Pendragon

Why would you want to "underload" a Xfire2 anyway? It's a high(er) performance wing and you're not going to get anything special out of it unless you load it up a little, hence the manufacturers recommendation. It defeats the object really. Why not a Pilot/Safire2/Sabre2 at that W/L? More docile canopies have a lower minimum W/L which relates to when the canopy has unfavorable characteristics like the ones already mentioned (mushy controls, openings etc) -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I'm not sure that it is a different matter; take the Katana for example. I haven't met anyone yet who has had a good word to say about the openings - but they all raved about the landings. I presume there is a balance to be had with how the canopy is trimmed in terms of opening characteristics at one extreme and HP landings at the other... but I'm not qualified to comment. Back to work... -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure, but some canopies are trimmed to give a steep angle of descent (e.g. ZP.exe). Personally, I always thought max glide was closer to 1/2 brakes though, but I may be wrong! I wouldn't be surprised if opening characteristics are more of a concern here. Can anyone from Icarus/Aerodyne/PD comment? I would expect max glide to be improved more in a tail wind by pulling down on the rear risers slightly rather than toggles (which deforms the wing and makes it less efficient). -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Min sink is always approaching the stall. Max glide is always slightly faster than min sink; how much depends on the level of head/tailwind. The greater the headwind, the faster at which max glide will be (e.g. strong winds could result in the canopy coming straight down, i.e. glide = 0. Pulling double-fronts to penetrate slightly therefore increases the glide ratio). Look at some polar curves; the website I would normally quote seems to be down, but try: http://www.phoenix-fly.com/articles%20stvari/PF_Wingsuit%20flying%20and%20Basic%20Aerodynamics_2.pdf, which has an example on the 2nd page.

Pilot chutes are not really part of the container (unlike risers, incidentally) Why would you want to use a bungee-collapsible pilot chute? I'd go to a rigger and get them to sort you out.

Such as? I use my neptune as an audible. There's nothing wrong with the protrack, but I think the neptune is better. During a 3 week stay in Eloy last December, my Neptune crashed on me no less than 9 times. 4 of these were in 1 day. Majority of the times it crashed were during freefall. Good job I had my trusty analogue with me It was still fairly new, so batteries weren't an issue. Besides, I tried replacing them with new ones, to little effect. Protrack/Pro-dytter, on the other hand, I've never had nor heard of anyone having a problem with them. As for analogue altis being inaccurate, there is some rubbish out there. However, who cares if it's a little out at 12,000 ft? My Neptune? Now it's decided to behave itself, not having crashed for the last 8 months and >200 jumps... [touching wood] -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

The problem with the Neptune is that it's digital, which means you actually have to read the display. Analogue displays are much easier - quick glance and you can see the needle's position. I'd get an Altimaster III galaxy. Mine seems to be accurate to 17,000ft AMSL, and I've never had a problem with it. You're still inexperienced; make your life simple. You'll have enough things to be worring about in freefall as it is for the moment. The advantage of a Neptune is that you can use it to help set up a swoop landing as it is very accurate. However, that's something you shouldn't be doing for some time yet. Besides, there are better audiables out there than a Neptune (for which the real value comes from mounting it on your wrist anyway) As for the Suunto, like the Casio, the manufacturers state that they are unsuitable for freefall. These things are designed for climbers and mountaineers (I have one, but I don't skydive with it). I'm always of the opinion that those who wear them frequently never look at them during freefall, and are reliant solely on their audiables. Since you're starting out, try not to acquire bad habits. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Yeah, that'll be the guy. He was bragging to me about it on the 'phone last night -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I'd like to reiterate that. I've had a bad packjob (possibly compounded with bad body position ) open with umpteen (>9) line twists when jumping wingsuit. The canopy just flew level and stable until I'd kicked them out. No diving. I'm jumping a Pilot 150 @ 1.35 lbs/sqft and have put nearly 300 jumps on mine. Openings have been consistant - never slammed - and on heading (sloppy packing aside...) I've been learning to swoop on it as well, although front riser pressure is high and the recovery arc is short. Overall, it's a nice docile canopy that won't ever really frighten you. It dives less than a Sabre 2 in turns, so in that respect, is safer for the novice. Oh, and the Pilot is probably cheaper than the Safire2/Sabre2 (one reason why I bought mine) -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Just curious; what about stability? Do they go into flat spins easily? What would you do if you did get into a flat spin? Richard -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Yup, still here Bit more information here: http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1188265,00.html and... http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1188285,00.html Fortunately I only had to walk from Victoria to Mayfair (about 20 mins)... -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Absolute rubbish. If you meant "Experience means more than jumps" then I would agree with you. Someone who takes >10 years to get to 1,000 jumps may not be as experienced as someone who takes 3-4 yet asks the right questions and assimilates as much information as he/she can. What about experience gained in other pastimes, e.g. paragliding? I'm sure that a paraglider pilot has seen more injuries/fatalities than your average skydiver! I just think that skydivers can be a little narrow-minded on this subject... -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I understand Chris Lynch began swooping on a PD170 many years ago. You'll find him in the top 20 from the last world meet. Gary Wainwright is also on the circuit and ranked - maybe he has a good question? I've been learning to swoop on my Pilot 150 (1.35 lbs/sq ft). Hurt myself once (sprained ankles) - but fortunately that was it. Could have been a lot worse at a higher wing loading I'm sure, and my experience was scary enough thank you. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I think Jean-Loic is at Sibson for the last weekend of their freefly week.

