mccordia

If skydiving (and to a much bigger degree BASE) was a static environment..maybe.. But its quite dynamic, and there will always be something unexpected..be it a high canopy, cloud, tumble on exit, other flyer in the air (who does stick to his flight plan when your new flyer doesnt, and sets up for collision) etc. etc. And in the hands of the un-experienced, these factors can develop into scary or even potentialy lethal situations... JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Yea..been to a tunnel in germany that had the same baggy suits...you could fit a LOT of extra clothes under there in winter.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

And with one or to exeptions, looking back 99% of them all say the same thing.. It was way to soon, and they wish they would have waited... A lot of things like exits, and once you get into formation flying, aproach, breakoff etc are a lot more demanding than RW/FF, due to much bigger distances and higher relative closing speeds. And made even worse due to a much smaller circle of awereness in terms of visual range. Explain to me why there is a senseless rush to get into wingsuit flying, yet you want me to believe that when it comes to all the other 'cool' things like flocking/BASE, suddenly those people will develop the sense and patience to do it with the right basis and preperation? There are some people who choose to support you in the path you had already chosen and turned on to. Which is vastly different from having asked them for advice before you started flying, had you supplied them with all the info about your ability to cope with new things within skydiving, and all info about your level at that time. Though Im sorry I didnt want to do your FFC, and somebody else took you up. I felt even more sorry for you, seeing you come down crying from your first few jumps. And those werent tears from happyness... Which is sad, as thats not the first jump memory you should have... Thats when you decide with your brian, instead of with your emotions.. That person would be me, and I applaud you for being open about this. I just think its weird to see someone who seems to totaly breathe and live for wingsuits. Having read every word there is available, and telling everyone exactly how things should be, and wanting to teach this stuff at some point, and then doing a 180 degree turn when it comes to your own actions.. As long as its laughing all is fine... JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

We nearly 'lost' 2 flyers in cochstedt due to a low experienced flyer diving through a formation. Breaking an arm, and cripling the other flyers leg for a few months. Had that been a head/neck instead of an arm, the end result would have been way more serious.. And when the first low experienced flyers flies through a tandem he or she didnt see, we'll see a shitload of new rules. Wingsuits not allowed on tandem loads, wingsuits not allowed on loads with AFF etc. It all seems far fetched...but the big sky theory only works for so long..and at some point murphy will take over... Just because some low experience first flights happen without incident, doesnt mean they ARE safe... JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Fixed it for ya.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Though some people might do fine being under-qualified to fly a wingsuit in terms of skills and experience, I just dont understand the rush.. If someone doesnt have the patience and willingness to invest in some basic skills before flying a wingsuit..why should they do any different when it comes to getting skills in the wingsuit.. Having the bare minimum or less amount of jumps in which you COULD have gathered essential skills, then starting way to soon big group-dives, and preferably taking the wingsuit off a cliff asap...this seems to be the norm people like and want to endorse.. Though some people seem to have nothing but successtories. the examples Ive seen where less then thrilling, and laughable and scary would mostly sum it up. Though "Yay! Woohhoo" they did jump a wingsuit... Again...unless somebody is activly planning on not being on this planet for a long time, I dont understand the rush... There's one new poster on this forum who could share her story and contribute to safety and education on this subject if she's willing to set an example on what not to do? If not..no worries.. But Im a big fan of no for underskilled, undertrained and people who lack the awereness you gain through experience...and sadly..all of us all think we're at the peak of our skills at every point in our skydiving career...20 jumps..100 jumps...1000 jumps...etc. And everyone can attest to the fact that looking back, you didnt have the knowledge, skills and awereness you had a couple of hundred jumps later. It depends mostly on ones definition of 'low experience', but anywhere between 200 to 500 jumps reads as low experience to me. Anything bellow 200 reads as zero to no experience. Coming back to your question..if its sub-200 jump peeps we're talking about. I would advice no.. Even if its only from a legal POV. as all manufacturers list at least 200 jumps (in the last 18 months) as their recommendition/rule. And if anything goes wrong on one of the jumps of those low-timers, even though its just recommenditions and not actual rules. Those will be the things they hold against you.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Hi Kevin, First off a big thank you for the site and articles there. I think your website was one of the main inspirations when we started flylikebrick.com With your permission, we would like to take a few of the articles you have on your website and transform them into PDF files, so we can ad those to the ones we already have on our site. And hopefully continue to build on the free available recourse of wingsuit articles... JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Its all stuff that should be covered (be it with less math involved) in a first flight course (regardless of which experienced flyer or instructor is teaching you). The internet is a great resource, but I would highly recomend finding an experienced flyer who can teach and show you these things first hand before the jump, in the door and debriefing after the jumps based on somebody seeing you fly and/or having video. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Dude...you sayd masturbation! JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

When flying a suit without proper back-inflation, the legwing will definately flap a little to a lot if you're not able to fly the legwing at full stretch (fully open). Which doesnt hapen too often for most people (due to forward drive issues in video/flocking) The suits with proper back inflation also tend to be a lot lighter to fly on the back in terms of muscle power... People have also been flying wingsuits on their back before Scott, myself and a lot of other prominent (loud) people on here even knew what a wingsuit or backflying was (see the videostuff shot on Dueg.)...but just because it is/was possible, and people could do it, doesnt mean you shouldnt get a more suitable tool for your prefered style of (back)flying. So yes...I can fly suits with and without back-inflation on my back..but definately have my preference and notice quite a bit of difference... Back inflation all the way baby JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

