mccordia

Lack of measuring devices and people quoting 'furthest distance flown' instead of actual performance probably contribute to that. Current best glide ratio in stormy winds listed now are close to 5:1. But looking at avg scoring, 3:1 is where it levels out across the board for current high end suits. In the past that was probably closer to 2:1 sustained, with peak performance quoted as the bragging number. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Seeing the competition scores and taking wind and flare out of the equation, we still don't get a higher sustained glide ratio in any suit or brand these days still.... That aside...plenty of storrage space in the Venom in the other big-ass pockets. Though I think the new Iphone6+ will have all manufacturers going back to the drawing table.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Though it only seems to be less obvious navigation method on some handheld devices, Ive added the same items to the dropdown menu as well. So also on those devices browsing should now be more intuitive. News articles, more usuer manuals and tips on skydiving, basejumping and general safety will also be added to the website coming months. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

The site will be expanded coming weeks with features, articles and a lot of new videos. This was just the first step :) JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Cool, though would suggest not making it that targeted at 'before wingsuiting' but market it as a dicipline by itself. Also as trackingsuits are not really essential or needed pre-wingsuit training perse. But congrats on the new suit, and spread the love! JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Hi Luke, Sweeping floors and begging for work is nice. But just finding a real world job, making real money, and jumping your ass of on weekends to gather jumps/skills and have fun, is all this is about. If you get good to a certain level, you might be able to get to the point where you can coach other people, get a few free jumps. Or better, get so damn good people want to pay you for coaching. And from there, if you're super awesome and stand out, sponsoring or actual jobs in the industry become possible. But you are the one needing to invest...and a normal 9-5 dayjob is the way to do that. Make some money, and earn the fun. Nobody is going to give this stuff out for free, as about 1 out of 3 skydivers / basejumpers wants a free paycheck and unlimited fun. But to get there, its hard work, and once there, its still hard work (though most people only see the fun stuff on FB). The fastest track to proximity flying is about 200+ normal freefall skydives, about 50 or so normal basejumps, then about 300 (bare minimum) wingsuit skydives, and from there being able to start with normal wingsuit basejumps. But thats already about 500/600 skydives in, and 50 or so basejumps. From there-on, you'll need a good 200 basejumps in a wingsuit to slowly start edging a bit closer to the walls. And from there, its possible to slowly delve deeper into the world of wingsuit base/proxi. But thats a good 800 to 1000 jumps skydiving/base combined that any well payd dayjob that you have an education/training for will pay you quicker than a job on the DZ. If you're in a rush...get a real job..if you want to just have a good time and enjoy the ride...get a job in skydiving. Its not the place where you get ritch or rush...its the place where you have fun, and live a good life with lots of friends.. That aside...$3000,- will get you a nice set of gear....worry about that, and leave the wingsuits, the jumps etc etc up to every monthly paycheck you get with a good job. Its how most of us do it, and only after a long time, with a bit of skill and a bit of luck, do some 'make it' as an actual job. But enjoy the ride....thats why you do it.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

There was a fully legit answer in there, regardles of him liking 'the sucker punch' or not. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Back to 'basic knowledge' Hint: backflying The deflector design doesnt allow for backflying with inflation. The V-series being more aimed at agility and performance, backflying/inlets werent included and the more complex deflector design is used which robert initially created with the Skyflyer 1/3. Perhaps actually try flying a vampire race or any of the other PF suits/features you spend so much time bashing online. Of course, always with the proper disclaimers. But who knows, you might even like it. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

