Tonto

Never mentioned it! Because it's not there. I felt no noticable strain of any sort when flying the suit. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hi There. This post is long and rambling. Read only if you're at least as obsessed as I am. Got a chance to jump Julian's suit yesterday. It was a very positive experience. On Saterday evening, Julian got a break from team training and took my Neptune along on his flight. Exit 10700 - deployment 2300. 145 seconds. 9000ft 41 mph 6000ft 30 mph 3000ft 49 mph (backflying) Conditions were far from perfect with the 1st half of the dive being in cloud. My experience is limited. I have about 130 wingsuit dives, all on Birdman suits. (35 Classics, 10 GTi, 90 S3) Connecting the suit is easy. Took me maybe 4 min being carefull not to screw it up since I had no help. Getting in is a mission. Julian is a lot taller and thinner than I am, but I managed. The suit is very comfortable to wear. The leg stance is wide enough not to have to remove the leg wing for landing. The knees have SERIOUS padding. I was a little uncomfortabel with my reserve and cutaway puffs being semi swallowed by the suit. This may be an issue caused by the suit not being made for my build/rig. There are also fairly long bits of cutaway cable sticking out of the ends of the arms, although in truth, they bothered those who saw them more than they did me. I exited maybe 10 seconds after a Birdman 2 way, both on GTi's. The suit was rock stable and flying a half second after exit. I did a fairly long into the wind leg, and then turned right to start my pattern. The suit didn't respond well to the same banked turn my S3 likes. Having no experience with weight shift turns, this had to do. The feel is like comparing a deep brake flat turn under canopy (sugar glider) to a toggle turn to half brake. (S3) This results in less slip and far flatter turns, I think. On the downwind leg I could clearly see both GTi's below and ahead of me, flying maybe 30 yards off the right hand side of a big cloud and passing through a nice "C" shape on the edge. I started to push for forward speed to see if I could make it too. For those who think the Sugar Glider lacks forward speed - you're wrong. If you point the nose down, it goes fast. People later commented on the speed since we were all very visible against the cloud. Dispite the larger arm wing and my usual use of the S3's base pilot chute pouch, I enjoyed the flight enough to preclude wasting time on a practice touch. I began deployment a little higher than usual at 3500, to be prudent. The suit shuts down very nicely and is rock steady during deployment. Interestingly, I felt a lot of horizontal drag while upright on the sections of wing along the edge of the thigh prior to full inflation of the canopy. Unzipping the arm wings and not having to bother with the leg wing makes things very convienient. So... would I buy one? This is a great design. I'm sure finding the sweet spot would take me several jumps due to my Birdman only heritage, but even on jump number 2 I feel I could go out and flock with Classics, S-Fly's, Matter's GTi's and S3's. I've never seen a Vampire. I'm sure most would consider my numbers poor, with 67 mph at both 9K and 6K, but then floaty flight has NEVER appealed to me and was not my goal on this flight. My best in my S3 has been 49MPH and I'm sure the Sugar glider would better that. I'd want to do at least 10 demo jumps before I make a desision to lay out another $1000 on another design which requires another technique to fly at it's optimum. Finally, I think that so much of what we experience is how we feel in flight. While looking at numbers can help to create attainable goals and refine technique, the viseral, hedonistic thrill of banking into a sweeping turn to keep a firm, white cloud off your inside wing, the inching acceleration as you put your head down to blast through some personally targeted puffy bit, or the expression of pure, bursting joy on a fellow flockers face as you drift up and dock are profoundly personal experiences that we should seek out in any way we can. In the words of the man who helped me into a Classic for my 1st ever flight... "Flappy suits rock!" t It's the year of the Pig.

Read all the "I love my ........" threads in this forum. People buy what they buy for a reason. A personal dislike of mine is when someone asks "Spectre or Sabre" and people chime in with "Try the Onyx!" or other such suggestion unrelated to the choice asked. I look at some people's gear and get the same feeling I do when some dude is going on about his beautiful (fat, ugly, whuffo) girlfriend. Best to just shut up and say, "Nice!" Love is truely blind, and that's a good thing. I can understand choices like "Safire 2, Pilot or Sabre 2" but your choice is between 2 very different canopies aimed at different sectors in the market. If you want to learn to swoop, as one of your other threads suggests, then I would advise you to gravitate towards canopies others are already swooping. While swooping a Spectre is indeed possible, I'm sure there are more people doing ok on the Sabre 2. There. I said it. Sabre 2. t It's the year of the Pig.

Nice thread you started here! t It's the year of the Pig.

