voilsb

I took one of Brian's courses recently, and the "psychobabble" was mixed in throughout the course in a very intelligent way. It's more of a psychological-physicological explanation of what happens in different applicable scenarios, how to recognize it, and how to prevent it, to make your canopy flight safer. For example, when talking about malfunctions, he'll also talk about how and why adrenaline is released, what it does to your decision making process, how to prepare for and handle it, and what you can do afterwards to calm yourself down for the resulting unfamiliar canopy ride. I'd say it's about 5-10% of the course, with the remaining 90-95% of the course being a very thorough scientific, technical, and layman-practical canopy course. MUCH easier to absorb and apply than reading his book and trying his exercises on your own. Overall, I think the course is very much worth taking, but if I had to choose between a local canopy course or traveling to take Brian's, I'd take the local one. If I had the choice between Brian's or another, locally or nearby (within a couple hours' drive), I'd take Brian's. But I also hate commercial flight. I'd rather drive 12 hours than fly 3 hours if I have the option to. Brian

With 70 jumps, the answer is neither. Phoenix-Fly recommends a MINIMUM of 180-250 wingsuit jumps before jumping either of those suits. What is it about the Phantom 2 that doesn't suit your needs? Brian

I washed mine in cold water with Woolite, no spin cycle, extra rinse cycle, and hang dried it. Brian

Short answer: Yes Long answer: When you do your first flight, you may rock it, or you may suck it and fall like a rock. You'll most likely want to spend at least a few jumps flying a handful of different suits to decide what you like best, what you fly best alone, and what you fly best with other people. Then you order whichever suit or suits you need at that point. Brian

I've washed mine a few times, after e-mailing Phoenix Fly off the website to ask if there are any special detergent requirements and not getting an answer. Brian

This seems odd, because UPT says they'll make the bag to the dimensions you specify, so it can be made to exactly match your existing bag. Brian

Having done thousands of PLFs, I tend to agree with Pops. A properly executed PLF automatically slides in on a fast landing. I remember thinking this when that article came out, too. Brian

Interesting! This is also a problem I don't see. I think it's because I have the dacron lineset, which is more line bulk in the grommet. My new slider has 1-1/8" diameter grommets instead of the standard 1" ones, which solved the issue on freefall jumps and reduced the frequency from every wingsuit jump to about every other wingsuit jump I have trouble reaching the slider. Brian

The Storm sounds like it might be nice, but the snappy opening bothers me. I love the soft snivel openings I get with my Spectre and I find the flare sufficient. My Storm averages 600-700 foot terminal freefall openings, and I pull out the center cell and spread it nice and wide, and push the slider to the back to expose the nose, in an attempt to get quicker openings. I also have a smaller-than-stock slider on it. I don't think snappy openings are a problem with this canopy. On wingsuit jumps I routinely get a stuck slider. Brian

It looks like he never quite answered your question. How can he tell from the ground if you got out 500' or 100' below the overcast cloud? Brian

Correct. Keeps the wing over your head, but it's quite slow. At the presumed altitude, you could probably get from 1/2 brakes to 1/4 brakes by the time you start your flare. Because it's a scenario. In real life, possibly because of other traffic. Tree landing is better than a collision. If there's not traffic to contend with, a flat 90 or 180 degree turn may be appropriate, if it keeps you far enough away from the turbulence off the trees. Downwind @10mph winds is better than canopy collapse at 40 feet. Brian

You can do either one, especially at that wingloading. I've done both with a Storm loaded at 1.5. Although, in your situation you'll probably find yourself going even farther into the trees if you apply that amount of brakes. Since turns are out of the question in this scenario, I would say flare to at least half brakes, and prepare for a tree landing. If you get to 3/4 or deeper brakes, you *might* start "sinking" because of the 10mph wind, then just prepare for a PLF. Ultimately, your biggest problem will be turbulence off the trees you're about to hit. Brian

I want to jump there. Amazing scenery. Brian

Just printed my boarding pass! I land tomorrow night in Tampa, at 11pm. Brian

But safety-wise, it'll be as good if not better than most non- Pro-Tec helmets in skydiving. And I've seen a fair number of swoopers use protec-like half helmets. Brian

