mmm_peanuts

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Posts posted by mmm_peanuts

  2. Ok, I figured that you would have assumed I was talking about canopies in the same class, which is in this case, the ultra (or whatever you would like to call it). The point between the comp velo and jvx was that, no there is not enough evidence to come to any conclusion which ultimately performs higher. Material choice does make a signifigant difference on performance of the same type of wing. Ie you can determine sail works better for the JVX design than zp. You cant conclude, with the piloting today, if a sail jvx out performs a comp velo. Two completely different animals. As for future canopies, it is definitely possible that a "king daddy" will emerge, what with new designs and patents to them.

    Quote: There has to be a design and material that's superior over another

    I do believe this as well, but I do not think that a clear winner has emerged. Flown well, these two canopies have resulted in very similar numbers, like distance. This is shown by that record being broken by both jvxs and comp velos every couple of months.

    Quote: So in the end, there is no point in different canopies and brands, besides choosing the one that has specific flying characteristics suited for you

    This is exactly true. I see it every day with a guy with a vengence @1.8 going 2-3 times as far as another pilot flying a velo with full RDS at 2.1+. Better technique with a lower performing canopy can most certainly out perform a higher performing one flown incorrectly.

  3. Sangi, something that you need to understand is that the canopy being flown has never been the limiting factor in swooping. It sounds like you have the idea in your head that, with the pilot taken out of the equation, that the JVX flown 100% perfectly will outperform a velo/comp velo that is also flown 100% perfectly. No pilot in skydiving history has ever flown their canopy so perfectly that additional speed/distance (disregard wind) is unattainable. This means the maximum performance of any parachute is yet to be seen, and at the moment is unknown. From my own observations of what the top pilots are pulling off, the fact that the JVX pilots and velo pilots are trading off records every year suggests that the ultimate performance of the two are relatively close. I do believe that there is a wing that performs ultimately higher, as there are with airplane wings, but the level of testing, research, and variable control in sport parachuting has not gotten to the point where definitive conclusions can be drawn. Hopefully this helps you better understand the point that its not the wing, its the pilot.

  4. I love the thing. It flies wonderfully in flocks, docks, and slow speed. I have also been told by other flockers that when I put it full tilt for forward speed, that it is very fast. I know it is supposed to be a base suit, so I cant really shed much light on the subject, but i have launched it from a balloon (38 seconds ff from 5000' pitch @ 3000') and was told by the other wingsuiters in the basket that it looked to have performed quite nicely.

    I have never really talked to anyone from Tonysuits other than Justin Shorb, but i seem to get the impression that the Apache isnt being looked into too much more. I could be totally wrong, but the gist of what I have been hearing, it seems they are looking more into modifying the mach 1 and shooting for the lowest possible vertical speed, while still functioning well as a flocking suit(I cant even list the number of different variations of the mach1 I have seen this since about april 2007). I hope I am wrong, as it is a great suit which has wings that are perfectly sized for people of my stature (about average height and weight). I am a bit skeptical as the only Apaches i have ever seen have been demo suits, and the general consensus seems to be that people would rather have the larger wing area of the Mach1 or one of its massive companions (SM1, SM2,etc..).

  6. I have the first production model of the apache and have put about 40+ jumps on it and alll i can say if WOW. Despite it being quite a bit too big for me and only having about 50 wingsuit jumps,i can still get it easily down into the low 40 mph range and it is getting steadily slower. It flys steady and stable in flocks and still has enough range to get my 195 lb carcass into the low 40s with ease. In docked flight the grippers do flap a little but are easy to get a hold of. I give it a 9.5 out of 10.

  12. I too am 16 years old and had the same problem as you. I live in massachusetts and work at skydive pepperell as a packer. When i discovered that i couldn't do any jumping in massachusetts, i decided to do a lot of research and came to the conclusion that the nearest place for 16 year olds in new england to jump is in canada. I went to a Quebec Dz called Nouvel Air and was not only able to do a tandem, but i am now solo certified with 25 jumps. And the working at a dz does help a lot. I made enough money to buy my own rig, and the knowlage i gained before going to canada made my licensing go much more smoothly. So if you can, i strongly recommend you try that.