notsane

A Tony suit is set up more like a regular jumpsuit and takes even less time than traditional wingsuits to take on and off. That being said, why would anyone want to take their wingsuit off their rig? Without your wings you'll fall like a stone!

Nate, I doubt that even with my Pilot 150 deployed that I could get down to the speeds you're capable of.

Thanks to everyone for showing up and thanks to Rob and Morpheus for continuing to support the event. The experience level was higher than I've ever seen before .. we were able to do formations this time that we've had in mind for 2 years. I got 20 jumps in 3 days and had one HELL of a good time. Planning is already in the work for Z-Flock and Dock 3.0 and if the expestec lift capacity come through, this will be the one you won't want to miss. Gimme TWO, Fool!

I will be there at 9AM ready to GO on the first load of the day! The first round of beers for the last load of wingsuiters on Friday is on me! Nylon crack here I come!

Make sure you get a look at Mark's new Tony suit. The material, the workmanship, the design .. they're all top-notch. Mark, why don't you post a pic??

I wanted to preview a couple of things we’ll be doing at Flock and Dock 2.5 this weekend. For the large flocks we’ll be trying a modified V formation as shown in the Double-Chevron jpeg I’ve attached. I think this formation offers several advantages over both the Single-Chevron and Diamond type formations we’ve done in the past. The diamond formation is very photogenic, but only if everyone is lined up straight. This is difficult since the flyers further back have to keep their spacing from more than one other person … so their heads are moving all the time, which can make their bodies move as well. On the plus side there are lots of spots to join the flock. The V or Single-Chevron formation provides awesome visuals, but only provides 2 places for flyers to join the flock. Since you need the more experienced flyers to build the first part of the flock this puts the lesser experienced flyers in the back of the plane trying to catch up. They don’t have much of a shot at getting in. So I think the Double-Chevron will fix most of these issues. Each person has a single place to point their eyes while in the flock, so movements are minimized. The front chevron is the more experience flyers while the back is the lesser. This arrangement will let us “integrate” the experience levels in the exit order. The lesser experienced flyer just needs to follow the person before them to the flock and then fly directly behind them. This formation could also allow us to have some fun break-offs … the front chevron could slowly accelerate and turn to the left while the rear chevron slowly turned to the right. The visuals from the ground would be stunning. Those of you who’ve been at earlier Flock and Docks probably know I like stacks, where flyers are stacked vertically one on top of the other. Last year we added “elevators” that stayed with the base until about 8000’ when they floated up to the top of the formation. Last years formation was a little loose. I know we can tighten it up and get some killer video from the top as well as the elevator flyers! Time and weather permitting we can do some multi-point flocks to let flyers move around some. I know I’d like that! I’ll be out there first thing Friday morning until late Sunday. There is a launch from Kennedy Space Center late on Sunday that should be fun to watch too! Scott

Whoops .. I didn't take into account that you were one of the registered folks, Mark. I guess that revises the count to 16 1/2.

I heard from Rob that the head count is 17 so far.

Jumped with Veggie Reggie at Rantoul. Tell him I said hello!

Rob and Kathy keep the count. Maybe he can post it. Usually the x.5 events are smaller than the x.0 events though.

Here ya' go, Kris ...

I'm not at home so I can't send a pic, but I will. The air inlets on mine do a terrific job. My arms wings inflate very quickly out the door .. no flutter at all. Is it possible that you have the thumb loops too tight? That might cause excess tension on the entire wing. Also you might check your routing of the lift webs through the wing. It's hard to see in your pics, but it looks like the front passages for the lift web need to move up some. That might pull the air inlets backwards. Look in the mirror with everything on to be sure.

It's often a little difficult at first when you switch up to a larger wing. Like the other folks said; start your pull higher, don't rush the pull ... let the wings and grippers get out of the way for you, touch your fingers together on the bottom of your container and drag them across to grab the handle. A little practice and it'll all be second nature. Oh, and don't go in.

My arms weren't as tired as I expected. I'm trying to not pull like a madman on the grippers, but rather use them to position the end of the arm wing. In a sense it reminds me of the S3, too much tension doesn't help and tires you out very fast. Scott

I ordered it June 19th. Make sure you either shorten or stow the tape that extends past the friction adapter on the thumb loop. That short piece of material really beat the shit of of my hand.

Very nice job! More .. More!!

I got my new V2 and finally got 2 jumps on it today. What a sweet ride! Scott

I'm guessing that you're saying the suit has a base pouch for the pilot chute on it. If that's the case my personal opinion is that I don't like them. I've found the pull to be awkward and besides, the arm wings just aren't in the way enough on an S3 to really be a problem unless you're base jumping. In that case the base pouch is an important feature. Two other reasons I don't like them is that 1) they generally aren't secure enough for back flying and 2) you now have either the BOC or the base pouch position to pull from (depending on whether you jump the WS or not). If you're in a spot where you need to grab it right now, where is it? I like my pull handle to be in the same place all the time. But other folks like them .... Scott

The horizontal stabilizer on the PAC scares the shit out of me. If you even do a mild pop out the door you'll hit it .. and I don't think you'll be the first.

As I remember he had it pretty well padded in there.

Hey I'm registered! I guess I'll be there!

If you're pulling on those thumb loops during flight you're probably deforming the wing pretty badly. The thumb loops are there to help when you unzip,

Chris Ware is the official distributor of Z-Flock numbers. Numbers are free, just jump with us .. he had some patches made (if you want one) and wanted to break even.

The dates have been set for the next event! Be there September 22 - 24 in beautiful Zephyrhills, Florida for lots of cool wingsuit flocks! Big ways? check! Aerobatic dives? check! Verticals and 3D flocks? check! More details coming ...

One caveat to bear in mind is that Jeff could fly a plastic garbage bag around most of us.