The111

It's true. The one time I went to WFFC and sat in the BirdMan booth, there were so many times the following happened: "I'd like to jump a suit, I've done it before." "How many times?" "Once." "When?" "Last year." I don't know what would compel somebody to want to only fly once a year. I guess price has something to do with it. On the note of "how many suits have you owned"... 1 GTi 1 S3 1 Acro 1 Mach1 coming soon... All still in my possession... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Wow, I just found this thread. Guess I missed it the first time! The photo is mine. To answer a few questions. Yes, everybody was in agreement: TI (Art), student, Mike (buzzer) and myself (photo). To address the comment that the student should be the focus of the tandem - well she enjoyed it a lot! I was also flying a wingsuit when the photo was taken. To get a more clear idea of how the buzz happened, watch the video footage. Go to the video gallery here, and at 3:10 in "Summer 2006" video, you can see the buzz. We were passing at a 45 degree angle as somebody suggested, meaning we were in clear sight of the tandem. And it is very clear from the video how much distance I have from the tandem (the still photo is so grainy because it's zoomed in and cropped). It is not possible to tell how close the buzzer was (perspective), but I do know for a fact that he was not close enough for the tandem to "turn into him". If you want to see something "close", watch the video footage from the jump which made Parachutist photo finish in December. That will make your jaw drop! But obviously the difference is that there were no students under those canopies. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I know that 2 years ago (roughly) there were around 2000 BirdMan suits sold (going by serial numbers). This was just before PF formed. Find updated numbers from BM, PF, Tony Suits, Fly Your Body, and Matter and sum them all. Then you have a start. But there are many people who have made one jump and never bought a suit. Many people who have made one jump, bought a suit, and then not jumped it again. Many people who have 50 jumps but have never bought a suit. Many people who have a few hundred jumps and own MULTIPLE suits. Many suits not being actively jumped. Even some suits that will never be jumped again. So the total number of suits sold is not the answer, but it's still good info. One thing is for sure: there has never been more than 100 of us together at one place and time (as far as I know). www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I can sing, what song will it be? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Haha, you remembered that from last year! Nice job editing that collision sequence... funny. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I have almost 500 wingsuit jumps and I do NOT like going out of King Airs or Pacs with a suit on. At 4000 feet, there's almost no incentive to go through that hassle. It's doable, but like Tom said you are going to have to exit in a ball. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

There are about a billion suits hanging IN the birdcage (our team room at the DZ), and Tony's shop is on the airport within walking distance. If Tony or Jeff is available (and probably even if they're not) I'll bet you can get into a demo suit very easily. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Nice, Scott! Get us a backflying picture now! Shots from top are preferable too, to see the inflation better. I too notice the butt deflector seems a lot bigger... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Did you watch a trailer? I remember seeing the trailer ages ago and being confident it would be "that bad". I have not even thought about that movie once since that day, until now. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Ha, I finally figured out who you are! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Thanks! I think we met a long lost member of your family down there. Scott Bland and I got a ride back from the beach to the DZ in a rusty old tow truck driven by a shriveled old man who didn't speak a word of English. When we were saying our goodbyes he gave me his business card... his name - Georgino Campos! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

And this thread has a picture of your bridle... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

MORE PICTURES! CLICKY Go to the February gallery.

Freefall Fest flocking photos! CRICKY! Go to the February gallery. Thanks everybody for a fun time, thanks Scott for playing base and organizing. We need more people next year, half of my pictures have the same 3 flyers! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Irfanview www.WingsuitPhotos.com

It's been a while since I bought my latches, but if I remember correctly that site has a minimum order of either $30 or $100, which is fairly common for these types of online hardware dealers. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Those latches on the helmet in the classifieds look similar to what I've seen on older Wes Rich helmets. On Wes' newer helmets, he uses the latches I mention in this thread made by Nielsen Sessions. They are really nice but not really easy to get. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Shrinking is not dying. Don't worry, skydiving will not die, because I will keep jumping.

Cool. How about a close-up of the improved inlet? Is the suit supposed to be flown palms up or palms down? I've flown with a few people in the original suit (and flown it myself once) and we all agreed it got much better inflation when you put palms up (and I've seen many BASE videos with people in this position). But in the pictures Robi has his palms down. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

There aren't any fish down there but I can guarantee it will still be an impressive sight. It's a giant limestone cavern with a pretty strong flow in certain places, and I've seen many veteran divers impressed with their first spring dive. I don't know if they rent gear; you'd have to call the park. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Alls of thoses plurals is unnecessaries. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Not my helmet. Belongs to Brett Thomas in Texas (he made it AND painted it ). I'm almost finished building mine but I think i will just paint it solid. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That is possible I guess, but I know a lot of people with Wes helmets which have the larger version of the latch on the side (holding the actual helmet closed). I do not know of one case of any of these people have a latch snag. The handles on the latches are bent down to prevent accidental opening (which is great for our application). Also, the design of the latch is such that even if it does pop open, it probably will not actually release, since the clasp will still be hooked. In the realm of your "suitcase latch" suggestion, I think this is a pretty good option. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The 340 series latches here would work great, but they are a little hard to come by. Most of the few stores that stock them (online) require a minimum order of at least $30 or so... I bought a few but plan on using all of them. Attached is a picture of a helmet made by Brett Thomas... I'm pretty sure he used that exact latch on his custom d-boxes. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Here are some of my favorite sunset photos. Sunset #1 Sunset #2 Sunset #3 Sunset #4 Sunset #5 www.WingsuitPhotos.com