rsibbald

Will, I'm interested in your "small rigging changes" that you make before a low freefall.... do you do anything other than prime your pins/velcro and release your riser covers?

Would the best method be dependent on pin tension? Tight pins might show that deployment is quicker when the snatch force is greater. However, when the pins are hardly loaded with any tension, would the continuous drag force mean a quicker deployment? ...thoughts anyone?

Leave it to the jumper to decide, there's already too much red tape in the world. I guess that's why people turn to less regulated sports...

How about the third option that exists in most countries already? Not illegal, but not legal either... This way you choose your own level of exposure object-by-object.

N.B. You should ask for advice from an advanced packer/rigger who can examine the kit in front of them. The length you leave will vary depending on your container size, bag length, container shape etc. Very generally, you should have enough excess so that the bag can lift symmetrically off your back, before the lines start to unstow. This will increase your chance of on-heading openings. 24 inches of excess does not sound like overkill, and as long as you s-fold it neatly then there shouldn't be any problems.

I believe Simon Jakeman wrote Groundrush, which is currently out of print. Keep an eye on E-bay and one comes up every few weeks

...or the fashion police

Why not always get the student to PLF, even with a flared landing? Try maintaining positive radio communication with the student from 150ft down to landing. i.e. don't let any silence creep in in which the student may think the radio has failed. The command I prefer to use is "Prepare for landing, feet and knees together, standby, standby, standby, standby, flare, flare, flare". Also, make sure that the students are word-perfect with what commands they will get on the radio (i.e. same person briefs them as will talk them down).

If I get the money to try it I'll get GPS and post video

I've toyed with the idea of attaching a jet engine to a skysurf board to see if to would increase your airtime. Anyone care to calculate the speed at which enough lift would be generated for level flight? Those hobby engines for model aircraft can generate a lot of thrust. I guess it would have to be a BASE launch as noone will want turbines running in an aircraft.

I can vouch for that - I needed to get a new jumpsuit after getting fat on a Tom/Cheri combo of steak and cake ...those 3 minute wingsuit flights are looking ever more distant!

78 mph - Tracking Dive, Symbi RW suit 34mph - Classic I wingsuit (Both temporary, not sustained )

Cheers for the ideas guys, I'll probably end up doing it in Europe somewhere, although the design and construction will probably take several months and a sponsor would help. I'll let you know when it's happening

climbout? That implies the use of an aircraft I think you're right, I might just decide to stick with a manual cutaway, along with a manual redundant backup and suck it up if it starts to spin.......

less of the ROL and less of the velcro.... Take one PC, mount it on the side of the board, spring load it so it will bounce off the board when needed. Tie a cord to the apex of the PC and feed this through the board and a hard housing all the way up to the arm of the user. When the user lets go of the cord, the spring fires the PC off the board, which will then initiate a pin based cutaway on both leg moutns.

If the board has detached fully, that greatly reduces the risk. If the board has detached partially, a separate set of procedures will need to be carried out prior to deployment. This will be hard to do in an out of control situation. If the board is still fully attached and will not release, then separate procedures will need to be performed before deployment, but this should not be as dangerous as if the board is partially detached.

Sounds like it would look better, but may add extra complexity and Darwin factors to the system.......... I like the thought of using a pop-top spring though. Dual redundant drogues, already exposed to the airflow like a collapsed PC on a HP canopy, hardly producing any drag.... but lightly spring loaded on the apex so that inflation will be instant when the kill line is released...

In fact, the drogue doesn't even have to be on the bottom of the board, it can be mounted anywhere it won't wrap around anything and it can pull cutaway cables at almost any angle.......

I understand what you're saying..... hmmmm OK, how about a kill-lined drogue chute attached to the bottom of the board..... no bridle, so it can't wrap around to the front of the board..... the kill line goes through the board and up the inside of the jumps suit in a hard housing to the left hand of the user. the user has to keep tension on the kill line, which should be fairly easy. In case they fall unconscious or lose control, the kill line will be released and the drogue will deploy, pulling pins on a dual 3-ring cutaway.

Roger - Sounds good, I'll have to get myself to the water park this weekend and inspect some gear. Many thanks for the info!

Bill - I hate to be the one to point out a design flaw in one of your great ideas - but if you were using a Pucker Factor AAD and went to the curry house the night before, you might be at risk of a premature reserve deployment the next day

Nope, too big

Rules do not make a sport safe. If there is a rule about something, you often get people blindly believing that as long as that rule is obeyed, all is safe. There are too many rules when you find yourself asking "Am I allowed to do this?" in place of "How should I prepare myself to do this in the safest possible manner?"

Yep, I'll arrange a drogue for the the attached board which will deploy on cutaway and won't be trying this near populated areas. I am leaning towards the use of the waterski-mounts as the automatic method and a normal skysurf cutaway as the manual method. Roger - if one foot released, and the board went into a powerful spinning motion, will the other foot mount release as effectively, or will it twist my foot off? i.e. does the force have to be pulling the board down away from your foot for them to work correctly?

Unfortunately actively using leg muscle sto prevent a cutaway would result in tiring too quickly for the intended duration. Plus it eliminates multiple other problems if legs are locked straight....