How I Built My Own Wingsuit
There I was, in the middle of a Utah winter, dreaming about jumping again. I’d recently finished editing a couple of instructional DVDs regarding wingsuiting, and those videos had sparked a new interest for me: I wanted to learn wingsuit flying in the upcoming jump season. My budget was tight, and the cost of a new wingsuit seemed high. “Why not build my own suit?” I wondered. My sewing skills were adequate for patching canopies, but that was the extent of my expertise. I’d been planning to work on sewing projects this winter… projects that would expand my knowledge of sewing. This was a logical step, I ventured. Surely building a wingsuit would help me in the seamster department, provide a suit for me to use in springtime, and keep my budget intact… it all appeared to be a fantastic idea.
I went through a list of resources I had available:
1) A great DZO (Jack Guthrie) who would allow me use his sewing machines.
2) A good friend (Douglas Spotted Eagle) who would let me borrow a wingsuit for a while. Note: Neither Douglas nor I expected that “while” to be 4.5 months.
3) My girlfriend’s mother (Jane) works at a fabric store, and has extensive knowledge of available fabrics and parts such as zippers, snaps, etc.
4) A Wingsuit manufacturer (Tony Uragallo, of Tonysuits)
Tony Uragallo of Tonysuits who was willing to answer some questions I had about wingsuit design and assembly. Tony’s input was key during a few points in this project. The first thing I did was take the borrowed wingsuit to Jane at Hi-Fashion Fabrics, in Grand Junction, CO. She inspected this Tonysuits Mach1 and helped me create a list of fabrics and parts necessary to build a replica. That day Jane was able to provide me with all the Parapac, Supplex, and Cordura I’d need, for about $225. Some parts, such as zippers, binding tape, snaps, and thread were purchased from other stores.
Next step was creation of a pattern. I laid the borrowed Mach1 out flat on the floor and inspected the design. It became apparent that this design could be easily broken down into three main pieces: Right wing, Left wing, and body piece. Jane had donated some white basting material, which she thought would work well for the large pattern pieces I’d need.
I started copying the body piece first: tracing the front skin and rear skin onto my pattern material. Much like the top and bottom skins of a ram-air parachute, these front and back skins would have ribs connecting them: providing an airfoil shape when inflated. The two skins were easy to trace and cut, but adding the ribs required some planning. Because these ribs were inside the model suit and therefore out of sight, I decided it was time to reach out to Tony Uragallo, designer of this suit.
I explained to Tony that I desired to learn more about sewing, and this was a project for my learning. Tony said if this was the only suit I’d build, and if I’d promise not to begin manufacturing more of his design, he’d help me out. Tony provided key information about size and shapes I should use for ribs in all three wings: Tail wing, right wing, and left wing. I wish I could say that the project was a breeze from this point on, but there were two key points of sewing that I needed to learn. First: Thread tension in the sewing machine.
I’d purchased 210 denier Parapac, and when I began sewing two layers of this light fabric together, the stitches would bunch together, causing each of my seams to shorten, thereby slightly changing the size of my pieces.
You can see bunching in these seams, more severe in some areas than others.
The thread tension needed to be very loose. I was nearing completion of the main body piece before I finally understood how to correct both top and bottom thread tensions in the sewing machine precisely. Second: Patterns must be laid out horizontally or vertically on Parapac material in order to make them hold their shapes symmetrically. I’d been thinking of how to maximize number of pieces that I could get from my pieces of Parapac, and so I’d placed the parts at odd angles on the fabric. Oops.
This pattern should have been rotated such that it pointed straight up the
What did this mean for my project? As I neared completion of the main body piece, and began attaching zippers from foot to throat, I saw the body was leaning hard to one side. It took me a while to figure out the issue. I knew all my pieces were cut symmetrically because I’d folded the front and back skins in half when cutting them… why were they no longer symmetrical?
The body piece warped into an asymmetrical shape
Finally it dawned on me that if I pulled one side of the body, it would stretch several inches. Pulling on the other side however wouldn’t yield much at all. This was because the threads of this fabric were not running straight across my pattern. The only way I could deal with this big error: wad up the body piece and start from scratch. At this point I was approx 25 hours into the wingsuit project. With these lessons in mind, my second body piece was built much faster. My patterns were already made, so the parts were quick to cut and mark. Since I was still relatively new to sewing, assembly did take me another 12 hours til completion of the main body piece. Thankfully this body piece was symmetrical after completion, and proper thread tension had been used throughout. Now for the arm wings. Tracing parts for the arm wings wasn’t nearly as simple as it had been for the body piece. There are quite a few curves and angles, which were difficult to duplicate when using a pre-assembled wing as the model. Another difficulty in the arm wings: Each rib shape and size was completely different from the others.
You can see that each wing rib is unique. Creating these pieces takes time
My leg wing had used identical ribs, because each rib was approximately the same length and height, creating a uniform symmetrical shape. Arm wing shapes for the Mach1 are much more complex than the leg wing, and use of CAD software would be necessary to create truly accurate patterns for this. After much painstaking measurement and pinning of my patterns, I was satisfied that I’d created a suitable set of patterns for my arm wings, close enough I believed to provide a fully functional wingsuit.
The wing ribs are first sewn to the bottom skin, then top skin is attached at gripper
Assembling of both arm wings took about 25 hours. There are air locks, zippers, inner sleeves, elastic, snaps, and binding tape involved.
Next step is sewing top edges of wing ribs to the top skin, essentially “zipping up” from outside in
With the right wing, left wing, and body piece assembled, I figured I was very close to completion. Then I learned how difficult it can be to create correctly sized booties, and to attach them in appropriate places on the legs of a suit. My first attempt at booties took 10 hours and failed to fit me. Those booties found their way to the trash can, and the second set took another 5 hours… these fit much better.
Booties need to be made wider than the shoe, so that the shoe can slide in easily.
After the booties were finally finished, I had only minor trim parts to finish, and final connection of all three pieces. Tony’s Mach1 design made it quick and painless for me to mount the wings: Tops of the wings zipped on (up and over the shoulder), and bottom of the wings required a simple straight seam, one running down the side of each leg. I tried the suit out while wearing a rig, and it fit quite nicely. However, I still needed a bit of training before I’d feel comfortable jumping out of an airplane with these wings attached.
The suit fit, but I needed some more instruction before taking it to the skies.Photo by Dru Poma
I’d already been through a First Flight Course with Scott Gray, and a refresher course with Scotty Burns, but both those classes had been several months ago. First I sat down in my living room & watched the FlockU DVD that I’d edited, Wingsuits 101, to refresh my memory. Next I called on my WS instructor friend, Douglas Spotted Eagle, and requested that he run me through all the ‘what-ifs’ (ie: what if I go upside down, what if I start spinning, what if I can’t find my handles). Douglas put me through all these scenarios, and finally I felt comfortable that I could handle any of these situations. The following day was gorgeous, with blue skies and warm weather over Skydive Utah. Douglas came along with me for my initial jump in this suit, and took a few photos.
Boarding the plane requires some concentration when your feet are inhibited by a leg wing. Photo by Dru Poma
Riding up in the plane reminded me of a night jump: all the training had been covered in detail on the ground, yet still I was nervous. A few minutes after takeoff, we were at altitude, with an open door awaiting our exit. I hopped out of the plane and counted “Jump one thousand, Wing one thousand”, then opened my wings.
I could feel the positive pressure inside the wings.Holding my arms in place required little effort. Photo by dse
All three wings inflated evenly, and the suit felt stable.
Photo by dse
Photo by dse
I didn't keep my tail wing collapsed during deployment, resulting in line twistsPhoto by dse
Douglas and I flew a left-hand box pattern, and I deployed at 5,000 ft. My giant grin was evidence to those who met me on the ground that my Mach1 replica had flown well and had provided great enjoyment.
I’m looking forward to jumping this wingsuit many more times this summer so that I may learn more about the exciting discipline of wingsuiting. There are quite a few tricks I need to learn through practice, such as keeping my leg wing closed throughout deployment of my canopy.
photo by Dru Poma
When all was said and done, I’d spent over 100 hours planning, researching, buying parts, and building this wingsuit. Also, I’d spent about $350 on parts and equipment for this suit. A little math made me realize that if I’d worked a minimum wage job and spent 100 hours working it, I’d have been able to buy a new suit from the manufacturer with all options, would’ve received it much quicker, and would’ve spent the same. Would I recommend this project to anyone else? No way. Go buy a suit from a manufacturer and realize what a deal you’re getting! They may seem expensive at first, but once I understood the amount of R&D; that goes into each design, and the amount of customization required for each individual suit, to fit each owner’s body, I realized that the MSRPs for these suits are actually very reasonable compared to parts and labor combined, for building my own suit. Cost and time aside, I’m glad I built this wingsuit. My ability to sew improved exponentially as I worked with this project, and my understanding of how wingsuits function increased drastically.
Chris Warnock is a TI, AFFI, Rigger, Canopy Coach, and videographer at Skydive Utah. Chris produced the "Canopy Control" DVD with Chris Gay for VASST. See him fly at the FreeFlock Utah Boogie in July, 2009.
Big Canopies in Turbulence
I have spent much of my life studying parachute stability. It has become an obsession of sorts, spurred by a fairly sizable stint in a wheel chair- funny how that works. I have designed and built many, many canopies with the goal of creating collapse-proof canopy. I have failed. It is impossible.
This is the case because, despite the best efforts of the designer to increase internal pressurization and dynamic stability, the canopy can still be flown badly and become unstable. This will always be so. The job then, falls on the educators, and on the pilots themselves to learn and rehearse the essential survival skills that increase the chances that the correct action will be taken in the spur of the moment.
