The111

I'm fortunate to live close to BM HQ... I talked to Jari today and he agreed the suit is too tight and I'm getting the booties extended 2" by a local rigger. I'm going to keep them even for now... I jumped two suits before this one (neither so tight) and didn't have this problem. I think the problem only happens when the suit gets really tight, like with Tonto. No one has jumped my suit besides me, and while I'm sure it is "fine" (i.e. no "built-in turn), I think it is too tight for me and with my uneven legs that makes a turn. When it's a bit looser I'll be fine I think. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I jumped a Classic once, a GTI once, and then bought a different GTI. I've jumped it 12 times. It's only happened on this GTI, which I own, so not jumping it is not a solution. But this suit is tighter than the other two were I think. I'm thinking of getting 1" or so added to the booties. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yup, I've always done the S-folds in reverse order, much easier to get the canopy into the bag in stages.

Yeh, I'm definitely interested. Just thought that if you were using any key design elements from the standard unit that it would be hard to distribute (profit or not) to random individual - or even make own for yourself. I know I couldn't take any design elements from the stuff I work on at Lockheed and roll it into my own toy and bring it home with me. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I work an engineering job with security clearance too... It sounds interesting, but I'm curious how you think it will be ok to sell these modified units to random skydivers if you can't even name your place of employment? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I was 99% sure that was Apocalyptica based on what little stuff by them I've heard. There's another video I downloaded called a year in the life 2003 or something, showing a bunch of awesome stuff Jeb Corliss did, and they have Apocalyptica's version of Nothing Else Matters in the soundtrack... really pretty. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Slow reply here. Actually, when I walk (or stand straight) I have a subconscious (at least it used to be, now I am very aware of it) bend in my left leg. If I straighten both legs all the way one *does* extend longer than the other. I can't lean to one side (because of gravity), but I can pick my right foot up off the ground while keeping both legs straight (can't do the opposite). It's so noticeable the doc wants me to wear a 9mm in my shoe under my right heel, to put equal stress distribution in my back. So, on the ground I can get along normally (even without the insert, which I haven't decided on yet) since my left leg bends a bit to compensate (which puts more stress on my right knee which explains partly why it sucks). But in the air, I believe it is my instinct to straighten both legs all the way since I don't have the constraint of the ground, and then the left leg DOES extend further. Only think I don't fully understand now is that the left leg is tight and the turn is also left. I'm not sure if that makes sense to me - I've never tried leg turns in the suit - but ManBird implied the opposite - that a tight RIGHT leg could cause a left turn. I know in normal RW freefall I can turn (rotate) left by bending my right leg slightly. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I hurt my back about 8 weeks ago on a sunset reserve opening, and my main floated in a swamp for about 20 hours until I found it a few hours before sunset the next day. I haven't jumped in 8 weeks, which is the most uncurrent I've been in a long time, but my back is mostly better now. This may happen with other people too, but with me, when I get uncurrent for a while I take the sport a little more seriously and think about things that can go wrong, gear fear, etc... especially when the last jump was a not-so-great one. Anyway, I kind of want to jump this weekend just to stay current. However, I have a very important vacation planned in 4 weeks and don't want to reinjure my back before it. So in my super-worrisome gear-fear mode, I came up with the following thought... is it possible my line trim (hopefully I'm using the correct terminology - from context, I assume that means the lengths of all the lines) went out of spec (talking like an engineer here) while the canopy was floating in the swamp all day? If so, could that cause me a hard main opening? (I haven't jumped the main - or anything - since the swamp). I'm really not this much of a pussy btw, I just don't want to ruin my vacation. And I know I could get my lines checked if this worried me enough, but I'm assuming the chances are slim that my worries have any ground... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Fat and stubby offers more drag.

OK. You are wrong. -Josh Chalk up a vote from me too. You are wrong www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Replying to an ancient post... If you do, then I'd assume the drag is ALSO greater... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That's the only reason why I'd go to see it. As a man, I must say I feel used and degraded by your comment. Unacceptable. As Brad Pitt's ass, I'm honored. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I want to know how this thread got the little red face. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Wrong, wrong, wrong. BMX and skateboarding were around and thriving for DECADES before ESPN invented the phrase "extreme sports". I preferred (and still do) to call these "progressive sports". While I realize it was written partly as a joke, I take a little offense to your statement about BMXers, etc "coming along with extreme attitudes". Almost every BMXer I know HATES the way that words gets attached to their sport, and equally hates the way their sport is used in all sorts of marketing ploys now. Agreed, the word extreme sucks. But there is nothing more innacurate (and annoyingly ironic) than blaming the ATHLETES for the insurgence of the word exteme. I've said it once and I'll say it again - ESPN started that! You're blaming the victims. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The phrase "extreme sports" was created by ESPN in conjunction with the "extreme games", a contest series that featured many different progressive sports hence unknown to the general public. This had the effect of killing a lot of independent contest series that had been running for a long time (this is true with BMX at least, the sport I'm the most familiar with). TV coverage did do some good for the sport of BMX and the other "eXXXtreme!!! sports", but it also did some harm. And a minor annoyance is within months of the inception of the extreme games, the word extreme was being used in marketing to label everything from tacos to toy dinosaurs. The word sucks. And Maddox rules. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

