Newbie Question...

[bigG 0]

I have 250 jumps and would like to take up wing-suit flying. Now I understand that I need to jump with a birdman instructor and get some coaching.

What sort of coaching is it? Do you have to do a no. of jumps with the instructor and/or pass some test/exercise?!?

How much do these coached jumps cost? with or without hiring the suit..

Can I jump solo or in groups after after that ?...

[kevin922 0]

I'm no BMI but the course takes i'd say about 45 minutes or so you watch a video go over stuf fin the suit on the ground with the instructor, practice pulls etc.. you go up and fly.. the instructor flys with you gives you hand positions to tell you what you're doing wrong or right.. you do some practice pulls and enjoy the flight!

I believe instructors vary as far as what it costs.. i know if I were doing the instruction it would probably only be the cost of my jump, but others charge rental fees for the suit as well as a fee on top of the instruction.

I am not sure that it is a pass or fail type thing.. of course if you "fail" you might not have to worry about another jump. The instructor can tell you what you need to improve on or if wingsuits just might not be your thing right now.. i think ultimately however it is up to you. There is no certificate you get making you an offical birdman flyer.. the instructor will sign your logbook but I don't know of any dz i've been to who asks to see if you are checked off to fly a BM suit.. i'm not saying strap one on without training, by all means take the training!

[LouDiamond 1]

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How much do these coached jumps cost?

Generally it's $30 plus our jump ticket (plus yours) for a first flight course. Normal rental for experienced birdies is $10 per jump or $30 all day.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

As a BM-I, I sign off every person's logbook who I train. That way, if there ever WAS a question
by an S&TA or DZO, the jumper could show the certifying note; it's just smart business to make an annotation in my opinion.

The reason that we jump with new birdies with low jump numbers, plus anyone else with over 500 jumps who asks, is so that we can shadow them on the dive and give AFF-type hand signals to help them out. This in itself requires a great deal of competency and in-air agressiveness on the part of the BM-I. I have, on many occasions, had to dive down to someone who zooed an exit and was flying straight away from the dropzone. It becomes our responsibility at that point to come along side, get their attention, and get them headed back in the correct direction. As to "other" coaching, that depends on how fast you pick up the discipline. The suit is very easy to fly in general, but it's another thing altogether to fly one efficiently. Having someone right next to you who can smoke your ass will only make you a better flyer. You might be flying along thinking "man, I am killing it!", then see your buddy or instructor just kick it in and leave you at the end of the skydive. By using hand and arm signals, and even yelling over to the "student", I can get them working at it during the jump, thus shortening the learning curve. It's no different than any other discipline in that regard.

Chuck

[freakydiver 0]

Never thought of that - I guess you are probably moving slow enough to yell at one another.

MAN i gotta try this!

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Totally. It's very cool.

[freakydiver 0]

Honestly the thought of bming scares the daylights out of me more than the thought of basing. It just seems like alot to deal with.

Could be wrong but I WILL try it soon!!!

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[kevin922 0]

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Honestly the thought of bming scares the daylights out of me more than the thought of basing. It just seems like alot to deal with.

Could be wrong but I WILL try it soon!!!

Wanna go base jumping ? :)

For a real nightmare think about birdman baseing! ehhe

[freakydiver 0]

No doubt there!

No thanks there!!

Just a noob w/o any birdman jumps though so maybe its not as bad as it seems.

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[TomAiello 25]

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For a real nightmare think about birdman baseing! ehhe

Hmmm. Where's the "evil cackle" smiley?

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[ManBird 0]

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Honestly the thought of bming scares the daylights out of me more than the thought of basing. It just seems like alot to deal with.

Could be wrong but I WILL try it soon!!!

I've never really understood this misconception. After you open, you unzip your wings. That's it as far as what to "deal with". A lot of people, even when I'm wearing the suit in front of them, say, "if I need to chop, I want full access to my handles". You always have access to your emergency handles, even with everything zipped up.

You only need to pull the handles to disconnect the arm wings if you have something you need to fix (eg, line twists) and aren't comfortable with the zippers yet and don't feel that you need to chop. Out of over 200 WS jumps, I've had line twists several times, and even chopped once. I have never chopped the wings, and have never needed to do so.

There really isn't a lot to deal with. After not too long, you can connect the suit in just a few minutes. It usually takes me three or four, and I often have someone doing the other side, cutting it down to just a couple minutes. For me, it's only about eight to ten seconds (about 150 - 200 feet) from the time my canopy is open to the time that I have my arms and legs out of the suit, slider collapsed, toggles unstowed and am flying the canopy.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[freakydiver 0]

I guess my only real fear is what the f happens when I go unstable. Again, the more I think about it, the more I think I'd have no problem handling flying a suit (other than the fact that I'm not a very strong individual) but I just don't know any birdmen so I've never been able to throw questions at them.

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[PhreeZone 15]

I had my zipper bind on me on my 5th jump. That was an odd thing that I've never had happen before and had I been lower I would have just chopped the wing, but since I was at 4000 feet I had plenty of time to work on the zipper. It got caught about 1/3 the way down my arm, just above the elbow.

The wing cutaway option is useful if the zipper sticks

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[ManBird 0]

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The wing cutaway option is useful if the zipper sticks

Oh, yeah... and that's other reason (forgot about that one). Haven't had that problem yet.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[blair700 0]

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For me, it's only about eight to ten seconds (about 150 - 200 feet) from the time my canopy is open to the time that I have my arms and legs out of the suit, slider collapsed, toggles unstowed and am flying the canopy.