I stated in my original article on turbulence, entitled “Collapses and Turbulence”, that the key is to maintain lots and lots of airspeed and line tension. I still hold that this is generally the truth. However, upon re-examining the situation, I have realized that my perspective on the situation is based on my frame of reference. I fly sub-100 square foot cross-braced speed machine that falls out of the sky like a homesick bowling ball. I do not really represent the whole. The average-size parachute is 150-170 square feet in the civilian world, and much larger for students and military jumpers. In further exploring the issue from the perspective of lighter wing loading and larger parachutes, I have discovered that this is not necessarily best way to fly a larger canopy in chaotic air. Here is why this is so:
If the parachute has a great deal of drag, i.e. a light wing-loading, thick airfoil or is a large parachute in general, the rules change. Such canopies are less capable of maintaining high speeds unless flown very aggressively. Due to the high drag variable at the canopy end of the drag equation (“Rag Drag”, as I call it) the excess airspeed makes the canopy itself want to retreat behind the jumper far enough to reduce the airspeed far below the unadulterated full flight speed. This momentarily increases the likelihood of a collapse. The parachute levels off in mid air, slows down, and for a brief moment, becomes vulnerable to collapse.
Therefore, when flying a canopy with a short, powerful recover arc, aiming to increase the speed beyond full flight becomes a double-edged sword. If the timing is wrong, such as when leveling out high (prematurely), the situation can become very dangerous. The truth is, leveling off well above the ground is dangerous for any wing-loading, and can happen with any parachute due to an incomplete plan or an imperfect execution.
Parachutes flown below one G, at speeds less than full flight speed tend to be more susceptible to collapse. So, if the pilot is quick with their "Surge-Prevention Input", (what paraglider pilots call "flying actively", the risk of collapse is significantly reduced as the negative pitch oscillations will be minimized, thereby diminishing the likelihood that the wing will reach a low enough angle of attack to actually achieve negative lift and dive toward the jumper (i.e. collapse and scare the daylights out of you).
Given the fact that the only preventative or corrective response to a collapse is to stab the brakes as quickly as possible, the sooner the pilot responds to the forward surge, the less the input necessary to avoid or correct a collapse. Therefore, a canopy with a great deal of slack in the brake lines will require more motion on the part of the pilot to create any appreciable effect. This means that a canopy that is in full glide, with the toggles all the way up in the keepers and three inches of excess brake line trailing behind will take longer to see an increase in the angle of attack due to the control input than one with no slack in the brakes at all.
So then the question is posed: “Do we shorten the brake lines on larger canopies to help the pilot prevent collapses?” The answer to this is no, we cannot. This will result in serious bucking during front riser input. It will also mean that following a few hundred jumps, the canopy will be in significant brakes when they think they are in full flight, due to their “lazy arms” pulling the tail down when they should be flying arms up. This will result in lower average airspeeds that will reduce the parachute’s flare power, as well as it’s penetration into the wind. This will also result in more oscillation and distortion in turbulence.
The answer comes to us from our sisters and brothers in the paragliding world. They teach their students to hold a touch of tension on the brakes when flying through turbulence. The goal here is not to put on the brakes and deform the tail, but to simply take up the slack on the brake lines, in preparation for a 12-24 inch strike on the toggles to prevent a collapse. Some teach their students to hold about 5 lbs of pressure on the brakes, while others teach that we should hold no more than two inches below the “Feel Point”. Either way, taking the slack out of the brakes is like standing ready in the door, even when you can't see the count.
So, on larger canopies, it appears that a light touch on the brakes may help prevent collapses. However, it is not because the canopy is more stable in this configuration, but simply that the pilot is more prepared to prevent the wing from surging forward in the pitch window. Once the wing has passed through that parcel of turbulent air, however, the job remains to regain the full flight airspeed, while maintaining positive G's. Letting the wing surge back into full flight too quickly can send the wing out of the frying pan and into the fire. Get it back to speed gently, but get back there as quickly as possible. These are opposing goals, so the actions of the pilot once again become pivotal, calling upon trained skills and acute attention to sensation.
Ultimately, the best way to handle turbulence is to deny it battle. Despite what your ego is telling you, you already have enough jumps. I know you want more, but sometimes the best way to go is to sit on the ground and watch the inexperienced jumpers get experienced.
Live to fly another day.
Brian Germain Big Air Sportz www.bigairsportz.com
Canopy Control - A DVD Review
When I started skydiving more than 25 years ago,
the leading cause of skydiving deaths was the failure to pull on time, or at
all. Skydivers just failed to do the one thing every one of us knew we _must_
do: pull.
Education, regulation specifically addressing
this issue, and not least the development by Helmut Cloth of the first AAD
widely accepted by experienced skydivers in the 90's helped to control this
problem… only to show the emergence of another, more insidious: skydivers were
dying in increasing numbers under perfectly good parachutes, hitting the ground
at unsurvivable speeds sometimes after colliding at low altitude with other
perfectly good parachutes. And this happened not only to hot shots under
handkerchief-sized canopies, it also affected jumpers flying conservatively
under big canopies.
Once more, the response adopted by the skydiving
community has been to put an increased emphasis on the education of skydivers,
their instructors, safety officers and DZ operators.
It is here where “Canopy Control: Core
Essentials” fits right in. Produced by VASST.com and authored by Chris Gay and
Chris Warnock, it is aimed primarily to new skydivers. To them, it will be an
invaluable tool to complement and clarify what they are learning in the first
jump course. But while reviewing it I found it is also extremely useful for
experienced skydivers as a refresher of basic concepts that may or may not have
been adequately acquired, and sometimes forgotten, years ago.
The DVD is divided in several sections totaling
55 minutes, with another 12 minutes of bonus material plus a couple of printable
charts. In the beginning the host Chris Gay introduces a key concept: “the
person most responsible for your safety, is you”, and it is with this in mind
that one should view this DVD, regardless of experience level. Throughout the
DVD the importance of different aspect of flying our canopies in relation to
others is constantly reminded and related to, as a way to increase our awareness
of other canopies in the air and to reduce the chances of a collision. It is
also constantly reminded to seek advice from an instructor or canopy pilot
coach.
In the “Terminology” section, Chris Gay
introduces and proceeds to explain basic terminology and concepts related to
canopy flying. As through DVD, well conceived and executed graphics, both static
and animated, are used to clarify the point being made. This, in addition to the
even more prevalent footage of canopy pilots executing the maneuvers being
discussed or explained.
In “Planning and Landing Pattern”, this process
is thoroughly explained. While more experienced skydivers jumping at their local
DZ may not be conscious of doing it, it is a skill that must be acquired and
developed. And when we are on a new DZ… well, then we all are “new” skydivers.
In this regard, great importance is given to acquiring local knowledge on the
peculiarities of any given DZ we may be visiting regarding local regulation,
obstacles, landing areas, not to land zones (a.k.a. Farmer McNasty’s fields),
wind indicators, etc. Also, it is explained how to explore the landing area and
what to watch out for.
The section “Flying the Pattern” follows, in
which great emphasis is given to adapting the landing pattern to changing
conditions. There is an extensive treatment on how to modify the landing pattern
according to different wind conditions, and what to do if they change after take
off. Similar treatment is given to the effect canopy traffic on the landing
pattern and how to adjust accordingly, or what to do is you find yourself in the
landing pattern at altitudes different than planned. And what to do if, in spite
of all our planning and best efforts, we find we are not going to land where
intended? That is also explained in this section.
“Canopy Controls” is the most technical of the
sections, in which a in-depth explanation of the diverse methods of controlling
the parachute is given, as well as in what situation every kind of input is
appropriate, always relating it to the aerodynamic forces involved.
“Getting Back From Long Spots” deals with how to
recognize the probably landing site and how to adjust the flight of our canopy
to correct it in order to land in the intended site in different wind
situations. It also explains the ever important how to plan and what to watch
out for if we end up having to land out.
“Flaring” advices on how to improve our
landings. Explains how the canopy reacts while flaring for landing, different
flaring techniques, and how to learn more efficiently this aspect of canopy
control.
The main section of the DVD finalizes with a
“How to Learn More” section, in which different training aids and techniques are
advised.
In the Bonus section a variety of complementary
topics are discussed: wing loading, technical aspects of canopies (7 vs. 9
cells, elliptical vs. “square”, cross braced vs. standard, flight
characteristics of small vs. large canopies), on heading openings, packing for
better openings, when to learn swooping, and finally a safety review Q & A. As a
bonus of the bonus, if I may call it that, there is footage of the Canopy
Formation 4-way world champion team Clean Air demonstrating what it is meant for
“canopy control”.
In summary, as stated by Chris Gay, “Our goal to
make this DVD is to help to make you a safer skydiver”. I believe that reviewing
and following the advice in this DVD, both by beginners and experienced
skydivers, will certainly be a big step in that direction.
Being COOL on the Dropzone
Skydiving has come a long
way since the first (recorded) jump was made from a hot air balloon in 1797.
Only being practiced as a special stunt on public events, it was far from a
public sport at that point.
The silk envelope used to safely descend from 3000 ft on that first jump
wasn't much to look at in terms of design, but the design and materials used
formed the basis for the parachute as we know it today.
The military were the first to develop parachuting as an emergency escape
procedure for balloon and aircraft pilots, and later as a means of
delivering soldiers to the battlefield.
In
the 1960s, skydiving ventured outside its military use and started to become
seen as a sport in its own right.
As the sport grew, so did the research and development of the materials
used.
The harness, cutaway system and parachute itself underwent major changes and
upgrades, resulting in the gear that we all now accept as commonplace as we
exit the aircraft.
Due to these advancements in the materials used and their design, our gear
has actually passed the point where it is now safer than its end user.
Getting into the sport
Skydiving
was once
a sport which was considered pretty extreme in itself, but as the years went
by, and due to the gear and teaching advancements, it
became more and more safe,
and was
marketed as a sport for everyone.
In the media, the growing attention for the more extreme disciplines and
variations of our sport have led to a large group of people who no longer
see the basic sport of skydiving itself as the goal, but rather as an
intermediate training, or even an obstacle in the way of what they really
want to do.
These predetermined goals on what somebody wants to accomplish within the
sport often form before or during a skydivers first few jumps.
Not being a huge sport with millions of participants worldwide, we tend to
enthusiastically take in new people, and sometimes pull them into our sport
deeper and faster then they should be.
