The111

I posted here before about Blue Springs. It's 20 minutes from the DZ in DeLand. If you've never dove a freshwater spring, you should go to Blue Spring state park, 20 minutes from DeLand in Orange City. I don't SCUBA, but I have been freediving there for 10 years. There is a total depth of 120ft, and it gets overhead past about 60ft. I've never been past 90ft, but even going that far it is equivalent to a much deeper vertical dive, since you have to move horizontally so far (inclined shaft). It gets pretty dark and I freedive with a bright light (I can also wiggle through some TIGHT ~20ft-long traverses you literally couldn't fit through with SCUBA on - but I know that place like the back of my hand). I have been freediving to probably a dozen of the most well-reviewed freshwater springs here in FL (we have literally HUNDREDS) and Blue Springs remains my favorite. In part, probably because it was my first. It gets very crowded some times of year... all the bubble blowers go first thing in the AM. A few summers ago, I had a weekly habit of skydiving in DeLand all day, then driving to Blue Springs at sunset and freediving for the one hour before the park closed, and NOBODY was in the water, it was great. In the past 2 years it's got even more crowded, and in the summer you can never have the place to yourself anymore. If you go with your SCUBA in the morning, expect a couple dozen other divers bumping tanks in the boil, and poor visibility. If I did SCUBA dive I'd imagine I'd go in the afternoon. Lots of swimmers on the surface, but nobody under. Call the park. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Because all the whuffos watching TV would have been less impressed by a wingsuit worn the right way? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I believe that for a given height (6'0"), for example, shape changes as a result of weight changes (a thicker body) have negligible effect on glide ratio. This is within a certain reasonable weight range. Obviously a 300-lb pear-shaped man will not fly very well. But put me versus somebody my same height and 30 lbs heavier (but still well-built), and I do not think either would be able to glide significantly flatter. We are deflecting air, for the most part. A great deal of drag is created by helmet, rig, hands, feet, etc. If you make the leading edges of the "airfoil" slightly thicker, it will not really be that big of a deal with all the inefficiencies we are already facing. Hell, it may even be a plus, if the leading edge is getting a little bit rounder. As far as height variance - no, aerodynamics does not scale perfectly. But on a +/-20% scale, when dealing with already poor gliders, I do not believe it makes as big of a deal as everyone assumes. Your ability to glide flat is determined much more by skill than it is by build, that is the main point I am trying to make. Weight and shape have much more pronounced effects on airspeed. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

No it won't...the Otter is also a crappy glider. The gliders we talk about as gliding at the same glidescope but different speeds on increased weight are super efficient, super low drag flying objects. Yes, it will. This is a very fundamental aero principal. L/D depends on airframe, CG, and CoP, but NOT wing loading. This is not "only applicable to super gliders". I'm curious where you got that idea. Aerodynamics does not play favorites. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

You are right Nathaniel, it would have been more clear if I'd said glide ratio. That is what I meant. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Argh, I just said this in another thread. SPEED does not equal GLIDE. Comparing a powered aircraft's climb rate at different loadings has nothing to do with glide. An unpowered Otter, with the same CG and different loadings, will glide at exactly the same slope. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I was not talking about speed. I was talking about glide ratio. The word "fast" cannot describe a glide ratio. Moreover, we are not talking about scaling factors that large. We're talking about maybe 10-20% size changes in the human body. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Does weight affect glide? Does height affect glide? If your answer to either of the above is yes, please give a compelling reason. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

