Sugar Glider at Herc Boogie

[cpoxon 0]

A guy had just turned up with his Sugar Glider here at the Herc boogie. He's only ever jumped it with another Sugar Glider so we are looking forward to see how it performs! See attached photo (DZ wireless LAN is very cool!)

Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

[leroydb 0]

it looks very cool! i bet it would be good to fly with the suit loic used in crosswinds

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...

[gus 1]

Looks interesting, the wings aren't that much bigger than an S3. Make sure you let us know how it flies, or even better try and cadge a demo!

Gus

OutpatientsOnline.com

[cpoxon 0]

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or even better try and cadge a demo!

Now there's an idea! Problem is, minimum group size here is 7 and I'm not sure I want to be trying to jump it with a group straight away! Plus my exits aren't the greatest! :-D

Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

[Tonto 1]

Hey! Thanks for the pics. That's Eric, from Cape Town. You can tell him Tonto says "Hi" and that his Classic still sees airtime with Kevin from time to time.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[LouDiamond 1]

Interesting. Overall it appears to be indentical to the early crossbow/MTR1 in design but with more wing added to it.Single zipper fronts are a royal pain to get into. Let us know how it flys with the other suits.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[Deuce 1]

Apparently the guy couldn't even get down from the Herc. I'd have to see it to believe anybody could outfly Jari in anything. Maybe he'll come out with us tomorrow.

Today we nailed a slot-perfect 17 way with everybody in the video. Amazing stuff.

Like I said, these guys are really, amazingly good fliers.

I'm flying base with my cameras on backwards and they set the formation up behind and above my rabbit.'

Bigger tomorrow.

[LouDiamond 1]

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Apparently the guy couldn't even get down from the Herc.

I can believe that especially with all that wing. My guess is that it has tons of hang time but little in the way of forward speed. Is he the only one there with a different suit or are there Matter/S-flys there as well? I wonder how the sugar glider compares to those 2 brands of suit with regard to flight?

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[VectorBoy 0]

We did a few jet ranger jumps down in San Diego this weekend. One in my S-3 the other in the Matter. The matter was already inflated while sitting in the chopper. It was flying right off the step instant float quicker than my buddy in his birdman. When I jumped with him in my S3 inflation time was about the same.

[ManBird 0]

I'm willing to bet this suit floats like a mother. Looks like a tricky pull. I can see how you'd have to pull, but it'd be sketchy getting the technique dialed in for the first few flights. Not a lot of leg, which generally translates to little forward drive, but we might be proven wrong. I does sort of look Crossbow-based -- just way bigger. That one looks pretty cool, actually. More refined than what I'd seen in the past. Looks almost ready to market.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[bodypilot1 0]

I have jumped with Eric in a Sugar Glider suit in Lodi.
He was using Tim Hutchings suit to see whether he wanted to order an S3 or the Sugar Glider. He just recieved that suit of his the day before heading to the Herc Boogie!
The suit has a TON of hang time comapared to the S3 is what we have found. Tim and Eric are both about 6ft and 145lbs keep in mind.
The SG and the MTR2 are of similar design. The MRT2 is made of neopreme and the SG is made of ALL ZP. The arm wing as you can see is WAY bigger than the MTR2 and is easy to pull with. The SG doesnt come with the BASE PC pocket though.
The single zipper is a BITCH too. The SG hooks to your rig just the way a MTR2 does also. The SG doesnt have any baffles in the arems or legs, so jumping with it feels as though you are literaly in a garbage bag.
Tim has maintained a slow speed of 35mph and is close to making canopy dock while the canopy is in a slow turn.
The suits forward speed is very slow and they have a hard time making the suit fall faster to do flocking dives with any other type of suit. Perhaps the ONLY other suits it will be able to flock with are other Sugar Gliders?
As far as BASE with it, I have seen video of it clearly out fly any other suit, but then again, Jewels was the jumper.
I am sure Eric likes the fact that the Herc is a tailgate too, as he was too close to the door on his 1st jump in a Sugar Glider suit in the Beech 99 and somehow managed to get an arm in the airstream, he then had the suit inflate and pull him out the door about 1 mile before jump run.
Tell Eric Ed from Lodi said I think his suit turned out great.

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[TomAiello 26]

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Looks like a tricky pull. I can see how you'd have to pull.

Last I heard, the manufacturer was recommending a "ball up for a few seconds" type pull. Seemed to be working pretty well for him (on BASE jumps) and ought to be a good technique for skydives, too.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[TomAiello 26]

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I'd have to see it to believe anybody could outfly Jari in anything.

Hmmm. Is Robi there, by any chance?

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[unclecharlie109 0]

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As far as BASE with it, I have seen video of it clearly out fly any other suit, but then again, Jewels was the jumper.

Fall rate of of 35mph = impressive, but low forward speed = poor glide ratio

Depends how you define "out fly".

IMO to fly the suit efficiently with high forward speed/ low fall rate and good glide ratio is the real challenge.

Faster, longer, slower as written on bird-man.com for the SF

Slower, not as far, slower ....?

