Raptor vs Ghost2...

[WatchYourStep 0]

Getting ready to purchase another suit...am thinking of either the Raptor or the Ghost2. I'd love some feedback from those who have flown both with pros and cons.

Thanks

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[DSE 3]

Given what your experience is, what you're jumping out of, and overall performance, i'd sure look hard at the PhoenixFly Phantom 2Z. It's a great suit without a lot of wing.

[SuperGirl 0]

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Getting ready to purchase another suit...

since you are saying "another" suit I am assuming you already have one. what's your current suit and how many jumps did you put on it? what percentage of those jumps were solos?

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am thinking of either the Raptor or the Ghost2. I'd love some feedback from those who have flown both with pros and cons.

If you are considering the Raptor you might want to look at the R-Bird on the Tonysuit side. It's a couple hudred bucks extra for the Bird mod but you get better performance and less arm fatigue for the same size suit.

If you're looking at the Phoenix Fly side, I also second DSE's suggestion to look into the Phantom2Z before going straight to the Ghost2.

One question first. What's your body like? Tall & skinny? Short and well rounded? It's an important consideration.

If you enjoy your burgers and fries and have a less than average metabolism, in other words you'll have a bit of a wing loading on the suit, then R-Bird again highly recommended. First time you put it on you get that "whoa, where did all this lift come from?" feeling. But I find that with most Tony suits (especially as you go bigger and bigger) wing loading makes them fly better.

For my body size, though, I would most certainly choose a Phantom2Z. Keep in mind I own a Raptor right now. I have flown the crap out of that Raptor (almost 500 jumps on it) and will continue to fly the crap out of it until it tears into little shreds. It's a great all around suit. But having recently had time to play with a Phantom2Z I have to say I was very pleasantly impressed. It made me wish I had learned aerobatics on the Phantom2... that thing backflies and rolls like a total aerobatic dream. And even though it feels like less wing, I could get the same range in it as in my Raptor, without even having had the same number of jumps on it.

Again, it's important to consider your body type and how much you'll be loading the suit. Also consider your current level of experience, and last but not least the type of flying you intend to do in the future.

Any chance you can make it to Flock n Dock in March? That would be a good opportunity to test fly both suits you are asking about, as well as the other ones we are suggesting here. Seeing for yourself how the suit flies before you purchase it would be highly beneficial.

[mnskydiver688 0]

The Ghost 2 is a nice suit. I went from a Firebird to an S6 to a Ghost 2 and have been very impressed with it. It feels much more natural and intuitive to fly than either of the first two suits I have owned. I have demoed a Raptor, Mach 1, and Phantom 2 also. There is obviously more wing to deal with than the Phantom2z, but I was pleasantly surprised at pull time of how the wing really doesn't cause any issues. In addition I have taken it out of a c182 many times with no issue.

However your results may vary.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[mccordia 73]

On the subject of big suits>small planes.

Ive also taken the biggest of suits out of C182/c206 hundreds of times, and never got into scary situations.
But sometimes it is a bit of a strugle.

The biggest thing is, ask the pilot to fly as slow as he is comfortable with on jump run. Not dangerously slow. But normal.
Some pilots tend to hardly cut the engine, and fly at a ballistic pace that shows the intent to break orbit, and head for the moon in terms of speed.

That aside, its hard to buy a 'bad' wingsuit these days. But it is a BIG thing to make sure your wingsuit is tailored to your body size.

With more surface, also comes more drag. An effect heavy/bigger people suffer less of (even the opposite, they tend to fly a good glide, but at insane forward speed on smaller suits). But one that could mean always having to flex wings back to fly with others.

Even though the flock may be flying at a good glide, lacking the wingload for proper forward speed/penetration.
Something that can turn problematic on bigger formations, as a late diver.

Judging your bodysize, Id definately aim at something swift and agile..

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[Birdman_Mike 0]

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One question first. What's your body like? Tall & skinny? Short and well rounded? It's an important consideration.

I agree that body shape is important. I am 5'9'' and 150 lbs. I don't consider myself tall, but I am on the light side for my height. I love my Phantom 2! I agree with Andrea that it is a great suit for backflying, scary rolls, etc., yet it still has amazing forward speed for a relatively small wing. It's great for a beginner as well as an experienced wingsuit pilot.

