Pendragon

There are enough experienced swoopers up at SIbson for you to get a more tailored response than that available on the forums (unless of course you didn't get the answer you wanted ) WL c. 1.9 is perfect for Katana, Xfire2 and Mamba, so your sizing should be 135 for get the most from these canopies. Xfire2 has nice openings, is probably least sensitive to harness input in half brakes (so won't feel so unstable when seated just after deployment) and would be considered "lower" performance than the other 2... but has a longer recovery arc than the Stilletto and is a fun canopy to fly. Your choice in the end - subject to the CCI letting you jump the canopy - but I would not go for anything that scares you as you'll stop enjoying it. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Oh, [deadmanwalking], you really do like to stir it up, don't you! Actually, Gus and I (along with the Italians ) were given a nice demonstration of tracking and, indeed, it was quite good. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

We all have the ability to make our own choices but, with incorrect or incomplete information, we may make the wrong ones or take the wrong decisions. The difference comes in whether we continue to make the same mistakes and blame others, or learn from them and move on. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Why hopeless? Do you think that's sad? It's committing to the idea, the act, the following through, the never giving up, and making the right decision in the moment. There are choices and outs, be they to wait a few minutes, not to go, time to pull, tightness of the aerial... - and all can be changed in a heartbeat if need be. If your view is that of hopelessness, does that tell you something about your jumping style? Are you happy jumping that way? Just curious...

You might want to consider going in 45 degree increments, so doing 135s before 180s. You'll notice that anything over a 90 is more disorientating, at least at first. One way to accomplish this is to make a 45 degree front riser turn away from the direction you wish to land in on your crosswind leg then, as the canopy is recovering (but still has the additional speed), make the 135 front riser turn to land. I've done this numerous times on my Xfire2 with success. You will obviously have to set up higher: my initiation altitudes are slightly under 500 ft for the 45 turn away, then c. 400ft for the 135 (although I'm on that canopy at c. 1.8). Do nice controlled inputs - the canopy will dive more and you'll have the option to tighten the spiral or finish off on toggles more effectively should you find youself too low. Start high and work your way down, as per usual guidelines. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Exactly. If the velcro is bad then the whole bundle can fall out during deployment and one loop may get entangled with another . I've seen it happen to someone; from below the canopy looked okay, but it was clear that the jumper didn't have full control and kept spiralling, recovering, spiralling etc. Fortunately, even though the guy concerned in this case hit the ground with a noticeable thump, he walked away pretty much uninjured. You really don't want one - and if your tail pocket velcro shows signs of wear (like it's not completely stuck down still when you've landed, it's probably time to change. I've just observed some peeling on one of my canopies, and it's only had 40 something deployments... -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

interesting... but I think 500 is overkill to begin with, say, 45s and 90s Having a canopy handling course requirement is a good idea IMHO -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Check out the "CP Manual" on the BPA website. http://www.bpa.org.uk/safety.htm AFAIK, the UK is the only country who's skydiving governing body has put formal procedures in place to govern swooping. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

The concern I would have is that experienced jumpers forget all too easily what it was like to be a student. Indeed, fear is what holds most of us back to start, but familiarity sets in after a while and you forget, unless you have that teaching knowledge. BASE isn't that difficult in terms of sequence of events and what needs to be done. Carrying that through under extreme stress is a different matter. I would especially expect, as a parent, it would be all too easy to lose objectivity in training one's son/daughter and to either overestimate their abilities, or fail to hold them back when appropriate. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

You will be much better off - and enjoy it much more - being conservative to start. If the canopy choice is a little too aggressive for you initially, you'll get nervous and not jump as much as you otherwise would... ultimately it will put you off. There are few people for whom anything smaller than a 150 is suitable. The control lines get very short and the controls sensitive. If in doubt, hire/borrow for a while. Your weight + gear would put you around 1.0 on a 135. Being 0.85/0.9 on a 150 is perfectly acceptable for a recent graduate - especially when light and looking at the smaller canopy sizes. Something like a Pilot 150, Safire2 150 or similar rectangular/tapered canopy would be ideal for you.

