ManBird

Yeah, that's a Crossbow. I'm surprised he hasn't gone with BirdMan, especially if he's going for glide artio/distance. He'd be kicking his own ass by miles in a Skyflyer or Skyflyer 3, and would probably be doing at least a bit better in a GTi. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Soon it will be, "I plan to fly while looking at mountains", and then it will be "I plan to think about mountains while flying". This guy's a freak. The 45,000 skydive figure is questionable, as are many of his claims. Though, that isn't to say that DD hasn't done some cool shit. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Head up for sure. Keeping a head high attitude will keep you from leaning too far forward, so long as you're moving your head only at the neck and not pushing your chest out/down. Good examples of the difference are the videos of Robert's jump from Arco in December, and his jump in February. In the December jump, he launched a little head low, with his legs a little too far back, and while he did have some motion almost right away, the initial descent was significantly longer and faster (down) than his moe head-high-legs-a-little-in launch in February. I believe the suits were a bit different, but it probably didn't make a giant difference compared to his body's angle of attack. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I thought about that today. I couldn't really think of any legal As. Not taking into consideration the legality of the few jumps I've made, I totally forgot, the A I have in was illegal. Whatever. When it comes down to it, illegality of BASE is fucking dumb, especially in the NPS (don't get me started... you can't BASE jump, but you can rock climb, camp in dangerous conditions, etc... WTF?). I do realize there are legal Bs, but take into consideration the amount and type of experience one would gain from jumping only legal sites from the start, and compare it to what's out there. Some of the technically legal Bs would probably not be made available to this person. Anywho, good call. You're right. More legal Bs than As. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

If this is really what you think, never BASE jump. BASE is FAR more dangerous than skydiving. RELATIVE deaths and injuries outweigh the same in skydiving many times over. Unless you're one of maybe less than two dozen or so people in the world, you WILL be SERIOUSLY injured or die if you stay in BASE long enough. Next time you have an off-heading opening on a skydive, or a pilot-chute hesitation, or miss your desired pull altitude by 100 feet, just remember that it could kill you on a BASE jump. And if you only want to jump legal sites, then you'll never be more than an ASE jumper (well, that's only as far as I got, too, so... er... but none of my jumps were legal), and most likely just a S jumper. Personally, I realize the risks, and was willing to take them for a little while. When the relationship with my girlfriend started lasting unusually long (and still is), I quit BASE. The reason is that I know that if I continue BASE jumping, it will eventually kill me or put me out of commission for awhile. That is what you have to accept or reject. When you don't have anything to live for but yourself, it's worth it. Skydiving has it's dangers, but you have far less factors and a good chance of making to an age where you have to hang it up. I'm not trying to be a dick or anything, I'm just trying to emphasize that the risks are far greater in BASE. Even if you are one of the lucky ones that goes on unscathed, accepting that you've sealed your fate with a commitment to BASE is part of the sport. Makes it fun... when you're single... oh, those days... "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Argh... less words than more. BASE jumping is not skydiving. Most experienced BASE jumpers will help you get into the sport, if that's actually what you want. Not telling you where the nearest A is in the event that you think you can pop your reserve off of it is a way of protecting your ass, the object, and the sport. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Damn straight. I only have a handful of BASE jumps, and have definitely never opened an object, but I can see the logic in hiding names. Hell, the nearby A sometimes seems on the verge because too many people at SDO know about it. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Hey, Kevin. Out of curiosity, did you order the S1 or S3? If the S1, then why, as opposed to the S3? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

You frickin' nut. I really want to see one of these UFO suits. I went with my current colors... black body, red wings. Black rear deflector. Can't wait. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

If one uses a regexp such as "\b((mailto\:|(news|(ht|f)tp(s?))\://){1}\S+)\b" and puts tags around the matches, then no one has to use the custom url tag for any link. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

A thread to check out... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=395363 Of course I wasn't in the "Women Only" forum... uh, my, uh... girlfriend left her purse in there, and I had to get it because she has no legs, er... no I mean she does, but there's the sword thing with the drop and the monkey and I'm going to sleep. (Edited to make the link work. Hasn't anyone one ever heard of regular expressions?) "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yes, it's a word, but most things aren't prevented after they've happened. ; "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Nice. What did you do to build up speed first? Dive, hook, or just sort of nail the right position after building up speed after the exit? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

There is no downside to jumping a WS, and I have abandoned all other forms of skydiving (except tracking without a WS). There's really no equal to skyflying. Not just in skydiving, but in general. I really can't think of any other thing I'd rather do. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

A) My theory on why your main pin came out was is that your reserve container was empty, thus removing a lot of stress on the main pin. B) The potential mal of which I speak would involve flipping over, which could cause either the bridle to catch a foot, or a riser to get under a wing. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

This was a response in the incidents forum, but I thought it might make a good starter here: I've had two slight PC hesitations out of about 40 flights. OK, that aside, I had a PC in tow once, not in a wing suit. I'm not sure what happened, probably closing loop was too tight. I pitched at 3 and had a little bit of room, so reached back and pulled the pin manually (one of the reasons why I always feel for the main pin cover in my OCD gear checks). What do you think would happen in a wingsuit in that scenario? I know I can still reach back, but it's more difficult, and if any wing catches any air while doing it, it might cause a horseshoe. Any thoughts? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I've had two slight PC hesitations out of about 40 flights. OK, that aside, I had a PC in tow once, not in a wing suit. I'm not sure what happened, probably closing loop was too tight. I pitched at 3 and had a little bit of room, so reached back and pulled the pin manually (one of the reasons why I always feel for the main pin cover in my OCD gear checks). What do you think would happen in a wingsuit in that scenario? I know I can still reach back, but it's more difficult, and if any wing catches any air while doing it, it might cause a horseshoe. Any thoughts? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

