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SBCmac

S6 vs. V1 or V2

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I heard the story from workout boy:D:D....it was amusing. Would have loved to see your reaction after that jump.

Anyhow, if you two fly again let us know how it goes. My money is on workout boy...atleast in the forward speed department. No offense, I have seen the GPS logs from his BASE jumps. He will be much quicker in the higher altitudes :)
Kris.

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Since Chuck brought my name up I'll join the discussion. I've got close to 2100 jumps and 600 wingsuit dives. I've jumped Classiscs, GTi's, S1's, S3's, Phi's, GS-1's, V-1's, V-2's and a number of Tony Suits. I've got 7 jumps on my V2.

It certainly can smoke horizontally just about any other suit. It likes to fly fast. But when I slowed down a bit horizontally and tried to fly relative to other flyers I found that I didn't seem to have the vertical range .. the ability to slow my vertical rate .. that my S3 (for example) does. I'm certainly planning on putting some more jumps on it, but flocking is my main jump type. Unless everyone has a suit with similar characteristics I'm not sure at this point that it's my suit of choice for flocking. For playing in the clouds though it'll be hard to beat. Robi's workmanship is world-class, although I wonder about ANY suit with plastic ribs (V2, S3S, S6, etc). They are going to crack and break and need to be replaced. For the kind of money we're spending on these suits those things should be field replaceable if you ask me (which no-one has). I would prefer that the legs were somewhat more form fitting. My S3 doesn't flap at all even when flying dirty. On the V2 the leg wing looks great but the legs themselves ripple and flap considerably. It doesn't affect performance, but any flapping at all is detrimental to flocking.

On the other hand, I think the Tony suit is a terrific flocking suit. It has a huge amount of range vertically and decent forward speed. These characteristics are probably related to the forward position of the arm wings. Oddly enough when I pushed for forward speed, the pressure on my arms actually decreased. I don't find the concept of putting my rig on over the suit to be that useful ... Since I don't have B-12 snaps on my leg straps I have to re-thread them every time, which is a pain. It's tough to leave the suit on the rig since it has a single zipper opening to put the suit on. And like the V2 I'd prefer the legs to be a little more form-fitting.

Tony and Jeff are turning out some really nice suits. Their workmanship is second to none. Decide on the webbies for yourself ...

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It flew fast, but it would not stay up vertically. The V1, on the other hand, has much more usable range than the V2. It's a step back, flocking wise (regardless of speed and efficiency) and that doesn't make sense to me.



That doesn't make sense at all, actually ;)

Coming from somebody who was initially disappointed with V1, and recently with V2: they both take time to learn to fly well. Just when you feel you dialed in the sweet spot, the next suit comes in and it sucks! Perfomance drops for a while, and just as i wanted to throw away V1 and keep my S3 proto, i wanted to sell V2 and keep flying V1.

The trick is to keep flying the new suit! It will outperform the old one eventually ;)

As you mention the vertical range, i was mad about getting 45mph averages in V2 a month ago. The flights in Europe last couple of weeks were so-so but showed hope. This Sat and Sun i got a few flights with Neptune averages of 35..38 (shooting for best glide). This is already slightly better then V1.

Off to Europe on Wed, that's where the suit belongs ;)

bsbd!

Yuri.

P.S. A floaty suit would feel better in a flock anyway, compared to a better-gliding and faster suit. Flocking and perfomance flying have different goals, it's only natural.

P.P.S. I hate flocking! ;)

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I will add my own limited experience and agree with Yuri, I'm finding my transition from S3 to V2 much harder than I was expecting. I suppose I thought I'd put the V2 on and I'd magically fly further and faster but so far on my best V2 flights I've done about 90% as well as my best S3 flights. Of my 14 V2 flights I've had a single 10 second period where I felt I'd hit the sweet spot but I'm very confident that once I can find and hold that reliably this suit will absolutely smoke the old one.

Gus
OutpatientsOnline.com

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P.S. A floaty suit would feel better in a flock anyway, compared to a better-gliding and faster suit. Flocking and perfomance flying have different goals, it's only natural.

;)



That is unless the entire flock is made up of performance suits and flyers that have taken the time to learn how to fly them. That is definitely what I'm starting to see now.

Its a little bit like saying you can't do X-braced crew, well you can't on a 140 sized 7 cell.

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8 or 10 guys busting it out and getting 2+ minutes for a flock is no big deal. We do it with smaller groups like this at ZHills all the time.

But, if you're 22nd out of the Otter and 20 seconds after the base has exited chances are you'll never catch them if they've busted it out. So the slow forward speeds set by a good base allow the flockers in back to catch up, get set in their slot and fly the flock.

And this isn't suit dependent; a group of V2's or a group of Classics would have the same issues. When you mix' em up in large flocks is when it gets fun.

So IMHO a great flocking suit would have a wide vertical range of speeds as well as a wide range of horizontal speeds .. and these two characteristics wouldn't be tightly coupled. It would be smooth when flown dirty and go like a scalded cat when you bust it out. It'd be easy on the arms and out of the way at pull time. It would be durable, good looking and , oh yeah, cheap.

