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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



Well you're doing a lot more, the protrak thing is a great idea.. i personally am not out to make money - i'm not a BMI (yet) but I have a spare suit and if I were training people would have no problems letting them use it at no cost..

I don't look down on people who charge it doesn't matter to me either way..

I haven't ever jumped with any of the "greats" (mcgowan, gasson, hartman, kent) but it would be nice to think they would do a "fun jump" with someone every once in a while and not stick the jumper with a huge bill for it... i've heard good things about a number of those listed that they do just that which is cool. I hate seeing people that skydiving is just about making money to them.. i know some people skydiving is their life and it is their way of supporting themselves, but it would be nice to think they could every once in a while just go along for the ride.. to me skydiving is about teaching, learning, and having fun..


-K

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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





I wasn't knocking any one who charges for training... Hell, I said I would at least have them pay my slot, though, depending on my mood, I might not. I just enjoy jumping that much. I had a very kewl person teach me for free (almsot free, Bought beer, but we drink anyway) so I like to return the favor. I am not knocking you for charging at all.

.
Leroy


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

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I haven't ever jumped with any of the "greats" (mcgowan, gasson, hartman, kent) but it would be nice to think they would do a "fun jump" with someone every once in a while and not stick the jumper with a huge bill for it... i've heard good things about a number of those listed that they do just that which is cool. I hate seeing people that skydiving is just about making money to them.. i know some people skydiving is their life and it is their way of supporting themselves, but it would be nice to think they could every once in a while just go along for the ride.. to me skydiving is about teaching, learning, and having fun..


-K



i aGReE tOtAlLy

.
Leroy


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

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Yah I'm positive, I only make it out to the DZ about 10-15 days a year here in Colorado because my work takes me elsewhere. I haven't made too many acquaintances up there, I ususally just hook up with someone when we are about to load or do video for a RW or sit fly group. Kind of keep it low key cuz I have no self confidence :S:S

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

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I haven't ever jumped with any of the "greats" (mcgowan, gasson, hartman, kent) but it would be nice to think they would do a "fun jump" with someone every once in a while and not stick the jumper with a huge bill for it... i've heard good things about a number of those listed that they do just that which is cool. I hate seeing people that skydiving is just about making money to them.. i know some people skydiving is their life and it is their way of supporting themselves, but it would be nice to think they could every once in a while just go along for the ride.. to me skydiving is about teaching, learning, and having fun..


-K



i aGReE tOtAlLy

.



At Perris, McGowan was jumping with us for "nothing". He was full of shit, though, he'd take these awesome pictures that you just could not, not-buy.;)

He also shared an awful lot of information about artistic skydiving photography. Usually I am primarily concerned about just getting usable pictures when I fly camera, but now when I'm flying my camera for me, I'm doing some of the stuff he shared. It was really very motivating and inspirational.

Some of the great ones are great people too.

-but you do have to pay for that gear and transporting it....

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Yah I'm positive, I only make it out to the DZ about 10-15 days a year here in Colorado because my work takes me elsewhere. I haven't made too many acquaintances up there, I ususally just hook up with someone when we are about to load or do video for a RW or sit fly group. Kind of keep it low key cuz I have no self confidence :S:S



No self confidence??? Looks like you had enough to accumulate
500 jumps, a D license, and jump a 135. I'm at MHS every Sat &
Sun, and usually start the day with a wingsuit dive, so I'll keep a
lookout for a white cat with different-colored eyes. Most of the
other jumpers here are tiger-striped strays with bloodshot eyes
from partying the night before. ;)
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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For those BMIs out there. What is the best suit to learn on?



I'd say the normal progression is classic, gti, skyflyer3 - however if you're buying a first suit i'd recommend a GTI. Make sure you're jumping with a BMI - he may have a demo classic you can get your first jumps on, GTI has a nice range of capabilities so i think it's a good first suit...

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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.



I have another newbie question... why not just chop your wings 1k before main deployment? Go into a regular freefall for more stability... or is there something horribly wrong with that idea?
www.WingsuitPhotos.com

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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.



I have another newbie question... why not just chop your wings 1k before main deployment? Go into a regular freefall for more stability... or is there something horribly wrong with that idea?



One of the biggest gripes about wingsuits is how much work it is to put the suit on the rig.. which is when you hook up the cutaways to the wing. there are a total of 4 cutaway cables (2 on each wing) that have to be puton, and if you're new at wingsuits it could take 10 or 15 minutes to get everything setup.

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I have another newbie question... why not just chop your wings 1k before main deployment? Go into a regular freefall for more stability... or is there something horribly wrong with that idea?


Chopping the wings while still in freefall can be very unstable. I had a really bad mal experimenting with this. Flying with the wings on is not unstable at all. You only get into instability when maxing it out, which you usually aren't doing at pull time (when you first start flying). There are far better ways to fix instability in a wingsuit, should it occur, than choppings the wings. Relaxing and arching works best for most things. In the event of a severe flat spin, go into a ball. I've never experienced a flat spin myself, to be honest. Seriously, there's no reason to be scared of flying a wingsuit (unless you're attempting to fly the Skyflyer 1 or 3 for your first flights... then you should be scared).
"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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Chopping the wings while still in freefall can be very unstable.



Not sure I understand why, but I'll admit I've never even looked at a suit up close. In my ignorant mind I imagine once the wings are cut they would just flap behind you in freefall like streamers. Guess this isn't the case?
www.WingsuitPhotos.com

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The wings are pretty much guaranteed to flap unevenly. If one wing is high and one is low, it's pretty obvious that you will rotate. With them flapping rapidly, it's like they are constantly driving forward in different directions... independent of each other, causing a VERY rocky ride. If they remain deflated and behind you, it's not as big of a deal, but I'd still say pitch and don't cut the wings until you problems with your canopy. I still go for the zippers... it's what I'm used to.
"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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