I have no clue what that is in cm's and kilo's (metric rocks), but having a big suit and needing to fly it closed on 90% of a jump Yea...get one suit and learn to fly it well... Though Id love to give you a sponsored or factory/brand oriented reply saying you should own and fly at least a dozen suits, there are plenty of exellent intermediate wingsuits from most manufacturers that encompass every bit of performance and range you (if you're of avg/small build) could ever need and ask for in a suit. As for being able to punch it, I highly recommend the red line stapler, though other brands/models might also work... yes..and that works both ways... For some big people flying tiny suits, it can be a constant fight in trying to keep up with the rest, and an upgrade to their flying wardrobe might be due.. But for a lot of small people, their vanity purchases of big wings could very well be the most useless tool they've ever bought (if formation flying was on their agenda).. A lot of this thinking (the right suit for your style of flying) also comes from me not wanting to waste money(I dont have) on buying/owning a dozen or more wingsuits Ill never jump..Id rather have one I use soo often and to the max it falls apart when I touch it, yet love so much for what I can do with it, I would want to sleep in it.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Most older suits loose a bit of the plasticy inside coating layer over time. It doesnt seem to do a whole lot (if anything at all) to degrade performance. And in a lot of the older suits Ive seen (classic II, GTI's, S1/S3), this layer also peeled off over time, just due to use.. Most newer suits are made of parapak, which is far more wind-permeable then the older balloon zero-p. Also seeing its the inside coating you're talking about, I would be more then surprised if there is any visable or noticable change the suits performance. Aside from loosing a layer of invisble dryed poo-smell and sweat stains from previous owners JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Its an older video thats been discussed before. Scary stuff... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3015420;search_string=arm%20caught;#3015420 JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

I think the 'big people going low' thing is flocks is more a matter of getting forward speeds up. Quite often this happens in flocks that have a fallrate of 65 mph or even more. Yet solo, the people going low can usually fly a lot slower (when flying faster forward). And if it's a matter of not keeping up with the pace of a group, then maybe that person SHOULDNT BE IN THE GROUP but first doing some more solo's to learn and fly! A lot of people start flying bigger suits, but instead of making the group fly more, they start using them as camera-suits. And for smaller people, much like canopies. A big suit may get you lots of airtime, but if you lack the wingload to fly that suit at the same speed as the rest of the flock, then you'll mostly be fighting it down. I know 'big, bigger, biggest' is the prefered choice for a lot of people, but its not always the correct answer.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

I switched from sidemount to topmount (flattop narrow) because with a sidemounted camera, you have minor issues depending on which side you are flying. If you're shooting video of your buddy flying next to you, all will be fine and easy if he's flying on your left (if that where your camera is mounted), but when he's flying on the other side, you nearly have to break your neck, twisting it to get him in frame.. So in terms of aim, topmount is easyer.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Fixed it for ya! JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Tengu seems mostly aimed at the bigger flocker..when it comes to aerobatics, less wing is easier. The suit sadly doesnt have back presurisation, so in terms of aerobatics/backflying it might be a bit less suitable.. Firbird, Blade, Ghost, Acro, Sm1 etc all have front/back inflation and all make exelent allround/all purpoise suits... FlyYourBody should be coming out with an improved S-Fly Expert with back inflation shortly as well.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Wearing and jumping a wingsuit is not hard... Making one actually FLY is one of the most underrated skills. A lot of people spend more time looking at how a suit makes you fly, and why brand "X" suit is better then brand "Z". But its the pilot that makes the suit fly. And the skills that pilot has, give him the awareness and feeling he or she needs to turn a piece of cloth into the most wonderfull piece of flying equiptment there is... You dont need a lot of experience to survive and make a wingsuit jump...but in the first flight students Ive witnessed..more experience definately showed better flying. Not that a lot of experience automaticly means good flying. But if I was a betting man...(which Im not, as you need to have some money for that first) my cash would ALWAYS be on the more experienced person... JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Looks like Mike forgot to shave behind his ears.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Do note the RED shoots at 2K half res. when going for 100 fps framerates. We shot a videoclip (including some high fps. underwaterstuff) with the RED, and the sheer size and quality of the footage makes it a joy to work with... Would love to shoot some wingsuit footage with this baby JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

yea..forgot all about the Viso.. Which made me wonder if anyone has ever mounted that one visualy during a jump. Would be a nice guide for a bigway base (lets 'fly' this one at 55 mph, and getting that spead dead-on..) JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

I think GPS etc. is nice, but it takes a lot more work to analyse and interprete the data. With the logging devices designed for skydiving, its just a matter of reading the display after the jump... It just depends what you are looking for, and the initial post seems to indicate the later one.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

With the Altitrack, you can choose between TAS or SAS. Though accuracy in logging deviced will never be 100%. Moving a wrist or head mounted unit in/out of a burble gives freaky readings (no matter which brand or make). JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Though not an audible, Ive had best results with the Altitrack from L&B when it comes to logging. It records up to 5 minutes of freefall (and can also log canopy/swooping if thats your thing). Compared to the neptune, Ive had way less issues with 'broken' logs due to the device shutting down in freefall. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Thats some pretty sweet clouds with a nicely flown formation! Definately sweet pix!! JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?