voilsb

I'm a Phoenix-fly fan-boy and I completely agree with Scott. I liked the S-bird better than the Ghost (I've flown all 3 ghosts).

However, we're built similar. I'm 5'11 and 200 lbs. At about 100 WS jumps I wanted something as you describe, because I just wasn't satisfied with the performance my P2 was giving me. Well, I couldn't immediately afford another wingsuit, so I kept jumping my P2. A hundred more WS jumps, and my opinion changed. Another hundred and it changed some more.

I recently (and finally) replaced my P2 ... I bought a Phantom 3, because the Ghost didn't have the agility or power I wanted; it seemed sluggish compared to the phantom. The Vs were way too much wing for the sorts of flying I do, and impractical in groups. I no longer have any issues keeping up with just about anyone in my phantom now. I've gotten quite close to 3 minutes on a phantom2, and haven't tried in the P3 yet (only put 3 jumps on it so far, mostly acro and backflying)

So seriously, think about ordering a P3, or just holding off on replacing your P2. by the time you have 200 jumps on your P2 your performance envelope will have greatly improved and you may likely change your mind.

Let me rephrase, then.

You should move your pattern downwind to accomodate for overshooting. You should not change your altitudes. Leave your altitudes alone, so that in the air you're always flying the same pattern. Just slide the points across the ground. Good altitudes to use are 300, 600, and 900. Some use 1000, 500, and 250. I like 3/6/9 because they're the same amount of altitude loss per leg, so on no-wind days they cover the same distance across the ground.

can't you just use your old altitudes and shift your pattern downwind a little, however far you're overshooting?

I like Storms. Shannon Pilcher likes Storms. Tony Hathaway likes Spectres. Have fun :)

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I was thinking more along the lines of DZO's in general since I know I'll be moving in the summer but am not sure exactly where. It will either be MA (in which case I'll go to Jumptown) or Houston (in which case I'll go to Spaceland).

My advice still stands. Contact any of the Farringtons, or Luke, Jeff, or John Mitchell or really almost anyone there. I jumped there when I bought my first gear.

But if you insist, contact diablopilot (http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?username=diablopilot]). He's an S&TA at Spaceland.

Your profile says you jump at Kapowsin. Go talk to them, their staff has an incredible amount of experience and are extremely helpful. They'll point you in the right direction.

Good point. I wasn't even thinking aspect ratio. Maybe he can chop it up?

Machines that are good for quilting can be quite different from good rigging machines. Many quilters want pretty stitch patterns and stuff, and use light threads ... most riggers want straight stitch, zig zag, and bar-tacks, using pretty hefty thread at higher tensions. Most rigging machines are specific to one or two stitches, and tend to be fairly single-purpose.
However, if you get her a 20U, she'll probably still like it ... and you can use it for some decent rigging too :)

PD made Sabres in 97 sq ft. Might be able to find some of them nobody's willing to jump.

I'm just jealous. I'd love to own a 20U, a double needle walking foot, and everything in between

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just interested in fitting a 210 in my container and learning tricks and drills to tell when im ready to use it....

Related to this, a Sabre2 210 won't pack a whole lot smaller than a Silhouette 230. The hybrid fabrics help.

When I had 40 jumps, I went from renting a Silhouette 210 to a Sabre2 190. I weighed about 185 lb at the time. I personally feel I should have stayed on the 210 for another 50+ jumps. I could easily land the Sil/210, but had a lot more trouble with the S2/190.

My opinion is stick with the 230 till you have at least 100 jumps. The Sabre2 IS sportier than the Silhouette. Add to it the heavier wingloading, and it's just a risky decision. You *probably* won't get hurt, but I'd attribute that more to luck than skill, as was my case.

Get where you can land the Sil from half brakes with no issues, where you can turn 45+ degree DURING your landing flare, where you can land it on rears, and consistently (19/20 times) put it within 50 ft of where you want. Pull lower, get comfortable pulling between 3,000 and 3,500 ft and doing the same thing.

Best answer:
Since the rig has sold, go get measured for 3+ major rigs (Javelin, Vector, Infinity, Mirage, etc). That should get you enough measurements to be useful most any place. Then, e-mail those measurements to the appropriate manufacturer and ask "What size harness/yoke do I need with these measurements?"
Save their answers, and use it when shopping for rigs.

Second best answer:
Someone up-thread suggesting trying on a bunch of rigs at the DZ and keeping track of what fits well.

It's VERY generic, but IN GENERAL, the 7-cell will open more reliably and on heading, have a steeper glide, and require a quicker flare. IN GENERAL the 9-cell will have "sportier" turns, a longer glide, and a more powerful 2-stage-ish flare with more "swoop" to the landing.

But there are exceptions. Compare a Falcon 150 to a Diablo 150 ...

