bdrake529

Jay, Were you there last year? How many wingsuiters showed up? I've got a (wingless) friend who might go to the boogie and I'm tempted to go along if the flocking is good. Brian Brian Drake

Well, I think Scott came to my rescue. Brian Drake

Not a codec problem. Just a weak joke taking aim at any language that's not English. Brian Drake

Try uploading the video again. There's something wrong with the audio...it sounds all garbled and silly..... Got to hand it to their editors though. To a wuffo audience, it would appear the host did "fly" with you guys. Perhaps they were paid off by EG to prep us all for the upcoming Tandus.... Brian Drake

Thanks Jeff. This description looks like it will help a lot. With my Acro, on-heading, minimal alt-loss barrel rolls are incredibly simple. But I've been hesitant to try a full roll yet on my SM1 since the leg wing is practically uncollapsable. Flipping to my back is no problem, but I'm just a bit wary of inducing a flat-spin due to a botched roll attempt. Could you also please post a pic-sequence of how the new arm-cutaway system is supposed to work. I'm still not having any success with it and neither did the two other pilots I let demo my suit. Brian Drake

Yes, and when I switched to the S-Fly, the difference was night and day. Much easier to keep with the flock. That's my goal. Better skills = less effort. Jeff N told me he made about 200 flights before he started to realize he didn't need to use as much muscle. I keep trying to think that way, but it's a slow process and I'm still quite spent after a day of wingsuit flying. I'm very tempted to make the pilgrimage to SDA since you're there. I'll have to give that some thought. Brian Drake

Wow! Where do I order? Just kidding....sort of. Brian Drake

Good advice. And I actually learned this on Saturday when someone floating above the flock didn't see the signal for break off and I zoomed up, past them when I turned on the afterburners. Thank God we didn't collide. Since the, I ease into break off. Brian Drake

With my Acro, I have to fly fairly well to flock with people. If the base is floaty, I really have to work to keep up with them. If I'm flocking with those in big suits, I have to fly towards the top of my performance envelope to keep pace and fall-rate. My view on this (presented for correction), is that the "challenge" is good for me. The smaller winged Acro really makes me work and I hope I'm becoming a better pilot for it. For example, when I went to Scott Campos' wingsuit camp in May, my Acro hadn't arrived yet so I had to borrow Scott's Classic. Almost everyone else had modern suits (Phantoms, Mach 1s, Blades, S3s, a Rigor Mortis...) and I really had to fly my ass off just to keep up. But I'm really glad this happened since I felt my learning curve was much higher. With the SM1, at least with the flocks I've been in with it so far, I'm flying with my knees almost completely bent and my arm wings partially closed. I can fly my slot no problem this way. Since I'm at the low end of the performance range of the suit, when I want to maneuver, I just have to let out a little bit of wing and I'm quickly wherever I want to be. Again, this is only my experience with those I've flocked with so far. I'm sure I'll eventuially participate in flocks with more seasoned fliers that won't let me off so easy. That's my explanation for the "become a lazy pilot" statement. I'm also nowhere near exhausting the potential of the Acro and want to keep learning that suit. Buying the SM1 now was a bit of a lapse in patience, but the circumstances and timing were so perfect, I had to buy it. But I didn't "upgrade" because I felt I had outgrown the Acro. Another main reason for keeping my Acro is that there are 7 other Acros at my DZ. My goal is to get at least some of those pilots interested in a free-flocking "team". I would think a team would benefit from everyone flying the same suit (most of us are roughly the same build). At least in the beginning. Another reason for keeping a second suit is that I want to have a spare to provide FFCs with when I get a wingsuit instructor rating. As far as money, the SM1 didn't really "cost" me anything. The funds appeared unexpectedly right before Jeff was in town with a demo SM1 prototype, so I took that as a divine sign to place my order. (of course cash is fungible, but I have selective rationality) Brian Drake