With every year that goes
by, people seem to be in more and more of a rush to jump with a video
camera, downsize their canopy, learn to fly a wingsuit, freefly in bigger
and bigger groups, fly head down straight from AFF and starting BASE jumping
with the bare minimum, if indeed any at all, experience. Sadly, the growing
trend is to encourage this behavior, and try to facilitate them in getting
there as soon as they can, instead of trying to make people understand the
potential consequences of the rushed path they have chosen.
Photo by Costyn van Dongen
Video
For
many,,
the media creates the image that a lot of the extreme variations of our
sport are things you can take up as easy as a bungee jump from a local
bridge, or a ride in a theme park. When people look at some of the 'big
names' in our sport, its easy to forget almost all of them put in many
hundreds, if not thousands of jumps to acquire the skills, precision and
experience to excel in their field of expertise. The PD factory team didn’t
start swooping on sub 100 sq/ft canopies straight from AFF, just as Loic
Jean Albert didn’t start flying wingsuits within touching range of cliffs
after his first skydive. There are many more examples like this within our
sport.
Here, I think,
lies our biggest responsibility:
Trying to help
people new to this sport understand the work it takes to reach a certain
level.
Trying to teach
them
to
respect and honor the
effort people put in, and
helping them
understand that’s what they need to do to reach their goals based on skill,
hard work and determination, not do everything as fast as they can and for a
large part trusting on luck to come out of it alive. Often thinking their
experience or exceptional abilities in other sports set them apart from
normal people, allowing them to progress much faster and skip steps. While
in truth, they are exactly the people the rules were made for.
Photo by Costyn van Dongen
Respect the rules
As with any developing
sport, rules and safety procedures were created over the years based on
experience. Some of the rules and safety recommendations where literally
written in blood. Learning lessons the hard way.
These days many people new to the sport tend to look at these same rules as
a means of holding them back. Stopping them from having the same fun as the
people on the dropzone who have been jumping many, many years already.
We live in a fast society.
Everything has to be done quickly
and with instant gratification. When we experienced jumpers
start talking to young skydivers about certain goals, this can develop
frustrated views on the sport for some of them. They get into a mindset
where they feel
skydiving isn’t fun until they have their A license, or how its isn’t really
fun until they are swooping a small canopy, taking up BASE jumping or flying
a wingsuit. If we go along with that line of thought, and acknowledge those
statements, we then suddenly turn skydiving into a point of frustration for
these newer jumpers.
Instead of enjoying their
first few hundred jumps, and slowly learning more and more about our sport,
they start seeing it as a big waiting game where they can’t wait start
jumping that same tiny rig and sub 100 sq/ft canopy as the cool guys who
have been around a bit longer.
Photo by Stefan
Smith
The road is more important
than the destination.
Allowing people to cut
corners in reaching certain goals, is not only dangerous to them, but also
undermining the authority of people teaching.
It’s the image more experienced jumpers
portray to the newer
people in
our sport that determines how they in turn,
will approach the sport.
As an example, being in a
rush and boarding a plane without a pin check is not only dangerous to
ourselves, it’s also a bad example to the kid fresh off AFF who's on the
same load. The same goes for many aspects in our sport.
Realize that it’s not just the people who give instruction that are
teaching, it’s the way we as
individual skydivers
approach, talk about,
and treat our sport that ultimately sets an example that
the new flyers
will follow.
Wingsuit Gear Check
Whether you jump at a large dropzone or a small one, you’ve
probably shared a ride to altitude with a wingsuiter. Like all skydivers,
wingsuiters should receive a thorough gear check, but a wingsuit also creates
unique concerns that a watchful eye can catch. Regardless of experience level,
it’s possible to make a mistake while gearing up with a wingsuit – in the same
way that its possible for any of us to make a mistake while gearing up for a
traditional skydive. This is a situation where your vigilance can save a fellow
skydiver’s life. Here are a few recommendations that Flock U has for gear
checks:
A wingsuit skydiver is a skydiver first and a wingsuiter
second – you will need to check his or her rig, chest strap, altimeter,
goggles, etc. in the same way that you would with any other skydiver.
Make sure that the jumper’s AAD is on (if he or she is jumping with one). Pay
particular attention to the jumper’s cutaway and reserve handles. While a
wingsuiter’s emergency procedures aren’t any different than a traditional
skydiver’s, in some suits, handles can become pulled into or obstructed by the
fabric of the suit. That can result in a dangerous surprise if a cutaway or
reserve pull becomes necessary.
After inspecting the rig, examine the wingsuiter’s arm
wings – and in particular, examine the connection between the wing and the
jumper’s torso. There’s unfortunately no “one size fits all” rule for arm wing
inspection, as different wingsuit designs have different wing configurations.
That being the case, there are several general categories of wing/torso
connections that each raise their own concerns:
Cable Thread Systems. Cable Thread Systems consist of a cutaway-style
cable that runs through alternating torso and wing tabs, which keep the wing
attached to the torso. By pulling on the cutaway cables, the wingsuiter can
release the arms of the suit in an emergency. This design can generally be found
in BirdMan brand suits, among others. For a Cable Thread Systesm, look to see if
the cables are threaded correctly through the tabs, all the way up. In some
cases, they will alternate evenly between wing and torso, but often the cable
will intentionally be threaded to skip one or more tabs. Don’t hesitate to ask
the wingsuiter if you’re not sure – even experienced wingsuiters may not know
the proper configuration for suits that they haven’t flown before, and some
wingsuiters have preferences for arranging these tabs that differ from the
standard. Make sure the wing cutaway handles are properly secured in a Velcro
or tuck-tab housing. Note that there’s often both a front and a rear cable on
these systems - so check both, on both wings.
Zipper Attachment Systems. Zipper Attachment Systems are found
primarily on Tonysuit, Phoenix Fly and S-fly brand suits, though there are many
different suit designs on the market that use one form or another of the Zipper
Attachment System. These systems generally come in two types: “over the
shoulder zippers” and “bottom of wing” zipper attachments.
“Over the shoulder zippers” are what their name implies – a zipper that runs
over the wingsuiter’s shoulder, which connects the wing to the torso.
Generally, in this design, the wing isn’t detached from the torso even in an
emergency, and the “over the shoulder” zipper is usually only unzipped if the
wingsuiter is removing the suit from his or her rig while on the ground. In
these models, there’s generally a Velcro breakaway or other cutaway system or a
safety sleeve (described below). Look to see if the zipper is attached properly
and zipped all the way down. Some wingsuiters will intentionally leave several
inches of the zipper unzipped in the back, so ask before correcting a slightly
unzipped wing! If the over the shoulder zipper design includes a Velcro
breakaway system, check to make sure the Velcro “sandwich” is holding the top
and bottom of the wing together and that the Velcro isn’t bunched or pinched –
these gaps can widen when the wing encounters the relative wind.
Newer Tonysuits brand model have a “safety sleeve” – a ZP liner – that allows
the armwing to silde up the jumper’s arm, permitting the wingsuiter to reach
canopy controls in an emergency. As a result, there’s no arm wing cutaway
system to inspect. When looking at these suits, make sure that the arm zipper –
the zipper that runs from the jumper’s shoulder to his or her wrist – is fully
zipped. There will generally be a snap or tuck tab on the bottom of the wing;
check to see if they are properly stowed.
While inspecting the arm wing, check the wingsuiter’s
wrist-mount altimeter (if he or she is jumping with one). Make sure that the
jumper can release his or her wings without undoing the wrist-mount (which
can happen, for example, if the wrist-mount is put on after the arm wing is
zipped up in wingsuit designs with a thumb loop). This is a dangerous and
easily avoidable method of losing a wrist-mount altimeter!
Check to make sure the wingsuiter’s legstraps are on. Leg
straps can be missed by wingsuiters while gearing up, as the suits tends to
restrict motion and prevent the jumper from seeing his or her legstraps. Even
highly experienced wingsuiters have admitted to momentarily forgetting leg
straps while gearing up. When using a wingsuit, visual inspection is
insufficient to make sure that the leg straps are on – the wingsuit can
deceptively pull the strap against the leg, making it appear that the strap is
on. Ask the wingsuiter to shrug – the jumper should feel the resistance in the
harness created by tightly worn leg straps. Alternately, you can lift the
bottom of the wingsuiter’s rig (in other words, under the pilot chute). If the
rig moves more than a couple of inches, it’s not secure enough.
Each leg of a Tonysuits brand wingsuits also has a leg
zipper pull up system, which is basically a bridle that connects to the leg wing
zipper. The bridle is stowed against the leg by Velcro or tuck tabs. Also
incorporated in this design is a pair of magnets that keep the bottom of the
wing together. These magnets must go over the zip pull ups. If they are under
the zip pull up, they may jam under canopy.
Are the wingsuiter’s booties on? Particularly when the wingsuiter is using a
borrowed or rental suit, booties may be ill-fitting. Badly fitted and poorly
positioned booties can result in a lost bootie, which can make for an incredibly
difficult flight and dangerous canopy deployment. Check to make sure the bootie
is on, and straight.
Help to make this year a safer year for skydiving by
looking out for your fellow jumpers. Making it a habit to look at others’ gear
can only result in positive results. Save someone’s life this year - it could
be yours!
A free, downloadable
wingsuit pincheck file can be found on our site at
www.flockuniversity.org. This
pincheck guide is perfect for printing for Safety Day or for putting on the wall
near manifest.
Thanks to Jeff Donahue and Andreea Olea for their help in this article. All photos courtesy DSE.
By Deleted, in Disciplines,
Skydiving and the Recession
I have noticed in my travels that many drop zones are a little slow these days.
The student numbers are down, and we are blaming it on the economy. We have
convinced ourselves that there is no way to get blood from a stone, and if the
students feel broke, they will not want to spend the money to jump out of an
airplane. I’m not buying it.
It is true that the world is caught up in negative thinking. It is true that people are scared. But the question I would ask is this: What do people want more than anything in a time of worry? They want a feeling of release. They need to let go of their mundane perspective, filled with
limitations, and do something that shifts them into a state of absolute joy. We have exactly what they need.
