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well, Since I am not sponsored, I can't quite justify that! Unless PF has a buy 5 get one free I didn't know about....

Which one is better... Kidding! Actually I did get my new X2 today. So I stacked my V4 on top of it to see which is bigger and checked each suit out on the ground. The X2 is slightly larger, but they are quite close. Leg wings are near identical though. Each was built for me. Unfortunately I only got about 10 skydives on my V4 before I ripped the ligaments out of both my ankles (BASE jumping), so in another 4-ish weeks of good physio, I should be back in the sky and have an actual opinion of 2 manufacturers best suits. Though, I will probably only base the V4 unless I feel a radical change in preference. My previous suits I based were the Phantom, V2 and V3 so I am a base pouch guy. I must say though, this is my 1st Tonysuit wingsuit, my other 5 wingsuits being Phoenix Fly, and neither manufacturer disapointed me thus far. I like what I see. Both fit well and each have their unique little twists and features on things. I just really like flying.... 3 weeks out of it thus far is torture. I figure mid July for a return. At least I have a lot to look forward to. _justin

...but this one and the bird docs one look like seperate inlets on LW on the production V4s. So does my V4, I got it about a month ago. _justin

I have a V4 and a X2 on order. Should have both soon. I look forward to comparing them. But i will be biased having flown V2 and V3 a lot. _justin

When I built my legmount, I was quite scared in the test phase, and that was after taking a good look at a few people's designs. Finding the ideal angle, and height so as to miss the lines on deployment was 'entertaining' The first wingsuit base jump with it was one of the scariest things I have done in a while, and it wasn't that technical a jump. I had an elvis leg going like there was no tomorrow... Flying an ankle mount camera is interesting, and probably not worth it in most situations. But I like the angle for some jumps. I still don't think I can jump the 'Narwhal' mount.... yet. _justin

I Use http://www.ihi.com/ International Travel and Health Insurance. A lot of base jumpers use it for international travel. Several I know have made full use of it, with medical bills in the high 5 figures to low 6 figure range. Annual insurance is good for 30 days at a clip (trip). https://global.ihi.com/travel+insurance/annual+travel/cover.aspx I pay 160$ ish a year. I also have some supplemental Heli "Insurance" for Switzerland.... Which is more for rescue. $30ish a year. http://www.rega.ch/en/home.aspx

Hmmmm.... Wasn't one of these guys involved in a sad 'hey look at me' rescue saga? Brince Wages, Wates? Named as the "executive Producer" in the credits of the video... Good Reading. http://www.basejumper.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2931277;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread News Article: http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13210001 Wow. Sounds Great. Best of luck with that.

Disagree. It's not like the guy has 10 skydives and is looking for a suit. My Phantom served me well, and I bought it well before i did a FFC... I still haven't done a course yet, and I seem to be surviving. I have bought 6 suits now (5PF, 1TS). Phoenix-Fly, not phoenix sun. If he has a tracking suit, it's probably a phoenix fly one. They are the most prevalent. Though I do own a birdman one.... I vote Phoenix-fly gift certificate (Talk to Kathy at Baserigs.com). It gives him some choice, but to be honest at his level, there are only a few suits that would safey serve him for beginning wingsuit skydiving and then a transition to beginning wingsuit base... You must be a great girlfriend. If you groundcrew for him as well, he probably should get you a ring.

If no one gets you sorted by next weekend with the manual, I'm pretty sure I have a copy on one of my home computers. Maybe even on an early PF cd.... Unfortunately, I am away for a week.

