TALONSKY

I have about 35 total wingsuit jumps on a GTI. At the start I was using a really docile canopy Falcon 195 however I just could not handle flying that slow docile turd anymore so on my last 3 jumps I use my Crossfire 2 130 wing loaded at 1.75 to 1. I find that the Crossfire opening work great with a wing suit. I would pull and watch the opening then harness steer until I got my wings undone. As far as swooping the pond I love a wingsuit at the bottom end of the dive I fly over to the start of my setup before pulling. Blue Skies Kirk

So compared to your Crossfire 2 what are the differEnce between the two? Thanks Kirk

When I bought my GTI I talked to Kim at Birdman and she suggested to deploy exactly how the manual states. I have heard from others that they ball up after pulling. Myself I have always done as the manual states, however after today I think I might try going back to full flight and seeing which works best for me. Thanks Kirk

This is taken directly from the Birdmand suit flight manual Since you cannot use your arms to wave off, you have to wave off with your legs. Click your legs together twice,while watching the airspace around you, so that anyone near you can see your intention to pull. PULL The most critical portion of your wingsuit flight is the pull. ""The huge burble behind you caused by your large wings and your forward speed could cause a pilot chute hesitation resulting in line twists."" An asymmetrical body position could cause you to become unstable and can also lead to line twists. Since your bag will come off your back at a 45° angle you should keep your legs FULLY EXTENDED while you pull. While learning to fly the wing suit start your wave off and pull sequence higher than normal. (We recommend 4500´ to 5000´ to start.) HERE IS HOW YOUR WAVE OFF AND PULL SEQUENCE SHOULD GO: .Tap your feet three times. On the third tap keep your legs together and arch slightly. .Symmetrically bring both your arms in for the pull. (Your legs should remain straight and closed the entire time to decrease the burble.) .Throw your pilot chute vigorously and symmetrically in to clean air. .Close your arm wings once you have released your pilot chute (to decrease the burble.) AFTER THE PULL You are right that the manual states PC hesitations happen it also states by keeping all wings closed during openning sequence you decrease the burble and chance of PC hesitations. Which was the reason I asked if he deployed according to the manual Kirk

With the birdman and the standard bridle the PC hesitation does occur occasionally In the 35 birdman suit jumps I have made I have never had a PC hesitation. I could be an exception to the rule but I doubt it. When you pull are you collapsing all the wings as per Birdman manual? Oh I just have a standard length PC also. Blue Skies Kirk

I may be the only one to say anything but I think at 155 jumps you may want to wait awhile for an fully elliptical canopy. I know they are fun and cool but fully elliptical canopies have their drawbacks meaning they are really alot less forgiving of input mistakes. Just thought someone should let you know that there are a lot of really fun and cool semi-elliptical canopies out there that are more forgiving of input errors. The Safire, Safire 2, Sabre 2 are some really great canopies. I realize that Atair pimps their Cobalt to beginners but in the end it is a fully elliptical canopy with all the plus’s and minus’s of a fully elliptical canopy. Well have fun and play safe Kirk

I think the price may be a tad high but not bad for use Cypress. However, you may want to consider that you are paying roughly half price of a new Cypress ( I paid $925 delivered four months ago) and it only has a quarter of the 12 years left before it can not be used. I find the used prices of Cypress’s to be rather high over all. Kirk

I had a Talon 2 T6 and put a 150 SQ feet canopy in it with no problems. For the T6 150 SQ feet canopy was the smallest I could put in it. I put 350 jumps on the rig with the 150 canopy in it and never had any problems. Kirk

Go to Icarus web site, if you down load the manual it will gie you a step by step picture and discription of how it is done. Kirk

Awhile back I went through the same thing. I went from a Safire 169 to a Crossfire 2 130, after opening getting the slider stowed and brakes unstowed was stressful. The damned canopy was filing all over; I talked to a lot of people about it and was told it was hip input. After making a few more jumps I was able to stop adding unwanted hip input and then openings were great. I have jumped a Vengence 120 loaded at 1.93 and found it to be even more hip input sensitive. I realize you are loading a lot less however I would guess it to be the same thing, hip input. ( not to get flamed for my own downsizing, I realize I made a huge downsizing step but it was made with a lot of input from the S & TA along with about 6 other instructors/ great swoopers) Play safe Kirk

Well I think given just the right circumstances all parachutes can collapse. All I was stating is if 60 plus % of the nose is closed off, pressurizing it is real important. I believe if you under load one of these kind of canopies you would be increasing the risk factor of the nose collapsing (but once again this is just my opinion). Kirk

I know this is slightly off the main subject, but I wanted to comment on under loading high performance canopies. Some of these canopies have 60 plus % of the nose formed, I personally feel that with that much on the nose formed the canopy need a certain amount of internal pressurization to keep the nose from collapsing. I feel this is why some of these canopies have a minimum wing loading (of coarse there are probably other reasons for the minimum). This is just my opinion. Kirk

