
SimonM
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Everything posted by SimonM
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Hye Cate, Sorry I wont be able to make it, will be thinking of you guys. BTW, the attached pic looks very similar to my prototype suit, I thought it was a pic of me for a second!! Out of interest I have been gathering GPS data for my old SG. I am getting a 1.7 to 2.0 glide ratio which is *much* better that anything I was getting in my S3 (although this is probably a reflection of my skill in the S3). I can easily believe that good pilots will get glide ratios of around 3.0 in SG's. If the new suit is even better..... Forward speed is very variable depending on wind, technique, fatigue etc etc. I dont think I have near enough data to make a proper assessment but taking an average over a couple of runs in a couple of directions and comparing to my S3 runs forward speeds are not too different between the suits. Put another way, the SG isnt as slow as people think. Simon
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Would you do this on a King Air ? I usually jump a KA and to date we have done our exits by lining up inside the door and trying to exit as close together as possible- doesnt make for a very tight formation. Putting one or two people outside would make things easier but I am worried about the low tail, run in speed and hanging out in the wind with all that wing begging to catch wind.... Simon
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You wont have to wait too much longer for the production suits. Maria and Cate have gone 'undercover' while they are sorting out the last details but the first suits should be coming out anytime now. On a different note, I did some coaching jumps with Julian on the SG last week. He has shown me the technique/bodyposition for getting good forward speed from the SG suits. It feels like it works very well but we will get some GPS data as soon as I get my unit back from Julian. Simon
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I spoke to Maria yesterday. It sounds like there are some VERY exciting developments coming soon. Simon
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That is exactly what I did for about 50 jumps, I then did a couple of jumps where I was chasing the plane or flying along big clouds, trying to go as fast as I could. The numbers suddenly started looking better- I was going faster forward and falling slower. Simon
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Edgar the base jumper
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Hi All, I have the absolute joy to do a few jumps last week with the first V1 in Africa. The suit is awesome- finish quality, fit and design. As others have posted I could not believe the forward speed. The suit just disappeared into the distance and I was flying my S3 as fast as I could. On the video, it looks like the S3 is standing still. Jumping the V1 was even more fun than watching it- I was very far away from getting the body position dialed in but managed around 50's vertical speed and what felt like MASSIVE forward speed. Turns were also a blast with a real sensation of banking like a fighter jet! It feels completely different to the SG, not better or worse, just different. The V1 feels more edgy, less chilled and needs more physical strength but seems to reward with more straightline speed. The flight data comparisons with two top line pilots in each suit. Cheers, Simon
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Unless I am jumping a new suit, I pull at or around 3k. The couple of times that I have had some 'excitement' on opening (linetwist, toggle release, brief PC in tow), I have been very happy to have the extra altitude. Simon
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Hi All, Mine took less than 3 weeks from order to delivery but then I think I was lucky that the factory was quiet at the time. I can confirm that the SG is a custom made suit that fits well. In my suit 'handle swallowing' is not a serious issue but I can see how it would be a problem on a suit that is too big. Cant wait to see the new production suits.... Simon
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Come on Tom, what did you think of it!! Simon
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Hey Taz, The suit that Tonto jumped must have been big for him (julian isnt short). The problem is a lot less pronounced on correctly fitting suits, but I can understand how it happens on a big suit. I havnt seen my handles do it, but I havnt really tried to do it either. I dont think it would be difficult to sort out a better solution- like the S-fly's. On a different note, I expect that you would pretty easily sustain under 30mph on a SG for the whole flight...... Simon
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Hey T, Noice review. I think you would find that the SG performance would improve a lot with a few more jumps, especially with a well properly fitting suit. Julian's numbers rock, but then he is more bird than man. You are right, it really does come down to how you experience flight and different suits bring out the ca-caaaw in different ways. Simon
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Hi All, I finally managed to grab some GPS stats from Sugarglider flights. I will try the Paralog software and should get some more detailed stats from it. I did 3 jumps from between 12000 & 13000 AGL, with the Forerunner mounted on my wrist. Flight times were around 2m30s and I was trying to keep flying the whole time so wasnt maxing out the suit and I would get too tired for the last 30 secs or so (more gym work clearly needed). I was getting about 5km's horizontal distance while flying a box pattern with speeds of between 70mph and 80mph (and a good section of over 80mph), there were fairly strong uppers so cant really tell how much wind assist there was as I had a combination of tail, side and head winds.. Vertical speeds were 38 to 42 SAS, with several long sections of low 30's when I hit the suit's sweet spot. The glide ratios averaged 1.5/1 over the whole flight and good sections, where I was trying hard were 1.7/1 for 60 secs or so. I am sure that the suit has plenty more to offer ( have only done 8 or so jumps on it), but compares well to my performance in an S3, where I was getting 1.2/1 glide ratios and slightly slower horizontal speeds. I know these are poor for an S3, but gives some idea of how well the Sugarglider is performing for me. Cheers, Simon
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Hi All, I am looking for software to download and analyse my wingsuit jumps (I am recirding the jumps with a Foretrex 201). I 'reset' the track and leave the unit on in the plane. Just before exit, I press 'start' and then 'stop' as soon as I get unzipped. The Garmin software handles downloads of multiple tracks fine, but is poor at analsying them- speed goes off the scale at 80mph and I cant seem to get a distance/altitude track to last for longer than 2 mins. All the other software that I have tried seems to get confused if there is more than 1 track left on the unit when I come to download. At this stage I am not fussed about getting maps (Photomaps doesnt cover my home DZ in South Africa), I would just like to be able to analyse the data easily. Any suggestions ? Thanks, Simon
