ManBird

Yeah. The suits are made in Slovenia. If you're in Europe and you are ordering a suit, try to get it shipped from the factory straight to you. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I don't mean establishing a business. I just mean that if you are a BM-I or other wingsuit coach, it'd be nice to make it known at what level and in what areas you may provide instruction outside of the first flight. I think the posting of wingsuit jump numbers in the BM-I directory is a good start. I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I think it's more that wingsuit instruction isn't really there yet in terms of maturity, availability, and consistency. People such as myself and others are getting tired of wingsuits seeming to be so inaccessible to those who want to try them. I'm in a situation where I'm not an instructor, but am forced to be one in an adhoc form because there isn't a practical and consistent rating program in place. I rant about this on here not to usurp authority, but to encourage authority to act on this. If there was a formal program from a governing body already in place, I wouldn't have been handed the wingsuit instruction role, I would have to have earned it. It looks like we may actually have one coming up, though. Wingsuit popularity is growing faster than the current instruction model can keep up. I think you're seeing "unqualified" people acting on it because it appears that no one else is. Apparently, that change is, in fact, in the wind coming up in November. Something I thought about this morning... if the BM-I rating requires a coach rating or governing body's equivalent, will current BM-Is without a coach rating get to keep their BM-I rating? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Hmmm... their order form says 850 EUR. Must be a mistake. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

850 EUR = $994.00 right now. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Correction. The MTR-1 is now $994. That's $45 more than the Skyflyer 1! What tha dealy-o? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Makes sense. I personally haven't had any issue. I think the "huntiness" of my openings is only due to the quality (or lack there) of my pack jobs. Even then, it still ends up on heading. When I pack it right (or a packer does it for me), it's dead on. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I usually stretch, then do weights, then do cardio. Then I eat and smoke. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Now that is interesting! TomA - what do you think of this? I don't know whether it is actually effective or not. While my canopy opens on heading pretty much every time (a pretty big deal when combining wingsuit flight with my horrid pack jobs), it does do some hunting before picking the right heading out. I've heard a lot of complaints about off heading openings on the Sabre2, as well... so this "steffening" technique might either not be really effective, have some other benefit, or may work right but need to be packed properly. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I get about the same fall rate in my Pantz that I do with my smoking suit, which is about 75 - 80 MPH (skydiving). Throw the BirdMan jacket it in there, and I bet I could do better with that than the smoking suit. That's a hard comparison to make, though, as not everyone has the same smoking suit (and I also have more experience with the Pantz than the smoking suit). Either way, I'm excited about the jacket. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

HAHAAA!! I don't think so. His name would have showed up as "God of the Skies" if they went on his info. 4,500 feet? You wuss. ;) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Which is exactly why I'd want to have you as an evaluator. I feel it'd be more valid that way. In my defense; while I don't have a coach rating yet, and the course is definitely something I need to experience, I am not without training. As mentioned earlier, it was determined at one point that I would handle briefing and instruction on wingsuits at my DZ, but before I could do any of it, I had to be schooled up on training skydivers. I didn't get a formal coaching course, but I did get a few weekends of establishing a course and learning how to teach before I could take anyone up on their first flight (after the second person I ever took up had a mal). I still do all my instruction under our S&TA's supervision, who is quick to question my every action, if needed (and it hasn't really been needed lately). Plus, Joe Weber watches me like a hawk on the ground and from the plane. The real test will be when I take Joe up for the first time, which should have happened by now. If I'm not a "coach" now, you can be sure I will be by the time I get him in the air. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah, they still all just go to 119 seconds. I'm assuming you wear it on your helmet (what an odd thing to do with an audible altimeter). If you look in the same direction that your ProTrack is set on your helmet while falling slowly, you can easily shut it off. I wear mine in my front pants pocket. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Hmmm... I seriously doubt that I'll have (practical) access to a coach course by the end of the year. If you implement the change before the course at Eloy, I guess I'll have to use my $300 on jumps. :) If I do find out about a coaching course in the NW before then, I'll definitely attempt to get my rating. