The111

I'm doing no such thing. I am simply clarifying the definition of the word instructor. Are there bad wingsuit instructors out there? Yes. Can you die from bad wingsuit instruction? Yes. However, a the world's worst wingsuit instructor, who kills hundreds of students (this is of course a hypothetical person), is still a wingsuit instructor. The question "what makes someone an instructor" is radically different from the question "who certified this instructor?" www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Everyone is rushing to explain who anointed them “wing suit instructor”. Wonder why? Sparky I'd imagine it's because your post was wildly off topic in the worst place to post off topic crap: a thread about a human who tragically died doing what she loved. Now that the post is in the right place, I'm happy to respond. See above. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

It's not very complicated, and the operative word is "what" not "who". If you instruct someone on how to learn a new skill, then you are an instructor. Whether you are a yoga instructor, a Spanish instructor, a skydiving instructor, or a wingsuit instructor, it's pretty straightforward. You don't have to be a skygod or even a skydiver to understand this, just an english speaking human person. Now, an AFF skydiving instructor is one certified by the USPA's AFF program. A wingsuit instructor (notice the lack of certification/qualification) is simply somebody who teaches people to fly wingsuits. Again, it's not very complicated. Perhaps you should take an issue up with DZ.com, since they provide the option of specifying "wingsuit instructor" in your profile. Or maybe that option is just a reflection of the current reality, the absence of a standard. Personally, I've trained 50+ students (all many years ago), and I have a BMI rating (issued by a defunct company), which was held to a (non-universal) standard, and did come with a non-trivial qual process (though not all non-universal standards do). All that notwithstanding, I have no problem calling myself a wingsuit instructor... because I can teach you how to fly a wingsuit, if you want. Even in the presence of a standard, that does not exclude instructors not belonging to the standard from claiming to be instructors. If I were wealthy and owned a small island, my own government, and an airplane, I could teach people to skydive. I would not be inaccurate in calling myself a skydiving instructor, even if I had no certifications for what I was doing. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Really? You've met "many" MIT students, who you both (a) know their math skills and (b) have seen crash U-hauls into bridges with exactly a 2 foot interference? Exactly how many? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yeah, that is pretty sweet. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Many of you have see these already, but for those not on Facebook: http://www.matthoover.com/gallery/skydiving-photos/ Enjoy! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That was hilarious. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Swimming pool. Water is a fluid like air, just much more viscous. Initiating a backflip underwater takes the same body motions it does in freefall. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I still ride the fence on the "regulation" issue, but I am very interested in something from people who keep pointing out what you are. And a sidenote: your point seems true at face value, but then again I've never occupied the brains of those experienced wingsuiters who have hit tails, so I really can't say for sure what they knew, or what importance they placed on it. In another light though, it would appear to be NOT true, because if those people DID "know" how important it was, then they probably would NOT have made that mistake. But truth of that statement (and the semantics of the word "know") notwithstanding, let's continue... So my question is... where are you going with that point? If it is true... it seems to me that if people who "know better" are still going to hit tails, then the only logical conclusion is that people will always hit tails (no matter what they know) and that there is no logical solution short of banning wingsuiting. Which I of course do not want, nor do you... so I wonder where you are going with this line of reasoning. So... if people that know better will hit tails (of planes like Otters)... then what? What do you propose? Why do you keep bringing that up? Even if it's true, I'm not sure it helps our cause, because it sounds like a logical dead end, mainly designed to hold off regulation. It would be a shame to win at holding off regulation (and again I have no dog in that fight) only by losing at the chance of ever wingsuiting at a big DZ again. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Interesting, yet irrelevant, questions. Here are some more. Does your skydiving help the environment? Does your television watching eliminate poverty? There is only one relevant question here, and it is: Should a sovereign entity be able to tell a free man what he can do with his own body? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

What planet are you from? Have you ever seen anyone on an internet forum (or anywhere for that matter) say "I admit it, I contradict myself a lot"? Regardless of what you think is true, and what really is true, and what alleged self-contradicting person we are discussing, that's an absolutely silly thing to say. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

True, not sure what the fuck is going on in some of those shots, with two apparently separate flocks randomly crisscrossing. Kind of scary. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

A skydiver on a skydiving forum who cares about skydiving records? Ok. A random internet troll who starts stupid arguments and tells his opponents to get cancer? Not ok. But not surprising either. Carry on. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I don't think anyone wants to admit to taking a photo of 20 purple clones. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

"Bon" is French for "good" I think... so when you say bongrip and some loving, you mean "good grip and some loving?" www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Another silly numerical claim with no explanation. Please elaborate. How much do you think the setup in that picture weighs? I'd guess roughly 8 pounds... 5 for the helmet/hardware, 2 for the camera/lens, 1 for the video. Given or take 0.5-1 lbs on any of those numbers, I'd still put the final number close to 8 pounds. Disregarding exactly how much a modern harness weighs, and whether or not it has radically shrunk recently as implied by the "these days" comment, and the fact that H/C weight is grossly irrelevant to this discussion... do you really think there is a modern setup with 2 DSLR's and decent lenses which is significantly lighter than that ~8lb (guess) setup which you imply is so ancient and heavy? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

First it was less than a pound difference. Now it is less than half a pound difference. These numbers seem to be magically shrinking, and still have not been quantified despite being questioned earlier. What is your basis for this quote? Which camera/lens are you comparing to which video camera? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Planning can be a good thing, but to me this level of planning is kind of like being 5 years old and trying to decide who you will marry when you grow up. Just stay safe and enjoy the ride. :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Who says that is IS a sentence? Until he adds that first period, it's not even a sentence, just a sentence fetus. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The biggest potential issue that I don't see mentioned here is that the pilot can significantly alter the spot of the passenger, essentially forcing her to land off. I've seen it happen multiple times. If the DZ does not have many good outs, now you have someone with 75 jumps being forced to land in a backyard. Or worse, in the Elsinore situation, if she had been over foothills (terrain higher than 750ft), this would have been a fatality. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

All you need for average speed is exit/deployment altitudes and flight time. Using the numbers you gave, the real average is closer to 38mph. Still very good in a Phantom. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

For those of you who aren't on Facebook, I finally got my new video uploaded to my website as well: CLICK Also there are photos from the event here. Enjoy! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

If you are flying so close to a cliff that the air pressure matters, the last thing you need is to be focusing on something which is not the cliff. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

He probably could. USPA heard this "get rich" BS from one or two opposition people, just as one or two have posted references here. USPA did ask if they could investigate my finances. Permission was given, and indeed, my finances were examined by members of the subcommittee. They really did their due diligence. I'm guessing they found that skydiving for a living has made you wealthy beyond all of our wildest dreams... right? Not to mention this has NO bearing on the Tony vs PF thing the poster was replying to (which in turn has no bearing on the actual topic of this thread). It's like a chain of unrelated bullshit! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Finally got a chance to put a jump on a Venom. Nearly cleared 3 minutes despite spending the first half of the jump flocking with a P3, and trying to backfly and ending up head-down for a few seconds since it was my first jump on the suit. Around 7k I broke off high and flew hard for a little while, covered so much ground I had to turn around at 5k and then pull high at 4k so I didn't pass the LZ up again. That last bit from 7k-4k seemed to last forever. Neptune had me at 29mph at 6k ft, and I don't even think I was maxed out. Lowest speed I've ever been in a wingsuit. What a freaking huge suit. Pull was simple though. I do not think I'll be buying one for flocking, too big to be practical for me (probably buy a G3 instead), but it would be fun for solo puffy swooping if I could afford an entire extra suit just for that purpose. www.WingsuitPhotos.com