SkymonkeyONE

There are plenty of other skydiving options other than making a solo wingsuit jump, John, and you know that. Chuck

@ Jarno: EGGGGZACKLY

+1 I HATE wingsuit solos

We hhad/ have a mix of parts here at San Marcos, Aaron. I found that out after I saw the Dubai pics at the start of the thread and talked to the riggers here about it. They showed me the burned up black ones we have had. Chuck PS: tell everyone at Eloy I said "hello" and thanks for the work

DZ policies vary WILDLY. I've worked at dropzones ( like Z-Hills) where I was permitted to do my own AFF and tandems so long as my students signed the DZ waiver and I was paying full-price tickets for all slots. I've also worked at dropzones where I had to pay the DZ a "facility usage fee" (I think we used to have to pay $40 at Raeford if we were not staff) to use our own gear. As far as owning your own rig goes, I recommend it if you are a travelling full-time skydiver and can afford one. I've not worked at a dropzone where I didn't have the option of using my own rig and getting paid to do so. Most dropzones which allow it will pay you what they normally pay themselves for the gear maintenance upkeep portion of a tandem jump. I've been paid both $25 per jump and $40 per jump to use my own rig. If you DO own your own tandem rig you can BET YOUR ASS you are going to need that money for upkeep (like Rob Warner discussed). Personally, though, if I'm at a dropzone with fantastic gear and superior upkeep (like Eloy, San Marcos, or Raeford), then I'm just going to use their gear and keep the wear off of mine so that I can use it at boogies. Chuck Blue, D-12501 Vector/Sigma/Eclipse/Multi-Mission/Racer-I

Utterly pointless and incredibly stupid. When your only clue is "I had a feeling" you are not someone I want to hang out with.

I want you to write back and tell us the first time you snag that damn camera on your reserve ripcord during your opening sequence or when you are tracking away with your head turned to the left. Seriously. Chuck Blue, D-12501

Try both! I work at Skydive San Marcos and really like it here. We have a super-nice Otter, two Caravans, and a really nice facility. I have a bunch of buddies at Temple as well. Chuck

How about you using the search function and doing it yourself, then get back to us. PS: fill in your profile so we can better determine whether or not you are non-jumper or a noob.

I would certainly hope so. Wingsuits; particularly high-end wingsuits; are a tremendously expensive piece of clothing and buying before trying is definitely not recommended. The caveat would be trust-fund babies and other rich people. I would hope the company is going to have travelling reps with demos or at least set up some of the prominent "all brands" wingsuit schools/ dealers (such as mine) with demos so people can try them out side-by-side with all the competitor offerings. Chuck Blue DragonFly Wingsuit School

+1 @ Dave and Jarno

I have a nearly identical bag. The only difference is that the big side pocket on mine is long enough for an M4 or Shorty AK. I've had mine in AFG and have taken it across the US a bunch of times. I can fit both rigs, all my camera gear, helmets, jumpsuits, and enough clothes to last a month. I've not destroyed the wheels on mine yet. Edited to add that I also have a number of big Pelican cases. The one I use most is my 1650. I can fit both rigs, one or two jumpsuits, and my camera helmet in it. It's indestructible, but it weighs a ton when loaded and I ALWAYS get charged the "heavy" fee unless I show my military ID. Chuck

+1

@ Chris: That might be entirely possible.

It's too bad your FFC instructor didn't show you how to rig every type of suit (like I do). Here's a general rule of thumb for "lace up" suits. YMMV: Lay your rig on the ground with the backpad facing up. Lay the suit on top of the rig and place the wings through the main liftwebs. Stick your legstrap hardware through the holes in the side of the suityou have tabs on both the "suit" side and the "wing" side. Both on the front and the back of the suit. On the FRONT of the suit you are GENERALLY going to skip either the THIRD or FOURTH tab down on the "wing" side when lacing up the suit. Lace the suit from bottom to top and when you get to that "skipped" tab, route the cable BEHIND the main lift web and do two on the backside, then continue all the way up to the top. I'm a shorter guy, so I generally always skip the third tab down. Taller guys will generally skip the fourth one down. On the backside of the suit you are generally going to skip the FOURTH or FIFTH tab down from the top on the Wing. Start lacing from bottom to top and when you get to the "skip" tab route the cable UNDER the side laterals, do an extra "suit" side tab, then continue to the top. Make DAMN SURE that the left and right side rigging match up. If they do not, then your suit will have a "built-in turn". Hope that makes sense to you. Chuck Blue DragonFly Wingsuit School

