Pendragon

What you say is correct for a typical belly-to-earth deployment; wingsuits always pull in some form of a track and the bridle is more of a 45 degree angle rather than vertical as with a "normal" deployment. The theory is that the bag can get knocked by the tray and induce twists and that packing it this way helps mitigate this. Personally I have trouble believing all this makes much difference and feel that there is little substitute for good body position at deployment. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

BTW - since I've never been to this place before, what are the airport options? Please also provide details of airports that take proper carriers that understand service/legroom/actually smile too. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Yeah, right... You have to chill it 'cause it tastes so awful (but Leffe ain't bad ) -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Yes, but they're F-111 (which has a lower pack volume than ZP) so that probably mitigates additional volume from vents -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Don't confuse min sink and max glide, nor try and compare vertical descent rates of suits if glide is what you're after. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

...but he's probably been tracking the weather forecasts. Beer three! -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Your unmistakeable instructional style again? -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Just to clarify - DHV1-2 has become a rather large band and some of the gliders certified in this range are not suitable for beginners -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

There's always a danger of taking quotes out of context, especially from the internet... From my own experience (and I'm nowhere near being a great swooper) I used a Neptune to help me learn; by that I mean initiating up high and measuring my altitude loss - also noticing that the canopy would often climb after and compensating for that. I would then add a couple hundred feet and slowly bring it down, using it to help dial in the "sight picture" if you like. I don't believe you can go to rotations over 90 degrees without having a good concept of what the recovery arc looks like as it becomes disorientating as you're not so continually focussed on the area in which you're going to land: by necessity, you're facing the wrong way to start on a 180 for example. If you use "beeps" to do it, all you're doing is merely yanking and hoping. Espcially on longer-recover arc canopies and/or higher rotations this can be very dangerous as there is considerable (by that I mean enough to break youself completely) headroom in which to get the canopy to dive more/less by how quickly the riser input is put in. Beeps aren't going to help you alone. I have an audiable with swoop alarms mounted on my helmet. It works well; but they only confirm what I already know. "Beeps" can also bring (over)confidence to all sorts of situations, and as such should always be treated with caution. You've only got to scan the forums, ask around etc to hear of some story where over-reliance has contributed to a serious accident. BTW - these electronic gizmos (providing they haven't crashed!) are fantastically accurate - they can be easily misused or simply placed in the wrong place to get a correct reading however. All IMHO of course. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Actually I think there's another good reason why it's safer to learn on a canopy with a shorter recovery arc. With all the technology out there, greater and greater reliance is being made on Neptunes, Visos etc etc to get the setup right. Some folks are probably incapable of safely swooping without. They are just training aids; the real skill comes in being able to reference the ground correctly. This is the skill you need in the higher rotations; constantly referencing with your eyes to know whether you're at the right height or not, making those fine adjustments (tightening/widening the spiral etc) to ensure you get the right height and the monser swoop. I'm not convinced that someone can learn this on a longer-diving canopy; having something short and predictable - and closer to the ground - must surely be of benefit when learning this? -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I have the privilige of passing that every day; it is quite close to my office... Inspiring, don't you think?

Bit out of line, isn't it? Also, your own comments mirror the complaint; the above statement is highly opinionated. The internet is a foul medium sometimes; too much of the communication between people is lost. Let's also take that into account before blasting off? -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Paraglider wings behave quite differently to parachutes and, with the higher performance wings, can react quite violently to turbulence if not actively piloted. Best bet is to find a local school; try the Hang gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada (HPAC) - www.hpac.ca or the USHPA www.ushga.org People who can ground-launch parachutes do not understand how to fly paragliders. Ask a paraglider pilot! -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Oh well, I suppose I'd better add my name too. Adrock Amazon bbarnhouse downwind efs4ever gasson guppie01 Icon134 incode johnsw71 judyj jumper03 LouDiamond- Wingsuit LO/Seminar speaker matt1215 mcbeth MITCHYB monkycndo NWFlyer Pendragon - wingsuit and freefly, if you care to join

