The111

I was talking to a prominent wingsuit pilot the other day. He was mentioning his surprise at seeing, during the DeLand event, how much forward drive Loic could get in his "small floaty suit" (I have heard many people express this same surprise). In response, I said something I have been thinking for a long time - what would be the result if someone made a wingsuit with an inflatable body AND a large (S3/V1 size) 3 wing system? He replied matter-of-factly that such a suit already exists (from BM) in prototype form and is being flown by at least one person who posts on these boards right now. Rumor?! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I think Chris was planning on bringing smoke for a couple of the bigger flocks - he's been trying for the Parachutist cover. I wanna be a cover boy. :) But I don't wanna get my suit dirty with smoke... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Thirded! Flew some tight flocks (including a 3-layer 3D!), met a lot of cool birds... hope to see you all again sometime. There is talk of a WS event in Zhills this spring... Chris or Scott should have more info sometime soon I hope.

Check the events forum. There is all sorts of info about this. EDIT: I also was recently told there should be quite a few birds here. Should be fun fun! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I've heard lots of opinions about people getting S3's or other hi-perf suits as "vanity purchases" when they're not able to get the most performance out of what they have currently. Kallend made the point that you can own a sports car without having to drive it to the limit all the time. Here is my perspective based on my own new experience. I put 75 jumps on a GTi. I don't know that I got the full performance out of it. I did 125-130 seconds (avg 52mph) a few times, but they were shaky and inconsistent, and with my build I've been told I could do better. I bought an S3 anyway. I've put 20 jumps on it now. I've only done 3 solos and haven't exceeded 110 seconds - I get very shaky when I try to max out for too long. I've done quite a few flock jumps and found myself VERY comfortable flocking in the suit. I am flying at far less potential than I was with the GTi, so if I do need a large input, it's available. But in general I am able to fly VERY tight and relaxed in this suit. I am flying much tighter than I ever did in the GTi, but to be fair that could have something to do with the fact that I have been jumping for 5 days straight and am seeing a huge boost in my skills because of the currency/frequency thing. Anyway, just wanted to add fuel to the fire. :) Not saying when anyone else should go to an S3 (or V-1 or whatever) or why, but I am saying that even though I can't max mine out yet (will learn soon when I have nobody to flock with), and arguably didn't FULLY max out my GTi, I am very safe in this suit, my flocking has improved, I have great deployments, and I'm having FUN!!! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

There is a boogie at Marco Island, FL in Feb. Not sure about other flockers, but I know I will be there doing WS only, even if it means solo. :) I'll do 2 ways with you if no one else is there, but I'll bet there will be other birds. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Is that a regular price? That is good... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey Fred, this is Matt... I jumped with you at Zhills. We talked about this before, but I thought I'd let you know that since then I did the math... 11700ft/245sec actually equals out to about 32.6 mph... which is a lot slower than 38! :) Send me a PM next time you're back in Florida. :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Post it! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Geez, another one? Just went there for Skydive Sebastian! Sounds fun but not sure if I can make a second one. :( www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Make it so the wings are 100% "cutaway-able". If that's possible. Then you can have multiple wings for the same body. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I've been wanting a HUD alti forever, but it needs to be on a liquid crystal or something so it doesn't actually block your field of view like that large block appears to... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yes, I would like cheese... And I did several flock jumps the other day where I never touched my grippers because I was the skinniest guy on the jump. But I do like solos still and would like to do a 3 minute skydive one of these days... And the wrist curls are a good idea, thanks! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

With my new S3, I've noticed that you have to hold your wrists at a weird angle to use the grippers properly. Besides fatigue on my right wrist (which was broken in the past), I have noticed another small problem. My altimeter (Neptune) strap likes to sit right on my wrist joint, and it is thick and sort of stiff, which actually makes my left wrist less mobile. Has anyone else noticed this? Am I crazy? I am trying to make some sort of low profile strap that is not nearly as stiff and allows my wrist to move more freely... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Whatever happened to getting grounded in normal life again and taking a break from jumping? You know I am down for flocking anywhere in Florida any weekend. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Why is there no Skyflyer.2? What does GTi stand for? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

For a number of reasons, I am no longer going to Eloy. :( Removed from list... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I am curious to see how this turns out Chuck. As I just wrote in another post I am experiencing wrist pain (broken wrist a long time ago) with my S3 grippers. I will be seeing you in Zhills next week I think! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Same here. I broke my right wrist in elementary school and it's always been weak. It felt really weird after my first few jumps on my new S3 where I used the grippers. Hoping I'll get used to it a little bit... I also feel a bit of strain in the shoulders but it is muscular and I'm sure I can work up to that. The joint pain in the wrist is what bothers me... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

There is a post somewhere else on here (too lazy to search right now) about high altitude WS jumps and a few people had 4-5 minute jumps I think... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Not sure. :( www.WingsuitPhotos.com

My renter's insurance is about $200/yr for all the stuff I own in my apartment. I asked about my "sporting equipment" being covered away from home (at the DZ, in my car, etc). For an extra $20/yr, I get up to $10,000 of sporting equipment covered anywhere. It is a little disgusting that with the addition of my new S3 I am actually coming very close to that limit. There is also a $500 deductible so it wouldn't help too much if just one suit got stolen... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I purchased a CD from Rickster on the day of the event, and the pictures are very nice. I have refrained from posting any here, because I've been told not to... but the other day I was bored and for some reason felt like labeling everybody in the picture. I seem to have permission from the powers that be to post this here (please let me know if I'm wrong), but keep in mind (a) it is still property of Rickster Powell (b) it is much lower resolution than the pics on the CD and (c) it is obscured by all the text I put everywhere. But, it should still give you some idea as to what the pictures on the CD look like, and it's kind of a nice thing for everyone that was on the jump to see their name and everything. I had to do a lot of snooping around DZ.com profiles to find some of these people's last names, but I was able to get almost all of them. Like I said, I was bored... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Got and jumped my new S3 today.

Many people think our (parachutists) chosen recreation implies a lack of brain. Don't make their mistake... www.WingsuitPhotos.com