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The BSR requires instruction if you have less than 500 jumps. maybe they just need to require that the briefing cover the materials in 6-9 and define an "experienced wingsuiter" as someone with 100+ wingsuit jumps who has previously passed the didactic portion of a USPA coach course?

I was wrong. I mistakingly thought the bsr was 200 in 18 months (with instruction) or 500 jumps but that's just the recommendation. the bsr is just 200 or more. my memory failed :-/

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Also my end cells seem to be squashed closed all the time and it makes me nervous and squirrelly because what if the snivel is too long AND I have asymmetrically closed end cells AND I'm low?

Add more brakes! End cells closures and snivels may both be corrected with more brakes. In packing configuration with the brakes set, note where the shortest brake line is in reference to the "A" or "B" line attachment. If it is below the "A" line toward the risers contact the manufacturer with this information. If it is above then shorten it about 2 inches at a time until you get the opening you need. You may not have enough latitude to shorten it much. Dont go below the A without factory consultation.

JS

this is very interesting ... I'll be checking it out solely for curiosity.

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>We, as a sport, are trying to get people to be responsible for themselves (it's a lost
>art these days). The SIM is THE place to go first.

Agreed. But you can't read the SIM and skip the first jump course (or even just the level 7 briefing) - you also need instruction. We've been relying on manufacturers for this for quite a while, and for the most part it has worked out. We're starting to see more and more cases where it hasn't.

The BSR requires instruction if you have less than 500 jumps. maybe they just need to require that the briefing cover the materials in 6-9 and define an "experienced wingsuiter" as someone with 100+ wingsuit jumps who has previously passed the didactic portion of a USPA coach course?

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I think the point many of us are getting hung up on is the whole 200 FFC requirement. That is by and far completely ridiculous. By having that requirement, this proposal essential ensures the original WSI/E will dominate the WS world for the next decade with all that it entails. If someone wants to be a WSI, they would have no choice but to go through this original WSI/E. Even if an WSI taught a FFC every single weekend of the year, which is completely unreasonable, it would take four years for them to be qualified to be a WSI/E.

I'm personally opposed to the WS-I rating, but I don't see a problem with the 200 FFC rule. It just means there would only be a couple WS I/Es, which would keep the training fairly standard. As WS gets more popular, FFCs would happen more often, and more WS-Is would be qualified to become I/Es, etc. I personally know at least a half dozen wingsuiters who have taught at least 200 FFCs, so that means there are at least a half dozen potential I/Es out there in the US.

The real issue is: it it necessary? is it feasible? is it desirable? Consider the can of worms, the difficulty coming up with something everyone can agree on, potential costs of implementation, logistical issues getting remote instructors to the I/Es, and of having few to no remote instructors, as well as other things I may not have thought of.

Loved it

I put 35 jumps on an OM-160 Optimum demo two years ago. I did high pulls, wingsuit jumps, RW jumps, hop and pops, everything. It flew and flared fine, at terminal and sub-terminal. The hole in the slider was big enough I could fit my head through it while wearing my helmet (on the ground). I don't recall any of the openings being terribly fast or at all painful.

You better be fun jumping over Halloween then!

Like everyone's said, that's pretty decent in a phantom. I still suggest playing with it more, though, there's a lot more to flying a suit than max hang time.

As for my variables, I'm 5'10" 200lb (230 exit weight), exiting at 13,5 and deploying at 3,000. But 2:45 is my MAX flight time. I average a lot less than that, because I'm rarely punching it like that. Usually only on sweet clouds, and then I usually get about 2:20-2:30 on flights. When flying with other people I usually average 1:55-2:05, and when doing acro or a lot of belly/back transitions I usually average 1:40-1:50.

S-Bird's a good suit, combo of float and speed. If you just want float, look into a Ghost.
Before all of this, I challenge you to max out your P2 first. I'm 200lb and can do 2:45 on a P2, I'm sure you can probably milk at least 3:15 on a normal jump. I used to think I wanted a different suit from my P2 when I had about your experience, but I couldn't even break two minutes then. As I put more jumps on it, I changed my mind.

So it's kinda like a nice accuracy rig, that holds a 288 main and a 176 reserve ...

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I do, and I have jumped lots of other canopies in that size range, just nothing with a exit weight so low. Think I'm gonna stick to the manufactures recommendations and stay away

Best answer of all.

Sparky

That's no fun! A couple months ago, I got to borrow an Excalibur 150 (label max exit weight 184lb, my exit weight 230lb) and put a jump on it. Yeah, it opened in a stall, but once it inflated it flew great! It just didn't flare past my shoulders. Instead, it violently stalled. But I did have a soft landing under my Raven!
That's one side of the overloaded canopy option ...

On the other side, PD says that any Sabre2 I jump smaller than a 150 is overloaded, and the 135 and 120 happen to fly quite well at my exit weight.