vitriol

Members
  • Content

    128
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

Posts posted by vitriol


  1. It's the first time I see this video in HD, thanks for posting the link!

    Unless the pilot doesn't have any experience with external charges, I can't believe the plan was to land with the sling still hooked to the machine and the structure.

    If he did have some experience or common sense, my guess would be that his hook wouldn't open, and that he could not release the cable. In that case you have to put some tension on the hook, either by lifting up and pulling on the sling (but then the cable can fall and get stuck on the structure) or by having someone pull on the sling. In any case he should not have put himself so close to the cable.

    Also, you are supposed to check that both your hook manual release and electric release work before doing any sling work.

  2. Quote

    Quote



    I do kinda know why my mom keeps me away from my relatives. I think (and she has hinted this to me), that she is embarrassed by my height and how I look.



    Just because of that I'd tell her I would go alone, and if she's not happy about that, well, that's her problem. What she does is more disrespectful than anything you could do. If there is something, you look the way you look in part because of her! Not that it changes anything the way you look! >:(

  3. Quote


    >By vitriol "Very strong winds could produce that kind of lift, but then it wouldn't be a thermal"

    So Pchapman do you agree with them that you can gain altitude in your glider/paraglider without thermals, ridge soaring or waves, but just by strong winds or kinetic dive and flares? tell me about it please ;)



    Well, what do you think creates ridge soaring or waves, if it is not wind! And no, you don't need to be that close to a ridge to feel the effects of the ascending air. You can feel it up to 3 times or more the height of the ridge or mountain.

    Also, being arrogant and rude won't make you right, but could get you banned from the forums.

    You seem to think your small experience in aviation makes you an authority on the subject, but you don't realize there are people here with many times the experience you will ever have telling you that you are wrong.

    I agree with you that a glider won't climb higher than it's starting altitude after a dive, but then again, nobody disagrees on that. If you don't want to listen to what other people say, what's the point of joining a conversation?

  4. Quote

    YES, he did flew up and not because of a dive and flare but because he CLEARLY hit a small thermal.



    Because even people arguing if he is climbing or not would agree he is flaring at the end of a steep dive. And a thermal strong enough to produce that kind of climb on a wingsuit would need to be incredibly strong. Very strong winds could produce that kind of lift, but then it wouldn't be a thermal, and I doubt the conditions would be flyable in that location. So, I find laughable to think it is CLEARLY a "small" thermal.


    Also, I think this whole argument is mostly miscommunication. I think everyone agrees that if you dive enough a wingsuit can gain altitude, even momentarily. Not higher than from where it started the dive, but for some time it stops descending.

    I guess the whole argument is mostly about how much of a dive, and how much altitude is gained.

  5. Dave, as much as I laugh at what Giselle says most of the time, and as much as I think you are an amazing source of good information in these forums, for once she is right. Wingsuits, like canopies, are gliders, and will never go up without accumulating speed first, or without climbing with the air mass surrounding them. It's just physics and there's no way around that.

    Also, the best way to climb with the air mass is to fly at the minimum sink rate, wich is just above stall speed.

    On the other hand, saying that in the video the wingsuit climbs because of a thermal is pretty laughable!

  6. Go to Komodo! I did a liveabord on the Mona Lisa, wich is a 30m boat operated by Komodo Tours if I remember well. I've heard good comments from wicked diving too.

    In 5 days you have enough time to do all the nicest divesites. You dive 4 times a day, including a night dive.

    Some of the most amazing diving I've ever done. There is everything you could wish for, from manta rays (tons of them!) to sharks, turtles, cuttle fish, amazing coral formations, excellent visibility, unreal amount of sea life, and all the weird fish you normally only see in books.

    Only a few places in the world compare to Komodo, and all of them are way, way more expensive. I don't know a single person who said they had better diving anywhere else.

    Best would be to fly into Bali, then take a regional flight to Labuan Bajo, where you will find all the dive shops operating in Komodo.

    Hope this helps!

