Costyn

Very nice! Is Jarno trying to dethrone Burple Mike in being in nearly every shot? Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Nice work Gee. I haven't had the chance to try it out yet with a recent video + gps jump. Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Pretty cool. If you want I can host it for you on flylikebrick.com? Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Ah ok, that's too bad then... Still, wingsuiting over the north pole... very cool! Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Hmmm darn, the English version doesn't say anything about the wingsuit jump... Denis, do you think you could translate the Russian bit about the wingsuits? I'd like to write a post on WWWN about it. Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Sorry, I was thinking of a fileformat to save the gps track in, not to save your velocity data in, which would definitely be best in CSV format. It would be good to save the trackpoints in an existing format along with the CSV, so you can import it into existing tools like Google Earth. But what is a good 'raw' format? I was thinking of what would be the most useful format which you can drag off the usb mass storage device that it becomes when you attach it to your computer? What is a good compact file format to use? GPX is nothing more than a lat, long, altitude format... and actually come to think of it, it's XML based, so better not use it, too heavy. Actually, it can send 4 points per second over bluetooth, but if you look at the specifications closely, you'll see it is not a logger and cannot save trackpoints and waypoints, so effectively useless for recording trackpoints, unless you have another device which can record them. I have not seen any GPS loggers which can record more than 1 trackpoint per second. Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

That sounds very cool. However, I think having the option to look at the data is good, as is having the gps track (in GPX format?). When you're eking out that last little bit of performance, you'll want to look at the numbers afterwards to be able to compare different jumps. Maybe you can also include a couple of fields at the end of the csv file with some analysed data: max, min, avg, etc. But it would probably be easier to do this in a spreadsheet on a normal computer of course.

Yes, this would be enough capacity for me. It would be pretty easy to download the data after a day's of jumping. On what are you storing the data? I'm guessing you have fixed storage and not a removable SD/XD/CF/MemoryStick right? I guess that would make it bulkier, although it would be cheaper to expand memory; just replace the card... Sure, CSV is about the most versatile you can get and would suit me fine. Only XML comes close, but it XML meta-data is too verbose and would take up too much room. You can use the unit without logging too though right? Seeing as you get real-time feedback on your performance, I probably wouldn't be looking at the data afterwards, but going up on another jump to see if I can do better!

Scott: Export is by USB port? Or what? Yes, both units connect by USB port. That's also how you charge them, which I find a nice feature. They can also provide realtime location data through Bluetooth, so you can use them for other applications too. Paralog supports both these units. Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

I have one, and although it does it's job, it's hopelessly outdated compared to current GPSes on the market. The WinTec WBT-201 or the QStarz BT-Q1300 are much better options. They are tiny (the size of a dytter), have much better accuracy and faster acquisition times, and can store many many more trackpoints & waypoints. They do not have their own screen, so you can't use them for navigation as standalone units. They are however excellent logging devices with a very high sensitivity and accuracy. I would not recommend buying a ForeTrex 201. Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Pretty good definition, but where would you place gliders and paragliders that can gain altitude by using thermals? I guess it would be ok to say they are flying? They can't keep their altitude indefinitely, but neither can an airplane with engines, which will run out of fuel eventually. Cheers, Costyn. Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

TED is a yearly conference with lots of bigwigs talking about their ideas on the future. It's ultra-hip and the place to be if you wanna bump shoulders with the rich & famous. Tickets are notoriously hard to come by... Quote from Wikipedia: "In 2006, attendance cost $4,400 and was by invitation only." Anyways, Wikipedia explains it better TED Talks are the lectures held at the conference. Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

You put Alex in twice! I know he's cool and fun to be with, but do you really want him to be there that badly? I've booked my tickets too... still gotta find where to rent a car and book a place to stay. Can any of you locals send me on the right path (with some links or whatevever) for car-rental and a cheap but not too shabby hotel? Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Hey Scott, Thanks for all the technical details. Interesting reading! I hope you guys can try this jump again some day. Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Grips? With 100 people, this would quickly become hilarious... Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Well, during the event, I don't think there was much confusion? The spots on the field were where they should be. If everyone was flying on their spot in the sky too, we would have fit nicely into the grid. Interesting side note: there was an article in Skydiving Magazine about the event, and it was written there that everyone had to be touching their box, not be in it. I don't know how this inaccuracy got into the article, as this way of judging suffers heavily from Yuri scatter and wasn't our goal during the event. I'm curious to see what the rules are going to be for the next event. Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

So, any news on this? How did the jump go? Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Very nice list Jarno... it's true, every discipline has stuff that applies to wingsuiting... Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Hi everyone, Argentinian wingsuiter Juan Mayer was robbed at gunpoint last weekend of all his skydiving gear. If anyone sees any gear turning up with his logo (which he uses everywhere), please let us know. A complete story can be found on our blog . Thanks! Cheers, Costyn. Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

thats funny the 71 way I was on everyone got in on numerus occasions :-) Yes, everybody was there nearly every jump, but what I mean is we never achieved the goal we were going for, getting everyone in their 3x3m box. Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Agreed, me too. I don't want to do 6 jumps a day for 5 days doing the same jump over and over again, knowing it won't build because we're flying with 100 people trying to do the same thing we couldn't achieve with 71 people. Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Depending on the size of the unit, I think it would be good to have separate reciever and "control unit" and have them communicate with bluetooth. In this way you can place the reciever where the communication is optimal, (say on the back of the helmet or back of arm wing or foot) and place the control unit in or on the helmet, so the wire to the earpiece doesn't have to be routed around. You can also then put the control unit where you want, it doesn't need a clear view of the sky. Of course the downside is that you have 2 units, and one without the other is useless. You also now have 2 batteries that can be dead...

You added a period to the URL which gives a 404 (always preview your posts, including links ). I've fixed it: http://www.qstarz.com/Products/GPS%20Products/BT-Q1300-F.htm Looks like a really cool toy btw... almost too good to be true. I've found one here for $100... I think I want one! Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News

Very cool! I know I'd want one!

I've just read Taya's article, which is good, covering lots of aspects of the 2008 event, but then I came to the bit about the upcoming event, which she says will be a 100-way?? http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=706 Are the rules going to be adjusted to allow for it being even more difficult? Or is it no longer a record attempt? In my humble opinion, this years event should be using less people, not more, to try to achieve the goal we set in 2008... Maybe someone can enlighten me? And sorry if it sounds like I'm attacking the organization, I'm not, I'm genuinely puzzled by this news... Cheers Costyn van Dongen - http://www.flylikebrick.com/ - World Wide Wingsuit News