kat00

I think it depends on your DZ culture. Skydive Perris has a great LO program and goes after the newer jumpers and helps foster their growth. They do a lot of belly oriented events as well teaching everything from basics to advanced. They also do big ways there which helps but its not something all DZs can do. The LOs are coach rated and get their slot paid for by the DZ. On the bright side though they keep people organized and jumping. This especially helps newer people because they get experience with jumps designed to help them succeed while keep it fun for people who may have thousands of jumps. You are not going to make everyone belly fly overnight. If you promote it especially with newer jumpers then you can slowly grow it. You can also try and promote some fun events like speed stars or just low key four way contests for DZ bragging rights.

It's tough to say. I think the everyone wants to wingsuit is overrated because reality says WS base and terrain flying is dangerous. However, I've seen full otter loads of wingsuits on some days. Other days there are few if any. What percentage is deceiving though. First what is the percentage of people with over 200 jumps that are current and jump often. Then how many of those actively wingsuit. USPA doesn't have a wingsuit rating or anything so its really difficult to track. At bigger drop zones where there is a support network and skilled pilots its probably pretty high. Smaller DZs might not have coaches to teach it and then not enough people to regularly jump with. I would probably liken it more to the number of women who jump which is supposedly 13%. My DZ some days has almost a 50/50 split and more women wingsuiters than men. So including the vast majority its probably actually pretty low. Keep in mind wingsuiting is another investment people have to make after buying a rig. Their rig or canopy might not be too wingsuit friendly so even if they try it they may never progress past a first flight course.

I do try to flare the suit before I deploy. I push down on the arm wings and arch. However, it doesent result in the head-high orientation shown in the video. It more or less just levels me out with the horizon and drops my airspeed. You definitely aren't flaring :) From all your posts, you should really dedicate some time with a wing suit coach. It will help you progress far better than getting many different opinions here. Even if you have to travel and spend a few days with a quality coach you will gain a lot of insights into the basics and see video of what you are doing and how to correct. It's worth every penny if you want to be a good wingsuit pilot.

If you see something wrong and can't fix it just cut away. There is nothing wrong with cutting away before your decision altitude. I also wouldn't change your decision altitude based on jump type it's one more thing to think about. For EPs, I wouldn't think so hard. If something bad happens like you are spinning on your back, the emergency procedures don't change. Don't worry about your wingsuit, instead focus on getting a good canopy over your head then worry about the suit.

Give it a spray with scotchgard sun shield. It helps to clean easily and also gives it some uv protection to help with fading. I put that on my ATC although its black but its holding up in the desert environment that I jump in.

I failed most AFF jumps except 1 and 6 largely because of exits. I would be so scared of the exit it would mess me up even though I do alright on the jump. I'm at 550 jumps after a year and a half so you can do it :) Quick tips: 1. Visualize success and dive flow in the plane 2. Take your time in the door and take a deep breath 3. Once out just arch regardless if it's poised, floater or diving. You might tumble but like a badminton shuttlecock you will get belly to earth quick. Ask your instructors about the hill as you leave the plane. Understanding riding down the hill is good knowledge to have for belly and freefly. A good understanding will also help with the mechanics of a dive exit. And just relax :)

Instructional videos are a great start for the basics. This is one of those questions where you can ask 100 people and get 100 answers. Based on your wingsuit and equipment you need to find what works for you. Wingsuit corners, semi stowless, or a skysnatch can all help. Canopy choice also can help with 7 cell low aspect ratios helping with opening. You can fly a gentler 9 cell but its just another thing you need to account for an possibly alter your opening. Assuming a bigger suit that flares, I like to dive hard, flare then return to flight after I hit my apex. Then I pitch with both hands to keep symmetry and then go back to flight for a brief second as it opens. There are also subtleties in packing that different people do. Like in the epicene manual they have a good picture of the cocooning that exposes the nose more. In the end, you just need to practice and find out what is best for you. Get some coaching and make deployments part of the day. If not try and get some on film because you might be surprised to see what you are doing as compared to what you think you are doing :)

