What to expect when flying bigger suit.

[mrbiceps 0]

So i have a total of 20 jumps on my firebird and am feeling good in it. Nice and stable, able to hold a heading, turns are okay. I have a mach 1 sitting at home and was planning on trying it when i get to at least 50 jump mark and am feeling 100% in the firebird. My question is what should i be prepared for on the first flight in the bigger suit? What is going to be different? What should i be prepared for apart from the dam huge smile on my face... thanks guys.

[mnskydiver688 0]

The fact that the inflation on the Firebird can not even compare to the inflation of the Mach 1. You will have to work harder to shut down the wings. More than you know. The wing is much more likely to get in the way at pull time when compared to the Firebird. I have flown both a Firebird and a Mach 1. Couldn't be more different... Good luck.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[JohanW 0]

If my own experiences are anything to go by, on your first flight in the bigger suit you'll be amazed at the forward speed increase, the lift increase and the actual ease of flying it. Nothing will go wrong and it'll be a lot of fun. No tongue in cheek here, just a damn huge smile.

Then, after ten or twenty or even thirty jumps, something will go wrong, this will of course be on a rodeo with someone, you'll go unstable after exit and you'll be spinning on your back. You'll try to fix the exit for too long because it's not just *your* jump you've just screwed, and you'll be spinning on your back for a couple of thousand feet because you honestly can't remember how to get out of the backspin once you've been in it for a while. (Did I mention you were trying to fix it for too long because it wasn't just *your* jump .. ?) It sounds stupid, but it's not beyond possible. I *know*. (This was on an S3S.)

The only saving grace is you actually *had* several thousand feet to spin on your back, because you were not yet doing rodeos from 5, which you did not start doing until you felt even more comfortable *and* you had had the good luck, not planning, luck, to have f*cked up an exit from 12. Later, when you do a medium f*ck up on a rodeo from 5, you might actually be able to get it stable and flying before break-off with the video guy. Oh, and rider unmount. If this sounds like I've done stupid shit, well, nobody's perfect. Rodeos are big fun BTW. But stay with small girls or small suits. Well, for a while.

If you are "able to hold a heading" in the Firebird, I have my doubt you are flying it to its potential. If your heading isn't exactly where you want it, all the time every time, you would have me worried in that Mach 1. And it took me more jumps than 20 to really learn to fly my GTi, giving maximum legs and adjusting with the arms, which I consider something you should have down pat before becoming a lazy flyer in your Mach 1. That one is so big you'll be needing its entire range almost never, and maxing it out is something you might not even manage for a whole flight, so the only way to experience and practice truly max flight is now, in your Firebird. And the spin you can get in in a Mach 1 is a *lot* more impressive, too.

What you should really be prepared for is not wanting to jump your Firebird anymore after having jumped that Mach 1 once. (Never demo a suit you can't immediately buy! Another thing I did wrong .. ) You can probably get away with jumping the Mach 1 on solos. But there still are things to learn and develop on your Firebird, and the temptation to jump your Mach 1, also on formation jumps, and even bigger formation jumps with more stress, where you can f*ck up royally, might be too high. And your learning curve on the Mach 1 will be flatter than on the Firebird. Everything you can learn on the Firebird *will* translate to the Mach 1. You can learn things better, faster and easier on the Firebird, and you will not be wanting to fly it.

Or I may be unique, or maybe you're just better than I was. No tongue in cheek there, it's a real possibility. But not one I or you can assess. I'd like to be unique And maybe not. F*cking up is a good learning experience, especially if you survive.

Johan.
I am. I think.

[Balu 1]

Fun. If you prepared it well enough.

First of all, make sure that your exit is really 100%, which means always on the desired heading, with the wings fully collapsed. Keep the several tailstrikes of the recent years in mind. The rest will be quite eays and what might happen when it comes to the pull was described before. On my Blade 2 I can even fell the pressure in the wings when I collapse them on earth. Not a big deal if you are prepared for it.

I never tried a Mach 1, but several other big suits, and from that experience I fully agree to the other statements.

1300 Sprünge, 100er Wingsuit Formation, viele nette Menschen kennengelernt, keine Unfälle. Schön war's!

[hjumper33 0]

Does your mach1 have zips. Im actually not sure when they did and didnt put them in suits, but if you unzip them, the wings dont have as high of pressure in them. That being said, I didnt find a SMI excessively different to fly, as long as it fits you well.

[mccordia 73]

Depending on your weight, a bigger suit can also be a hindrence.
Just like a big canopy, lacking the wingload to fly properly with others.

Ive seen several small/tall light guys 'upgrade' to big suits (blade, , Sm1, ghost etc etc) and completely lack speed to keep up with groups.

Though you may be flying the same glide ratio, the added surface also ads drag. Meaning some people have to fly the suits without any armwing, and mostly on legs to keep up in a weird diving position.

Most of the smaller/lighter built (often lady)flyers will be better of on something more lean and mean, in terms of flying a suit that gets em everywhere.

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[kallend 1,621]

Quote

The fact that the inflation on the Firebird can not even compare to the inflation of the Mach 1. You will have to work harder to shut down the wings. More than you know. The wing is much more likely to get in the way at pull time when compared to the Firebird. I have flown both a Firebird and a Mach 1. Couldn't be more different... Good luck.

OK, but another 30 (or 300) jumps on the Firebird isn't going to change that comparison.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[The111 0]

I put almost 100 jumps on a GTi (smaller than your Firebird... by a little) before moving to a S3 (smaller than a M1).

Is there something specific that you can't do in your Firebird?

Holding a heading and turning are basically equivalent to getting through AFF. Can you flock? Can you approach a slot fast and stop? Can you stay in that slot? Can you do barrel rolls and backfly? A bigger suit will only make ALL these things harder...

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[mnskydiver688 0]

I guess I should've continued with my point and said possibly move to a suit that has better inflation than the firebird, but not to the extent of the SM1.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters