playground and a host to an eclectic group of pilots. These guys have become like family and we all thrive on the consistent conditions each summer season offers.

After a few years of paragliding I couldn’t help but to be a little envious of all the hang glider pilots who shared the skies with us. Sure, paragliding has its own unique advantages with transportability and ease of set up topping the list. The reality is both sports have their time and place. There’s just something about the maneuverability the hang glider offers. I mean these guys had literally been flying circles around me in my paraglider for years now! A hang glider pilot’s body position during flight is probably what attracted me the most to this new form of flight. Unlike the reclining seated position in a paraglider, the prone position assumed in a hang glider is much more like a bird and likely the closest we will ever get to flying like they do. To me it is reminiscent of flying wingsuits only we can now maintain and gain altitude. What could be better?!

This spring it was time to get on the path and add this skill to the quiver. Friend and fellow wingsuit pilot, Brian Drake, was also eager to learn the sport and we were soon introduced to instructor, Jon Blome. Under Jon’s direction we kicked off our first lesson at Ed Levin County Park where we spent the better half of the day practicing takeoffs and landings on a 50 foot “bunny hill”. All in all the day was a big success and we ended it by taking a test and receiving our Hang 1 rating. Unlike my experience with paragliding, right out of the gate it became evident that there were many more rules and hoops you have to jump through in order to earn the coveted Hang 3 rating needed to fly the most consistent local site, Ft. Funston. Convinced the payoff is going to be worth it, I didn’t let this get to me.

Over the next few weeks Brian, Jon, and I met nearly every Sunday at Ed Levin County Park to keep the momentum going. Once we could demonstrate strong takeoff/ landing skills, ground control of the glider, and the ability to change direction and fly to a target, the next step would be moving higher on the hill to the 150’ launch. To our dismay there were several weeks in a row where wind conditions proved to be challenging and we were confined to the 50’ launch at best. We were beginning to feel like we were stuck and would be “bunny hill” lifers. Right about when frustration was truly setting in, weather cooperated and Brian and I were granted permission to move up to the 150’. We each had 4 good flights and our motivation was restored.

The following weekend was looking promising and we were almost certainly going to have the chance to launch from the 300 footer. This would bring us that much closer to our Hang 2 rating which would allow us to fly a few more places than just Ed Levin. Typical of any three day holiday weekend, the coming Memorial Day weekend presented a myriad of action sport opportunities and the challenge was to figure out how to do it all. Dingo and several experienced hang glider pilots were planning to fly in the Owens Valley to celebrate his birthday, but this was thwarted by a sudden change in the forecast. With conditions looking favorable in the Reno area, a new plan was underway. This region offered something for all skill levels and it soon was agreed that Brian, Jon, and I would join forces with these guys.

A Bump in the Road

We arrived at our friend, Bill Cuddy’s house just south of Reno early that Saturday morning. Due to the amount of gear and number of people in tow, we were a comical caravan of five vehicles, though this didn’t seem to bother Bill. Time was of the essence since temperatures would be rising in an hour or two and would get too rough for Brian and I. We wasted no time and drove a short way to the landing area where we received a thorough briefing of the landing area. We then piled into 3 four-wheel-drive trucks and bounced our way up to the launch that Brian and I were suited to fly. I think I set a new personal speed record for setting up the glider. I did a quick pre-flight inspection, hooked in, and walked the glider to the launch. After a few minutes of assessing conditions we all agreed that they were nice and mellow and perfect for launch. Walk, jog, run and I was off with a strong launch. Almost immediately I felt a tiny bump of lift (rising air) so I pushed out on the bar to milk it for a little more altitude. This was the mistake that would lead to the next series of events.

