The111

That's not the case. Since your angular momentum is conserved, you can twist your body and flip by essentially pushing the momentum around. This is a little bit off topic (related to physics, but not BASE), but a friend and I were arguing the other day about whether or not there's a linear analog to this. Do you think, if you were floating around in zero g, you could get from point a to point b by small linear "scoots", the same way you can spin around while sitting on a barstool by several "flail" type motions that each rotate you a little ways? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hmm... so if a friend (I mean a "stranger") held a gun to your head at the exit point, handed you a BASE rig, and told you to jump, would that be considered an emergency situation? And as long as you don't press charges against him for threatening your life, he didn't do anything wrong... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I understand, and I suspected as much. Since we are getting suits with such incredible performance, though unsuitable (pun intentional) for the market... that makes me all the more hopeful, and it seems all the more likely, that in the near future this same performance will be available in a friendlier package, once all the kinks get worked out. A bird can only hope. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm confused. Powers? Powwow? Powder? But yes, it is ridiculous. Welcome to free country USA. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

In a different thread in this same forum, some criticism was thrown around because several people with around 100 jumps were advising someone with 40 jumps on wing loading. While reading that, I thought something to myself that I had never realized before. It's not just about jump numbers. If someone asked me now about what wing loading was right for them below 100 jumps, and I had to give an answer, my answer could only be based on my own sub-100 jump experience since I've never instructed anyone else. But even if I happened to have 3000 jumps right now, but had never been an instructor in any capacity, I still wouldn't have any better answer other than "oh sure, WL of x.x worked for me at 80 jumps!" (which may not be relevant to them if I was a particularly fast or slow learner) So maybe that's why people are always saying "ask your instructor!" www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Well, the landing apparatus and ski slope ideas are along the lines of a runway... they require minimal velocity normal to the landing surface, and mainly address the problem of forward speed (which is the biggest problem with a WS landing IMO). The aerated water idea really addresses the vertical velocity more than anything else, and doesn't even require the pilot to slow his descent to anything impressive, so it's basically doing what a parachute does, and to me is much less of a "landing" than the other ideas above. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

In my mind, the idea of landing a wingsuit is to do it without an extravagant "landing pit", that potentially could catch a regular old "freefaller". It seems to me you guys are going through the train of thought that led to the invention of the parachute. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

For at least my first 15 skydives, I thought about backing out of every one. Eventually, the fear will go away. If it's important enough to you, you'll have to fight the fear now. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

There's a big difference between not leaving a building immediately when people advise you to (after the building has suffered a hit large enough to cause it to sway) and not leaving your home in the "potential" path of a hurricane when advised by some people. I had so many friends tell me to leave during some of the hurricanes, but my main reason for staying was that they really didn't know where it was going to hit. I know more than one person who "fled" to a worse impact zone. I stayed and enjoyed it. :) Interesting article though... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

"Grey out"... does that mean what it sounds like? Partial blackout? Something tells me doing that intentionally probably isn't the smartest idea, but I guess I should think about who I'm talking to... Serial #'s or not, I'll bet yours was the only Vector out there with Phoenix Fly logo on it! Where was the bag taken from? Did you have some sort of renters insurance to help you with the monetary hit? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That's incredibly shitty, I will keep my eyes out too. Why weren't you flying the V1? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The idea "phenomenal performance" coupled with "will likely never see production" bothers me. Wouldn't a phenomenally performing suit be perfect for production? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Geez, that's amazing. I make that a 32mph avg. Nice! What suit? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That sounds incredibly interesting. I am a big fan of Jackson Brown, and this album sounds worth checking out, for the trivia factor if for nothing else. Yeh, it sucks to call one man's tragedy my trivia, but you have to admit that the story behind the album is pretty cool. Thanks for the recommendation... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Cool video. One comment on something from the video. I don't know anything about swooping from experience, but they guy who pounds in at 13:23 basically holds his riser all the way until impact it looks like (or at least until 1 second before impact). Even with no swooping experience I was yelling at him to let go of several seconds before impact. It was obvious very early on he was too low. I'm surprised he didn't get hurt more (apparently) and surprised anyone would intentionally hold the dive that long... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

My 2nd cutaway, I was in marginal winds for my Spectre @ 1.1. I had been coming straight down all day. When I had to fly my reserve, I was backing up when facing into the wind (at 2k at least) and ended up aborting the main LZ and landing in a farm field behind it, so I wouldn't have to worry about landing backwards into the barbed wire fence dividing the two. I would have been pretty screwed if there wasn't an option behind me. Was my observation correct, does the reserve (PDR) get less penetration than a similarly loaded Spectre? Like I said, I was still pretty high, so the winds could have been higher up there, and they also could have changed since the previous jump, but it really did seem like the canopy had nowhere near the penetration of the Spectre. I guess I did get penetration on final because I was moving forward below 500 feet, but at 2k I didn't have enough penetration to hold upwind of the LZ, which I had been able to do with my Spectre all day prior. Oh yeh, and my main canopy floated about 4 miles (it was a HIGH chop from a wingsuit jump). www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Reference to Hitchhiker's Guide?

No, it's not. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Geez, there's a surprise. Last I heard we were getting "more info" in December 2005. Now it's a whole suit in June. Awesome! Now can you release similarly awesome info about the Blade? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Reviving old thread... Neck injuries being due to inertia from extra weight on your head and possible hard opening? Or due to possible snag? Or both? I seem to remember once or twice hearing cameramen say they shifted their head forward (i.e. plant your chin on your chest) to keep the head away from the risers/lines. Any thoughts on this idea? Accepted/rejected practice? Also, everyone talks about "sitting up", which is something I'm used to hearing fellow wingsuiters say too. With them as well, I always wondered, do you mean intentionally fly your body to a head high position as the bag is coming off? Even in all my wingsuit dives, I always let the deployment sit me up as intended, I never sit myself up (although I guess I do intentionally stall the suit and get head high, which could be considered "sitting up" to some I guess). www.WingsuitPhotos.com

PM ZeeMax, he did he first WS jumps in US with just over 200 skydives, got signed off by Chuck Blue, and then I believe went back to UK and was allowed to continue jumping. Correct me if I'm wrong, Macca or anyone else.

If you're saying someone's posting habits on DZ.com are indicative of their safety in the sky, I'm laughing. I think most reasonable people will becoming a little bit more aware when looking out the door of an airplane than when hammering away on a keyboard. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Well I never got in on that fun! But to be fair I think Charles did invite me once or twice, I guess I was just always busy with other stuff. How high was Bob taking you? I'd love to take my wingsuit out of a balloon but not too low for the first time at least... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Definitely my first thought. Also the whole soundtrack to ANY Paul Thomas Anderson movie, particularly the "Give Up" scene in Magnolia. And the classical piece (I think it's Adagio For Strings by Samuel Barber) in Platoon. And, I really hate to admit this, but the soundtrack to Titanic. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yeh, they're pretty good... www.WingsuitPhotos.com