JohanW

But I wasn't. Short of reading all his posts (no, I'm not taking the time to read 789 posts) I have no way of estimating his frame of reference. He might be a current BMI and PFI with thousands of jumps, or he might be same who has forgotten how it was to be a student. Or he might be a student himself still who hasn't gotten beyond 50 suit jumps and just can't believe he has anything left to learn. (Nathaniel, no, I don't think you are that!) Oh well, any opinion on here is worth what you paid for it. Still, I think the discussion about the learning curve is worthwhile. Johan. I am. I think.

On a safety basis, 25 wingsuit jumps and 250 total jumps to me seems rather on the low end to fly a suit, prevent collision courses on or off level, keep flying in a burble rather than cannonballing through, navigate and deploy stably consistently. This still goes for flying any suit. Upsizing the suit raises the stakes, because it raises the speeds. They are also harder to fly, not so much when everything goes well, but when the fit hits the shan, things go from bad to worse a lot faster and to a lot worse than with a less-high-performance suit. At that moment, suit flight experience as well as total jump experience helps in having more attention span to spare to deal with the situation, as well as being better equipped to actually resolve the situation. Staying out of trouble is great, but things do go wrong sometimes - you said so yourself. You need to be able to solve those problems, and that is where experience really helps. I see parallels with the Stiletto as student canopy thread (here) - everything is great as long as everything goes great, but when things start to happen, you want some forgiveness in your equipment until you can deal with 'things'. Higher performance equipment requires higher performance pilots, and performance comes with experience (and training, and coaching). Upsizing wingsuits isn't fundamentally different from downsizing canopies - learn to walk before learning to run. Make some mistakes on more forgiving equipment. Not all currently available suits are appropriate for a beginner (in wingsuits), we agree on that, but in my unhumble opinion the learning curve is both flatter and longer than you are saying. Johan. I am. I think.

This is the Profile Police! Nathaniel, would you please fill out your profile? And I still think not all wingsuits are created equal. Johan. I am. I think.

A couple hundred jumps total and hundred jumps on suits should be enough to fly any suit on the market. But there definitely are suits that can't be flown safely without a couple dozen suit jumps. Any Birdman Skyflyer suit requires experience. No personal experience in a Phoenix-Fly suit, but my educated guess from looking at them is Vampires are just as bad. Good. Well, if you know what to do with them. My opinion is *not* humble, and I'm *not* apologizing for it. Nathaniel, experience matters *a lot* especially when flying in someone else's burble, instead of getting taken out by it. Taking tumbles poses a significant risk. Recovery is easier and faster in a small suit. Andy, ever have had to do some recovery? If not, try .. up high. You might find your reflexes are wrong, and it takes a lot of cool, thinking, strength and altitude. Read up beforehand! If you have, and it worked, go for it! Johan. I am. I think.

See PD's website. No mention is made of the actual type of line they're made from, unfortunately. Also, 'home made' softlinks have been around for quite a while, and they have been made from varying types of line. Parachutes de France also make softlinks (with a metal ring instead of a cloth tab), but their website doesn't seem to mention them at all. Aerodyne - same story. Johan. I am. I think.

A typical 9-cell would have 40 suspension line attachment points (though a PD Stiletto leaves out the D-lines on the outer 2 cells, leaving, uhm, 36), but those lines of course cascade out from 20 at the risers. A 7-cell would have 32 susp. line att. pts. at the canopy. You're not counting steering lines as suspension lines, are you? Johan. I am. I think.

There, fixed it for you. My advice? Sure, I've got advice. Worth every cent you're paying for it of course 250 Jumps, limited currency, maniacally fast fall rate. Take a step back and reconsider. Sorry, I can't help but have this nagging feeling a 9000 jump male is taking a 250 jump female on a skydive she's not ready for. I apologise if I'm reading the situation all wrong. Johan. I am. I think.

If you like to watch, you obviously pay your own slot. On topic: I started freeflying somewhere after jump 300, wingsuiting somewhere after 500. It's all about being free in the air, having the attention span to spare to navigate, keep track of others and solve your own and other peoples' problems. I'm turning into one of those old farts that has learned too much patience. And I think that's a good thing. Johan. I am. I think.

Experience Johan. I am. I think.

You lose on one end of the envelope what you gain on the other. A suit built for this flight mode might have S3 arm wings and a GTI leg wing, sacrificing drive, or it might be an S1, sacrificing stability. A 30% L/D increase in a very specific flight mode less suited (no pun intended) for flocking (AoA is rather critical, it would seem, and airspeed just results) might not sell as well. After all, you're no longer going Mach 3 with your hair on fire. But it really feels different, and it might be very nice for a sunset jump. (I don't do BASE. There would be very real applications there.) Johan. I am. I think.