In accordance with my flight plan discussed with the guys at launch, I initiated a left turn after flying straight for 10 seconds or so and flew along the ridgeline careful not to get too close. The glider suddenly seemed to want to bear left toward the hill so I immediately bumped to the right to point it in a safe direction. Nothing happened. I bumped right again even harder and more deliberate this time. Still nothing happened. The glider continued to come around to the left until I was now flying on a collision course toward the hillside. The terrain was formidable, littered with sage brush and boulder piles. This was all bad as it became obvious this is where I was headed. As the hillside got closer my ground speed became uncomfortably apparent. As a BASE jumper ground rush is a thrill you learn to enjoy and look forward to. In this case I was overcome with a sick feeling because I knew there wasn’t a parachute to save the day.

Just before impact I remembered the stories of crashes I had heard from other pilots. Natural instinct is to maintain a death grip on the control frame all the way into the ground which often is responsible for spiral fractures of the humorous. With this in mind I pushed out on the bar (flared) as hard as I could and let go of the control frame pulling my arms near my body. The wings weren’t perfectly level with the left tip lower than the right. This caused the glider to shoot upward and into a big left turn. With a loud metallic ‘clank’ me and the glider pounded into the hillside like a piano falling from the second story. I was quick to my feet and immediately started assessing myself for injuries. Teeth. Check. Legs. Check. Right arm. Check. Left Arm. Ch…Damn it!! There was a very visible deformity on my left wrist right about where it joins the hand. I let out a shout of disgust with myself which was a signal to everyone standing on the launch that I was conscious and more importantly, not dead.

The guys made their way to me pretty quickly with cameras rolling. I’m not exactly sure what I said but I’m pretty sure it was to the effect of, “summer has been canceled.” The glider turned out to not be damaged that badly with only one down tube bent. The hike on the other hand back up to the top was a bit uncomfortable to say the least. The scratches on my helmet and my face indicated that I had taken a bit of the impact on my head. This would explain why vision started to blur periodically and a break or two was required before reaching the top. At least this time everyone was spared the repetitive questions that are typical of a concussion. Before the inevitable bouncy ride down in the truck, Bill splinted my arm with a stick, a bath towel, and some duct tape.

So back to the mistake and what lesson was learned here. By pushing out on the bar right after launch I reduced my airspeed right off the bat. Instead of letting off of the bar and letting the glider fly I am almost positive that I still had the bar pushed out an inch or two the entire time. There was just enough energy left in the wing to make the left turn but after that there was nothing left to correct back to the right. In hindsight I could have pulled in on the bar generating more airspeed and turned to the right with no worries. Better yet, don’t kill your airspeed so soon after launch and so close to the ground! Let it fly! And in case you’re wondering, I look forward to picking up where I left off.

Big thanks to all of my friends on the trip for going out of their way to help me out. Special thanks to Anne Kroemer and Laure Willams for sacrificing their day to get me to the hospital and for looking after my dog. Thanks to the Cuddy family for opening their home to me and all of our riff raff friends.

Happy birthday, Dingo. This one will be easy to remember.

-Jimmy Hopper

Phoenix-Fly Product Line Challenge

By Ricardo Valbuena
Team Member

Photography by
Iwan van der Schoor

Once again Team Ill Vision has gathered to accomplish another challenge. This time the challenge consisted in Flocking the entire product line manufactured by Phoenix-Fly, Human Flight Innovations.
The challenge came as an idea after super light and skinny Team member Jhonathan Florez realized he was able to generate a fall rate of around 80mph with just the Tracking Suit. The realization prompted Jhonny to call up other team members to see if they could match up their Wingsuits with his Tracking Suit fall rate while staying within proper proximity to make an actual flock.
Practice jumps were called on June 18th and June 19th with just a few members. After a few practice jumps, and going through a process of trial and error, Jhonny was able to dial the right body position and fall rate to make it possible for the Wingsuits to stay within proper and consistent flocking distance.
On Saturday 20th at the Parachute Center in Lodi, California, the challenge was called up. The challenge counted with the presence of most Team Ill Vision members along with participation and collaboration of Aerial Videographer and Photographer Iwan Van Der Schoor and other members of the Lodi Wingsuit community.
An early morning first jump was made with the idea to flock a perfect diamond with 10 Points, including 6 different Wingsuits types led by a Tracking Suit. Only about an 85% success was achieved on this jump mostly due to the distraction generated by anxiety and anticipation among some of the participants. Nevertheless the jump provided the participants all the necessary inspiration and facts to work with in order to make a second successful attempt.
A second attempt was made, and short after exiting the plane a beautiful flock assembled to form a perfect diamond containing every type of Wingsuit and Tracking Suit made by Phoenix-Fly.
Participants included:

