Anachronist

Don't bother listening to [dpreguy]. People like that are usually failures and burdens on society which is why they try and pull the "I can do whatever I want cus Murica" card. The fact that he didn't bother reading enough to realize that "this" is indeed not America, and his blatantly overstepping and false statement that one "can do whatever they want" with land in the US are both testaments to his limited intelligence. I wouldn't have responded either but saw you gave him the time of day, which was silly, get ready for a Budweiser fueled rant with the vocabulary of a middle schooler. Over and out.

Soo, idk about swooping but I just put it in my wing pocket for WS, also just dropped it into the wing through the inlet in suits w/o a pocket and it works fine. Anyone tried putting one in their RDS pocket or something besides a hard mount on a helmet?

Yeah man, just laugh it off. If it was an embarrassing/humiliating image it would be different, but since it isn't, who cares. I agree with your discontent with how litigious the US has become and I raise you "A photo taken of me in public violates my privacy" lol. If you were the photographer and not an amature but a "this is what I do for a living photographer" then yeah, make them pony up some $$$ or stop using it. Amateurs who happened to snap a cool pic all of a sudden trying to play "professional photographer" are also pretty annoying. Just my opinion, I know lots of people and bits of the law disagree.

I'd like to expand this to can anyone give any impressions on Sfly products compared to the other "Big 3" manufacturers? Their designs are very interesting but I haven't seen one (any model) in real life in years (jumping in the US only). I'm guessing they are doing ok in Europe but their gear seldom makes it over to the US and as far as I can tell they are never involved in any published competition results. They virtually never pop up for sale either. To the OP, sorry to hijack your thread but I don't think you will get more than one or two responses so I figured I'd add some possible discussion.

The Pulse is a great canopy, I put over 200 jumps on one. One important thing to remember is that after initial release they did have issues with larger sizes but have since changed the line trim and "fixed it" (mine was a "fixed" 210 and flared well). The flare power issue is often taken out of context. "Compared to what?" should be asked when anyone says it doesn't flare well. It's on par with a Pilot, a Saber2 flares better than either of those, a Firebolt flares better than a Saber2; the Navigator, Spectre, and Silhouette all flare worse than the Pulse and Pilot. It's all relative to what you compare it to. At higher wing loadings the Pulse becomes a nice two stage flare as well. Just to throw another wrench into the mix, I now have a Fluid Prime and it is in the same category as the Pulse and Pilot but I think flares a little better than either. Check out this thread if you are interested Fluid Prime There is also a lot to be said about going with what the local experts suggest, especially if you want to get further coaching/advice from them, not only will they be more familliar with what you are jumping and probably better able to help you out, but no one likes to hear "yeah I hear what you said, but a bunch of random people on DZ.com said something else, so I'm gonna go with that." If you trust the folks giving you advice, you should take that over this forum.

I'm not a fan of the magnet closure for that same reason too, and the extremely unlikely but possible "what if my altimeter (digital) finds itself right next to the magnet in my gear bag?" I don't always pack after I'm done jumping so the bag isn't always in the container. I think tuck tabs are the way to go.

There has been lots of talk about raising activation ceilings (which you can do yourself by adjusting the altitude offset; not sure what the verdict on that is) and having variable vertical speed activations as well as the ability to disable the AAD after opening (mostly for swoopers). The skydiving environment is becoming much more dynamic and finding good solid solutions takes time, especially because someone might make a WS, Freefly, and RW jump on the same gear in the same day. Not to mention the burble effect on the AAD under different conditions. Ultimately it is a question of probability, are you more likely to need your AAD while unconscious and spinning at 50 mph vertical speed (I was surprised to see that too) or are you more likely to accidentally fire it while under canopy on a student setting, etc etc? The hypotheticals are endless. The flare power of big suits is a problem for automatic deactivation because you can achieve 0 mph vertical speed in flight (even sustained flight in the 20-30mph range is within many pilot's reach), simulating a deployment. I've even had altimeters (set to slow flight) not register a jump at all with "deployment" occurring immediately after exit. Perhaps more advanced AAD's with GPS or accelerometer sampling taken into account and more complicated algorithms to "predict" activation are the answer. But that also makes accidental firing more likely and increases the complexity of the firing window that the jumper has to be aware of in flight, not to mention a lot more battery drain. If you have highly specialized operating parameters then you are certainly going to have accidental firings, or non-firings occur because "the AAD was in the incorrect mode for the jump." There is also the whole "what if" scenario after opening, what if you have to avoid a canopy collision and bury a toggle resulting in firing the AAD even though you "planned a conservative canopy flight" or have a canopy collision resulting in a temporary acceleration past that firing speed? Or what if you have a malfunction and cruise through your higher ceiling and a lower airspeed that triggers the AAD when if given another second you could have chopped and had a clean reserve deployment? Even though the conditions were different, Jeff's death is an example of that last scenario, if his AAD had not fired he may well still be with us today (even though it did exactly what it was suppose to do). The bottom line is that wingsuit flights, especially with big suits, are reducing the effectiveness of current AADs. We would be wise to remember though we try and make skydiving safe, there are no perfect solutions that work in every scenario. Because none of us are going to stop jumping waiting for the perfect AAD, we have to do the best we can with what is available. AADs are a last ditch effort to try and save someone when everything else has already gone wrong, to think of them as "having to work" is the wrong attitude to take into the air. Based on my non-empirical analysis [citation needed ;) ], I'm more concerned with my AAD firing when it shouldn't than not firing when it should. That is why I set my AAD to Pro for all of my jumps (even big wingsuits) and do everything in my power to try and keep from ever needing it. Skydiving will never be a 0 fatality sport. The scenarios mentioned are also extremely unlikely in a statistical sense and gear has to be designed to work for the "rule," not the "exception." If you decide to play in the "exception" parameters, you have to accept that the gear will be less effective. I'm not trying to say improvement and innovation aren't extremely valuable, just that there will likely never be "perfect" solutions for every problem.

