ManBird

No, it's just a joke. I think the PST put us on the map, first. ;) For the live action carnage, grab this vid: http://www.deepart.org/sight/the_carnage_round.wmv Sorry ghopper, yours is in there, too. I'd left it out originally, but needed to have it in there to time Evan's chow better with the music. Edited to add: Watching this video again, I'm once again realizing the value of a pond, and am really glad we have it. Everyone made it through that round without a scratch... physically, anyway. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Isn't this sort of a negative image for them? What the hell? Edited to add: bastard "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That color scheme will be easier to sell when you one day decide that you just want to fly your Skyflyer 9. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

The weather's unusually good right now, but usually sucks from October to around April, with some breaks in between. So you'll be up here at the end of November? Well, I'll be down there. Maybe you should just stay put so we can do some flocking. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I'm moving to a Crossfire 2 after my Sabre 2, but that's still a few hundred jumps out (as I'd prefer to load one if I buy one). The CF2 will still kick ass loaded at ~1.3. I borrowed one for awhile at that loading. Even though I fly higher loadings than that, I was getting better swoops and flights in general from the CF2 130 loaded at 1.3 after about fifteen jumps than I was on my Sabre 120 loaded at 1.5 after 400 jumps. Highly recommended. You're also being smart to move over in shape, and not size. When I switch to my CF2 in a few hundred jumps, I'll be doing the same thing. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I wonder which name the 50tat2 uses for autographs... "GOD" or "502". Dude, Felix is a str8^ word record holder. Here's just a short list of his unique and outstanding achievements in BASE jumping and skydiving: - Dumbest demo - Biggest ego - Most unstable exit (broke his own record several times) - Slowest gainer - Best faceplant landing - Most invalid claims - Most sites burned - Most jumpers pissed off - Biggest BASE web site dedicated to a single person "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Sweet! When in December (I'll be at the boogie in Eloy during/after Christmas)? Weather here usually sucks at Skydive Oregon in December. Eugene may have better weather at the time. If SDO is weathered out, we could meet in Eugene. Even if the weather sucks for jumping, we should meet up so I can buy you some Mirror Pond Pale Ale (which will likely prevent you from leaving Oregon). "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Cool. Yeah, he definitely improves over the course of the video, then. And he does do very well for only thirteen flights. Good stuff... he just might be able to slap a S3 on a little earlier than some of us did. Good stuff. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That's good. :) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Finally saw the vid. Could have done without the embossing, but cool footage otherwise. You can really see how big the effect of little movements are on wingsuits with Jake in that GTi. There was a point where he's flying along with his hands on the wingtips. When he let go, that little tiny hand movement gave him lift, but caused drag (horizontally). Movement of only a few inches caused him to fly up and back. Looked kinda cool actually. The video may be out of sequence, but it looks like Jake was flying better and better through out the video. It was arms sloped back and knees bent at first, and then he started flying really extended (but still arched a wee bit). Fun stuff. Scott, watch the prop in front of you and the stabilizer behind you. In all due respect, I'm not trying to command you or anything, but a stabilizer has been taken out when someone was pulling the exact same stuff. It takes just one time of not sliding that exit out right to get a stabilizer in the back of your head. You can still get above the Otter without flying out the door like that. Exit wings closed, and then fly hard after about a quarter second. Slide to the center of the aircraft and you'll catch the blast from BOTH props, which, on a normal speed jump run, will get you about ten to fifteen feet, and even higher on a faster jump run (give a little more time to clear the stabilizer/get under the plane on a faster jump run). Riding the blast of one prop will usually get you just high enough to nail the stabilizer. If you aren't more than maybe eight feet away from the fuselage when over the prop, you really run the risk of taking out a plane, a pilot, and yourself. Don't mean to be a jerk, but whenever the safety of others or the aircraft is involved, I feel compelled to speak up. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Oh my god! I just crapped my pants (several times) looking at those pictures. Beautiful. Damn, I wish I was a trust fund kid. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah, there's are quite a few NTSB reports that start: "aircraft went into beta". Not a good idea. ;) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Nice! The more the merrier. Shoot, I still need my plane tickets. Tomorrow, I say... tomorrow. Should have my S-Fly by then, so if anyone wants to try it out, and is 5'9" - 6' tall, Eloy's Holiday Boogie is that time. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Here's the comp for one I'm working on right now. I'm posting it for attention, not to actually help you in any way. http://www.deepart.org/files/mm.asp "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That's a cool idea. You can find out what the wind's speed and direction is at different altitudes via weather services, then use this to subtract the relative windspeed from the speeds you record (in your head) at different altitudes during your flight. If you mount the wind meter on your wrist next to your alti, you could just look at your wrist and remember three things: altitude, windspeed, and direction (relative to North, in radians). At a glance, you'd have all the info you need to figure out exactly what your true forward speed is. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