Well, stally, that sounds too negative. It was amazingly quiet, I'm guessing I was doing less forward with normal downward speeds. I'd need a GPS for the forward, but it felt slow, and the protrack said low 40s down. Which means better L/D. It was also easier on the stomach, because I didn't need to dearch as hard, even though it was normally heavy on the arms. Which is promising. At the very least, it flies easier than without the weights. Next time, I'm going to try to put a little bit more pressure still on the legs to make more forward speed and, if I get a chance, add some more ankle weight (this was only 2 kg). But I can see where that puts you into a stall very easily. It might just take the balance out of the suit (an S3S), needing more leg wing than it has. A Vampire might actually work better for this. At least, it gives me an excuse to put on lead and say it's not for swooping though ankle weights do play hell on your recovery arc - I was just the slightest bit into the corner every time Johan. I am. I think.

Nice try Jarno. Wanna borrow a full face helmet? Johan. I am. I think.

You haven't seen me fly Johan. I am. I think.

It's a public forum, it was performed in public - go for it. Johan. I am. I think.

Where can I volunteer my rig to be packed in a packing contest? After which I'd have to jump it to have it open for the next round of packing of course Johan. I am. I think.

The rush has worn off, and I've never experienced ground rush. So that's not it, for me, not anymore. I am proving nothing. The control freak in me makes me do my damnedest to perform my best in what I do. Skydiving and parachuting are things one can do well. The stressed office worker in me knows he can go to a dropzone and leave the worries and responsibilities behind. On a dropzone, the entire weekend, I do not think about work at all. Which is nice. I'm simply happy with my feet off the ground. Johan. I am. I think.

4th one is a new idea I hadn't really thought of! And here I was thinking you should try for the perfect setup and approach each time. Reality dictates you will not achieve perfection each and every time. Or even just most times. And while working on perfection, being able to wriggle your recovery arc a little means more options and less need for target fixation. Not to mention being able to swoop the beer line a lot more impressively than by just cranking a turn and swooping right into the hangar by accident. Or into a parked plane. Through bystanders. Dragging your knees through the grass. While crossing the tarmac. Johan. I am. I think.

Good choice on the gear. Skyhook, hard housings, 170 main loaded 1.1 at 300 jumps (according to profile). What I do not understand is how you can look up to see your slider (it wasn't caught up in twisted lines?) and could steer a little (so your steering lines were running free?) but fail to mention twisted lines from shoulders to canopy, and 'couldn't sort out the risers' ? I agree you probably had major line twists, and cutting away was quite probably the correct decision, but could you see the canopy? Could you see the lines? You could see the slider, after all. Anyway, good job on not losing your hair, uhm head, and solving your problem. Johan. I am. I think.

I have landed a canopy with a broken line twice. Center AB, under the cascade, both times (yes, it was retired after that. not worth relining). PD 9-Cell 150 loaded 1.4 (no, not the easiest parachute to land). I could steer/flare it halfway, then it would collapse. I decided to ride it in in half brakes and PLF. I can see why you don't want to do that with a passenger. Johan. I am. I think.

Sure - it's just another skydive. Dream on. Johan. I am. I think.

Congrats to all, esp. my fellow Dutchman Tristan. I seem to remember him as a featherweight though - has he put on enough to be classed as heavy now? Johan. I am. I think.

I've noticed I tend to look a little behind me when trying to look straight down. (I'll turn at *this* farm. Turn. Why am I *behind* this farm now, farther away from the dropzone than I intended to be? *Fly*) While you might travel during deployment, not looking straight down (or underestimating your head-low angle) sounds plausible. Johan. I am. I think.

I find it to be true. When looking at (entire) speed profiles, I see oscillations of 6 seconds in the speed graphs. Not at home, so I can't check speed variations, but this has led me to believe ProTrack uses a running average over 6 seconds for speed. I use it as an advanced logbook only, so I keep it in my pants pocket. That gives seemingly very accurate readings. Johan. I am. I think.

If your profile is correct and up to date, I'd say last year and when you had as many belly jumps as you do now total. Interesting choice of main, BTW. (Not .. going .. there .. ) Johan. I am. I think.

It can be done. Roll your shoulders inwards, have your palms face upwards and sneek a peek at your altimeter. You might go unstable when practicing this, so do it on a solo first (remember: track perpendicular to jump run), and high, but it will allow you to see your altimeter. It might also improve your track Johan. I am. I think.