Jeb posted earlier on Facebook: "heading to Perris Valley today to test out my new prototype Mirage :) I have been dreaming about this rig for 15 years and now I finally have it :)" As a proud Mirage owner myself, I was just interested if anyone had any further info. Sorry for the confusion.
(This post was edited by CazmoDee on Aug 1, 2012, 6:30 PM)
From Jeb: " The future of wingsuit proxy is here! The container is the size of a Mirage G3 170. We were able to fit a Flix 266 Ultra Light in. Soon it will be setup for proxy flying after tests in the sky"
I found that from a couple months ago when he first posted this picture.
Besides the fact that he fit a larger canopy into a smaller size container I know nothing. The thing i could imagine it changes the size of container takes up alot less room than needed with a larger canopy. Means more aerodynamic.
From Jeb: " The future of wingsuit proxy is here! The container is the size of a Mirage G3 170. We were able to fit a Flix 266 Ultra Light in. Soon it will be setup for proxy flying after tests in the sky"
I found that from a couple months ago when he first posted this picture.
Besides the fact that he fit a larger canopy into a smaller size container I know nothing. The thing i could imagine it changes the size of container takes up alot less room than needed with a larger canopy. Means more aerodynamic.
It sounds like he is trying to come up with a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
Jeb posted earlier on Facebook: "heading to Perris Valley today to test out my new prototype Mirage :) I have been dreaming about this rig for 15 years and now I finally have it :)" As a proud Mirage owner myself, I was just interested if anyone had any further info. Sorry for the confusion.
Looks like a normal mirage from that view. Prototype can mean a lot of things.
From Jeb: " The future of wingsuit proxy is here! The container is the size of a Mirage G3 170. We were able to fit a Flix 266 Ultra Light in. Soon it will be setup for proxy flying after tests in the sky"
I found that from a couple months ago when he first posted this picture.
Besides the fact that he fit a larger canopy into a smaller size container I know nothing. The thing i could imagine it changes the size of container takes up alot less room than needed with a larger canopy. Means more aerodynamic.
It sounds like he is trying to come up with a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
Sparky
I hope it isn't a 'disguised' base rig with no reserve, giving the larger main size. It would be really shit to sneak a non tso single canopy system onto a plane and then bounce.
Given the statement that a container that normally houses a 170sq ft system has a close to 300sq ft system in it, what are the options?
- No reserve, just a large main - Large main and tiny reserve - large reserve and tiny main
I don't see what is so crazy about suggesting that it 'might' be option 1.
There are enough people in the sport willing to put themselves first and worry about the consequences for others as an afterthought.
do you think that a major manufacturer would put their arse on the line ? my wild arse guess is something like option 2, maybe also with different materials to save some bulk (and keep the extra space for the main canopy). Maybe also some alternative deployment system for the main ?
well I got a 205 F111 freepacked in a MT (designed for a 120 sq ft 9 cell ZP canopy)
and the flik is probably made with ultralite material which packs 2 sizes smaller than regular f111. so a 266 is equivalent to a 225 F111 which is probably easily equivalent to a 170 9 cell ZP + dbag.
I do also find it interesting that the main pack tray appears to be elongated. Perhaps there is more to it that first appears...longer main pack tray with freepacked ultralight base canopy + tiny optimum reserve
less drag due to elongated pack tray (lays flatter against back) + low weight due to small reserve volume
it would be fun as hell to jump this out of a plane near a gorge or some mountain...I'm sure it opens up a lot of proximity flights that are not possible with base exits (base you need at least 600-800 feet of vertical to get started I guess depending on flying skills)
this way all you need is a plane and you can proximity fly any mountain in the world that has a good run (but lacks a vertical cliff). Proximity flying in the Karakoram anybody???
I've also always thought it to be spectacular to proximity fly Aconcagua.
It appears the ratio of the reserve to main container may be different. The same overall size but the relative container size changed. But I don't have one to compare it to.
