OmarPR

Nadia and I came to an agreement. She will provide me with a copy of the footage that we can use for our upcoming website. Sott, call me when you get a chance to talk abour this. Happy New Year Everyrbody! WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

El Guajataca hotel is still there. It has been there since before I was born. And I'm sure it will be there for many years to come. As a matter of fact I heard it has just been remodeled. Just because their website is screwd up doesn't mean that they have gone under. I highly doubt that. Hey Scott, we were going to get a 12 passanger van but because of the lack of respone (or interest) Mark decided to go with a mini-van, there is still room. Call him. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

So, O.K. You may be right barney. B.T.W. I feel a little over-analized WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Well, I guess you guys do pretty much what I do. I am only 5 foot 8 inches and 145 pounds and currently fly a GTI (easy suit), so I don't really have too much trouble back flying and I can get away with a less than perfect body position. I always fly video so I don't always fly in an ideal flat position. I normally don't have to worry about a "maxed out" position because I am floaty by nature (can do 80-90mph w\o ws). My main concern is to have fun with others and get others to have fun with me while keeping a good fall rate. My technique is based on self thought 'little tricks' and trial and error. In other words I have no true techinique. I'm not a technical ws flyer. I guess I am the equivalent of a 'soul surfer'. What works for me is what feels good for me. I have seen Matt back-fly first hand and he is doing very well, and better every time. P.S. Hey Jarno, PM me when you get a chance. I need to ask you about what we talked about a long time ago (you probably forgot by now). WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

See the PHI-Acro-Firebird review WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Compared to the PHI and the Acro, the Firebird does not stay pressurized at 100% on a transition, especially going head down. It may not be so noticeable on other types of transitions but nevertheless deflation\re-inflation does occur, which is not entirely a bad thing because it takes less effort to execute certain manouvers that would otherwise be more difficult to execute on the Acro and the PHI. I guess the meaning of acrobatics differs from person to person. But to me it is more than just back flying, barrel rolls and front loops. There is a number of other "tricks" out there: like (controlled) 360 flat spins, tuck turns (I preffer calling it the tuck and roll grandma), spirals, gravitrons, scary rolls (named after a Scary Perry trick), etc. not to menton a number of back-flying tricks. When all (or most) of these are explored, it is easier to find more pros and cons on these suits. I never said that the Firebird has a bad fall rate on its back. What I meant was that compared to the Acro, the belly/back-fly fall rate difference is more noticeable on the Firebird. Overall I think the Firebird is a good ws, like I said in "5- overall perfomance" rating. It's not just me. See for yourself Thanx for the snap update. Have fun with your new Firebird. Let us know how it goes. Hope to see ya in PR. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

The eagle begins already head down so the eagle and the gravitron are not exatly the same. There is some variation. I didn't know what an eagle or a half eagle was until the gravitron came up. I also learned what an Immelman was which is also a similar move performed in airplane acrobatics. I think as in freeflying and aviation, wingsuit acrobatics should have their own names for their own manouvers. The same way it has been done in surfing,skateboarding,snowboarding,BMX, supercross,etc. Of course the are some obvious exeptions like the barrel roll and the front loop, etc. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

