leoholanda

Any unit that have can track points continuously and then transfer to your PC is good. When I got mine I got the cheapest one: foretrex 201. But it's a little slow, only one point per second logged to the track. But it's enough for me. If the unit you're gonna buy have barometric altimeter is also a plus so the altitude logging will be more precise. But since you already have a neptune... Paralog is the best for analyzing the data for now, but I also use CompeGPSAir that can replay the jump with a 3D animation. Leo Holanda

Thanks for the explanation. But what do you think about cutting the arms wings when spinning? Leo Holanda

I have a question. In my third jump with S.3 i had a flat spin which I could get of easily balling up myself. But I could notice that the biggest effect that causes the spin comes from the legs, not from the arms wings. So, its really a good choice to cut away the wings when spinning? I don't think so... Maybe that's why S.3 has the LQRS. Leo Holanda

After evaluating a number of GPS software, I think the best one for us birdmen is the CompeGPSAir. You cannot only connect and download data from GPS of many brands, but you can also view, edit and make analysis of the downloaded tracks in 2D (top view), projecting the track in a real aerial photo of you dropzone (any photo in USA can be get in www.terraserver.com), and also (that feature) view in 3D and even make an animation of the jump! Here is a sample animation! This is a low quality AVI since attachs cannot exceed 120k. Leo Holanda

A "play" button in which you press and it assemble itself automagically in the rig. Leo Holanda

In my opinion, the best one for beginner is the cheapest one. Then, after you have some jumps, get an expert one like Skyflyer or S.3 or V-1 etc. Classic like suits are very recommended because the wing profile is smaller. But I saw Jari giving FFC for a beginner with a GTi and he did very well. In his seconds wingsuit jump, I jumped with him was there was no control problem. Leo Holanda

I have read only the Bird-man flight manual some time ago. I remember it says very clear: "No pull-out". But it does not explain the reason. I imagine that the reason is simple: You can't use a pull out system because in this system you have to bring your arm much far away from you body to extract the pilot chute from inside the container. But, in wing suit jumps, you don't have this required amplitude for moving the arms. You more experienced guys. Am I right? Or there is another reason? Bird Man Flight Manual Pheonix-Fly Flight Manual Fly Your Body Gear Advise DO NOT Use a pull out system. Kris. Leo Holanda

Hey! The is a terrible mistake in the wingsuit scenes... When they jump from the building they both do not have wings... he he he... And then, they put the arms close to the body and this time they now have wings! Terrible... Leo Holanda

This is not my case... Leo Holanda

He should use this accessory... ha ha ha Leo Holanda

At the "satellite" page, press "page" button three times to go to the "trip computer" page. In this page, press "pg up" once. It will show the "speed" information. Press "enter" to display a popup menu, press "enter" again to select "change fields" option, and again to select the "speed" field. Use "page up/page down" to move to "elevation" option. When "elevation" is highlighted, press "enter" to select it. That's it. You now have a digital display wrist altimeter. Leo Holanda

Nice mirror image of your t-shirt in the display glass Leo Holanda

It all depends in the fight angle you can do. I the example I draw, the angle was of about 38.5 degrees (assuming an horizontal line as zero), since tg(38) is aprox 100/126. In a real flight, the flight angle can vary a lot. The attached picture of the jump profile was get using foretrex 201 and GPSTrackMaker software. I opened the parachute at 4000ft. At the first 3000ft the flight angle was about 56 degrees... but, as the flight goes on, the flight angle becomes better to 36 deg (at the last 2000ft) before parachute opens. Leo Holanda

Yes. Let's suppose you are moving at 126 mph of forward speed. If you are falling at 100 mph, the GPS will show 161 mph of total 3D speed. Since the square root of 126x126+100x100 is about 160.9... I'm using CompeGPS Air to analyze all the flight data. It is just excellent! It also make 3D animation of the flight. See http://www.compegps.com/ Leo Holanda

Yes, I'm sure... Foretrex does not have barometric altitude info, but it does have an altitude info by GPS. When I get home, I will take some pictures of its screen and I will write a step by step how to see the altitude info. When I jump, I use it as an digital display altimeter (like neputne). But, the altitude info is not above ground level. You can not zero it when on the ground. The altitude is above sea level. Don't you have a serial interface to connect to your PC? Leo Holanda

