Macaulay
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Everything posted by Macaulay
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Based on what happened to me on Sunday, I can tell you that this isn't true. I thought the same thing... just do a CReW-style exit/pitch, which is exactly what I did, but I had air entering the suit from every which way. I left facing with my chest into the wind. Having my legs together put me steep. Pitching with my right hand kept the right wing closed, but the left one, although unzipped, flipped me over. On top of that, entering air/drag affected the tail big time. It was the most unstable I've ever been. It was totally out of control. I've never heard of anyone leaving the plane unzipped. Well, now I have, and I will have to agree with anyone that says to just fly the suit out, regardless of altitude. In fact, I'm going to start zipping up after I take my seatbelt off from now on. - Mac
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A) I wonder if there is difference between having your zippers open and having your wings really cut? Chuck, any ideas? ... B) No problem with that of course if you really have the exit nailed, so that you're ready to deploy immediately out the door, every time. I'm still going to cutaway my wings if I have to exit below 1000m. A) Actually, there probably is a big difference, being that with wings cut, and not unzipped, air is still deflecting off of, rather than entering the suit. B) I definitely feel very comfy with my exit. So, for me, I feel that I would want to go "uncut". Uh... that sounds weird. - Mac
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Actually, I'd cut the wings AFTER deployment. The main reason I left with the wings "cut" was because I believed that I A) wouldn't have much time after deployment and B) would be more stable, per recommendation to chop the wings upon instability in freefall. I found that I was MUCH more unstable without my wings in place. In an emergency situation, I feel I'd fare better with everything in place. Then I'll chop the wings under canopy if needed. - Mac
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So, uh... any tips for wingsuit hop and pops? At Skydive Oregon, this situation isn't uncommon in the winter, the sky clears up, we go up, and then it closes. I came up with two resolutions for myself, at least at this state of my skyflying (about 20 flights). A) Never leave the plane with my wings stowed. ;) B) Don't get out under 4,000'. C) Around 4,000' feet... exit chest into the wind, fly for a moment, then deploy as usual. D) Hop and pop well above 4,000', just fly it down to 3,500' - 4,000'. And, as always, I go out last. Does this sound like a good plan of attack? Keep in mind, I will never get in the plane with a wingsuit on knowing that I will be doing a hop and pop. If I'm anticipating such, I'll go ahead and unhook. BTW, ordered a new Wings yesterday. Stoked. - Mac
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The clouds cleared up enough to get to full altitude today, so I get in my GTi and get on the load. More clouds came in and turned the load into a hop and pop at 3,000. I'm not comfortable at stowing everything after deploying in a timely manner yet, so I thought I'd just unzip and tuck everything in, go out last, and pitch right out the door. I mean if I was ever unstable and I cut away all my wings, I could get stable again right? So that's basically how I treated it. Bad idea. I held the hackey on the way out and faced the wind... something I've done plenty of times before. Just as I pitched, my left wing and tail wing unrolled and partially inflated, causing a steep half-barrel roll. I felt myself turning over and threw my right arm out to stop the spin, which worked, except that the right riser went under my right arm. I looked up, everything in tow... chop, reserve. Moral of the story. Don't be a dumbass. - Mac
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Maybe a cross-braced wingsuit? - Mac
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(1) Sabre 120 (2) 1.5 (3) Usually a little harder than without the suit. Line twists a couple times, but the canopy still flies straight. A couple off-heading opening due to deploying with uneven wings. - Mac
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Have you notified Bird-man yet? They still have the "who breaks 90 seconds" first thing going on. - Mac
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Seriously. Look at that guy. Then look at Dwayne. Now look back again! Now how did those fajitas get there? - Mac
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Hmmm... even with SLO mode on mine, I never hear any tones, and it only goes to 120 seconds. Don't know if I could go too long without it, though (sending it in for an update). - Mac
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Like in the Final Fantasy movie... but different. - Mac
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Unconscious Under Reserve - Safe Wingloading
Macaulay replied to NathanL100's topic in Gear and Rigging
Maybe they meant "...any less reserves than that...", cause, if you chop, and you have less than one reserve, you will die. Well... even then. - Mac -
Twas a joke... but even PD know that almost half the Vengeances out there have "interesting" opening characteristics, and the other half do great. - Mac
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(Unless it's a Vengeance) - Mac
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Wolmari pack. Before I Wolmari packed, I almost always got end-cell closure on my Sabre. Pack a canopy the way it was made to be packed, and it will open the way it should (99.99% of the time). - Mac
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I think the Nimbus 2000 is perfect for any age; Harry Potter fan or not! (But really, who isn't a Harry Potter fan?) I'm 32 and enjoy riding the broom as much as my 12 yr old and 7 year old. The vibrations, along with the swooshing sounds make for a very magical journey! It is a very durable toy, as well. My only complaint is, I wish the batteries didn't run out quite so quickly! This toy is a wonderful escape into a world of imagination!
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Would anyone attempt to land an 8 sq ft canopy? - Mac
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From 12 stories, you hit about 35 - 40 MPH. While the fall rate may be dropping (and not really low enough, IMO), the forward motion is still really intense. Hell, one of the main reasons "lift" is being achieved is because of the high horizontal speed. Maybe on long, smooth 45° slope, with wheels on your chest and feet. - Mac
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SLO does work, but it's still weird. If I don't put it on SLO, the jump will be logged, but no sound goes off. However, in SLO mode, the jump will be logged, the sounds will all go off, but I usually still have the blinking "ALTITUDE" when I get on the ground, as if it were still climbing. And I wish there was a "slowest speed" setting on this thing. I have the software, but I haven't installed it on this computer yet, so I hven't seen my charts. But it'd be nice to track your slow-speed progress on the fly. - Mac
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I went on tracking dive with Dwayne when he was wearing TrakPantz. The person leading was really steep, so a few of us lightweights stayed up pretty high, and Dwayne was right in there. Dwayne is a hell of a tracker in general, but he have some nice horizontal speed/distance relative to others. From the ground, horizontal movement was fairly noticeable (being that he pitched at like 1500). The TrakPantz I saw looked like thin freefly pants, but near the foot on each leg, the front of the pantleg was rigid with a mesh opening at the top of the rigid material. It looked like what they were doing is sort of forcing you're feet into an optimum tracking position. Sitflying isn't recommended. - Mac
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Strike that... I think a wingsuit could be safely landed from an altitude of 6 ft or less. Even then... it might be tricky. - Mac
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I seriously doubt anyone could safely land a wingsuit. I got a concussion/amnesia from a slightly off "landing" from a mere 25ft cliff dive. People have died from less. Even on a powdery incline, I just don't think it will happen... at least not with any wingsuit that currently exists. - Mac
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Oh... I ordered at the beginning of June. - Mac
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I've had it in dead air out the door twice. Never on bungee or BASE jumps or cliff dives. I guess that roller coaster feeling is pretty much reserved for roller coasters. Damn work... I want to go jumping right now. - Mac
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Most comments I get are from jumpers off the DZ... it's nice to meet jumpers in the "outsude" world. It also separates the students from the experienced jumpers to a certain degree. At least the first question could be "How many jumps do you have?" rather than "First time jumping here?", which may offend some people. And it looks cool, too. It's this hook/claw thing. It does get comments from whuffos. I usually tell them that it's a closing pin, and that's it... leaving them a little confused. - Mac