So, now that we know we have the solution to all the world’s problems, we have a job to do. Unfortunately, just because someone needs something doesn’t necessarily mean they will take it. We need to get the horse to water, but we also need to make them want to drink. In other words, we
need to inspire them. In order to do that, we need to tap into our own authentic inspiration.
Do you remember what it is about skydiving that you love? If you are like me, there are a great many things. There is the social aspect; the people that skydive are the coolest bunch of weirdoes that I have ever met. If the world was made up of just skydivers, life on this planet would be a lot more fun. Then there is the unbridled euphoria that we experience when we are up there. Let’s face it, there are very few experiences that make a person feel like that. Beyond that, there is the never-ending process of learning that makes
us realize that we are not done living. The more you learn, the more you want to learn. It is this kind of passion for more that draws a person out of the depressing feeling of “today is yesterday” into a deep desire to push forward
into the exploration of what is possible.
Once we reconnect with our true love of skydiving, all we need to do is share that feeling selflessly and fearlessly. There he goes again, droning on about fear. Yes, fear is the only thing that is holding us back from talking about skydiving with everyone we meet. Yes, part of what stops us from bringing it up is because we get a bit tired of the feeling of rejection when a die-hard whuffo gives us that eyes-rolled-back “you are crazy” look. If you think about it though, even that aversion has fear at its root. We are afraid of the feeling of rejection.
If you hate being told that you are afraid, as I do, you will get off your ass and talk about skydiving to strangers. You will accept that you are in love with the whole thing, and come out of the closet. You know that this is the source of your joy. The more you talk about it, the happier you will be. Hang posters at work and hold informational meetings, perhaps with a few short videos and a real rig for them to see. Sit in a booth at a fair or university and talk about the experience to those who have not yet been there. You will be deeply glad you did.
Then I often get the response: “what’s in it for me?” My DZ doesn’t have a finders-fee for bringing in new students. I’ll tell you what’s in it for you. You will get to be your higher self more often than before. You will get to keep your head in the clouds by talking about your true passion. As a secondary benefit, you will inevitably bring in more students. They will help to pay for the aircraft, the repairs to the hangar, the new bunkhouse at the DZ, the new fire pit, the new creeper-pad and even keep the jump prices reasonable despite rising gas prices. Imagine that.
We can alter the worldwide trend toward fear-driven hoarding, at least in our little corner of the world. We have the antidote to fear and unhappiness. All we need to do is remember what we have, and share it. The world is in your hands. Get out there and be yourself!
--BSG
Transcending Fear Specialist Brian
Germain is the author of several books, including Transcending Fear,
Green Light Your Life, The Parachute and its Pilot, and Vertical
Journey. His psychology background, combined with over 14,000 parachute
jumps makes Brian uniquely qualified to discuss the important and pivotal topic
that he refers to as “Adrenalin Management”. Learn more about Brian Germain
here:
www.GermainSeminars.com
and here:
www.CanopyFlightInstructor.com
The AFF Two-Step
Receiving an AFF Instructor rating is one of the pinnacle points of a skydiver’s continuing education and experience in the sport skydiving world, and has been a personal goal of mine for approximately two years. I was sure that the moment I had six hours of freefall time and my C license, I'd be able to knock this thing out fast.
How wrong I was...
This badge is likely the most expensive badge in the
skydiving world
When I first began skydiving, I was presented with the opportunity to spend some time in the tunnel at Perris, CA, with Ed Dickenson and Jay Stokes. I immediately took Ed up on his very generous offer to help me in my progression towards being a camera flyer. At 27 jumps, I entered the tunnel to learn some of the techniques I’d later use to fly with tandems, four-way, and fun jumpers. The video is hilarious.While I waited for Ed, we hung out at the school in Perris, and I overheard many conversations taking place between students and instructors. It was at that point I decided to become an instructor. Jay Stokes, Ed Dickenson, and Jack Guthrie all encouraged me to look towards that goal, yet six hours of freefall and a C license seemed so far away at that point, it quickly fell off the radar. I was having a hard time waiting for my 200th jump just so I could put on a camera anyway, let alone being an instructor.When I hit 200 jumps, I immediately got my coach rating. Alright! I was prepared to be unleashed on unsuspecting just-off-AFF-students.My first coach jump went great and filled me with a confidence that I had never before experienced. My third coach jump didn’t go so well with me finding myself very low, opening at an altitude that got me grounded for the weekend. Little lessons seemed to constantly present themselves. Although most of my wingsuit coach jumps have gone well, I once took a student with only 160 jumps. Bad decision; he had a cutaway (on a rig he'd borrowed from me) and I'm grateful that's all that occurred. I grounded myself for the weekend, and learned that lesson the hard way.It seems like most of us have stories like that; this one was my moment of enlightenment.
Over the next two years opportunity to teach, be taught, sit in on teaching experiences, and grow within the sport continually presented themselves. Like many skydivers, I surely thought I “had it all” in the 500 jump range when in truth, I was merely beginning to understand how much more there was to learn. As one skydiver repeated over and over (and over), “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Well…he’s right. I was discovering how little I knew, how far I had to go, and I was finding myself on the road of discovery.Being part of the qualification process for the 71 Way Wingsuit World Record opened my eyes to what good wingsuit instruction could be. I gained information over the last year that is integral to the first flight process as well, taking instruction from Scott Campos, Scott Callantine, Sean Horton, Justin Shorb, Jeff Nebelkopf, Scotty Burns, and several other very experienced wingsuit coaches. Like most skydivers, I've experienced great coaching and not-so-great coaching in my skydiving progression.
Being present when a friend was part of a tragic incident at the start of the year convinced me that I needed to know more about instruction, and I began looking at available AFF course opportunities. At the PIA conference, USPA President Jay Stokes informed me that Certification Unlimited (Jay’s instructional entity) was putting up a Coach and AFF course at Skydive Arizona in the following weeks. Timing was going to be tough, as I had some minor surgery scheduled, but I was excited to take advantage of the closeness of the opportunity, at one of my favorite dropzones, and in warm weather while it was freezing back home.
Image Left to Right:
Alex Chrouch, Jay Stokes, Craig Girard, Kelly Wolf, Nikos, Eliana Rodrigues, Douglas Spotted Eagle
Arriving in Eloy on a Saturday, I was completely pumped to start my education then and there. After all, I have 1300 jumps, 19 hours of freefall time in a couple of years, so this was going to be a fun cakewalk, right? I mean, I’ve got more than three times the requisite hours, lots of experience teaching, how hard could it really be? I’d taught parts of many First Jump Courses, taught many wingsuit students, and sat in on several courses. I knew I was ready.
How incorrect my thought process would prove to be.
Jay began with the syllabus and schedule for the course. It was daunting, but still appeared to be not insurmountable.
We did a bit of class work that night but the real class began in earnest Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. with the dew wet on the grass, sunrise barely behind us, and no coffee in sight, Jay smacked the class between the eyes with a number of videos that showed why the AFF program is so important, why the training would be very precise, and why each jump would be rated with “Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory” with no grey areas. “I’d bust my own mother if she wasn’t doing it right” is something we’d occasionally hear. And I believe it, but wasn’t intimidated by the concept. In fact, the only thing that had me intimidated was learning that repeat World Champions Craig Girard and Eliana Rodriguez were in my class. It’s somewhat difficult for a Hyundai to shine when parked between two Ferrari’s, right?
I knew I’d nail this stuff in a heartbeat. The written test was a cakewalk, just missing one question. And that question used math.
To say “I suck at math” would be akin to suggesting that “Omar is an OK skydiver.”I use a calculator for two plus two. True story. The ground training process is specific, but I’m used to this stuff, it’s pretty basic if you have the program down (thanks TDog, for providing some good pointers).Passing the written test indeed was a cakewalk compared to what came next... the in-air practicals.
Game-on, kids….We were assured the first jump would be our one opportunity to experience a “good student practice jump” where the student would behave and do essentially everything instructed, exactly as instructed.True to his word, Jay jumped like a perfect student. I was on the main side, Alex on reserve side.The jump went well from the Otter; no exit problems, the student responded perfectly to my signals, even if I was a little amped and anxious on this first jump. I thought Alex and I were a solid team. Suffice it to say that Alex did an outstanding job of flying his slot, keeping eye contact with his partner (me) and of doing his part in keeping our “student” corralled.Next jump, Jay paired me and a different partner with Kelly, a newly-minted AFF Instructor Evaluator.She went out the door with legs both bent forward at unique angles, arms in every direction but straight forward, and the only guarantee we had was that she wouldn’t roll onto her back during this practice jump.
Manhandling her into a level position without punching her required a great deal of strength. My partner lost his grip, floated up, and next thing I knew, I was alone with my student. I wasn’t going to let her go, except I was required to. And did so.She flew away, turning like a propeller just starting up and gathering speed as she backslid, turned, and orbited. I knew I had fewer than 15 seconds to catch her (which sounds like an eternity, but in truth, it’s the blink of an eye for the second jump as an AFFI Candidate). I caught up and had her blocked in a few short moments, but those same moments seemed like an eternity in themselves. She grinned and decided to go the other way. I think what troubled me wasn’t that the grin was mischievious; it was evil, clearly payback for what she had been subjected to as an AFF candidate. Cruel, cold, calculated evil. But we were having fun, right? My partner was floaty, at least 20’ up and 20’ out from where our student was spinning, but he did eventually make it most of the way back in. I ended up on the reserve side after her spins and subsequent blocks, and so the dance at the bottom was a little different; it was my first experience with dancing on the left. I pulled the handle, deploying my student and she looked at me with a grin that made the previous evil smile appear to be innocent; I’d failed to ride through the actual deployment. The triumph I’d felt at properly feeling the rhythm and cadence of the dance evaporated like palm sweat in a 120 mph wind.
Moving on before I exaggerate more than I already am….let’s look at the third jump of the afternoon.
