pms07

This is a good idea and I hope it succeeds. It could increase access to various models of wingsuits, making it easier for flyers to try something different. At the same time it could help some recoup some of the cost of their fleet of wingsuits. Bravo!

That is sad news. I shared lots of skydiving adventure with BT in the late '70s through the '80s and always enjoyed being around him. Great person, a real pioneer in RW, and could fly his ass off...

I saw this pic over the weekend while visiting Z Hills and everyone that saw it concluded it was one the better skydiving photos ever. Well done Juan!

Awesome story! Shorty would have loved being there.

This is exceptional Jarno, both the flight skills and production. Awesome!

The Foghead is rooted in the R Bird which in turn is a modified Raptor, they all are in the same family. If you are current and confident on a Raptor then a move to a Foghead should be pretty seamless. my problem is I'm 6 foot 4" 260 pounds without gear. I just get left in the dust on the Raptor. am I going to see enough performance increase with a fog is to make it worthwhile The Foghead has slightly bigger arm wings than the R Bird to balance it out. Travis dominates in it and he is shorter and only slightly lighter than you, which means with the extra surface area you would have from your height it should work our nicely. The Raptor just isn't a modern wingsuit anymore and a new generation suit of the same scale will perform a lot more. Agree with everything Simon said. There is another TS option though that might fit your needs. Instead of the Foghead get the R-Bird Pro. Same leg wing, larger arm wing. Big suit but easier to fly than those suits you see being worn by lots of the world class performance folks, Jedei, etc. The R-Bird Pro is big for general flocking however... And what Simon says about the Raptor is right on, I have finally put mine away for good because there are much better performing smaller suits. As an example, I have a Squirrel Swift with smaller wings than my Raptor that easily outperforms it... A friend of mine was flying his Rbird-Pro in a bigway flock which has a fairly slow forward speed. On those suits where the large wing is affected by bending your knees, slowing it down appears to be a challenge. Well, in no way would I recommend the R-Bird Pro as a general big way flocking suit although I know at least one dude that uses his that way. For typical big way speeds the RBP is probably way too big for most of us. YMMV...

I think its also important to realize that the sport and our gear have changed significantly since Helmut first put the Cypres on the market. Canopies, generally, open much slower. We also open much higher than we used to. Pulling at 2000' (or lower) used to be routine. Now days pulling below 3000', for many, is a friggin emergency. Years ago few would have strapped on an AAD if it opened higher than 750' to 1000'....

The Foghead is rooted in the R Bird which in turn is a modified Raptor, they all are in the same family. If you are current and confident on a Raptor then a move to a Foghead should be pretty seamless. my problem is I'm 6 foot 4" 260 pounds without gear. I just get left in the dust on the Raptor. am I going to see enough performance increase with a fog is to make it worthwhile The Foghead has slightly bigger arm wings than the R Bird to balance it out. Travis dominates in it and he is shorter and only slightly lighter than you, which means with the extra surface area you would have from your height it should work our nicely. The Raptor just isn't a modern wingsuit anymore and a new generation suit of the same scale will perform a lot more. Agree with everything Simon said. There is another TS option though that might fit your needs. Instead of the Foghead get the R-Bird Pro. Same leg wing, larger arm wing. Big suit but easier to fly than those suits you see being worn by lots of the world class performance folks, Jedei, etc. The R-Bird Pro is big for general flocking however... And what Simon says about the Raptor is right on, I have finally put mine away for good because there are much better performing smaller suits. As an example, I have a Squirrel Swift with smaller wings than my Raptor that easily outperforms it...

It's really difficult to talk about this scenario intelligently without knowing the approximate distance from the runway you were and how far from the runway (or approach to runway) you were when you landed. 25ft? 300yds? What? If you were close enough that a plane landing on the runway was a concern then you were in the wrong place. If not, why be concerned? Airplanes at real airports, generally, land on the runway. Parachutes should keep their distance.