I'm not a fan of the 'netbook' editing experience, even though it was suppose to be just used on short trips. I bought a netbook basically for the task, as I didn't feel like carting my larger dell mainstream laptop around. My Hp mini 5102 (Intel N450 1.66Ghz processor) does not in my opinion have the power for HD go pro footage. It does better running Sony vegas, and processing short clips of Cx100 AVHD footage but again, it is lack luster... I was not happy with it on trips when I wanted to review or edit up a short clip to share. It was adequate at best in my opinion. My New 'netbook' (macbook air 11.6) does a much better job. However, for the price and specs, you could get a much much better laptop... however, 2.3 lbs makes a difference to me carting the gear around. And it looks cool. That's important right? If portability is a concern, the Acer Aspire TimelineX laptops come in 11.6 inch varieties with up to a mobile core i7 processor.... However, for the core i3 one, you are paying twice for what you'd pay for a regular netbook... but still cheaper then a macbook air and weighing in at 3.1 lbs. And most netbooks are limited to 2 gigs of ram max... _justin

Well thank you for clarifying your experience. Certainly you cite interesting examples. I agree that the pouch does imply certain responsabilities to others and oneself. Perhaps if you stated that in the begining instead of your not to be used in skydiving response, I would have agreed. You should realize you are now held to a higher standard, being an 'Examiner' and all now, and that you should try to reply in a way that is clear, lucid and correct 100% of the time when talking about wingsuit subjects. Maybe you could take a deep breath, A listerine strip and then write your reply... And what was the TSO thing again? Apologies to the other poster for derailing the thread. Zippers are great. Having flown a Phantom 2 with cables and one with zippers, I love no cables. My v3 and stealth have zippers, and it makes it tough to take my V2 and phantom out as often since I am lazy. Zippers are worth a lot of $$$ in my opinion, especially if you take the suit off the rig a bit. _justin edit cause I drink.

You say not to be used for skydiving. But with no reason why. Then you post sorry, I apologize. You did not say it was dangerous for skydiving, but you certainly alluded to it not being used for skydiving, did you not? Why? And why mention the TSO? How many skydives do you have on the pouch again? Any opinion about the pouch not being used for skydiving and concern with TSO's I like to see backed-up with real world experience and fact , because every post on the subject (using the pouch in skydiving) seems to be by someone who does not have significant expereince with the pouch. If it wasn't bad form, I'd post my PM from Robi I got 3 years ago about the pouch. _justin

Holy shit. Here we go again with the base pouch skydiving discussion... DSE how many wingsuit skydives or base jumps do you have with a pouch? Please answer this first in your reply. I have better than almost 500 hundred wingsuit skydives on suits (phantom, V2, and V3) with a base pouch for training purposes. I have an additional few hundred skydives on the BOC with the same suits and my Stealth in skydiving. I have approx 200 wingsuit base jumps using the pouch as well with the phantom, V2 and V3. Please enlighten us to why the pouch is dangerous and your experience with such. Bottom line, the pouch is what it is, manage it as such. It's not neccessary in skydiving unless you are dumping low or training muscle memory for base, but it certainly not the death trap that some make it out to be. I love all the people that rally agains't it with no experience. _justin

Do the other programs have a syllabus that is readily viewable for a non instructor? Is the syllabus online for each program or available on the website? Powerpoints? Videos? Tests? Lesson Plans? Is the info out there for someone to take a look at each of the programs in depth, including the training material and make a decision on which is better and why? If not, why? From a Safety standpoint I would think the training info would be shared if that was the main concern. FWIW, I am involved in training Air Traffic Controllers in the FAA, as a facility training instructor, On the job training instructor and union training representative besides my normal ATC duties... I have a *decent* grasp of what it takes to train individuals to succeed, if they have the ability. Of course, that's probably the reason I have little motivation to do any kind of instructing in my hobbies. However, if I change my mind otherwise, I'd like to take a look at each of these syllabus (syllabi?) and make my own judgement call before I committed to a course, Sfly, Phoenix Fly, Birdman, Etc... Is it possible? _justin

Really? I am a self-taught guy so I had no idea. Plus my only log is my N3 now-a-days... I haven't had anyone ever ask me for a logbook endorsement. Is it common to ask at most DZ's? Or does it depend on the person showing up with a wingsuit? The few DZ's I have traveled to in the last few years haven't asked, including a Boogie. _justin

I've gotten out with the wingsuit at 2k a few times if there was nothing else. But I have a undersized base canopy I freepack into one of my skydiving rigs, so I don't really mind. Put me in my largest suit on my Crossfire 2 rig, pulling via BOC and I'd opt out. right tool for the job. of Course making 80+ wingsuit base jumps this year does factor in to my 'low altitude' currency. Truth is though, I'd rather take the higher hop and pop and fly a bit... but if 2k is it..... _justin ps I was one of those people who learned via AFF, so for a time, spoiled with hop and pops at 5k, I would have considered anything less than that low about 6 years ago.

