Shakey

You want something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Manual-Inflatable-Jacket-Black/dp/B0032ALK72 Monkey has used one, I've use one, and we have a few friends who got to both fly and swim with them in Nicaragua a while ago. :-)

I'd say definitely get a larger/domed/pocket slider, it's cheap insurance against a slammer. You may also want to get an extended bridle and a larger PC.

A lot of the deployment characteristics may depend on how you are deploying. If you are deploying in full flight then your velocity is roughly(ish) the same as a belly jump, the vector is just pointed forward and down instead of straight down. You can slow your velocity way down if you stall the suit or collapse your wings before you pitch. You can definitely get a slammer opening on a WS if you are hauling a$$ when you pitch. I have jumped a few different canopies with a WS, including the SA1 and Pilot, and I think things like how you deploy and PC size have a bigger impact on opening time than the canopy itself.

So, if I’m reading section 1-6 of the Governance Manual correctly, the Disciplinary Group that would investigate the Rich Winstock incident will have five members: 1. Rich Winstock (S&T Committee Chairman) 2. Jim Crouch (Director of S&T) 3. Randy Allison (Group Member Committee Chairman) 4. Randy Schroeder (Eastern Regional Director) 5. ??? - A National Director appointed by the President That’s… interesting.

Chris, First off, I totally support you attacking The111. That dude sucks. I've never seen him fly stable for more that 10 seconds, he's always spinning off in some odd direction and claiming he was "carving" or "trying to get the shot". Right buddy, sure you are. :-) It's funny you bring up Jason b/c I've had the dubious honor of f&*king up a landing right in front of him. I did the "dust myself off and quickly look around" routine, hoping nobody saw me, to see a blue mohawk headed my way. Crap. We ended up having a productive discussion about better ways to do that kind of landing in those conditions. And yeah, I did criticize his swooping technique and he laughed. Cool guy. Knows his way around a WS, too. That interaction would have been different if I dealt with him the way you dealt with people on this thread. Some pretty good people tried to give you advice (other than The111, who sucks) and you blow them off (Zeemax) or demonstrate you have no idea who they are (hjumper33 has 212 WS jumps? Hilarious!). When you ask for comments you don't get to control the results. -Shakey PS: It's probably better to exit with your head upwind of your feet and not the other way around. Or not. Whatever.

https://vimeo.com/12410423 ...and don't forget to . Shakey

(I'm commenting on this against my better judgement.) AFAIK, USPA paid $$$ on insurance claims relating to tail strikes. Some of these involved people wearing wingsuits. Some of them involved people not wearing wingsuits. Spot - you helped teach me how to WS and gave me your team room when I needed a place to stay. You are pretty awesome. Wickey - you rented me gear, we have downed beers and hucked objects together. You are pretty awesome. What the %$#@ is it about you two online? Can you guys meet at a neutral DZ and hug it out? -Shakey

Hi Snorks, I'm 6'2", 200ish and I've either owned or flown the T/R/S-Birds and the Phantom 1/2/3. I mostly fly a S-Bird and a P3. The S is easy to fly at max float or max speed, the airlocks help shape your body into a good position. The P3 is a constant learning experience, every little body position change has an effect on the suit. The Flysight data I have (not from back-to-back flights, so YMMV) indicate that (at least for me) the S can fly a little slower, the P3 has a slightly higher top speed, and the S has an edge in GR. But again, that's for me. I have a friend who can float the living jeebus out of a P2. My advice is: - if you want something easy to fly, get a Tonysuit. They basically fly themselves. - if you want to learn a lot about how body position affects flying, or if you want to backfly, get a P2z or P3.

I have flown the Sabre2 and Pilot 190 (@1.1) and 170 (@1.25), but not the 150. There are pretty similar, with a few minor differences: - Both open with closed end cells. Happens more often on the Sabre2 and the Sabre2 is more likely to turn due to closed end cells. - Sabre2's have more flare power in the top half of the toggle stroke, the Pilot's power is lower down. I can't say that one is better than the other, it's just different. - The Sabre2 will dive longer in a turn and has less front riser pressure in a turn. - For getting back from a long spot, IMO, Pilots floats best in full flight with some rear riser, the Sabre2 floats better in brakes. You didn't mention your WL or what you want to do with the canopy. Those factors could push you towards one of the other. -Shakey

This happened to me about a month ago. I hit my hand on the door before exiting and didn't realize I borked my altimeter until freefall. Fortunately for me it was a group dive with a preplanned break off altitude, and I also had an audible. I had a pretty good idea of my altitude when the ground started getting big, my Solo beeped, and my RW partner turned to track away.

Maybe that would have been true at your DZ, Top, but I get the feeling that Twardo's first DZ was a little more informal than most. Besides, my question was mostly an attempt to get another "back in the day" story out of him. While we are on the subject, though, I still want to know why people think the SIM says there is a "200 jump minimum" for flying a camera. There is a bunch of good info in SIM 6-8, and there is a recommendation that is related to having 200 jumps, but I can't find a section that says "thou shalt have 200 jumps before flying a camera." I figure that if someone is going to beat a guy up with the rule book, it's a good idea to have read the darn thing first.

An excellent and insightful post, Twardo. But, in the interest of stirring the pot, I just gotta ask... If these cameras were available back when you had 50 jumps, would you have strapped one on? ...and if some old DZ fuddy duddy told you to "take off that dag-gumb camera b'fer you kill yerself," would you have listened?

I don't have a horse in this race, I don't fly a camera or have enough experience to give advice about it, but that response, damn. It's only a catchy sig line away from being an automatic post by the DZH Random Forum Post Generator. I have seen two things repeated many times in the short time I've been reading these forums: 1. Experienced people tell new people to get advice from an Instructor/S&TA/DZO at their DZ who is familiar with them and knows their abilities. 2. Complaints from experienced people about new people listening to advice that supports their viewpoint and ignoring advice that disagrees with their viewpoint. JimGoFast did exactly what people suggest with respect to getting advice, he got advice and instruction from two experienced people who know him, and then billvon jumps down his throat because the DZO/S&TA's opinion differs from billvon's opinion. I can't help but point out the irony, considering that billvon wrote the sticky at the top of this forum that says "it is imperative that people reading this board do NOT treat the advice given here as authoritative." FWIW - I believe the S&TA in question has more than 10,000 jumps and 20 years experience. Why not defer to the DZO and S&TA who know JimGoFast, are presumably just as interested in safety, and made a decision based on their DZ and their knowledge of JimGoFast's abilities? Drama aside, I do have an actual question about flying a camera. Many people here refer to a "200 jump recommendation" in the SIM for flying a camera. I have a copy of the 2009-2010 SIM right here and while SIM 6-8(E)(1)(c) does have an experience recommendation, it's not 200 jumps. Did something change? Personally, I think the recommendation in the printed SIM is much more relevant than having 200 jumps. Blues, -Shakey

Great video Marcel! I wanted to be out there but was called into work. :-( How many loads did you get on?

I think this might be the place: http://www.skydivecoastalcalifornia.com/ Good luck with law school! -Shakey