IslandGuy

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Everything posted by IslandGuy

  1. I dont teach anything else in the FFC. Exit, arch. Head in your neck, arms back, feet bent and on your ass. Its the 'mummy' arm position other people use that surprises me. If you want to dive in freefall, and minimize lift, I gues they also swoop their arms back. I dont see why (in the exit) you would suddenly do different and put your arms in front.. Counter productive in many ways.. I aways exit with my arms on my chest, not crossed (is that mummy position?). I protect my handles and protect my body/face. Once clear of the a/c and others, hands extend to my hips and then out - then fly. I have never been out of a 182 or 206 in a wingsuit, maybe arms on chest won't work in those instances. But for me, personally, piling out of an otter at any speed bent over and doing the penguin walk out the door with 20 other birds, I keep my arms on my chest, protect my handles and body, stay small, then sequence the deployment of my wings after clearing the tail. But that's just what works for me, and that's all I can recommend. Protect your handles, protect your body, stay small.
  2. Made the 22k ft jump with Ralph, James, and Mike. Jumped a Tony special forces suit, zippered pockets for a bail-out bottle, assault rifle, ammo, and a big sunken living room built in between the legs for a ruck sack (or a rodeo babe to curl up in and take a cat nap). Interesting design to say the least and can't wait to do a rodeo with it. Anyhow, performance wasn't what I'd hoped for and managed only 4 min 27 sec - nowhere near what I got with the Stealth at 5 min and 28-30sec (same altitudes exit and open). The suit was stable and effortless to fly. Didn't need any arm strength at all. I could see where fully loaded that it would be quite the machine to get you where you needed to be. There is another hi-alt load going up next Sunday - book it now if you want a slot. I'll hopefully be there trying another Tony proto or maybe the Stealth again. Weather should be perfect. Come join us!
  3. Hi James, There are quite a few wingsuits, pretty sure something would fit you. Tony took a bunch more to some boogie but they should be back here this weekend. If not, I've got an S3 or a Mach1 that would fit you. I'll be there Saturday afternoon. I'm sure there will be a flock of others there to help out as well. Come on down... it's been way too long! Looking forward to seeing you again. Mike
  4. Steve, it was a real treat and a true pleasure to have known you, jumped with you, and shared so many great times together - boogies all over the country - too many to recount. A kind soul, always with a smile, always enthusiastic, making the space around you brighter with your presence. You will be sadly missed by many - especially myself. I know you will still be watching over us. Will see you in the clouds. Peace my friend, Mike
  5. Never mind... all good to go. See you flockers in blue skies/blue waters country tomorrow!!
  6. Awesome Matt!! I'll get mine on order ASAP with the hopes that it will arrive in time for you to sign it next weekend when we jump the Space Center.
  7. Unfortunately, I can't make Elsinore this year , but fortunately, I'll see you down in the Keys! From what I understand, Pilot Paul will be heading down there as well. So with Scotty, we'll at least have a 4-way. I'm sure there will be others. I'll ask around.