For someone offering a lot of harsh, negative and single brand oriented advise you seem quite oblivious at times to basic info about skills, aerodynamics and design. But seeing as you asked: The legwing hole creates more airflow over the legwing, meaning more control (showcased by the widely known higher agility if the vampire series). It also allows for a bit of airflow, in terms of pull/pilotchute extraction, and the raised deflector creates a smooth airflow over the tail end of the rig. The biggest function is akin to the hole in a round canopy, creating more lateral stability as the suit doesnt 'cup' air. Meaning in sharp banking turn the suit behaves the same as in straight flight, sharp as a knife (where other big suits used in skydiving and base have several reported non-fatal but scary incidents, due to suits flipping onto backs related to inverted sleeve/leading edge and/or general stability problems). JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Like JoHenrik sais The V5, V-Race and Venom Power show an eliminated bootie design. Meaning the legwing is one slick surface, with no 2 big chucks of drag inducing foot hanging underneath the airframe. Meaning cleaner airflow as well as better performance (without increased span or surface area). But the booties also added a small degree of stability, which is what the fins do. But actually doing so way beyond the function of the normal bootie. Creating a suit that flies like its on rails, both in turns as well as straight flying. But much like ram-air inlets, lightweight fabric and many other features robert was first to pioneer, I guess its not worth saying anything positive about until ones brand of favor copied it and called it innovative... Im back to my popcorn and flying.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Judging what I see on the 50+ dropzones I visited worldwide the last few months (US and Canada included), the group photos can also be labeled 'Havok Fanclub' meetings. Regardless if its 80 or 1000 skydives in a wingsuit, sharp flying is something anyone who has a feel for flying recognizes. And there the Carve (as well as original Havok) shines. But perhaps in your world of 20 skydives a year it all looks different. If the original poster wants expert advise from someone who teaches and flies acro with everyone from beginner to advanced flying, get a carve. It will be the best suit you can ever fly (or get an Sfly Hawk, similar great suit). Both great 'high power' acro suits. If not interested, Hjumper sounds like a swell guy to listen to. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Weights doesn't affect glide, but slower fallrate does mean more 'free' travel due to wind (or less when flying into wind. And a heavy person doesnt just have more weight, but often also a less aerodynamic build, resembling a truck vs a smooth Lamborghini in terms of the way the profile looks that penetrates the wind. It might not directly influence glide by the weight itself, but for sure indirectly its of large influence. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Thats why you write about acrobatics, and I and my teammates teach, practice and assist in designing suits that do so based on over 10k jumps acro wingsuit experience. Its fun reading all the sassy comment online, but in the real world there's certain aspects to design where everyone who activly practices and understands acrobatics notices the huge differences. There in both pictures and video its quite clear why certain suits fly the way they do, and certain suits cant do the things they advertise in terms of sharp flying and accurate carving moves. Ymmv. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

With winds aloft changing sometimes per minute, and various winds at various altitudes. No, in terms of 100% accurate results, they are not accurate enough. For sure enough for aviation/nagivation terms. But objective, zero wind results. No. Unless you do the competitition from hot air balloons, and calulate the wind-drift on the way up. Or use tandemjumpers (per load) to get a rough winddrift calculation for the entire way down from an object (roughly) falling straight down. Then yes....but otherwise..its always "I believe it is 100% accurate" vs "It actually is 100% accurate". For sure, winds aloft give 'an indication' but they still dont allow 100% objective results and comparisons. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Winds aloft are also never accurate, especially not when taken from reports or forecast. Why dont people just do a very simple thing. Stop (incorrectly) comparing? Glide-ratios of 4.5 and ground speeds of 350 kmh are cool, but should be looked at on a 'per competition basis' and are not representable of actual wingsuit performance (in no wind conditions, bare glide/speed). The biggest problem is in lack of peoples knowledge on how these scores come to be. When competing in similar conditions on a dropzone, for sure its a great format. But comparing between competitions (not using the percentage scoring, but actual glide/speed results themselves) we terribly skew peoples perception of whats possible and the person currently ranking number 25 or 30 on the glide results, may actually have had the worlds best glide-ratio without wind. But that we'll never know JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Unless you know the weather conditions during the jumps, no information from the PPC website can be compared to one or another. Only freefall speed is free from wind influence. But glide and speed you cant compare unless the jumps are made the same load/time/location and direction and even then skill/pilot difference makes objective results hard to get... JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

