The111

I hope you don't believe that as it's written. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I apologize if this has been posted before... a search failed to turn up what I was looking for. I'm curious what some of the highest jump numbers are. I read in an older post that less than a dozen BASE jumpers have over 1000 jumps, and I was under the impression that no one had over 2000, but this weekend someone told me that Yuri has over 6000. Is this true? Hopefully this doesn't sound like a BASE whuffo question. I'm just curious. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Obviously, I was wrong as it is obvious that you have seen all,know all and are the all to end all on all subjects, and that no one could ever point out the obvious to you It is obvious after all. That is obviously exactly what Bill was saying. It's a good thing you quoted his post so we can re-examine it and see how clear his know-it-all claim was. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I agree with that 100%. Which is why I included a similar statement in my post. However, unless married, a parent, or the product of some other exception, you have no responsibility to anyone (and that includes your parents, who understandably would be greatly saddened by your death). Nobody asks to be born. As another sidenote, the word selfish is misused by many people in my opinion. The word selfish should *not* have a negative connotation to it, nor selfless positive - both of these stigmas exist to a large extent in our society. A selfish choice is simply one which puts the value of oneself above others. Selfish choices can be good ones - the choice to not lend your drug-addicted friend $300 for the fifth time in a month. By the same token, selfless choices (which are praised as god-like) can be bad ones - a reason for quite a few unhappy romantic relationships. On an aside, MyOwnWay, I'm sorry for your loss. I've lost people incredibly close to me, but never through suicide. I don't intend for my post to be insensitive to you. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I agree with Quade. I don't mean to turn this thread into a debate, but it is not my duty to live for the pleasure of someone else (unless I've made that promise to someone in a wedding vow or for some other reason). I have no desire to die, but if I want to make that choice, it's mine to make. There are a million debatable issues about life (abortion, euthanasia, etc) and property rights that exist in this world, but one thing is an undeniable fact. My mind and my body are mine entirely, to do with what I please. (Yes, provided that I am not physically endangering others). I used the first person in this simply because it was easier and also helped represent my point. But I mean it in a general sense. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hehe, I liked that comparison. However, if my driving habits are really any indication, I must be due for some really risky BASE jumps in the future. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey, I'm interested in this too. But I work the normal 5-day (4 every other week) work week, so I'm even less available than Mike. But this is definitely something I want to do in the very near future if it's possible with my schedule. Info is appreciated. :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Wasn't threatening, just saying since you apparently doubt my competence you might not want to use this system (if you plan on using any shoulder mounted missiles in your life - I sure don't). Hehe. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That's what I'm saying... this thread is about DYING, and I've seen several replies already saying burning would be the worst because of how hard it is to deal with the pain once the shock wears off. Um... you'd be dead. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Ok, you're right, here's what you told me, I remembered it wrong. You did say that "most" people don't look, but you also gave me the impression that your vision would blur somehow. most people don't look at the ground at all and they can't eye-ball the ground. even if you can, it's not very good way to judge your altitude. at higher speed the vision will blur, plus any mistake of judgment will cost a lot. audibles are the way to go for nowdays. So another question, do you actually have your face towards the ground or just your eyes? I've seen pictures of the speed position (which I don't know entirely what the "correct" one is if there is such a thing) and in some the guy's neck is straight and his face directed at horizon, others his neck is bent and he is facing ground (equivalent to a guy standing on the ground staring at the sky). Thanks. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Do you look directly at ground through the whole dive? Not trying to be an ass here, but I asked you about this same thing in email and I thought you said it was not possible to look at the ground? I've been working on my sit/stand transitions in FF lately and I hold my stand a little longer each time, I've reached 180 (I know, not much for you, but fast for me) according to PT in my helmet, but I need to put it on my lateral... I'm becoming a speed stander. I can't look straight down but I can see the ground with my eyes and my first warning (two audibles) is set to go off at 6k, which I can also recognize pretty well with my eyes. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