It was beautiful. Stunning. The sort of sun and sky that Eloy is famous for, and it was about to be spoiled. This time, I had no partner and no one on whom to place blame for the carnage that was about to occur. Combat Wingsuiting, combat RW could not have prepared me for a single, main side exit in which my student extended arms straight forward, legs nearly as much so, almost as if she’d been laid over top of a fence to dry, face down. I muscled her so that she remained belly to earth and she obviously didn’t like that action very much. She immediately pretzeled her legs with the right leg looking like it was flying over a hurdle in a heat, and the other leg bent 45 degrees forward and bent again at the knee. It was like she was performing a classic freestyle position but on her belly instead of her toes pointing straight down. Arms were practically folded above her head, and it was all I could do to force an arch. Duh…throw a hand signal and there might not be quite so much force necessary….
Thumb down, she arched like a pro. “Today’s skydive is brought to you by the letter ‘U’” as she arched so hard that she plummeted. Thank heaven I hadn’t asked her to wear the lead. I don’t like lead much, and my fall rate range is pretty broad. All those tandems and AFF videos have helped.
OK, she’s settled out. Calm, flying great, she gets a thumbs up and a terror-laced grin from her instructor. I give her signals to do a practice pull and toe taps. She does great and so therefore has earned a release. I released and she backslid from the moment I let go of her harness. Damn, that girl is fast, but so am I. I chased her with a side-slide, threw her a legs-out signal. Wow….look at her move forward! Faster than she was going backwards. Now, I’m orbiting and don’t even realize it until I’m looking at her butt in my windshield. So…forward I go, and out goes the hand signal for arch; I was behind her. She didn’t have a rear-view mirror so my only option was to slide sideways, slide my left hand under the BOC as I started to slide past, and toss her another “arch” symbol. Whew! She settled out….Mr Toad couldn’t have had more of his way with me than Kelly did on that skydive.
And that was just the first day….
Variations on the theme make for a colorful tale; the ground experiences as we prepped to get into the aircraft were equally interesting but it would spoil the movie if I share too many of the instructor’s tricks as they acted the part of wayward students. Suffice it to say that they’re there to help you succeed, but also there to allow you to fail if you’re not on your toes and looking out for the best interests of the student at all times. The dives aren’t about you, they’re about being sure your student is getting the appropriate attentions and instruction at all times.
I won’t bore you with further details of the skydives because they’re all about the same sort of story; carnage, deceit, evil appropriations of an examiner that demands you be able to drive forward in a sideslide while dropping like a stone to do an assisted rollover as they’re spinning with a maniacal grin, laughing at the poor sap chasing them. It’s like “Hare and Hound” with Dr. Dimento as the wily rabbit, always one step ahead. Just as you catch up, they cooperate. In the moment you breathe a sigh of relief, they’re on to the next trick. Carly Simon going through my head with “Anticipation…”
Lest you think I exaggerate too much, grab any AFF instructor who has had Jay’s program or anyone who Jay has taught. They’ll tell you I’m not kidding and if truth be told, I’m underselling the experience.
Lemme share a small story; If you deploy your instructor/student “for real” by pulling their hackey, it’s an automatic Unsatisfactory and regardless of whether you did everything previous right or not, you weren’t successful on this skydive due to that one fairly significant factor. “Students” wear a simulated hackey that AFF candidates are required to pull at a specific point in the skydive. AFF Candidates will hold the simulated hackey handle til they meet up with the instructor on the ground.Jay didn’t care for the fact that I kept stuffing the hackey handle down my pants when it came time for my own deployment. On my last skydive, we’re standing in the door of the aircraft and my ‘student’ is going through “check out” and in his up/down/arch mode when I realize there is no simulated hackey visible on his main-side lateral.I’m screwed. I absolutely must deploy my student at the bottom of the skydive. I must pull the simulated hackey and show the instructor that I pulled and that I rode through the deployment. That small handle is the proof in the putting that I did exactly as I was trained to do.
In other words, those handles are important.
What to do, what to do?
Worry hammered me throughout this skydive, my last in the series of eval dives. With a “Satisfactory” I’ll be able to catch my flight scheduled to leave Sky Harbor in about two hours. If I get an “Unsatisfactory,” I’m not going home and believe me, the price for that would be very high. I have commitments outside of skydiving, y’know?
The point of do or die is one that lasts for about three seconds or 500 feet. I make my decision and dammit, I’m sticking to it. Maybe.
I reach for my student’s leg gripper, look at my altimeter and begin the process. I’m counting down. By now, the “dance” is so freakin’ ingrained in my head that I’m doing it in my sleep, so much so that I’m convinced I did it perfectly on this skydive even though video shows I didn’t.
Reaching over to where the simulated hackey was supposed to be, I spied it turned behind the lateral.
Gave it a yank at the last possible moment, and proudly raised the simulated hackey as I ducked my head beneath his deployment hand (the last thing you want to experience is a bridle wrapping around your neck, or having the deploying hand knock you in the side of the head; it might be construed as interfering with the student).
And rode out his deployment. The last thing I remember seeing as my instructor lifted above my head was his look of wide eyes, pointed finger, open mouth, and the smile on his face. We got to the ground, I watched my student land, and debriefed the skydive.Mirth in my instructor’s eyes, he says “Nice job. Now tell me what you didn't like about that skydive."A grin crossed his face told me he was well aware of the location of the simulated hackey. And, I knew I’d passed the program at that point.A wave of relief passed over me and I felt like falling to my knees and crying myself dehydrated, but I doubt any moisture would have come forward. I’d forgotten to rehydrate in my excitement of this last day. I was drained. I was pwn’d. I was reduced to jelly and tissue in this last moment. No way, no how would I have signed up for this experience had I really known what was in store for me, of this I was sure. All week.
But…
At the end of the week’s worth of mental, physical, and emotional torture, after hearing Lou Gossett in my subconscious screaming “I WANT YOUR D.O.R.!!!,” I’m a better skydiver. I’m a better person, and I’m a more informed instructor. I now know a little more about what I don’t know. As I said before, I'm now firmly on the road to discovery. "SATISFACTORY" or "UNSATISFACTORY", anyone who endures the process will come out a better person on the other side of the hellfire. I promise.
I now have a new respect for those that have undergone this process before me. I understand why they are looked to with a unique sense of appreciation at every dropzone, I understand that the program is as much or more about teaching the next step in the educational process of qualified skydivers as it is about providing a license to teach the uninitiated. The AFF rating is a license to teach but it’s more a license to learn. In roughly 18 skydives, I learned a lot about what students can and will do. I learned how to best manage those situations with my new found abilities, and learned that if in 18 controlled scenarios I could learn this much, how much can I learn in a year, two years, five years of teaching a variety of students? I’m excited at the prospect.
Respect and appreciation is due where it’s due, and I’ll take the opportunity to point out that as skydivers, we all have foundations made up of the bricks of those around us. Jack Guthrie, Jay Stokes, Ed Dickenson, Norman Kent, Mike McGowan, Debbie Z, Lance B, Kelly W, Joey, Chris, Phil, Blake, Craig, Eliana, Alex (I’ll jump with you any day, kid), Nikos, Jeff, Justin, Scotty, Scott, Chuck, friends on dropzone.com…and so many others are the bricks that have helped pave the road on which I have driven as a skydiver seeking more knowledge. I don’t know how to thank you all for the inspiration beyond paying it forward and being the best instructor I can be as you have been great instructors in my life. OK, enough lovefest. Thank you.
It's the little things that make the difference on a skydive whether for the better or worse. Taking instructon from Norman Kent's camera course that taught me to anticipate movement, taking instruction from Ed in the tunnel that helped me develop a very high range of fall rate for a heavy person, and being part of numerous FJC and FFC courses helped me develop a comfortable ground patter and rhythm. All the pre-AFF prep you can do, I recommend you take the time to do it. You'll be glad you did.
Whether you went through AFF, Static Line, IAD, take a moment to thank your instructors; they worked hard to get to where they are, to be at a point where they can intelligently and safely teach others, including yourself. It’s a big, dangerous world out there and instructors walked just a few feet ahead of you, checking to make sure it’s the best environment within which we all learn. Buy em’ a beer, give em a smile, even if it’s been a long time passed by.
Receiving my rating from Jay Stokes, Certification Unlimited (and current President/USPA)
In the event you’re wondering by now, students are a little less safe; I squeezed through my AFFI course. It’s an expensive patch and logbook endorsement, but one I urge towards anyone with an inkling to teach.
I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.
Blue skies and puffies....
~dse
Big BANG/Small Bucks
AVCHD has exploded on the consumer and pro-sumer
scene
like a new star at the Oscars, and the CX100 is the newest “actor”
in the AVCHD lineup from Sony.
Packed into a small body measuring 2” W x 2.25” H x
4” L (including factory battery) and 2” W x 2.25”H x 5” L with the more
practical NP90 battery, this small “brick” weighs in between 11 and 14
ounces, depending on the battery chosen. Short description; this
camcorder is a mini-brick.
The CX100 is a very
small package. The lens is a 30mm thread, if you’ll be adding wide
or telephoto lenses.
The CX100 records a 1920 x 1080i image
on a Memory
Stick Pro Duo card, with record times up to 340 minutes on the included
8GB stick, but it’s more practical to record to the highest quality
video in most situations, reducing recording time to approximately 40
minutes on an 8GB card, or 115 minutes on a 16GB card. There are other
modes, and these are useful for recording surveillance, low motion, or
even simple scenes, but for best quality, most users will likely find
the 16Mbps FH mode to be the preference.
Most exciting is that this camcorder brings the
award-winning Exmor™ imager to the consumer world. Exmor is the heart of
the professional EX-series camcorders, which have become standards in
the broadcast world. What this means to consumers is a more clean image,
less noise in low-light, and a smoother image overall. It’s a single .20
CMOS imager, but don’t be fooled by single and small. Technology has
brought CMOS to a new level of quality that previous generations of CCD-dependent
camcorders. CMOS has shown itself to be the new future of virtually all
imaging devices from the very low cost cell cams to high end
professional production cameras. Exmor is currently the king of small
imagers.
Small is the key with this camcorder.
Tiny and light
weight, this camcorder fits snugly into the palm. It’s very ergonomic,
being curved on the right side and square on the left side.