This review is based on first hand experience (for the most), and information gathered from other WS pilots who have tested these wingsuits (on site). This is BY NO MEANS an attempt to advertise or sponsor any particular wingsuit or brand thereof. These are views and opinions based on educated experimentation, and are totally unbiased. Please open your minds and accept this information for what it is. I am aware that not everybody has easy access to all these new acrobatic wingsuits, which is the purpose of this review herein. If you do have access to these, I recomend you do some experimentation yourself and come to your own conclusions. I am aware that it takes more than just a few flights to really get the most accurate info on these, but these are my "first impressions" which personally, often don't change much after further 'testing'. I welcome any imput from anyone who has already tried any of these. But please refrain from being biased and continuing this 'brand war' because it is getting old (kinda like Jerry Springer), and I am not interested.That also goes for any rep out there. I hope this is of some help. Peace out free-flockers! *NOTE: All three wingsuits were about the same size (slightly bigger on me, but not significantly). **The FIREBIRD is not officially an acrobatic ws, but it is an "all around" ws, therefor it is included here. (I wish I tested the S-FLY. It seems to be good for acrobatics). *** Static transition = barrel rolls, loops, spins,etc. **** Dynamic transitions = swoops, head down, gravitrons, etc. I will rate each one on the following: 1- ease of use 2- relative perfomance (to other suits) 3- confort 4- practicality 5- overall perfomance 6- looks (I learned that look are important to some) FIREBIRD 1- ease of use I found that the Firebird handles very similar to a GTI. Back-flying and transitions are very easy. My theory is that because the wings don't stay fully pressurized (in mid-transition they seem to somewhat deflate and re-inflate very quickly), it allows for a more effortless transition. 2- relative perfomance On a belly orietation, it flies like a cross between a GTI and Skyflyer. Glide ratio is decent. Back-flying, the fall rate change is noticeable. Head down is stable. 3- confort Average confort easy to put on. 4- practicality The lack of snaps, I can do without. On a head down orienation ALL four wing zippers quickly came undone. The lower leg wing profile allows for easier wing spread while back flying. No plastic ribs inside the wings, good, no need for those. Wing grips are not really necessary for acrobatics, but then again the Firebird is not a pure acrobatic ws. 5- overall perfomance The Firebird handles (acrobaticly) slightly above average and is a very easy ws to learn acrobatic manouvers. 6- looks Who cares? PHI 1- ease of use On a belly orientation I found the PHI to be similar to a Skyflyier, a little twitchy and tiring on the arms but a good glide ratio. On a back flying orientation it was very difficult to keep steady. Very hard to do front loops (at least decent, on-heading ones). The foward speed radically dies out while on a loop. Very difficult to take it head down or any other dynamic transition. Like the Firebird there were no snaps on the booties. 2- relative perfomance Good only on its belly (as in a flock) 3- confort A little thick for my taste. With the diagonal chest zipper, it is no easier to put on than a Classic 1 (single zipper). The leg zippers are a bit short, adding to the difficulty of putting it on. 4- practicality Again, wing tip grips are totally unecessary for acrobatic flying and they only get in the way. It just adds one more thing to worry about and deal with as one prepares to go from one manouver to the next, including having to catch them soon after one exits the plane from hanging on the outside, especially on an outside back exit (which I do quite often). As far as I know, the plastic ribs are designed to reduce vibration which did not happen with any one that tested the PHI. Ribs would probably not even be necessary if the wing profile was of a simpler design i.e. no scalloped or bat type trailing edges and a smaller profile (not to be confused with smaller wings or wing surface). The absence of thumb loops or swoop cords was also in my very personal opinion a bad idea. I am used to unzipping my arm wings soon after piching, allowing my arms to be free before full canopy inflation which only takes about 200 feet and about 2 seconds. Without these loops that task is impossible. There could also be some nuisances (or even malfunctions) that would require quick freedom of your arms without having to cut away your wings every time. 5- overall perfomance The PHI handles (acrobaticly) below average and is a very difficult ws to learn acrobatic manouvers. Great for flocking though. 6- looks Who cares? But some do, and say it is a great looking suit, very stylish and a chick magnet. ACRO 1- ease of use The Acro was suprisingly easier to fly than what I've expected. On a belly orientation, it has a great glide ratio, very floaty and very fast foward. (On my first flight (a solo), after performing several manouvers, I found myself a bit far from the spot, I check my altimeter and I was surprised to see how high I was still. Since I was done with my routine, I started to head straight towards the spot. I realized how fast I was flying when I notice the ground move from about 8,000' or 9,000' and the clouds in between going even faster. By about 7,000' I was already overshooting the landing area so I had to fly in a pattern until opening altitude). On a back flying orientation the fall rate and glide ratio are very close if not equal to its belly orietation. On transitions one has to be more aggresive than normal. My theory is that the wings stay fully pressurized and they can't be collapsed, which causes more "drag" on transitions like barrel rolls and gravitrons. Loops on the other hand were very easy. On most manouvers, the Acro seemed want to "cradle" the pilot into a flat postition (belly or back). I would say that the Acro is almost "too stable" for some acrobatic manouvers. Not being able to "deflate" or fully collapse the wings on certain transitions makes it just a little bit more challenging. But I don't really consider this a mayor problem. The air inlets are plain genius. 2- relative perfomance (See 'ease of use' above) 3- confort Very confortable. Lots of well-placed padding. 4- practicality One of the first things I noticed was the "RW" grips, great idea and lots of fun, but only if one is belly flying. When the Acro is rolled on its back, the grips become very difficult if not impossible to grab, (something that I think can be easily modified). The absence of wing tip grips, as I mentioned earlier, there is absolutely no need for them. One would think that wing tip grips would be a great asset by increasing wing surface thus better glide ratio and so on and so forth. But the Acro is not designed for high performance horizontal flight or for flocking for that matter, although it is capable of doing so to some extent. At first I was fooled and misled by the Acro's appearance; seemingly (and deceivingly) small wings (at first glance it looks like a Classic but it really is closer to an S-Fly), but when I put it on and spread the wings I reallized how big the wing surface area was. Swoop cords; I must admit that I used them as regular thumb loops and found them to a little too wide and unconfortable. I guess I'll have to try it again the right way, although I would much rather have the regular thumb loops (but with a quick release snap that snaps on to the zipper tab. Well that is another subject). Snaps on the booties must be thighly secured. Not doing so causes the zippers to immediately come undone because of the strong elastic around the ankle of the bootie. Also, like I said before; the air inlets are plain genius. 5- overall perfomance The Acro handles (acrobaticly) well above average and is a fairly easy ws to learn acrobatic manouvers. If there was such category, it would be "high perfomance intermidiate suit" or "high perfomance acrobatic suit" 6- looks Who cares? But some do, and say it is a plain looking suit. Looks can be deceiving. I'd choose performance over looks any time. CONCLUSION: None of these three suits are "the perfect acrobatic wingsuit" and they all could use some improvement, some more than others. On the more aggressive manouvers all three suits had issues with zippers coming undone, some less than others. On a scale from 1 to 10: The Firebird:--6 It's a decent, fun overall wuingsuit. It would be like and upgrade to my GTI (which by the way I consider the GTI to be the best non-acrobatic ws for acrobatics). I wouldn't mind owning one. The PHI:--3 No thank you. Hard to believe that I think that the Firebird is a better acrobatic suit than the PHI. The Acro:--9 Yes please! I want one. It is a very user friendly suit and a little bit of a challenge, a perfect combination. The Acro's overall design makes more sense to me. Remember: These are my own personal views and opnions. Try the suits and set you own. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

