The111

I have a weird thing with the number 111. It pops up all over my life. There are other people that share "the 111 experience"... my uncle is one and he knows a bunch of people who are almost cultish about it, kinda freaky. Anyway, guess what my WL is on my first canopy? Check my profile for the answer, if you haven't figured it out by now. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm a lot like you Blahr, I want to be very self reliant, and I'm even going to become a rigger soon probably. I just got MY first rig yesterday, from the same dealer as you... she had mentioned to me ours were due on the same day. After my first jump, it took me an hour to repack the thing (3 attempts at bagging). I am going to the DZ in a few minutes to jump that pack job. Should be interesting. Unlike you, I do see the slipperyness to be a problem. Mainly because to keep it from reinflating (like you pointed out is necessary) you need to put pressure somewhere. On the old Spectres I was renting I could just put the pressure straight down. On this brand new Spectre doing that will cause shit to squirt everywhere and lose shape, since it's slippery. Here are a few things that helped me finally get it in the bag, keep in mind mine is a 170 so probably you have it even worse than me. 1) When getting it all narrow to prepare for s-folds, it is imperative to get a grip on the thing from the bottom... hold the skin together tightly so it can't get any wider. Hope this makes sense. 2) Someone showed me this when I first started packing... a very easy way to get it in the bag. Make your s-folds in two steps. Make the part furthest away from the line and slider first. Put that in the bag. Then you can squeeze some more air out and nestle the slider warning label area into the pocket you just created. The end result is the same, you shove less into the bag at once. Also, you don't even have to put your whole first s-fold in the back at once. While squaring out that first portion to insert into the bag, there are two "corners" that need to be created on the material to fit it in the bag, if that makes sense. Rather than try to make them both at once, I make one really good, pull that corner of the bag over (kinda diagonal crooked), then hold that part of the bag with my knee while I'm squaring out the other corner of the packed material now, which is currently huge from being squirted out when I inserted the first corner. Hope that makes sense, good luck... we'll see how today goes with mine. P.S. You would not believe how many people at the DZ yesterday just told me to pay packers for the first 50 jumps. I'm with Hook, I want to learn for myself, and I find it hard to believe that so many people are eager to encourage me not to. Also, I had a PD guy tell me to pack really good for the first 50 jumps so the canopy develops memory. If that's true then there's another reason it would be stupid to pay packers... unless they all pack the same and you're going to pack just like them! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Just got a new rig with a Cypres 2. Was so excited on first jump that I actually forgot to turn it on. First time I've ever done that. Yes, double beer. Anyway, when I noticed this of course I turned it on. I noticed the countdown is different than old Cypres. Then I remembered reading somewhere that in the Cypres 2 the expert, tandem and student would all be in the same unit and you would choose your settings through the software. So I said to myself, I need to make sure I am on expert setting. But when I pulled out the manual it showed pictures of units with yellow and blue buttons for the tandem and student versions, just like with the old Cypres. So I'm just curious why I remember reading this thing about the different units being done away with for the Cypres 2. Anyone else remember hearing of this? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

It has finally arrived. Spectre 170, PD 160 reserve, Cypres 2, all in some kinda container. Bill Booth was actually standing there when I picked up the rig and was like, "Damn, there isn't a crease in that thing! We need to take a picture and put it in an ad!" And they weren't lying. A brand new ZP canopy is not easy to pack. But I did manage to get it in the bag after about 3 tries in one hour. We'll see how packing tomorrow goes. After, of course, I jump this pack job and find out what kind of malfunction I packed myself. :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yes, I have, and I guess "we are not sucking" makes more sense as a response to "you suck"... but said by itself (not as a response) it sounds kind of funny. A declaration of non-suckage... Sort of the equivalent of saying "this is not stupid" instead of "this is cool". Unnecessary negations. I like. Also, I guess it sounds funny because it's written in the "ing" form, i.e. "we are not sucking" instead of the simpler "we do not suck". No one ever accuses something of sucking. For example, "this movie is sucking." It's usually, "this movie sucks." But I do like the expression, and I shall use it. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Ok, so what was the context of its origination... i.e. how/why was it first said? I have several catch phrases/inside jokes that I share with my friends, but they all originate somewhere and mean something. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Where did this saying originate? I've seen it on here before and it makes me laugh... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'll throw in $10 if it's not too late to offer, and you don't mind me paying on that Saturday... I also might bring something of my own. I'm a gigantic pyro. Here are instructions for the shortest and coolest fire available. Get several hundred sparklers. Grind the packed powder off into dust (this isn't nearly as hard as it sounds, if you bend the sticks you can get it to crack off with your bare hands) and gather it in some container. When I did this last I filled up about 20% of a Sobe bottle with the dust. The dust will not light with a normal match (at least I couldn't get it to, inside the bottle). You need to drop another sparkler or similarly hot flame inside the bottle and make sure you get the fuck back, fast. You probably shouldn't look at the flame directly. I did for a second, but I was wearing dark sunglasses. The entire combustion lasts about 5 seconds... yet releases the same energy as if you burnt the several hundred sparklers one by one. First the glass bottle glows incredibly bright and shoots a 3 foot jet white flame out the top, but soon enough it can't take it anymore and the bottle simultaneously shatters, melts, and explodes. It's really hard to describe. Kinda like how vamipres die in the movies. But shards of glass fly a few feet out from the bottle. If you are smart, you will not do this on a second floor balcony like I did. For one thing, I ruined part of my (cement) balcony. Worse, I literally almost jumped off the balcony I was so close to getting hit by molten glass shards. I was trying to decide if it was worse to get burnt badly or break my ankles. I ended up just jumping over the edge and hanging onto the railing with my hand and still getting a semi-good view of the chaos, climbing back up when it was over. In short, it's the coolest thing you've ever seen. Sparklers normally seem pretty tame but it's because the powder is so compressed. When you grind it into dust you increase your surface area (basic chemistry), and it's sort of like a silo explosion, only this shit is actually designed to burn. When the whole thing was done we had this weird clump on my porch that we dubbed new matter. It was basically a combination of molten glass, cement, and some of the copper/zinc pennies that we buried in the dust out of curiosity. After the initial combustion, it sits there and sizzles angrily at you, and if you poke it with a stick 10 inch flames spurt out at you. After like 10 or 20 minutes it hardens. I think I still have it somewhere. New matter... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