Looks like someone liked Wicked Wingsuits business model, and is thinking of duplicating it for Phoenix Fly (even if only for school). Brian

I incurred this problem at first, then I put on some of the little black riser hats that come with PD Slinks and it stopped that. I fly a Storm, and use the RDS because I get noticeable performance from pulling my slider down, and noticeable visibility from removing it altogether. Brian

Hello Brian, Interesting post. I haven't seen the UPT Removable Slider but have seen the one from PD on the Comp Velo. Why is it better to have a ring with a larger diameter? I had issues where I'd get a stuck slider on almost every jump. The slightly larger diameter rings makes the slider come down faster, reducing my instances of a stuck slider. Brian

I've got a UPT and a friend has the LookMa. Both seem to be good systems. LookMa has a few extra features (single point release, drawstrigs to collapse it if you don't want to remove it) but has smaller diameter rings, which is why I went with the UPT one. Both work great for freefall. Brian

I'm coming in Wednesday at 11pm and leaving Sunday at 8:30pm. Anyone wanna ride- or room-share to reduce costs? Brian

I loosen mine all the way. It's not long enough to really lean forward on landing, but it's got a tiny bit of slack unde canopy. I also pull my slider off (used to pull it down). I don't do any induced-speed landings. It allows you to really engage your harness, improving your ability to do coordinated turns. Coordinated turns allow your canopy to fly straight into the relative wind during turns, improving pressurization, stability, and recovery. It reduces the anhedral arc of your canopy, improving the vertical lift vector, improving glide and flare performance, as well as reducing stall speed and improving roll-axis stability. I started doing it on a Sabre2 190 loaded at 1:1. Noticeable, visible increase in glide (I could see my destination point move farther away as I loosened my chest strap). Immediate improvement of my landing ability. I could also fly my pattern completely on my harness, even on a 190 loaded at 1:1. My girlfriend started doing it during a canopy class on her Falcon 175 loaded at 0.9:1. First thing she said after landing was that she could do harness turns now. Also said her F111 canopy was easier to land. I freefall with my chest strap fairly tight, so my mud flaps are parallel to one another and vertical across my chest. After opening I unzip my arm wings then open my chest strap. This lets me fly in the harness and reach risers while I do everything else. Next I remove my slider and stuff it in my jumpsuit. Then I touch my emergency handles (which have moved), unzip my legs, pop my toggles, do a control check, and fly my pattern. Brian

In Brian

Really??? She registered 130db on her meter for the full minute of belly-flying free fall? Please verify that. If true, that suqs. Sometimes I wear 'em. Sometimes I don't. If it's really 130db. I'll have to wear 'em all the time. Bummer... I normally jump with earplugs. About a week and a half ago I somehow lost a earplug, but did a jump anyway. When I got down, I noticed my unplugged ear was noticeably muffled compared to the ear that had an ear plug (but only for half an hour or so), so hearing damage can definitely happen, even on single jumps! Brian

1. JSho (organizing) 2. Jeff Drunken Skwrl 3. Crazy Russian Greg. 4. Andreea (Supergirl) 5. Veggie 6. Brian Brian

While you're bored with the Storm or Sabre2 170, take the time and get some canopy coaching. If I remember right, you're in Deland. There are some amazing canopy pilots there who can teach you to do a lot with your current canopy or the Sabre2/170. Since you're bored on the docile, barely loaded canopy, you can learn to do some lifesaving things without putting yourself at much risk, and those skills will be extremely valuable as you get into smaller canopies. Things like turning 90 degrees during your landing flare, flaring and landing from half-brakes, downind, stall recovery, etc. Then, after getting 5 or 10 canopy coach jumps, and spending 5 or 10 jumps practicing each of those 5 or 10 new skills, you'll be ready for the Sabre2/150 (and have more than 100 jumps). PS: Recently I myself went to get some private canopy coaching. When the coach asked me what I wanted to learn, I told him: "I don't know what it is I don't know. Open my eyes." Brian