  8. THE NOTION IMO, the proposed regulations are a complex solution for a non-existent problem. Furthermore, with the exception of AFF and Tandem, regulation of this nature is unprecedented in our sport, and for good reason, it is not needed. This isn't salvation - it's the train. THE PRECEDENT If you take the stance that it is warranted for wingsuits (which after doing some basic arithmetic actually shows a fine safety record), then it is warranted for other disciplines as well. Take this same document and substitute CRW, or Camera Flying, or Swooping, or Canopy Control, or Sky Boarding, etc. in place of Wingsuit, then the USPA governing body will have all the bases covered. Other disciplines should take note of what is happening here. THE PROBLEM DZOs not allowing wingsuits? WSIs certified over a beer? Bad instructors everywhere? I must be living in an Easter Egg, I’m not seeing it, not to say it isn‘t happening, just a phantom problem as far as I‘m concerned. Self regulation IS working - aside from the two very questionable incidents, wingsuiters are not dying. You can shout as loud as you want that it’s all going to hell in a hand basket, but that doesn’t make it true. The numbers don’t lie. I don’t buy it. You shouldn’t buy it. THE COSTS It's not the $20, it's the: 1. Coach Rating ($$$?) (I’ll bet not many current WSIs have a Coach rating.) 2. 2-Day WSI course - guessing here: ($200-$400-$???) 3. 4 jumps x 2 people x $25 = $200 4. 8 pack jobs x $6 = $48 5. Travel to/from the DZ. accommodations = $$$? 6. and everything else, meals, beer, gift for the GF or wife for taking a 3-day weekend. 7. Time off work/vacation. 8. plus, whatever else you’d be doing with that time - called life. THE ASSUMPTIONS 1. That there will be a whole new group of better trained and available instructors. More likely - the regulations will take qualified and experienced instructors and force them out of being WSIs. The regulation’s intent of weeding out the “bad” instructors will be foreshadowed by the reality that flocks of experienced and qualified instructors will abandon their instructing activities. 2. That regulation is going to make the wingsuiting safer. More likely - that it will make it more dangerous by restricting access to good WSIs, tempting folks to self teach, do it on their own. THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS 1. Anyone that wants to get around the regs is going to amend (falsify) their logbook to show a WS flight before the “enforcement date”. 2. All these logbook entries - do they have to be signed? 3. If they are wingsuit solo jumps, who signs off on those ? 4. How about the folks whose logbook is their Neptune? 5. If you have more than 2 people in the 2-day WSI class, then the instructor can't possibly make the jumps and critique everyone on the 3rd day. 6. Are there enough first flight students to support the number of FFCs required by WSIs and WSI/Es to maintain currency? Especially in some parts or the country, I doubt it. 7. And, BTW, what do you do for two days in a classroom (one-on-one, two-on-one, you can complete all 7 levels of AFF in a weekend)? IMO First off, I have no vested interest in any of what is being proposed, other than the good health of the sport. I'm a fun jumper... don't make a penny off any thing wingsuit related. Despite what has been suggested, wingsuiters do not exist in a state of chaos. Facts prove quite the opposite. You don’t go from 9-ways to 71-ways in 3 years without viable self organization. To subscribe to the notion that everything is going to deteriorate and people will start dying if we do nothing is an unfounded and unsubstantiated fear. All the information and instruction one needs to safely learn to wingsuit is out there, internet, books, many qualified instructors. What exists - works. What’s surprising is that no wingsuit manufacturer has put together the instructional material in a DVD that they ship with the suit that covers the course or attempted to standardize the instructional material amongst the industry at large. A missed opportunity. I concur, the proposed regulation is well crafted and highly polished, but it’s still a turd. I believe that what is proposed will do more harm than good. ------------------------------------- The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Karl Marx
  9. Very nicely done Matt - awesome. Blue skies Rob... miss you.
  10. Ya, and he's giving you an FYI as well. Didn't think the post was worthy of an attack.
  11. Just seems to me that the wingsuit community looking to the USPA for regulation is tantamount to the skydiving community looking to the FAA for regulation. Do you really want to go there? Are things really that bad? Personally, I’m happy with the way things are. I’ve never been one to subscribe to the notion that somebody else, or governing entity, is more committed to my best interests than myself. The guidance is, and resources are, widely and readily available to make wise choices without more rules and regulations. What might help and be worthy of an experiment is a rating system like they do for washer/dryers and college professors. If you claim to be a wingsuit instructor or coach, put your name on the board and let the ratings and comments come. Ya, there are all sort of pitfalls in the implementation (preventing the posting of multiple glowing reports/high ratings for one’s self, etc.), but, with a bit of thought it could work. And, if it isn’t working, I’m fairly sure folks that listed their name will remove it, and so the whole thing will just go away. If regulation really up for serious consideration, just wondering what can of worms we might be opening. Once you go down that road – there is no turning back.
