The111

Looks sweet. Don't know if anyone else has posted this, but I just noticed it and it looks great. I've always loved their product but noticed they weren't as aggressive in their advertising as their competitors. But in the past few issues of Parachutist I noticed new RWS ads that were laid out very nicely and sensed that they were trying to improve in this area, and after seeing their updated website I must say they've succeeded. And I feel sort of hyprocritical even pointing this out since I've always said advertising is stupid and products should speak for themselves (which is why I bought RWS long ago even without flashy ads), but still, their new site kicks ass. They've updated their container coloring programs too. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yeh, it seemed pretty crosswind to me when I thought about it in retrospect. At the time I was not paying that much attention to it, something which I've recently changed... now I *always* know which way the wind is going relative to jumprun and I *always* do a good job of spotting... ask me about my off landing this Friday and you'll know why. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Actually I'd love a picture if you could provide that, although I think I'm pretty sure what you mean. Look at the picture I attached to be sure I understand what the lateral webbing is. I don't have the JumpTrack software (though I'll probably get it very soon), so I don't know what my graph looks like, but this weekend I hit 190mph, then 200mph and was very proud of myself, then the next two jumps which felt just as fast, I only hit 170mph... so I'm thinking my helmet mount is probably messing things up. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Thanks Andy, I'll try those extra things. As for my tests this weekend, on every single jump I checked, it was *exactly* (damn close at least) 1000 feet from hackey toss to seated. That was using only the slider and nose trick... I'll try rolling the tail less (though I only roll 2-3 times as it is) and the pumping risers trick sounds worth a try too. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I guess I could be taking an incredibly long time to throw out or something, but there have been so many times where at 4200ft I put the alti in front of my face and my hand on the hackey. At 4000ft exactly I throw. When I am fully seated I check and am at 2800ft. I will check several more times this weekend to see if I'm deceiving myself somehow... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I didn't ever roll any cells to begin with. Now I go a step further and before pulling the tail around, I pull the center cell out a bit (instead of pushing it in) so it catches air faster). Someone suggested even leaving it outside of the tail, but I don't know about that, and wrapping the tail completely makes it easier to pack once on the ground. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yeh my PT is in my head (well, helmet) too... I wonder how much inaccuracy that causes. Need to buy a second Dytter and put the PT on my lateral webbing... anyone know of any good pics showing how that mount should look? I have a Vector... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That was kinda the point of this post. :) Any smart people have suggestions? I already stated what I do with my nose... I've thought about leaving the center *3* cells open/exposed a bit instead of just the center one. Dunno about the PC or line stow idea, but I'll look into it. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yeh, I see what you guys mean about the measuring method... all I know is if I pull at 3000 I can be open under 2000 which I don't like. The obvious solution is to pull above 3000. :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

My Spectre 170 (1.1 WL) generally takes 1000-1200 feet to open. By packing slightly different (expose the slider more to the sides and tail and less over the nose, also leave the center cell of nose wide open and exposed), I have reduced that to 700-1000 feet. I still feel this is a bit long. Any thoughts? I *did* search for previous posts on Spectres and found some, but none of them answered my other question: How should I measure my deployment distance? I usually do from the time I touch hackey to when I'm fully seated, but someone else said I should do from the time I let go of hackey to the time I'm fully seated... I guess the toss could account for 100-200 feet. I'm going to try to get more accurate numbers this weekend. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Ha, you guys are funny. My rig is brand new with hip rings and doesn't squeak at all. It's a Vector if that matters. LEEKO! LEEKO! LEEKO! I'M A SQUEAKY GUY! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I've only jumped student canopies, Sabre, Sabre2, and Spectre, so I don't have much to compare against, but I find my Spectre (the 1st canopy I've owned) to flare great. Even coming straight in (like I do), if there's no wind and I wait a little late and flare hard and fast, it can push into a 20-30ft surf, which is pretty fun for someone who isn't even attempting to swoop. :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

You know, I think one of them actually was crosswind. Not sure about the other. Good point. I overlooked the basics. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

