SimonM

damn, reading this reminds me of T AND how much I miss wingsuiting. Not long now, see you guys in the sky real soon. Ca-Caa

BM Classic S-Fly Sugarglider GS1 S3 S3S

Damn, you got me. From what I have seen from your the M1 more like my thing. Although it sounds like there are a couple of new suits coming so I may just wait a bit and see how things develop. Besides, my wingsuit bag is stuffed full....

cool suit dude!! i thought i was the oly one who tried their new suits on in the office

I also did my first jumps on my brand new S3S. The suit rocks!! When I started getting the body position right, forward speed and lift was amazing, definitely a step up from the S3. As you rotate arms, you can feel the lift from the front wing deflectors. Felt very clean and easy to fly as well. Simon

>The S6 is finally here Pity I just ordered an S3-S!!!!! Simon

I agree. I wouldnt recommend the GS1 for a first suit. Not that I find it scary to fly (quite the opposite), just there is a lot of suit there to handle the first time out. Simon

Hi, I have been thinking about trying out some wingsuit still photography (I am very comfortable with a video camera on). I know this isnt a strictly a wingsuiting question but what systems are people using for wingsuit stills ? I have a D70 (never used for skydiving) but am tempted by the idea of a small, high quality digital still camera... Any ideas ? Simon

Ca-CaaaaW Well done dude!!

Hey Dude, Like I told you on Saturday- nothing will ever be the same again! Wait for the summer clouds. BTW, you can borrow my classic anyitime you like. Simon

I have found that forward speed is also hugely influenced by prevailing wind. You can see it clearly on a GPS track where you do one leg into the wind and one against it on the same jump. Personally the fastest suit I have seen in action is a V1. I was in an S3 flying as fast as I possibly could and the V1 fell at the same vertical rate but disappeared off into the horizon at a frightening rate. Simon

Hey Peej, Good to finally meet you. The suit looks very cool + well made. I have some video footage of you falling away from me on that jump and I recall wondering just how far out you were going to land ;-) Simon

Hi Guys, Great to finally see a GS-1 in the air! I cant wait to get mine... If the flying technique is similar to a Sugarglider, there is a very specific body position for getting forward speed. On my first couple of flights I found I was very floaty but had no forward drive. Julian then did some coaching jumps and gave me the following advice: - try and stretch your spine out straight while pointing your neck out and head slightly downward (puts you marginally head low)- strange description but it seems to be key. - stretch legs as wide as possible and make sure you are getting lengthways tension on your toes. - on the SG my toes need to be pointed straight out (not down) but this may be different on the GS-1 as the lower wing attachment is different. - push out with the arms until you feel suit tension on your shoulders and tricep/bicep area, without really rolling the shoulders. - very slight de-arch with the hips only. All those combined made a huge difference to my forward speed. I also find flocking tricky with the suit - it tends to want to float up and away from everybody else I am only starting to get the hang of it now- I think that it needs very subtle inputs over the whole suit. In contrast to the S3 which I found for example I could quite agressively bend legs to slow down forward speed and still flock quite comfortably. Looking forward to hearing more, Simon

Noice, very noice!

Numbers arnt everything (or anything really) but I am pretty sure he will get into the late 40's pretty soon. Sounds like you guys are doing lots of wingsuit stuff, I must come jump sometime soon. Simon

Hey Tonto, John is around the same size as me (maybe a bit heavier) so I am sure he has a lot of room for improvement from mid 60's. Simon

That is just sick Simon

Hey Ted, I found that to get the max performance (vertical high 30's low 40's) out of the SG uses lots of body strength (legs as well as arms/shoulders). The GS1 may be less physically demaning due to the changes in design, but then I havnt flown one. A more relaxed position is possible but then speed slows down and fallrate picks up. I know this stuff is all relative but I have had no problem doing 5 jumps in an afternoon in my S3 but 2 maxed out SG's is my current limit. Of course the longer flight times in the SG probably contribute to this but maybe I just need to get in the gym more. Simon

I have an S3 and a Sugarglider. They are very different suits but I personally prefer the SG. I get better glide ratios and longer flight times. I find it more difficult to flock than the S3 but then I have more S3 jumps. The S3 is definitely a lot less physically demanding to fly than the SG. So if you think you may want to do lots of wingsuit jumps in 1 day, you should factor that into the equation. Hope that helps, Simon

Hi All, That is the suit that I tried on- it is just awesome. The finish and attention to detail is superb. Cant wait to fly it. Although reserve puff swallowing wasnt ever an issue of my SG suit (I suspect that problems arose when jusping suits that didnt fit perfectly), this has been completely eliminated in the new suit. The zips just blew me away, they really are a work of art. Simon

Mine soon will be All reasonable offers considered ;-) Seriously, you can borrow it anytime I think that there is risk around any new suit, granted a lot less when the suit comes from a proven manufacturer. Even if it is tested and everybody else loves it, you may not like it. That said, the easiest way to tell is to fly one or wait for the reports from people who's view you trust. The wider the choice of suits and manufacturers the more chance you will find several that hit your various sweet spots. Simon

Hey T, I actually tried on a GS1 2 weeks ago- looks and feels absolutely awesome, like a natural evolution of the SG. But the proof is always in the flying so hopefully in a week or so.... I have no doubt that Taya will get an average descent rate below 30 mph in a SG. Simon

Hi All, I did probably my most awesome SG flight yesterday and have to share it with Those Who Understand. The spot was too shallower for my usual flight plan so I exited at just under 11k and headed off towards the city. For the first time I was flying above a large road with plenty of traffic. I must have spent about 45 seconds flying directly overhead the street and overtaking cars one by one! It just blows my mind that there were people sitting in their cars with no idea of what was going on above their heads. While I was up there screaming with pure joy. I used to spend my time trying to get the best 'numbers' possible and now I just try and cover as much distance as possible, funny thing is that the the numbers seem to be getting better and better all by themselves. Simon

I have about 80 S3 jumps and did 4 V1 jumps a few weeks ago. I found the suit technically easy to fly but my arms were completely stuffed after 2 jumps. Performance was exceptional- same vertical speeds as on the S3 (but felt like there was lots more to come from the V1) and forward speed was just awesome. I didnt really try any flocking in the V1 but I can imagine that it is a bit tricky to fly with slowly horozontally. I find that the S3 is happy to flock with anybody. Simon

As soon as I get my new suit, I will come demo! Simon