Dude, help a bro out....I'm super slow and this is something I'm constantly trying to get better at. What EXACTLY is your technique for getting out of the booties. And any other advice you could offer that would help speed up the process for a rookie flyer. I'm flying a GTI, and I have a beer gut
Thanks
Blair

[ryoder 1,384]

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I guess my only real fear is what the f happens when I go unstable. Again, the more I think about it, the more I think I'd have no problem handling flying a suit (other than the fact that I'm not a very strong individual) but I just don't know any birdmen so I've never been able to throw questions at them.

Are you *sure* you don't know any birdmen???
Don't you sometimes jump at Mile Hi?

If you want to get an idea what the first jump will feel like, a good
simulation is to make a couple dives wearing a strait-jacket and
leg-irons...

Seriously, it is *easy*; If you can track, you can fly a wingsuit.
In 55 dives, I have only gone unstable twice. Both times it was
just for a few seconds after exit. The *first* time it happened was
on my 6th jump.

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

[ryoder 1,384]

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[
Dude, help a bro out....I'm super slow and this is something I'm constantly trying to get better at. What EXACTLY is your technique for getting out of the booties. And any other advice you could offer that would help speed up the process for a rookie flyer. I'm flying a GTI, and I have a beer gut
Thanks
Blair

The BaseHoundSam technique:

1. Pull right knee up toward left shoulder;
Reach down with right hand and grab zipper at right ankle;
Pull zipper up while straightening leg downward.

2. Reach down with left hand and grab suit at right knee,
pulling suit to the left, popping right knee out.

3. Point right knee to the right while bending knee, bringing
right heel toward crotch. Grab right shin with right hand.
Grab right booty with left hand, and pull it off of foot.

Now repeat steps 1-3 with right/left switched.

On my first dive, I burned up 2000 feet fighting to get the tail
off, finally pulling the cutaway. Then BHS showed me his
method, now it takes me a few seconds.

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

[PhreeZone 15]

I had the hardest time peeling my booties off with my shoes that had a really agressive tread pattern on them, once I switched to smoother shoes I was able to slide my booties off. Might help...

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[ManBird 0]

ManBird's Twelve Steps to Success:

1. Unzip left arm and remove left loop from thumb.
2. Unzip right arm and remove right loop from thumb.
3. Collapse slider (if applicable).
4. Put right heel on butt and grab the zipper (pull LQRS out of housing, if you have it).
5. Straighten out right leg while firmly holding the zipper. This will unzip the right leg.
6*. Put right foot high up on front of left thigh. Use right hand if needed.
7*. Use left hand to grab tab on bootie, right hand to grab right heel (to keep shoe on), and pull bootie off of foot with left hand.
8. Put left heel on butt and grab the zipper (pull LQRS out of housing, if you have it).
9. Straighten out left leg while firmly holding the zipper. This will unzip the left leg.
10**. Put left foot high up on front of right thigh. Use left hand if needed.
11**. Use right hand to grab tab on bootie, left hand to grab left heel (to keep shoe on), and pull bootie off of foot with right hand.
12. Release toggles to fly canopy.

* May not be needed on the Skyflyer or S3 with no LQRS or LQRS on left side
** May not be needed on the Skyflyer or S3 with no LQRS or LQRS on right side

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[ManBird 0]

Mine and the BHS technique are almost identical, except that he bends his legs in front of him, and I put my heel on my butt. I also grab my heel, instead of my shin... primarily to keep from popping my shoe off. Doesn't apply when I'm wearing Tevas, though.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[fergs 0]

The BaseHoundSam technique:

1. Pull right knee up toward left shoulder;
Reach down with right hand and grab zipper at right ankle;
Pull zipper up while straightening leg downward.

2. Reach down with left hand and grab suit at right knee,
pulling suit to the left, popping right knee out.

3. Point right knee to the right while bending knee, bringing
right heel toward crotch. Grab right shin with right hand.
Grab right booty with left hand, and pull it off of foot.

Now repeat steps 1-3 with right/left switched.

On my first dive, I burned up 2000 feet fighting to get the tail
off, finally pulling the cutaway. Then BHS showed me his
method, now it takes me a few seconds.

[kevin922 0]

I've started pulling both legs up at the same time (like a ab crunch) put one zipper in each hand and put my feet down so it unzips both at one time

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

After dealing with my arms, I reach dwon with BOTH hands and unsnap my legs. I then unsnap both, then extend both legs, allowing me to unzip both lets simultanioulsly Do both after you have undone your arms and stowed your slider.

Chuck

[leroydb 0]

When/If I get my BMI, come out to raeford, pay for my slot.... thats all.... its about getting more BM in the air, not the money...\.\


.

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...

[cpoxon 0]

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When/If I get my BMI, come out to raeford, pay for my slot.... thats all.... its about getting more BM in the air, not the money...\.\

I consider myself a person who likes to give back to the sport, helping people out with their pack job if they are struggling or giving what little advice I have to offer, for example. However, my attitude has changed a little when it comes to being a BMI. As well as my slot, I also charge £15 (~ $25). BirdMan are quite keen for their instructors to charge, the idea being that if someone is paying, they are likely to take it more seriously as it's coming out of their pockets! It also covers the suit hire. As we all know, these things aren't cheap and, sadly, people tend not to look after things as well if they don't belong to them; the suits will need repair and replacement. Also, as with any paid for service on the DZ, my DZO wants a small cut too. I also offer a ProTrack loan, download and internet availability of the results as well as my time. I think this is all very reasonable; I'm not doing it for free, but it's certainly not for profit either. Please feel free to tell me if you think otherwise?!

Having said that, I'm a tandem whore now so all of my values are screwed :-S