Jhonathan Florez, Team Member, (Tracking Suit)
Avery Badenhop, Team Member, (Shadow)
Damien Dykman, Team Member, (Acro)
Ed Pawlowski, Team Captain, (Prodigy 2)
Kristin Sosso, Team Member, (Ghost 2)
David Royer, Team Member, (Phantom 2)
Brian Drake, Team Alternate, (Vampire 3)
Brian Sobe, Team Alternate, (Stealth 2)
Rex Pemberton, Team Alternate, (Phantom 2)
Sean Horton, Team Alternate, (Ghost 2)
Iwan Van Der Schoor, Team Alternate, (Ghost 2 -Photography & Video)
Ricardo Valbuena, Team Member, (Ghost 2 – Aerial Direction & Coordination)

Baffin Island BASE Jumping Expedition

By Katie Hansen
Alternate Team Member


May 15 – April 14 a team of 20 BASE jumpers plus a photographer traveled to Sam Ford Fjord on Baffin Island to discover new exit points to jump from, as well as leap off old favorites. Baffin Island is located in northeast Canada up in the Arctic – the same island where the BASE jump off Mt. Asgard was filmed for the James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me.

The team met in Ottawa then flew north to Iqaluit, boarded a smaller plane and flew into the small town of Clyde River, population 800. We stayed the night in town camped out on the baseball field where kids were excited to take us sledding, ask us questions, and play tag. In the morning we loaded up our big 12 foot sleds the Inuits call “Qamituks” with our gear, piled in, and were taken by a fleet of snowmobiles north into the fjord. Seven bumpy hours later we set up our tents in 30mph wind to establish our base camp.

With camp set, let the jumping begin! Our first jump was off Kiguti, a 3000’ overhanging cliff that camp was set up near. We hiked up a gulley and across a ridge to the exit point in about 3.5hrs kicking steps into the snow the whole way. I made my first wingsuit BASE jump! Flying the Team Ill Vision colors in Jhonny’s (“Medusa”) suit, I had a beautiful first flight. Camp made an awesome reference for scale to judge how high I was since depth perception is a challenge over the frozen sea ice below. Unfortunately, it didn’t help with my first snow landing in awhile. I ended up doing a home-run style slide and put my crampon through the back of my (Jhonny’s) leg wing…sorry Jhonny… It was nothing a little rip-stop tape couldn’t temporarily fix.

With the wing repaired and a string of good weather, we set out each day with different groups of teammates to different exit points all over the fjord. We jumped the Chinese Wall, one of the widest big walls in the world, towering over the fjord at 5000’ with a clear view out to the frozen Atlantic. It was cold and windy on top of this particular exit, making for a stressful gear up. Putting on crampons and stowing ice axes, hiking gloves, radios, stash bags, layers of clothing while sweat dries and fiddling with camera gear with numb fingers, James’ nose dripped onto the metal friction bar of his leg strap which froze instantly. With the friction bar iced over with snot, there was no longer any friction and James had to punch it and beat it to break the ice off, with us laughing while he punched himself. Everyone had awesome flights. I did a sweet 2-way with Douggs, flying left along the wall with Douggs below me.

Overall, we were camped on the sea ice for 28 days, half of which were jumpable. Of the 14 jumps I did, all of them were amazing. I would half to say three of the top jumps though, were Walker Citadel, The Citadel of The Sail Peaks, and Vertical Playground.