Did I miss anything??;)

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...........................I can fly fast or slow forward.........I can drop out of the sky or float like a bitch.............I can do it in a V2, a V1, an Acro, a GS1 but I really haven't tried all that in a Prodigy ...............Learn to fly what you own and it is not a problem.

Now when I got my V2 there was a new learning curve, it was about 60 seconds(less than half a flight long) and I was flying it just as well in a flock and on my own I was going slower down and faster forward.....not super noticeable but the protrack says so.

Heres the kicker I weigh 150lbs:P

So all of you who are bitching just drop some weight and you'll fly much better:D

As for the S6 -- ???????????? I don't know somebody send me one and I will tell you what i think ----- I promise not to take it apart to see how it is made[:/]


The pimp hand is powdered up ... say something stupid

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I agree.
I fly a Vampire and a Acro.

Th Vampire i can fly with anyone on any suit, good or bad. my best freind only can float and go fast on his V1. I have a pretty big guy i have flown with, when he is flying a GTI he sucks at, i can stay with him no problem.

-SPACE-

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8 or 10 guys busting it out and getting 2+ minutes for a flock is no big deal. We do it with smaller groups like this at ZHills all the time.

;)



We do it all the time in the Socal also on three year old S-3s. I max out my Protrac and shut down both of my neptunes ( registers deployment within 10 seconds average out the door) on the small ways similer to which you speak of Scott. I have never gotten royally smoked unless the flocker has a unique physique that I don't, 6' @ 140 lbs. I've held my own in flocks all summer long at all of the boogies I've gone to and have first person video to prove it.

A few weeks ago I was "smoked" all weekend long, just as Chuck was a year ago, probably by the same friends and a few others. So just like Chuck I went to my primary wingsuit sponsor visa to see what they could do for me. I talked to a nice kid named Jerome and the V-2 is on order.

Once I get it and I put a whole bunch of jumps on it I'll review it openly. If it sucks I will quit wingsuiting and take up skysurfing I hear its making a comeback.

I'd like to take a second to thank my skydiving sponsor Visa Its where you wanna be.


Glen

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A few weeks ago I was "smoked" all weekend long, just as Chuck was a year ago, probably by the same friends and a few others.



I am really starting to get a big head --- you Chuck have got to stop with all these hidden messagesB|


The pimp hand is powdered up ... say something stupid

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A few weeks ago I was "smoked" all weekend long, just as Chuck was a year ago, probably by the same friends and a few others.



:S Wow, so the guys you were flying with couldn't even fly base, or rather none of the bases were skilled enough for the position. I've flown with you so I know you've got the range and skills. I didn't think flocking was that complicated; it's not exactly brain surgery, but apparently it is still beyond the intellect of some jumpers. Sounds like the people you were flying with still don't 'get it'. You really should have held a remedial flocking 101 class to help them out, Glen.. ;):P
"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957

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1)
I don't really care how many jumps you have (even if it's SIX THOUSAND SKYDIVES) or how many of them are in a wingsuit of some sort or other. Each suit needs to be learned and making a comparison of one suit on which you have many jumps against another that you have relatively few is just plain stupid.

2)
The Vampire V1 and V2 were never designed to be flocking suits. Neither was the S3 or the modified S3 they call S3S, S6 or Gibralter or whatever the new marketing name will be next week - the one with the wider leg and bigger deflectors on the arms because "bigger is always better". A decent pilot in any suit can flock, of course if you tailor a flock to a particular type of suit it will be harder for others to play... duh!
The V1 and V2 take quite a bit of time to learn and fly in different flight modes, I have said many times that the Phantom is a better choice for flocking. Would you bring a Jet to fly in formation with Cessna 152s?

3)
Saying the V2 is a step backwards from the V1 is crazy talk. I'm not even going to get into that, you are clearly showing ignorance on that one.

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I kind of think he is talking about break off -- the fall rates at Moab were 65 to 70mph which just about everyone can fly. Hell most of the time someone was leading the flock on their back.

As for Chuck getting 'smoked' that was a planned dive with Darren K. in a V1 with smoke - kickin it as hard as he could and we were to keep up.

And as for flying a base ........well I never fly base as I am a floaty bitch and everyone hates it when I am base.

And as for the flocking part -- myself and the local flyers tend to fly all V1s and we flock at 90 to 95% so we really have to fly like shit when we go to boogies and flock with others not used to flyin hard!!!


The pimp hand is powdered up ... say something stupid

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luckily you weren't leading the flock on your back;):P:ph34r:



the v1 isn't that hard to fly if you are an experienced jumper. but it can depend on the jumper. some people dont like to wear a larger 'body bag' just to fly. i think my first flight on the suit was a 4 or 5 stack back in april. sure there is a learning curve to some of the intricacies of the suit... after all i'm 'buried' so i like larger body bags. they are more roomie;)

Where is my fizzy-lifting drink?

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2)
Would you bring a Jet to fly in formation with Cessna 152s?