The pic tells everything....BASE Flik ultra light with a reserve (we can see flik deployment and reserve flaps still closed)
But whats the difference between this and Sorcerer old BASE Reserve containers? They even discontinued Sorcecer because people were getting killed by the reserve...
I believe that BASE is safier without reserve, otherwise sorcerer would not been discontinued.
But whats the difference between this and Sorcerer old BASE Reserve containers?
The Sorcerer wasn't TSO'd, and the Sorcerer had a pull-out style reserve PC mounted in a pouch on the outside of the reserve container, with a pud mounted on your shoulder. Those would be the two biggest differences.
The pic tells everything....BASE Flik ultra light with a reserve (we can see flik deployment and reserve flaps still closed)
But whats the difference between this and Sorcerer old BASE Reserve containers? They even discontinued Sorcecer because people were getting killed by the reserve...
I believe that BASE is safier without reserve, otherwise sorcerer would not been discontinued.
But whats the difference between this and Sorcerer old BASE Reserve containers?
The Sorcerer wasn't TSO'd, and the Sorcerer had a pull-out style reserve PC mounted in a pouch on the outside of the reserve container, with a pud mounted on your shoulder. Those would be the two biggest differences.
+1.
It worked well, too. I'm the guy in Mike McGowan's movie who cuts away at 250 feet on a Sorcerer at an early 1990s World Freefall Convention. Mike was behind me under canopy and the interesting thing about the shot is that there is no sky to be seen -- just green. Still had an almost 10-second canopy ride.
One of the main objections to the Sorcerer at the time was all the "smart" people who said it was dangerous because it had a pin closure instead of velcro. Now, of course, pin-closed BASE rigs are the standard, especially for wingsuiting.
Also, contrary to the assertion of another poster, only one guy got killed jumping a Sorcerer and IIRC it had more to do with the reserve canopy than anything about the container system.
The primary reason for discontinuing Sorcerer production was lack of demand; the system was designed when BASE jumping was still a pretty new and not-yet-popular sub-discipline and a lot of peeps didn't like the notion of jumping with only one parachute.
But as more and more people started BASE jumping, and each one made more and more BASE jumps, it became clear that one parachute was enough, so people lost interest in 2-parachute BASE rigs.
It's hard to imagine now, but in 1980, 100 BASE jumps was a lot, and even in 1993, when the rig's inventor Mark Hewitt became the first to make 1,000 BASE jumps, there were few people in the world with more than 200. *
Now, of course, there are some guys with 2,000, a significant number with 1,000, and a bunch with 500 or more -- and the number of BASE fatalities that "could have been prevented" by having a reserve are statistically insignificant.
The purpose of the BASeR and, now, the MiraJeb is so that BASE jumpers generally and wingsuit BASE jumpers in particular can hone their skills from airplanes with the same rig (or at least the same canopy) they want to jump with from fixed objects -- without having to have a "big-boy" rig in order to jump with their BASE canopy from an airplane.
Another intended feature of both systems was to eliminate the need to have a BASE rig AND a skydiving rig. There were several reasons that didn't happen with the BASeR; we'll see how it goes with the MiraJeb.
44
* I was jumping with Mark at the time, and every time we launched, he'd say "another world record!" because at that time he did in fact break the record for most BASE jumps with every one he made.
I still don't see what's so special about it. Can't you freepack a BASE canopy into any skydiving rig that will fit it?
Yes, but...
Most rigs that will fit a 260+ BASE canopy also have a very large reserve because, as I explain above, they're "big boy" rigs meant for larger and/or older jumpers who want or need a large main AND reserve.
Accordingly, the container system component relationships remain more or less constant; they're just scaled up.
As I understand the MiraJeb, its main container accommodates a "big boy" sized main but has a "normal" size reserve container.
Accordingly, this requires some re-engineering because the main contianer is scaled up but the reserve container isn't.
This kind of re-engineering can seem pretty simple on its face, but can create some serious unk-unks for the unwary.
A case in point, which I've described on other threads: Years ago, Rigging Innovations made a modified version of one of its rigs (the Talon, I think) with a narrower-than-standard reserve container to accommodate the gnerally narrower shoulders of women jumpers.
