Weeeee 0 #1 May 11, 2006 (With apologies to the original 'You know you are a Skydiver when...') You know you're a Wingsuit Flyer when - 1 You get out without caring about the spot. 2 You have new admiration for how birds jump off a tree and just glide... 3 You hope for cloudy days 4 Jumping from 6k is a nice long jump. 5 You keep on thinking "i prolly can land this..." 6 You have'nt unhooked the suit from your rig in ages. 7 Openings are exciting again. 8 Whenever you are anywhere high, you catch yourself looking for places to land, wayyyy out there. 9 Ordinary skydives/openings feel weird ! 10 You like chasing the plane 11 David Attenborough's doco on Bats, is just SO facinating ! 12 You think 'One day i will land it' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #2 May 11, 2006 I'm going to extend two of these to show there are some situations that I actually feel more comfortable (arguably safer, since it's what I'm used to) with my wingsuit than without. Quote1 You get out without caring about the spot. After 6 months of nothing but wingsuit jumps, I got on a full Skyvan to make a 2 way freefly. All of a sudden I realized I was in the middle of the exit order, and not only was it weird, it was SCARY! I would have to pay attention to exit separation and spotting, two things I had ignored for ages. The thought of 20 other falling meat missiles in close proximity to me scared me. Quote9 Ordinary skydives/openings feel weird ! I started flying camera (video first) in my wingsuit. Then I added stills. My wingsuit openings are super soft and I don't even feel the 6lb setup on my head, even with several jumps in a day. But when I make the rare jump without my wingsuit, and bring my cameras, my neck usually feels it on the first opening. Not only am I more used to my wingsuit openings, they are healthier! NOTE: I am NOT implying that it is impossible to have a soft opening without a wingsuit... just that I'm not very good at it, since I'm uncurrent without my wings. www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blair700 0 #3 May 11, 2006 your dropzone nickname changes from fireball to birdman you do lots more solos than when you were a student you find yourself racing cars that are on the freeway. you can see the whites of the tandem students eyes under canopy as you fly by you wonder if you could fly MORE efficiently withOUT a rig on, and land. Your LZ and your other buddies on the tower LZ's are 2 totally different places/counties You attach mini LED's to your zippers for VSF on a BASE tower jump You buy new suits that don't even fit you, never have, never will, just to teach others how to FLY. Wingsuits are my favorite piece of clothing I own, and a wingsuit BASE jump where my dreams meet my reality and life is lived. Later Blair Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #4 May 11, 2006 1 You always sit in first class. 2 Hearing that someone on the load is going to open high makes you super excited. 3 Words like buzzing, sharking and fly-by are a normal part of your vocabulary. 4 GPS spots on cloudy days don't do you any good. 5 You look at your alti at 3k and think that you have plenty of time to pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 73 #5 May 11, 2006 - You have a constant feeling 'something is wrong' or 'you're forgetting something' when you're on the way up to altitude on a freefly jump (not feeling restricted in your movements wearing a wingsuit) - on that same freefly jump, directly after opening you want to unzip armwings and booties that are not there - Even on normal trackingdives you analize your Protrack/Neptune data to see if you've reached sub 80 mph speeds at any point in the jump - You can spend an entire evening with a fellow bird (or boring a non-wingsuiter) talking about glide-angles, L/D ratios, and distances flown and fallrates - On a commercial flight, you are constaly looking out the window, trying to judge just how far you could fly in your wingsuit from that point.JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trae 1 #6 May 11, 2006 You know you're a Wingsuit Flyer when - -you do hop and pops with your wingsuit on rather than disconnecting. - you start carrying a mobile for those cloudy days. - from loneliness you resort to jumping with other people who aren't wearing wingsuits you keep yours on. - you begin to see aircraft pilots in a whole new light and actually learn stuff from them. - given a choice between any other discipline you take wingsuiting almost every time. -you realise in the air that no sucker could possibly land this and live........yet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gus 1 #7 May 11, 2006 You want a deep spot. You're the only one who checks the spot before getting out. You don't panic when the 4 ways teams take forever to get out. Your shoulders hurt. GusOutpatientsOnline.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 73 #8 May 11, 2006 You can directly type gforum.cgi?forum=13; from memory when you go online..JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #9 May 11, 2006 QuoteYou can directly type gforum.cgi?forum=13; from memory when you go online.. There are these things called bookmarks...www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Costyn 0 #10 May 11, 2006 Quote- on that same freefly jump, directly after opening you want to unzip armwings and booties that are not there Haha, which reminds me of another one: - on a freefly jump, you pull your pilot out with both hands behind your back (as I can be seen doing in this video (at 07:08).Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #11 May 11, 2006 QuoteQuote- on that same freefly jump, directly after opening you want to unzip armwings and booties that are not there Haha, which reminds me of another one: - on a freefly jump, you pull your pilot out with both hands behind your back (as I can be seen doing in this video (at 07:08). Ehm, you beeper goes off at 5k on a solo freefly jump and... you pull... The bellyflyers call you a penguin Landing out 2 villages away is getting more common ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alw 0 #12 May 11, 2006 Quote You're the only one who checks the spot before getting out. ... to make sure it's long enough. