johnmatrix

I have not jumped either but as you have said, I believe the original Cruise was a simple one-piece suit, the Cruise + had inflatable cells on the inside that gave it some more shaping.

Done it, can't recommend it highly enough. Within months I avoided a cliff strike, on my first and only slider-down 180 (160 more like it), I believe mainly thanks to this course. I still commonly see jumpers doing things I was taught to navigate and avoid in this course. 500+ jumps and nearly 10 years in the sport now, no object strikes or major injuries, still going off many things I was taught at SRBA, worth every cent. Thanks again Tom and crew. :)

Yes to all the above. And less a drill, but more - make sure you are achieving the maximum performance of the suit. Many go to a big suit for more performance but in actual fact could just fly a bit better in their current suit. 

On 11/1/2021 at 4:10 PM, DonaldSchultz said:

Thank you for all who ran basejumper.com

thank you to all that arent on social media

and thanks for at least preserving the knowledge base. I have spent hours reading incident reports, especially newer, more scientific analysis of what happened. And I know its not unique, many of my BASE friends did the same. I believe I learned so much from basejumper.com and think it played no small part in surviving BASE

 

+1

I haven't jumped either, however... I am sure the Carve 21 is better but can't imagine it's going to suddenly change your entire flight envelope compared to your current Carve. I reckon you're better off sticking with your current suit until it's well and truly thrashed, then getting whatever the current Carve is and enjoying the new and improved version, whether it's a 21, a 23 or whatever.

I have a Carve 2. I did one jump on the original Havok but it was so long ago I can't really say what the difference is, though I am sure the new one is better. 

I've been in the WS tunnel and definitely found it good for learning. Raw performance flying is a different kettle of fish but you can still bring little things you learn in the tunnel to that. For another example look at the WS flying you see experienced freefly tunnel flyers doing. They bring skills they've learnt in the vertical tunnels to WS and it helps. 

The PLF is one of the most important safety skills to learn. It's saved my butt numerous times. Even if you develop a sliding-in or similar technique to dissipate forward movement, you still want the PLF in your tool box. You could get sink on landing, turbulence could collapse your canopy, you might land off and have to land in a tight spot in deep brakes, you could have an entanglement and land under two (or 1) malfunctioning canopies, heaps of stuff could happen where a PLF may make the difference between walking away dirty and sore or going to the hospital.

I am a wingsuit coach and agree with the above comments.

My first WS flight was my 201st jump and I went fine. However, I was current and had been preparing for well before hand, both in the skydiving I was doing, and research and visualisation at home. 

Since then my DZ has bumped up their minimum numbers to 350 for a first WS jump. While I don't have a problem with people starting on 201, it is true that some are under-prepared. The 350 jump minimum has meant more first WS flight students are now better prepared, but of course you still get the odd one who isn't. 

I hear from some of these people that they really want to wingsuit and they're super keen to do it, but have evidently done no research whatsoever, not on first flights, suit types, or just basic preparation.

To OP: whatever the jump numbers, it sounds like you're almost there. Keep jumping and it won't be long. It's worth the wait.  

14 hours ago, EagleMan said:

I have a weird feeling about this however. I am really scared of the ride up, as well as the moments leading to the door. Sometimes I am secretly relieved when the weather prohibits rides,

I felt the same way too - welcome to skydiving. 

The fear is unpleasant but it looks after you, worry will keep you safe. As you jump more, and get more confident, it will be less unpleasant, but as said above you must continue to worry about the details. 

Keep going - you'll be right. :) 

If you are 100% absolutely not going to do acro, the C4. But I think a Freak may make more sense as it's apparently fairly similar in performance and you may change your mind in the future and want to do more backflying. Additionally if you do get a high-performance suit in the future like a C-Race then you may find yourself still using the Freak for backflying, not so much the C4. 

I've done 1 jump on a Freak 1 and none on any Colugo so there's not much I can say in terms of personal experience.

1 hour ago, alygator said:

Until you have fun no reason to change. Anyway, the havok is super easy and you shouldn t have any trouble  even with 20 jumps a year

+1 

Also, wingsuits cost money. No need to buy another if you're having enough fun on your current suit.

9 hours ago, Westerly said:

That is not to say NO ONE can EVER fly a Havok fast--I know a guy who did PPC in one. But most of the people I have seen fly them do not keep up. This is not to say the Havok is the ONLY suit that gets left behind in formations. There are others as well (swift 1 for example sucks).

You can do PPC in any wingsuit. I used to do it in my Phantom 2. 

It just sounds like you and your friends are simply flocking in bigger suits and are unwilling to dial it back a bit to accomodate others with less experience.

So yes, for the OP, if he wants to fly with friends it does depend on what those friends are jumping and how they are flying as to whether he keeps up or not. 

Here's some video from last year in my Havok Carve 2, around the 3.30 to 4.28 mark. I had some nice jumps with people in Strixs, an ATC, Hunter, but of course if they'd put on the power then yes I would have eventually been left behind. 

https://vimeo.com/398767154

As said above, your instructors who have watched you land will be able to give you the best advice.