This camcorder has a
manual open/close for the lens cover. The LCD panel will notify
users if the Record button is engaged while the lens cover is
closed.
The lens housing is very simple; it’s a 30mm
threaded lens with a manual lens cover. It’s a Zeiss lens, identical to
lenses found on previous HDR series camcorders. Optical width (35mm
equivalent) is 42mm wide zoomed in to 497mm, so the camcorder isn’t
quite wide enough for action sports or close-in work, but is plenty wide
for the average user. While the camcorder does offer digital zoom, like
most digital zooms, it’s not terribly useful due to the small sensor
sizes. It’ll work well in a pinch, on a tripod/non-moving, or in a
situation where the image acquisition is more important than image
quality. Exposure is controlled via menu touchscreen, as is shutter
speed, although the camera does not offer full manual control. There are
nine exposure modes plus an Auto mode, giving users ten options for
exposure control.
Two microphone ports are found beneath the lens
housing.
The 2.5” LCD panel flips open and rotates; there is
no clasp or latch holding it in place. The panel may be closed with the
screen facing out, as with all previous models in this series. This is a
big preview screen and it looks terrific.
The controls are very simple.
There is no normal
on/off switch on the camcorder; opening and closing the LCD panel turns
on/off the power to the camcorder. Power can be turned off with the LCD
Panel open by pressing the on/off switch found beneath the LCD panel.
The buttons, levers,
and ports are few on the CX100; most of the options are found in
the menu options.
Also found beneath the LCD panel is a one-touch
Disc Burn button to burn card contents straight to a DVD via the USB
connector. Next to this is found a Play button for playback modes. Even
when the camcorder is in Camera mode, pressing the Play button will put
the camcorder in to Playback mode. Beneath the Disc Burn button is a
Display button. Pressing this button once turns off most of the
displayed information, thus allowing more of the preview screen to be
seen. Pressing again turns off all display items, leaving the preview
screen blank. Pressing/holding the button turns the preview off
completely, thus allowing this camcorder to be used in a dark room
without the LCD providing a source of light. In this mode, there is no
recording indicator at all. The LCD screen is the only indication of
recording; the camcorder does not have a Tally light. Next to the
Display button is an “Easy button” that allows the camcorder to set all
parameters of operation. Manual focus, exposure, and other modes are
disabled when the Easy mode is engaged. Finally, there is a Reset button
to reset all parameters of the camcorder back to factory setting.
With the LCD Panel closed, the camcorder has three
buttons; Record start/stop, Photo, and Zoom lever. With Record Mode
enabled, the CX100 is able to take continual still photographs at a
resolution up to 4Mp. However, there is a time lag between shots; expect
about one still every 3 seconds, hardly fast enough for many sport
photography modes.
The Photo button and
the Zoom lever are found on the top of the camcorder. The Photo
button is a bit inconvenient if the camcorder is being held in a
standard palm configuration. It fits under the index finger, but
it’s hard to press the button without moving the camera during
video recording.
The stripped-down nature of this camcorder belies
its intelligence. The camcorder is extremely smart, able to sense up to
eight faces on the screen and calculate exposure based on these faces.
Additionally, if the still modes are being used, the camcorder can sense
smiles, and shoot automatically when it sees a smile. Now if it only had
an “ugly” sensor that would prevent it from taking ugly photos, or a
‘composition’ setting that could prevent badly composed photos from
being taken. Maybe in the next generation.
Spot focus, spot metering, slow-shutter are all
available on this camcorder, along with the previously mentioned nine
exposure modes. Menus are relatively simple in this camcorder, but there
are some menus the average user will want to pay attention to.
There is no LANC on
this (or any other file-based camcorder system. Remote control is
achieved through the AV/R port. Pictured here is a HypEye D Pro
control/indicator system.
In the “General” menu mode (preview screen/menu
button, page two under the Toolbox), there are five menu options. In
this menu, Auto Shutoff, Calibration, and Power On By LCD are the
important options. First, disable Auto Shutoff unless you’re okay with
the camera powering down after five minutes of disuse. In the
action-sports world, this is a non-starter, so disable this mode. Next,
calibrate the screen for your personal finger touches. Different size
fingers will touch the menu differently. Next, disable the Power On By
LCD option if a remote is part of the planned operation of the
camcorder. For example, when using the HypEye D Pro remote/camera
indicator, the LCD panel must be opened first, then the HypEye may be
enabled and will control the camcorder. If the Power On By LCD option is
disabled, the HypEye D Pro will be able to turn on/off the camcorder,
start/stop recording, and control functions of the camcorder while the
camcorder is in a box or cage. It becomes a hands-free operation when
the Power On By LCD option is disabled.
If a remote on/off
system is part of the operation of the CX100, be sure to go into
this menu and disable the Power On by LCD option.
In this same Toolbox menu, you’ll want to scroll to
Page One of the menu options, and select the Face Function Set menu.
Disable Face Detection, and disable Smile Shutter features. This will
significantly speed the auto-focus functions of the camcorder. This same
menu is where you’ll set the movie or photo modes of the camcorder.
In the next menu, you’ll want to set the camcorder
to record to external media, unless you’ll plan on downloading
everything from the internal memory to an external hard drive. There is
a huge benefit to this process; if you’ve filled or forgotten a memory
stick, now you’ve got a way to record. Imagine being on a cliff wall or
aircraft and realize you have no memory stick, or the stick is full.
Simply switch to “Internal Memory” mode and you’ve just gained nearly 60
minutes of high-quality recording in FH mode!
Be certain to enable X.V. Color in the menu for the
most rich and natural colors during playback to any X.V. enabled
HD display. X.V. is standard in Sony displays, but XVYcc is an up and
coming standard in home video/theatre. The color information is embedded
in the video stream, and having it will not harm the image of non-XV (HDMI
1.3) systems, but will be immediately apparent in XV displays.
Disabling Automatic
Off will be important to action sport photographers.
If you need to share media, no worries. You can
easily dub media from a mem stick to the internal Flash memory, or dub
from the internal Flash memory out to a media stick. If Firewire has
been your primary means of sharing video files, MSPD is now your
transport medium for sharing video. From skateboarders to skydivers,
this feature will be much loved, much appreciated, and much late in
file-based recording systems.
"The Sony CX100 with incredible HD quality in such a small form
factor complemented by electrical stabilization and solid state
media; is the best camera on the market for daily capturing
skydiving and other action sports."
Mark Kirschenbaum – Get Hypoxic/Skydiving Videographer
Another ‘feature’ of this camcorder is the image
stabilization system. For the past two years, almost all Sony models
have been Optically Stabilized, or OIS. This is terrific for those that
stand around with camcorders in their hands, but for those that are
mounting camcorders to skateboards, helmets, aircraft struts,
motorcycles, or anything else that has heavy, inconsistent vibration,
OIS is a bane, not a benefit. Soft, juddery images are sometimes the
result of OIS systems. The CX100 offers EIS, or Electronic Image
Stabilization. Granted, for those that stand around with camcorders in
their hands, EIS may not be quite as preferable, but for everyone else,
EIS is golden. Action sports photographers have been begging for EIS to
return to small-format camcorders. Sony has finally obliged.
The bottom of the
CX100 offers a metal-threaded/encased tripod mount with a
removable bezel.
All in all, the Sony CX100 is a dream camera for
the low-budget videographer, the action sport photographer, or the
independent production looking for a crash cam. At a retail of 599.00,
its street price is somewhat lower, and available everywhere. In Black,
Red, and Silver, there are even multiple color choices for the
color-coordinated videographer/photographer. There is little to want
for, given the size, weight, and cost of the CX100.
The CX100 is very small, and will
fit on any helmet camera mount system. Consider using gaffers tape
to hold the battery if the mounting system does not support the
battery bottom.
Cookie Composites
has announced they'll offer a box for the CX100 around the same
time the camcorder ships.
(pictured helmet is a Cookie Composites ROK)
Weaknesses are found in the potential “oops” factor
of leaving a lens cover on while using a remote, and in the opportunity
to miss menu options in a hurry. Lack of audio input means extra care
should be taken to capture decent sound; if a housing is used, be sure
to leave an opening for audio. These are small pitfalls for the large
scope of what this mini-monster brings to the table.
Congratulations to Sony’s design team; in my
estimation, this is the best small-format camcorder for the buck. Ever.
~dse
Canopy Formation Part II
CANOPY FORMATION PARACHUTING
- CF (Part 2)
Part 1
may be read here
Packing the Canopy
You will want to pack your canopy for a CF jump in a way
which will ensure that:
it opens fast and reliably
it opens on heading
all canopies involved open with identical timing
A good way to achieve this is to pack the main similar to a reserve canopy, as the requirements for a reserve opening are about the same.
Indeed, many CF teams do so. Since there are different methods of reserve packing, it is recommended that all jumpers involved in a team or group should use the same packing method for safety reasons. Doing so reduces the probability
of collisions and unintended different opening levels to make sure that each team member has an optimal set up for his way to the formation.
Type of Exit and Exit Order
A good exit speed is 70 to 80 knots with little prop blast.
Newcomers to CF will enjoy greater success if the jumpers exit one after another
in the same way students perform “hop and pops” and remain stable. It is
essential to remain in a symmetrical body position until the canopy is
completely inflated to assure that the canopy opens on heading and continues
flying straight until you want to fly your pattern towards the docking position.
With experience comes a tighter exit timing, and this practice becomes even more
important.
If your canopy does not open on heading you can easily end
up in a dangerous collision or at least in a bad position during the approach to
the formation. Also, other jumpers can be disturbed as they try to avoid the
errant canopy.
In general you will exit in the order of your position in
the formation. Competition teams might use different techniques to speed up the
build of their first formation.
Timing
Teams with more experience will eventually develop an exit
with two or three jumpers standing in the door, jumping with only very little
delay, and pulling in sequence to create a perfect set up for the build of their
first point. In this type of exit, the last jumper leaving the plane (front
person in the door) deploys first. The next jumper deploys when he can see the
beginning deployment of the jumper above. This leads to a set up with the lower
canopy slightly in front, which creates a perfect set up for a final approach.