I could post pics showing where it cut through the "crunch" zone which would seem like the most likely place it's happening, but it's not. We are very careful to cock the bridle at the "inspection window" so as to be able to check the kill line and we cock the rest when we untwist the bridle prior to packing the drogue. The most common place where they are burning through is above the disk and before the juncture between top and bottom bridle portions. We've had one burn through just below the drogue on the top portion as well. Chuck

Exactly which models/sizes still come with packing tabs? My Sabre2 97 has packing tabs. When my new tandem rig arrived without them, I sent it back and made them put them on. My personal rule of thumb is that if you cannot pick the entire canopy up off the ground with the slider up and hold it at your waist to PRO pack it, then just side pack it. For me personally, that's 120 square feet and smaller (to PRO) and everything else gets side packed. It's much less of a pain in the ass. I was forced to PRO pack my tandems on a hook in Hawaii; I hated it, but there was no room to pack them otherwise (I was jumping on Kauai). Teaching students to PRO pack big-ass student canopies is DUMB, DUMB, DUMB in my opinion. Far too complicated, way too messy, and absolutely not necessary for the A-License requirement. Chuck Blue, D-12501 AFF/SL/TM-I, MMPCI, PRO, S&TA

The new bridles are crap. We've had kill lines burn through them on the bottom portion (below the disk), just above the disk, and up near the drogue. It seems the friction of the kill line against the "new" material causes much more friction and it sort of "crystalizes" the kill line making it "sharper" so it cuts right through the bridle. Many more snapped kill lines with the new configuration as well. I'm talking VERY NEW bridles here, too. Chuck

Yeah, if you drive past Tucson and you have never stopped at the Pima and and space museum then you are really missing out on something special. If you DO stop, make sure you take the guided tour with the old guys on the tram, then walk around on your own afterwards. You can also take the bus tour of the actual boneyard like five times a day for a few more dollars. TOTALLY WORTH THE MONEY!

+1

Look on YouTube for videos uploaded from Skydive San Marcos, PARTICULARLY the ones done by Yoshi and SuperDave. Amazing stuff. Definitely not your typical "cookie cutter" formatted product. Chuck

I've worked at DZ's that pay way less. I avoid teaching the class more than once a year. I have been to a LOT of dropzones that have one or two people who ALWAYS teach the FJC. Whether it's because that's what they like or simply because they are too old, out of shape, or out of practice to be doing the actual work jumps. Still, they feel a need to stay as connected to the sport as possible. I find nothing wrong with that, generally, but I do feel it's important for every Instructor to teach at least a couple of FJC ground courses per year. Chuck

I have paid for and personally own ten PF suits which are currently hanging on my rack at my school in TX. While it's great the have other "more advanced" suits for your own use, I'm cool with the "older" PF suits that I have for student/ intermediate use. Never mind the three GS-1s, the two S-Fly suits I still have, or the three Tony suits I have. Oddly, I still even have a Nitro Rigging Flockus. Ultimately, I'm not aligned AT ALL with any one particular manufacturer. That's the benefit for being an independent Instructor, Trainer, and Salesman for everyone who chooses to support your school. Chuck PFC/E, BMCI, AFFI, TMI, SLI, PRO, S&TA, D-12501

+another one GREAT post

Uh, it's definitely NOT too cold to be doing AFF right now in Texas. I can tell you for a fact that Skydive San Marcos (where I work), Spaceland, and Temple are all open and training students as we speak. Don't be a wuss. Chuck