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That last post wasn't to be taken too seriously. I know that I need to go arch and fall for awhile to get applicable ratings, but my problem is that I really just don't have an interest to participate in other aspects of the sport (other than canopy stuff). I'm screwing myself into a corner and I realize that. It's worth it for now. I can definitely learn from others, take you (SM1) for example. You definitely know more than a thing or two about formation skydiving from doing regular RW, and can apply that to your wingsuit flying. I, too, would like to be proficient at formation skydiving, but right now; I'm only interested in doing so in wingsuit flight. I know it's not something I can learn right away and will take many, many jumps, but it is something I could learn. Even those who have fewer flights than me can teach me something. Someone with only fifty flights that are all on BASE jumps will be an invaluable resource to me for wingsuit BASE. As far as gaining general skydiving knowledge, why would I be prevented from learning that with all wingsuit jumps? Take someone who has 5,000 jumps where 4,000 are RW, and someone else with 5,000 jumps where 4,000 are freeflying. Is one going to lack skydiving fundamentals more than the other because they have a different discipline? If one day I have 5,000 skydives, and 4,000 are in a wingsuit, will I lack general skydiving knowledge? I believe I lack a rudimentary knowledge of skydiving because I only have about 600 jumps and three years in the sport, not because over half my jumps are wingsuit flights. On the other hand, the few times that I try a different discipline out, while I don't do it on the level of other people with the same jump numbers that focus on that discipline, I'm not terrible at it, either. I've thrown in the occasional freefly or RW, and didn't suck. I used the same mechanics in wingsuit flying to do some belly RW and some freeflying. You can apply what you learn from freeflying or bellyflying to wingsuit flying, and the reverse is true. When it comes down to it, it's the same principles with any discipline. Gravity is pulling you down, there are particles in the air that you can push against. Turn with your legs, dock with your hands. Slimmer is faster, thicker is slower. When explaining the "controls" to a new bird, I usually ask what sort of flying they do, and can usually reply, "Same thing, only sideways." Requiring a coach rating for the BM-I is great first step. Not just in the qualifications of the instructor, but in the acceptance of the rating by USPA member DZs. Good stuff. I'll see you in Eloy. If you're holding a BM-I course, I'd be honored to have you as my evaluator. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That's why I bought the S-Fly... you know... for diversity. ;) Hey, I fly a canopy, too. My other disciplines are snowboarding and mountain biking. It's a similar concept, actually, and winter here forces me to take a break from jumping in general. :( "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I agree. This is the exact kind of person, at any experience level, that I refuse to take up. With anybody, there are four things I look for, in this order: Desire Responsibility Ability Acceptance of Risk If they are missing any one of these things, I don't take them up (sounds like BASE, doesn't it?). If someone wants to do it to experience it, as opposed to looking cool or doing it just to say they did it, then they have the desire to do it. If they follow traffic patterns, check their altitude, don't fly their body or canopy outside of their ability, etc, then they just might be responsible jumpers. If they are current on stable, on-heading max tracking, canopy problem handling, and other things that are beneficial to wingsuit flying, they just might have the ability. After telling them what mals and problems I've had, what potential dangers there are, and body position sensitivity, I ask if they're ready for that. If they are answering "yes" honestly, they are accepting the risks. I've also tried to make all these things very clear to the S&TAs so that they can assist in judgement calls for jumpers I don't know well (being that I obviously don't jump with any of them when they don't have a suit). I and the student also get approval from our S&TA before taking anyone up. Some people have asked to go up and the S&TA has advised against it. I like the idea of getting a coach rating. I think that for any type of instruction in skydiving, it's a great place to start. Even with wingsuits, I'd put the coach rating before the BM-I. I don't have a coach rating yet, but will be taking the next course. In the meantime, I've been learning how to teach skydivers by very experienced AFF instructors, and I am supervised by them when giving instruction. The 100-jump wonder situation I presented is somewhat hypothetical. In reality, most people don't exhibit all these traits until they are at least a few hundred jumps into the sport. Some people never do. In DeLand, a guy went on his first Classic flight with 60 jumps and kicked ass. Others have gone up with thousands of jumps behind them and sucked. There is one guy in particular that has about 70 jumps and isn't ready, but will be much sooner than others. I do see people that have started skydiving because they eventually want to fly a wingsuit. The training right now is, for the most part, not sufficient to get them in a suit at sub-200 jump numbers. Something to keep in mind: You used to need 100 jumps on a round to fly a square. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Has anyone else out there thought to seek some advanced training? When I visited DeLand in April, I met Rod Driver, who was frustrated with the lack of advanced wingsuit pilots to offer training to improve fall rate, glide ratio, aerobatics, flocking, etc. The instructor he found usually had less flights than him, and usually had GTis or Skyflyers, while he was one of the first the get a Skyflyer 3. Also while down there, I'd met Andy Ford (Fordy), who helped correct a lot of bad habits I'd developed, and was definitely in the position to offer that sort of training. While you can discuss body position online, there's nothing that compares to one-on-one training and a pair of experienced eyes that can see what you're doing wrong and make the right adjustments. The difference of even an inch in any part of your vody position can be the difference between falling and "the sweet spot". With 312 wingsuit flights now, I do feel qualified to offer training to those with half my flight numbers that are looking to improve their fall rate, forward speed, or both (glide ratio), or things like backflying and some aerobatics (not to mention flying relative to a parachute). At the same time, I'd love to find out what I can learn from those with more experience than myself. I'm sure Fordy has a lot left to teach me. I'm weak on flocking and big ways. I don't know anything about camera/wingsuit work (though I've done it about 25 times), and could learn a lot there. I'm really on the topic of instruction right now, obviously. The concern is definitely the first wingsuit flight course. But much like someone trying hook turns who never learned anything about canopy flight outside of AFF, I encourage the über-experienced flyers to offer up their talents to the non-über-experienced flyers so that no one else has to wait until they are 150 flights in to find out that they're doing it wrong. :) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Holy crap! Thank God he had his landing gear behind him. Looks like he was just getting on the rear risers when he pounded in. Damn. