whatever

uh, seeing as I went the S3 way because of the 20% discount on stock suits (only S3's), it took like 6 days to get it to Canada.... fits me real nice too! soon to be gone

so, I finally got to fly my S3 this weekend... and I love it! funny thing is I managed to flatspin a GTi on exit a few weeks ago, but had no trouble staying stable on my S3 for all 8 flights this weekend did some flopping around when backflying, but it's all good... RE - the advice offered by everyone on this choice: - the S3 is very demanding on the arms and shoulders (believe what they say), I can fly the suit for a minute, maybe a minute and a half, and then I have to start working real hard not to be a passenger instead of the pilot... (this weekend would've killed my upper body if I didn't rock climb quite a lot) -pulltime requires a lot more attention -it's gonna take me a while to fly this thing decently -it really requires actively slowing your forward speed and increasing your descent rate to flock with GTi's and Classics, consider what your local flock is flying when buying your suit -it really is good fun letting other birdmen try your S3, especially the bit where they go: 'S3 kicked my ass!' after landing... : ) thanks for all the feedback, everyone! hope to flock with you soon sam soon to be gone

hey there just a quick post to say thanks to all the jumpers and other supportive and very friendly people I met during my short stay at the bridge recently it was great meeting all of you I enjoyed jumping with everyone I got to jump with. (I think I only jumped on my own about 4 times) I appreciate all the advice offered. and I look forward to seeing you again soon! all the best south african sam from canada soon to be gone

great input there... for the benefit of those who have not seen these before, I should've posted them earlier, as I've seen them a while ago, but here they are anyway: Article on safety issues and progression to/with a Skyflyer or S3: http://www.flybirdman.com/learn/rr/road_to_skyflyer.html workout program for wingsuit(particularly Skyflyer and S3) flying: http://www.flybirdman.com/learn/rr/workout.html what I need to do on the GTi before I take the S3 up is becoming clearer and clearer, thanks guys! soon to be gone

Deuce - cool pic! I like where the still camera is pointed.... did you have a left sidemount pointed backwards too? dig the superman colors on the suit too, maybe time to get the superbird logo on the chest? everyone else who's been replying: -thanks for the valuable info, keep it coming! the only recommendation I'm going to have a little trouble with is access to an experienced S3 pilot.... I don't know of one at any of the DZs I jump, so if anyone knows of one in Ontario (Toronto/Niagara region preferred) or someone who'll be visiting (I've heard rumours of a local DZO getting a pretty high profile bird-dude out here.. ) , I'd love to know! like the shepard said: 'let's get the flock out of here...' soon to be gone

Thanks everyone for their input. For everyone with this questions’ benefit, I did search the forums and found all these: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1089765;search_string=s3;guest=6163187#1089765 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=763977;#763977 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=646181;search_string=s3;guest=6163187#646181 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=513207;search_string=s3;guest=6163187#513207 but, I was hoping for some more specific progression advice/plans, e.g. fly a Classic/ClassicII/GTi until you have achieved the following: -stable controlled flight for the duration -fast turns, slow turns -backflying -good, stable pull position and no difficulty pulling -comfortable and in control on deployment -post deployment routine smooth and quick (unzipping, stowing booties, etc.) -ability to fly suit at varying fall rates and forward speeds -ability to fly to your max for whole flight and have no trouble on deployment due to arm fatigue that’s just what I think, specific comments on those would be nice… I think generalizations like 20-30 jumps on a GTi do not take into account different people’s different rates of progress. why I went with the S3: -I’m very comfortable on the GTi and got good numbers out of it real quick -I jump regularly and won’t be happy with less than 5 BM jumps a weekend -I like doing solos and will dedicate the time needed to learn the suit -I am quite willing to push weights as training for the suit (I’ve started this already) -the birdpeople at my home DZ are going to S3’s now -they had a stock S3 (no stock GTi) in my size and with 20% discount, who could resist? So I figured I’ll live with the slower progress initially and work hard at learning the suit, I know I would have progressed faster with a GTi, but I’ll get the S3 so much sooner (stock) and since I’m buying one suit instead of two in the next 2 years or so, I have that much more to spend on jumps on the new suit!

hey there birdpeople I would love to hear the recommended progression from starting wingsuit jumps (on a GTi and with 300 skydives) to flying an S3 safely. I've done 9 flights on a GTi and decided to buy a S3 as my first suit. (insert comment about why this is over-ambitious and probably stupid here) I've done research on this and have a progression planned, but I'd really like to hear as many experienced birdpeople's views on this as possible. thanks sam

hey there all you birdpeople with all of 9 wingsuit jumps now, I'm just wondering if I'm doing OK? this from my Protrack on a Classic II: exit - 14200ft deploy - 4400ft freefall time - 116 sec average TAS - 59mph I got about the same numbers on a GTi, but seemed to cover a lot more ground... any hints appreciated, thanks later sam soon to be gone

hi that link doesn't work for me - site session timed out or something could you give the connector's serial or part number or a name? thanks as an aside, the best looking connectors I've seen have been s-video ones, which would be nice for the Video signal and power, but I guess you'd really want more pins, so you can have a mic too (how many pins needed for a stereo mic? 6?) I really value a connector that's as small as possible for this application soon to be gone

pull! pull! here's it clicky: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4806020 soon to be gone