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I dont know why people do this. I have suits from 3 different manufacturers and I enjoy all of them! They are different not necessarily better or worse. I am not a SG test pilot or by any means an experienced pilot. But on my first 4 times out on the SG I was getting significantly slower vertical speeds than I ever got on my S3 (after about 50 S3 jumps). I am 100% certain you will get much slower vertical speeds on a SG than on your GTi. But then for me that is only 1/3 of the picture. The other is forward speed and ability to flock with a range of different suits. Simon
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okay will get to it in a few days. I am almost certain that there is nobody who has flown both a SG and a Vampire so I dont think you will find somebody to comment with authority. When we start to see the speed data from both suits we will get a better idea. For me, the real question is which suit is more fun. I suspect that in the end you will need both! I spoke to Julian earlier today who says that he has been able to stay with S3's for forward speed no problem. The SG will have plenty of range to fly with smaller suits- I have seen it first hand flying with my S-fly and a SG. In a way it should be easier to flock with floaty birds in small suits as you dont need massive forward speed to generate the lift (as per S3). Simon
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See Julian's pics- better than I could ever hope to do. If people would like detailed pics of the suit, let me know and I will take some. Cheers, Simon
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Hi All, Well my sugarglider arrived as promised, 2 weeks after ordering and a couple of hours later it was in the air! The quality of the workmanship is excellent- finish is, in my view, on par with the birdman suits and way better than on my s-fly. There are a lot of clever details like padded knees, extra velcro to hold the cutaway handles securely in place and a flap along the wing to cover the cutaway loops. The booties even had cool blue leather feet that matched the rest of the suit. Fit is great as you would expect from a custom made suit. The suit is very easy to hook up- 4 zips in a similar system to the s-fly, probably takes less that 1 min and you are good to go. Getting into the suit is a bit more tricky than an S3- there is only 1 zip in the middle so you have quite a narrow opening to get into, but I am sure it will get easier with practise. So, what is it like to fly ? Absolutely awesome! It suit inflates and gets lift instantly out the door. The flying position feels very natural and not particularly stressed- slightly cupped body and arms forward but not 'rolled over'. Legs are wider than an S3. It found it way less tiring than flying the s3. I was expecting it to feel mushy in turns like the s-fly but it is a lot crisper- closer to an s3. I honestly could not believe the vertical speeds I was getting- first flight while trying out different body positions was average 40mph over the whole jump (measured on a protrack). I am not a particularly good pilot- the best average I had ever got from my s3 was 51mph. After downloading the jumps last night, I saw that there were a couple of 20 second sections on the low 30's. The visuals were amazing it felt like I was flying horozontally alongside the clouds forever with almost no sensation of falling. At one stage I had to check my alti very carefully as the flight was going on so long and the ground was refusing to come up! The big question is how fast forward is it. It feels a bit slower than the s3 but I havnt been able to download my gps track to test it out. My guess (based on 4 jumps) is that for me it will be slower but have a much better glide ratio and cover a lot more ground that I am currently able to do in an s3. Openings were nothing exciting, the wing material covered the puff slightly and after deploying, there was a noticeable amount of extra material blown up around my arms. Unzipping legs and arms as per usual. All in all an awesome suit!! Simon
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Cate has been driving me crazy sending me pics all day of the suit being assembled!
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My suit is ready, less than 2 weeks from ordering, now all I have to do is hope it gets to me in time for jumping on saturday. I have attached a pic, not sure if will come through. Simon
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Not yet- apart from the anecdotal stuff that we have all heard. When I get my suit I will do some tests + hook up my gps to some other flyers so expect some info in the next month or two. Simon
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Hi All, I ordered my sugarglider today. I know it is sick to have so many suits but I couldnt help myself. The guys were great in helping me pick colours & design. I am waiting for a final delivery date but it looks like less than 3 weeks. Cheers, Simon
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I wouldnt read too much into it as I am not (yet) getting anywhere near the results others are from the S3 (low 50's vertical and around 1:1 glide ratio (measured by GPS). The flocking portion of the flight was too short to really get anything more than an impression. The impression is that the Sugargliders float as expected but have more forward speed than expected and probably great glide ratios. Simon
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The pilots were two of the carrots (Rainier and I forget who else). They have a reasonable amounts of jumps on classics and lost of other jumping experience. I dont know what pricing is like, but I am going to find out! Yes, exactly. Those pics are the same as the suits I flew with. Simon
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Hi All, I did a jump with two production sugargliders on Saturday (I was on my S3). I understand that they are 99% in their final form with some minor details to sort out. I will try to get some pics to post soon. The suits look great, with excellent finishes and attention to detail. The wings are big- much bigger than the S-fly and the suit has lots of vents for wing inflation. The arm wings go almost down to the foot, but the leg wing is a bit shorter than on some of the proto-types. There is a large (bigger than S3) 'tail wing' at the bottom of the rig. On exit the Sugargliders got flying almost instantly - I could see first one flying alongside the plane from my position inside the door. They seem to have *lots* of lift. We were not able to do much of a flocking dive due to a combination of me being caught by surprise at their slow vertical speed and the Sugarglider pilots concentrating on flying their suits (they only had 2 or 3 jumps each). The suits seemed to have lots of range and a decent amount of forward speed. Cant wait to test one out and get to do more flocking jumps. Simon