Another great trip to Oshkosh...

It was awesome long weekend at AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI. Several days with my eyes to the sky...

One of my favorite things about Oshkosh is sitting down and leaning back along the flight line to watch and listen as a variety of planes fly overhead.

I can hardly wait to get up there and fly myself.

On Thursday & Friday, I got to spend time with my good friend Erik. We had such fun hanging out and catching up. It's inspiring to hear about all the things he's working on as well as his new projects in development. There's a really cool one currently in the works and I look forward to seeing it come to fruition and supporting his efforts. Many thanks to him for some amazing Oshkosh memories.

Spent Friday afternoon at the Sea Plane Base - a peaceful little oasis on the shores of Lake Winnebago where you can sit by the water and watch the Sea Planes fly-in and fly-out. Apparently, it's the custom for base visitors to climb the tent pole. Well, I didn't want to appear ungracious...and it was a Friday.

Prepped and ready...

Climbing up...

At the top...

Showcasing a trick or two that I learned at Crunch Fitness...

Heading down.

What happens at Oshkosh stays at Oshkosh...out of respect for the privacy of others, I won't be sharing anything more.

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to hear my hero, General Chuck Yeager, speak on Saturday.


I could sit and listen to him tell his stories all day long. He reminds me so much of my Grandpa. The way they relay a story - both straight shooters and calling it like they see it. Kind of all over the place at times but always captivating. And they have the same kind of hands. Mechanical engineer's hands - big, somewhat clumsy with little things like watch dials but safe and strong and able to fix just about anything. For a little over an hour while sitting in that pavilion, it felt as if the heartbreaking distance separating Heaven and Earth just disappeared; sensing a closeness to Grandpa that I only ever feel while I'm on horseback in the Sonoran Desert watching the sun rise over the Catalina Mountains. It was really great.

I enjoyed the rest of my day walking the grounds, making friends, learning so much from fellow aviation enthusiasts and picking out my favorite plane. This sweet little vintage 1947 model 35 Bonanza caught my eye...

It's likely no surprise to anyone that I fell for this classic...I'm a girl who loves shiny things.

Another highlight was watching the F-22 Raptor make several flybys in the afternoon airshow. I was on my cell catching up with my friend Angie during the demonstration but managed to take some video for her sons, my little nephews, Benjamin & Cameron. Boys, we'll keep working on your Mom & Dad and maybe next year you can join me here. In the meantime, these clips are for you...

Listen closely near the middle of this next clip and you can hear me tell Ang, "God, I love this!!!"

Now if all that weren't enough to make the weekend memorable my boys, Murray (left) & Ira (right), had a nice little message waiting for me when I arrived home...

No doubt pet sitter Robin helped them with construction. A great big "thank you" to her for always taking such good care of my little love bugs while I travel.

No trapeze tonight. Our class was canceled due to rain.

"Throw your Heart over the bar...

...and your body will follow!" - Trapeze Artist name unknown

In my last post I mentioned the Pullover Shoot. This was my "Go To" trick last Summer and it took me a good 10 weeks (and a lot of bruising) to finally nail it. When done well, it is really quite elegant. I threw it best at the September 2006 show...soaring three feet over the bar.

I don't have that clip available. So to show you what the trick looks like, here's one from our trapeze getaway weekend in Kent, CT last August. Throwing to catcher Randy, our timing is near perfect. Watch how smooth our catch and apron work is...

High Energy!!!

The next time I mention losing my "PEP", just remind me to head on over to "Club Beautiful" (SCLA-61) for Grasshopper's class - 60 minutes of intense cardio and weight training. It's an absolute "sweat fest" but an amazing workout!!! Highly motivating and exactly what I needed!!!

Now before anyone (and you know who you are) says "Jennifer, why do you do that? Why do you let your body dictate how your mind feels?" I know. Let me just say that sometimes even Ambassador's of Fitness have moments of weakness.

Amanda & me

The 2007 Sunday Night IFW lives up to the reputation set last year for this time slot...good fun, great friends and lots of laughter!

Me, Amanda & Judy

It was a beautiful night to fly. Temperatures in the 70's, no humidity and clear skies gave way to a beautiful sunset over the Hudson.

Many have asked, "Jen, I know you climb a ladder to get 35 feet up to the Board and then you jump. But how do you get down from the net?" Here are some shots of fellow flyer Colleen showing the process...

After we land into the net, we take off our safety lines and walk them over to the area under the Board.

Here's instructor Jeff S. on the Board fishing up the safeties with next up Doe "LISTO" (i.e., ready) to fly.
Then it's our Rollover off the net. Here's instructor Hal spotting Colleen.

Hal is about 5'5" maybe 5'6" so you can see that the net is about 9 1/2'-10' above the ground. You may remember last year...for the longest time, I couldn't figure out why I had bruises on my hip bones. (This was well before I started working my pullover shoot which left me bruised from midriff to thighs.) Well, they were from the Rollover.

An added bonus of Trapeze...changing clothes at home after class and spotting all the bruises. It's a game trying to figure out WHEN and HOW you managed to get a bruise THERE!!! Arnica gel surely helps.

Another sure thing in Trapeze...the RIP. A RIP occurs when the skin on the palm of our hands literally rips open; often a result of blistering and usually happens while working our swing. Our little Amanda got her first rips tonight. Here's Nurse Judy tending to them with tape from my First Aid/Emergency Pack - fully stocked including: tape, wraps, Arnica gel, ice packs, antibiotic creams, BandAids, alcohol swabs, gauze, etc...