FYI - maximum toggle input isn't necessarily so radical an input. The speed at which you yank it down can make it a radical input. The same goes for other types of input. Again, to re-iterate, experiment with your canopy high - >1,000ft at least. My guess it that you're jumping too small a canopy (and it feels twitchy to you) for your experience level, and should upsize - and it sounds like you're not particularly enjoying it. Unless you're small, given what you've said, a 150 is way too small for you. Maybe a 170 or 190 might be better? Richard -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

We're talking about a handle obscured by a suit, which would be easily accessible on pulling the cutaway, not a floating pud that can't be found. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I've never agreed with point 3. I think you trade one problem for another - it must be more difficult to find one's hackey and other handles with the arm wings blowing around. Incidentally, this incident would have come under point 2 - being an interesting opening. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Consdering how simple it is to cut-away the wings of an S3. surely a lost handle should be nothing more than an inconvenience? -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Giving a wingsuit rodeo ride, you should be: - Able to perform barrel rolls smoothly, and on heading - Comfortable recovering from instability - Preferably wearing a lower performance wingsuit (at least at first) - Picking a passanger that's not too big for you! Get the rodeo to hang on to the riser covers from behind and crouch down a little so that their head is well below yours. If it's a side door, they need to follow you; their legs should leave with yours and should be together. Tailgates are easier, just do a poised exit with legs closed and arms open. The rodeo will most likely not launch quite as expected (your passenger will almost surely screw it up for you) so expect to have to fix a barrel roll out the door. If you can't nail it in 3 goes, give up and get the rider to release. Once you're flying, the rider can sit up, using their knees to grip the bottom of your rig, taking care not to interfere with the BOC. You might wish to rid yourself of the rider towards the end of the dive by doing a front-loop - that catapults them nicely out of the way.

Hi Trig. There are some paragliding sites on the N. Downs (Thurnham springs to mind) not far from Folkestone... but I'd be careful as I don't suppose the D&FHGC would be particularly pleased if you got in their way (nor would the landowner). Site access in going to be an issue! Later, Richard -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Do we know whether the jumper's wings became entangled with the main canopy or risers in any way? There was an incident in Europe whereby a jumper managed to front loop through his risers on deployment, becoming hung-up on his risers. Cutting the wings away was impossible because the subsequent restriction made it impossible for him to reach his wing cut-away handles. He did eventually manage to get his main cut-away and reserve handles and deploy successfully, but it looked rather exciting (particularly given that he only had a 12s canopy ride under his reserve...) -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Yes, teach. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

For an unpowered wing like a parachute, min sink is at that point when the wing is most efficient (min drag). Max glide is always faster: obviously with a tail wind, it gets very close to min sink (spend more time getting blown in the right direction). By way of demonstration, consider a canopy with a min sink airspeed of 20 mph going into a 20 mph headwind. By definition, ground speed = 0 (and glide ratio = 0). However, increase the angle of attack and speed the wing up, forward penetration increases so you get glide. Max glide speed is highly dependent on the horizontal wind speed. Regarding your second point, coming out of a carving turn puts your canopy beyond its normal flying speed - you've put the wing in a dive, gravity has accelerated you and you're coming out with a surge of speed which results in lift as the excess speed the wing has to fly is converted into lift (at a constant angle of attack). This is a temporary effect though, as we all know. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Poor body position is usually attributed to off-headings and/or line twists. Anyone any idea why this results in either of, but not necessarily both of the following "mechanisms": 1) Rotation of the canopy only (off-heading) 2) Rotation around 1 riser after bottom skin expansion, resulting in line twists Is it to do with the degree of asymmetry, (differential) loading of the risers, type of asymmetry (dipped shoulder vs twisted spine, kicking legs etc), snivelling time (slider up vs down), horizontal component of speed through the airmass etc? Thoughts? I would expect slider up to be more prone to off-headings, and maybe consequentially less prone to line twists? -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I would suggest going 2nd hand for your first set of gear. Most important thing (other than its condition) is that it fit you correctly. I wouldn't worry about brands and such at this stage; each design has its own advantages and disdvantages, and it is unlikely you will really notice or appreciate them now. Buy from a reputable dealer/shop (goes without saying its been checked) or, if you do buy privately, get it checked. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I've flown the S3, V1 and V2. I noted a more head-low flying position on the V2 than the V1, which itself felt less "floaty" than the S3 (and consistent with going for glide rather than min sink) Arm pressure on the Vampires is much higher than the S3. The Vampire suits felt more stable and less likely to fishtail or yaw than the S3, but they were less acrobatic. Not surprising; stability vs manoeuvrebility if you like. Backflying perfectly acceptable on the Vampires but the position was quite head low and required closing down the leg wing somewhat, which wasn't required on the S3. Sam, were your experiences similar? -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

