jmfreefly

I agree, get coaching. I have several hundred freefly jumps, and I still go and seek out knowledgable coaches. As for having problems going slow, it comes with experience. A good exercise to develop muscle memory for flying side by side is to get two of your friends, to stand about shoulderwidth+1 foot apart. get between then, and put each foot next to their foot, with their foot outside yours. Now try to push their feet out with your feet. You should feel your butt and outer thigh muscles tense. Hold that for a minute, pushing as hard as you can. That is the feeling you want in the air. Good luck. Another answer is always a higher drag suit, but I bet it is body position more than too little suit.

I use AVID, and I have had similar problems. It ended up being linked to unsupported Firewire hardware (not AVID certified). Don't have a clue if your NLE has a supported hardware list, but if so, I would consult it. Additionally, make sure to check the support website for patches and conflicts. I spent a few days trying to debug a problem that turned out to be a Windows XP security update issue -- AVID wouldn't work with the update, so I had to back it out (and stay vulnerable ) EDITED TO ADD: Just thought of other issues to check -- be sure to separate your system drive (with virtual memory files) from your footage drive.

I jumped a rig with one (not a wings), and it just seemed foreign to me (having jumped a hackey for 3-400 jumps at the time). A hackey is a very distinctive shape (there isn't anything else that is a hard round sphere back there -- if there is, go see a surgeon ). The freefly handle was somewhat non-descript in feel. I remember thinking the first time I grabbed it to deploy "Is this the handle, or the container??" The hackey is fully symmetrical, while the FF handle is not, so it feels a bit different if you grab it at different angles.

Well, one of my Wings was bought before you were there, so I think my experience is a bit broader than those that you size. And the 8 wings (in various sizes) at our dropzone all run on the tight side. While I appreciate the extra thought that you might put into the sizing, I have to say I disagree with that policy in general -- of trying to predict someones canopy progression. There are plenty of folks out there that don't have any desire to downsize, both new or old jumpers. Additionally, what does 'downsize' mean? If I order a rig for my 108 Nitron, what is downsize? a 90something Nitron, or a 90 something xbraced? If the latter, then there is actually an upsize in pack volume. Anyway -- my choice is to get exactly what I ask for, size wise. And I still stick by my original advice: don't get a container undersized for the canopy you have unless you know for a fact that you are immediately going to downsize (e.g. a canopy on order). On a side note (somewhat related), I have found that the rig closes a little different if you are using the inside grommet in the main pack tray vs. the closing loop in the bottom flap (an option). Oh, one more piece of info on the wings, which may or may not bother you: The chest strap threadthrough is 'backwards' from Jav's and Mirages (and others). Friction adapter is on the left when wearing it. Because I had both Jav and wings, I asked to have it reversed (adapter on the right), so that I wasn't switching back and forth when jumping each rig. Wings did this any issue. Bottom line, I like wings- that is why I have two of them. Paige and the rest of the SRI crew do focus on customer service, even if the build times stretch a bit long. EDITED TO ADD: Oh yeah, from what SRI had told me in the past (pre-Paige

BKDice, of course. Every single one of them. She is the shiznit. But I am biased. Dove is some tough comp, but she has to come in second. j

I had similar problem on my pc100, and was a result of the mechanism to 'capture' the lens was damaged. Send it to sony.

It all depends on what you are going to try to do with the machine. Frankly, I spend WAY too much time doing video editing to bother trying to do it at the dz. Additionally, it depends on what NLE you want to use. I use AVID Xpress DV (which works on PC or MAC - I am using it on a PC). For the 'mobile' workstation, they have a newer version AVID Xpress Pro, with an external firewire accelerator. That makes one of the slickest 'on the go' editing systems around. Just add laptop and harddrive space. http://www.avid.com/products/xpresspro/index.asp Frankly, you will need huge amounts of space to do anything but the smallest projects. I haven't used FCP, but the apple platform and software definitely is a nice setup. I wouldn't bother with Sony Laptops, personally. They have too many quirky specialized hardware components which often makes OS/upgrades /tweaks an issue. j

I have a bonehead chincup setup, and use a conceptus bite switch without problem. It often depends on the helmet/fit. If you need to crank down your chincup so you are in a vise, then a tounge switch is probably a bit more useful.

Yes, they can have different speeds. Speed in a suit is pretty much based on 4 factors: 1) Fit. How much material is out there? (is it tight or is it floppy) 2) Hand of the material. How stiff or floppy the material is. The thicker the material (or double layered), the slower it will be (if the other 3 factors are held the same). 3) Texture. Nubby material has more drag than a slick material (again, if other 3 factors are held the same). 4) Porosity. (airflow through the material). In general, each material has differences in all of the last 3. But, by varying the amount of material, you can often make suits from different materials and still have the same speed. All things being equal, I think I have had the best luck with Supplex in terms of durability. However, when I have made suits, I often end up using polycotton/cotton material because of the print design.