Well... instant gratification is one reason. You can meet a dude, see the gear, pay for it, and be jumping it the same weekend. Even buying items off the shelf takes weeks before it's all assembled if it's out of state. As for "Brothers hooking brothers up," well, for me brothers are a lifetime thing, and I got tired of my "brothers" quitting about 15 years ago. Seen what some second hand postage stamps sell for? Think they're worth it? t It's the year of the Pig.

What happened to "The culture of life" ? t It's the year of the Pig.

Low self esteem? Sub terainian may be a better description. t It's the year of the Pig.

O+ t It's the year of the Pig.

Make that three. I think he was a mass murderer. Watching MILLIONS die of AIDS in Africa, and knowing that condoms could save them, and yet still forcing 1 billion catholics to choose between death on this planet and eternal life someplace else, or life on this planet and eternal damnation someplace else, is evil. It's criminal. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hi Ross. What worries instructors about things like this is the "I told you so." factor in the event of an incident or injury. It's easy to see how a small issue with your gear could result in a really unhappy series of events which the DZ or instructor or governing body (BPA) would need to answer for. I think that the major hurdle would be the student. If I have a student who can understand the risks and is prepaired to put the time and the training in to overcome them, then there is hope. Next hurdle is, of course, the equipment. If you were to modify club student equipment, then there is always either the risk of some "regular" student using the modified equipment - and the consequences of that happening. Alternately the down time on that rig being unavailable to anyone but you during the time your training is conducted plus the cost of modification. A paraplegic has no difficulties in reaching or pulling handles. Their risk is simply a landing risk - and that is a risk we all share to some degree. In South Africa, we are still doing AFF with ripcord activated rigs. The ripcord sits on the right hip - and should be easily accesable from your description of your limited mobility. Alternately the rig could be modified to ripcord deployment from the left hand BOC position, and the cost of throwing the handle factored into the course. On completion of AFF, you would convert to a BOC, and at this point I suggest several harness hold jumps and plenty of ground practice to overcome any negative muscle memory while you practice your left hand deployment if the gear you used as a student was unmodified. If Aerodyne do build you a rig, ask for their "breakaway" BOC pouch so that a JM or fellow jumper can intervene if required. Reserve drills would remain the same and require no modification of gear. Since you're down 25% on power in your right arm, I'd suggest large rings, non stainless hardware and excellent maintenance of the cutaway system. Aerodyne's "Miniforce" rings may give enough benefit to offset their being made of stainless. If you have difficulty deploying your main, your reserve sounds accesable to both your hands, so the "one arm disabled" arguement seems void. For obvious reasons, I'd suggest the use of an AAD on all your gear. Due to the added expenses involved in this endevour, and should you choose to try this in South Africa, I wouldn't charge what I usually get paid for AFF, and would do the dives for the slot/packjob only. If you're interested, I'll run it by our CI and the head of National Safety and Training. No promises, but if you're keen, I'll do what I can. There is no shortage of people who say why things should not be done. If something can be done safely, or with acceptable risk, and the process passes a review of the instructors peers, it is worth consideration. t It's the year of the Pig.

That's WHY you got laid a ton. We like people who respect us and who think highly of us. When I see people disrespect others, it's a major turn off, especially if they're people who are doing their jobs, like waiters, for example. While this thread is entertaining, I think both parties are equally to blame. He may not have invited her into the house, but he did invite her into his bedroom, and should take responsibility for that, and the potential consequences of that, whether they be Pregnancy, AIDS or unwanted emotional entanglement. But you already know all this.

I have 2 rigs and I use them both. I could use a 3rd by then having 1 permanently dedicated to Birdman. My Mirage G4 is primarily for AFF, and my Mirage G3 is primarily for Birdman, but serves as a back to back when I'm busy working hard. Both rigs are custom, handles and hook knives in the same place, identical reserves. Mains are an eliptical 107 for AFF and a "tapered" 109 for Birdman. I have a dedicated packer and put my ground time into briefing/debriefing. t It's the year of the Pig.

PC in tow. For those of you scared about a horseshoe... pull stable. If it's a container open, throw the PC first and see if it clears. How often do you hear about horseshoes? How often do you hear about PC in tow? I've had 18 cutaways. 7 from wraps and entanglements in a CRW rotation team. The remaining 11 have been broken lines, pressure knots, a line over, a PC in tow, a baglock. (on a tandem) No malfunction is less risky than another. If you're going to rush, rush the desision, but not the action. Do it right. You only get 1 chance. t It's the year of the Pig.

Drunkmonkey doesn't like you. I don't care if he was a shill. (a word I connot find in the Oxford dictionary) I do care that he was anti any form of martial art other than Brazilian Ju-jitsu. t It's the year of the Pig.

