SkymonkeyONE

Actually, while Scott is a bit more ripped than I am, I weigh in at 157 right now, so I am sure I am heavier than he is. You do the math. My rig weighs 16.3.

Exactly. There are pros and cons to both standard and trips, but the bottom line here nowadays is that rear riser swoops on standard risers and a smooth transition to toggles at the end is what give us the most distance. Before rear risering was commonplace, it was a toss-up on who would go farther between trips and standard risers. A look at the Swoop video by Pier Media will show you that plenty of people used to use trips. Today, I don't think I know a single person in the pro ranks who uses them. Times change and so do techniques. Chuck

Yes, apples and oranges. I am talking BirdMan suits. The canopy deploys behind you, not above you, in wingsuit flight, thus ANY shifting in the harness or asymetry is compounded exponentially. We throw with a perfectly straight back, do not look over either shoulder, and make damn sure both wings are collapesed to the same degree on both sides. Anything else and we risk very bad, sometimes irrecoverable linetwists. You see, the few seconds it takes to free your arms from the wings are all it takes to get your small pocket rocket around too many times to un-spin. Hope that makes sense. Chuck

Yep, Flight Concept's new nine-cell elliptical looks nearly identical to a Crossfire 2. There are actually three of them here at Raeford being test jumped by different people. Seems OK, but I am not about to trade anything I have for one. The R.A.G.E. canopy that is pictured looks like the one that Paratec (or some other German manufacturer) had displayed at the PIA. It looked cool, but I never saw it fly. Chuck

My intent is to teach one BM First Flight Course, then a general "intermediate to whatever" seminar to those who have already taken the first steps. I will have alll of my suits and I am sure that if Jari is coming, he will bring whatever demos are available. My plan is to mix my time between FFC flights, big flocks, doing "whatever Katie wants to do", and big-way RW with whoever is organizing (Philip last year). We will not be sucking at Eloy. Chuckie

I am the monkey, you are a flunky. Bring the pain.

Personally, I am to the point in my skydiving carreer where I am prepared to use the proper tool for the job. That said, my little-bitty Sabre2 does the job perfectly. It's stylish, opens straight, and swoops great; no compromise at all in my opinion. I owned the first Vengeance on this dropzone and while it opened straight for me, I would not consider it a viable "all the time" wingsuit main. If you can afford two rigs, then get you a "proper" wingsuit main (it can still be damn sporty, just reliable) and keep it sewn into your suit. Just my .02 Chuckie

Yes. Generally it's $30 plus our jump ticket (plus yours) for a first flight course. Normal rental for experienced birdies is $10 per jump or $30 all day. Not sure if we are going to have enough suits to accommodate the "daily" thing though. I will update this if there is a change. Chuck

22 years, six months. Still no gray hairs.

The Rancho Deluxe will be on the premesis and yes, I will have the stump liquor. Bring the pain!

Well, personally, as an S&TA with a pair of balls, I don't care if it hurts someone's feelings or not if I have to talk to them. The bottom line is that they will listen, or I ground them until they fix their problem or attitude. It's plain that some people will have their feelings hurt, but that is a part of life. Deal with the problem, then get over it. Some people carry a grudge, others learn from it and get their shit together. These particular comments aren't targeted towards any particular person; they apply to everyone who finds themselves in such situations. Chuck Blue D-12501

yawn.......OK Bets, you ARE the queen....

That is exactly true. There are, in fact, a number of offenders on these forums who will type things just to raise their post numbers, like that really means anything, That said, the specified forums, such as this one, are absolutely NOT the place to be posting coy remarks that might be construed as fact by students or inexperienced skydivers. If you just can't help yourself, then AT LEAST write a blurb stating that you are just kidding. Enough of that.... Now, back to the topic of the thread: There was a comment earlier in the thread about "getting your bell rung" by pulling in a track. While that is true in some instances, there are in fact a lot of people who do exactly this nowadays. This is possible for a number of reasons. First, alot of newer canopies do open slow enough that it won't hurt either the equipment or the jumper. Second, in an efficient high-lift track you are quite possibly going slower vertically than when you are "flat, dumb, and happy." Next, there are still a few people who jump spring-loaded pilot chutes as their preferred main deployment method. Mike "Michigan" Sandberg among them. He pulls sitting straight up in a knee-fly on every jump I have ever witnessed. He also uses old, surplus MA-1 pilot chutes. Pulling in that sat-up position allows his PC to fire straight into clean air, thus no need to "clear" over your shoulder during the pull sequence. Hey, it works for him. Chuck

One of the regulars at my dad's dropzone in Alabama weighs in butt naked at just about 300. He jumps a MT1-XX converted to BOC. No problem whatsoever. One of my video guys here, Shecky-do-da, weighs about 250 in street clothes. He jumps a Stilletto 170. Chuck

Hey, SunCheHag, did you get a cock pie?

Who exactly are "you guys?"

There are some nice photos in there! That second photo link of you under your Safire is very nice. Looks like you guys had fun. Chuck

I changed my quiver a bit a few months ago and replaced the 75, which I ended up rarely jumping, for a Sabre2 97. The Sabre2 is my BirdMan main and it rules in that regard. The bigger of my two original Velocities, the 79, just worked out perfect for everything else. I load it at about 2.2 without weights. It goes as fast as I want it to go, has great range to get back from long AFF spots, swoops fantastically, and opens great. Actually, it was the main that I had intended primarily for BirdMan usage, with the 75 for "everything else." While the 75 was a fun canopy, I get much longer swoops on the 79. While most people wouldn't consider a Sabre2 a "performance" canopy, I can tell you that at the wingload I use mine at, it's awesome. Incredibly light riser pressure, straight openings, and remarkably long swoops. Plus mine looks really cool in the team clolors. See you at Rantoul Chuck

Ramon jumped it in Florida too. It was in Hansie's rig.

I can. There is only so much time in a day for posting and so many sites to peruse, I just don't get around as much as I "should." Cyberskydive was a beautiful site, but it was just the same people who posted here, so most people just stated here. I went and logged onto the BirdMan forum yesterday and announced myself, though, so let's see how busy it gets. BLINC also has a nice forum for wingsuits, but it isn't very busy either. Chuck

My clock does not work at all. I skip back and forth from 50 second AFF dives to 70 second RW dives, to 135 second wingsuit dives. I generally have a feel for whatever I am doing, but still rely largely on my audible and how big the ground looks. Chuck

I will absolutely, positively be there for the duration. My camper will be parked right behind the Wings/BirdMan tent. I am impossible to miss. That said, I am there to work/party/flock. Chuck

Hey Kolla, let's have some coctails! I will be working as well, but I will always make time to have coctails with you guys. Chuckie

I just got a tape with all of Blair and Kevin's wingsuit stuff today. Dave was busy today with tandem videos, then the entire team had to go onto post for a meeting, but I am sure that he will be getting it together soon. Chuck

There is quite a bit of video of Patrick De Guyardon flying tethered in a horizontal wind tunnel.