Not this winter I'm afraid... off to Eloy (cheaper flights ) However, I'm sure you'll see me in 2007 sometime, and maybe I'll get see you land off -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Peterlee, eh? I suggest: 1) Attend Chris Lynch's "Wingtips" course before you start doing anything close to the ground. Failing that, get a proper brief from an experienced swooper, one that is CP coach rated 2) By all means, play around with your risers above 1,000ft 3) Stay current while you're learning I've got no idea how good your landings are. If you get cautious remarks from experienced swoopers about starting, do heed their warnings. When it goes wrong, it can be spectacular.. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Are you going to be at the Holiday Boogie Scott? -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Ash White is your man; my own guru . He has an "office" of sorts in the main hangar. He's got suits to rent (Classic IIs - these are ideal for your first few). Not only is he a superb flyer, he's fun to be taught by (and can do great pictures and video). You've been using a tracking suit; I presume you've been practising the wingsuit-pull? I'm more than happy to fly with you too; I'm arriving on the 10th December, mainly to freefly but I'll have my Vampire and Acro with me. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Should've guessed that it would be you. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

AFAIK only in Spain - they had quality issues with other factories so they ceased production elsewhere -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Xfire2 is a nice canopy, and IMHO: Doesn't turn or feel as twitchy on toggles as a Stilletto, but dives more on risers. Nice openings Stable in half-brakes and doesn't dive all over the place I feel it's the easiest of the Mamba_/Katana/Xfire2 set to handle, and the most forgiving, and a good 1st elliptical However, 1.47 sounds a little light - by that I mean you won't be getting the most out of it. The guys at Icarus told me at least 1.6, with 1.8-2.0 being the optimum. Trust me, the Xfire2 takes on a whole new meaning when stepping up from 1.6-1.8, something I did when I demoed it. Its much more fun! Personally I would recommend getting a smaller tapered canopy first (Sabre2/Safire2/Pilot) first before switching to a Xfire2, and get used to the effects of a more serious wingloading first, and possibly (after many skydives) going for a smaller Xfire2 than you're currently proposing then. If you're into swooping, the Sabre2 might be a good bet in the meantime; it's certainly the more aggressive of its peers, and dives more. Do keep it out the corner though! -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Have you managed to get Paul Meagher out yet? Could you get him to land off too -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I wouldn't bother. Spend your time: i) Learning to freefly (backfly in particular - it is a useful recovery position) ii) Learning to get into a really good track out of the door iii) Building awareness of where you are in relation to the LZ, jump-run throughout the skydive The better you are at these, the more enjoyable your wingsuit flights will be. Don't underestimate a tracking suit btw. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I nearly started at 182 jumps, but ran out of weather. I had 25 tracking jumps in 2 weeks at the time. So, yes, theoretically you can bend things a little, although you would need to find someone willing. The following are IMHO important: Currency. Those who are can start with lower jump #s and will have a better experience than uncurrent "fledglings" Ability to track. Flying a wingsuit is like a high-performance track. If you can't do that, forget it. Wingsuit choice. Picking a Prodigy, GTI, Classic II etc is going to provide a more forgiving, pleasant experience. Taking an S3 out on one's first flight is fine until you accidentally expose a bit of your leg wing on exit, end up barrel-rolling out of the door onto your back and spinning Being aware in-flight. I don't care what any young newly started jumper thinks, but enough awareness (of where you are above the ground) is probably not going to have developed until you are well over 150 skydives. Unless you like hitting canopies in freefall, or landing off all the time... -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

It's worth doing a bunch of tracking jumps before you put a wingsuit on. You can also rehearse a wingsuit pull at the end of any skydive - ask a wingsuit pilot what that is. If you can't track, there's no point making it more complex. The rules in the UK are there for a particular reason. Leaving the safety aspects aside, you have the ability to cover a lot of ground in a wingsuit. CAA rules regarding dropzones are particularly strict, especially since many DZs have controlled (and busy) airspace to deal with. Going outside of the 1.5nm radius cylinder we have clearance for is a distinct possibility for even a novice flyer, and that's bound to cause problems. After that, there's pretty much going to be tandem/AFF/high-pullers on every load and keeping to your flight plan (and avoiding open canopies) is going to be mandatory. Flying a little too close to a tandem when you've got