mccordia

Classics flew about 1.8 to 2. People bragged about doing 3.0 glide. Modern wingsuits barely push 3 to maybe 3.1 or so (in constant glide/no wind conditions) and people brag about flying 4.0 So substract 1, and you roughly get the actual glide. Cant wait to see wingsuit flying finaly move past that part of the obsession (and like canopy piloting) start being more concerned with the actual manouvrebility and handling skills of the pilot. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Shooting with any actioncam with a 180 degree fish-eye lens, for sure a ringsight is far from needed. But go to tighter lenses, and it becomes virtually impossible, even with a dot on a goggle. For me, shots like these 50 mm (essentially 80mm due to crop factor on 600d) would be impossible in terms of aim without a ringsight.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Swift looks more like a Phantom class suit in size/design. Verso/Havok are both an experience step up in size. For agressive acro stuff the smaller the suit, the easier. Gripperless wings are a big advantage in terms of the tensionline/controll over the armwings. I can do the same stuff in a Shadow that I can do in a Havok. Havok with more performance, shadow more agile. For acro/flocks I use the shadow. For camerawork and higher performance (but slightly less active) backfly stuff I use the Havok. If you want to do the stuff you mentioned, check the more assertive suits, and dont aim too big JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

For me the 'teaching' in wingsuit flying is something that evolved over a number of years. When I had around 200/300 or so wingsuit jumps, I started getting questions from friends, and gave them tips/advice where I could. When going to boogies with these same friends, I often came up with the diveplans etc. I guess I had about 500/600 wingsuit jumps when I attended an instructional course, to get better at the didactic/teaching side of things (on the ground), and actually started teaching FFCs. It was around that same time at a bigway boogie in Germany that several groups split off from (not the safest ever) bigways another LO was doing and formed smaller groups, that led to my first official gig as LO. Liked it quite a bit, and from there-on started organizing more and more events/boogies/instructing. As to the decision when to start wingsuit base. For sure thats a personal decision. But looking at the people I see now, a large, large percentage make that personal decision with an experience level way lower than Id recommend to anyone safetywise. 100 to 200 wingsuit jumps may make one an okay wingsuit pilot, but far from an expert flyer. Much like other disciplines (that also have the advantage of training through tunneltime), experience does show in ones flying, as well as (or more important even) decision making. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

At about 50 wingsuit jumps I felt safe in small groups. At about 500 wingsuit jumps I felt like I was in full control, any axis/orientation. At about 2000 wingsuit jumps I felt experienced enough to take it off a cliff. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Its just a combination of abrasion, sweat and heat that over (a lot of) time deteriorate the material, and can separate the coating on the zero-p fabric. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Depending on body weight, the Havok may be a good option. It is recommended to have a bit of basic experience first (80 to a 100 jumps) as the bigger wing can be a bit more work, especially if you have some transitions gone bad. If you're anywhere within a normal build, Id 100% recommend just going with a Shadow or Phantom. Bot are roughly the same, the Phantom just slightly more geared towards performance. The Shadow a bit more agile (flying without grippers). Especially if you're coming of freeflying etc. the shadow will be a super ease suit to transition to for those who prefer a more agressive flying style.. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Not really. Especially for learning, its actually the smaller suits in general people should use more. I CAN do acro stuff in bigger suits with a low wingroot as well. But in terms of ease and sharpness in flying, it doesnt compare, and its often more akin to 'wrestling' a suit into the positions. And the people who can do that stuff tend to be a few awesome talented loners, vs avg. joe wingsuiter. There is a definate split between suits aimed at speed/distance or agility. You can also do drifting with a semi if you practice enough. But use the right tool for the right job, and life will be a lot easier. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

The choice between each different suit seems to mostly involve deciding if your goal is performance or agility, as for flocking either one is suited just fine. If its acrobatics and backflying you're interested in, you dont want any wingsuit that has a low armwing root. You want an armwing that 100% moving allong with what your arm is doing. And not have a center cell close to the body that will always be open/presented without the option of moving it out of the way. A straight tension line between armwing attachment at the body and wrist/gripper is a definate asset there. Of course its possible to get anything to fly. But for the true (fun) agressive carving, diving and acrobatic manouvers the Phantom3 and/or Shadow2 for sure fit the role best. Video Video Video JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Similar to not training anything on your own for AFF before you do the course, I'd recommend just focussing on 'skydive and have fun' and leave the learning/teaching up the the actual course you'll be attending for your first flight. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Enable canopy logging, and you can just download or replay the full jump. Regardless of fake deployments JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