Set-Up for Building the Formation
In most cases it makes sense if the person flying the Base
sets up on heading, flying with a little brakes and slightly lower than the
jumpers that will dock next. That gives the next jumpers the potential to fly to
their docking position because altitude is our fuel.
A good position for the final approach of a single canopy
is slightly higher and to the side (perhaps slightly behind) of the canopy to
dock, onflying parallel with it.
The optimum setup of course depends on the flight
characteristics of the formation to dock on.
For docking on a fast sinking formation, it’s probable that
the setup will be lower than for docking on a floaty formation. The necessary
experience to estimate the perfect set up will only come with the jumper and
quality of your jumps
Body Position
Fig2.1
To keep your canopy flying straight with even controls, body position must be symmetrical. Shoulders should be square and arms in a “box position” with legs slightly spread and bent as shown in the sketch of a stack. If you lift one leg from that position while stretching the other one your canopy will start to turn towards the stretched leg. If done with intention, this can be a useful tool. For example, a stair step formation might benefit from stretched-leg control. Bent legs also provide the potential to compensate for tension in a formation and to dampen oscillations.
Reducing Altitude
When getting into the setup position for your final
approach to the formation you may find yourself higher than desired (if your are
too low or far behind you won’t be able to get into the formation).
There are different ways to lose extra altitude without
using much space. It always makes sense to stay in a small area because long
distance movements take much more time. Additionally you may interfere with the
waiting position of another jumper.
Furthermore, you might have difficulties estimating your
exact position. Below, you’ll find methods of losing altitude.
Cross Controls
If it is important to use very little space, you can easily
lose altitude by using cross controls. That means you’ll pull down one front
riser, then compensate the move your canopy would now make by applying the
toggle on the opposite side. Because the canopy is being distorted it sinks and
will pick up speed to the distorted side. The toggle action evens out this
momentum so that the canopy ends up sinking in place, assuming that the right
balance is applied. Doing so you can get into the desired set up position for
your final approach without disturbing another jumper in his set up position
close to the formation.
Rear Riser Stall
A similar result can be achieved by performing a rear riser
stall. To do so, you grab the connector links on your rear risers and pull them
down carefully. This is not very hard to do. Because the main part of the lift
is being created in the first third of the profile where the A- and B-lines are
attached to the front risers, this is a fairly light pull..
At first, the canopy will begin glide flatter without losing much speed. This range can be useful if you find yourself far away from the drop zone on a down wind flight pattern and want to get as close to the DZ as possible. If l the risers are pulled down a little further, the canopy will smoothly begin to stall and sink very fast. This technique can help to lose a
lot of altitude. However, it should be practiced with only two jumpers involved before being used in a big way jump. It is not recommended in a tight echelon as the canopy may come out of the stall bailing out to the side, and interfering with others in the lineup.
Rear Riser
If you are too low and need to gain altitude on the way to
your waiting position, or if you’ve gotten behind the formation, you can use
very light pressure on both rear risers to fly a fatter path without
losing much forward speed. This has to be done very carefully because it you
pull them down too much you will lose speed and only millimeters further, end up
in the rear riser stall previously mentioned.
About the oldest technique to lose altitude is the “sashay.” The sashay begins with a radical toggle turn away from the formation and then a reverse movement as soon as the canopy has tilted to the side; this movement is stopped out with both toggles. It is not very efficient, utilizing a lot of area and you may lose track of your position relative to the formation. It takes a lot of practice to get good results with this radical maneuver.
Over the Top
Also from rotations comes the “rotation over the top“. The move begins with going to deep brakes quickly. As soon as the canopy rocks back grab both front risers and quickly pull them down without letting go of your toggles. It takes less force than you might expect because if done at the right moment, the front riser pull will coincide with the canopy having almost no lift and no tension on the lines. Next, you riser down little further than your final
destination, release the risers, and swoop into your docking position by using
the toggles.
Today some successful teams are using a combination of the
two techniques mentioned above. However, these should be considered advanced
skills, to be discussed in another article.
Techniques for Approaches
The most challenging part of a CF jump is the build of the
initial two-way formation or the dock on a single canopy. Remember, a formation
will usually not perform as well as a single parachute. Docking on a larger
formation always gives you a little extra performance relative to the formation
since you have a single canopy with all of its lift potential. Good technique(s)
is/are required to dock with a single parachute of similar performance.
That means you’ll need to gain some momentum when
attempting to dock on a canopy flying by itself. The only way to do so is by
setting up higher and not too far behind the canopy you’ll be docking with.
The canopy to be docked upon should slightly hold brakes
to make things easier.
The docking jumper begins his approach setting from a
position with his feet approximately at the level of the canopy he’s docking on;
slightly behind or a little to the side. The approach is initiated by using
front risers to pick up speed and controlling the direction of flight. Now pilot
the canopy to a position slightly lower and slightly behind the final docking
point. The final move is performed via toggles (reducing speed), swooping up to
the desired level, and aiming the docking cell to the desired position (center
cell for a stack or end cell for a stair step). It is essential not to have too
much energy left when docking and also not to end up too low. If you end up too
low the dock will fail. If you find yourself having too much left-over energy,
you should abort the dock for safety reasons and use the potential energy to fly
to a good position for a new setup and another attempt.
Building the Formations
In principle, there are only two or three ways of making
approaches.
Building a Stack
To build a stack, the jumper who is docking sets up
slightly behind and above the canopy he’s docking on while the jumper to be
docked upon flies straight holding a little brakes. The lower canopy stays in
brakes until the docking center cell has touched his back. If the dock is
perfect and he has some experience, he can take foot grips hooking his feet
behind the center lines. If not, he can release his toggles and grab the docking
canopies nose get it into the right position and then take the foot
grips. Having done so, the lower canopy pilot gets back on the toggles to
control the formation. Never release the toggles before the docking canopy has
actually touched you because if you do, your own canopy picks up speed and flies
away from the canopy trying to dock.
In any case it is important that he releases both toggles
evenly to prevent the formation from spiraling.
It is also very important that the docking pilot can see at
least the lower legs of the jumper he’s docking on. Should the legs become
shorter and shorter you need to add more brakes. It an absolute NO to pass under
a jumper you intended to dock on. If you have the impression that this is about
to happen you must abort the attempted approach by either stalling radically or
turn away with one front riser pulled down. It can be extremely dangerous to fly
underneath and in front of a formation because your burbles can cause canopies
in the formation to collapse. Also you could lift up with the middle of your
canopy under the jumper you wanted to dock on ending up in a wrap. That means if
you perform any kind of dock on a formation you have to be in full control of
your canopy at all times and able to abort if not. Otherwise you are not
qualified to do CF jumps.
Fig
2.2
If
the docking canopy ends up higher than wanted, it’s not necessarily a
problem. The docking jumper can park his canopy with his nose in the center
against the lines of the top canopy and slide it down by moderately using his front
risers until the top jumper is able to reach for his grips.
Approaches to lower positions in a stack or plane will need a lower set up
than for high positions because the formation begins to sink more with its
size - especially the “plane” formation.
Speed teams may still want to dock positions three and four from a higher
position and perform a riser dock by aiming their slider to the jumpers feet instead of the center cell.
Building a Plane
A plane formation begins with a stack. Next, the top jumper
climbs down the center A-lines and once the slider has been reached, he now
hooks his feet behind the front risers of the lower jumper. The lower jumper
helps by putting on some brakes to increase the lift of his canopy. If the top
jumper needs to pull himself down on the A-lines, it must be done with
uniformity to prevent the formation from oscillating sideways.
Building a Stairstep
The Stairstep is the second basic type of formation. The technique for building a stairstep dock is similar to the techniques explained previously but because the Stairstep is far less solid than a stack or plane, everything has to be done with lighter input and greater precision.
The set up for the final approach is slightly to the side
of the formation. To make a clean straight and precise dock you’ll want to keep
it relatively short with not too much potential. You may start with one canopy
width to the side of your target canopy and your canopy slightly lower than the
canopy to dock. The approach should be from the side rather than from behind so
that the jumper to be docked upon has a good view of the line he wants to catch
as well as remaining in the clean air to the side of the docking canopy. Also in
this type of dock you should never get too low or lose sight of the target. The
docking end cell should end up at the hip to the shoulder of the docked body.
The docked jumper can now hook his outside foot behind the outside A-line of the
docking canopy with his body staying outside the docking cell. If the grip taker
should need to use a hand grip to guide the docking canopy to a good position
for taking ther foot grip he has to be well aware to maintain his body position
in the harness to prevent unwanted influence on the flight of his own canopy.
The docking pilot puts on some outside front riser trim as soon as the top
jumper has taken his grip to prevent his canopy from coming up on the opposite
side. After having set his canopy by doing so he may release some of that trim
or maybe even all of it. Sometimes it gives you enough trim to stretch the
outside leg to keep the bottom canopy flying nicely. Sometimes no further trim
is needed any more but still you should keep your hand on the outside front
riser ready to apply trim again if needed.
The set up for stairstep docks in lower positions may be
somewhat lower. None-the-less be aware that a stairstep formation flies fast and
flat compared to other formation types. If your setup is too low your docking
time may become very long.
The build of the stairstep, stack, or plane can of course
also be done in reverse order with the lower canopy flying in little brakes and
being the target and the top canopy flying the approach. The technique is
referred to as the Top-Dock and will be explained with techniques of
sequential CF later on.
Flying in the Formation
As in free fall skydiving you have to keep on flying after
you docked. In a stack for instance, especially in the bottom position, you need
to make sure that your canopy does not get too light and floats up. All canopies
should have slight tension on the center A-line to make the formation healthy.
In a plane it is important that all cells of all canopies
are inflated. If not the jumper in question can reinflate his closed cells by
putting on some brakes. Perhaps he will also have to maintain some toggle trim
to keep his canopy’s nose open. Also a jumper next to a closed cell can help by
pulling the nose open.