"NO OMAR - it's my turn!!!!!"------- ha ha. That's o.k. Most likely I will have my own by then. But if not...well, we'll see. he he WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

"Quite curious to see some arco 'stuntwork' (same goes for phi) With all these new airobatic suits, I'd love to see someone ripping it through the sky on his/her back with some loops/rolls etc. thrown in.. Post video!"------------------------------------------------- Your wish is my command. I (and a few others from Z-Flock) have flown the Acro, the Phi, and the Firebird. I'm putting together a video on all three along with a (personal) "review". I put each one through it's paces. Expect it within a day or two. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

- "Finally I will see, once again my friends from PR" Cool!Aren't you the medusa that had the funky head gear a couple of years ago? - - " can you put me down as a possibly?" Macca I will but I shouldn't , 'cause I need as many 'definites' as possible (for planning purposes), but I know you'll give me a definite soon, right? Right. - - Are you going Chuck? - Ok, here is the updated list: 1 OmarPR 2 "Scary" Perry 3 Matt "The 111" Hoover 4 Jeff "My Eyes!" 5 "Cancer" Chris Ware 6 Scott Bland 7 Nathaniel 8 Zach "Buried" 9 Ivan "Rock On" 10 Danny "Tommy Boy" (droquette) 11 Jose "Turtle" 12 Medusa 13 Macca (Zeemax) - (possibly) BTW Can you guys just copy the list and paste it with your name when you post (or reply) for the first time that your going? That way I don't have to do that every single time someone signs up, and it makes it a little easier to keep track. Also it won't bump up this thread unnecessarily. Thanx. Omar. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

