The111

Yes, if your assumption is that you could have bought a normal rig, and a piece of foam for a couple bucks, and shoved the foam in there yourself. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That obviously could have been much worse... glad you're ok. At least you're no longer struggling with the dive-bomb-away-from-the-plane exits. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The sizing charts for the Icon aren't even the same recommendations you get if you ask! I got in touch with Aubrey (Aerodyne sales manager until recently) and said I wanted an I3 since I was getting a 132 main and 135 reserve. He said that would be way too tight (even though it is within their "recommendations") and I would have to go with an I4, and that I could fit down to a 117 main in there if I wanted to. He told me he jumped an I3 with a 96 in it. He knows his stuff because he dealt with TONS of demo rigs on a daily basis, so in this case I would contact the company rather than go by their charts. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

You freefly on your couch? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Haha, jumping that thing looks insane, period. What's the POV, back at the jumper? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Glad to hear you're having fun Jennifer. I can't help you with the cold problems (never had to deal with that ) but I can address two of your other concerns. In my opinion it would take a lot of turbulence to feel the effect while in a wingsuit. Our airspeed is so fast that I just don't think it affects us a whole lot. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'd guess it's more likely that the shakiness you felt was maybe due to getting tired, especially if it was your last jump of the day. The best way to deal with this is relax and arch and fly a bit less efficiently, or retract your legs a little bit maybe. Your endurance will build over time. I think your horizontal distance (ground track) covered during deployment while in a wingsuit is negligible. If it seemed that you were in considerably different locations before and after deployment, I would guess one of two things: 1) While flying the wingsuit, you are inaccurately guessing where your groundspot is, perhaps due to looking forward where you are going (not a bad thing!) rather than straight down. When under canopy you look straight down at where you really are and get surprised. 2) You are allowing your canopy to drift unattended while doing post-opening procedures (I realize these are supposed to be minimal in a Prodigy, but on my only jump in the suit I found it took quite a deal of time to undo the wing attachments, I will admit I'm not as familiar with those as I am with my normal zippers). In high winds your canopy could certainly drift a lot in the short amount of time it takes to do post opening procedures, whatever they may be. It is feasible that someone could neglect to navigate their canopy while doing post opening procedures, and then be surprised at where their canopy is when they finish, due to high winds. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Cool video Steve... somebody needs to keep their camera box closed though! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I agree with you on your point too. I'll also admit there are difficulties in having the instructor rating associated with manufacturers, because of obvious reasons (although it is done in other areas, tandem skydiving in specific). The only alternative I can think of is letting the USPA handle it, but I'm not sure if anybody would like that either. I'm small enough and humble enough that at this time I don't want to try to affect change in the wingsuit community at large, so I am just accepting things the way they are. As I stated before, obtaining my BMI rating has nicely augmented the experience of taking people on first flights (which I was able to do without the rating), and as you pointed out it helps me bring wingsuiting to the masses by having access to suits, etc. I am not sure if the "empire building" you refer to is any worse than it is in other areas of skydiving (as others pointed out), or if it's just more obvious because the wingsuit discipline is so small and new. I also think that "empire building" is like the "politics" we hear so much about. I'm guilty of using the word myself, but somebody once told me that politics only exist for you, if you let them - and I had to agree with him. EDIT: I should also add that from what I have seen and experienced, the BMI program is effective and well laid-out, and as such I support it (obviously). I think the best way to get into wingsuits is through a BMI, but I would never say that's the only way. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I answered your question directly in post #41. I said "not much". (I never made that claim either, FWIW) However, the point remains that flying ability does not equal training ability! What can an AFF instructor do that the best RW flyers cannot do? Does this mean any good RW flyer is qualified to take prospective skydivers on their first freefalls? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yup, it means raise your hips in my book. Another reason for standardization, if we're assigning different meanings to the same hand signals. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I've never heard anybody, BMI's and USPA included, say that. When I approached a BMCI about obtaining a BMI rating, he mentioned that I was probably already taking up students, and that was ok, but the BMI rating (and the knowledge/training inherent) would augment that experience. Why do you think so many people pay to receive BASE FJC's from manufacturers when they could find the local Joe Schmoe tower rat and have him drag them up an antenna for free? SKILL DOES NOT NECESSARILY MAKE A GOOD TEACHER. At the same time, I am not saying it is impossible for someone skilled, without training as an instructor, to do good on their own. I'm simply saying there's something to be said for standardization, and for learning ahead of time what others have learned before, on their own. In your last two posts you've gone from the position that the BMI program is totally unnecessary as any skilled wingsuit flyer can do their job, to complaining about many of the finer points of the BMI program. In suggesting improvements, you are implying that you support it as a positive venture. Guess what? It might need improvements. I don't know much about its history and all your claims, but I have heard that it's improved a lot over the years, and I know that it still is changing. WINGSUITS ARE NEW, it can be expected for the training program(s) to evolve with time. So which is it? Are trained wingsuit instructors totally unnecessary (your first argument), or do you have specific problems with specific programs that exist (a different issue altogether)? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Thanks Andrew, here are some more framegrabs. Some shots of new birds, an exit shot, Ted flying the floaty S2 prototype that somehow appeared in my demo suits, and a couple shots from my 2-way balloon jump with Richard... after YEARS of wanting to do a balloon jump I finally got around to it. Unfortunately our exit timing was a bit off so we didn't get the shot we wanted (cameraman had stills too). www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yep, it's down. Good eye. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The main reason I did not buy a FF2, as cool as it seemed. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

You guys are correcting each other's body position on every jump? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

You are correct - the answer is: not much. Now answer this corollary question: who decides whether a flocker is competent, safe, and skilled enough to be trusted with a first-time flyer? Just because I (hypothetically, of course) am an RW god who can outfly any AFF instructor on the planet, does not mean they will let me jump with students automatically, and for good reason. There is a level of standardization in this sport for a reason, I think that is a very elementary concept we should all be accustomed to. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey Chuck, I don't know his number but here is his DZ.com profile... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey! I said it before he did! Still not making sense to me. Besides the obvious fact that walking backwards is not "walking forwards slowly", there is something even more confusing. The original statement mentioned spending the "least amount of time" on it (it being the escalator, I assume). How do either of the examples given (Jim, Chris) meet this criteria? They both describe spending a considerable amount of time on the escalator. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

2st or 3nd? I'll be there.

They say the HC96 is "more compact" than the HC90 (what I have)... looking at the dimensions (and pictures), it's obviously BIGGER! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

If you can point your belly at it, I can point my ringsight at it. The only thing decidedly unique about bellycam footage would be the torso and head of the camera man being in frame. I guess for inside video it could make sense, but I'm honestly only interested in outside video anyway. Hmm, but now that I think about it, for 2-way acrobatic routines your idea could be a cool inside perspective... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

You lost me... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

No way man, your wingsuit company is from the dark ages and mine is LIGHT years ahead, and "progressive minded" to boot. Get with the times, wanker. The idea that there could be more than one company making good products, is of course impossible. And what would we have to argue about if it was true? (It's sad that I have to say this, but if you don't have a good sarcasm detector, please ignore this post) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Correct. At Eloy last week, there was a student who started flying straight down jumprun, which would not have been good. I managed to fly under the student and correct their heading by 9k feet.

I've never asked. Call AllState and see for yourself, but somehow I think it's unlikely. www.WingsuitPhotos.com