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeordieSkydiver 0 #13 May 11, 2006 -being on your back at 4000ft isn't an issue. -you keep trying to hold hands with the person next to you on the plane. -60 seconds of freefall just isn't enough anymore. -you become a BMI/PFI just so you can train more birds at you DZ to jump with.. (not that I'd ever do that... ) .Lee _______________________________ In a world full of people, only some want to fly, is that not crazy? http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 73 #14 May 11, 2006 You're soo lonely in your fetish that you have to find people on the internet to talk about it, and set up small meetings, where the dresscode is tight-fitting nylon..JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeordieSkydiver 0 #15 May 11, 2006 QuoteYou're soo lonely in your fetish that you have to find people on the internet to talk about it, and set up small meetings, where the dresscode is tight-fitting nylon.. We are talking about wingsuiting, not your Friday nights in Amsterdamn. By the way, I'm coming out to visit in Sept, on route to Denmark/Sweden/Norway. Fancy a night out in Amsterdamn? .Lee _______________________________ In a world full of people, only some want to fly, is that not crazy? http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 73 #16 May 11, 2006 QuoteBy the way, I'm coming out to visit in Sept, on route to Denmark/Sweden/Norway. Fancy a night out in Amsterdamn? . Does the pope shit in the woods!? You bring the drinks, I'll arrange the midget and the clown!JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeemax 0 #17 May 11, 2006 now that sounds like a good night. Mind if i tag along? I can bring my own comedy red nose!Phoenix Fly - High performance wingsuits for skydiving and BASE Performance Designs - Simply brilliant canopies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phoenixlpr 0 #18 May 11, 2006 QuoteThe bellyflyers call you a penguin Yeah, it can happen when sparrows can not recognize a eagle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #19 May 11, 2006 QuoteLanding out 2 villages away is getting more common Why would you land out more often in a wingsuit?www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #20 May 11, 2006 Quoteon a freefly jump, you pull your pilot out with both hands behind your back Freefall feels so different from wingsuit flight to me, that I have never had this problem. In freefall my brain is wired to do a freefall pull. I've always said that wingsuits are a separate sport from skydiving - we just share the same airplanes and parachutes.www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Costyn 0 #21 May 11, 2006 Quotenow that sounds like a good night. Mind if i tag along? I can bring my own comedy red nose! Please do come along. We'll show you the seedier sides of Amsterdam. Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #22 May 11, 2006 QuoteQuoteLanding out 2 villages away is getting more common Why would you land out more often in a wingsuit? Oh let's see... Not caring so much about the spot as we should, totally trusting the pilot's GPS when it's hazy, not getting out far enough on a crosscountry spot and finding out it's too WINDY to get back, having too much fun taking video/photo's of each other, having a wingsuit student that is dead set on flying a straight line, stuff like that Then again, landing out here @ Teuge isn't a big deal hazard-wise, although we DO try to keep it down The 2 villages away jump was so Costyn's fault he was the base, but even I (and it's MY DZ) didn't have a clue as to where we were ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #23 May 11, 2006 Quotenot getting out far enough on a crosscountry spot and finding out it's too WINDY to get back Are you getting out downwind of the spot and flying upwind for crosscountry? It seems true that many wingsuiters land out too often, and I'm getting tired of it (no offense to you personally) because it reflects back on our whole community. I get people all the time at my local DZ making snide comments to me about how "we" land out all the time. I've landed out at that DZ twice in several hundred jumps, and those were both mistakes I don't have excuses for. But there are others who do it a lot more, and even though there are plenty of safe landing areas, it's still not cool. It inconveniences the dropzone hugely, and the surrounding community to a lesser extent. I think out of all those reasons you listed, the only valid one is chasing a student, which I've definitely done a few times. Sorry to be so serious, and I hope I'm not taking this post off-topic. But I really think people take this too lightly sometimes. If the DZ does get used to people landing off and starts ignoring it, what happens when somebody lands off and hurts himself?www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #24 May 11, 2006 Quote Are you getting out downwind of the spot and flying upwind for crosscountry? No, we exit upwind, but last time we flew back slightly too far (2.5 miles out wasn't enough with the amount of wind we had so we ended up slightly over the DZ) so after opening we could only go straight down. ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #25 May 11, 2006 Generally we land on the DZ just fine. It's just that when we make a spotting/flying mistake, we tend to land out pretty spactacularly far, or land out with a big group at once. I agree, not so cool. But but the crw guys at our DZ are worse ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