At the risk of showing how much of a nerd I am, I'll resist any jokes about the word "microcasm." www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Where are you doing these? I'm signed up for some balloon jumps (non-WS) @ Lake Wales, but they haven't told me how high yet. I'm very excited since I haven't done one yet, but if it's too low I'll probably opt out with my experience level. But 6k would be more than awesome. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Ok, question is in the subject. I just bought this from preyorpins.com... it looked good on the site and my old leather one was getting really worn out. But when I put this one on it looked kinda feminine. Maybe it's how big the beads are. What do you think? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

So what happened? You say he wasn't OK, but he didn't get transported to the hospital. Dead? Or walked away and went home with a gash? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm not familiar with BASE gear so maybe it's something else, but that girl's container looks like a Vector to me... (?) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Michigan himself. One reason I'm hesitant to think they're wrong. I don't know what to expect with jumpsuits, which is why I asked. It's not like they're uncomfortable to wear, just if I try pretty hard to stretch in the specified directions, I can get them to be tight. I'm guessing that's somewhat normal, but still not sure... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I think there is some lycra on the RW suit already... I'm pretty ignorant about material stuff. Fortunately I live near the mfr (Michigan) so if I'm lucky I'll just get him to check me out in it sometime. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I dunno, but maybe some girl wires could. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm 6ft, 160lbs... these are my first suits... honestly all of my jumps have been in shorts and tshirt and *most* have been solo so I don't know much about how I need to fall with other people... but from the limited 2-3 ways I've done I know I fall slow. I also asked for a little "growing room" in the suits since I can gain weight if I want to and plan to be at 180lbs in 6-12 months. I guess that creates a contradiction since I need to fall fast currently (tight suit) but want growing room (loose suit). I know that the ultimate answer to my questions will come once I jump the suits... I just intuitively don't like anything which constrains my motion on the ground... but I guess all clothes do that to an extent. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

From here... As skydivers, we can feel less deeply the anguish of knowing the impermanence of love, and of those we love. Skydiving *celebrates* life's impermanence with a brilliant brightness, floods it with a blinding light. Ultimately, it reminds us that life is very fragile, but very brave. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Damn... 5 sec canopy... how high of a pull is that? And how high fully seated? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Sorry... they are custom fitted actually. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I just got a new RW and FF jumpsuit... my firsts. Yes, beer. Anyway, I'm wondering if they are too tight. Mainly, the RW gets real tight in the front if I arch really hard, and the FF gets real tight in the armpits/upper back if I stand up and try to touch my toes. I don't like the fact that they would constrain my flexibility in any direction, and I feel like if I flexed hard enough I could tear or damage them. But, I haven't jumped with either of them yet. All of this flexing/bending was done on the ground, just out of curiosity for how well I could move in the suits. What do you guys think? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

People are stupid, but becoming a skydiver doesn't make you smart. There are plenty of people who already skydive who are accidents waiting to happen. And there are plenty of people who don't skydive who would be very safe jumpers if they gained the interest and learned. So don't generalize... and don't take this as me looking down at you... because I'm one of the absolute worst at generalizing/stereotyping people, so I need most of all to take my own advice. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

So I was trying to get this Spectre 190 into my rental rig the other day... not fun. It was being a bitch when I tried to put it in the bag, so I was like, "get in there, bitch!" Then it squirted out and was all, "bitch? I saved your life 4 times today!" But I shoved it back in and said, "shut up, bitch!" Then I closed the bag. Disrespectful piece of shit... Am I the only who talks to my gear? I only do it when I get tired and really amped on adrenaline... maybe that's a sign I should stop jumping for the day. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Wow, you're right... that does sounds like a crazy boogie. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Whatever. I think besides being funny, the guy has a point. And I'd rather have a girl who values original thought any day. If a girl got mad at me for saying something like that she isn't worth my time anyway. The coolest girls I've known can't stand getting roses simply because it's so cliched. www.WingsuitPhotos.com