OK I was only going to mention the ones that are going, but I guess I should have included the local flockers. Sorry Ivan IWY 1 OmarPR 2 "Scary" Perry 3 Matt "The 111" Hoover 4 Jeff "My Eyes!" 5 "Cancer" Chris Ware 6 Scott Bland 7 Nathaniel 8 Zach "Buried" 9 Ivan "Rock On" 10 Danny "Tommy Boy" (droquette) 11 Jose "Turtle" There's a few more locals but they are not confirmed yet. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

1 OmarPR 2 "Scary" Perry 3 Matt "The 111" Hoover 4 Jeff "My Eyes!" 5 "Cancer" Chris Ware 6 Scott Bland 7 Nathaniel 8 Zach "Buried" The Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU). Nomally, my brother or my syster find me better deals than I can. And usually they do it very close to the date when I plan to fly. So I don't think you should wait for me, but I'll still let you know when I get it. I'm glad you and Nate are going. You're gonna have a blast. Omar. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

1 OmarPR 2 "Scary" Perry 3 Matt "The 111" Hoover 4 Jeff "My Eyes!" 5 "Cancer" Chris Ware 6 Scott Bland 7 Nathaniel There. You just did. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Hey flockers! Z-Flock will be in Puerto Rico on Feb. 8-12. There is a bunch of jumpers (wingsuiters and soon be) from Z-Hills that are officially going. 'Scary' Perry and I will be there with a fleet of Phoenix Fly demos to organize, instruct and capture all the action and beauty of the island. Matt (The111) will be there representing Bird-Man with his demos and instruction. There will be a Skyvan, a Caravan, and a King Air. High Altitude Jumps and Beach Jumps EVERY DAY. For more details go to www.xtremedivers.com or call (787) 852-2727. Oh! I almost forgot I will take the flock on an ecotour that they will never forget. So far, here is a list of the 'seasoned flockers' (not including the bunch of rookies and soon to be Z-Flockers): 1 OmarPR 2 "Scary" Perry 3 Matt "The 111" Hoover 4 Jeff "my eyes" 5 "Cancer" Chris Ware (hope you feel better bro) 6 Scott Bland (Maybe) ...and others that I cant' remember at the moment, but by the time this weekend is over there will be a few more. Look for the ad in the Nov.'05 issue of Parachutist. Please add yourself or anyone you know that is going for sure, so we can plan accordingly. P.S. If you haven't made up your mind yet, check out last year's. VIDEO Thanx, C-YA in paradise WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Yup, The first half of the clip is on the Dreams of Icarus DVD then half way through the song (Extreme Ways), is the credits roll. I re-edited and took out the credits portion and added footage that wasn't on the DVD. This clip will be at the begining of the next DVD as a transition from the fist DVD (Dreams of Icarus). WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