Winds were absent for the most part. It was hot though. I don't know exactly how hot, but it was hot. The contest didn't really happen. We tried a first round with 4 contestants, but only 2 of them had usable GPS data. I determined this was because they (2 without data) were sitting with their backs to the repeater and therefore their bodies blocked the GPS relay (a GPS expert has confirmed my experience that the human body is a significant impediment to GPS signals). They left the plane before acquiring any satellites and thus with a cold start, the Foretrex 201s they were using didn't pick up until under canopy. The 2 that did get data, performed fairly well and everyone made it back to the DZ, except for our good samaritan Mike Hansen, who landed with Mike Bond's cutaway main and free bag about a mile and a half from the landing area. With logistical problems like that, and a limited interest late in the day, a full-fledge glide-ratio competition didn't materialize. In retrospect, I should have started organizing the competition earlier in the day so we could have worked out the kinks and gotten a few rounds in to declare a true winner. Next time... Brian Drake

More flights this weekend, more to report... The Super Mach 1 is the shit! I'm loving this suit more and more and though I've only begun to nibble at the potential this suit offers, the progress I've been making (thanks to the advice I've received on this forum) has only whetted my appetite (insert Fat American jab here). In the hope of posting a video of me "maxing it out" for this forum's analysis, I asked my very experienced friend to film me from his V2 on a performance flight. I exited first and as soon as I could see him above me, I turned toward the DZ and let the suit fly. I was shocked to see him quickly fall behind (and below). I even spent a few seconds slowing down but it was evident he couldn't catch up (and maybe couldn't see me anymore due to my vertical and horizontal distance) so I decided to keep flying. In fairness to him, he was probably caught by surprise (due to my previous reports of less-than-stellar performance) and by the time he realized the suit really does have lift and speed, he was too behind the curve to catch up. The weekend's activities prevented us from trying again, but I imagine he'd be able to keep up on a second attempt (now knowing what to expect). Unfortunately, this means I don't have video to post. I have some footage of me flocking, but analyzing my very dirty flying won't really help me figure out how to "max it out". After that, I let him fly it twice and on his first flight, he went out really relaxed ("not trying very much") and reported a 12.5k-2.5k average fall rate of 37 mph. Though he's gotten better with his V2, he really liked the suit, and after the second flight (which wasn't as smooth since he "tried too hard"), he said "I'm sold" and will be ordering a SM1 as soon as he can. I also let another very experienced pilot give it a test flight and now his only concern is how to explain the discrepancy between the affiliation of his particular wingsuit instructor rating and the new Tony Suit SM1 he'll be ordering shortly. The suit has so much range while flocking, I feel I'll need to be disciplined in regularly switching to my Acro, otherwise I'll become a very lazy/dirty wingsuit pilot. As Jeff and others have reported, at breakoff, when I kick it into gear, I watch most other pilots disappear below me. I did participate in one "race" with two S3s and an Acro, and I clearly flew the farthest. The S3 pilots are both better pilots than I am, so I only have the SM1 to credit. One thing my friend discovered on his second test flight, is that it is possible to shut down the leg wing if you start first by squeezing your knees together and then your feet. I've been previously trying to close the entire leg at once (foot to foot) and eventually gave that up as futile since those airlocks are so effective. I tried this approach (knees first) and was fairly successful. Thanks Jeff and Tony for crafting such a great suit. It will be some time before my skills mature to the point where I'm truly benefiting from all the suit has to offer, but in the meantime, I'm still having a blast as I make progress, step by step. Brian Drake

Thank you to everyone who participated this weekend. Judging from the comments I received, a good time was had by all. That was really my only true goal for the event so I'm very pleased it went off well. Thanks especially to those who made an effort to travel a ways to get here. I hope you found our lil' DZ hospitable and the flights worth the distance. Blue skies, Brian Brian Drake

Excellent, thanks Jeff. Will report back after this weekend. Brian Drake

Agreed. Logistics have prevented this thus far, but I should have video after this weekend to analyze. Thanks all for the comments/tips. Brian Drake