All the advice is right on... don't push off, small legs, big arms, but also make sure to look at the horizon and don't stick your chest out, or you will go head low. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah, what the hell is that? Too hot... I laugh. Back to the original thread... The only flat spin I ever had was doing something similar to this (posted on this board). I went head down and attempted a banking pullout. It went great for about five seconds and there was some serious g-force happening, but when I got too far onto my side, it sort of "popped" and threw me into a violent spin. The ball up method worked to a degree, but the spin didn't come to a stop until I just went back into flight. When you turn on your side, you're banking. There may be someway to fall almost straight down on your side, but you won't maintain fall rate and it is not practical. I'd imagine that the pressure from the bank is what throws you into a flat spin when you roll over a certain angle. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

English version: http://www.flyyourbody.com/accueil.asp?LNG=EN "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

The BM-I directory is up at http://www.bird-man.com/index.asp?n=instructors. It's small at the moment, but growing very, very quickly, as BM-Is get their info in. If you are a BM-I and have not been contacted to update your profile, please send your info to BirdMan, Inc. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

As to the poll, I'd stick with non-cross-braced. Specifically a Crossfire 2. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah, but with these wings, we could exit at five, dump at 3.5k, and still get a longer freefall than you guys did in a low pull contest. ;) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Exactly. You got it, monkey. That's how we do it, as well. Even if we pass our distance target (the drop zone), we can still just remember where we opened and figure out how far we got from the exit point. It's definitely a good think to pay attention to, as you get to know what your forward speed and glide ratio is as well as fall rate. The same way you can hear and feel your fall rate after consistently checking your data and matching it your memory, so that in the air you know that you're doing "about 42 down", you can also start assessing forward speed and glide ratio on the fly. This will allow to make quick calculations in flight for all sorts of purposes... flying to a canopy, a student or flock that sunk on you, a pylon (if we get this crap going), a far off distance target (or outs if you realize the target is too far), maintaining a certain angle (for fixed object or cloud swooping), etc. This is also a good way to completely rid yourself of any friends or association with the rest of the world. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Is that an exit shot, or is he trying to get in? ;) Flying with Twin Otters freaks me out. Getting next to a wing that has a prop on it just seems like a bad idea. Single engine planes... now that's more like it. This is another one of those areas, though, where a LOT of planning should be involved, and pushing it can remove a lot of margin for error. You could easily end up taking out yourself, a plane, a pilot, and who knows what else. Poor planning and/or poor execution when flying next to this big, heavy, hard plane with spinny thingies on it will definitely result in serious everything. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah, I think he just means birds in the air. 14 docked would be a hell of an accomplishment. The largest I know of was 27 at the Herc Boogie of which you speak. I think we can break it with two planes at Eloy this year, though. Speaking of which, people who have the most experience with bigger flocks should be thinking now about LOing two planes at Eloy, and making the idea a little less nightmarish. I've never done more than five (or was it six?). Someone with the appropriate knowledge should start a thread about LOing large flocks and formations. I'm very interested in understanding the safety, exit, flight, and breakoff plans. This aspect of wingsuit flying is still foreign to me. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Thanks. Glad I could help! Three minutes for a 10,000' freefall is a tough one, but is definitely doable. I've only eeked it out it once, but have four other 3+ers in 10,500' - 11,200' freefalls. Even an extra 500' - 1,000' feet makes a big difference. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click