mrken

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Gear

  • Main Canopy Size
    210
  • Reserve Canopy Size
    193
  • AAD
    Cypres 2

Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Skydive Arizona (Eloy)
  • License
    C
  • License Number
    37464
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    289
  • Years in Sport
    5
  • First Choice Discipline
    Wing Suit Flying
  • First Choice Discipline Jump Total
    18

Ratings and Rigging

  • USPA Coach
    Yes
  • Pro Rating
    Yes
  1. No problem man. As far as track suits goes I had tried out both the PF Track and Birdman Impact. Both are very the good and have advantages over each other IMO. The PF I seemed to cover more distance/get more spee because you can use it at inflation while in the "bullet" style track. My legs felt like they were on power steering. Plus its purdy :) The BM requires you to be in well, a more mock wingsuit body position to get proper inflation...legs and arms out more. It allows for a very stable track. You will know when you got it right because you will feel the mini sail wing and the jacket will puff up; like someone suddenly pulling on you and going "No No, you fall slower now." It reminded me of like Marty McFly's auto drying jacket in Back To The Future 2 (NERD ALERT). Another side factor is it does simulate wingsuit flight in that it adds another chore to deal with; which is unzipping the leg wing. You don't have to but I felt like it was good practice and a heads up for me. As an OCD person the most stressful part of my first flight was unzipping the arms and getting the legs out and booties tacked up (after looking for traffic, of course). I found it easy to lose track of my altitude those first few jumps because I was struggling with trying loosen a chest strap, getting a leg zipper unstuck, a snap to stay, whatever. I mean you're adding extra crap to what is now statistically the most dangerous part of the jump; the canopy flight. I'm still very naive and the whole experience of wingsuiting has me back to that feeling of being in AFF again. Those tracking suits are powerful, definitely learn the lay of the land and making a flight plan. I would not suggest visiting a dz in europe, getting on a 15 minute call, not looking at an aerial photo, deciding to put on your track suit because hey..im a good tracker and totally badass..exiting, tracking to the wrong hangar...and crossing the autobahn at 300 feet and actually seeing cars freak out to land in a pile of rose bushes on the other side. Not that any of that exactly happened to me in 08 :) (Cough, Sorry Nuggets, Cough) K sorry ive had alot of espresso and started drinking. In short, don't be in a rush to play on HARD mode :)
  2. Hey, If you're impatient and have a few extra bucks you may not want to overlook a track suit. Or a high drag FF suit and spend some time learning to fly your back. Backflying skills will help pretty much with every discipline in freefall. plus theres something totally zen about keeping your heading on a back track and relaxing into it. OOoOooOOhhhhmmmmmmmm OOoohhhhhhmmmmmm
  3. Hey, So I just finished squeezing my damn fist for an hour while slamming gatorade. One plasma donation earned me enough for two lift tickets . Got me wondering what else all of you have done to earn those precious tickets that may be whacky/sad? :P
  4. Glad you guys all had fun. Im freezing my ass off here in Germany. Geh I've had to go with my lady's family to so many damn operas i've tuned out half the time and thought "I wonder whats happening at the boogie right now?" :) Glad to see you had so many new fliers that could FIT in those suits Scott :P Doing situps and freezing in Deutschland, Ken
  5. Thanks Scott, It rocked and can't wait to go again. My shoulders this morning are crazy sore. :)
  6. I can say for sure that shopping around as an individual vs your work places you under an F'in microscope. The problem is the fact that it is a damn business in the first place. Since finding out I have the big "C" ; my PPO has smelled blood in the water and I've received 2 outbound calls asking me about things ranging from my diet, lifestyle, and frickin counselor visits when I was 14. I wish they'd just be up front and say "We really just need to find a way to drop you so you can go bankrupt or die." Even with coverage, my 20 percent copay is going to result in me selling my car and going from 12 to 18 credits so I can get a couple extra grand on my student loans so I can hopefully afford treatment. Like hell i'll sell my rig though :P Plan B is fleeing to Germany (the irony does not escape me) and marry my lady in a rush since the state plan does not deny coverage for any PEC.
  7. I just know its getting annoying watch that damn bottle of dirt slide across my screen for 5 seconds before I can interact with the site at all. Oh well, somethings gotta pay the bills right?
  8. You likely won't keep your first suit for too long and may want a tighter cut or different style as you develop your feel for the air. I'd say go with the bottom dollar new suit. If you go with a stock design or a used suit at your dz/gear shop you can get a deal close to your budget. A new Freak N Suit can be had for under 200 bucks, Firefly for 250. Both are great companies. It gets easier control your fall rate later. I'm actually 6' 1" and 235 lbs, my best friend is like 180, wears my old suit, and I can still manage to stay above him while i've got on a t-shirt and cargo pants. Indian not the arrow. Save what coin you can on the suit and use it for tickets and canopy coaching. Oh yeah, I recommend cordura butt and knees. It will eventually come in handy :P
  9. Yeah, I shouldn't have read the stupid user comments, I am super pissed off now.
  10. im a total facebook slut btw going totally nuts here, so close to 200 i can taste the WS.
  11. My jump numbers in profile are actual, so I tend to be a quiet observer here. My past 120 jumps have been largely group tracking dives (some solos) and I recently purchased an IMPACT track suit since I've decided I need to focus more on school right now and don't want to add more difficulty to the dive. That being said, when I even exited with this thing the first few times out of the otter I was taken back by the quick inflation and even that was enough to make me very wobbly and spend some time getting in control, guess Im not as cool as I thought I was. I assume I would have flipped over or god knows what with a real WS. Just an opinion, YMMV.
  12. My boss isn't a jumper but he came up with this costume for his baby! Thought ya guys might dig it...
  13. Hey, As I am now car-less (long story), I was wondering if anyone carpools to SAZ from Tucson? Obviously willing to put in for travel expenses. Ken
  14. Yeah they're playing it on CNN and n-tv here in Germany.
  15. Crap man, if I were in Tucson right now I would give you a lift. Might be worth calling the DZ and see if you can mooch a ride from a Tucson jumper. How long are you in Tucson for? I could make a couple calls here from Germany to see if a couple of my friends are on their way up to there (or at least passing by there on their way to another dz) if you like? Ken