6 more flights with my Super Mach 1 this weekend. I only made one solo, "performance" flight, and was again unable to get a longer flight time than I can with my Acro. But I did make one observation that may explain this. When I roll my shoulders, somehow this pitches me even more head-low and while I perceive an increase in speed, my arm-wings start fluttering and I feel a siginificant drop in pressure under them as though the air was no longer supporting me and the wings were no longer producing lift. I talked with a few other wingsuiters and the following theories were proposed: -The angle I'm flying is too steep and therefore the wings lose pressurization due to the air not hitting the arm inlets at the correct angle. I'm skeptical of this due to the airlocks which, at least with the leg wing, seem to keep the wings rock-solid. -I'm somehow reaching an angle where my leading edge (my arm) is burbling the rest of the wing. I don't know if this is possible, but it sort of made sense. -At that angle, I'm unable (physically, or just mental discipline) to maintain tension on the wing and therefore it goes slack. Again, I'm skeptical due to the solid airlock system. I'm curious if someone here recognizes these symptoms and can provide a more confident explanation. I've only made 4 solo flights with the suit and now realize that I've experienced this issue on all 4 flights. Since this seems to be significantly degrading the clean flight of the suit, it goes a long way to explaining why I can't get freefall times in the range I'd expect from a suit with this much wing area and performance design. I'm also convinced it's my lack of skill (or at least consistency) while flying by myself (i.e., without a close point of reference) because in the 5 flocking dives I made, the suit blew me away. I had so much more range than the other suits I flew with, I could literally fly circles around them. To be fair, I wasn't flying with super-experienced pilots with high-performance suits (Acro, Classic, Aerobat, Eagle), but the performance difference I experienced compared to flocking with my Acro was immense. When I bought it, I didn't know if the SM1 would be a practical flocking suit, but the range was very flexible. All the way from flying very dirty (but still remaining very maneuverable) in order to dock on others, to punching it out and leaving them in the dust. I was also pleased to find the suit flys very solid on its back and maintains the same range of performance. Though actually that leads me to another question: what are good techniques to slow down (horizontally) when back flying? I had my legs almost completely closed (as much as the airlocked leg wing would allow me - absolutely no tail flutter btw) and I tried sitting up a bit to use my back as an air brake, but the guy chasing me still couldn't keep up. I couldn't think of anything more to do (in the moment). Tips? In conclusion, after this weekend, I'm much more satisfied with the suit and was pleased to find it capable of flying well with others while maintaining a range of performance that allowed me to go where I wanted in the flock, when I wanted. I'm optimistic that when I work out the kinks of my "performance" flight position, I'll start to see numbers on solo flights that correspond to the potential of the suit. Brian Drake

Scott, thanks for posting the WAAS map. I'm lucky, my home DZ is about 30 miles from Palmdale, CA. Brian Drake

Mike, Good to meet you this weekend. Wish we could have flown together. If you can make it, we'd love to have you at the Cal City wingsuit boogie this weekend. Blue skies, Brian Brian Drake

Mike, Valid points. Thanks. Brian Brian Drake

Don't most loggers that skydivers/base jumpers use have WAAS? Both my WBT-201 and Foretrex 201 do. Brian Drake