Silly statement. The difference is more like a 152 compared to a 182. Looking forward to suits that brings performance that you tend to dream you have :ph34r:

The fastest moving nylon object with a human inside I have ever seen with my own eyes (observed air to air) is a guy flying a S-fly (Maybe that was a 172 on steroids? :P)

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I didn't think flocking was that complicated; it's not exactly brain surgery, but apparently it is still beyond the intellect of some jumpers. Sounds like the people you were flying with still don't 'get it'. You really should have held a remedial flocking 101 class to help them out, Glen.. ;):P



I could have held a mini-siminar on flocking but I'm only a first generation BMI and they are all late model PFI, MEI, CFII, a real professor and a guy who calls himself a professor but isn't. I don't think they'll listen.

Yes no body wanted to be the base for fear that I would ass munch them. Diego did a great job on thursday but it was chaos for the days following.

You know the texas bunch doesn't play nice, they don't want to flock like normal children. They should be banned from all wingsuit boogies, even the ones in texas, for being too disruptive and not gliding fair. I would much rather do CReW with them. I'll go on record as pretty much hating them when it comes to wingsuits and any post on this forum.

All twisted humor aside Tony, the level of flockage skill has increased. There will be tight flying for the big dogs ( fast tight and flat) and not just solos off big Norwegian walls but regular skydive flocks of this nature. And of course there will always be falling flocks for fat cats and the less skilled. Its the future bro.

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I jumped Jason's and found it both floaty and flappy (I could not make the legwing extension stop flapping).



That is the results most flyers have on it, except for Jason. I have refused offerings to fly it.

Jason must be stopped somebody has got to stomp that boy.

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1)
I don't really care how many jumps you have (even if it's SIX THOUSAND SKYDIVES) or how many of them are in a wingsuit of some sort or other. Each suit needs to be learned and making a comparison of one suit on which you have many jumps against another that you have relatively few is just plain stupid.



That's your opinion, but your opinion doesn't count very much to me. My experience in the suit led me to my opinion about the suit. More to the point, it's not so much my opinion as that of the two guys I regularly jump with who both own V2's. One, Scott Burns, has more than enough jumps on his suit to recognize that he just doesn't like the suit. He much-preferred his V1. I simply don't have a need to "take time to relearn" the V2; my V1 and S6 are perfect for what I use them for (instruction, dirty flocks, fast flocks, technical flocks). Robi makes great suits, I just don't like what I felt in the V2. It's not my bag. Your "just plain stupid" comment is just plain stupid.

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2)
The Vampire V1 and V2 were never designed to be flocking suits. Neither was the S3 or the modified S3 they call S3S, S6 or Gibralter or whatever the new marketing name will be next week - the one with the wider leg and bigger deflectors on the arms because "bigger is always better". A decent pilot in any suit can flock, of course if you tailor a flock to a particular type of suit it will be harder for others to play... duh!
The V1 and V2 take quite a bit of time to learn and fly in different flight modes, I have said many times that the Phantom is a better choice for flocking. Would you bring a Jet to fly in formation with Cessna 152s?



Not a good analogy. Lots of people out there don't have the money for multiple suits, so many of them choose to get the most HP suit that they can. Yes, I totally agree that the Phantom (a fantastic suit, particularly with the Acro top vent option) is a better flocking suit. It doesn't matter that the Vampire series was not "designed for flocking"; that's what most people who own them do with them.

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3)
Saying the V2 is a step backwards from the V1 is crazy talk. I'm not even going to get into that, you are clearly showing ignorance on that one.



I didn't say that the V2 was a step backwards. I said that I liked my V1 and my S6 better than the perfectly-fitting V2 I jumped and I gave my reasons for stating such. Crazy talk is calling me "ignorant". Robert makes fantastic suits. I doubt he is pissed off that three of us on one dropzone simply don't like one model.

Chuck

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Not a good analogy. Lots of people out there don't have the money for multiple suits, so many of them choose to get the most HP suit that they can. Yes, I totally agree that the Phantom (a fantastic suit, particularly with the Acro top vent option) is a better flocking suit. It doesn't matter that the Vampire series was not "designed for flocking"; that's what most people who own them do with them.


Robert makes fantastic suits. I doubt he is pissed off that three of us on one dropzone simply don't like one model.

Chuck



The Phantom is phantastic. Its got great range. The phantom owners in Moab were absolutely killing it. Some would say its great for beginners all the way to tapping into the range of the S-3. Add the Phacro option and its a hell of a deal for all around flying.

There are few V-1s available in the classifieds they are a fantastic bargain.

You are right Chuck, Not that I can speak for him but there is a lot of Robert's product moving out west, so why sweat it.

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It's a step back, flocking wise (regardless of speed and efficiency) and that doesn't make sense to me.



Chuck, after opening 3 new walls with V2 over the weekend i very strongly suggest you reconsider. It took about 30 flights to dial it in, but now V2 flies like absolutely nothing else in the sky. I am much happier on this trip than i was with the same suit in the same mountains a month ago ;)

This does include the best vertical range out there. The only way i can possibly see you wishing for more is if you want to fly slow in both horizontal and vertical dimentions - but then you just need a large surface area, a big tarp you could schlare :P

bsbd!

Yuri.

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