I didn't say that. I posted a newspaper article that did. You don't know my views. If you use the search function on this forum, you'll find my active and positive participation in threads related to marksmanship at above 1000m range. Once you've read those, ask again whether you think I should rethink anything. I posted a newspaper article, and only the word "Thoughts?" was my own. You clearly did not think before you went off half cocked. Looks like you just had an Accidental discharge in this thread. t It's the year of the Pig.

That's why I use it. None of the negatives just allows me to fly a bit harder for longer without having to build in "looking time" on every dive - just in case. t It's the year of the Pig.

Thread title is "Pellet gun kills 12 year old boy" but I've read this twice now, and I'm almost sure it was the pellet, and not the pellet gun that killed this boy. Had the pellet not pierced his heart, he may still be alive. Now if he were beaten to death with the weapon, then maybe the title would be correct, but I suspect it would then be changed to "12 year old boy bludgeoned to death by pellet gun." Am I the only one who thinks this way? t It's the year of the Pig.

http://www.pearsecom.com/fiorspeartha/index.html Clicky t It's the year of the Pig.

As Aggie pointed out, keeping those on larger, more docile canopies away from the landing hazards is a good thing, even in Africa, where I am. I'm quite sure that if you placed the accuracy tuffet 5 yards from the hangar at a National competition you'd find all the senior competitors complaining about the interference from the buildings, etc. You can't please all of the people all of the time. We're looking at avoiding the type of collision that has put a very good friend of mine in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and you're weighing that risk against a MAXIMUM of a maybe 90 second walk. It's all about priorities. Avoiding a colision, either between canopies, or between junior jumpers and obsticals is the priority here, not who has to walk for 60 seconds, and why. t It's the year of the Pig.

How long is a peice of string? How many roads must a man walk down? Seriously, there are too many variables for any serious poster to give you a serious answer. Work on a glide angle of between 1 and 1.2 for people who use them quite well. t It's the year of the Pig.

There. Fixed it for you. t It's the year of the Pig.

Regardless of ones view on rules, low level unintentional CRW (read: "Collision") is best avoided by the pilot aproaching from above and behind. The pilots of the "docile canopies" usually have less experience, lower awareness, restricted manuverability and less chance of noticing those aproaching from their 6. The advice given for splitting the landing area is a good one. t It's the year of the Pig.

Just be you. And hide the rig. You know how your dream date will feel when you tell him you once did over 100 skydives in less than 12 hours. Personally, I think he's the one getting the dream date! Good luck! t It's the year of the Pig.

Is this the Tomcat made by Air Time Designs? Ok. Firstly, no rear riser swoops to landing, OK? Promise me that. In the old days, swoops were done with toggles. This physically swung the pilot out from under the canopy, and as they pendulumed back, the wing generated some speed that could be converted to lift. Many, many people got themselves into unrecoverable positions and were killed or injured. Some people beleive that front riser turns may prevent this situation, but a quick glance at the incidents forum will show that only the pilot can prevent injury when landing, regardless of the technique used. Front riser turns can be initiated much higher than toggle turns. This allows the pilot more time to think their way through the turn, and more altitude to allow the canopy to accelerate. If the turn is initiated too low, the pilot has a better chance of digging themselves out of the turn and returning to level wing configuration prior to impact. Some canopies DO NOT RESPOND WELL to front riser input. I have over 1000 dives on a Jonathan 120 - which I suspect may be the eliptical cousin of your Tomcat, if memory serves correctly. The Jonathan did not enjoy front riser input at all. Rear risers can be used to steer your canopy prior to the brakes being unstowed, to trim the canopy for flatter glide when flying back from a deep spot upwind, to flare the canopy for landing in the event of a broken or disabled brake, or to further maintain speed/glide after a swoop. I've heard many things in the past 20 years of skydiving. This is my 1st time hearing about rear riser swoops. Be sure you have not misunderstood your dad. Generations tend to misunderstand each other a lot. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm folding the pilot chute the same way I was taught to fold a Vector Tandem Drouge in 1992. I know that folding the PC with the bridal inside is frowned upon these days, but I've done so for well over 4000 dives with no incident and am reluctant to change to the unknown at this point. IMO the BASE PC Pouch was designed with longevity high on the design spec. I would far prefer a spandex pouch, as I have had the PC slip out on 2 occasions when running (yes, RUNNING) to get onto a load. I have experienced no negative traits to use of the BASE PC Pouch on any dives thus far but must point out that my experience is limited and I only have 100 dives with this configuration. While I favour "short and fat" I'm not sure if this holds any advantage in a non elasticated pouch. t It's the year of the Pig.