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I've had two terminal reserve rides in my wingsuit and they both went just fine. They felt like hop and pops. :) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah. That scared the shit out of a lot of people, myself included. But since he's OK, we can laugh at it on video (and learn from it, as well). "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Dead Guy in Training. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I started a new thread here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=728262#728262 "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Here are my thoughts on the whole matter of instruction and the BM-I rating. This is totally open for debate. I know some people disagree with this, and I'd like to hear specifically why. I take new birds up all the time and love doing it. I don't have a BM-I rating, but by default officially have the role of wingsuit instruction for new birds and briefing of old birds at Skydive Oregon. I don't think they really recognize non-USPA ratings, anyway (nor do I, but wouldn't mind having the BM-I). To make the best of it, I get a lot of advice from AFF instructors and our S&TA. I've also worked with management and the S&TA to establish policy (unfortunately a lot of it is through trial and error). What we have now lies somewhere between BirdMan's original course and higher level AFF course (post level 7), with gear requirements and a very, very specific flight plan. It's still a work in progress, but it's getting better and better. I also aim to get new birds to fly better sooner. While we're adamant about safety, I also like to make sure they get the most out of their first flights and leave with the knowledge of the correct body position and how to work towards better flying on their own, as opposed to, "come back for more coaching when you want to work on your fall rate". I don't like to do any less than three jumps with a new bird, and I don't think I ever have. If I could dedicate a day to doing five with a first time flyer, I bet I could get them flying at where I was with 150 wingsuit flights in just those five jumps. As far as who I'll take up, it's a case by case basis. I realize that I am responsible for my student (though I wish I felt that way before I let a friend fly my suit with his Spinetto). If I feel that the student will get me in trouble, I won't take them up. There are people with less than 100 jumps right now that are great trackers and responsible jumpers that I am dying to take up if I could score a suit that would fit them, and there are people with over 500 jumps that I wouldn't let touch my suit. Jump numbers, to me, are fairly irrelevant. In other words, I think the BM-I is a great bonus in that you can get demo suits and be a dealer, but is not necessary for instruction. It says that you've made the effort to know the instructor's checklist and can relay the information, and that you can, to an extent, stay with a student. But this is knowledge and ability that you will get from experience, anyway. In terms of knowledge, you can just go to bird-man.com and grab the instructor's checklist... a great resource. Team Extreme gives a kick ass high performance canopy course with no official high performance canopy instruction rating. You don't learn CReW or freeflying through USPA recommendations or any official instructors. When it comes to wingsuit instruction, who will be more qualified: the BM-I with 50 flights or the guy with 500 flights that has acquired his knowledge through experience? Another point is that while BirdMan is the market leader, and IMO makes the best suits, it won't make any sense for me to need a BM-I rating when someone shows up with their S-Fly, MTR-1, or a used Crossbow. What I'll need is experience in a one wing suit (which is why I just bought the S-Fly) and wingsuit experience in general. As far as jump numbers go, I believe that as the quality of the instruction and instructors goes up, the recommended jump numbers can come down. The catch 22 right now is that you aren't allowed to fly a suit until you have the ability to do so. If the first flight process is dummied down to where the first flight is less reliant on the student, much like AFF level 1, you're going to get people flying sooner. I see a lot of people getting into the sport with their eyes on flying a wingsuit, and they're doing 200 jumps, almost all tracking dives, to get there. Hell, if you got off of AFF and then max tracked on your next 25 jumps, and were trained on those jumps with wingsuit flying as a goal, and you're serious and responsible with your flight and safety, you don't need to track for another 155 jumps to slap on a Classic II. Especially if you have a competent instructor that can stay down with you to monitor and potentially control your flight. Inversely, if you have a DGIT with 1,000 jumps, you wouldn't want to wrap him up in a wingsuit. ;) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

You don't NEED the mods, but they are a nice crutch. They save you a little thinking at pull time. When I was jumping an unmodded Racer and more a recently, an unmodded Eclipse (which has very, very closed corners), I just had to be aware of what I was jumping and make sure to burn off forward speed and start falling before pulling. I gave it about three to five seconds. If I didn't, I would get either a hesitation or a spinning d-bag. With my wingsuit specific Wings, I can deploy as soon as I touch the handle without ever getting a spinning d-bag, though I do still have to dive a bit to avoid a hesitation. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Just backing Yuri up on this. It's a lot easier on you to do strength before endurance. You'll get more out of both workouts. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click