You got it. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

My friend Scotty "GoFast" Burns and fellow video wingman just got his. We were going to try it out today but this damn hurracane weather didn't cooperate (Z-Hills, Florida). We'll give it another shot some time this week. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Hery Flockers, Here's another FreeFlockin' video. We call it "FreeFlockin'" rather than acrobatics because we define acrobatics as tricks that can be performed solo. But FreeFlockin' are tricks that need two or more people (flock) to be perfomed (like freeflying). The main trick performed in this video, we called the gravitron. We have a bunch of others tricks but no video yet, not until they can be done flawlessly. Enjoy. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Hey Flockers! Just dropping by to say thanks to everyone. 1-Scott and Matt for giving wings to so many. Congrats to all new flockers. 2-Special thanks go to Mike "My Eyes!", Rosalyn Trach , and Paul for those incredibly challenging but fun hybrids. 3-Nate and Zack for the ride, the couch, and the cool nite out at Chicago. 4-Special congrats go to my two good friends from Puerto Rico Danny "Tommy Boy" and Jose "Turtle". Welcome to the flock. (Sorry for not flockin' with you as much as I liked to, but there's always Z-Hills). 5-Perry, lets do some more "FreeFlockin'" 6-Chris Ware, you are the man. 7-Mike, congrats on your 1,000th! 8-Nick, thanks for your help at the balloon-smoke-wingsuit dive. Couldn't get the chance to get your point of view footage, :-( 9-Z-Flock, we'll catch up at the Hillz and get our flock on. 10-EVERY bird at WFFC, thanks. I had a lot of fun. One thing I ask of all of you flockers new and old, but especially the new: Take all of your learning experiences from WFFC to your home dropzones and pass them on. I think that is the best way to make flocks grow. I hope to see all or at least most of you at Z-Flock and Dock 1.5 at Z-Hills and at the Puerto Rico FreeFall Fest on Febuary, especially my friends and new flockers Danny, Jose, Tony. I will post the "WFFC Flockers" video as soon as I possibly can. It should come out nice. It'll will include some nice flocks, hybrids, free flockin', a balloon WS with smoke (BTW thanks Scott), that crazy hi-speed exit, and more. Here is a few hybrid shots from my video camera. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Hey boys and girls, I love flockin' and surfin' the clouds, but for some time now I have been wanting to do more; something different. So I have talked to some of my fellow flockers about doing acrobatics (not just the same ol' barrel rolls and back flying and the occational loop). I wanted to experiment with some "moves" I haven't really seen anyone do (on wingsuits), but no one wanted to try any of my ideas. I decided to just do them to demonstrate that they are not all that difficult and are in fact very doable (with some practice and carefull planning, of course). Now there is a few flockers getting into this and having lots of fun with it. I have come up with a long list of "tricks" that just keeps growing, some we have tried and some we are about to. I think we are just scratching the surface on something that I hope catches on quickly and all over. Some of us think it is time to take wingsuiting up a notch and take it to next level. We are working on putting some structure to this "free-flockin" like naming these "tricks" or "moves" and putting them in different categories, deciding how many free-flockers is too many to be safe (three seems to work: a two way with cameras, and one outside video), etc. Some of these ideas come from airplane acrobatics, freeflying and atmonauti. I might make either a short animation of some of these tricks or some illustrations. But in the meantime here is a video of some of the stuff we've done so far. Enjoy. Z-Flock: Free-Flockin' WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Hey Scott Ivan has been busy with Keilas accident. I'm sorry dude, but I had to get moving on the video because I didn't want too much time pass between the event and the video. But don't worry, Ivan said he was going to send it as soon as he could, so I will use it on the next one. PS I need to talk to you later (about something else). Cheers bro. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

"The Exit where 3 is floating and 1 is making a backloop out 3/4 of the movie. Is it just me or is that not a good combination. 3 flying with the plane and 1 flying fast against them head to head" Hello Bowie In response to your question: the one doing the (gainer) backloop exit is me. If you give them a second or two before you exit, get big and floaty and do a quick 180 as soon as you are belly to earth, you should be fine (all has to be pretty much simultaneously). Normally, if you fail to do all those things after flipping, you end up low in the formation. Also careful planning helps. Everyone in that jump knew each others intentions at dirt dive time. If you scrub to the time frame 07:17 of the video, you will see my point of view and that should give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. I will be posting some free-flockin' (real acrobatic) videos soon, where you will see some fun and crazy stuff that would only be plain crazy and no fun if it wasn't for all the carefull pre-planning. I hope that clears any doubt you may have had. Cheers. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

Hey flockers, Here is part1(wingsuit edit) of the dropzone.com 4th of July boogie video. I hope you guys enjoy it. P.S. In the next few days I will be posting our first (true) aerobatix video: Free-Flockin'. We are working on a bunch of new aerial tricks. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds

I called Ivan and told him about it. Unfortunately, the only thing is that any footage that doesn't make it to my hands by this weekend, will probably not make it to the final release (I told him that too). I don't want to sit on this for too long. I want this video out A.S.A.P. I have other projects that I've been working on that have taken a back seat to the DZ.com video. But don't worry. The DZ.com video will be nice either way, and if I don't get Ivan's footage on time, I'll use it on something else like a second release or a different video alltogether. WINGSUIT ACROBATICS team O zone ZF#5 , HISPA#70 Blue Skies... ...Big Fat Clouds