Walker Citadel was a 4 hour hike straight up a steep couloir. As we emerged out of the narrow passage, we were rewarded by the breathtaking view from the top overlooking the fjord. Constant antics of Jim Mitchell, Douggs, Livia Dickie, Cato, Ted Rudd, all while trying to follow the crazy Frenchman, Rudy, made the hike fly by. The exit was in the back of a huge bowl over a snowfield thousands of feet below. We flew out over the bowl and made it out between two enormous pillars of rock, then carved around the wall on the left, flying even farther. Livia and Ted Redd went to a different exit point and jumped the main wall of Walker Citadel, opening a new exit point that had never been done before. Livia had a beautiful and long flight, carving back and forth along the wall, and Ted did one of the most impressive tracking jumps (a jump with no wingsuit) that I have ever seen. He was proximity tracking along the ridges! Ted, you are my hero.

The other citadel we jumped was The Citadel, one of the Sail Peaks of Stewart Valley. Ben Mitchell, James MacDonald, Livia Dickie, Rich Webb, Rudy, myself, and our photographer, Krystal Wright, loaded up two Qamituks and set out with the help of our two Inuit guides to leave the fjord and pass into Stewart Valley. Snow conditions were better suited for traveling at night, so with our 24hrs of daylight, we headed out in the evening to face a pass full of rocks and boulders guarding our way. Our guides were able to pick their way through the pass with us in tow, except for one stretch that was just too treacherous. We unloaded from the sleds and using teamwork were able to push the sled over the rock field. After arriving at our destination and setting up camp, we finally crashed around 4:00AM. We slept in and started hiking around 2PM the next day. Judging by the topo map, and with Ben being an IFMGA mountain guide, we decided the best looking way up to the top was up the glacier. The route was growing increasingly windy to avoid crevasses until finally Ben and James said to stay put while they scouted out the best way to proceed. Ben’s exact words were, “This is getting borderline retarded!” So we took his word for it, got off the sketchy glacier of doom, and headed straight up the scree and rocks for the next few thousand feet to the top. It was definitely the direct route.

After an hour of 6.5 second rock drops with a “good push,” aka hucking the rock as hard as we could…we finally found what we were looking for; a 20 second rock drop with a beautiful, easy access exit point directly in line with camp – perfect. We named the exit point, “Qamituk Push” in honor of our epic journey into the valley. James jumped first, tracking, followed by me in my wingsuit, then Ben in his, Rich, and Liv and Rudy did a 2-way bringing up the rear. Everyone had nice long flights over the biggest talus I have ever seen. After we landed, we warmed up, ate some delicious bag food, and broke down camp. Shortly after, Krystal arrived from hiking back down (staying off the glacier) and we did the epic journey back that night, stopping only for a little 3AM bouldering session on one of the rocks guarding our way.

After some rest and a few other jumps, Livia, Wildman, Randy, Jay Moledski, Ben, Cato and I headed up to an exit point called Vertical Playground. It was across the fjord from our main camp, spotting originally from one of the boys while he was relieving himself on the pee ice-sculpture they had made. Every group that had jumped it came back saying it was the best jump in Baffin. 4900 feet and 4.5hrs later after looking over the edge, I could see why it was named Vertical Playground. There were so many potential lines to fly! Ridges and gullies… we had perfect weather; sunshine and no wind. I exited off the diving board rock outcropping, got flying and headed hard right. I dove down steep and mobbed through a gully between the cliff and a ridge. I shot out of the gulley and banked left around the front of the main cliff face then turned right to get away from the wall and fly out over the ice for a safe deployment. So far, this has been my favorite exit point I can recall to date. It blew my mind…

Between the quality of the BASE jumps, the majesty of the fjord, and an awesome crew of jumpers, the Baffin 2010 BASE jumping expedition, lead by Collin Scott, was the best expedition I have ever been on. I can’t wait to go back with the rest of the Ill Vision playas…

--Katie Hansen