I have not flown a Raptor, so I can’t comment on its performance.

I have a few jumps on the Ghost/Ghost 2. On my belly, I spent most of the time with the wings collapsed. On my back, I was also able to maintain a lower fall rate than on my Phantom 2. However, in both cases I had less forward drive than on my Phantom 2.

I did make some rodeo jumps with a Ghost, and it did perform a lot better for me. Of course, I had girls on back weighing 105-115 lbs making us 255-265 lbs together. I usually use my Vampire 3 for rodeo jumps, but this suit is in an entirely different class.

Paul Cain ([email protected]) has a lot of experience on a Ghost (or maybe Ghost 2). He likes the suit, and he is a little taller and heavier than I am. Also, he just recently purchased a Tony Suit (not sure what type). So, he may be able to give you an additional point of view.

I hope to see you in Puerto Rico and/or Flock and Dock

Purple Mike

[BenediktDE 2]

Looking at your wingload you seem to be a lighter person. What do you want to fly? Flocks, or solo szenic flights?
If you want to flock, a Phantom2(z) might be a suit you would want to demo. It already has wings big enough if you are light and would not be so floaty.

Write a bit about your planed flights, size, weight and experience.

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.

[paulelana 0]

As Purple said I have jumped the Ghost 2 for most of my jumps but have also jumped the Raptor and more recently the S Bird. I'm just over 5 ft 10 inches and weigh 175 pounds and base my comments on this. I started jumping the Ghost at jump numbers that most would not recommend and found it easy enough. I hear what people say about upsizing and agree that a smaller suit would make it easier to learn but I enjoyed the Ghost so just got on with it. As far as I am concerned it has done me very well. It has great all round performance at my wing loading and I have never felt I have to fold the wings up. Instead I just arch more (bit like FS really but don't tell anybody), this increases stability and allows you to keep your head up. Useful for cross referencing (also a bit like FS). Only time I fold the wings up is diving when I put my hands behind my back.

Back to the question. Compared to the Raptor my overwhelming opinion would be it depends on delivery times, colour, manufacturer preferences and a whole lot of things that unrelated to suit performance. Before I get shot down let me explain. I think there are differences. I think the Ghost seems to be slower forward but it may have more lift at slow forward speeds. These differences are relatively small and I suspect many average users (like me) are not getting the most out of the suit and won't really find it matters too much. I also think that the body position for one is not the same as the other so it can be difficult to compare until you have several jumps on both. In the end the only way you can find out what you like is try them out and what you are comfortable in will be better than any suit.

Now the S-Bird that I have at the moment is whole different proposition......

Paul.

[base851 0]

Time to necro a thread...

Does anyone here have any flight time in both the Ghost 2 and S-Bird? I'd be interested in the pros/cons of each.... particularly as a general purpose flock-n-dock suit for people like me who... enjoy our beer (I'm 5'6" @ 180.... stop snickering Mike).

I was considering a Ghost 2, but I've heard some folks say that the Tony Suits are a good choice for stockier folks. The S-Bird seemed like the closest match on the Tony side.

[Birdman_Mike 0]

If you give up beer, then you should be able to drop down to 160 before your new suit arrives

Purple Mike

[TheCaptain 2]

I would think that when it comes to the heavier fliers that the more wing the better (provided you have the experience to handle it). I am 6'2" and about 240 out the door, with my Tony suit Super Mach 1 I achieved a sustained fall rate of 42 MPH over the 2 minute 40 second skydive. That was on my 6th jump on the suit so I know I still have room to learn and grow.

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[base851 0]

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If you give up beer, then you should be able to drop down to 160 before your new suit arrives

I know, but giving up beer is like giving up puffies and rodeos.

[Zymurdoo 0]

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If you give up beer, then you should be able to drop down to 160 before your new suit arrives

I know, but giving up beer is like giving up puffies and rodeos.

and beer makes those belly jumps easier, too.

Blue Skies, Soft Docks and Happy Landings!
CWR #23
(It's called CRW, add an e if you like, but I ain't calling it CFS. FU FAI!)