I jumped there for 2 weeks not long ago. It's not december but one thing was they were quick to limit who could jump based on strength of wind and jump numbers. Thankfully mornings were calm and it would slowly pick up through mid day and slow down. Low jump number people would often get grounded for an hour or two like around 2-3 then it would start to calm down and it was ok to jump to sunset. My advice would be to stick it out and be patient if its windy enough for them to ground some people. It usually dies down after an hour or two. If it's cloudy that is a different story. If you get really bored waiting though the hotels and other food choices are really close by. Hope that helps some :)

If you don't feel a need to fly it now then I would look more to skills and not focus on jump count. I had a lot of solos on the swift 3 and ended up going to an ATC at about 100 WS jumps. Looking back I might have rushed into the ATC because there wasn't a really good small suit scene and I wanted to fly with others. I ended up spending a lot of time trying to balance learning the suit along with improving flocking skills. Flying solo a lot you don't get that perspective of how you handle flying relative to others. It's like learning to sit fly solo. You might be holding the position but backsliding and moving all over. I'm sure you can fly the ATC solo right now just fine. In the bigger picture though, look at how you fly with others and how your basic skill set is progressing. I would also recommend looking for some good coaching from somewhere even if you need to travel some so that you can get good advice on your progression and development as a WS pilot.

I definitely have peace of mind now on my ATC with a winX which is worth the money to me. My previous sapphire 3 ended in a cut away on the first ATC jump. I definitely got better with the sapphire 3 but it seemed like I needed a lot of perfection on the pull. Switching to a lower aspect ratio 7 cell regardless of brand just gives you confidence. One good thing about the ATC is the bigger wing so if you do get twists you can put out a wing and spin out with some assistance from the wind :)

I have an Icon V in their I5 size which doesn't allow the tall option. I do have the wingsuit corners, semi stowless and I ended up getting a skysnatch from squirrel. The skysnatch isn't required but if you get the wingsuit corners they give you the long bridle and wider pilot chute as part of the rig. If you get an Icon V its Freefly ready even with the wingsuit options. The long option isn't that much bigger and you will be fine freeflying it. I think the hard part about mixing freefly and wingsuiting seriously is keeping a docile parachute for wingsuiting while wanting a more aggressive fun canopy for other jumps.

Don't be so hard on yourself! Skydiving takes time and at less than 25 jumps it sounds like you are actually doing pretty well. As long as you can get stable if you tumble a bit you are doing fine. I know people with hundreds of jumps who have tumbled on a floater exit so don't be too hard on yourself especially at this point. You will find skydiving is a continual gradual learning process. Just take it one jump at a time and follow your instructors advice. Also, just relax and take a deep breath before you jump it does wonders :)

Well the Tom Cruise/James Cordon viral video has helped out Perris with tandems. Perris is having SkyVan Sundays all month for tandems because people were calling in and requesting the plane from the Tom Cruise video. I haven't seen the movie but there was tons of press on Tom doing 100+ jumps while healing from a broken ankle and how it was filmed. There are also tons of things like the stunts people do in the air like flying into the plane, freeflying, swooping, etc. For the people who have an interest those are probably more of an influence than a movie sequence these days. It's also why we have people who want to strap on a go pro or wingsuit way before they are ready.

Where is this Godzilla Marketing about massive advancements? When I think of big marketing I think of the Apple Press event for the new iphones or other big unveils with lots of Marketing Bs. Wingsuit manufacturers have pretty tame and low budget websites along with a simple facebook and instagram presence. They have a few cool videos and stuff but it doesn't say you can't fly anymore unless you have the latest. The people who do upgrade with the latest suits are the same people who likely upgrade their phones every year for the latest and greatest. The best marketing for wingsuit manufacturers is essentially word of mouth. What is your friend flying and do they like it compared to other suits. You give these small companies way too much credit for a few simple videos and quotes on the website.

