ikenever

Having a rigging background did help. Been rigging since 1978. Have suit making experience also. (about 25) The pattern took about 45 hours to produce. The pieces were cut in 10 hours and assembly took 60 hours. It took 12 seconds to put the pattern in the garbage can after I was finished. (Maybe 11 seconds)

As Perry said he and I will meet up for some flying later this month. If he's willing to take some photos I will try to get his permission and pass them along to you. Thanks for your interest. B.J.

Well no. I lied. I think I pulled that number out of the air. I went over the whole thing and realized there are 60 pieces in one wing only. (counting the cable tabs) With 3 wings that means 180 pieces. Once I took inventory on each single piece large or small I counted 257 pieces. This includes fabric (balloon zp & mesh) zippers, snaps, stiffeners, nylon binding or reinforcement tapes, lycra, velcro, cables, cable loops and bootie soles. As far as a name goes, I guess I could call it a mutt! (mixed breed) V-1S3GTI

After 3 weeks of making a pattern, 3 weeks to cut the pieces and 3 weeks to assemble, (after work hobby time) it will be my first and last self made suit. I read a post one day that theres not much to a suit and why do they cost so much? Well... for a do it your self-er, 9 weeks and 60+ pieces I'll stick with the pros from now on. I have purchased a GTI, S3 and have a V-1 on it's way. I will gladly pay the price regardless of it's cost. The manufactures earn every dime and now I speak with experience. I am sick of sewing!!! But... the suit was worth the challenge. I didn't reinvent anything. Just borrowed my favorite features from each of my purchased suits. I do think I may have made some improvements on pressurized wings. In flight the wings feel very rigid. The only difference is that I used a 2 fabric type rib in each of the 3 wings. The leading edge to half way of each rib is mesh transitioned to balloon fabric. There are 3 stiffener's in each arm wing and 3 in the 3 middle ribs for the tail wing. Each rib has diagonal reinforcement to eliminate warp. I have to admit that it flies well with little to no arm or leg strain.

Thank you! Great stuff for all. The church window Para Commander looked just like my second canopy. That's when I upgraded from my first 1.1 rag. (I'm old) The full legth version is a must see for all jumpers!

One thing for sure... If you have a lazy throw you're throwing your pc into a horse shoed bridle if you get the picture? Your bridle catches air before your pc is released. (at 100+ mph it happens fast) If you watch a toss in a slow motion video you'll see the bridle is above you (especially when tossing a tandem drogue). The wind you are throwing in is much fast than the human reflex (release). So this is ONE good reason why the pc comes in contact with a bridle. So... the less snag points on a pc the better.

A low weight does help. The handle making it's way into the pc base hole is very rare. The main culprit is the short lanyard that connects the ball to the apex of the pc. A bridle/handle entanglement is the type pc malfunction that I have seen on occasion.

They will. They use few words. They train... train... train... They make 3 jumps per hour .They train...train...train

LouDiamond well put. To all who contribute to this forum, Please read his word, even twice if that's what it takes...

Photos of PC handle (lite foam w/cordura shell sewn to PC apex)

Will post some pics within a day

The line between the hackey and the PC apex can and will trap the bridle and or part of the PC. It is a poor design especially for ws deployments due to the extended length bridle. If you do decide to use a practice golf ball (whiffle) instead, be prepared to some day dig your PC out of your BOC with your finger. Those balls BREAK. We used them back in the 1970's and they wear out in no time. I make my own PC's. I have used a common design handle that has worked well for years especially when it comes to tossing a tandem drogue. The handles that I install are very similar to what the tandem manufacturers use for their drogue system. As mentioned earlier in this thread I am endorsing the light weight foam w/cordura or parapak shell sewn to the apex of the PC. (I think it was called a freefly handle??) No snag points, lite and easy to grab and pull and encourages the PC to high tail it to the back of the canopy instead of the nose during deployment.

It's a very sporty looking unit. I bet it's a gas to fly

Air inlets? Inflation?

Greybeard thank you for starting part II. Part I was starting to give me a headache. I think we need to start enjoying one another. I know one thing for sure, 90% of the people writing into this forum will quit skydiving within the next two years. YOU THINK I'M KIDDING!!! My point... enjoy your friends, I have a new set of friends every two-three years. I miss my old friends.

Thank you for educating me. I didn't know any of this wisdom. I guess I'll forget about flap'ing my wings and trying to take flight. God I am quite the moron. Thanks for the heads up!

quote: Just as I would imagine are the wings of the ideal wingsuit for human flight. Thats what we're work'in on I have the wing loading of a penguin, 6' 205 lbs. If I was a skinny shit like I used to be I would still work on improving the glide ratio.

I am designing and near ready to cut and assemble a wing suit. I am attempting to produce the leading and trailing edges to resemble a birds wing and tail and not that of an aircraft.

Scary Perry is truly one of the great guys. Not too many of those types left. Generally he's all give and very little take. If he says he'll do it, he does it. If you hire him you will get your moneys worth. He's welcome at my fire any time.

The111, good questions and concerns, Skymonkeyone and LouDiamond good information. How about you two get together and make an instructional video for wing suit basics and advanced flying. I challenged the suit manufactures to do so but haven't received any response or comments. Dead end? Is there a secret project in the works? Do we grow like a weed or a tree? Which is best?

Chris Martin You are the son, the brother, the father, the husband, the friend, the leader... and now the legend that we will tell others about. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust Ride the wind photo courtesy of Perry Trowbridge

Stupino Russia May 2004 The morning after a traditional Russian party, Heres Chris sporting some JJ The Jet Plane Band Aids

Red Star Bird Man Competition Stupino Russia May 2004

Actually the belt type is designed to go around the waist. This is the method to secure it to your lower body. I wore an extremely tight GTI at last years boogie. (thats why I removed the co2 cartridge) It went underneath the suit ok. LouDiamond has some very good points on ditching the rig or rigging your equipment to stay afloat. With the belt type it "if you elect to keep your equipment on" will operate in a manner to make this possible. I do have a wrist style flotation device if you want to use it. I'll be there Friday morning.

Please accept my apology.