4 weeks? Do they not like you in Slovenia? Got mine in ~2.5 weeks... ...and a nice fitting, well-made suit it is too. Maybe I'm just special. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Canopies are not trimmed to be at min drag (also happens to be min sink) at the toggles-up position - they are trimmed much faster. This is to give the canopy good flaring characteristics I believe. Less drag would come from some rear riser input. BTW - you are both right; - Induced drag diminishes with speed - More lift (i.e. slower speed on an unpowered wing) means more induced drag Just opposite ways of saying the same thing Richard -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

From the BA website (regulations last updated 21/8/06) Customers departing from the UK (including customers transferring through the UK): Customers travelling from the UK will be able to take on board as hand baggage one cabin bag no bigger than 45cm x 35cm x 16cm, the size of a small laptop bag, inclusive of wheels and handles Cabin baggage MUST NOT contain: Any cosmetics Any toiletries Any liquids Any drinks Cigarette lighters (Cigarette lighters may not be checked into the hold. They can be purchased airside and disposed of before boarding a flight) Items previously prohibted in cabin baggage, such as sharp objects, should not be carried onboard. Cabin baggage CAN contain the following: Electronic equipment, including laptops, mobile phones, digital cameras and portable music and DVD players Essential medicines in liquid form provided they are under 50ml. Customers will be asked to taste the liquid. If they cannot taste the liquid for any reason they will be asked to go to an airport pharmacy to have the medicine verified. Baby milk and liquid baby food (the contents of each bottle MUST be tasted by the parent) Other items normally carried in cabin baggage, such as books and essential items for the flight, as long as they fit into a bag no bigger than 45cm x 35cm x 16cm. Nothing must be carried in pockets. ... To help progress through the airport all customers are encouraged not to include items capable of containing liquids (e.g. bottles, flasks, cans etc.) in either their hand or checked baggage. All electronic equipment will need to be removed from the item of hand baggage and screened separately. We recommend these items be packed carefully for easy removal at the security search point. Customers may purchase any item in any store in the departure lounge before departing their final UK airport, unless they are travelling to the USA. Extra restrictions are in place for customers travelling to the USA from the UK. Customers WILL NOT be permitted to take any liquid or gel items purchased in the departure lounge into the aircraft cabin. All food or beverage items must be consumed before boarding. Customers transferring through the UK Customers transferring through the UK will be subject to the same hand baggage size restrictions as those starting their journey in the UK. If you arrive into the UK to connect with a British Airways flight (irrespective of original carrier), with more than one laptop size bag (45cm x 35cm x 16cm), you may be refused travel on your onward flight. Customers transferring through a UK airport onto another flight must not buy any of the prohibited items such as cosmetics or toiletries until they have cleared through security for their final departure from a UK airport. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13