notsane

For what it's worth, I need to go on record as one of those who does not like "the grid". My reasons are many, and they've all been presented in this thread. As far as I can see, the largest wingsuit formation record stands at 5, with grips, like every other skydiving discipline. I don't understand the rush to reach 100 and I think "the grid" makes us a laughingstock by granting us "special consideration" that we don't need grips. That's the end of my discussion on the topic. IMHO Scott

FYI ... some folks are staying at the Hyatt Hacienda Del Mar northeast of Vega Baja and about 6 miles away. A little pricey at about $150, but close by.

Awwww ... Alex and Blanca ... you're not coming??

With nearly the entire US in the icebox, including Florida, some time in warm, sunny Puerto Rico is looking better and better! Make sure that you register and fill out the form at http://www.xtremedivers.com/register/register.php as soon as you can! Scott

It's getting colder here and the warm Puerto Rico skies are even more inviting! We're starting to think about this years agenda ... Big ways are probably not on it ... let's have some fun ... 3 minute flocks backflying sequential piece flying 3-D flocks WOOHOO!!!

The dates have been chosen for the 2010 Flock and Dock event. Can it really be 6 years that we've been doing this? So mark your calendars for March 19 - 21. Those dates were chosen so that we have plenty of a/c support and we don't run into any other events, especially spring break. Registration should be up on http://www.baserigs.com/ after January 1st. I'll post again soon once we have a chance to discuss this years agenda, but expect backflying to be high on the list. Better git yer skills up, folks! Scott

I love my P2Z! Make sure that you try its fast-forward abilities ... take a couple of solos ... point your toes, relax your arms and roll your shoulders until you feel the air start to flow across your back. The forward speed is insane.

Give it a good spray with ScotchGard and the dirt with come out easier next time. ScotchGard won't do anything for the smell, though. :-)

Thanks to Jenn and Al! What a great time!

That may be true, but I doubt a naked rodeo smells like a mix of pot and butt sex. I could be wrong, though ...

There shouldn't be any issue keeping a Bluetooth connection, unless maybe Klaus left his iPhone in the plane and just carried the GPS receiver.

Put me down for a copy! +2 on PM. Mike's definitely earned his spot up front. Scott

That's Dan Murray on the far right ... I started jumping there at GCSPC back in January of 78.

Malcolm, Your canopy example introduces far too many variables to count, and your thought that the leg-wing volume is perfectly sealed is flawed, even with the depressurization zipper shut. In a wingsuit wing, the internal pressure is determined by how much air comes in - how much air leaks out. (i.e. a tube has basically no pressure)Limit the air coming in and the pressure will be reduced. Allow an easy exit path for the air already inside the wing, by opening the depressurization zipper ... and now you're dealing with a leg-wing that can be easily collapsed when you're spinning on your back. If you're saying that designers have no control over how pressurized their wings are, and it's all just hit and miss, then that's totally different. Maybe all it takes is some magic pixie dust to make a suit that's super rigid (for performance) on its belly and much less so on its back. Either way, I think it would be a safer design. Scott

That's definitely not true. The internal pressurization of the wings are equal to the difference between what goes out vs what's coming in. The material has a certain porosity, the airlocks don't seal perfectly and there is a de-presurization opening in them. If the air is pouring in thru large inlet vents, you can't get rid of the air in the wing by squeezing it. My Raptor, Phantom and Stealth suits all have airlocked vents and yet I can easily collapse them. Scott

My original thought had nothing to do with having backflying skills. It was all about the need to have the same pressurization on your back that you have on your belly. If most out-of-control spins (I'll avoid the term flat-spin) occur back to earth, shouldn't the flyer be capable of collapsing the leg wing easily? If you're spinning on your back and are unable to easily collapse the leg-wing (the primary driver for the spin), things will go bad in a hurry. I'm saying that backfly vents should be significantly smaller than the belly vents ... for the primary purpose of safety.

Thanks for posting the video. It leads me to make an observation ... I can't remember seeing someone spinning out of control on their belly, the person is always on their back. If out of control spins are more likely on your back, and folks are going to jump suits with such highly pressurized leg-wings that can't be collapsed ... wouldn't it be a good idea to limit the size of the back vents? If you want super stiff pressurization, you'd still have it on your belly, but the back flying would be with a more reasonable pressurization. I've jumped a lot of large wing suits and too much pressurization always gives me the willies at pull time. Even in my Raptor I have the vent zippers half open. Just a thought.

Did you have the de-pressurization leg-wing zipper open or closed? On a more general note ... Why do the pressurizations need to be so high? Is it safe?

Very nice, Jarno! I like that last clip with all the pretty yellow cables ... very festive!

Viviana has just confirmed a third Otter for the boogie. FaceBook users go here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=105690061457

Only now you realize that?

I'll certainly grant you that your incident had a lot more OW! factor!

It takes a hang-glider sized wing to reliably land a human at survivable speeds. Invoke some "magic" technology that cuts that size in half. It's still far too large to hang on the human skeleton and call a "wingsuit". Aerodynamics is pretty well understood, and if something the size of a person was supposed to be flying around, evolution would have exploited that opportunity. This isn't warp-drive or transporter wish-and-make-it-so technology ... it comes down to mass, wing area and airspeed. A small wing area and a large mass equals a high airspeed ... one that's unsurvivable at landing. I've seen survivable wingsuit descent rates with my own eyes, but the person was hauling ass forward to get that descent rate. But, who am I to crush someone's dreams? Make your funeral arrangements and go try it. BTW, in what font do you want us to write "Dumb Ass" on your tombstone?

And it starts again .... Why not try writing an article about the joy and beauty of wingsuit flight and the great people that pursue it, instead of being used by some wanna-be celebrities? Landing a wingsuit makes as much sense as landing a refrigerator. (search this forum for all sorts of reasons why landing a wingsuit is bullshit). If people are telling you that it can be done, they are only trying to get you to print their names so they can transform fame into cash. If someone really wants to land a wingsuit, let us know so we can start a flower fund for the funeral and make sure there are witnesses to post the aftermath. So far, good sense has stopped everyone else from carving a trough in the ground on purpose. Wake up, gottabefunky and write a good article instead ...

Does anyone else find that last statement a little cocky for someone with 3 years in the sport and a hundred skydives? As if we haven't seen this before.