We dont 'choose' lead times. We test suits, like we did for over 1,5 years with the Havok Carve/Venom Power/Vampire Race, and when we're happy with how the suit flies, we release it. We could for sure 'plan' to release suits during spring, but its the design process and finalized design that dictate when its ready. Lead times are always hard to be precise, as we share a production line with Atair. And both production queues influence each other. And on new suits (Havok Carve/Venom Power/V-Race) we also have various size templates being worked on still at point of release. So there for some people in different sizes it can add a week of 2 to 4 to the lead time as well. In terms of how the company has grown over the last years, the amount of orders we put through has led to communication towards clients lagging. But the amount of orders, testing process and having Robert in the factory daily to check production quality and construction process does make the longer wait a normal reality. Regarding email/service we are adding personnel. Just like we did in the factory with the workers sewing suits, when that was announced about half a year ago. There hasnt been a single time changes have been announced for marketing reasons. Its always been normal/real updates to the production process. Website wise we are already in a 3 month wait passed the promised release, due to the company thats making our new website/CMS being slow. But the whole process within PF is luckely being smoothed out a lot, and changes will for sure be noticeable for everyone ordering. Advice and costumer feedback is being worked with very pro-active. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Twice in about 3000 wingsuit jumps. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Phoenix-Fly is adding more fulltime personnel to costumer contact coming month, combined with a fully revamped website and more. Leadtimes are around 12-14 weeks (plus postage) atm so that mentioned venom should be on its way soon. Though some size templates (bigger/smaller) may be slightly longer due to different size templates still being made for the newer suits. We have a skilled and trained workforce thats been with Robert for over 10 years, and we dont have the option (or willingness) to hire and fire cheap labour at will during busy periods. Its quality products made with care, and during busy periods that leads to longer lead times. But compared to rigs, still not that long in comparison if you consider the volume of orders put through. With less orders we could deliver quicker, but hot cookies.. 'Friends' showcasing the suit early are actually testjumpers. Every suit is tested for over a year before a public release. Once released, everyone (including me as a PF employee, the red bull airforce etc etc) goes in exactly the same order queue. 'Names' or friends get no shorter lead times. Email me at jarno@phoenix-fly.com with order details and Ill get back to you asap. on your delivery time. We are working with feedback, and coming months you'll see PF undergo a massive positive transformation, and full featured info on current and coming new products. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

We'll add that, as well as a 'he put on a nylon suit, and you wont believe what happened next'. We're at the end of the design phase and hope to start adding content asap. We're hoping the company has the design and website done and online in 3 / 4 weeks. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Knowing the Fins in general, that waiting is done in a very active manner, usually inside a bar or sauna... JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

I think this Finish character is currently busy with other aspects of his powered flight project... JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Here are two videos from the last few weeks, done about 40 basejumps on the Venom Power. More to come

The first and only real important aspect is, make sure you use a helmet with a proper setup cutaway system. If the mount gets caught between a linetwist, or even just prevents you from looking up, or in case of entanglement with main or otherwise, prevents a main from separating on cutaway....you will need that cutaway for the helmet (and/or) pole system itself. Also note that a riser catching the pole on opening can lead to severe neck injuries. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

The viper is quite a bit bigger than both suits, and in terms of glide and slow fallrates a suit flown by quite a few in base and skydive, including several top scores in the various GPS based competitions. Not a beginner suit in handling, but judging the acro/xrw and swoopy flying some where doing it, by all means a fun suit to fly if you have the right experience. But in the new V-Range suits, we've achieved similar performance and increased agility/ease of flying, with decreased wingsize and a fully redesigned thinner and more aerodynamic wing profile. Creating safer and more agile suits, with a higher level of performance has been the main focus. A new phoenix-fly website is currently in the works, with updated color designer, suit features and full presentation on the new PF range for 2014 and onward. More news on that soon. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?