Camera Suits and Wing types

[CBurket 0]

Could anyone explain to me a little bit about wing types and all the different camera suits out there. I have seen probably 100 different camera suits and 100 different "personal" mods to those suits. Are there any out there that only really experienced flyers should jump or are they all the same principal, just different sizes and ways to hook/unhook them. I know some you don't have to unhook to get your toggles and others you do etc... Any general info would be appreciated.

[garywainwright 0]

Take a look at www.tonysuits.com They do about every wing type going!

http://www.garywainwright.co.uk

Instagram gary_wainwright_uk

[quade 3]

Tony Suit -now- does a reasonable job of explaining the differences on the back of their camera suit order forms.

However, these are just the basics.

ALSO folks should be aware that no matter how well the camera suit is measured or manufactured, that it will -probably- still need some minor tailoring and tweeking for optimum performance.

My -guess- is that if the camera flyer is wearing anything other than a Tony "Type B" wing, that in order to get full use out of the wings they'll probably need to be tight enough so that the camera flyer will have to either take off the thumb loops or undo the bottom clips before he can reach all the way up to stow his slider.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Deuce 1]

I had the B wing, that attaches to the hip strap, and it wasn't enough to float me under light tandems. I sent it back and had the big-ass D wing put on. I love it.

Tony Suits products are the best. And their customer service can't be beat.

The only modification I had done was thicker flat nylon straps that I use around my hands to open the wings.

[quade 3]

Well, sure, we're kinda big guys. I don't know if you ever looked at my wings when you were down at Perris but, they're maybe the biggest freekin' wings on the planet.

On the flip side . . . ltdiver is a pretty thin and pretty tall person and makes good use of her "Type B" wings as does Stein from Airspeed.

It really all comes down to your body type and what kind camera flying you're planning on doing.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Deuce 1]

Q, where do you come down on the idea that if you've got big wings, you can use them or not, but if you don't, you're hosed?

And I think Lori went to a bigger wing after a while flying the smallest one, didn't she?

And yes, your review on camera suits in the gear section was very helpful when I picked out my suit. I had Tony make my wing just about as big as yours.

Like I said, Tony will do just about whatever you want, but you've got to know. I'm just finishing up my first year flying camera, about 200 jumps now, and it turns out my gear is going to be just about identical to yours, except I'm sticking with sidemount video, because I like to freefly, and up close you can get faces with the sidemount that would be tough to get with a topmount (I think)

[PhreeZone 15]

I jump a Firefly camera jacket that I'm in love with. They use a style similar to the Tony C wing, but its mounted in a slightly different spot, basically split the difference on the A and C and you have a firefly wing. I have the Medium wing and its just about too big for my 6'2" 170 pound frame, I'm constantly having to punch an nice arch. But its a dream in a sit. Fly up to a tandem and have them be able to touch your head while looking up at them is way cool. Getting an angle like that hurts my neck on the belly. Only issue I have with the suit is when in a stand the wings take flick of the elbows to get to the point where they both are inflated either infront or behind you. Its a great suit on everything I've tried it on... RW, tandems, skysurf and freefly.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[quade 3]

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Q, where do you come down on the idea that if you've got big wings, you can use them or not, but if you don't, you're hosed?

I think that's a personal preference taking into account risk, rewards, skill level and body type.

I would even go so far as to say that depending on what type of camera flying you do, it may be appropriate to have several set from which to choose from, but obviously that's not going to be cost effective for most people.

Generally speaking and for the purposes of maximum speed range, you just can't have wings that are too big. However, for the purposes of learning to fly your body . . . that may be another story all together.

There are also a couple of safety issues to take into consideration. Folks flying a Type B wing will never have to worry about accidentally reaching trough their wing and grabbing their hackey. Obviously, that's not a good malfunction to have, but it's definately one I have to be aware of every time I go up.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Deuce 1]

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Generally speaking and for the purposes of maximum speed range, you just can't have wings that are too big. However, for the purposes of learning to fly your body . . . that may be another story all together.

Absolutely.

Camera suit flying isn't birdmansuit flying, but it's similar, and has similar risks. I have grabbed my freefly hacky many times through my wing, and had to do a more thorough, second, sweep for the handle. Plus the instability when you release the wing to deploy the pilot chute.

I had a shamefully unstable tandem video due to flying with my wings most of the way in to go fast, and then over opening them to be in for the low shot. It worked out, though, and the client was happy with the result. (The tandem pair was going about 130)

Wingsuit flying is hard. But the hard things are worth doing.

Go for it!

JP

[AndyMan 7]

I'm new, I don't notice these things.

Paul, out of curiosity, when I was down, did you notice the relative size of my wings?

<--fatass.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[quade 3]

They looked just about right to me. I think you'll be able to work with those for a bit.

We talked about tightening up your thumb loops didn't we? As I recall that was pretty much the only thing I saw that needed an immediate tweek.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Rdutch 0]

Wing types and Suits themselves, all perform in a wide range of way's. I started out with a FlipFlop freefly suit (Flip Flop is a wing that you can fly on your back and on your belly). This was good for beginner 4way video and tandem's, but doesnt give you optimal range on your belly or your back. When I started shooting a lot of 4way video I changed over to the Pro-Comp suit from Merlin. The difference was incredible, with booties your drive is a lot better, which helps a lot shooting 4way, and with the Humongous wing you can ride the hell out of a burble, I dont know how I shot 4way without it.
But for Tandems I like to fly on my back a little and the Pro-comp is a little less comfortable with the booties, so I use my flip flop suit. The only problem with the flip flop is if the tandem master and passenger are small its almost impossible to stay with them on my back, so here is where a sit fly camera suit comes into play. It is designed to provide maximum lift on your back.
So proper planning helps a lot in deciding what suit/wing you buy. But for a beginner cameraman you cant go wrong with a flip flop suit.

Ray
Small and fast what every girl dreams of!

[Danger 0]

I jump a Bev Suit with the large wing/inner thigh clip.

By doing up the clips then putting on my rig, this chokes off a portion of the wing to about 2/3 of its size. This is how I wear it most of the time.

For those jumps with light weights (we have a 108lb tandem instructor) I clip the wings over the rig giving me the full wing.

My other personal mod is to wear the thumb straps over my 2 middle fingers. This puts the strap up the centerline of my arm and allows me to flex the wing differently.

Danger

[ltdiver 3]

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And I think Lori went to a bigger wing after a while flying the smallest one, didn't she?

Yes, did just that.
1) For more 'cheating' ability on 4-way exits (really saves you when the team's exit formation gets too close)
and
2) To allow closer flying over the 4-way without worrying about the burble as much.

Sure, the 'little' wing worked just fine, but my timing had to be perfect each and every exit. It was so amazing when I got the bigger wings how my margin of error increase expodentially!

(oh, and yeah, I had to put a few more pounds in my lead vest to make up for the larger wing difference too :^( )

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However, for the purposes of learning to fly your body . . . that may be another story all together.

Very true indeed! Learning to fly successful RW -before- putting on your camera wings is very telling in the end product.

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon