There is a link on the top of this forum on what wingsuit to buy, which highlights different design aspects on wingsuits. This is one of the mono-wing designs. Some of the aspects are highlighted in that one.
But some stuff on these suits. In terms of wingsurface, its one of the smaller suits that requires you actually fly your body. Where-as a lot of the bigger suits most people choose these days allow you to relax and fly lazy a lot more. And good flyers still get insane glide-ratios and flight times in these suits.
In terms of how it feels. Flying a bigger wingsuit, you are inside a big suit. And you are really flying the big wings. With these smaller mono-wing suits, its more like freeflying. Your arms and legs feel like the direct controll surfaces, and its 100% your body you are flying.
If I really had to name the difference, its the much more responsive flying. In one of these suits, its movements of cms, where-as a lot of the big suits require much larger inputs.
To a degree, the S-Fly Expert (and S-Fly pro even more) are a lot more unstable. Not in a bad way, but meaning you can steer and fly them with minor inputs. Much like the mantis position in RW being more unstable, allowing quicker turns and movement.
A lot of people go to big suits, but (IMHO) a smaller suit allows for much more feedback on what your body is doing. And will give you a much better learning curve.
Most S-Fly suits dont have back inflation, though they do allow for very nice backflying (with practice) The guys from Babylon freefly are a nice example. Though they dont have a ton of wingsuit jumps, their freeflying skills translate to this method of flying directly. Making them very free and manouvreable in the air.
Where-as (having flown most big suits arround) those suits will have you doing much larger/crude inputs to get those same movements, and have you yanking around a load of fabric when you need to collaps some wing during loops/rolls etc.
Though most people at boogies fly flocking suits, a lot of people still choose these smaller suits for camera-flying and other creative stuff. Its truly a joy to fly. The only downside is, that due to bigger and bigger wingsuits, some flocks start flying at an interesting mixture of slow fallrates and slow forward speeds, which is hard to do with these smaller suits if you're not built with a light frame. They require a flock to fly more, with a good amount of forward speed.
Going to France and Spain, this will be close to 75% of all the wingsuits you see out there. Seeing loic fly this suit (be it base, aerobatic or docking with airplanes in flight) is a joy to watch.
PF also developed their aerobatic version of a monowing suit, called the acro with the addition of backinflation, allowing for easier backflying.
Its also a suit (for pre-described reasons) which is often owned by freeflyers, who enjoy just putting on a wingsuit only one in a thousand jumps. Do some creative flying and then just get back to their freefly thing. In terms of body position, is much more like a normal tracking, unlike most 'gripper suits' who have you doing the body-builder style rolled/plams-up armposition.
Its also the first suit to come out with an easy zipper-rigging system (not heaving to thread the cutaway cables every time you put the suit on your rig). TonySuits and Phoenixfly now also offer variations on this system.
Though brands are always a sensetive subject, its safe to say the suits designed more recently such as the V3 are showing a definate increase in the distance flown on each (BASE)jump.
Very good post. Was a good read. But without trying to get in an arguement...
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Definately give em a go if you havent already..
You mean after 200 jumps right?
neeh..thats not trying to get into an arguement..thats just trying to be cool..but I sadly ran out of you rebel you! stickers a long time ago..
I only mention that because, idk if you followed this guys posts at all, but if you encourage him to wingsuit he'll probably do a parachuteless jump where he stands on a tandems back then jumps off and wingsuits away.
Re: [skittles_of_SDC] What wingsuit?
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Can't Post
You had to ask ey...cool..some old fashioned bitching about something other than grids and the officiality of slotperfect formations is always welcome..
Though some may use different standards for teaching, we wont teach anyone with less than 200 jumps and will also not allow anyone with less than the required experience on any jumps we are load organising.
But usually those who do start (way) to early marvel at their own awesome reballious attitude (which to me is just lack of patience and a good showing of willingness to cut corners and not really invest in something they truly want). Which is what I thought you where also hinting at (look! I have low jump numbers..you guys suck).
And my appologies if its not that but the opposite..
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I only mention that because, idk if you followed this guys posts at all
If someone is flying a wingsuit, we (at least I) usually think (hope?) its common sense to follow some minimal safety requirements. Im not here to play police and ask if you fill out your jump profile down to the number (something only people with low jum numbers usually do...next to saying they dont care about numbers) and then beat you to death if its too low or high.
Most low timers Ive met and flown with showed poor awereness, lack of body controll and usually not a clue where they where flying the moment a second person showed up in freefall. Though quite often, those same people have been boasting about how they where 'killin it' and doing an awesome job at making a wingsuit jump with the other person that taught them.