I have an infinity container that was delivered in October. I will second the statement about Kelly being really great to work with. I had ordered mine originally for a PD 160 Reserve and a Crossfire 2 130 main, I got an e mail from Kelly stating that his pattern swould either fit th PD 176 or PD 160 but the main tray would only go as small as my current main. Anyways, I went to the smaller pattern and Kelly ended in throwing in free logo on the side of the rig. These rigs are really great and has the best customer service I have ever seen. Kirk

Well I would not go nearly as far as Treejumps did, but in reality he seems accurate. Changing the angles on the tribrace only weakens it's ablity to brace the top and bottom skins from moving. Also all of the extra seams ad in some margins for tolerance build up ( even presision cutting and sewing has it's ± tolerance). It really just seems like a bad spin on the standard tri brace setup. But hey that is just my .02 cents Kirk

Good point Quade Kirk

The Pro-Track or Pro-dytter can be installed in almost any helmet. I have seen several in Protec helmets. I would strongly encourage you not to use an audible altimeter for a long time. Audibles are great and almost a necessity in freeflying but as a student you need to build a good internal clock for altitude awareness. Having an audible early in your skydiving life you may not build that internal clock for altitude since the audible will let you know the important altitudes. Blue Skies Kirk

I am really surprised that no one has stated Enigma MCMXC A.D. the entire CD. I find that one or his second CD “The Cross of Changes” to be a really great for sex. Most of my friends like to do it to his CD’s. Kirk

Not alot of skydivers that do not fly an Omega or Safire know about this sizing issue( well for that fact unless you hear about it or call the factory many may not know about it either) Icarus is very up front about the sizing issue, if you call them and talk to them about the Safire 1 and Omega the sizing issue is the first thing they bring up. I am not sure why they never published anything on it but they always have brought it up when I have called them. Kirk

When I downsized my reserve I demo'ed one first. I wanted to know how it would fly and if I would be comfortable with it. I am glad I took the time and the $40 some dollars to demo it. Kirk

I e-mailed Icarus and explained that this had been talked about here and if they could give me a reply that I could post so here is Icarus's reply The Safire-1 and the Omega are measured differently to PD canopies. As a rough guide a Safire-1 or Omega is about the same size as the next size down - eg A Safire 149 is about a 135. A Safire 119 is about a 109. Use an equation of 8%. The Safire-2 and Omni (Omni supercedes Omega) are measured the same as PD. All other Icarus Canopies are measured the same as PD. The reason for the difference is due to Precision measuring their canopies differently. Icarus have always measured the same as PD however when we originally commenced in the USA, Precision were building parachutes for us under license and were doing it using their size equations and not Icarus/PD's. We have therefore had to wait to supercede these models to change the size equation. Only the Safire and Omega were affected. Blue skies Simon Icarus Canopies USA: 1S671 Bender Lane, West Chicago, IL 60185, USA Ph. (630) 562-2735, Fax (630) 231-4430 Europe: P.I. El Ramassar, c/ Vallés, s/n O8520, Les Franqueses, Barcelona, SPAIN. Ph. (34) 938 496 432, Fax (34) 938 497 971 www.icaruscanopies.com

Before you decide on what your next canopy size and make should be, I would suggest demoing several different kinds and a few sizes. After all you will be investing a fair amount of money into the canopy, you may want to make sure it is exactly what you want. I know personally I did a lot of research on my canopy decision and I am happy with it, however I was surprised later when jumping other kinds of canopies that there are a lot of great canopies to choose from. In retrospect I wish I had taken the time to demo more canopies before buying just to make sure I was getting the best for my needs. Blues Skies Kirk

The difference is quite a a lot. The Crossfire 2 has a lot lighter riser pressure, it turns quicker, has a longer recovery arce and is alot more harness sensitive. The Crossfire 2 is more ground hungry which means it flies a lot faster. They still have that great openning that the Crossfire is known for. Kirk

Out of curiosity, where were your Safire’s made. I was talking to the factory service center for relines and they stated ones made by Precision had some problems where the ones made in Spain did not. To find out where it was made look on the warning label in the lower left-hand corner. If it was made in Spain it will have a round parachute symbol similar to the USPA symbol. The reason I ask is my Safire that I jumped for 350 jumps had a ton of flare. I never had any problems with not enough flare. Kirk

Well as far as the Crossfire goes I think they need to be loaded heavy. The nose design is very closed off only small inlets at the bottom of the nose for air. They are big enough but most of the nose is formed and I personally would never recommend under loading one for that reason. Kik

I have had no trouble getting back from a long spot with it. In fact, just yesterday I was downwind (not very strong of wind) farther from the DZ then I have ever been (even up wind) and made it back. I did have to hang on the rear risers but I made it back. Kirk