As a general rule and as WWS pointed out, the more docile 9-cells work great. I've known a couple people who put hundreds of WS jumps on Saber2's with no problems except when they got to Aura/X3 sized suits. I've put roughly 100 WS jumps on a Pilot, great, roughly 100 on a Pulse, also great, and now roughly 50 on a Prime, also great. I'm one of those who had a less than awesome experience with the Storm, It would seek 180 degrees from 90 right to 90 left 3 or 4 times during the snivel. I demo'd one to see what the hoopla was all about. Put about 10 jumps one it, every snivel did the same thing. Sometimes it would spin up right before inflation and leave me with 3 or 4 line twists. I've never experienced that with any other canopy so packing and body position are not likely contributors (though not impossible to rule out). I've only had one spinning line twist scenario where I reached for the cutaway handle and it was on the Storm, fortunately as I was reaching, it spun me out even faster than it spun up. Size was 210, WL was 1.2-1.3 . I've heard a lot of folks who love the Storm so maybe there is something else going on but I don't have any idea what that would be. I also had a much more experienced (orders of magnitude more experienced) friend with a smaller size and higher WL have the same issue on the Storm. Once it was open it was ok though, but you can say that about most canopies. I think "WS specific" canopies are kinda silly even though a few manufacturers are playing around with them. I would posit that the bottom line is, keep the WL below 1.5 (higher if it is well within your experience level) and everything that isn't "high performance" will work fine. No matter what you jump, if you pitch like an a**hole you are going to have problems, body position through the deployment is important.

Jarno, Any suggestions on break altitude, separation at break off (direction, distance, time, etc)? I would imagine as big suits and highly experienced (or at least pseudo-highly experienced) canopy pilots become more common (pseudo-highly experienced wingsuit pilots for that matter), there will be a lot more XRW attempts where no one on the jump has XRW or very little XRW experience. Some suggestions from someone like you might be helpful. Or would that be opening a can of worms?

TSB Report for those interested. Only two things that come to mind are trying to buy it as scrap and maybe covering it with tarps, not sure if that would help with the visual related to PTSD. It might help prevent critters from getting inside too depending on how well wrapped up it was. I would also think that being a haven for rodents and wasps might make it in violation of some kind of storage rules at the airport. I read the report, I'm glad no one was killed though it did mention 4 "serious injuries." I noticed it listed failure to use seatbelts as a contributing factor to the injuries. I'm not trying to place blame (we've all probably not worn a seatbelt more than a few times and at the altitude that the loss of power happened (3,900ft) everyone would have removed them anyway) but I would be interested in hearing from riggerrob about his take on that, as well as thoughts on getting out etc before the crash, and suggest all DZ operators consider re-evaluating their seatbelts for skydivers. From personal experience I know that in some aircraft I have been unable to use a seatbelt because it could not reach my chest strap (the only secure attachment while wearing a wingsuit). If you aren't up for discussing the incident riggerrob I completely understand, I take PTSD very seriously after having some friends suffer from it because of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of all the people I know personally who went in, most were older belly guys, maybe we should ban belly jumping and being old. Stupid poll because you can't ban stupid, and that is what actually kills most people.

