Tonto

There are 4 identical rigs here in South Africa. They were sized for 170 main and 150 reserves.. but they've been here for about 2 years. Don't know if any went missing, and I know some (2 of the 4?) of the guys quit jumping.. t It's the year of the Pig.

My knowledge of restaurants in Sydney is uncurrent... But he has to eat "Morton Bay Bugs" Don't be put off by the name. They're about the size of Tiger Giants... and delicious! t It's the year of the Pig.

You sound poisonous dude. If that's what you're spreading to the general population... I don't know how many people are going to want to flock with you, or how many of the people you teach are going to want to keep flying with you once that venom gets spraying. People go where there's oportunity. I've spent my life looking for people who can teach me things I never knew, and watching people learning nothing because they think they already know it. I thought Africa had a problem with distance, but I'm REALLY lucky I don't live in Texas. That's too far away from everywhere! t It's the year of the Pig.

Do I believe in Miracles? Yes. Has one ever happened to me? Yes. I'm Divorced! And have been for 8 years! I thank God each day for that. t It's the year of the Pig.

You sound like the "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." motivational speaker. 1 MOA is 10 inches at 1000m. The kill area on a head is a lot smaller than 10 inches. Shattered zygoma's and mandables don't count as headshots in my book. 1 MOA at 2000m is 20 inches, wider than most men are from shoulder bone to shoulder bone when they're facing directly towards or away from you. People move. They breathe. They scratch. They sneeze and they wave their arms around when they talk. They sway when they stand. Put a camera helmet on someone for an hour, and then show me the footage where their head is as still as your target on the range for 3.5 seconds + the time it takes you to make the desision and aquire and execute the shot. There is no shortage of people who claim to be better than others. Lots of people will argue that their rifle shoots straighter than another. Many will claim one calibre over another. Few claim all three, but the strength of your beliefs are well known on this site and are not in question. I'll take your money on the 9 out of 10 on a head sized target, at 1000 yards, on any day, wind blowing, hot, raining, misty, low light, when you're tired, or hungry. I think you're talking 10am on a Saturday morning, in good light, at a known range, with little or no wind after a good night's sleep with your own handloads. What we do on the range and in the feild will always be worlds apart dispite our best efforts to narrow the gap. You're a talented marksman and you're in love with your 30-06. I'm happy for you, and your belief in it's capabilities to effectively and reliably reach out to 2000m. You remind me of a friend I had at 13 who used to hunt Impala with his .22 LR, and get them too. Most of the time. Many others ran off into the bush to die hours later, never to be found. He never bragged about those. Those simply didn't count. t It's the year of the Pig.

You're dreaming if you think a 30-06 will work out to 2000 yards out of a rifle. Even calibres like 300 Win Mag and 7 mil Rem Mag have given up half a klick before that. Although many calibres will go that far (Look at Bisley) what they'll reliably knock down is another story. 308 (Nato 7.62) is working hard on a head shot at 500 m and a body shot at 800. 30-06 at 2000 means you've thought little about wind, thermal lift, or a host of other variables a 180gr bullet is exposed to during flight time over the 3.5 + seconds it will take to cover 2000m, nor what your target will choose to do during that time, unless you're shooting at someone taking a dump. At 2000m even .50BMG flight time is well over 2 seconds with a muzzle velocity +_ 850mps and a far heavier bullet of around 640gr whose velocity decays much slower than a sub 200gr projectile. Barret state the effective range of the .50 BMG round as 1830m although it will reach nearly 7000m. The fact that a kill has been achieved at nearly 1000m past the effective range means NOTHING. If you only had 1 shot, you'd be a fool to take it at that range, regardless of the calibre you were using. t It's the year of the Pig.

Same in South Africa. Recognising the A would be no problem. More than 3 months without jumping and you'd need confirmation of knowledge and a check out dive. t It's the year of the Pig.

I went with Mirage G4. That was 10 months and 400+ dives ago on the rig. I've used it for AFF, FS, freefly, Birdman, and I have no complaints at all. Justin was incredible on the customer support side. In January, I'll get a Mirage G3 as a wingsuit rig. t It's the year of the Pig.

You are a master of understatement. t It's the year of the Pig.

Ok then. We know how. We just don't know when. And never landing an F-111 again? Does that mean you're riding your next malfunction in? t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah, but that's just it.. "Felt unsafe." Where ever you go, there you are! I'm constantly being told how dangerous it is where I am, but the broken bodies I see, I see mostly on the road to work, or rolling about on the DZ. When I watch movies, or TV, the US looks dangerous. When I see sports fans being killed with pepper spray shot into their eyeball - it seems risky. 75 year old women Tazered by cops and you guys think it's ok.. and that was just off this site, yesterday. We're mostly familiar with the risk around us and are accustomed to "other places" being dangerous. I've been threatened with death by US police more than my any other element in the world, simply through protocol differences. In SA, when stopped by police, you get out of the car and walk to their drivers window. Try that in the US and see what happens to you. It really is quite scary to see someone who's pointing a gun at you and who's obviously scared shitless. t It's the year of the Pig.

You gotta see that comment from the outside! t It's the year of the Pig.