No, I don't. That was my point. We are NOT super-efficient airfoils, most of us are gliding at LESS than 2:1 most of the time. Jeff Nebelkopf made a SINGLE SKIN suit and could glide well enough to keep up with people pushing it harder in inflatable suits. A very subtle airfoil change is incredibly negligible, compared to all the other factors that determine your G.R. And another look at the height thing. A shorter person is not only shorter, but narrower (arm and legspan). So they are basically a "scaled down" version of the tall person. Why should a scaled down version glide any less well than a larger version? That's like saying that a Spectre 170 can glide flatter than a 120. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Chuck, great choice! I got exposed to her stuff in high school when we had to read Anthem. It is VERY short, you can read it in an evening, but I still absolutely love it. Excellent introduction to her philosophy, but also a great fictional story. It is a futuristic dystopia (think 1984 or Brave New World) unlike her other books I've read which are more "real-world" based. I read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged also... if you read Atlas Shrugged in a few nights my hat is off to you. It took me about 6 months during college, just kept it in my backpack and read a few pages whenever I was bored. Knowing you, Chuck, I can see why you would like her philosophy of objectivism. Your comment about not "converting" is funny. I went to an "objectivist club" meeting at my college and it was seriously CULTISH. I was freaked out but I went back to a few more just to observe how the club (which consisted of no more than 3 people) had turned her philsophy into DOGMA. I'd like to read her stuff again now that I'm older. EDIT: Guess I'll miss you in Zhills again tomorrow. I thought the last time you went to do a contract job was "the last one"? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Haha, I caught that too. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Read next post. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Dude, do you read Chuck's posts? He cannot STOP talking about Tony Suits, and he has many times said he thinks the Phacro is the best all-around suit. He also flies a Vampire all the time at Zhills. BUT he also loves his S6. I found the Prodigy very easy to fly, BUT I had hundreds of WS jumps when I put it on. I have seen many students in Prodigies fly like CRAP (nearly impossible to chase) and go head-down (literally) on deployment. I have not seen NEARLY as much of this on GTi's and Classics. I don't have alot of experience with students in Acros or Phantoms, but I would assume they are better choices for FIRST-TIMERS than the Prodigy. I have about 50 student jumps... I'm sure Chuck has many more. This is not a brag, but this is where I get my opinion from... from watching students. Most of those were in GTI's and Classics. Maybe 10 of them were in Prodigys, and they were by far the worst. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'll second everything Chuck said. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Actually, increasing weight does not affect glide at all in traditional glider dynamics. And I am curious if taller is really better either, as everyone assumes? I have been on some tracking dives with short light people who can push forward amazingly hard. If we are like wings, we have a very stupid aspect ratio of less than 1 (our entire body considered as one wing). Why then would being a few inches shorter be worse? You're just increasing the aspect ratio, which in any other winged discipline helps glide. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'll second Irfanview. It crashes sometimes for no apparent reason, but otherwise it is the best for simple lossless batch edits. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

What does any of this have to do with Blu-ray? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Nice! I often thought if I ever had a suit with rigid inserts I might have to do the same thing. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I don't see any evidence that you were wrong. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The song you are referring to is titled Natural Blues. I cannot confirm that this is the song the OP asked about. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

A few of my favorite movies: 1. Do you know the way to Shell Beach? 2. Who really looks at a man's shoes? 3. It is NOT dangerous to confuse children with angels. 4. Do you want drinks? I've got lots of drinks. ... Drink up young man, it will make the whole seduction less repugnant. 5. Oh, so like racially, he's pretty cool? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Go to a BMX forum... bmxonline.com is the forum for Ride BMX mag, but it's a bunch of 14 year olds arguing all the time. I still have my old Standard STA with 20" TT (I think) and I used it for flat and parks, but it really was not ideal for flat. I"m 6'0". I'm 25 now and really haven't ridden since I was like 22... probably never will again. I miss it, but it's too scary, going big in parks will get you hurt eventually. I go out sometimes and do manuals down the road which is still somewhat fun... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Funny, I don't remember saying that yesterday. In fact, I don't think I'd ever say that about one wingsuit. It was an interesting suit to fly though, and I'd like to get a few more flights in before I make my final judgement. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I did it to piss you off, Jason. It is a Wes Rich design, like Perry's yellow helmet. It is more low profile than any other large top mount surface helmet on the market, which makes it ideal for wingsuiting. It IS a lot of work. There's a guy named Brett Thomas in your state who has made a few of these for himself. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I am in the process of making a helmet. When it is done I will post a video of the whole thing. HERE is a preview of the first step (no fiberglass involved, this is a plaster wrap of my head). Go here for tips on composite construction. It is not rocket science, but it is not simple either. www.WingsuitPhotos.com