Here's Mike, Amanda and Judy making fun of me and my First Aid/Emergency pack which is located in the front pocket of my flight bag.

Given to me during my first Zero G mission; it's a great bag...lots of pockets for "stuff". The middle pocket is used for a clean change of clothes and snacks. While the rear pocket is the place to store my safety belt, towel and trapeze slippers (i.e., I'll take things that might be smelly for $100, Alex). Always organized and always prepared....I am my Grandy's & Grandpa's granddaughter!!!

Special thanks to instructor Jeff S. for the amazing shoulder stretches. I've been having a lot of trouble with my right shoulder but his advice has proved very helpful in improving my flexibility.

The sun is setting earlier each week. We may not have many more videos of our catches. But I think this one, being in silhouette, looks pretty cool. There was time for only one catch tonight, it's my "Go To" split catch to Jeff S. I'm holding good position to make the return but no bar was thrown.

Thanks to fellow flyer Rachel for taking tonight's video (and cheering).

It was a great night of flying!

Sunday July 15 IFW Update - A bad day on the Trapeze is still better....

...than a good day doing just about anything else!!!

I'm not sure what was going on today. It could have been an adrenaline crash; past few days have been REALLY COOL!!! Or it could have been because I've strayed from my meal & supplement plan; not properly fueled. All I know is I looked everywhere but I just couldn't find my "PEP". My flying was completely FLAT. I was loose throughout most of my swings and really struggled to hold my positions, a sure sign of fatigue.

TSNY Catcher's Trap

Both Jeff S. and Hal spent time up in the Catcher's Trap. A huge bonus as we usually get just 2 catch attempts. Today we got 4! And on the Board, TSNY staffer Ross is learning how to throw us the return bar. So while we practiced our return positions, he practiced his throw timing.

Here's my "Go To" trick, a Split catch to Jeff S....



Our Catch timing is improving but we're still working our Apron and Return timing. Defn: The Apron is the area at the far end of the net where the flyer and catcher swing out over as one. Of course, it didn't help that my Apron work is really sloppy here, very loose. And we call that move at the end "Floppy Girl".

We finally figured out our timing and caught my Whip but the safety lines snagged and slowed us down. It happens.

Then it was time to change Catchers. Jeff S. came down and our beloved Hal took his place. Others simply climb a rope to get to the Catcher's Trap, but not our Hal...

He's such a Rock Star!!!

The Catcher transfer took place just as Judy, my sister by heart, was on Board awaiting her next turn. Here she is waving to us all on the ground.

Thankfully it was Judy and not me stuck up there for 10 minutes. To this day, I still hate climbing that ladder and waiting on the Board to take off. I tolerate the climb because I know that I must in order to fly...but I don't have to like it. Judy absolutely loves it up there. She's much braver than me and would hang out there all day - and on the fifth rise no less - if they'd let her. Judy's dusted off her Set Split and it's looking really great...



Next up, I threw my Whip to Hal...



Timing is everything. It takes a while for a Catcher and Flyer to really sync up. This is the first time I've thrown this trick to Hal and we're figuring it out as we go.



I didn't have anything left to give on this jump. But we're still tweaking things here and there and always moving forward.

A parting shot...

"Friends are Angels who lift us up to our feet when our own wings have trouble remembering how to Fly"

Friday, July 13 - I love days like this!!!

G Force One was in town looking absolutely gorgeous. I had the great privilege of spending my day "floating" with my Zero G friends and an awesome group of flyers - smart, interesting, enthusiastic and fun; they were so much fun!

I may be a little "Mama Bear" biased but my Blue team totally rocked! They were flipping and flying and spinning and soaring like absolute pros. I love guiding my teams as they transform from nervous and somewhat reserved to giggling with smiles as big as the sky.

It brings me such joy to be a part of this experience. A thousand thank you's to my dear friend Peter and his team; whose vision, diligence, hard work and sense of adventure makes this all possible.

Today was a really great day!!!

FIVE TIMES BIGGER!!!

Another great night at our little rig in Brooklyn...

After two decent half-turns but no success getting back on the Board, Dino pulled me aside and said "Jen, whatever you think you need to do to mount that Board...do it FIVE TIMES BIGGER. Exaggerate your movements and get there!" Here's what happened next...



That's what I needed to hear...thanks Dino! Listen, you can hear me tell Manny "That was Awesome!" And hear Jeff yell up from the ground that I should have reached across my body (with my right arm) to grab the left cable. And if you look closely at the end you'll see my "Happy Dance". It felt so easy, so smooth, so natural. As if it were meant to be.

Thanks to fellow flyer Maryam for shooting the video.

Happy Birthday TSNY!!!

This week marks the fifth year anniversary of the Trapeze School of New York's grand opening. The video highlights the beauty of the rig in her new location - high atop Pier 40, along the Hudson River. It's my split catch to Hal; no return bar (newbie working the Board).

I am forever grateful to TSNY for creating a place where fears are conquered, dreams are realized, and wonderful friendships are made. Here are some shots from our 2007 Sunday Night IFW taken during the first two classes...

First class of the Season - Judy, Amanda & me

2006 Sunday IFW "Leftover Ladies" - Rachel, Amanda, me & Judy

Our #1 Supporter is Amanda's Dad Mike - Amanda, Mike, me & Judy


"Goofy Faces" - Instructor Hal, me & Lidia