[reply I plan to ask Wings to customise it as a tight fit for the canopies I am getting second hand. Then I can keep the same container when I downsize. If my first main is a 190 then it should go down to a 170, right? Personally, I wouldn't bother telling them to 'make it tight'. I have two wings, and both of them are VERY tight for the canopy that I quoted them. IMHO they size their containers a bit on the tight side already. I agree with others that used gear is REALLY the way to go for new skydivers (in terms of money). If money is not a factor, then by all means, buy new gear. The real issue for not getting new gear right away is that you probably don't know what you want, or haven't looked around that much. Some rigs fit different body types better than others. I love wings, but have you tried Javs, Mirages, Vectors, Voodoos, Talon RS, Microns, Infinitys? They all fit a bit different. As for FF handle vs. hackey: for me, it was a no brainer - hackey. The feel of the FF handle just wasn't for me. I was used to hackeys, so that is what I got. Sounds like with the number of jumps you have it probably wont make difference either way. I agree with the others that wings' FF handle setup is top notch. j

I used to jump a webbing/velcro combo similar to the one you are drawing on my Javelin, but I switched to static riser 'blocks' for a few reasons. 1) I now don't own a Javelin, I own two Wings. The wings have a taper in their reserve cover, so it just didnt work with the setup I had 2) I was concerned about cutaways, and this getting hung up. Yes, low probability 3) The riser blocks are much faster, IMHO. They are maybe a little more restrictive in terms of sight (than my old velcro reserve tab), but pretty much everything is when you pull it down past the toggles. 4) I jump all kinds of suits, so a suit-based stow wouldn't work for me. 5) As for your snap design, I don't think I would be able to easily (and more importantly, quickly) stow that snap. Pushing down on the snap, on my back?? Don't think I am flexible enough to do that efficiently. I had hard enough time getting the velcro to mate well. 6) I also tried the L or reverse V style tabs, but I found them to be a bit bulky. They didnt want to sit well under my primary riser covers, and would peak out. Not that big an issue, but I didn't like seeing them 7) Brian Germain had a nice quick solution, similar to riser blocks, sew a 'crossbar' of heavy dacron across the riser. I like the webbing blocks a bit better. A word of note, if you have riser inserts, and you choose to install 4 riser blocks, you will have a little bit of tricky sewing around the inserts. j

Easy there, you stinky primate..

How long are you taking off after the surgery? I had it 3 years ago, and the doc told me to take a month off....Jokingly, I told him I'd only be able to hold out for a week...he countered with 2 weeks. I ended up waiting a month due to weather and a move, but on my 7 day checkup he told me I could jump and dive as soon as I wanted to....just wear good eye protection. 3 years later, 20/20 each eye, 20/15 or better when testing with both together. No side effects that lasted more than 2-3 weeks(night vision stuff only). Mike The doc said a month for 'pressure sports'. It is already past a month, but with the weather, holidays, and trying to satisfy whiny jumpers by finishing our dz's year-end video..

[replyNo doubt, I understand exactly what you mean. A whole bunch of us were promised a Xmas video on the 6th. But, patience is a virtue and I am not a whiner Look SF, you are on a one month timeout.. no promises were ever made. Keep it up and I will make it two!

Like I said in my original post, it is a hue issue, not a lightness issue. Let me know if Kim sends the suit back to you. I would love to know whether you would concur with my assessment. If you compare the tealish color in the top border of dropzone.com with the Home/News... color. That is the best comparison I can make. I tried to take a digital picture, but the flash bleeds out the colors and you can't see the difference. But, once I saw the swatches, I knew it wasn't the same. I suspect that maybe you guys received an off-color batch? PM me if you want more information/clarification. Thanks for the followup. While I am grumbling about it not being 'perfect', I definitely applaud your companys business ethic to make the situation right. Can't wait to fly it. j

No doubt there can be differences. However, this was basically a darker vesion of the 'teal' that you see at the top of the dropzone.com border.. which is (in my mind) not something that can be called Navy. The Home/News... color is a shade of Navy. Anyway.. it is cool that they are going to rebuild it, and try to make ammends. It isn't cool that it wasn't done right in the first place (there was another issue which wasn't to spec). I understand that mistakes happen. In my jump career, I have bought (custom)... 2 wingsuits, 2 custom rigs, 2 custom canopies, 4 jumpsuits. I have never received an item on-time (as in the longest date they quoted) and to spec. A few have been right, like my most recent Wings (but not my first one), and my Icarus Crossfire, but they were about 1.5 the quoted time. (The Crossfire was held up because of the whole trim issue). Ah well.. at least I am on the ground now (recovering from Lasik surgery) and am not hankerin for the suit. j

Has anyone else out there had issues with the colors of the newer materials from Birdman? I got my new S3, and the Navy Blue looks like a dark Teal. I had Kim from Birdman send me swatches, and the Navy swatch was what I would think Navy would look like. But the suit is definately from a different color 'strain'. So, my suit is on its way back to Kim, and a newer one to be made. (Thanks to Kim and Birdman for doing what they can to make things correct -- the suit also had oversight on other color specifications). But now I am going to have to wait another 4-5 weeks for them to 'rush' to rebuild the suit. This will easily turn into a 6 month endeavor.. cripes. Anybody have similar issues with color hues?? Part of me thinks "Geeze, color issues are so petty" but the other part says "Heck, you pay over $1k for a suit, it better be what you ordered, color and all!" j