The Vector's pinned toggles work great. Just run the excess through the loops on back of the risers and then put the pins through them and into the riser. The excess can't get out. On my sabre2 there's just enough excess... but on some canopies like spectres there can be too much and it might still be possible to reach through the excess when unstowing the brakes. Dave I have a couple Vectors. It (pin toggles) worked well on my Crossfire 2 119 rig with the excess. On my storm 120 rig, it (the excess) is long enough to reach through... Murphy's law.... I did it on my second jump on the canopy, locked it at half brake input, and landed it on rears.... not fun. Being current, having a lot of experience with 7 cells, and a good plf made it work. However, it was one time I regretted jumping in my sandals... Now I choose to not use the pin to stow any excess and am more careful in the release of my toggles. _justin

Just in the UK, or in the US as well? What if as an American I went to the UK? Would I have to show some proof.... how does it work? _justin

Really? 5 supervised jumps to start flying a wingsuit? Is there a 'logbook' endorsement now too??? _justin

No. 9.5 miles. Less as the crow flies between the 2. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=525+Jan+Way,+Calverton,+NY+11933+(Skydive+Long+Island)&daddr=91+Montauk+Hwy,+Eastport,+NY+11941&hl=en&geocode=FVJNcAId32mp-yFUEphl4vEbwg%3BFRjybgId4ACq-yn9EcmF6FjoiTFnepIBMsl7Zg&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=40.826748,-73.054445&sspn=0.407352,0.883026&ie=UTF8&ll=40.981453,-72.734642&spn=0.101599,0.220757&t=h&z=12

Hmm..... New base pouch option. "jimmy Pouch" Why? Because the original one sucked so bad, a few people had to make their own / alter the existing after they almost went in because of its design.... or they got sick of their pilot chute falling out of it..... Great R&D and quality control.... at least the belt for the jeans looks cool. But what do I know. _justin

200+ on my phantom 1 (first suit) before I bought my V2... Flew that for a while waiting for my stealth. A lot of jumps on my stealth. Last 2 years of wingsuit base on my V2 and phantom. I am waiting on my V3, shouldn't have procrastinated on putting in the order. Have flown the Phantom 2, and liked it a lot, but can't justify buying one.... However, it is an amazing suit, and if I could have just one wingsuit, that would be what I would own.... It's an awesome suit that does all most everything well. I also agree with DSE, if I want to go out and do aerobatics and have a nice easy fun flight, I like my phantom. Plenty of range and I Still enjoy flying it. If I want to burn across the sky, the V2 is great... you can fly it head down, dock on tandems in FF, take it on track dives, whatever.... If I want to hang in the sky forever, backfly, or flock, I fly my stealth. Different tools for each job. Oh, I never flew anything before I bought it. And I have never been disappointed... with Phoenix fly gear anyway.... My birdman tracking suit on the other hand..... _justin

Thanks DSE, appreciate it! As always your knowledge and input is awesome. _justin

Hello All- I was editing together a video for the Bridge Day video fest using sony Vegas Movie Studio 8... The problem is I have a majority of footage shot in HD widescreen on my Cx7 / Cx100 and a small amount shot on my pc1000 as old 4:3 aspect ratio. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to merge the two without it looking too crappy... Is it worth zooming the footage, changing aspect ratios, etc..... I could make the whole movie 4:3, but better than 80% of my footage is shot in HD and I have some great moments I'd like to include that aren't HD. Any help is appreciated- _justin

Just picked up my lens recently.... price is 299 at B&H now. Have my 'baby death' on my Cx100 belly mount and using my raynox .3 on my cx7 helmet cam. Great lens, awesome, much wider then raynox with great quality. Raynox is great though as you can zoom it, and the 1st person is nice. Great to have several tools for the job. If you put in the work, this site teaches you a lot about the equipment necessary to shoot good base/skydiving video.... _justin