Bengel

Hey, I just bought this rain protection suit in order to make a tracking suit for skydiving out of it. Can you give me some advice, where I should cut the air-inlets for the pants? The second picture shows my idea where to put them, what do you think about it? Thank you for your answers and please feel free to give some further advice, e.g. bungees through the pants, swoop cords for the upper part... Cheers Chris I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Thanks for posting this, freeflyn. I did not know about this law (I was there before Feb 07, actually). But good to know this. I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Thank you for the advice, piisfish. I spoke to the lift operator first. He said, it's ok, because it is off-piste and the site is used from the local paragliding students (I actually have a license for this ;) ) as well. So no worries ;) I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Click http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=5529 or search “snowphoric” on skydivingmovies.com! It’s a Groundlaunching movie I’ve been working on over the past several month with great assistance from my buddy Nick Selmes. It was really much fun, especially flying close to the ridge and finishing these never-ending swoops with a “butt-first” landing in the deep snow ;). But also the long distance flights were just incredible having the beautiful Switzerland scenery in the background. I really enjoyed the trips and can’t wait to get back! And I hope, you’ll enjoy the clip as well. -Chris- I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

I can second that, that's what I did and it was very useful. Can you give us some more information about the slope? Maybe you can start from a lower spot, where you have only little airtime/altitude. And also, what almost all paragliding schools do, is groundhandling (if there's enough wind). But go for a school or even the GLC. -Chris- I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

I'm thinking about calculating the distance you can fly from, let's say, a mountain ;) So I really need some numbers in order to work with a map. Does 1:2 describe the glide with half-break setting? I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

elevation: between 3000 and 6000 ft temperature: around the freezing point humidity: very low (winter, as you already can imagine ;) ) And can I get a much better glide with the rear risers or are half breaks just fine? I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Does anyone know, what the angle of glide of a Sabre II 150, loaded at 1.1, is? And on half breaks? Like 1: ... Thanks for your answers. -Chris- I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Well, yes. But I'm a real lighweight as you can see from the wingloading. Before I ordered the canopy, my instructor even gave me the advice to go for a SabreII 135. But as I test-jumped size 150, I realized, that this was way enough for me and especially for the amount of jumps I do during a year. I must say, that I feel very comfortable with the canopy. I don't feel the need to get something faster and I don't think it's something I can't control yet. Maybe I'm wrong, but such a low wingloading is very common, isn't it? I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Hi! I recently put a video clip of my second Ground Launch trip to Switzerland on www.skydivingmovies.com. As again some questions emerged, I decided to create this new thread. So first of all, here is the link to the video: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=4610 Or just search for “swoop control”. When I was back there in Winter, I heard that the ski lifts are still open during the summertime for the downhill bikers. So I was looking forward all the time to get back. This time I thought about not only flying close to the slopes but to make my first swooping attempts. Because, if you go right to half brakes after starting from the 1000ft upper spot you can get to 200-300ft above the landing area. I started with double frontriser approaches and later with 90 to 120 degrees frontriser turns. The canopy is a SabreII 150 and my weight is about 150lbs. So my wingload is about 1,13, I think. Last time I used an old military harness with my former canopy. This time I just took my normal skydiving gear. I just felt more comfortable with it. (By the way, for more information about the spot and my first attempts you can click this link to the first video and thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2053199 ) Unfortunately my foot hit a stone with (too) much speed and the arch of my foot got sprained very badly. After it swolled (?) to the size of a small water ballon, I decided to break camp. And unfortunately this happened on the second day . For the following days I had some hiking of higher mountains in mind, plus Ground Launching for the descent. Maybe I’ll get to do this in the end of the hollidays but I’m not quite sure. I hope you enjoy the clip anyway. For me it was a great experience again, especially flying in a density of 6500 ft ASL! If you’ve any questions about the spot, video, (techniques?) etc., feel free to ask. But always have in mind, that I’m everything else than a pro in Ground Launching and you better listen to the real experts! -Chris- I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

just one question: where in Spain are you going to do the FF1? I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

I'm interested in such a board as well. I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Yes, great video! THAT'S the concept of GL, in my opinion! What nice and long runs! I think I've to look for slopes like that in Switzerland! Can't wait to go again! I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

I've been reading many threads but I think no one really summerizes the main differences between the above-named beginner wingsuits (btw: is there any other ws for beginners?). So I thought we could create an article about performance, design, field reports, maybe even some inflight data. etc. Feel free to post! -Chris- I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Just got 1.537.883! Question: What body position do you take in? And wouldn't it be funny to put such a catapult on top of a Norwegian cliff?! Edit: 1.743.011!!! I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Here are some links that may help: http://www.kimfly.si/index.asp?selektiran=110&jezik=ang it's about 150€/180$ or http://www.nervures.co.uk/harness.php for 150GBPounds/265$ I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Thanks! Yes, I got that old harness from ebay. It was from an old fashioned round canopy container with a 4-Pin-Release system. Scary! I disconnected the container to get only the "harness" in order to lose weight. Furthermore I connected the canopy with climbing-carabiners. I taped them because I was a little bit afraid that they could rough up the riser rings. I don't know if this "fear" is justified. Maybe someone with material knowledge can answer this question. I must say, that the harness was very uncomfortable, especially in the "between-the-legs" region ;). But I found a superlight harness for paragliding somewhere in the www. If someone is interested, I could post it here. I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Well, if you start only with a sprint and not with a board/skis under your feet, it's easier to balance your canopy (p.e. starting with "crosswind", etc.). But therefore you have a better acceleration with a board or skis. The most important thing in my opinion is to lay down your canopy symmetrically in order to inflate every cell at the same time. Then you will surely have a good start. I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

The canopy is called Cayenne from Performance Variable. It's a rebuild from the Sabre I, I think. Quite a reliable canopy, in my opinion, though it's called the "Aldi-Canopy" because of the cheap price (Aldi is maybe the equivalent to Wal Mart). The site is in a region called "Vallis" in Switzerland and in the ski-region "Portes Du Soleil". It's very nice there. If the weather would've been better, I'd done more flights. But I'll surely make up for it in summer! I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Hi! I came up with the thought to advertise the little clip about my first GLs I made this winter ;) . It's on http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3301 or just search "GroundlaunchI". No, serious. This could maybe be a threat about Groundlaunching low loaded canopies just as my Cayenne 170. I think these types of canopies really close the gap between Paragliding and a highly loaded full elipse, which is hard to start and more difficult (dangerous?!) to fly. So what do you think, what experience did you make with "big" wings like that? Best regards Chris I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!

Hi! First of all, please excuse my bad english. I have a question about RW, especially about creating forward movement to dock s.o. I heard of two different techniques: 1. Leave your arms where they are and use only your legs to get forward movement 2. Use your arms, your legs, both, just as you like I think for myself, that I have a better feeling when I steer with my arms and not only with my legs. Do I have to relearn it to use technique No. 1? Thanks for your answers... I'm a British nanny, and I'm dangerous!