Camera suits: wing types and booties revisited.

[DougH 270]

I did a far amount of searching, but I want to do some final homework before I buy my new camera suit!

I need a camera suit for this season, I will be using it for filming formation skydiving and tandems once I finish reaching the manf. recommended mins and get some good training.

I won't be freeflying with the tandems, all on my belly except for a move here or there after deployment to catch their opening.

I was looking at Tony Suits but I wasn't sure which wing selection would be best.

They had a C wing that attached to the leg straps, and it mentioned that you could flat fly or sit fly with the wing.

The D wing looked the largest of the wings, with a Velcro sandwich to secure the wing at the bottom.

My concept of a good suit for me would be one that was slick and fast so I could haul ass with some extra weight, with large wings to offer good range. Maybe that only sounds good in concept?

What about booties? Personally I like the extra drive I get with booties. I do most of my flying with my booties on my other suits. If you are on your belly for most of the time while filming are booties an advantage?

Thanks for the help! I can't wait to start doing some real camera work and really learn some things, instead of just hitting record and capturing the monkey business.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[chuckakers 372]

I'm just getting back into video work, so I'm anxious to hear some input from others.

My experience with booties is that they do what you want them to, but I was only belly flying. I'm thinking of going no-bootie this time around to accommodate backflying, etc.

Be careful if you go with the max wing with the velcro sandwich. My first function was a horseshoe after pulling my p/c through the wing. The velcro can strip out if you let it get too worn. I was even familiar with the problem and still put my hand through the gap, which is a foot long with max wings and stripped velcro.

I was 5'10" at 200lbs at the time. If you're not a beefy guy, you likely don't need that much wing anyway.

I like the idea of wings that attach to the legstraps or are fixed on the suit above the legstrap. The fixed type are especially nice, as it's one less thing to hook up (and one less thing to break or cause problems).

Chuck

[PharmerPhil 0]

Quote

What about booties? Personally I like the extra drive I get with booties. I do most of my flying with my booties on my other suits. If you are on your belly for most of the time while filming are booties an advantage?

I'll let others reply to the bulk of your question (or you can do a search, there is a recent thread with the pros/cons of the Tony Suits wing types). Which wing type is subject to how you fly, what your body-type is, and personal preference. If you get an opinion on wings, make sure you get it qualified with the persons weight and how he/she flies.

However, as far as booties go, here's my take. They're great for attacking an exit, particularly on tailgate aircraft. But that's about all. HOWEVER, if you will be filming on level (i.e. tandems) on your belly, I think booties are a liability. The drag on your legs makes it hard to get a little under the tandem and look up at them (so you don't get just the forehead shot and the Instructor's face). I feel the same way about ff pants that have a lot of material on the legs. FWIW, I have a two-piece Tony suit with cargo pants, swoop shorts, and bootie pants. I never use the bootie pants for tandems, and actually rarely use them for any video work (they are pretty much relegated to AFF use now).

Opinions expressed are those of the poster. Actual conditions may vary, and your results may differ...

[mccordia 73]

I dont have booties on my suit, just for the simple reason of not wanting to do/undo booties all the time when walking/flying etc.

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[DSE 3]

Agreed. I let someone talk me into booties, and after a few jumps, I ended up gaffing the bootie inside the leg of the jumpsuit.
If you are really-bootie savvy (do a lot of RW with booties...) then maybe they'll help for some tandem angles, but overall, I think they're a PITA, and they make it hard to get the "dog angle" shot (thx, Laszlo). Then again, we have a guy on the DZ that regularly freeflies with booties, so...YMMV

[dragon2 0]

I like freefly pants the most, tried booties and tight pants but I like having the drag when i need it (have even done some tandem jumps with birdman pantz, worked great but they are floaty so need to be lightweight tandems).

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[ryoder 1,412]

Quote

Agreed. I let someone talk me into booties, and after a few jumps, I ended up gaffing the bootie inside the leg of the jumpsuit.
If you are really-bootie savvy (do a lot of RW with booties...) then maybe they'll help for some tandem angles, but overall, I think they're a PITA, and they make it hard to get the "dog angle" shot (thx, Laszlo). Then again, we have a guy on the DZ that regularly freeflies with booties, so...YMMV

Booties certainly do have a learning curve. I had about 1.5 hrs of tunnel time, w/o booties before I got a new RW suit with booties. On the very first entrance into the tunnel, I effectively tracked into the far wall like a bug on a windshield. (Thank goodness for full-face helmets!) For the next half hour of tunnel time, the booties were flying me, instead of vice versa. Once I finally got accustomed to them, they are great, but there is a serious learning curve.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[pilotdave 0]

I've basically used booties for my last 1000 jumps. I recently got a camera jacket and a freefly suit... Not having booties is HARD. I backslide like crazy and I can't turn!
Dave

[DougH 270]

Quote

Agreed. I let someone talk me into booties, and after a few jumps, I ended up gaffing the bootie inside the leg of the jumpsuit.
If you are really-bootie savvy (do a lot of RW with booties...) then maybe they'll help for some tandem angles, but overall, I think they're a PITA, and they make it hard to get the "dog angle" shot (thx, Laszlo). Then again, we have a guy on the DZ that regularly freeflies with booties, so...YMMV

Were you flying much with booties before that?

I spend most of my freefall time in booties. Except for when I pretend I can freefly. A two piece suit sounds like a good idea though, I can buy a freefly pant set later on if I decide I need them.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[VideoFly 0]

For me, a Tony suit, C wing, and mega-booties work great.

[DougH 270]

How tall are you and how much do you weigh if you don't mind anwsering. Do you use weight with the suit?

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Zee 0]

I use a jacket with c-wings and freefly pants for the most part. Unless it's really hot - then I just wear the jacket with a pair of shorts.

I had a camera suit with booties once but cut the fucking things off after a while. All that drag on your feet makes it really hard to get steep for tandem videos. They help give some forward drive on exit but, if you know how to time your exits, you really won't need them.

Action©Sports

[Laszloimage 0]

The bootie is a "RW device". There's a few case when it could help, but most of the time it doesn't.
The wings are the most for camera work (and flying skills of courese).

[HSPScott 0]

I use a Fire Fly 2 piece suit (pants & shorts) with the medium wing.

[AndyMan 7]

Booties seem to be common among the truly 'hot-shit' 4way videographers. Airspeed, Fastrax, etc.

Me? I shot video last year for CSC Rhythm. CSC Rhythm placed 3rd in Advanced. I did my job as well as I could have hoped, I nailed every exit and did not have any trouble showing full separation.

I do not have booties on my jumpsuit. I did not see any need for them, at the level of 4way CSC Rhythm did last year. (3rd place advanced).

Booties may have made my exits easier, I don't know. I've never had a bootie camera suit. I can see how a little bit more power would help on the hill, but this never became an issue for me.


_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[velocityphoto 0]

Booties are just in my way (pain in my ass) I use a couple suits but my best one is a tony suit with a c-wing and a free fly baggy leg on it.
I have had a couple sets of booties on some of my camera suits,and still have 1 for a backup suit but it collects dust.

A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................

[DougH 270]

Thanks for all of the responses. I think I will go with no booties.... and most likely a two piece suit incase I want to become hot shit later on.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[openingshok 0]

I actaully fly with shorts as often as possible. I like the ability to get under the tandem and shoot from below. In my experience when I have pants on it creats more drag on the back half and makes it a little more difficult to get under and pointed up without backsliding. I use very little leg input while shooting tandems. Usually it is all wing.