Wingsuiting gear questions

[BobxMarley 1]

Wingsuiters. How many of you have a separate rig just for wing-suiting? I've reached a point where I want to downsize my main for traditional freefall jumps but keep my Safire 2 159 (1.25WL) for wingsuiting. I'm sure others have run into the situation. I don't want to exceed that 1.3WL mark for wing-suiting and I believe swapping canopy's all the time can create additional risk. However, the alternative of having to buy a whole new rig is expensive.

Has anyone found themselves in this situation? If so, what do you recommend? Thanks in advance!

Klaasic

[virgin-burner 1]

i jump a 119er saphire 2 at about 1.5, i just bought a long bridle since i've got a havoc, i hope this will cure the offheadings and linetwists. if not, i might ask the same question as you do now. or one of them stowless bags maybe?

Edit: why dont you ask in the WS-forum?

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[roostnureye 2]

I jump a 120 @1.4 but it's a spectre.
Big suits, small suits.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[Elisha 1]

My rig was built (years ago) for my Sabre1-120 (loaded @1.4).

I have a crossfire2-99 (@1.8) I like to jump, but try to stick to the Sabre1 for wingsuiting (avoid line twists etc). They are both on risers/d-bag, store the one I'm not using in one of those PD demo bags (you can buy from the PD website), and swap out in 5 minutes or so when I want.

[Anachronist 2]

If you just want to downsize but aren't working toward swooping you can jump something smaller but with consistent WS friendly openings. Below 135 it starts getting questionable no matter what you jump though, at least from what I've seen.

Stuff I've seen go down to 135 and be ok (with a competent pilot and appropriate experience of course) Pulse, Prime, Storm, Spectre, Pilot, and Saber2. There are people also WSing small Zulu's but I don't think that is wise and have seen a couple chops attributed to its small size and opening characteristics, also if I'm not mistaken Aerodyne also does not recommend it.

If you want to swoop and WS you could swap canopies and to address your concern, only do it once per day. i.e. "this is going to be a WS day or a swoop day, not both." Swapping a canopy not under stress or trying to make a load isn't a big deal and if you also pack and inspect then you add 20min but reduce the chances of hooking up something wrong considerably.

If you want to hard core swoop and WS, yeah, you should have 2 rigs.

Worth mentioning but not at all officially condoned as far as I'm aware, is some folks are jumping small (~113/143 sq ft) Optimums that have a PCA as their main. Lets them WS a container that will also hold a small cross braced wing. But how one goes about getting a OP with a PCA to own I do not know. The people I've seen do it have connections in the industry or potentially added the PCA themselves (I'm quite sure PD is not ok with this ).

[lyosha 46]

Buy an optimum, request PD to put a pilot chute attachment point on it.

If that fails, a competent master rigger could probably sort you out.

[mathrick 2]

I know some happy 120 WS users, at least one is Spectre (along with a 135 Sabre 2, of all things, although I believe Spectre was bought as the WS-specific replacement for Sabre 2). Also a Storm (though that one might be 135, I can't recall now).

As for the Optimum, PD have many demo reserves to be hooked up as mains that they ship out regularly, so it's not exactly an unknown for them. I can't imagine they'd have many qualms about selling you one, at least if you satisfied them that you're going to be wingsuiting seriously. Otherwise I can see how they'd want to avoid potential hassle down the line when someone complains about durability. But there's already a WS-specific F111 7-cell (Squirrel Epicene), so WS folk are already willing to make sacrifices to get more reliable openings.

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[lyosha 46]

There are non-negligible arguments for asking PD to put a bridle attachment point on an OPT - based on second hand information, the fabric that the OPT is made from appears to be more durable long-term than the fabric Epicene is made from.

The OPT fabric supposedly lasts for > 1000 jumps on PD's demo canopies. Squirrel says theirs lasts for ~700 jumps.

And, not least importantly, an OPT is $500 cheaper.

Personally I'm waiting to see what wingsuit specific canopies come out. One of them just might get me to switch from my Sabre1...

[wasatchrider 0]

lyosha

There are non-negligible arguments for asking PD to put a bridle attachment point on an OPT - based on second hand information, the fabric that the OPT is made from appears to be more durable long-term than the fabric Epicene is made from.