In so doing, they changed the reserve flap geometry and relationships a little -- just enough to increase the amount of pilot chute spring force required to push past the flaps.
This went unnoticed until Rose Karam had a hard pull on her main and the reserve wouldn't open when she "went silver."
Fortunately, she refused to die and clawed open the flaps and survived without injury.
More fortunately, they duplicated the failure on the packing table and then fixed the problem by upgrading the pilot chute spring.
So while the MiraJeb might appear to be a pretty standard Mirage, a lot of thought and tinkering probably went into making it BASE-canopy friendly without planting any landmines to be discovered later.
Whats the point of having a MiraJeb when you cant even get to the handles anyway?
So you can jump your BASE canopy from an airplane with a TSOed two-parachute rig that complies with FAA regulations -- none of which include any language about handle access.
Beyond that, even most BASE-specific wingsuits do have handle access.
Whats the point of having a MiraJeb when you cant even get to the handles anyway?
So you can jump your BASE canopy from an airplane with a TSOed two-parachute rig that complies with FAA regulations -- none of which include any language about handle access.
Beyond that, even most BASE-specific wingsuits do have handle access.
44
I get that, low profile rig that fits a large canopy. But why use it for base, just the fact that the risers run down the side and have to both clear the container evenly greatly increases the chances of line twists. Also, wouldn't this increase the chances of tension knots when half of the line set is pulled out of the tailpocket faster then the rest?
I know one very active base jumper who has been jumping a flick light 188 free packed into a mirage container for a while. Not sure of the reserve size but given that it is near identical in size of his other rig (packed with a storm 120) I would assume it is a normal sized reserve. Maybe he will chime in? ... so looking at jebs rig how is it new or interesting?
Lots of people have and will continue to do so -- and for far fewer $$$. This is just another marketplace choice.
In reply to:
What's wrong with having a big reserve?
Absolutely effing nothing! My skydiving reserves are actually much bigger than my skydiving mains because, you know, they are lifesaving devices, not fashion accessories, so I want something that's gonna be able to do that job even if I can't help.
Whats the point of having a MiraJeb when you cant even get to the handles anyway?
So you can jump your BASE canopy from an airplane with a TSOed two-parachute rig that complies with FAA regulations -- none of which include any language about handle access.
Beyond that, even most BASE-specific wingsuits do have handle access.
44
I get that, low profile rig that fits a large canopy. But why use it for base, just the fact that the risers run down the side and have to both clear the container evenly greatly increases the chances of line twists.
Riser covers in and of themselves do not "greatly" increase the probability of line twists -- if they increase that probability at all. And as you may have noticed, many if not all modern single-canopy BASE rigs come with... riser covers.
Wingsuits increase the chances of line twists way more than riser covers.
Bad body position at deployment increases the chances of line twists way more than riser covers.
In reply to:
Also, wouldn't this increase the chances of tension knots when half of the line set is pulled out of the tailpocket faster then the rest?
Not necessarily, but somebody who's studied the whole tension knot thing will have to provide the details on this one.
Actually was not referring to the riser covers. Which at least on my perigee are designed so that the tuck flap is all the way down at the large three ring providing little to no resistance to the risers during deployment.
I would be more concerned about the riser channel next to the reserve as it would have a much greater impact on loading over a greater length of the riser. Compounded by the use of wider risers and likely a big grab or maybe even WLO toggle.
During most wingsuit deployments you are a good distance from object strike and should have some time to deal with any issues. But the reserve will be of little to no use. So why bother with it in the BASE environment. I totally understand using it to skirt FAA requirements from aircraft for low altitude deployments in places where there are no restrictions on opening altitude, but the benefit seems to end there.
Thanks, but why not just get a big boy rig? What's wrong with having a big reserve?
It seems the reserve is there for legal compliance, not actual use. It makes sense if you are deploying too low for a reserve to be any good, why bother with the extra weight? May as well have a 20 square foot reserve
photo-3.jpeg
