FlyinBob

I jumped his large wing version (the Nebula - the big yellow one in the videos) at Skyfest out of the Casa. I'm 6'1" 200# and have a V2, V1, GS1, and an Acro already. What lift! A pop-up exit nearly tore my arms off leaving the plane! I was a little sloppy in it (as I seem to be with any new wing for the first few jumps) but made the flock OK. Not near as much forward drive as my PF suits, though. Feels more like the GS1 with its huge surface area. Tired me out quickly. I pulled high (~4500') but had a lot trouble unzipping (Tony's zips are much different than PFs, and Tony is smaller than me so the suit was tight and the gloves were difficult to pull off), and I ended up going the wrong way after deployment for a while, and landed out (but that's another story). Overall, I thought the suit has merit for a big old guy like me, and ordered a custom-fit Z-Wing, but with the medium-sized wing (the "Eagle" - same design as the pix with the hands on the ass white one). I think it gets most of its float from Newtonian lift (pushing against a lot of air) rather than from speed and Bernoulli lift (like an airplane wing). PF suits seem to do that best, and I get the most forward speed out of them (especially the V2!). So my verdict is: Good suit, Tony! Old Guys Rock!

Yeah ... I remember these guys... Old Guys Rock!

I think I can make it. Sounds like a blast! I'll bring my V2, V1, Acro, GS1, and Z-Wing Eagle for anyone 6'1" 200# to try out. Anyone bigger than that needs an onboard engine to keep up. Old Guys Rock!

Will do! And thanks PF/MT, for coming through for Skyfest for us! Can't wait to try 'em out Friday! Old Guys Rock!

Us Texas BoyZ have lots of wingsuit exits from Cessnas (182's and 206). You do have to zip in before boarding and get chummy in the plane on the way up, but it works. I especially like to go out first and hang backwards from the strut to launch into a backfly. I pretty much learned how to backfly my GTi (since sold as I have moved to a V-1, Acro, GS-1, and V2 now) from a Cessna. Never got to try a formation load flock though. The DZ changed owners and went to a PAC750XL so now we can flock big ways with only one plane! Old Guys Rock!

OK. But this is gender specific. What if the backflyer is a female? Even 'Ass-Cat' doesn't work then ... Old Guys Rock!

Jenn! Great to fly again with you and the usual birds, plus some new faces! I missed Larry's reserve excitment, but heard about it on the ground. As usual, the Texas Boyz did good! Voodew and Ted and I have a lot of flight time together, and the Burblle Dock or (Ass Cat) is being prefected. Photos later. Gotta try it inverted next time (if I get a cup to protect my jewels first). Great time flying with the other Texas birds too - Georges & Richard (our own Frenchmen!), David and Jenn. See you guys at Skyfest! And thanks to the hosts - Skydive Aggieland. Nice Caravan! Old Guys Rock!

Well, yeah! I'm reading it now. It's been discussed already. See this thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2248912;search_string=popular%20mechanics;#2248912 Old Guys Rock!

DZ is under new ownership since March 2006, so reviews written before then don't apply now. The new owner brougt a kickass PAC 750 XL skydiving friendly aircraft that rockets to (a usually generous) altitude in about 12 minutes. Many investments have been made in the infrastructure - SnackBar, Gear Store, New Manifest, computers, wireless internet, video room, digital photography, covered waiting area, well-stocked beer fridge, etc. More still to come. The turd pond west of the landing area is still there - it belongs to the adjacent Valero Truck Stop, but it's not a problem unless you fly with your eyes closed. Overall, a good place to jump has just gotten a lot better.

Introduced last fall, I've been wanting to try one of these for a while. According to the rep, about 100 or so have been made so far. Most sales have been in Europe, but few have posted about it. I finally got a demo in June 2006, so took it for a few test jumps. One was captured on the belly cam and can be viewed in the Miscellaneous section of Skydivingmovies.com (http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=4026). In all, three test jumpers (with 1200, 1500, and 4000 jumps) pushed it to see what it could do. Each loaded it between 1.6 and 1.8. Here are some of the comments: - Faster opening than the Crossfire2 - WooHoo! - Toggles are 2-4" too short – they brake while flying with just harness input. Slows front riser turns. - Definitely sensitive to harness input! - More sensitive than Velocity to harness input - Due to sensitivity, there is potential for spins on deployment depending on body position - You have the ability to really start steering in the saddle before touching anything at opening – can start to avoid potential freefall collisions during deployment, before grabbing the risers - I LIKE it! - Lots of fun to fly - A little rocky on approach – feels like sitting on a ball, you must be careful how you shift your weight - Good swoop potential – with mastery, you could go really, really long - Good flare! - Was able to slow it down to a walk after about 25 yards on a 98 degree no-wind day in Texas, with a few more inches of toggle flare left to go. The toggle line length is a minor issue and is easily rectified. Overall, it’s a super canopy. More quickness than the Crossfire2, Velocity, or Heatwave we've tried. At this point, it’s the one I’d buy. Howwever, I'm going to try the Katana next the same way.

