Vampire RACE

[Bluhdow 31]

This was posted up on basejumper. Very cool look into the new suit, with video.

http://mineralchicken.wordpress.com/vampire-race-quick-test/

Hopefully he does one on the power too.

Enjoy.

*Edited to add clicky.

Apex BASE
#1816

[hjumper33 0]

That was a really nice and what appeared to be unbiased review. I'll be interested to see what other people think about the fins. Does seem like this is one of the biggest redesigns of a vampire ever ( no leg pouch, different vents, larger, no Mylar, fins) I do like to see that good ideas seem to be getting shared across the board when it comes to vent design which is definitely a safety issue.

[Mikki_ZH 0]

I did some jumps without fins (mostly on skydives) and some jumps with the fins.
I feel very comfortoble without the fins.
But on very agressive turns you feel that the fins help. The legwing feels a bit like on rails.

Michi (#1068)
hsbc/gba/sba
www.swissbaseassociation.ch
www.michibase.ch

[johnmatrix 21]

Yep - great review.

[matt_f_001 0]

The suit is a beast and has a ton of range. I was able to get a few jumps on one this weekend and will write more when I can get another 20-30 jumps on it (just so I am not that guy that raves about the best this or that with no experience). I have always liked the PF style of flying and it maintains that feel, just with a ton of power.

[freedom1 0]

I'd be pretty interested to know the key performance differences between the power and the race. Though they are a different cut they seem to both be going after a similar performance envelope. Is it simply that the power has more float? It sounds like they are both precise in terms of maneuverability with ferocious forward speed….

any insight would be appreciated.

[mccordia 73]

Both are agile suits, and in my experience (about 100 or so jumps on the final model of the Venom Power, about 20 or so on the V-Race) the Vampire Race has a bit of a steeper angle of attack and is more geared towards agility. It has a definite edge on the Venom Power in terms of speed and maneuverability.

The Venom Power is slightly better in terms of glide, and (if wanted) can also handle slightly slower modes of flight (XRW etc) with ease. But also a monster for speed, and easy to swoop/dive etc.

So roughly it breaks down to
V-Race - Bit of a plus on agility
V-Power - Bit of a plus on glide

But both suits are already high end performance, and super easy to manouver and milk for speed, time or glide.
Within the team at PF, half jumps/favours the V-Race while the other half sleeps with the Venom on. So its mostly depending on personal preference.

If you're coming from a V4 / V5, the V-Race will for sure more fit the flying style you're used to. For me the Venom-Power is my weapon of choice. And awesome fun to fly...

http://youtu.be/lDKfojXF4tg

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[uberchris 0]

jarno-
not sure whats up, but looking on the PF website today i noticed that the venom (didnt say anything about the V power), has the "3-wing release system"......the 3-stage release similar to the escape sleeve i think.....

whats up with this? is this going to be something available on all the suits? i was under the impression that PF wasnt going to utilize any type of escape sleeve???


http://www.phoenix-fly.com/products/wingsuits/venom_wingsuit___phoenix_fly

gravity brings me down.........

[Thijs 0]

uberchris

jarno-
not sure whats up, but looking on the PF website today i noticed that the venom (didnt say anything about the V power), has the "3-wing release system"......the 3-stage release similar to the escape sleeve i think.....

whats up with this? is this going to be something available on all the suits? i was under the impression that PF wasnt going to utilize any type of escape sleeve???


http://www.phoenix-fly.com/products/wingsuits/venom_wingsuit___phoenix_fly

That is the old venom you are looking at. I dont think there is a detail page about the Venom Power and V-Race yet. PF is getting a new site next month I think. Should have more info on it after that.

[skydiverek 61]

JC - where does Viper fit into this?

[hjumper33 0]

It'll still be available for those who want an enormous and barely controllable suit. Zing!

Just kidding, both new suits look pretty sick. Well done pf.

[mccordia 73]

Quote

JC - where does Viper fit into this?

The viper is quite a bit bigger than both suits, and in terms of glide and slow fallrates a suit flown by quite a few in base and skydive, including several top scores in the various GPS based competitions. Not a beginner suit in handling, but judging the acro/xrw and swoopy flying some where doing it, by all means a fun suit to fly if you have the right experience.

But in the new V-Range suits, we've achieved similar performance and increased agility/ease of flying, with decreased wingsize and a fully redesigned thinner and more aerodynamic wing profile. Creating safer and more agile suits, with a higher level of performance has been the main focus.

A new phoenix-fly website is currently in the works, with updated color designer, suit features and full presentation on the new PF range for 2014 and onward.
More news on that soon.

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[Bluhdow 31]

"A new phoenix-fly website is currently in the works, with updated color designer, suit features and full presentation on the new PF range for 2014 and onward.
More news on that soon."

Any updates here? Looks like the PF site hasn't been looked at in a long time.

Apex BASE
#1816

[martin245 0]

Bluhdow

"A new phoenix-fly website is currently in the works, with updated color designer, suit features and full presentation on the new PF range for 2014 and onward.
More news on that soon."

Any updates here? Looks like the PF site hasn't been looked at in a long time.

A good thing takes time, i suppose.

[johnmatrix 21]

I would like to see on the updated website a personality test that answers "Which wingsuit are you?"

[mccordia 73]

We'll add that, as well as a 'he put on a nylon suit, and you wont believe what happened next'.

We're at the end of the design phase and hope to start adding content asap.
We're hoping the company has the design and website done and online in 3 / 4 weeks.

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[SamLaming 0]

hjumper33

That was a really nice and what appeared to be unbiased review. I'll be interested to see what other people think about the fins.

Copying this from FB but:

"I have a V5 with a Race legwing and after getting curious and taking off the fins today - whilst the suit isn't really that difficult to fly without them, anyone saying the fins are a gimmick/aren't a noticeable deserves laughter or an education on the matter - If you don't believe me, I bet you also haven't tried it ;)

It basically turns a serious suit in to a suit that feels like a Phantom in context of handling. Very, very excited to try the fins on my Viper in a week or two to see how much a VERY intense suit can be tamed by 2 little aluminium blades."

Really does make the suits easier AND more agile to fly. Am going to be trying some hard turns in BASE environment soon over a line I've done multiple times to contrast.

[johnmatrix 21]

mccordia

We'll add that, as well as a 'he put on a nylon suit, and you wont believe what happened next'.

...

[cut to video of person talking excitedly in bar with their arms out in flying position]