I wouldnt take my reserve for a repack to a rigger if I was worried about how well he could change line-sets I know plenty of riggers that are not as current (or as talented) in sewing, but are plenty current at repacking reserves. The best case is to have Uberrigger that can do everything, certainly. The same way there are car mechanic shops that specialize in brakes, drivetrains, whatever.. I wouldn't take an electrical problem to them necessarily, but I would take a problem that they specialize in. I believe in the UK anyone can repack a reserve(?) without supervision (?), but to become a rigger (to modify/etc.) it practically takes an act of god ..

Much easier, in fact. Instead of holding that stupid button down through the whole turnon cycle, you just wait until the Vigil's unit completes its tests, then presents you with a few seconds at each of a several menus. If you want to set an altitude offset for the landing zone then you just go into the right menu. It presents you with the opportunity to go up.. and you can adjust it up.. and then it presents you with the opportunity to go down, and you can go down. If you screw it up, you just go back to that menu just like the first time. The one big difference in offsets is that it retains the offset after the jump, and even after power down. Not really better or worse, just different. If I was at a dz that always had an offset for takeoff and landing areas, or I was doing several demo jumps (where this was a factor), then the Vigil is much more convenient. However, it does mean you have to make sure to change it back the next dropzone you go to. The other big plus for some might be the fact that the same unit can be in student mode, tandem mode, or pro mode. For dropzones, with many rigs, it might be nice if all units were interchangable, especially when one needs to be pulled for maint.. The lack of a finite lifespan is also a 'plus'.. I reserve judgement on the lack of need of routine maintenance. I don't have a problem jumping with people who use Vigils - they might fail like Cypres did or vice versa. On the other hand: if there is more competition there might be more improvements which makes our sport safer. So in the end everybody wins ;-)

Not to get into statistics, but the number depends on the sample size.. not just the number of fires. Ultimately though, more real world data (live people walking and talking and praising the vigil) should help. Well, true, the Beta units were not available in the US early enough, and that was because of a possible patent infringement lawsuit by SSK on their cutter. That doesn't mean that the unit didn't go through Beta tests, though. It just didnt happen in the US.. There were European Beta testers that served this function.

Well, I guess I am confused by this response. I believe the issue that Cypress states is based on trying to decide which one of the two of the following is happening: 1) The jumper is ascending (and therefore pressure is dropping) vs. 2) The barometric pressure is dropping significantly while the jumper is on the ground. My understanding is that the worry is that if a jump plane climbs very slowly and then immediately drops below dz elevation (valley), then the unit wouldn't register the pressure change as a takeoff, but a 'change in the weather'. If the unit thinks the pressure change was only weather related, not change-in-height related, it would keep calibrating (and therefore re-calibrate itself below the dz height, leading to ultra low AGL deployment altitude over the dz). I guess I am not convinced that this risk doesn't exist with the vigil. Again, the bottom line is 'don't let your jump plane do that'. I think the instances where this can occur are few and far between. Yeah, I just misread the manual I guess. Ok, my guess is that should be noted explicitly in the instructions. One would think that pilots wouldn't go nuts coming back down with jumpers, but we have had a premature fire (granted it was an FXC) on a student's ride back down. Thanks for the answers. If you get any more info about the first point, I'd like to hear it. j

Agree with your comments. Just a point though, one 'real-world save' doesn't have statistical significance. But, drop tests is where the 'significant' data is going to be collected, and Vigil has done these. I haven't seen how many/etc. or results, but the video on their website is cool.

And the new reserve built by Aerodyne is the SMART reserve, built by a few of the designers of the TECHNO (parachutes de france mfgs the techno, not TSO'd in the us). Supposedly there is no relation to the old Tempos, even though Aerodyne merged/bought PISA. I read about their design a bit before I bought one (and the price couldn't be beat). Supposedly they have a slightly tapered tail(?), and claim to have better landing characteristics. I also have a Dash-M, which I am planning to swap out at some point (also downsize the reserve), but I still have confidence in the reserve. As for 'you are lightly loading it, so you should be ok..' isn't a good statement to go by. I believe some of the failures were under moderate loading. Additionally, the ratings are under 'normal conditions'. If you increase your speed (like if you were balled up trying to clear a Pilotchute in tow), you increase your energy as a square of velocity. Anyway, newer designs (like RMAX and SMART) have done their line attachement points differently. The RMAX, I think actually uses spectra as the attachment, vs. tape.

With the help of Kevin922, here are pics of the dbag. Some may be a little dark/low contrast, but hopefully it makes sense. The pics are here: http://www.interone.net/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album03 (Scroll to the bottom) Eventually he is going to clean them up and put them on his site: www.flybirdman.com Hope that helps.

Ah, right you are. The passage I mis-read was the one she quoted.. so I guess it doesnt come with an extra replacement filter (a la Cypress 2).