True, but assuming he's smart enough to turn crosswind upon opening (which can be a considerable assumption, depending who we're talking about), his horizontal separation from the other groups *at his deployment altitude* will be the same as if he had stayed in freefall through that altitude. And horizontal separation below his deployment altitude is not critical since there will be great vertical separation created by those freefalling past him. Again, this is assuming he turns crosswind on deployment. Basically by stopping his freefall earlier than the other guys he has "ceased to exist"... it's like looking at Kallend's trajectory and assuming the curve ended halfway through. Sure his overall horizontal distance covered in freefall will be different, but his horizontal separation from the other groups at his deployment altitude will be the same. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yeh, I agree... vertical collisions are the worst nightmare, but horizontal separation is what prevents them! If you're in your own column of air you can't be hit from above or below. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Separation is not dangerous. I'm a little confused. Are you saying vertical separation is more important? I guess in theory it works just as well as horizontal, but in practice since it's much more difficult to achieve repeatably, I'd say horizontal is more important to obtain. This may be what you're trying to say, but like I said I wasn't sure exactly. I agree, but like I said if I am the last FFer, I can't control what the RW group after me does. I'm going to assume they probably won't give me enough time. As far as FFer's opening high, it shouldn't matter if horizontal separation is adequate. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I am a pretty inexperienced jumper, but I am very familiar with physics and aerodynamics; I've read Bryan Burke's essay and seen Kallend's trajectory model and I agree entirely that horizontal separation is much more important than vertical separation. Yet I have been to two DZ's in FL recently (well-known, respected ones) who have mandated that FFer's go first. As a solo FFer, I'm often forced to go right before a big RW group (in windy conditions), knowing they'll give me 6-7 seconds MAX (no matter what I ask for, try debating physics on jumprun) and I'll almost certainly drift into their airspace... this usually results in me tracking away from jumprun like mad for the last 2k feet of freefall and opening lower than I'd like to. I'm curious about two things. 1) Why do they do this? Are there any benefits? I'm aware of all the benefits of RW before FF, but I'm not aware of any for the opposite, save vertical separation, which again is not too important and very hard to control. 2) What should I do? I'm a person who likes to try to correct inefficiencies I observe, but as a 100 jump wonder it's pretty pointless to try to ask a DZ to change their policies for me on my first day there. I guess the obvious answer to the question is don't jump there if I don't like it. But these are good DZ's! At one of them, I asked the manifest lady "why?" after she explained the mandatory exit order to me. She said she didn't really know, but they had tried several different orders and this was the one they decided was best. Another jumper standing in the office looked at me and said "FFers fall faster!" I really didn't want to get into a debate so I let it stand, but part of me still feels the desire to get this trend to change. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I've been doing a lot of sit/stand jumps since I'm not quite ready for HD yet. Sometimes I like to see how long I can hold a fast stand. Usually about 5-10 seconds after I max out my arms (over my head) I lose it... I'm pretty sure I'm still accelerating, and the faster I go the harder it is to maintain. According to my Pro-Track I usually hit about 180mph. I think I could go higher if I could maintain my balance at that speed... I've seen numbers ranging from 200-300+mph for people's best HD speeds... wondering if anyone knows their best stand speed. :) EDIT: I'm a pretty tall skinny guy... floaty in general. Was wearing baggy FF suit. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Moe Syzlak can help you there. Is there no place for the man with a 105 IQ??? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Just got my December issue in the mail. Check out page 50. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Is this directed at me? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Here's where it's important how you report the story. "I saw it land in this field. But by the time I arrived there it was gone - someone stole it." :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Here's my two cents. Hook: I can understand that there are things associated with the sport that may have worn you down, but the sport is still exactly the same. You get on an airplane, jump out, and do what you want in the air, and land. Surely that physical experience is still enjoyable to you, regardless of all the side issues you encountered with the social scene? And I do understand why you'd want to stay around on DZ.com and share your knowledge, but the irony of that is that you ostensibly loved the sport but got burned out on the social aspects of it... so you're quitting the sport (which you loved) but staying active in the social aspects (which you got burned out on). Shouldn't it be the other way around? (i.e. quit the social scene but keep the sport) I'm sure the feeling of swooping is still an amazing rush even for you... if you are fed up with the DZ's you've been to, there's nothing stopping you from making a few hop n pops from some small no name DZ a few times a month. You can't tell me you won't miss the sport itself. Then again, I miss BMX and never ride anymore. Mainly because I'm more scared of big ramps than I am of skydiving. But when I still had the balls I rode entirely by myself for years in a skatepark where there was no BMX scene, always surrounded by skaters. If you love something you'll do it for that reason. My dad has surfed by himself (mostly) for 35 years and he still loves it. Care to explain any better? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

It really isn't a result of the groundspeed, that's just an easy way to illustrate it. Picture it this way. When your tailwind disappears, the moving mass of air you were flying in stopped moving, but you still have momentum, so your airspeed will increase. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Correct, your airspeed would temporarily increase by 50mph (if your headwind inreased by 50mph) and during that brief amount of time you would have amazing amounts of lift available, but you'd also have a lot of drag, which would quickly slow you back down to your equilibrium airspeed. www.WingsuitPhotos.com