I've seen a fair number of videos of flat spins, but have only observed one personally. I was flying a 2-way and we were working on barrel rolls. I'd barrel roll, then tag the base's hand (now I'm base) and then he'd barrel roll and tag my hand and so on. I warned the other guy to keep his leg wing collapsed for the roll, as I know from experience an open leg wing will tend to throw you for a 180 on your back. Sure enough, on his first attempt, he had his leg wing open (he was flying a Classic) and I remember thinking to myself, this will be fun to watch. As predicted, he spun around on his back. But then to my surprise, he spun again. And again. And again. He kept spinning faster and looked like a helpless turtle on its back. Of course he started falling like a rock so I collapsed my wings and went into steep dive to keep up. The spinning was so violent and he looked so helpless, I began to wonder if I was going to observe someone's death (not a very pleasant thought). Slowly, I watched as he struggled to bring his arms and knees in (the centrifugal force looked to be making this difficult) until finally he was balled up. From this position he was able to roll over onto his belly and upon opening his wings, he experienced some wobbling and rocking, but eventually became stable. To his credit, he recovered on our original heading somehow. I pulled out of my dive, put on the brakes and settled directly next to him. He looked surprised to see me since he was oblivious to my whereabouts during his ordeal. I figured that counted as his "turn", so acting as nothing had happened, I barrel rolled, tagged his hand, and then it was break off altitude. I have to admit, I tend to agree with those who criticize the "balling up" method. But it saved this guy so maybe it's worthwhile to know. Brian Drake

Mike, Thanks for the feedback. For those formations you refer to, I would think the base could be visible, even without those on bottom back-flying since the base is 45° above and one could simply fly with their head slightly turned to keep the base in their peripheral vision. Kind of like the "turn 90°" trick they teach belly flyers when they go low on a formation (rather than looking up and spilling air). But as you point out, somethings work better on paper. I'll have to see on these and as you mentioned, the easy solution is to just place the base at a different position. I'm curious what you mean by "wing-wing interference". Are you referring to burble issues or something else? Brian Drake

Ditto. Brian Drake

Could someone please explain where this distrust of GPS comes from? In my experience, GPS is very accurate. With my Foretrex 201, it claims to maintain an accuracy of less than 3 meters on most jumps. When comparing the data to a Google Earth map, I'm consistently convinced the positioning data is as precise as claimed. For skydiving, the easiest position to compare with absolute confidence is where I landed, and GPS data displayed in Google Earth is always in agreement with my visual judgment (especially at DZs where I'm very familiar with the layout of the landing area). But even with my rudimentary spotting skills, I've become convinced the exit point is also fairly dead on. What is more accurate, a GPS plot of your flight, or eyeballing your exit and deployment location compared to landmarks? Really how precise can you be with your eyes, suspended in air? Perhaps it's different for BASE, where the opening alt puts you much closer to the ground, but even then, I have a hard time believing VPS (visual positioning system) is superior to (or even comparable to) GPS. Where I see a flaw in analyzing GPS data is not the GPS technology itself, but the impossible-to-nail down variable of wind. I've been advised that officially published wind data is not a reliable source since the actual winds can significantly differ. Nor is relying on the pilot's notes since that is also an imprecise art (so I've been told). So performance numbers from GPS flights can't be taken strictly serious. Not because the GPS is imprecise, but that the numbers do not reflect the affect of the wind. But is this any different than using equations based on VPS? How can that system be any better at compensating for wind? Brian Drake

Matt, you caught me... guilty as charged. It's a testament to your work that when I needed a good shot of a wingsuit in flight, I didn't even think twice about where to get it.

In preparation for the wingsuit boogie at Cal City next weekend, I decided to create a simple "flocking formations guide" to assist individual flock leaders in designing the flights. It is also my hope that if things are going well, some groups will attempt sequential flocks and this guide can provide a foundation for that. I've only scoped out 3-5 ways so far. To avoid redundancy, I've only listed each formation concept once since most can be scaled. For example, "flying V" is only listed on the 3-way page since the shape can be simply adjusted to accommodate an indefinite number of flockers. The diamond only appears on the 4-way page since this is the smallest group size that can form this shape, though obviously much larger groups can fly it too. And so on... It's by no means exhaustive, even with the simple group sizes I've begun with. But I think its a good start and is enough to keep most flocks busy for a while. I've attached version 1 to share, and to solicit evaluation and critique. In lieu of an official resource of this kind, it would be great to see this manual develop as a collaborative effort for the benefit of all. In other words, "open source" flight planning. Blues, Brian Brian Drake