EDIT: Post deleted by me. I did some bad math. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

what does he care? it aint his bussness,you could go to a legal place to jump your gear. no worryes I think you missed my point. I'm saying why wouldn't they (whuffo security) treat it as a skydiving rig, in which case USPA's advice for "traveling with your rig" would seem to apply here as well? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

How would a whuffo airline inspector know it's not a skydiving rig and therefore covered by the whole TSA/USPA thingy? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Of all people in the world, I found out about this from my whuffo dad. He says "did you see the news the other night where they showed the guy landing the smallest parachute?" I figured it was footage of some VX 46 landings and not a new record, and my dad didn't remember the sq. ft. of course, but I come home and find this post! So there must be video footage out there if it was on the local news in Daytona Beach. Anyone know where to find footage? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yes I did get your point. :) But it is also true that many people think Spectres have crappy glide ratios, hence your statement "and they (many people) say..." /nursing my sarcasm wounds www.WingsuitPhotos.com

According to Scott Miller (how many times have I said that?) the Spectre has a very flat glide, flatter than the Sabre2. This is all referring to full glide, i.e. no toggle input. A Sabre2 can be given a flatter glide with toggle input than a Spectre can, if I understand correctly. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey Denise, you have more jumps than me, but I already have two cutaways, and the one thing I can tell you is that I panicked like FUCK (which means a lot) on my first one, and did everything wrong. I'm still known at DeLand as the guy who fired his reserve into his main. My second one I stayed MUCH calmer and did my EP's *almost* perfect (the problem, not related to parachute system - I forgot to close leg wing on wingsuit which made reserve deployment a bit headdown). Ironically, the RSL did not do a thing on that 2nd cutaway. It mysteriously came disconnected at some point during my EP's, I'm still unsure... I initiated them as if it wasn't there (taking 2 seconds between handles to get my belly into the relative wind wince I knew I was at ~4k ft), and only after landing realized I shouldn't have been able to wait two seconds with an RSL. Checked it, and sure enough, it was still on the velcro. I removed my RSL after my second cutaway, I still see many good points for and against one, but the main reason I had it was that I didn't trust myself to stay calm in an emergency. I still can't say for sure what will happen in my next emergency, but I am pretty confident now I will be even more calm and cool-headed than during my 2nd one. The RSL didn't play a role in my 1st cutaway, but I did prove my own point that I would probably panic and make mistakes, so I guess it's good I had it there. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm not sure I agree with this, but maybe I misunderstand. Anyone care to comment? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Well the business side is based here at least... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Believe it or not, I think this might be happening with me. I have a GTI that I've jumped 12 times (only 2 jumps on other wingsuits). I personally think it is a bit too tight - if I stand on the ground on tiptoes I can feel the material from toe all the way to shoulder stretching tight just as my toes get pointed all the way. It happens with both legs. However, in the air, when I go to point my toes and max out, many times I feel the material on the left half of the suit ONLY get very tight and then I start turning left slowly. I told Jari about this and he was sure it was pilot error, and at my experience I don't want to disagree - it's very possible I'm doing something wrong. But here's the kicker: On my last wingsuit jump I had a cutaway and hurt my back, the reason I haven't jumped in 6 weeks... but that's not the point. The point is I went to a chiropractor for my back and he found out something about me from looking at x-rays. My right leg is effectively 3/4" shorter than my left! I say effectively because the leg isn't actually shorter, but my pelvis is "clocked" permanently, for some reason or other, he said it's probably been like this for years. He said up to 0.2" is normal in most people, but 0.75" is a fuck of a lot! So... my left leg gets tight when I try to max out the suit. My left leg is 3/4" longer. Coincidence? I still don't know, and I'm sure it's possible I'm still doing things wrong up there. I know from looking at video of myself sitflying my legs are not symmetrical when I think they are (sitflying, at least). But I'm thinking of getting both the booties extended a bit... www.WingsuitPhotos.com