Yoink for the win! Yeah man, if you are a die hard BASE jumper then you will have access to someone who will let you out of their plane, heli, paraglider, etc. Don't make it so easy a 100 jump retard can burn in. Barriers to entry are important, if you want to "play BASE jumper" it shouldn't be as easy as getting a A license and buying a BASE rig and jump ticket.

Takes time, you don't get to be a good packer practicing dozens of times, more on the order of hundreds. Focus on the important stuff, lines, slider, closing the container, stowing the bridal and PC. Pretty and fast takes time but functional can be a bit messy. Stuffing little bits in is A-OK.

Jarno is right. I don't get the idea of tracking suits for non-BASE stuff, I've seen quite a few people track their a**es off (with and w/o tracking suits) to "get ready" for WS but they don't do any better than someone with good belly skills. Learning to track is important but a tracking suit is like putting training wheels on training wheels. The Phantom is a good beginner suit that will keep you learning and having fun for at least 100 WS jumps, more if you are tall and skinny because you can fly with bigger suits no problem, the T-Bird is also good to learn on but you will outgrow it in about 20 jumps. I flew both when I was learning and the Phantom is the better of the two IMHO. Skip the I-Bird all together, it is basically just a tracking suit with the legs sewn together, you will outgrow it in 5 or less jumps.

I've got a Vector 348 with a semi stowless bag, about 250 jumps on UPT semi-stowless bags. I like them a lot, I've seen some other designs that just looked like people were trying to fix something that wasn't broke. I've never had any issues with them, just pack how the vid describes. It can feel a little funny at first because you don't feel the lines unstowing but you'll quickly get use to it. It basically takes the idea from a BASE tail pocket or reserve line stow system depending on how you look at it; good enough for BASE and reserves, good enough for a main. Pros: 1- Faster packing 2- Cleaner deployments 3- Fewer rubber bands to deal with Cons: None I also had a really unstable wingsuit deployment once and basically tumbled after I pitched (I was jumping a bigger suit than I probably should have been at the time) and the outside vid shows the bag staying completely stable during deployment as though nothing was wrong.

Cool video released by the new canopy company in DeLand. Fluid Wings Was going to write up a review but there was no option for them on the DZ gear page. I've demo'd two sizes of their Prime and am primarily wingsuiting a 170, WL 1.5. I've been really happy with it so far, it's in the same category as the Pulse and Pilot (both of which I've owned and really enjoyed flying) but with what feels like a little more "oomph." Snivels somewhere between the Pulse and Pilot and flies a little faster than either, the extra speed seems to give the flare a little more kick too. Haven't had the chance to fly side by side with a Pulse or Pilot at a similar wing loading to compare glide but I do get great penetration into strong winds, and c'mon, who doesn't like great penetration? I'm not a swooper so I haven't jumped their sub 100 square foot stuff, just btw.

Yep yoink is pretty much right. You'll find people who like soft reserve handles over metal ones and vise versa, just personal preference, I like soft btw. Arguably the "best" reserve on the market is the PD Optimum, I've had one cutaway with it and one with an Aerodyne Smart, the Optimum flared much better. Low bulk reserve (like the Optimum) also means you can get more reserve in the same container. Reserve opening is less an issue of canopy type than container type. I think a strong argument could be made for getting a rig with some form of advanced extraction, e.g. Vector Skyhook, they have some drawbacks but the benefits outweigh them. I can think of a few fatalities that could have been avoided first and foremost - if the jumper had initiated emergency procedures in time, and second- a skyhook may have saved them even though they waited too long. As for the PC, ultimately it doesn't matter a whole lot on 190 size canopies and you might not even notice a difference depending on your skill/sensitivity. The only issue with a collapsable PC is that if you don't cock it, it will have a hard time extracting the canopy (it at all). If you are still not a confident packer, maybe a non-collapsable PC will give you more peace of mind, but collapsible is the standard for fun jumper sport rigs. (Forgot to mention) With the reserve handle and PC, It isn't a big deal to switch if you decide you want the other type. They are both "interchangeable components." PC is very easy to swap (5 minutes + repacking the main), switching reserve handles requires having the reserve repacked.

Yeah that makes sense. GoPro footage is great for the up close stuff but drops off quickly at any distance. A two camera setup may be the way to go. For the longer range Sony Handycam or Blackmagic type, what is important regarding being able to use a tongue switch and having an indicator? I get the impression from some other threads that those may become obsolete due to changing cameras. Also I poked around Sony's website and some of the camera's mentioned appear to be obsolete (like within the last year or two) or just not available in the US? i.e. CX410 and CX430, on Sony's website they only mention a 405 and 440. Are they basically the same thing just slightly different model numbers, or are there real differences between them? Like would the same mounting bracket or box work for all of the CX400s or is the outside also different, not just internals?