LOL, I'm sorry but your choice of words made me laugh. The most "traumatizing way to die"... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Did you ever see the Simpsons episode that parodied this? One of my favorites... How about this one? Special for you Chuck. if man is five and the devil is six then god is seven then god is seven this 's gone to heaven www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey Blahr, good timing posting right after what I just posted. I timed myself this weekend and did a 21 minute pack job (

Ivan apparently missed a post! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I was thinking that same thing. Maybe relaxing allows the perturbations in the air to adjust our body dynamically (rather than us "subconsciously" adjusting it ourselves). Just a guess. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Makes sense, thanks. On the other hand, wouldn't it be possible to average out those fluctuations at the end before creating the graph the Pro-Track outputs? I'm in over my head here, as I know nothing about making any sort of software, let alone to do something like this. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I already said I was pretty sure without a doubt that my view was correct, it had nothing to do with the 4 years of college courses I took, but just with intuition. The reason I posted it here was because it surprised me to hear a very world-class freeflier disagree. I wanted to hear what others would say. And as Kallend pointed out, aerodynamics is a very largely experimental science. Even here among people who are both experienced skydivers and great minds there is still a lot of uncertainty as to *exactly* how a "rock-solid" RW or FF body would react. FWIW, I don't even work as an aerospace engineer, I'm current working on a shoulder mounted missile system for a major defense contractor. If you think you might be using this system when it hits the field, let me know, and I'll warn you so you can stay away from it and protect yourself. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Nope, I don't have pants, just a full Michigan suit, which is definitely hanging in my closet right now. Thanks for thinking of me though. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

So why don't they use dx/dt (x being altitude) to calculate speed? Yes, I realize you don't work for L&B, but it can't hurt to ask in case maybe you know. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Damn, I did hear someone else say that you could hear speed skydivers from the ground, but I didn't know if that was true. That is so cool it's another reason I want to get into that. :) Hmm... I don't know too much about the sound barrier and how that works... I wonder if Stan himself can hear the noise. Stan? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Exactly... that whole "perfect world" point is a good one. If you read the post I just made about a dummy not being able to stand up or ride a bike... in a "perfect world" with perfectly smooth surfaces and a true continuum of air, he would be able to. But in our world he can't. I remember learning in solid mechanics about how rods can buckle under compression... I asked my prof what would happen if the compressive force was perfectly balanced, he first challenged me to present a way to do that, and then asked what would happen when someone across the street sneezed. :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Very good point, I was just thinking the same thing. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Note that I don't know how to fly HD as it is, but I don't think that pertains to this next comment. I don't think we as humans possess the strength and finesse to hold a perfectly straight, stiff HD position while belly to earth. I could be wrong though. You know, now my perspective is changing. I was thinking that any position would be self stabilizing... my logic was that all the small movements we make must be due to our own mistakes, i.e. not holding perfectly still. But if I made the same analogy for riding a bicycle, or hell, even standing up (something infants can't do) I would be wrong. I could say the only reason riding a bike or walking requires us to constantly compensate (balance) to prevent ourselves from falling over is because we're not holding perfectly still... but if I put a perfectly still dummy on a bike and pushed him down the road, or even tried to make him stand on his own, he would most likely fall, though it complete depends on the shape of his "feet" and his weight distribution whether or not he would be able to stand. So I guess balance, by definition, is using our muscles and brains to make a naturally unstable position more stable. And obviously freefly requires much more balance than RW. Maybe a really fatheaded guy with REALLY baggy pants and a skin tight shirt would naturally fall headdown if he was stiff. But it seems there's not a yes or no answer to account for all situations... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Ok, both of you guys are thinking along the same lines as me. I really had next to no doubts that this was the case, but was surprised when the FFer I mentioned disagreed with me. On to the next question. Do you think this is true for any stable position? I.e. a stable headdown or a stable sit? I think it is still true... these positions are harder for us to maintain as dynamic fliers, because we have to make much smaller more precise corrections with our muscles. But a sturdy body in that orientation with the same mass distribution should fly the same. When we fly sit or HD we are constantly making minor corrections, but that is because we are unable to hold perfectly still in the perfectly neutral (speaking for myself here). www.WingsuitPhotos.com