notsane

I jumped the PAC at WFFC (no WS) and I looked it over pretty close on the ground. Given a choice between the PAC and another a/c to do a wingsuit jump from I belive I'll pick "another". Mistakes happen and you always want to be at least 2 mistakes from getting hurt. The low horizontal stabilizer on the PAC eliminates one of those mistakes. Now you're down to one and it's only a matter of time ..

I was on that dive with Jari and it was quite a spectacle. He was spinning so fast he was a blur, but when those cutaways came out he was nearly instantly stable. BTW, he kept the cutaways in his left hand .. he didn't lose them! Welcome to the flock, Brian! It was a pleasure to be your BMI! Scott

I'm glad you survived and you're on the mend. This is exactly the kind of thing we need to be aware of in Rantoul. Wingsuit flying has gotten a lot more popular and the potential for accidents may be greater than ever before. Bouncing a couple of wingsuit flyers would be very bad for the sport (not to mention the folks involved). I'm hoping we'll start with small flocks and get larger as the experience and comfort levels increase. The BMCI's out there (and us BMIs) can hopefully help out ... maybe keeping lists of folks who're experienced at different flock levels. That way we can all have fun safely. I've been on large flocks where people were buzzing around like flies and been struck myself. Don't buzz around. Move slowly. Never point yourself more than a few degrees from the base persons line-of-flight. Let's be safe! I want to walk home, not be carried there.

Hey .. concerning your Neptune ... do you have the latest 2.1.2 software for it? I've been below 40mph and it still recorded my time for me with this revision.

IMHO ... There are similarities and differences between the BMI and AFF instructor. For both, the ground instruction is critical. During freefall though, the AFF instructor has their hands on the student and can help with a wide variety of problems. There's little the BMI can do in freefall to help a student who's in really bad trouble other than watch. The BMI's main job in freefall is to provide feedback for the next jump. This makes the ground instruction, the need for a standardized course and BMI qualification that much more important. Good instructor skills and good course material (Thanks Chuck and Scott!) are much more crucial to the student having a good, fun jump that having BirdGod flying abilities. I certainly don't expect to get rich being a BMI, but being able to give something back to the sport and given all the perks ... it's a pretty good investment.

Chuck! BMI's Cancer Chris and I will be there Friday to Friday. Pleae be ready with cold beer.

It really comes down to how much you intend to fly the suit .. if you're intending to do a BM jump every once in a while, choose the GTi. If you're addicted (like me) go for the S3. The GTi is more forgiving and easier to fly well than the S3, but the S3's performance is much, much better when flown by an experienced person. GTi's and S3's can flock together ... when flocking you're usually nowhere near maxed out. For me a solo dive might be over 2 minutes, while a flocking dive might be around 90 seconds. Hope this helps.

I doubt that Chuck would even hesitate to help out a fellow Bird-person because he might get a "handful of dude package". I'm sure he weighs it against the occasional "clam-bump".

Everyone talking about landing a wingsuit should look at his descent rate as he gets close to the ground. Forget about survivable, that's not even an open casket funeral. Back atcha bodypilot90 http://www.lindqvist.com/index.php?ID=328

Of course, peeing in your Birdsuit is wrong, wrong ...

But it was very warm .. very warm indeed.

I've come up with a technique for pre-inflating my wingsuit before exit that extends my freefall time and slows my descent. I pick someone in the aircraft (not the pilot) to pull on my finger. The sudden release of methane into the suit pre-inflates it and adds additional lift. I find this works especially well after a night of eating peanuts, boiled eggs and beer. As an added bonus the other jumpers exit the plane more rapidly. Please post your own research here.

All. Thanks for your first-hand inputs. The key seems to be ... be careful and do it right ... always good advice if you want to walk home at the end of the day (my wife and kids appreciate that). I like the idea of the pouch, but only if that becomes the only place my PC handle resides. I spent enough time early in my jumping career patting around to find the handle on borrowed gear to know that sucks. Since I basically only do wingsuit jumps now, that shouldn't be an issue. I definitely will get it sewed on correctly. THANKS!

Does anyone have any first-hand experience skydiving with the S3 base pilot-chute pouch option? It looks easier to reach (vs reaching around the wing) but there are other issues to consider.

Based on your freefall time and tiredness I'd guess that you're trying too hard. Hitting the right position is a curious mix of being in the right position but also being somewhat relaxed. I weigh in at 200lbs (without gear), 5' 11" and I'm getting over 130 seconds with my S1. I'm definitely not a super athlete or thin/tall. When I'm trying for maximum time I run though a checklist in my mind to position each body part: 1)shoulders forward, elbows bent, palms up 2)slight de-arch 3)legs straight, toes pointed, feel the leg wing pressure slightly 4)relax! and back to 1) Getting the very minimum speed and the longest freefall time seem to be opposite goals too. Going the very slowest usually involves a dive, followed by a hard pull-up, followed by another dive, where the longest freefall time is all about consistancy and shallow turns. IMHO

FYI .. the Aerodyne Pilot is a very nice canopy for BirdMan jumps.

It also depends on what you want to do with it. If you expect to do BirdMan jumps only ocassionally then the GTi is probably your best choice among BirdMan suits. If you're jumping BirdMan all the time I'd go for the S3 ,it's the highest performance but needs extra experience. If you're concerned about the leap in performance between your Classic and the S3 you could try to find a demo GTi or SkyFlyer to jump first.

If there's a BMI (BirdMan Instructor) nearby it would be a great idea to let them coach you.

It was -20F and 60 knots at altitude .... low 30's and 20+ mph on the ground. If I was there on vacation with a limited time to jump I might have gone too. But, since I wasn't I tried to stay warm on the ground .... "It's better to be down here, wishing you were up there, than up there, wishing you were down here". B-R-R-R-R

Rob (from Morpheus) advised me that getting the bridle lengthened was much more important than the dynamic corners .. and I've found that to be true. I still have the original corners on my old, old Javelin. Try a longer bridle and if you still have problems go for the corners mod.

Chris would kill me for mentioning it but he's in the hospital today to begin cancer treatment that will last at least 4 months. Send your good thoughts and wishes his way ...

Yep, Chris has gotten pretty good with that 4Mpixel cam. Notice that Skydive City's packing area, manifest, etc is positioned in the shot as well. I'll be out there Saturday and Sunday.

and leave my cameraman? Nicely positioned full flight maxed out shots are really tough to get ...

I believe it has to do with getting clearance from the ATC folks.

The weather is looking good for this weekend. Night jumps Saturday and High Altitude first thing Sunday AM. Chris won't be there but I'll be organizing if we have enough BirdFolks.