Tonto 1 #1 March 10, 2004 I don't have many wingsuit jumps, and only jump a Classic at present. I'm seeing some people pulling VERY high on wingsuit jumps. What altitude do you throw the pilot chute at when you do a wingsuit jump? If it's higher or lower than normal, please try and explain why. Adding what suit you're using, main wingloading and type (Square, tapered etc) and how many total dives vs. Birdman dives would help too. I have 4000+ dives total, maybe 40 birdman dives, jumping a Safire 135 loaded to 1.34 and feel comfortable pulling around 2500ft, and I'm usually fully deployed by 2200ft. tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 140 #2 March 10, 2004 Hi Tonto, I jump a S-Fly (Salomon-Fly your Body-Loic Jean-Albert-Soul Flyers whatever) for the moment got approx 390 jumps total, 4 WS jumps. For WS jumps I use my Sabre1 150 loaded approx 1.2. I start my opening procedure at 1500 m (approx 5000ft). Much higher than normal... the reason why is as usual when you try new stuff : try things higher, gives you some more seconds to react. Moreover as WS jumps are quite physical, the chance/risk of "doing wrong" is increased...scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gus 1 #3 March 10, 2004 It depends how ballsy I'm feeling! I have about 70 or 80 w/s jumps (700 in total) and jump a GTI with my Sabre2 120 @ ~1.5. I would say that on average I go in for the pull at about 3500, just to give me a few more seconds than usual to make sure I'm nice and stable when I pull. At the moment I'm pretty uncurrent on the wingsuit (stupid winter weather) so I'll probably take it up another 500 ft next time I get to fly it. GusOutpatientsOnline.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #4 March 10, 2004 I start my pull sequence at 4000 feet. I have 3800 skydives and over 385 wingsuit flights at last check. I think of my wingsuit as an additional piece of equipment in the same light as a board or a tandem passenger and keep my deployments that high because I know, first-hand, that things can go to hell in a handbasket in no time flat. My dedicated wingsuit main is a Sabre2 97 loaded at 1.8. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #5 March 10, 2004 While many people pull lower than recommended with no ill results and feel they are ëxperienced"enough to do so I will reitterate what I and chuck have said many times before here and to people in person. A birdman jump IS NOT an ordinary skydive and extra altitude is your friend when things do go wrong and they very well can. When they do it is not unheard of to loose several thousand of feet in mere seconds. I personally watched chuck almost go in HERE. The point of this is the amount of altitude he lost would of resulted in his assured death had he pulled any lower than he did. You can take it down lower and treat it like a normal skydive but you are ultimately throwing the dice and gambling with your life when you do. Your odds go down even more once you throw in things like highly loaded canopies, elliptical canopies or canopies prone to spinning, jumping without equipment mods, or adding camera gear. Be safe, not sorry. Do the right thing and you will be safe."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #6 March 10, 2004 That's good advice, and I'll follow it in future. The reason the pull altitudes have been coming down is because I've never had an issue, and wingsuit flight is so small here that we're pretty much making it up as we go along. The main I'm jumping is very conservative WRT both wing loading and design by comparison to my normal gear, and that combined with the very stable behavior of the Classic has probably contributed to my complacency. (That and the ground rush..) I'll take it back up to 4000ft, and will go higher when I move to a more radical suit in the future. Thanks (Chuck too) for the feedback. tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outrager 6 #7 March 10, 2004 Yo ! I couldn't vote on this poll because my opening altitudes depend on what type of a jump it is: 300' for an all-out BASE flight 500'-1000' for an easy and conservative BASE flight 2000' on a skydive under a larger reliable square 3000'+ under a small elliptical 4000'+ after a big break when i'm not current Variety is what keeps the life fun! ;-) bsbd! Yuri. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 2 #8 March 10, 2004 I open at 4 maybe 4.5 k if jumping a classic/classic2 and my spectre and am fairly current. Anything else, I open at 5k. ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rustik 0 #9 March 10, 2004 Hi Tonto, I have 598 jumps total, 5 WS, 1 on Classic remainder on GTI. Most of my jumpin is FF. I pulled initially at 5k and have only brought it down to 4.5k, wierd thing was I could swear I was getting ground rush the first couple of times even that high. I jump a Spectre 135 loaded 1.35:1 As you get so much extra time I am comfortable pulling at this height and will continue to do so until futher notice. Working on keeping a relaxed yet composed body position during deployment, until I am more comfortable and confident on my pull technique and position I will not lower my opening height. cheers Russell If it's safe it ain't fun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCARYPERRY 0 #10 March 10, 2004 i jump Sabre2 at 1:7 and have about 700 ws jumps i pull between 3000 and 2000 depending on size of flock,still pull about 500 on base but will take it lower as time goes by,Yuri and others with many base flights know you may have to go lower to clear object or just smile a little longerOnly he can be happy,who can make his the present hour,for today he has lived Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #11 March 10, 2004 Something I've always wondered about - since you have so much more horizontal speed and cover more distance, don't you need to pull high to make it back to the DZ? JumpScars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 140 #12 March 10, 2004 Well... hmmmm... let's admit that not only you can get horizontal speed... but you can also get to turn... WE ARE HUMAN BIRDS, GODDAMMITT, NOT FUCK**G DRAGSTERS scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 2 #13 March 10, 2004 QuoteSomething I've always wondered about - since you have so much more horizontal speed and cover more distance, don't you need to pull high to make it back to the DZ? Jump Depends on where you got out and what circuit you flew Usually you get out last and long, then fly a circuit back to the DZ. You do have an amazing potential to fly yourself to a bad spot tho ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rustik 0 #14 March 10, 2004 ain't that the truth!!!! If it's safe it ain't fun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leroydb 0 #15 March 11, 2004 340 skydives Open between 4000-5000 ft 1 spinning malfunction (almost 2) on my birdman SF3 using a cobalt 105 I would also like to reiterate and emphasize what Chuck and Scott are both saying. When you open higher, it allows you to be able to have altitude to attempt to handle any situtation that arises, and I say this having had a highspeed spinning malfunction. Check out my video of my malfunction on the video site. Could someone post a link to it? (bmsf3 cutaway, or something close) I open around 4500ft and because my reserve was spun, I did not have a good working canopy until 1800 ft. Please pull high and play it safe, its your life, but don't kill yourself (we like birdmen and women)Leroy ..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
