ManBird

And hard pulls. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Body position. Body position. Body position. Body position. Body position. Body position. Body position. Body position. Body position. That's my guess. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Oooohhh... I just came in my pants. Err, I mean... you're suck. F*¢kin' A that's nice. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I tried a packjob recently where I all I did was get the slider really cupped, made sure the chips were clear, wrapped the tail, deflated the thing by about 80%, shoved it into the bag without s-folding it, and only did the locking stows. Took about 3 minutes and I jumped it with a wingsuit. It actually opened great. I've put the canopy in the bag sideways a number of times, too, and if I don't move on deployment, I stay on heading. Maybe some rotation, but that's usually body position. This was the result of a discussion wherein a friend of mine and I were talking about the only necessary elements of a pack job: get lines away from the material, expose and cup the slider, and lock the bag. Wanted to put my money where my mouth is and it worked. Keep in mind, I jump a Sabre (not Sabre 2), and it doesn't have a lot of time to screw up between deployment and inflation. Especially with a wingsuit. The story might be different with a Crossfire or Velocity. Hell, I'd jump the pictured pack job. I'd pitch out the door, but I'd do it. I collapsed my slider before an 1800' hop and pop and left it on top of the pack job to get a fast deployment after a thre second delay. I also shave my genitalia regularly. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I was trying to score it for nostalgia purposes. I don't know what the reserve is, but it's too high for that thing. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

How about getting out of a plane at 150' and successfully landing under an open canopy? I watched about four hours of old parchuting, BirdMan, and skydiving footage from British Pathé last night. I saw some amazing things, but I'd love to hear the stories behind some of these jumps. Respect to anyone that landed a parachute before the PC. You f*¢kers are made of steel. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Makes sense. DeLand was a lot of fun. It seemed loose, but not in a bad way. It seemed like a lot was just left unsaid to experienced jumpers, which, in turn, makes you want to be voluntarily safe, respectful, and responsible. You also feel more free and independent which, in turn, causes you to rely on yourself for safety a lot more (though I did still annoy everyone with gear checks on every load, before boarding and exiting). I hate getting talked to like crazy at a lot of DZs. Sure I only have 400 sumpin jumps, but that doesn't mean I need an AFF course every damn time I visit a DZ. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I heard a student ask after the fourth cutaway in a three days at a large DZ, "What's wrong with this place?" Malfunctions are as related to a DZ as pizza is to permanent ink, especially when the mals happened to people packing themselves. The above philosophy would prohibit you from a number of drop zones. More jumpers. More jumps. More cutaways. It happens. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Because some people are all talk and don't really BASE jump. Oh wait, that's me. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I saw a monkey fly into the window at the zoo recently and do a bit of damage to itself. They were chasing each other around by "running" along the chain link walls and ceiling of their exhibit thingy about 20+ feet up. Horizontally, they were moving very fast. When one tried to hop from the top of a wall up to the ceiling at a fairly high speed, missing and slamming head first into the glass right in front of us, then falling about fifteen feet. We thought it was dead or something. It didn't move for a bit... just sort of sat there, then someone came in a picked it up after a few people freaked out about this monkey that just knocked itself out on a glass wall. It was awesome. Point of the story, monkeys have a pretty high wingloading. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Aw, so we need a new suit with a jet tail-shaped design. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Nice. I like how the cells on the tail go all the way up above the crotch. This is exactly the suit I need for my upside-down-V-shaped body. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah, water at high speed is no softer than concrete. The times I couldn't submerge a jet ski have done major damage to my neck. The times I've been thrown left me with abrasions. And that's at no greater than 45 MPH in one direction. The giant mattress idea seems more plausible, but even then... I'm not the man to try it. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yeah, but keep in mind, Skydiving Magazine kicks ass. ;) I didn't mention Skydiving because they seem to have pretty decent recognition of wingsuits. I also really like their recognition of skydiving's closest relative, BASE. The articles are worth reading, and are not all sugar-coated or bland. Definitely my preferred publication for this sport. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Actually, forward speed is more like 70 - 90. But yeah, water is no cushion. 25 MPH down and 5 MPH forward knocked me out once. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Landing a wingsuit without a parachute is very easy. Surviving it is not. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That's not an eye, it's a vagina. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

There is a massive shortage of wingsuit flying pictures in Parachutist, and not much representation in some others like Frittifall, etc. Is anyone submitting? I know you're out there. I'm just starting to get a camera setup together, but I'd rather not have anyone wait for me. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Parachutist, a LOT of people "read" it. Actually, they skim the pictures. They see tandems. They see RW. They see freeflying. And they also see some inventive hybrids, swoops, and canopy work here and there. Wingsuits made the cover once and have been absent since. If we really want to expand skyflying, we need to do what basically happened with freeflying. Freeflying was this scary, mysterious thing that a lot of people avoided and criticized at one point (and some still do). But increased discussion and, in my opinion, photographic exposure in TRUSTED periodicals, such as Parachutist, made it widely accepted. For the sake of our discipline, gather up your photos and send them off to your favorite publications (and Parachutist). There is a lot of fear and mystery to remove amongst those who've yet to truly fly. To whom shall they listen? The guy with the wings or the supposedly conservative USPA publication? The words or the pictures? It's almost as if people are waiting for the USPA to come forward and say, "OK everybody! It's safe now" (many don't know that wingsuits made it into the 2003 SIM). So, I call upon you, oh winged ones donning cameras upon your brow! Capture Classics, GTis, Skyflyers, S3s (but not Crossbows) in flight, as evidence that man can finally fly! Plus, you get like $10 and bragging rights. (Edited to sound scarier) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Stilletos do have really short arcs. A good, smooth front riser 180 only gets you down about 300 feet in most climates. Personally, I think it would be more difficult to time these short recovery arcs out right from 300 or less than from 700 feet. Short recovery arcs require a little more commitment. Longer arcs require commitment, as well, but an extra 200 - 400 feet of dive is an extra 200 - 400 feet of control. Unless you're snapping your turns (a big no-no in my book), a longer recovery arc may be easier to escape (if not done at the last minute). Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. Slow. Smooth. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That's nothing. I can do HALF that in TWICE as long. Oh, wait... "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

The nads. Right on the nads. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Sadly, I must report... I'm in a clan. Yes... every now and then I cross the line from geek to nerd. On the other hand, I could probably kick yer ass at bf1942 or RtCW... dammit (and could definitely slam anyone at Tetris). "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Definitely. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

So I hear that someone here might be able to help me acquire a list of the original Birdmen that lost their lives attempting to land their winged contraptions. Any takers? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Supposedly, at least according to Gypsy Moths, some of the original Birdmen that went in did so because they believed they could land their contraptions. Though I know better, I sometimes feel what they may have felt. In those last 500 feet before deployment, I often get a second wind and try to extend out that last little bit, like I can keep it from ending. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click