The OPT fabric supposedly lasts for > 1000 jumps on PD's demo canopies. Squirrel says theirs lasts for ~700 jumps.

And, not least importantly, an OPT is $500 cheaper.

Personally I'm waiting to see what wingsuit specific canopies come out. One of them just might get me to switch from my Sabre1...

Ill never give up my sabre 1

BASE 1519

[DoZ3r 0]

Having two rigs is a luxury i miss alot!

But maintaining two, having two AADs is just way too expensive as a student..

I'm currently trying to make a second setup, ready on risers, so swapping will be "easy".. Setup like the demo canopies PD brings on tour.. Set up in different color risers so it is easy to spot which canopy is on..

If everything seems under control.. You're just not going fast enough..!

[Di0 1]

Well, I mean, it all comes down to money.
Of course having two separate rigs is very convenient, but also makes an expensive sport even more expensive.

There is also the consideration that you'll be flying very different canopies, so that might bite you in the ass at some point, especially after a hot, tiring day etc.

That being said, it will make jumping easier and quicker. I still think it's worth it, depending on your budget availability and dedication to the sport.

I am going toward a two rigs solution, as my main focus this coming year will be coaching and videoing for work, while dedicating to swooping as the personal skill development of choice, and those things go well together, while wingsuit and other stuff does not, I plan on putting everything else on a side for now.

My current rig has a safire 129 in it, which I'll keep as wingsuit or turn-rig but I don't plan on putting too much use on it, except when we'll need to do back to back work jumps or the occasional ws jump.

Come think about it, I might probably sell it halfway through the season depending on how things go...

I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.

[theplummeter 14]

I normally jump a Crossfire2 139, but I can also fit a Spectre 170 into the same rig (Curv VC3). I ordered a second set of risers, deployment bag, and pilot chute so I can switch between the two as needed. I thought I might switch canopies during a day of jumping but have found that whatever is packed and hooked up the night before becomes the canopy for the next day.

I would love to have two rigs but it's enough to keep up on the maintenance for one AAD and the repack cycle.

[RichM 0]

BobxMarley

Wingsuiters. How many of you have a separate rig just for wing-suiting? I've reached a point where I want to downsize my main for traditional freefall jumps but keep my Safire 2 159 (1.25WL) for wingsuiting. I'm sure others have run into the situation. I don't want to exceed that 1.3WL mark for wing-suiting and I believe swapping canopy's all the time can create additional risk. However, the alternative of having to buy a whole new rig is expensive.

Has anyone found themselves in this situation? If so, what do you recommend? Thanks in advance!

Yep. I jump a Katana 107 for normal jumps and a Sabre 120 for wingsuit jumps. They are both connected to their own risers, dbags, bridles and pilotchutes and closing loop. I keep one in the container and the other in a hotswap bag. When I want to swap at packing time say for a WS last jump of the day, I pack the Katana until it is in the bag and the lines are stowed on the bag. Then I cut the Katana away, take the Sabre out of the hotswap bag and put the Katana in, hook up the Sabre risers and RSL, swap the closing loops, put the bag in the container, close it, attach the wingsuit, and you're good to go.

Cutting away and reconnecting should not be taken lightly. Check it thoroughly. Check it again to be sure. The check again again anyway. If at any point you have any doubt dump the canopy out of the bag and do line check, and/or cock the PC. If your experienced enough to WS then packing shouldn't take you long. Always get a gear check before emplaning to get another experienced person to confirm you have connected the risers and RSL properly. In the UK this is mandatory on every jump anyway, but even then I always say that I have just cutaway and reconnected so they do a thorough check.

And if you haven't got a 9ft bridle already then get one for the WS canopy when you're buying the second set of risers, dbag, bridle and PC.

Hope that helps

Rich M

[pchapman 261]

If one doesn't buy or build a specialized soft bag for holding a bagged canopy plus holding its risers in place, I find that plastic storage bins are a great cheap way to hold canopies. Some typical sizes fit typical canopies.

On a quality bin, the bin cover will snap on over top of the risers, without any sharp edges, holding the risers in place.

The down side is that one does have to be a little careful about handling the bin -- if you drop it and the cover pops off, the risers could get all mixed up. (To be more secure, one can take additional steps like using a double ended accessory carabiner (S shaped) to snap the rings from both risers together, or make some additional anchor on the bin to make sure the risers stay in place. )