I've had to use mine twice (wingsuiting line twists) and it worked great. If you are building an Aerodyne setup its a great pairing especially with a skyhook. Mine has opened before I could even think Regardless of rig manufacturer it works great but I've not really heard anything bad about any of the reserves. It will definitely feel different than sporty canopies but in a whirlwind of emotions and adrenalin you won't have any problems flying it assuming it is similar or larger in size.

Yuri - Why all the focus on marketing and lack of innovation? What industry doesn't do marketing BS. Wingsuit marketing is so tame in comparison. Most industries are also stale with minor incremental improvements year over year. There are very few industries that are not stagnant. Todays cars are just 100 years of incremental improvements. Significant advances with cars is more in autopilot and electric vehicles not speed. Cell phones make minor changes every year but hold huge marketing events for them. Wingsuits are a small niche market within an already small market of skydiving. Most people are enthusiasts happy with their Freak 2 or whatever for having fun with friends. Just like most people buy a simple sedan for a car and not a Ferrari. Both get trickle down technology from the high end products though. So for tiny companies, I think wingsuits are actually making some pretty good advancements. Their budgets don't allow for hundreds of engineers or years of R&D focusing on radical changes. Incremental changes are what is likely to happen unless someone comes up with something radical and I don't think your equations or sensors are going to do that.

If you have time try to improve flexibility for your arch. It doesn't hurt to be a little more limber. If you are saving try and also get time off so you can focus on skydiving for a week or two and get the license. Account for the possibility of redoing a level, buying a helmet & altimeter and renting gear too.

A thousand jumps is a lot and a big milestone. People often celebrate 100, 200, 300, etc. 1000 is then a bigger initial milestone and a reason to organize some fun jump with friends. The certificate just assigns you a number that says you were the Xth person to do it. Look in the back of parachutist when you get it, not many people have really hit those marks when you look at their associated number and compare that to the A license numbers.

Whatever happened to NZ aerosports Kraken for wingsuits? Its listed on the demos but I haven't heard about them at all otherwise. It would be interesting to compare all the canopies.

the low jump numbers might be pulling above 4k so might want to go out last in that group setting by pull height. Also warn the noob sitfly to turn and face perpendicular to jump run so when they backslide they don't go into others. :)

Just keep jumping, you will learn to get steady fast and make use of the relative wind. I didnt really learn the hill well until I did some linked exits with experienced jumpers and they help make the exit go smoothly. Then you start to realize what to do especially if you analyze video. My favorite easy exit would be rear float. You are already facing the relative wind. Just step off and arch while looking up at the plane. If you can do this then every other exit becomes similar in that you face the relative wind on exit.

That is a good video. There isn't much in the states about doing this so I always thought it was more head down to be competitive. I figured a steep angle might work and that looks more like what is being done with different body position for stability.

Where is a good place to go in September on the west coast? If you have solid jump numbers so cal is a nice spot. 4 drop zones in the san diego/LA area plus 3 nice tunnels (plus hollywood and perris tunnels). Skydive san diego is a bit pricey now but has a nice constant 5-10 mph winds out of the west. Oceanside is in northern San Diego and requires 50 jumps min for their dz but beautiful views and similar winds. Elsinore and Perris are right near each other. They can get dust devils in the afternoon if its really hot but dust devils are easily avoidable especially since perris has tons of room to land.

Skydive perris in Southern California has planes going everyday and RW Load Organizers everyday that do video reviews of jumps. They also have a huge selection of canopies and containers at the gear shop so you can customize and get a pilot one day or a safire the next. There are also packers daily to help you get more loads. Southern California has good weather and if you are adventurous, Skydive San diego, Go Jump Oceansize are nearby. Skydive Elsinore is also really close since you can see it from the air in perris. For RW though, perris has the best daily organizers but Elsinore has some good weekend RW organizing as well. Wherever you decide though, contact them and explain your situation. 75 jumps but 5 years out might require more than a checkout dive.

From what I recall the source of the blank cards was delayed until recently. Make sure you have indicated in the database that you want a card. You can always print your card from the uspa site as well if you are dying to have one like me :) (No idea about the pro rating sticker though)