Thijs

what were the arguments against it ? One of the issues I might think of is size of the packed canopy. If he is jumping a 170 now, and the Epicene packs quite small, the canopy would have to be huge to fit properly in the container.

When I switched from P3 to Havok I had a number of jumps I found fabric instead of my pilot chute. I always went back to full flight position, and tried to grab again, always finding it the second time. I think that if you grab part of your wing instead of your pilot, it is best to go back to a position where the wing is in its 'normal' shape, and try again. I think that staying in the deployment position and trying to get the wing fabric out of the way will take longer, eat up more altitude and potentially get you more unstable (remember that you are not 'holding' the deployment position, but you are looking for you pilot chute). Just my 2 cents..

PF Phantom 3: about 180 Then got Havok. After about 350 total now also have a Venom Power.

Will an XP virtual machine (VMWare) under windows 8 work? What you can do if you have a Windows 8/8.1, is to create a bootable VHD file with a Windows 7 installed on it. Then you will basicly have a dualboot system. Advantage is that the VHD file runs directly on the hardware (so no emulator) so this should work around the problem. Disadvantage is that you will have to switch OS. Not sure if this works on every version of Windows. I am a spoiled rat with Enterprise version :)

For those that are wondering how PF lead times are now: Ordered Venom Power on October 5th. Delivered on December 3rd.

Is there a full results table somewhere?

You mean your Avok right? ;-)

+1 This. +2! :)

which suits are you talking about?

No, I understand why swoopers sometimes prefer not to jump with AAD, I was just wondering what the reasons would be for CRW people.

While cannabis might have positive effects, I personally don't know anyone who smokes cannabis for 'medical' reasons. They all smoke it to get high. I feel it is the same discussion which has been going with alcohol. People desperately try to claim that 'alcohol has positive effects on the body' but ignore all the fucked up things alcohol is causing. I fail to see why healthy people should smoke cannabis, or what the positive effects are for them. If cannabis helps in the cure of certain diseases, then that is great, but leave the when and how much cannabis to use over to people who know more about it.

What is the reason for this? While a swooper can easily cross the activation speed, this shouldn't happen on a CRW jump. If you are below the activation altitude, and you are going down faster than the activation speed, it seems to me that something must be terribly wrong (but on a swoop everything will most likely be fine). If you are going down that fast, at that low altitude, what is the downside/danger of an AAD fire?

Buy an open face with a quick release installed by the manufacturer. IMO, all these home-made quick release systems on full face helmets are not doing their job. Even just removing the helmet with the buckle already untied can prove hard, or even not to impossible...

Because I really like Google Agenda and a list of (all) major wingsuit events world wide would be nice, I have set up this Google Agenda. https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=i0n25s1uqne9b76am1sjshljq4%40group.calendar.google.com Note much in there yet, but more should be added if I find out more dates. For now it is a closed agenda (so only I can add events) but you can always mail me or send a PM if you see an important event is missing.

Can't wait when it is my turn. Only 38 years to go...

Yes, that is indeed what we do as well. We usually just use that person as a 'backup'. It is still the person flying on his back which is setting the initial direction and initiating all the turns. The backup person will only intervene when needed.

I all depends on a lot of variables, and it is even more complicated than normal spotting. As said before, talk to locals or manifest/DZO before jumping if there are any special rules which need to be followed. Here are some of the variables you need to take into consideration. 1) In which direction is jumprun, and how does this direction correlate with the wind? (pilot will know this) 2) How high are the winds in freefall? (pilot will know this) 3) How high are the winds under canopy, and from which direction will they be coming? (can easily be spotted on other loads, or just ask other jumpers and pilot). 4) How far from the DZ will you be jumping out? This depends on winds, number of groups in the aircraft, how long will it take for your group to climb out... This is often something you only can get a good look at just before you start climbing out. 5) How fast/long it the group you are jumping with going to fly? 6) Are there any other wingsuit groups on your load and how do they affect your pattern. And leading a flock on the back only makes this more challenging :) And even the best and most experienced flyers sometimes land out with a flock. Especially on the first load not every variable is always known. Also, if you are leading a flock, be very strict to people on the direction they are flying at breakoff. it is not safe if at breakoff everyones goal becomes 'making it back to the DZ'. I don't know if there is any 'formal' write down of wingsuit navigation (maybe DSE of Jarno have something). If not, maybe I'll start doing some writing on a bad weather day :)

I think PF only has the option on the newer V-Race and Venom Power and I have no idea how many have been sold yet. I think having the option to have a 'normal' system for skydiving would be great. I am still wondering how much performance in gained by having the harness completely in the suit.

You should lift your knees up and punch forward with your arms to "release" the sleeves. Otherwise the wing will keep your hands inside the sleeves. I'm doing that and have absolutely no problem reaching above toggles on my 24'' risers. Is there a reason the suit doesn't have cutaway cables?

Thanks for the quick reply! There is no way to 'lock' it into freefall mode all the time?

Hi, I have a Neptune N3 which I bought in 2011. When wingsuiting, it quite often goes in canopy mode (showing the altitude in 4 digits, instead of just 2), while I'm still in free fall. It makes it for me a lot harder to read the correct altitude. Does anyone know of a way to prevent this?

Dude, it is not 1990 anymore ;-)

That is the old venom you are looking at. I dont think there is a detail page about the Venom Power and V-Race yet. PF is getting a new site next month I think. Should have more info on it after that.

There was a similar thread here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4631782;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

I believe this is the one :) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=353483574767849&set=a.349473505168856.82340.100003186293485&type=3&theater