I was 92kg when I started and my first rig was a 190. BUT - I was OK'd to go to a 190 after my instructors had watched me land. 

fanboi detected

It's been done. Some guy tried it a couple of years back but it did not go so well.

Someone may help you. Your project does sound cool but a live streamed wingsuit skydive is not going to be super interesting footage unless you have a group of people. If you in fact do need all that gear (is using a mobile phone via Facebook not possible?) then that's going to need some thought from the jumper too. 

Yes the Havok is a great suit. If it's in good condition then yes. I can't say about the price, but the question is more: what sort of flying do you want to do?

If you want a good all-rounder suit that is stable on belly, back, offers easy maneouvreability and transitions, and nice range on smaller suits, the Havok is perfect.

Sure the latest model will be a bit better but the original will offer just as much fun. 

The Havok, like the Phantom and the Swift and other smaller suits, is perfectly fine for BASE. I started WS BASE on a Phantom 2 and just went to a Havok last year, it's a great suit.

You can't go wrong with the Havok.

Also if you are planning on WS BASE you want a small suit to start with, but that's a discussion for the BJ forum not the DZ one. 

CRW is a nice relaxing activity and offers unlimited potential for a stress-free weekend.

7 hours ago, Westerly said:

 The ATC2 is actualyl a pretty solid suit 

Yes a friend of mine jumps one and I have been very impressed with the performance he is getting out of it. But he is also built like a bird and a good freeflyer with a fair amount of normal tunnel experience too.

At the end of the day the OP is in a good position with a lot of great suits to choose from as his next toy. Main thing is that he is ready for whichever suit he upsizes to.

4 hours ago, 20kN said:

Are you talking a Strix 1 or 2? 

I haven't jumped either so can't recommend. Based on what you've said it seems the Strix 2 is the one to get.

I just think having an intermediate suit (Funk), small-big suit (ATC) and then potentially a big suit (e.g. Strix, Freak) on top of that may be more suits than is needed here. I think it's best to get really good on one rather than have 5 that you only use every now and again.

As said above, the tunnel is a great learning tool and helps teach really good control and fine tuning. 

I did an hour in there last year and whatever the actual speed was, the feeling was of flying at a healthy forward speed but relatively flatter AoA compared to the much more aggressive and steeper AoA I'd prefer on a BASE jump. However the fine tuning I worked on in the tunnel I think is definitely be useful for BASE and performance flying. 

I love my Havok and can't recommend it highly enough, but I do think if you have a Funk already you're sort of doubling up on a suit class there. I get the impression the Havok is a better suit than the Funk but I have never tried the latter so can't give an opinion. ATC 2 is quite a powerful suit but I feel like you're better off waiting a bit more and going to a Strix rather than getting every single size of suit along the way and ending up with 2 or 3 that you don't need (they are expensive!). 

However, if you are still doing coach jumps to feel comfortable jumping with others I think you should stick with what you have until you are comfortable there. A bigger suit is more to worry about and you want to be pretty in control of your current suit before upsizing. 

On 3/22/2020 at 7:34 PM, Mr.B said:

I think Tonysuits made at some point a suit looking very similar to that (just arm wing - no or very small leg wing). Can't seem to find a photo of the suit anywhere online now, but from my memory it looked similar. It was not a mainstream product, but I remember that a guy flying it, made a very good score (speed wise) during one of wingsuit BASE competitions in Norway few years back.

It sounds like you are talking about the suit Yegor Orlow flew when he won in the World BASE Race 2016. It had a big arm wing but the tail was more like a Phantom, cut up above the ground. I think the arm root also protruded below the feet so it almost looked like fangs coming down. I was there at the time he was jumping it and remember watching him looking at the tailwing in flight and thinking it must have been just a trick of my eyes.

From memory it was a test design from some time ago that had been left alone, TonySuits dubbed it the 'FlickTail' afterwards and I am sure they produced an article on it for Facebook but I can't find it now.

Very interesting design and totally changed how I thought about it all.

9 hours ago, Bluhdow said:

The point is less about the gear, and more about the misconception that exiting an aircraft to fly terrain is somehow less dangerous than WS BASE. Yes, you eliminate the exit risks...but you create new risks that are equally (if not more) problematic.

Agree. It seems to be something that should only be done by experienced WS BASE jumpers, and then also with a higher degree of caution than on their average BASE jump. 

Thinking about it now I feel like if you were able to isolate the number of proximity flights made from aircraft it would have a higher fatality rate than any other form of parachuting.

Agree with the advice above. :) 

Anxiety is unpleasant but it will keep you safeish. It's good to worry about your gear, worry about the jump plan, but it's good to keep thinking about what can go wrong. Ask questions and follow the advice of your instructors.

Social anxiety can also be unhelpful. For instance - doing a proper PLF if you have to is a good thing to do. If you are worried about looking like a numpty and falling over it can lead to you trying to run out a hard landing and injuring yourself. 

As said above, we're a dysfunctional family, right now you likely fit in a lot more than you realise. Keep jumping, stay safe and you'll figure it out along the way.