Yes. It was a LONG time ago,(read Pre Public AIDS awareness) and we stayed together for about 3 years. We're still in touch for "Happy Birthday" calls. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm still chuckling... t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm having the same problem. It makes some sense if you replace the word stall, with flare... but still... When we're talking 20 feet, are we talking jumper height, or topskin height? Many variables to considder.. t It's the year of the Pig.

Thanks for your honesty. I was very average at school. Not a natural athlete by any means. Now 25 years later, I feel super human. Why? People around me are starting to die. We all go through that 18 - 25 patch when friends die of car crashes and overdoses, but it's happening again now, from the inside. I'm lucky. I've never smoked. I drink, on occasion, usually a Saturday night at the DZ, but seldom more than 2 beers. There's a running joke at the DZ right now. My bar tab for the year is R50 (That's nearly $8.) because usually beers bought are for something I've already done. My last headache was February 1983. I've exercised, or been active my entire life, and my cost, rather than throwing up or coughing, is osteo-arthritis as the result of several broken bones, usually little unimportant ones, being left without medical attention because I had things to do and could not afford down time in a cast. My lifestyle has changed little in the past 20 years. I still jump every weekend, train Kung Fu once or twice a week. Recently, I've been going to gym a bit. But in the end, we all die. Whether we're worn out, poisoned or had the life smacked right out of us, it all ends. It's just about whether you can do what you want to, when you want to in all the time we have before that happens, and be happy with those desisions. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hey Rhino, That's a very broad spectrum, requiring a split into at least anti-personel and anti-material classes, which the Barret stradles somewhat uneasily, being too heavy for a true anti-personel rifle, and short of zoom as a true anti-material rifle. A further split in anti-personel weapons could be "Squad support" vs dedicated snipers rifles. Cost would also be a major issue, as most sniper weapons are bought on a Mil or Dept budget. My choice for anti material rifle here. My choice for Mil/Dept cost limit anti-personel rifle would be a Remington 700, probably in 7mm Rem Mag. No link here, these are all over the place and I trust anyone reading this thread is familiar with them. No cost limit anti-personel here. Squad support or general issue anti personel here, although in all fairness the Dragunov SVD should be mentioned as it was developed primarily for this role. These are opinions based on personal experience. I guess the best weapon for you will always be the one you have with you when you need to use it. t It's the year of the Pig.

Excuse me? Am I not allowed to post my personal experience as someone who has been jumping for a while now because you say so, "wuffo?" t It's the year of the Pig.

Isn't that always true of every relationship all the time? Both parties are free to terminate at any time. Withdrawal from a relationship has never required mutual consent. t It's the year of the Pig.

What few people understand is that weight seriously affects a pilot chute's performance. The old PVC pipe never had these issues. Most freefly handles are light, but I struggle to find them under a wing on my S3. My next PC's I'll have done with a practice golf ball. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hi Courteney, I'm expecting someone else to chime in here - as I'm no expert. I don't even wear anything digital that gives me numbers of any kind, although many of those that I jump with do. I do think that speeds in the low 50's are good for a GTi, but I don't have any idea what kind of glide ratio you have. I think it was Robert who said "Gravity is our only engine, speed is our only friend." I think many new jumpers with tools (proTrack, Neptune) are overly obsessed with freefall time, probably because it's so easy to measure. I've had top speeds on my S3 of over 140 mph vertical as we play around chasing each other. Those were incredible dives with such different perameters to the usual "see how long" or "see how far" flights. Is the canopy pilot who stays up the longest the best? Is the one who loses most altitude on a dive the best? The longest swoop? I think we should be exploring our own limitations within every aspect of potential flight. There's so much out there to learn. t It's the year of the Pig.

I hear you on the workout relative to the other suits, but by comparison to rock climbing, a double sword form, or sparing with a 6ft staff - I wouldn't call it a workout. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong. t It's the year of the Pig.

True. I think canopies are a bit like computers. Generally they are obsolete long before they're worn out. t It's the year of the Pig.

I've heard a lot of "S3 kicked my ass!" comments, but I find it very comfortable to fly, which makes me think I must be doing something wrong. I just can't see how 2 to 3 min of anything static can be THAT hard, but maybe I'll have that pointed out to me by others. The GTi is faster forward than the S3 due to it's narrower wing profile, but this forward speed should increase the lift and so put your speed into the mid 50's, from what I hear. What kind of body type are you? 1. Tall and skinny 2. Small and light 3. Medium and medium 4. Big and Heavy, 5. Small and heavy In my experience, those are the body types from best to worst for flying a wingsuit. t It's the year of the Pig.

I know how you feel. I was one of the 1st Birds on my DZ - and to this day I'm not sure if I suck or not - and if so, how badly I suck. Do you have any acces to a GPS? With that you can work out your glide angle, and that will give you a better idea. I think you're doing very well though. I'm jumping from 11000 AGL (16000AMSL) and am getting around 90 -100 seconds to 3000ft (8000ft flight) on my S3. I'm looking forward to jumping with others who know more than me so I can learn a bit faster. That should happen in Eloy at the holiday boogie. t It's the year of the Pig.