In fact, the Max Speed foretrex show is not the horizontal speed, but the real 3D speed. You have to use some analysis software to get the horizontal speed. Leo Holanda

Well... who knows some day there will be a planning on the south hemisphere of the earth... Although, if this dream come to reality soon, I better hurry to get some more experience. Best regards from Brazil! Leo Holanda

I got the garmin foretrex suggested by KrisFlyZ (see the GPS thread). But the softwares I'm using to analyze the jumps are two: - GPS Track Maker for getting all the data, analyze total speeds, distances, and jump profile (the graphic i attached). - 3DTracer for getting a 3D animation of the jump and other live info. Leo Holanda

Hi Russel, I agree with everybody that this is a difficult question. Just to give you a concrete answer, this is the jump profile given by the GPS I used. My glide ratio is about 0.9. Which is not too good as this experienced guys. In my case, I would dump higher. In this jump, I pulled at 4000ft. As you can see in the profile graphic, the glide ratio after the pull is better than before. I'm using a silhouette with a wing load of about 1.1 in which the glide ratio is about 2.5. Leo Holanda

Wow men! The formation is so perfect that someone could think this is a photoshop art! Congratulations to everyone! Someday I'll became part of such formation although i'm the only birdman in my city. Leo Holanda

Hello all. I live in Brazil. Yesterday, the foretrex I bought has arrived here. I have not jumped with it yet but have made some tests. It does not have barometric altimeter, but if the track points info is being acquired correctly by the GPS system, so does the altitude info. With Garmin's mapsource software is not possible to plot position and altitude together, but it is only a software limitation, other software can do that. Also I saw it is possible to plot a 3D and make similar analysis just like FRWD software (with other software). See attached picture of the data I gathered today with my motorcycle going to work. It does have the elevation information and can be plotted in 3D. To wingsuit skydivers, I think that all the measurements made by FRWD are unuseful. It doesn't matter for me to know air temperature. Also I noticed that the air temperature is wrong: the demo version of FRWD software comes with a real wingsuit jump sample. The air temperature is hotter when the skydiver leaves the airplane, and colder when reaches the ground . This is beacause there is not enough time to the thermometer to acquire the real temperature in each second. That is, if you will use it only for wingsuit flights you are paying too much (FRWD is more than $1000 while foretrex is $130) for some features that will make no difference. Even FRWD has only a button, it does not mean it is more simple to use. You have to push the button the right time you want it to start logging the data, because, when you download, you can not edit the tracking points to delete extra data. Also data format exchanged by FRWD is not market standard, so only the FRWD software can read it. With foretrex you do not need even to push any button, it is always logging the movements. And when you connect it to the computer you can consider only the data in respect to the jump. Also you can choose any of dozens software available because the data exchange format is well known by the market. The conclusion I had: FRWD is not for wingsuit skydivers (unless you don't have other things to do with your money

I saw the post by dan preston in the "Landing a wingsuit" thread: Adding the ideas of my friend Guto I started to wonder about... What if a good water skier and wingsuit flyer, wearing his wingsuit, attaches a very long rope to his waist, and a fast boat starts to pull him until he goes up lite a kite? he he he...

Looks like FRWD is exactly the goal of Kevin's flytrack project, wasn't it? It's just perfect for us birdmen! One simple one touch button. All the rest is made with the computer for analysis. Although, the price is a little out of reality, comparing to other powerful devices from other makes. Leo Holanda

What about eTrex Vista? Does it have possibility to plot altitude and position together? What about foretrex? I also saw in technical specs of foretrex that it is waterproof! Leo Holanda

Also, they are much cheaper than eTrex Vista! I noticed that the forerunner and foretrax units are quite similar. What are the main differences between them? From my experience I would say, do not buy a vista. It is a pain in the butt to mount and too big. Get a forerunner(or foretrex 201), these are small units and you can wear it like an alti on either wrist. I used to wear my foretrex 201 on my right wrist (pull hand). With the S3, I wear it on my ankle facing the sky. Happy Logging, Kris. Edited to add : The GPS performance of the Foretrex 201 units is quite good. Leo Holanda