  12. Damn Spot - there are easier ways to make the news. Hope the drugs are good and they are treating you right. Seriously, heal well, get better soon - lets go bust some birdies. Excellent thoughts your way! Mike
  13. This is tragic. Rob, thank you for being a part of my life. Thank you for your knowledge you shared so freely, your witty humor, all our flights together, the great energy you put into everything you did. You left us way too soon my friend… the party was just beginning…. you will be missed dearly. To Kathy and Rob’s family, my heart goes out to you – I just can’t imagine… Mike
  14. Damn James - dancing with the devil... where's a hard opening when you need it? Get better soon! I want to hear the "no shit, there I was" version in person some day - drinks on me.
  15. I was on that load. Our exit altitude was 22,100. I was referring to a different jump, the one Tony was talking about... see my quote. Matt, I went and looked at the other thread and Campos had posted the following: "drop altitude of 24,550 feet AGL and a distance of 10 miles was flown." Scott C. Geee, from that altitude, he should have broke 6 minutes.
  16. Doing a rough Google Earth measurement - looks like roughly 7.5 miles. At the lower altitudes there was a strong southerly wind which kind of killed our forward ground speed. Up top though we had a slight tailwind. I imagine beverages will be served on these flights as soon as they beging installing cup holders in the wingsuits.
  17. At Flock-n-Dock 5.0 we did a high altitude load (22k ft.) so there were probably a lot of birds that made personal best times from that. Jarno and I maxed it out and broke 5 minutes. In summary: Exit: ~22.2k ft. Open: ~ 3k ft. Flight Time: ~ 5min. 30 sec. Distance Covered ~ 7.5 miles Temps at 22k: -28C Suit: Stealth (original) Video: GoPro Recording Altimeter: Neptune Field Elevation: ~ 85ft. Attached are GPS data files, Paralog profiles, and screen captures from the flight. Haven’t analyzed them yet but hope to soon. One thing that caught my attention was how little difference there was between vertical True Air Speed (TAS) vs. Sea Level Air Speed (SLAS). I thought the TAS would be much higher than it was since at altitude the air is less than half as dense as it is at sea level. When I get some time, I’ll look at the data and see if there is anything useful that might help on the next hi-alt flight. Would be sweet to break 6 minutes.
  18. Fun times Jarno - thank for sharing the experience!
  19. Did you ever get to jump? Our 60 way RW event was called off on account of weather. No jumpin, sorry to say. Wind, rain, and clouds pretty much scrubbed it for the entire weekend for me (and pretty much everyone else from what I gather). That's really a shame about the 60-way event. But, did get to hear the double sonic booms as the Space Shuttle passed overhead to land at the Cape. Good news - the Easter Boogie starts next weekend (April 4th) and runs thru the following weekend. Hi-alt loads planned for the 5th and the 12th. Typically, a number of birds show up to make it flocking good time... looking forward to it.
  20. Well Jarno - just pretty much assumed that was the case. I thought it was common knowledge by now... with the Dutch: no ponies = no good.
  21. Good memory Dan - ya, saw stars on that one - was kind of surprised I stayed awake.
  22. James, Was it a total eclipse? Where and when??
  23. Yup, S3 is not a good first jump suit. But it is a nice suit - stable, lots of performance and range. Great for flocking or whatever. You'll like the suit. I jumped mine for well over 200 jumps. Actually, still keep it as a backup. Only thing I didn't care for was the construction. Seemed I was always asking Tony to fix this or that, a seam that unraveled, or the booties, or zipper. And, thank you Tony, it was always repaired way better than new. Also, before you switch up to the S3, if you haven't already done so, I'd recommend a long bridal and maybe even a larger PC. Depending on how big a guy you are, the S3 can make a big hole in the air.
  24. Agreed, 40 seconds isn't bad. And, I'm pretty sure Scotty holds the record, and by a pretty good margin. Scotty, do you remember how long that was?? Like a couple minutes?? And, the pilot had the throttles in to get us to the spot - so it was no jump run breeze he was dealing with. I remember we tried to get him back in, but seriously, when Scotty is on the step with his 20 lbs. of camera gear on his head, there is only one way to go from there.