'Bout time. I heard about this suit awhile back, and have been holding off on a Skyflyer upgrade because of this one. I'm stoked. This does raise a question, though. From what I've heard about the new Skyflyer, I think I'd be good to go on it after about 100 GTi jumps (which is where I'd be at when I can afford it). Is this new design different enough to recommend the first Skyflyer to Classic/GTi customers before stepping all the way up? Or would you feel comfortable with someone like me, a GTi flyer that does nothing but WS jumping, bypassing the original Skyflyer? The design doesn't seem too drastically different. I love the stiffener idea. Though on a GTi, I do fly holding the wingtips a lot. A stiffener would definitely reduce the chance of those uneven grabs (more material in one hand than the other) that can throw you off your flight path or even spin you, and probably let you pull the wing out further than loops, too. Awesome. I'm excited. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

AAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!! OK, so someone has the skills and the balls to pinpoint a truck that has a driver that magically macthes the skyflyer's forward speed. The impact into the mattress MIGHT be survivable, but it won't go easy. Drive 30 - 40 MPH, even 20. Now imagine hitting a pedestrian, with a mattress on the front of the car Then, think about how realistic such a landing would be. And while the "snowy slope" idea is at least a little more plausible, I still say it's no better than being unable to outtrack a talus. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Good question. Trying to look at it logically, and judging from experience... the tail wind would increase your glide, of course, but the lift you may attain from forward speed is only relative to your environment. Groundspeed, you may be travelling 60 MPH forwards, but relative to the tailwind, you may only be doing 38 MPH, thus not generating any more or less lift than you would without the tail wind. If all the wind in the sky was going up at some weird angle, which doesn't happen, that would give you some lift. Recovering from a swoop always throws in a lot of lift, being that we all have a built-in, low performance "trim". A consistent 86 MPH fall rate in a track is very easy to swallow. If you know and have the right body position for yourself, you can maintain an 80-90 MPH fall rate on every tracking dive. The more conceivable explanation for the decrease in fall rate is that you just nailed it on that one. And if you went the wrong way, you probably weren't looking at other jumpers/canopies, and therefore weren't "chasing". "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Especially as you get lower. Air density is, of course, much greater at lower altitudes. That last 500 feet can feel more like 1,500. Especially if you've been flying hard all day and the shoulders are beginning to give. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Nice. Ever break 300? I had speed-diving stint for a bit, but never did better than 247. I can backup that 41 MPH claim. Tracking out of a 200 MPH+ dive would always put me anywhere between 50 - 65 MPH. As far as regular tracking goes, I usually sustain c. 80 MPH for the entire jump, in a freefly suit, and have definitely been below that after swoops. I usually get about 75 - 80 seconds on a non-WS tracking dive. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I'm flying, click the heels, fly for another ½ second, arms go back together, pull, keep flying until the canopy makes me stop. I fly a Wings with open corners + 9' bridle, and pack grommet-pin. A weird opening characteristic I've found since I started opening in full flight is this sort of "second surge". Basically, the canopy opens about 30° - 45° behind and above me. When I swing back, the canopy dives a bit. When the canopy levels out, it whips me back under, and has caused quite a bit of neck pain for the last while. I finally found that if I ball up right after I swing back, no neck or legs will be whipped around, and it's a really fun ride. I'm also flying a Sabre, so... there's that. I like the openings to be fast on WS jumps. There's just something about looking up at the canopy and seeing the ground behind you. It also reduces heading-hunting, and therefore, line twists. *Added* I've found that I can reach up and grab the rear risers near my neck while still zipped up. It doesn't give you a lot of leverage, but I've kept half to single twists from becoming any more by pulling the rear risers as hard as I can. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I was just thinking about this, this last weekend. I lost my Pro-Track (found it at the end of the day), and it gave me some perspective. Often times, it won't even trigger, but when it does, I find that I waste a good 20+ seconds just watching my altimeter, getting ready to open. It was great jumping without it, and not waiting for any tone at all, because A) I have better altitude awareness, and B), I've found that breaking off even 300 feet above pull altitude with one other decent skyflyer gives a ton of separation, and really lets you fly out those last couple thousand feet. I'd say for the sake of those under canopy, it'd be good to really watch where you're going and be ready to take off once you hit the 5k mark. Personally, I pull around 3,000 feet, give or take 500 feet . I don't endorse my habits whatsoever. I should be opening higher. I fly a somwhat conservative canopy that has always flown straight in twists (Sabre 120, loaded at 1.5). But, uh... if Dwayne can open under 2k in a ws, I can, too, right? Oh, wait... no... "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

But it gave the wrong answers. When I first read it, I thought he had a total mal. Then the true story came out, and that wasn't anywhere near the case. If nothing else, it's tough for family and friends (no, I didn't know him) to hear about losing someone in a frightening or tragic way, when the reality was that he most likely went very peacefully. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click