What someone sees as himself being experienced when he or she has 50 jumps, varies as a lot from what he or she will regard as experienced when there are 5000 or more jumps on the counter.
Granted..more experience also wont guarantee a good and safe flight. But it definately ups the odds a lot..
Not aimed at you directly...just the behaviour most 'cool' low experienced firsttimers seem to showcase...so take it as you will
<rant> side subject: What still strikes me as odd (with regards to a few big name load organisers who are also very strict on the jumpnumbers with their FFC students) is that these people seem to have no issues with someone having a lot lower jump-numbers than those THEY THEMSELVES ask doing solos or coached jumps in front or behind a bigway formation. With no clue on weather that person knows how to steer, will pull high in a panic or do anything else that might endanger the rest of the wingsuit flyers/tandemstudents etc on that load.
What kind of credibility do you have as an instructor if you say one thing if somebody wants to fly/train with you. But somebody shows up with half the experience, multiple people ask/warn and urge you to action, and you tell them...'sure..come allong'
Instructor or not..it wouldnt hurt if people stuck to their principles a bit more in those matters</rant>
But usually those who do start (way) to early marvel at their own awesome reballious attitude (which to me is just lack of patience and a good showing of willingness to cut corners and not really invest in something they truly want). Which is what I thought you where also hinting at (look! I have low jump numbers..you guys suck).
I started early (but not way to early) and I doubt those that know me would say that I didn't invest in what I wanted.
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Though some may use different standards for teaching, we wont teach anyone with less than 200 jumps and will also not allow anyone with less than the required experience on any jumps we are load organising.
The real reason for the awesome rebellious attitude.
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Though quite often, those same people have been boasting about how they where 'killin it' and doing an awesome job at making a wingsuit jump with the other person that taught them.
The threads on top of the page, most manufacturers recommenditions, the FAQ stuff on our website. Its all the same. 200 jumps is the bare minimum, and even that is concidered low.
If anyone is serious about flying a wingsuit and wants to try, than he should look up the basic recommenditions and show a little spine and dedication and make those few jumps.
And although I think its wonderfull that you (with your 175) want people to know they need and should have at least 200 hundred jumps before starting, and I fully agree up that point, I how-ever DONT think we should have to specify that with every single post or topic on wingsuits.
The guy asked a question about wingsuits..and like I tell anyone with 5000, 100, 1 or no jumps, heck the lady behind the counter in the supermarket if she asks..definately give it a try...it rocks...
I could post an entire wingsuit FAQ in my sigline..? But we're not all retards I hope? (Yuri excluded from this one..)
Though some may use different standards for teaching, we wont teach anyone with less than 200 jumps and will also not allow anyone with less than the required experience on any jumps we are load organising.
The real reason for the awesome rebellious attitude.
Seeing someone with that same low experience hit another wingsuit flyer so hard arms snap off and nearly break legs changes your views on that one...
And another quite informative thread turned to a crappy discussion about jump numbers...
Guys if you are determined to start earlier, then just do it, but please stop killing threads over it. If you really need the backslapping: Puppy thinks you're awesome!
I thought it was pretty interesting to hear other peoples opinions about the S-Fly Expert (I think it's a fantastic suit) or maybe the ProFly.
Though some may use different standards for teaching, we wont teach anyone with less than 200 jumps and will also not allow anyone with less than the required experience on any jumps we are load organising.
The real reason for the awesome rebellious attitude.
Seeing someone with that same low experience hit another wingsuit flyer so hard arms snap off and nearly break legs changes your views on that one...
What do you consider low experience? I had ~150 tracking dives (practicing acrobatics and back-tracking along with exiting, pattern, and deployment as if in a wingsuit) before donning a wingsuit.
What do you consider low experience? I had ~150 tracking dives (practicing acrobatics and back-tracking along with exiting, pattern, and deployment as if in a wingsuit) before donning a wingsuit.
Id be more interested in hearing your answer on this one when you reach about 10 times the jump numbers you have now.
150 jumps isnt a lot. Period. You can be a bit better prepared than other. But even than..
Why the rush? If you really want something, work for it...
And another quite informative thread turned to a crappy discussion about jump numbers...
Wingsuiting is a new discipline and thus there is going to be constant back and forth on the major issues: when is someone ready, what constitutes a formation, etc...
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Guys if you are determined to start earlier, then just do it, but please stop killing threads over it.
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) of the PF Acro2 and Phantom. 
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