"100 lb people do not play pro football and 300lb people do not skydive" Just wanted to chime in on this comment because of a friend's personal experience. I totally agree this guy at 5'8"-ish and 270 can't be anything other than very un-physically fit and his advanced age only makes it worse. My friend is ~6'5" and a little over 300lbs without gear. He is a former professional athlete and still young and in very good shape, he is just a huge guy, doesn't take much imagination to guess what sport he played but I don't want to go into that and jeopardize his privacy. Anyway, there was considerable speculation that he wouldn't be able to jump or at least enjoy it to the same degree as everyone else. Long story short, he found a DZ that would take him on a tandem, he did AFF using modified gear, and x-years later, he is still making over 100 jumps a year, he has over 500 jumps, bellyflys, freeflys, and wingsuits. 300lb people can indeed jump, and do it very well, but it takes a special person, a special DZ, and an open mind.

My flying skills are pretty average. I've got about 400 jumps and mostly wingsuit. The lack of autofocus seems a little scary. I would like to have decent image quality on one jump from 5 to 50 feet so that up close shots look good as well a getting the whole flock, deployments, and canopy flight. I checked out the Blackmagic Pocket Cam and it looks nice, especially the display interface screen. At least at this point camera isn't the primary focus of my jumps. I'm still a bit of an action camera style jumper in the sense I just want to turn it on in the plane and if I catch some good shots great, if not, oh well. Maybe something that would fit that bill but give me something to grow into?

Glad he seemed to get the picture. One thing I didn't see get brought up was psychological issues, though I didn't read the thread exhaustively. This guy has done some jumping, he knows what it's about, he knows that he is now physically limited and nearing the end of his life. 78 is a good run and being so heavy is likely going to make his remaining time very limited. He either knows he doesn't have any business jumping, and is looking for one last hoorah, or he doesn't know and doesn't remember what it was actually like and he is severely cognitively impaired. Whenever someone wants to return to jumping after a very long time or wants to start jumping past the age of 40, some serious questions have to be raised about state of mind. It doesn't mean those two things are disqualifying or someone can't enjoy the sport again or start a little late, but they are red flags that deserve to be thought about and investigated if possible.

Looking to take a step up from action cams to shoot some video. Fun jumping only. Looking for something that is good quality but user friendly. Any suggestions for something that beats a GoPro but won't break the bank? Feel free to impart all of your Sky God Video knowledge, I don't know much about cameras. :)

In addition to what I said in the previous post, Tony, PF, and SQ are all very small companies and decisions rest in the hands of one or two people. Those people are all expert flyers and may not be totally in touch with the "general public." They are constantly adapting to different market demands and haven't yet found the discontent for zippers to be sufficient to change the design. Having multiple designs makes manufacturing more complicated and more expensive, if they don't think the money is in it to change, and they are happy with their design, they won't change. There is also the whole who is copying who problem and no one wants to be accused of copying a different company's design, because in a way that is admitting that their previous one is inferior. There is a lot of ego in all three big WS manufacturers. (I know literally nothing about S-Fly, just btw) Also as for PF zippers, I jump in FL and in 90+ degree heat in 90+ % humidity, ease of getting in and out is kinda a big deal. I'm not bendy enough to put on a PF suit standing (I can but sitting is much much easier) and at the very least, getting in or out of a Tony suit is much faster and easier.

I think this may be a bit harsh, I have had the handles go in the suit on the Swift and decided not to jump it more than once (it was a friend's suit). If only all these companies would offer it as an option then everyone would be 100% satisfied and that makes me wonder why it is still being pushed on us for these select suits That is a good question, I don't know beyond anecdotal stories. From what I hear, even PF's own people have asked for full body zippers but Robert Pecnik has an ego problem about PF zippers, and so I've been told third hand "Thinks they just look better." They function great once the suit is on, but getting in and out is a pain. As for SQ, my only guess is that Mike Steen and Matt Gerdes, and most of the SQ team, are dyed-in-the-wool BASE jumpers (After all, Matt is the author of the Great Book of BASE) and their suits are very BASE oriented. I would even posit that the innie-outie system is a compromise so they can actually be jumped in the sky.

I'm also 5'11 and 210 lbs naked. (~ 400 jumps now) I have a friend who is over 6ft and over 300 lbs without gear (athletic build