Good awareness is needed in formations with stairstep grips
like stairsteps, diamonds or boxes. Especially jumpers in lower positions need
to always keep their canopies from coming up or around. Possible techniques are:
outside front riser trim asymmetrical leg position and inside toggle.
Signals within the Formation
To signal information to other jumpers in the formation
there are two ways. You can either shout a command by addressing the jumper with
his name or use certain signs. In bigger formations it is more convenient in
most cases to use signals instead of vocal communication to avoid noise and
confusion. The signs and commands to use must be known well to everybody. In
case of vocal information you must never use negative commands. If for instance
you shout “don’t cut away!” and the other jumper misunderstands he will cut
away. In this case you should have said “hold on!” for example.
In large formations there are two very useful signals to
the jumper below you: Twisting your foot sideways means the jumper whose canopy
is on that foot needs to get lighter for example by putting on some brakes or
easing the front riser pressure if possible.
Shaking the foot vertically means get heavy which means put
on some front riser pressure or signal further down if the jumper(s) below is
(are) light on you as well.
Piloting a Formation
Stack and plane formations always follow the top canopy and
are controlled by the top jumper also called the pilot. The stair step needs
more caution than the stack because it is connected less stable. Diamond
formations act similar but in bigger formations the pilot might need some
assistance by all the out side wing people to help keep the formation flying
straight or to help turn the formation. Bigger diamonds are fairly inert. It
takes some time to make a big diamond turn.
The most attention is needed in stair steps. In a turning
stair step the bottom jumper always needs to compensate the change in the flight
characteristic of the turning stair step versus the straight flying one. If the
formation is turning away from him he needs to release some of his outside front
riser trim and if the formation turns towards him he needs to increase the trim
on his outside riser. Because the links in a stairstep formation are similar to
pivot points these formations need to be turned very carefully.
Separating a Formation
Separating a formation needs at least as much attention as building one, especially for safety reasons. Also should it be done high enough. Bigger formations should be separated at 1.500m (5.000ft) and smaller ones at 900m (3.000ft).
Small formations can be split in reverse order of building letting go one jumper after another. The jumper whose turn it is to go shouts the names of the ones holding him and they drop him. Then he clears the proximity of the formation immediately to give room for the next
jumper to leave it.
Larger formations in the shape of a diamond of up to 36 jumpers can be split by using a technique called STARBURST. The starburst is being started by the designated person calling “starburst! - starburst!” which is to be echoed through the formation. Then one person starts
a count down calling “ok – ten, nine…..two, one, break!“ Everybody else joins the count loudly to make sure that everybody is able to hear it. On “one” everybody get his hands on the controls and on break lets go of the grips to fly out of the formation radially away from the center.
Peter A. Pfalzgraf
Rheingaustr. 24
12161 Berlin
p.pfalzgraf@gmx.de
Journey to the Bigways
From Student to the 100th Jump
Making it to my first Nine-way and then suddenly
being welcome into RW jumps
During early 2005, I became interested in big ways while I
was still a student skydiver. As a deaf person, I discovered the
deafskydivers.org website, and they were planning an upcoming Deaf World Record
event. They required 100 jumps and a B license to participate in the event. A
daunting goal, this gave me the incentive to jump as often as I could at my home
dropzone. At jump #99, the largest formation I had ever jumped in was a
three-way. For my next jump, I set forth trying to get the biggest RW formation
the drop zone would let me build. This became a nine-way, made mostly of
Skydive Gananoque's instructors. For my 100th jump, we created a
successful 9-way jump even though I funneled the exit! Before this jump, I had
a hard time finding willing RW buddies. Word went out I'd accomplished a
two-point nine-way. Now I was suddenly being invited into four-ways, five-ways,
and six-ways, jump after jump! As a result, my learning experience experienced
a big bang after this milestone jump.
photo by Dave "Fuzzy" Hatherly
Deaf World Record 2005
First experience being “cut” from a bigway event
November 2005 was my first skydiving vacation. I flew
to Florida to participate in Deaf World Record. It was like a deaf boogie,
organized by the infamous Billy Vance and John Woo. Before the event, I went to
Skyventure Orlando for the first time. I was floored to learn that John Woo had
20 hours of tunnel time, and is a World Team member having completed the 357-way
World Record the previous year. He told me he had about 700 jumps. His story
was an inspiration, even if it was an impossible dream at this time. Over the
next few days, 20 of us jumped several attempts to break the 14-way2003
record. I learned a lot, and docked on several formations that exceeded the
size of my 100th jump formation.
Eventually, they had to give “the speech” to four jumpers
to reduce subsequent attempts to 16.
I was one of the people to be “cut” from the final
formation.
My feelings of disappointment disappeared as I witnessed
the Deaf World Record from the ground, the subsequent first night jump, and
giving my glowsticks away. The photo with the goofy smile tells the whole story
of Deaf World Record 2005 experience.
Attending Canada Big Way 2006
Failing to get to the 59-way level, but managing to
get to the 30-way level
I learned about the Canada Record during late 2005, and
wanted to see if I could possibly qualify for this event. It seemed far fetched
that I might participate in an 80-way but I kept my mind open. During 2006, I
completed my first 20-ways during boogies when the Twin Otter visited my Cessna
home dropzone. The dropzone told me to go and attend the Canada Record anyway,
to 'try out' and see if I was good enough. At this event I had my first taste
of big way education, such as stadiums, radials, sheep dogging, red zone.
Alas, I was cut before I went past a 21-way. The event proceeded to complete a
59-way while I jumped a side 20-way camp for people who were cut from the main
formation. I learned many valuable lessons, including from Guy Wright: Never
look up when I fall low. After that advice, despite still being a sloppy flyer,
I consistently recovered from falling low during these jumps. I made many bad
impressions with Guy Wright, however, TK Hayes invited me to participate in a
20-way. Later, it became apparent there was too many jumpers, and it became
two separate 30-ways instead. This became the consolation prize: My first
multiple-plane formation load, and my first 30-way, that I completed, docking 14th.
Guy Wright's Big Way Camp 2007
Struggle trying to stay current
During 2007, I had a major downturn in my jumping frequency
due to job and love life situation. Nonetheless, I attended a Guy Wright big
way camp at the same dropzone as the Canada Big Way 2006 event. However, I got
cut very early during the first day as I was very uncurrent and my previous
impression at Canada Big Way 2006. In addition to my lack of currency, I had
also gained weight, so I had much more difficulty falling slow, so I kept
falling low too often! Discouraged, I gave up on big ways for the remainder of
2007 except for the easy 20-ways that occurred at Gananoque's Twin Otter
boogies.
Perris P3 Big Way Camp May 2008: Finally Persistence
Wins!
Finally reaching the 50-way level
In the previous two years, I kept hearing about the famous
“Perris Big Way Camps” as being the best camp to learn about big ways. I was
getting current again and I worked a little over an hour of tunnel time and
20-way jumps previous to the camp. Finally having the prerequisite jumps, I
attended the Perris big way camp for May 2008. They require 250 jumps with 50
jumps in the preceding 6 months. It was to become the best skydiving vacation
ever. As a deaf jumper, I was very challenging to the Perris P3 team, because I
often required a little more maintenance than everybody. Load organizers
dislike high-maintenance jumpers, and it was always a challenge to make myself
as low maintenance as possible. I was struggling trying to learn as much as
possible, with the help of other jumper writing notes for me! I persisted and
climbed my way through ever-bigger formations, and the final jumps on the final
day, I was to become part of an outer weed whacker (“weed whacker of last
resort”). On the third last jump, I fell low. On the second last jump, I
successfully docked but others in my whacker did not make it. I approached a
discouraged-looking guy and encouraged him, good job, you can still do it. He
was a guy, very much like me, who was trying so hard. I gave him a good pat on
the back and gave him the encouragement. The thrill of diving fast from a trail
plane, and slowing down on time for a dock. I almost fell low on this jump, but
I docked – DOCKED! Then I committed the sin of looking away from the center
and to other jumpers docking on me. He was struggling, going to fall 1 foot low
below me – but I made a last minute decision to drop my level slightly below,
while still docked, and help catch him. We docked in a mutual grunt of effort.
Right in the nick of time, the final person, about to go low too, caught the
very end of the weed whacker and promptly pulled our entire whacker low again, a
whole 2 feet below the formation level, with the chain becoming almost
diagonal! However, we quickly leveled out without funneling. We DID IT.
I was sloppy, the video showed my instability as I caught
the other skydiver, but I felt I played “hero” on this jump – helping other new
big way jumpers like myself complete the formation. While I was not ready to
truly play the role of hero, I had so badly wanted the formation to be complete
– and it was my job in the weed whacker of last resort to try to make it
succeed. On the other hand, skydivers are supposed to look towards the center
of formation. Despite this succeess, I still had lots to learn. But it was
time to celebrate – I was so happy I was part of a complete 49-way formation!
photo by T.C. Weatherford
Perris P3 100-Way Camp September 2008
Now reaching the 100-way level
By now, I was starting to think I might make it into the
next World Team if I tried hard enough. I started to hear that the next World
Record might be happening in year 2010. I then made a decision to gamble and
“go for broke” for the Perris P3 September camps, and try to bring myself to the
100-way level. The Perris camps were organized as a 50-way camp the weekend
prior and a 100-way camp the weekend after. I had only gotten a conditional
invite for the 100-way camp based on the performance of my 50-way camp, but
planned my vacation as if I was going to possibly be accepted into the
100-way. As a deaf skydiver, I hunted down interpreter help to try and
decrease my maintenance level even further. Jan Meyer stepped up to the plate
and offered to be my debrief-room interpreter and to double as a dedicated big
way coach. I surpassed the performance of my previous Perris May 2008 visit.
It worked – I qualified for the 100-way camp. The next week, I finally did my
first 100-way as I had dreamed of doing someday.
The Future...
Even though I am still very much a relative newbie to
bigways still yet to be part of an invitational big way event, I now have a new
goal: Be part of The World Team within my lifetime, whether in 2010 or later!
Although I now have enough experience to be invited to the smaller invitationals
listed at the bigways.com site, I still have a long way to go, and lots yet to
learn!