  7. Quote

    Quote

    Camouflage is a fad that needs to fuck off. In a sport where being seen is a necessity for safety, wearing a material specifically designed to make you blend into the background is a really stupid idea.



    It's not specifically designed to make you blend into the sky, is it?


    Could make you hard to see from someone above you don't you think!?!:S

  8. Just found this link to what seems like a single surface BASE canopy.

    http://video.mail.ru/mail/flyboyz/_myvideo/2.html

    I am really interested in the subject.

    Rigs could be much much smaller with a lower profile. Much lighter and comfortable. Nice for travelling too.

    Cost would be more reasonable as the fabric quantity is much reduced, as is the complexity of the sewing.

    For paragliding the possibility of having your wing in your trekking backpack is nice. Climb a mountain over a few days, then fly down :)
    No sand in the cells when you fly on sand dunes.

    If they are safe and they have no real disadvantages, I'd be interested to buy one.


  9. Some canopies pack one size smaller. That could help you fit up to 3 or 4 different sizes canopies in the same container.

    Optimum reserves pack about one size smaller than regular reserves if I'm not mistaken, and the same is true for at least 2 other brands.

    I own a PD pulse main canopy, and it packs much smaller than a Storm of the same size.

    I know other canopies from other brands also pack smaller, but I have no experience with them, maybe other people could tell you more.

    Just make sure with your rigger that your container is not overly tight; that could cause problems.

  10. There is a lot of all inclusives offering scuba diving courses, but I don't know any of them that offers courses of very high quality.

    The best is to find a nice dive school, and then a nice hotel nearby. Most dive shops will pick you up at the hotel.

    Like skydiving scuba diving can be dangerous, and you want to have good instruction that will give you a solid knowledge base to build on.

    No matter where you go, I'd recommend you visit scubaboard dot com for recommendations on a dive shop offering quality training.

    Also, a couple of things to keep in mind: 2 weeks is a bit short to go to europe or asia, and in the caribbean, october is hurricane season. If you book last minute you can watch the weather forecast and get good prices and perfect weather. But if you book in advance you could end up being in the islands during bad weather.

    In Cozumel I'd recommend "Aquatic Sports Cozumel". The owner, Sergio, is a diving legend. He has been diving for over 45 years, has dived with the Cousteau family and knows Cozumel like no one else. His PADI card number is 34, or something like that! I dove with him last winter and it was good diving. There are lots of hotels all over the island. link: http://www.scubacozumel.com/


    In the caribbean, I'd recommend http://www.flamingodivers.com/ in Turk and Caicos. It's more expensive, but the level of customer service was better than anywhere I've seen and I recommend them without any hesitation. They only do very small groups and are a very, very professional and friendly company. The diving is also very nice. The island is pretty expensive, but I managed to find a deal at 725$ for plane tickets and hotel for a week. There are some amazing restaurants on the island, but except for the diving,the beach, and exploring by scooter there's not too much to do or that many people. Which is pretty nice if you ask me!

  11. For me it was the opposite: had a storm 135 loaded @ 1.3, traded it for a pulse 135.

    Didn't like the glide angle of the storm, or the fact that all the flare is at the end of the stroke. Openings were smooth but snivelly.

    I now have a pulse loaded at 1.3, and while it doesn't have the flare of a sabre2, it's ok. It has a flat glide angle, wich I like. Plus openings are quick but super smooth and on heading, and it's much easier to pack than a conventional zp brand new canopy.

  12. Thanks a lot for the pics!

    I wanted to mount mine a bit lower, but I might just mount it like you, it seems to fit good.

    I routed earbuds to the audible pocket and it works fine, I don't feel them but can hear them fine.

  13. Quote

    Quote

    Alkemade chose to jump.



    Alkemade chose not to burn!!!! I would do the same, but you're never going to see me willingly jump from a plane without a parachute just for fun!



    Whatever the reason. it's still choice. He chose to jump.



    I see. nevermind

  • Thank you everyone for your help. For now, I guess I will go with the velcro and duct tape method.

    Michael, thanks for taking the time to try the mounts you have on the models.

