notsane 0
The ability of folks to hold slot in something like a 9-way diamond always amazes me. It realistically requires you to hold yourself at a 3D point that may be moving while paying attention in at least 2 directions. That's why I structure the really big formations with a minimum amount of symmetry (like the chevrons), where a flyer has only one direction to focus their attention in.
The basic tenant of flocking is to fly relative to other people. If you have 4 or 5 similarly sized folks exiting together, flying the flock maxed out is easy. On the other hand, if you have 20 people strung out of an Otter, of all different sizes and suits, then someone either isn't going to be maxed out or they will not be in the formation. It's all about flying relative to each other.
The base has to make a guess on exit whether to be a little slower forward/faster down (for vertical formations) or more maxed out (for flat formations). I say "a guess" because, as base, you can't see anyone behind you to know if they are catching up to the formation, struggling to stay with it or flying in a ball. It's all about setting a rate that's within everyone's comfort zone, if possible.
If your suit can't fly dirty and/or flaps like a trash bag when you close it down a little, it might be time for a different suit. I've watched videos of our big ways where most folks were in a reasonable position; some strecthed out while others were legs-up ... and several suits stood out as flappers, even though the speed was reasonable. Again, it's all about flying relative .... us heavy guys should be wearing the big suits, and you skinny folks should consider a smaller suit for flocks. This isn't exactly news, the RW guys were doing this 30 years ago.
We were trying things just a little differently in PR last week ...
1) Get out as quickly as possible
2) Be stable out the door
3) Visually acquire and dive to the formation; do not move across it EVER
4) Approach your slot from behind or from the side, and on level (for flat positions); from the front left or right (for stacked positions) to avoid the burble
5) RELAX and BREATHE! Start the chant .... Ohm ... Ohm ... Ohm ... don't hold those grippers with your fists, RELAX ... Ohm ... Ohm ....
Scott
The basic tenant of flocking is to fly relative to other people. If you have 4 or 5 similarly sized folks exiting together, flying the flock maxed out is easy. On the other hand, if you have 20 people strung out of an Otter, of all different sizes and suits, then someone either isn't going to be maxed out or they will not be in the formation. It's all about flying relative to each other.
The base has to make a guess on exit whether to be a little slower forward/faster down (for vertical formations) or more maxed out (for flat formations). I say "a guess" because, as base, you can't see anyone behind you to know if they are catching up to the formation, struggling to stay with it or flying in a ball. It's all about setting a rate that's within everyone's comfort zone, if possible.
If your suit can't fly dirty and/or flaps like a trash bag when you close it down a little, it might be time for a different suit. I've watched videos of our big ways where most folks were in a reasonable position; some strecthed out while others were legs-up ... and several suits stood out as flappers, even though the speed was reasonable. Again, it's all about flying relative .... us heavy guys should be wearing the big suits, and you skinny folks should consider a smaller suit for flocks. This isn't exactly news, the RW guys were doing this 30 years ago.
We were trying things just a little differently in PR last week ...
1) Get out as quickly as possible
2) Be stable out the door
3) Visually acquire and dive to the formation; do not move across it EVER
4) Approach your slot from behind or from the side, and on level (for flat positions); from the front left or right (for stacked positions) to avoid the burble
5) RELAX and BREATHE! Start the chant .... Ohm ... Ohm ... Ohm ... don't hold those grippers with your fists, RELAX ... Ohm ... Ohm ....
Scott
The111 1
Quote1) Get out as quickly as possible
2) Be stable out the door
3) Visually acquire and dive to the formation; do not move across it EVER
4) Approach your slot from behind or from the side, and on level (for flat positions); from the front left or right (for stacked positions) to avoid the burble
5) RELAX and BREATHE! Start the chant .... Ohm ... Ohm ... Ohm ... don't hold those grippers with your fists, RELAX ... Ohm ... Ohm ....
6) Elbow Scott in the thigh?
www.WingsuitPhotos.com
mccordia 73
QuoteWe were trying things just a little differently in PR last week ...
Agree with all these statements...but how is that any different from how it has always been? (granted, not how everyone has been doing it for ages)
But its just good old basic RW bigway setup and build, or am I missing something here?
Exit stable, dive, find your sector, line up, level, fly into your slot, fly your slot?
JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?
As I said, I am optimistic about the record attempts (with their schedule of skills camps) forcing a lot of unserious people with wingsuits to re-assess their goals and actually work on developing the skills necessary to fly with each other. I'm hoping the general quality of flyers a year from now will be a quantum leap from where we are now.
Brian you can not make the assumption that these bigways are appealing to everyone who owns a suit. We know many excellent RW and CReW guys that come out and rockit every weekend on challenging sequential dives ( 20 ways or smaller) who you will never find trying out for a big way for various reasons.
As an example I would guess there are some wingsuit guys that are salivating over the kind of stuff Jarnos got going on in Belgium as opposed to how some of us feel about the upcoming bigways, which they could care less about.
Personally I'm not going to predict the quantum expansion of WS but enjoy what ever developes and the people I will get to fly with in the upcoming camps.