KrisFlyZ

Yeah, I know run what you brung. Don't get me wrong. I am a big fan of Loic's flying. But please show me another skydiver that is built like Loic. I would very much like to see that. Kris.

Doug said that Yuri was opening on top of the 'white house' on jumps from Smell. He also said opening height was comfortably high. The distance is 2km and even if we consider high as 'only' 160m(assuming Smell is 960m high). The average glide is 2.5. This is what Yuri himself posted last year in the Vampire Chronicles thread(2.5+). Kris.

I knew that one Robi. From a few posts above. Even at a location where an accurate Map is not available...without carrying the GPS on the jump a more accurate reading can be obtained for opening point and exit point and then the L/D calculated....if the opening is low enough to not add too much error to the calculations. It will not work for me because..usually I tend to open higher (there was a time with a 5 sec canopy ride but I try not to repeat that) and jump objects that don't allow flying all the way down to 800'(Kjerag and ITW...Smell scared me a couple of times). Kris.

Definately Loic's skill is way more than normal. But you think he can Glide the same if he was say 5 inches shorter and 10kgs heavier? Kris.

The definition is good. On a completely seperate but related note.... Flocking goes from being an inclusive fun thing to being all competitive and technical ...'lets cut that dude' thing. A couple of years form now when whatever the new discipline is comes along....they will make fun of wingsuiting as we make fun of RW now. Would still be really nice to see 50-100 way tight formations being built. A competitive or serious nature will become a necessity to be able to build such a formation. Kris.

Trigonometry and a mountain? I'm not sure I've never asked. Robi, I must ask how do you calculate glide? How can people quote sustained L/D numbers without a GPS or some other device? Kris.

What whould have been good selections? Kris.

Like any poll the results give an indication of what people think. This poll is no different. Kris.

That's pretty good....a side of you we have not seen before....where's the music video? Kris.

Rank the following features(to have) by order of importance(for a given pilot) for the suit to perform at its best. Because we cannot have a weighted poll, I have disabled multiple answers. Assume that the pilot is using this for max glide flights for 45 sec flights. BASE or Balloon or Heli. Please keep the discussion manufacturer independent if possible. Kris.

Have you tried it on a Balloon jump? What were the results? The altitude data will be noisy and there is not much that can be done. My plan for this was using an Edge 205. This works mostly but the problem is that on BASE jumps I need to be able to have an accurate opening altitude value. At the places I jump distances are known and the available altitude is too much. I purchased a GPSMAP 76CSx(lot of the features that can be used while trekking and can also be used when driving) it has a Barometric altimeter (Calibratable) and plan to wear it inside the suit with the external antenna. See attached pic. Kris.

Somehow I can't imagine Robi hauling the extra weight of some electronic do-dad to tell him his glide, there are other ways to figure it out. I am just basing this on what Robi said in the Glide Ratio thread. If you read the posts from a few years ago..you can read Yuri's posts about his GPS experiences. They may not do so on jumps now but they have used it and don't see the need to use it anymore. Using a GPS correctly at some locations most likely means that it was not carried along for the jump(BASE ) anyway. Kris.

Don't blame the GPS for human errors. It has to be used smartly. How do you think the Yuri and Robi calculate Glide? And a Map overlay can be used for a lot more than 'look how cool that's where I flew'. Kris.

So what do you think? Does GPS work to log flight data? If you voted no. Please post what GPS unit you used and where it was mounted and whether it has a Barometric altimeter. Kris.

Any pics of the Rigor Mortis? Detailed pics of the inlets if possible please. Kris.

I'd have to agree with you there, Glen. There are vast differences in the first flight performances of newbies. Some dive like maniacs, some are incredibly floaty/stalling and I really don't think that this would be a good way to compare suits. And like you said, high performance suits aren't usually intuitive. This is mostly because of the pilot not having awareness. Once there is body awareness and acceptance of the proper angle to fly....some of the high performance suits(by design) in the market promote a proper angle and contribute towards a much improved glide. Initially, the other body position changes don't contibute as much to performance as the correct(or closer to the correct) angle does. Kris.

Go to Flock N Dock and try all three suits . Kris.

Who's alter ego are you? Ego?? There is no such thing. Skydivers and BASE jumpers don't have egos at all. Kris.

From a purely performance perspective...and airtight collar is the correct thing, IMO. For performance the body of the suit should be snug and not fill with air. Ofcourse, I don't like or need backvents so that is disappointing...especially with what it is called. Kris.

Why not use a Heli or a balloon to exit from? Makes things simple. Flight can be parallel to the runway on different sides of it. Kris.

Let me see a picture of these guys standing on the ground wearing the suit with the wings spread. Are they flying much better than 2.7? Kris.

To compare wingsuiting abilities of different pilots is wrong. Any flyer can only do the best that their physical characteristics and suit allow. In other words if you put Loic in a suit optimized for glide...he will make the current numbers look silly. Most of the suits made by PF are optimized for a person around the same size as Robi, the suits will not work efficiently for people who can have bigger legwings. Kris.

Aussie jumper(tracking suit) this year had part of his 36" PC knotted off by the bridle(plastic handle). It towed for a while and then extracted the Canopy. The type of handle would not have matterred at all. Kris.

It was purely a problem with the way the harness sat on the shoulder. Once that was sorted, inflation was not an issue. Since we are talking about fit and performance and weights. I always believed that flying for glide involves flying with complete concentration and 'holding' the correct angle. Unfortunately, it is not possible to hold an angle(I think now that practice or 100s of jumps will not enable someone to hold that angle for the longest time)...it takes too much effort....and the slightest lapse of concentration has put me in a stall. However, if the balance of the suit is such that it puts us in a position of close to optimal AoA the best glide will come automatically. For instance...I(IMO) got best glide from the V-1 by cutting back on the arm wings but keeping the leg wing stretched...less effective arm area and less effective total area but better balance. More area of the leg wing meant that I would be tipped to a lesser AoA. Flying flat with the horizon and gliding at 2.0 puts us at an AoA of 26 degrees. If you subtract the 3 degrees (angle of arm wing incidence ) its still pretty high 23. If the legwing to arm wing distribution puts the wingsuit at 10 degrees below the horizon then the AoA will be 13 degrees and in a higher lift and a lower drag configuration. Putting the wingtips up as described below also reduces the drag a lot. According to this theory....people with longer legs and shortish torsos will be able to fly naturally at an AoA that is close to optimal and thus easily glide well. I have heard people say put some camber into the arm wings(with the V2 wingtips and the Phantom wing tips the entire bottom part of the wing can be bent like an airplanes wing at landing time)...I don't believe that putting camber into the arm wings is best glide configuration. Getting the legs down and sucking the gut in or like in my case loosing it all(I had a proper pumpkin tummy last October ) is the best way. Kris.

The wing profile for the suit you fly. That is for the Phantom. So...lets see yours. Kris.