Of Course I'll be there, Voodew! Probably flying my new V-5 by then ... All it takes to get me to a classy wingsuit event anywhere is some time away from the jobs. Old Guys Rock!

Just got this book in the mail. It's a 275 page hardcover. The inside covers front and back have a captioned pictorial history of wingsuit flyers from Leo Valentin of France and Vittoro Cannarozzo of Italy to Glen Sohn and Tommy Boyd of the US. Most of whom died in the contraptions of their time (mostly 1930's to 1950's). There are some nice photos in the middle of the book too. Some newer ones along with the old ones. Jari is shown in a Firebird. And there's one of Jeb Corliss and Luigi Cani doing their canopy/wingsuit encounter. Mostly, it appears to be a nice history book about skyflying, unlike Scott Campos' "Skyfying: Wingsuits in Motion", Skymonkey Publishing, 2005, which is more of a modern day technical treatise on the state of wingflying as of 2005. See this thread for discussion of Scott's book: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1706375;search_string=Wingsuits%20in%20Motion;#1706375 I think it will be a nice leisurely read for me over the next few weeks. Old Guys Rock!

Ha! That's good! Funny! Not a terribly realistic contest, but entertaining as hell! And I guess that was the point of it all - and to sell Porche Cayenne's. Excellent show. Bravo. Old Guys Rock!

Nope. But the snaps suck - you were too close! All you see is a lot of yellow... Let me see if I can figure out how to post the clip to Skydivingmovies.com and I'll edit this post with the link. Standby. Here's a pretty raw version of the view from Voodew's cam. Someday I'll get the energy and time to make a finely edited version with music and cuts. http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3929 If you look closely, you can see "FUK U" on my bootie as Voodew approaches from behind (again...). I was getting tired of being the target... Whatever. Good flyin', Voodew & Ted. Always fun with you guys. Old Guys Rock!

Nope. But the snaps suck - you were too close! All you see is a lot of yellow... Let me see if I can figure out how to post the clip to Skydivingmovies.com and I'll edit this post with the link. Standby. Old Guys Rock!

Ordered mine using the Insta-Flock deal with MexPilot's Phantom last year on 11/27/05. Arrived on 1/27/06, so 8 weeks then. Old Guys Rock!

Yup! Had a blast with you guys, again... Let's do it again soon! Here's some frame grabs from Voodew and Ted's videos. The last one is Voodew getting line stretch in the sun, on top of Ted (on his back). Old Guys Rock!

Here's your magazine, Voodew. Old Guys Rock!

Yep! And they all serve liquor with food chasers. Actually, the real action will be at Voodew's RV ... Old Guys Rock!

I don't remember a Ruby Tuesday's nearby, Chuck (but there might be one...). It was just down the street from a new Chili's though (http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&lr=&q=chilis&near=Angleton,+TX&radius=0.0&latlng=29169167,-95431667,6732096154322133134&sa=X&oi=local&ct=result&cd=1). Old Guys Rock!

I'm staying here http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do#null. It was OK last year. It's 12 mi south of the DZ. There is nothing in Rosharon - it's a crossroads. Old Guys Rock!

I have a Wings EXT w/WS mods and have no issues. I use the same WS's w/ my Odyssey and no probs either. It is important to skip the right tabs though for each combination. Old Guys Rock!

Yeah, being late to post I'll just echo the kudo's above to everyone involved. This was the best Wingsuit Weekend I've ever been to. Big flocks, different formations, great flyers, diverse wingsuit community, excellent hospitality and organizing. Safe yet Fun. I hope that a future FND can be hosted in Texas, where we might get more flockers from the US west coast to participate (and maybe better luck with the weather?). It's great to be part of a sport community like this. BF PS. Oh yeah, Voodew cooler in real life?? He just a really good actor!! Old Guys Rock!

I concur with Voodew's advice. We've done a number of flights with the GS-1, in combo with other suits on the load, and it does fly differently. The 2-cents I'll add is that the "feel" of flying a mono-wing is different from flying a tri-wing. In a tri-wing suit, your arms and legs can move indepedently of each other. In a mono-wing suit, the ankles are connected to the wrists by the wing fabric, so arm/leg movements are more together. That is, I found turns to be more "whole body" turns rather than arm & leg driven. When you move your arm, your legs get a tug, and vice versa. This felt very strange at first, but you get used to it. But I'm no expert on the GS-1 - not enough flights yet (but 100's on tri-wings). Our GS-1's are back at the factory getting upgrades now. Old Guys Rock!

Bummer! I have to wrap up a course I'm teaching in Texas 6-9pm on Thursday night April 6th. So, I can't get a flight out Thursday evening as I had hoped. Instead, I've booked a 6am flight to Tampa on Friday morning. Arriving 11am. After bags and a rental car, I should be able to get to Z-Hills ready to jump around 1pm. HOLD THE LOAD FOR ME... I'M A COMIN' ... Old Guys Rock!