Yes, you have it mixed up. What you are looking at is the BioYoke, a major part of why the Curv is so comfortable. There is nothing sharp, no plastic, so your jugular is probably safe with an RI Curv... Try on a Curv, jump one if you can. I think you will be impressed.

Before my time. But I'm guessing the #8 grommet would allow the bag to slide down to the p/c and choke it off. That might have been a reason at some point but #8 grommets were used on some bags before there were hand deploy pilot chutes. Of course a spring-launched pilot chute would not collapse regardless of the grommet size...

I first met Damian at the Nationals in Muskogee, I think 1983. He was a unique, engaging and talented person. He will be missed greatly by many.

Okay. For me, I find the full length zipper models much easier to don and I've heard that from others. I'm about 60 friggin' years old and have arthritis in my hips and knees however. Of course there are others that would disagree it's easier and prefer a 4 zipper style. Or it might just be a matter of what you learned on or are used to jumping. But clearly some prefer one style of zippers over the other. It's really just a minor personal preference. But what's why it's nice we have all these options, different manufacturers, different models of wingsuits and different events or types of jumps, etc. You get to choose what you like and where you spend your money.

Pay attention: No one said to "choose his wingsuit because of that". It is a factor that some consider however and may help tilt the decision one direction or the other. Personally, I much prefer the full length zipper style on Tony and Squirrel suits but that would not stop me from jumping or owning a PF suit. I know others that prefer PF style...and I know others that don't give a shit what kind of zippers they have and jump both. YMMV...

The Freak looks like it has a longer tail wing than the Foghead and also more arm wing sweep. I own a Funk and think the Foghead compares very favorably. I will be interested in Jeff's comparison of the Foghead, Carve and Funk. In any case, I don't think you can go wrong with any of these 3 choices. A couple of things that may tilt that decision for some: full length versus PF style zippers, thumb loop versus grippers.

+1 I've seen too much drama on under-planned rodeos with under-experienced participants. PM rodeos are always entertaining to be around however...

Congratulations to all involved. The photos look awesome!

What DSE said, that is not typical...check you steering line length. When you look up while under canopy, if you don't see a visible bow in the lines they are likely too short. Lots of people have a tendency to set their toggles/steering lines shorter than optimum...

Is the Foghead available to purchase? Tony's webpage doesn't show that model...

I think almost all skydivers should use an AAD and an RSL (FYI...I use both...) but am satisfied with experienced jumpers and DZO's making the decision on mandatory use for their facility. USPA should probably stay out of mandating equipment for D licensed jumpers. Swooping and small canopies, let the DZO decide, they assume much of the potential legal liability. Interestingly, in the mid '70s there were some that were pushing USPA hard to adopt a mandatory helmet rule for all, frap hats or no helmet being some sort of a controversy for some. Fortunately, saner voices prevailed...

The only reliable reference is the ground, assuming you can see it. I think most would tell you not to rely on either a wrist mount our audible alti.

Now that is funny! Thanks for some humor Mark, while we experience a rare bad weather afternoon at Skydive Arizona.

As always, it's instructive to listen to John talk about canopy flight. His "two paths" explanation is great way for people to think about what they want from a canopy.

First, congratulations to all. This is an enormous step forward as a discipline and this team will likely be remembered as pioneers in wingsuit competition (along with other national teams at the meet) long after many of us have moved on. We will be cheering you on from afar! What Spot did not say is that he was also selected by USPA as Team Manager for the U.S. Team. Well deserved and thanks for your contributions to making wingsuit competition an internationally recognized event!

Thanks Spot! I love that video and it very clearly demonstrates some really important ideas. Perhaps most importantly, developing good freefall skills before putting on a wingsuit, in a variety of attitudes, especially when things don't go as planned, is really important. I think this is an overlooked item in some FFCs: Realistically evaluating the student's freefall skills to determine if they are really ready. Rather the measure sometimes appears to be; you have 200 jumps--so are good to go. From what I've seen, this may be the case with Marius...