    Please let me know whenever you have the mounts made in my measurements, even if it is only in a few months.

  • I'm trying to figure out which mount I need to fit a flysight to a cookie G2.

    Anyone has this setup?

    With the template I printed it seems the best would be "90" horizontal and "141" vertical. Doesn't seem to be a model that is currently made.

    Before I email flysight to see if they plan to make one, I'd like to hear how you installed your flysight. I don't wear a camera box, and would prefer a real mount to duct tape, bungees or velcro :)

    Thanks a lot!

  • Quote

    yes, it is possible.

    It is rarely done.

    For most people, getting to your A license is a very intense experience. To cram it all in one week successfully requires good luck, good weather and a very very intense "Type A" personality.

    Here are a couple of questions to get you thinking:

    Would you hire/trust/consult a:
    Lawyer
    Doctor
    Accountant
    Pilot
    Parachute Rigger (someone who packs your reserve parachute)

    who got their accreditation in an accelerated program?



    Come on, it's not an accelerated program in the sense that you cut corners; you still do all the jumps and theory, and packing class etc The only difference is that you do them one after the other, and if you don't fail jumps, can finish in a week. To me it makes more sense than to jump once every few weeks, as you don't have to re-learn what you forgot during that time.

    It is tiring, but well worth it in my opinion


    I did it a few years ago at SDC in 7 days, and if I remember well, we had one weather day. That meant 4-5 jumps a day, packing class at the end of the day, camping at the dropzone, but also meet new friends and a taste of what the life on a dropzone is. And for what it'S worth I don't have a "very intense type A pesonnality" LOL!

  • Is your freefly handle shaped like this one ?

    Does it have the magnets, the cordura pilot chute pocket and the freefly tab? That's how mine is.

    For the first 10 jumps, the freefly tab was a bit stiff in his pocket, making pulling the handle a bit more difficult than it should. After those few jumps everything is perfect now.

    Maybe yours is different, I can't see how mine could be hard to grab or slippery?

    I can put my fingers around maybe 85% of the circumference of the tube inside the handle, and it's made of the same material (cordura 1000) as the rest of the container.

    Personnaly, it's my favorite handle. Would not change it for anything else. Same goes for the hookable cutaway handle and the stainless hardware with the spring, the best there is.

    I tried a javelin, vector 2 and micron, and the seven is by far the most comfortable, mostly because of the foam on the leg straps and back.

    Most packers hate them the first time they pack it because it's true that it's a PITA to stow the lines in the pocket because the magnets want to close it all the time, but you get the hang of it after a few times.

    Love the way the brakes are stowed, can't see how you could have a brake fire with this system, but it takes a few more seconds to stow.

    Also agree about the cheap knife, it's ridiculous, would be better off not to include one and charge 30$ for a Benchmade.

    Bought mine directly from Jerôme in France before Chuting Star started to carry them. Excellent service, same as Chuting Star.

  • Quote

    I've been paragliding for several years and do understand those forces. I really don't believe they are enough to give a wingsuit lift. My 16m speed/acro wing doesn't get any sort of significant lift from thermals so...



    Quote

    Quote

    Let's explain this in a way that even non-believers can understand. Thermals can get stronger then 10 m/s+ which is equal to about 22mph. Say he flared his suit out to 15mph (easily doable coming out of a slight dive on the bigger suits.) Do the math and you can see how climbs (with the aid of big thermals) are entirely possible, as the video demonstrates.



    Air rising at 22 mph doesn't produce a force that will elevate a wingsuiter at 22 mph. If air were as dense as water you would be closer to being accurate.



    Well I don't know much about wingsuits and base jumping, but I do know that thermals and slope updrafts can be very powerful.

    If it can lift aircraft with higher wing loadings than wingsuits, on a day with a lot of convection and unstable air I have no doubt it can reduce the fallrate of a wingsuit to zero or to a climb for the time it flies trough the updraft.

    LetsGoOutside: if your 16m wing doesn't get any lift from thermals, believe me, it's that the thermals are not there or not strong enough.