I did notice (when I was last current!) that I was getting noticably better times in Perry's borrowed S3 over my S1; possibly an extra 15-20 seconds from 13,500 ft. The "maxed out" body position felt different - and certainly more strenous to adopt. I'm sure I was de-arched but needed to roll my shoulders forward more than I was used to. Got quite tired towards the end of the jump! Well, that was my experience anyway... Richard -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

You forget that Tom lives in a backward country when it comes to mobile telephony... they still think you need to pull the aerial out to use the handset -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I pull in accordance with where I am relative to the LZ. So, if I'm close (and I try to plan the route so that I'm never far away), then I'll pull 2,500 - 3,000 ft. If I'm further away (boogie restrictions, or just allowing someone else to take care of the navigation ) then I'll pull higher. I don't make special allowances now because I'm in the wingsuit. However, I most certainly did when I was starting out in the discipline, and I would recommend everyone to pull a little higher than they are accustomed to, until they become comfortable. -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

Know where you're going... but they're not really. It's more (IMHO) to do with differences in deployment and, very importantly, ability to navigate. You don't have either problem with a camera suit, although they can make certain situations rather exciting I suppose! The latter point is interesting since as some of these tracking suits have got so good, you can really cover some ground! With that in mind, you could form an argument against those who have not been briefed in their use. Similarly, 250/500 jump requirements are surely too excessive for the "Access" type of wingsuits, in which the flyer just lets go of the wings for deployment. Anyway, AFAIK, the BPA guidelines were written by Andy Ford and Craig Poxon, both of whom should know quite a bit about wingsuits! Who cares who voted on them?! Just more food for thought... -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

I didn't have a problem myself coming back in Jan, although I had 45 wingsuit jumps. With 6/7, some places might ask you to hook up with a trusted wingsuiter to check you out, but you should not have any problems. Enjoy the flying!

So, who's going to the Sibson "Wacky Wingsuit weekend" like, erm, this holiday weekend? I'll be there, providing they let me jump Tweet tweet! -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

As illustrated by a polar curve: see www.pilotnotes.co.uk/index1.html for a good source of info Min sink would obviously be at the maxima on the curve; max glide would be at a point on the curve where the chord (from the origin for nil wind; -10 for a 10 mph tail wind or +10 for a 10 mph headwind) touches. Naturally, the ideal position to be is closer to min sink for a tailwind (staying aloft in the moving airmass for longer; same reason why we dump flat flyers out before freeflyers during when upper winds are high). For the headwind, think of it this way: if the airspeed of the wing = windspeed, you are coming straight down. Pulling on the front risers a little allows penetration (and increases glide). Hope that helps!

"Flocked" briefly with Tonto in Eloy wearing the jacket and pants. OK, he was flying a bit dirty, but it was fun -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

It's got to be: 1) Perfecting my backflying (coming along nicely!) 2) Transitioning to HD

Is there a PAL standard version around anywhere? -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13

So bashful... See you at Z-Hills on Friday/Saturday! -- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13