from the posts around these days it seems quite a few people are using bulletcams now and a fair number have PC105s or another Sony that uses the VMC15FS A/V Cable (see attached pic) Has anyone managed to source a cable with, or one of these d-plugs that's a 90 degree or very low profile yet? And a wiring diagram for the A/V cable? I'd like to get that kind of connector for two reasons: -with a 90 degree plug the PC105's profile is much reduced, to allow fitment in a smaller space, such as a 'fannypack' or a waterproof plastic box -I would like to mount one and leave it in place while having my PC105 in my 2KC sidemount helmet, so that I can use the A/V port without having to remove the camera from the helmet and as an aside, for anyone with a PC105 wanting to go the bulletcam route, I can confirm that the cameye sport works with the PC105 in VCR mode cheers sam soon to be gone

this is the cheapest I've seen in the US: http://www.spycameras4less.com/html/weatherproof_cameras.html I bought this from them: 21CSHRX WeatherproofColor Bullet Camera w/ ExView 480 tv lines and I'm very happy with it. I have a Sony PC105 and a cameye sport and that works real nice. all I need to track down now is a lowprofile a/v in/out plug - the Sony items sticks out WAY too far.... also, I need a mic for things where sound will be cool have fun soon to be gone

S-E-B-A eh? That makes us 2 for 2 right now, but the next letter I get will definitely be A rather than B. I used to be quite set on getting a number with 3 digits, but now I don’t really care what it turns out to be. I need to feel I’m ready for a specific object and also know that I’m prepared and I know I have quite a ways to go before I stand on the edge of a B and know that I’ve done enough preparation that I’m willing to push off and roll the dice. So you did your first E around 10-14 jumps and your first B somewhere around 20-27 jumps? Yeah, that saying, with that in mind, what are your thoughts on the progression through objects by type and jump numbers? Must’ve been a real bad-ass who got B A S E by getting B-A-S-E… soon to be gone

***I'm about 4 1/2 years from my "qualifying" BASE jump (my 'A').*** uhm, Tom did I not understand that quote at all? Or is this a case of a subsequent conversion to the belief that A's are far safer than B's and E's? inquiring minds would like to know... soon to be gone

OK, here goes... since I'm bored and at work, I'm going to post why I think S - A - E - B is the way to go so, please keep in mind that I'm a self-confessed newbie and a lowtimer in skydiving and let me know if my thinking is flawed here... S : first - we all agree, as you can remove any real risk of object strike and you are bound to have a good selection of objects, some of which will have nice easy landings and outs too A : second - there are quite a few of these around, they generally present less object strike risk than an E (way less than a B), the wind blows through them, unlike E's and B's - therefore the object itself creates no really dangerous wind effects - and in the correct conditions a little wind on these can even be benefitial. landing areas are bound to be better than most B's and on par or better than most E's E : third - significant risk of object strike, although some do offer nice overhangs, some offer lots of altitude to establish seperation, but that makes your launch and tracking skills that much more critical. the wind conditions are a much more critical factor here. landings can be quite nice, but in general are likely to be less so than A's and with less outs (if any) B : last - the wind blows around them, and probably around some other B's close by too. access. landing areas are generally difficult. signicant risk of object strike. limited altitude. but that's just what I think - I'd love to hear some experienced jumpers' comments on these.. soon to be gone

I think most people will agree that the recommended way to go is S A E B, but then there are always other factors that make what we do in reality different to what we would do ideally... looking forward to hearing which way you went take it easy, sam soon to be gone

IMHO this is not really a question anyone should have to ask... it only matters how you like your tattoo, not anyone else or what they think of it if you're not sure and wouldn't have gotten it anyway, if everyone else (except your tattoo artist) dissapeared of the earth tomorrow, you probably shouldn't be getting it soon to be gone

some lucky ( or maybe not: )bastard's going to get 911.... it'd have a nice ring to it.... just to pre-empt any possibly offensive interpretations here - I'm referring to the emergency number 911. soon to be gone

yeah, not BASE but looks like it could be very useful 'cross-training'... could come in handy on a few landings, not too mention make you hard to catch when fleeing across any terrain with decent features... soon to be gone

feeling pretty stupid for not mentioning that now I'm still in the sensory overload phase and I've only very recently started hearing my own openings or being consciously aware of the amount of noise I and those jumping with me make. soon to be gone

honestly, I don't know yet. I haven't gotten it out at night yet. as a very lowtime jumper I've been fortunate enough to have had the opportunities to do all my jumps so far in the daytime so, what Mick said, I think the colour of your canopy and gear/clothing is far less of a factor in your stealth than your planning and behaviour and on the subject of night-time stealth and colours, I've heard (and it's been my practical experience too) that black is not the best colour to minimise visibility at night, grey is. the reason for this is that unless you're in zero light conditions (which doesn't sound like the kind of conditions that anyone would want to jump in), black is darker than the general backgound and stands out more than a light-to-medium shade of grey does... anyone have any info/comments on this? (edited for my dumbass spelling) soon to be gone

there you go, that's what my Blackjack looks like in action soon to be gone

my Blackjack was a stock canopy too and it's almost those exact colours, except the blues are all the same and the centre cell rib is a different colour, as Tom suggested in his post it does look bad-ass with black lines... I have a pic at home that I can post later if you want a little preview take it easy sam soon to be gone

hey, shouldn't you be offering pounds sterling instead of dollars? pity the smallest folding pound you get is a fiver.... soon to be gone

doh! I meant wider than the 0.45 on my PC105.... sorry soon to be gone