S3s can be flown at this fall rate with 2.5 GR and 100mph + forward speed :) The Phoenix ws will have even better performance!

I know which is my idea of flying ;)

Maybe someone has a GPS in Schweeeden, then we can measure the performance of the SG - Spinning Top (aka cpoxon) have you got your toy box with you?

Long flights,

J

[ManBird 0]

I'm with my Uncle Charlie on this. Glide is what determines the difference between flying and floating. Granted, some people really enjoy the floating aspect of some wingsuits. Others, including myself, want to be able to travel far and fast.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[LouDiamond 1]

I have to agree and having flown several different suits I can say with confidence that Robibird hit the nail on the head in this POST as the slower suits just don't generate the needed speed to go the distance.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[ManBird 0]

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Overall it appears to be indentical to the early crossbow/MTR1 in design but with more wing added to it.

Yeah, the top third is like a perfect match. The leg does look a lot different on closer inspection, though. The shape and sort of "two-stage-edness" is pretty different. Much larger inlets, as well. The zippers in the back appear to allow for the booties to be more easily removed (I just landed with my feet still in on the Crossbow). Going by the size of the wings, it almost looks like the suit would fly backwards.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[bodypilot1 0]

Ok.
Let me maybe rephrase that to out float?
The video I have seen was shot in South Africa by Timmy, the name of the place I can not remember. He was jumping his Classic and he is 6ft and 145lbs. Jewels was jumping the SG and another guy was on a GTI. Tim jumped first, flew his suit through the gorge and clearing another talus that isn't usually done without a wingsuit. After pulling he flew his canopy straight down the gorge and landed in the deep brush. The 2nd jumper was Jewels in the SG. He not only flew past Tims deployment spot, but continued to fly the suit all the wat until the spot Tim landed his canopy and then opened. The forward speed was NOT that great, so I'd say it floated. The 3rd guy never even came close to them.
Seriously, I could give a shit about float or fly and don't care to get into a debate.
I love to fly my S3 or flock with friends and teach people how to fly wingsuits, not tell them which one is better or which one to buy. Have fun in what ever the fuck you jump!

-

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[bodypilot1 0]

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Much larger inlets, as well.

The leg inlet is MUCH larger then the MTR2 and stays inflated in almost every position.

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The zippers in the back appear to allow for the booties to be more easily removed (I just landed with my feet still in on the Crossbow).

They are much easier to get off.
I landed with one bootie on with every jump on the MTR2. Maybe I am just not limber enough, but thats the same I have heard from other people too.

-

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[TomAiello 26]

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Depends how you define "out fly".

In Norway last summer I got to see Shaun (the SG designer) and Petter (in an S3) doing roughly equivalent flights. Petter in the S3 definitely had better glide, but without seeing the same pilot trying each suit in turn (or better yet, becoming expert with both suits) it's going to be very difficult to make a "fair" comparison.

For what it's worth, I think that Robi is probably right on the speed=lift thing, although if someone wants to land a suit, they may want a Loic-style (i.e. slow and floaty) suit.

Also, note that a larger wing area (and resultant lower wingloading) appears to help a lot in getting the suit flying sooner from a zero airspeed launch.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[SimonM 0]

Hi All,

Couple of things on the Sugarglider:

I have done a couple of jumps here in South Africa with Jewels (on the sugarglader) and me on the S-Fly. The Sugargloder has waaaay more vertical range and easily the same forward drive as the S-Fly.

I understand from Jewels that when he has flown head to head with an S3, the S3 will be have more forward speed but the Sugarglider will have a better glide ratio ie fly over the point at which the S3 had to pull.

From what I have seen, the quality of the suits in good enough for production. they are just *very* intimidating when you see how big they really are.

Simon

[VectorBoy 0]

Seriously, I could give a shit about float or fly and don't care to get into a debate.
I love to fly my S3 or flock with friends and teach people how to fly wingsuits, not tell them which one is better or which one to buy. Have fun in what ever the fuck you jump!

-

[leroydb 0]

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Its gonna hurt those that sit on a pedestal with their wingsuitus maximus when the buck toothed, coke bottle glass, heavy set dweab smokes them in his ducked taped classic 1.

agreed! and quite funny I might add

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...

[unclecharlie109 0]

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The S3 will be have more forward speed but the Sugarglider will have a better glide ratio ie fly over the point at which the S3 had to pull.

Hi Simon, interesting post.

Have you made any jumps with the SG using GPS - I am REALLY interested in the data to see how the horiz / vert speeds are.

Do you have an approximate glide ratio? (for an experienced pilot like Jewels)

Is there video of that head to head you talked about? Who was the S3 pilot?

Assuming 2 experienced pilots - my money would still be on the S3.

Long flights,

J

[ManBird 0]

I'd be willing to bet that in full flight, the S3 would get the better glide (assuming the same jumper flies both suits well). Depending on the height of the object, the SG might win if it gets flying right away, whereas the S3 drops straight down for a moment. If you took both suits of Eiger, or of course, out of a plane, I would be very surprised if the SG covered as much ground. Though I wouldn't be surprised if it got a longer delay.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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