There isnt a single photo or video camera with a magical 'skydiving' setting. As it depends on weather, but also on what you want out of your footage. Lots of motion blur, none. Shallow depth of field. Everything in focus. etc etc. I think the best advice would be, take the camera out for some fun play/testing on various days on the ground. Play with various settings, mention on the shot you make what setting you use. And than afterward look at all the shots you made under various light/weather conditions and try and actually understand what works, and why. Everyone asking about settings, would do themselves such a favour is they worked on understanding WHY and WHEN to use each setting. As unless you get more specific, its quite hard to suggest what setting to use anyways. Side subject: Install the 'timelapse' app on your 5r. You can set it to 1 still every second, and also shoot some nice snaps during your skydives without needing to hack the camera for a biteswitch. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

You mean it doesnt shut off automaticly mid jump, doesnt have the same 'function' where it doesnt switch on, and doesnt constantly need new firmware updates to actually work? JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Is actually depending on the angle at which your flying. The glide slope=the angle of the burble. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Ghost3 will probably be most in line with the suits you've flown. Same ease of flying, but big upgrade in performance. Yet not the 'big suit' difficulties you face with some of the larger suits. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

It would only be for a few shots. So in this case long term use isnt the goal. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Have been asked to use this camera for a production. But it has a freefall/drop sensor, which locks/disables the harddrive (thus only being able to shoot 2D to the card). Anyone have any experience disabling or even physically removing the drop sensor from the camera? JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Its not 'not controllable' nor 'flatspin' With practice (in flying/acrobatics) you can do all these moves with open or closed wings. Without 'amazing flatspin recovery dives'. People need to learn to fly their body, and learn to understand the aerodynamics behind each input, on small suits. And stop labeling every 'Im not flying my body properly' as a (in my view non existent) 'flatspin' horrorstory. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Im just seeing someone 'unstable' due to an open legwing and arched body position during a rotation. People love putting (incorrect) horror names on instability. This isnt a flatspin. Its simple basics in flying/body position that people should just practice more. Especially before upgrading to bigger suits. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

And on some older suits it helps prevent flapping of the legwing due to inflation issues But in this case I was referring to flying a suit on its side during big carving moves JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Some videos I shot in Canada the past week, using the PF Havok https://vimeo.com/71276028 JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

500+ jumps on a small suit help ;) But look up instability recovery instruction video on vimeo.com/flylikebrick or flylikebrick.com JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

There are some slight different things that happen to the wing in flight and during transitions on suits with/without grippers. Causing a light bulging/cupping of air. On gripperless suits the wing tends to stay a more flat/tight surface due to the tension line between wrist and leg, meaning the suit bahaves more like one surface during transitions. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

Its actually the full arm wing that is bigger. Not just at the wing tips. There is quite a big (almost) triangular section of wing missing, starting at the wing-root (on the leg) and continuing upward in a curved path up to the wrist. In flying with a skilled person in a Ghost3, at 100% flight I cant fully match the performance. But when it comes to flying steeper angles, and other non-conformist ways of flocking the Havok is a lot easier to push into strange orientations JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?

The Ghost has a performance edge on the Havok. The Havok is a lot more agile. The design forces the user to fly more accurate, resulting in a very sharp and agressive flying style. Both suits are essentially based on the same platform (Havok is derived from the Ghost design). But the gripperless armwing creates a tensionline from wrist to armwing-root that allows for very precise manupulation of the armwing. Making the suit one you can 100% control in any orientation. Great for acrobatics, carving etc The slightly steeper angle of attack puts the suit at an automatic high forward speed and glide thats a great basis for any agressive acrobatics, flocks etc. The suit is of such a size that it allows for fast flying, but has quite a performance edge on a phantom/shadow. The reach to the hackey is un-obstructed. Making the suit a great choice for those wanting something bigger, but not wanting the big suit issues (slightly more sloppy flying, more difficult pull etc) making it quite suitable as a step up for those of intermediate to advanced experience levels. In terms of backflying, I dare say its the most powerful and agile suit on the market. But the suit can also be a nice suit for 'big boys' looking for a shadow/phantom type suit with a bit more lift to keep their heavy frame up with a bunch of skinny peeps. Here's some nice flying examples. Carving around flocks - VIMEO Acrobatics - VIMEO Agility - YouTube BASE - VIMEO JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete?