SkymonkeyONE

Likewise, on everything but wingsuit jumps my hands are up on the backs of my rear risers. The only pisser about brake fires is that once you clear the other brake and kick out of the spins, you are generally caught with you damn slider above your toggles. Pulling your slider over unstowed toggles on a Velocity 79 is a daunting task at best, especially in traffic. Chuck

I brought a set of twin 53's, my mask and Gentex with me to Quincy 2001 for Jari to use on his planned "most time in freefall jump." We rigged the bottles by means of a custom harness, sideways and under the BOC. No, it didn't prevent pulls. The HP hose went into the same hole as your left legstrap and then over across the chest. It came out on the other side in such a manner that the hose did not bind at all. We jammed the bottles over at Mullins' tent and were set to go. I was to be the phys tech on board for him and then land with the plane on the first attempt. It didn't go when we could not get the requisite FAA approval, plus the fact that we partied excessively the night before. Chris Needels took a lot of pictures of our rigging and practice sessions. Jari still has copies. Chuck Blue MFFJM (among other things)

MattM (Amish) and I paid for BOTH of our bubbles out of pocket, plus the RoadRunner connection, yet we charge no one. THAT is hospitality. Don't sweat it though; I will pay whatever you blood-sucking monkey-lips deem appropriate. Chuck

When swooping, flaring to the rear, behind the torso, gives you "free" rear riser input (so long as you do not use triple risers). As your hands pull rearward, they change the angle that the control lines go through the guide rings, thus putting tension on them. Tension to the rear deflects the rear risers without the hassle of having to transfer to them and possibly miss them during that transition. Chuck

Whether or not I knew it was a brake fire, the first thing I would have done was to reach up and grab both toggles and unstow them in hopes that it WAS a brake fire and nothing more. That is basic first jump course shit. The only time that I cannot accomplish that in a timely enough manner is a mad spinner in a wingsuit. Chuck

Pay for wireless? Man, I guess Matt and I will have to start charging for access here on the plantation....NOT. Where's the love? Chuck

I just made my comment in the interest of keeping the network from getting swamped and slow.

I would pass on the airlocks when it comes to wingsuit flights for the same reason I would "generally" tell people to pass on a crossbrace or a Stilletto for wingsuits. Straight openings are critical for wingsuit flight. I don't see any reason at all why a straight opening crossfire two would not be a good choice. Any reasonable canopy would do, but just last weekend I saw a Vengeance and a Velocity 79 chop (Jari chopped his Velocity). Bottom line here is that one is wise to use the best tool for the job, especially when given a choice. Chuck

Me neither. It's big and ungainly, terribly expensive, and I would have nobody to fly one with. I loathe solo flights. Chuck

In that instance, Tom, I think that valves on the bottom of the wings, just like on modern BASE canopies might work. I would figure that Robi and crew would have been messing with that by now. Peace, Chuck

It's a rock formation on the Eiger. You generally have to cross a rope bridge to get over to it. Do a search on google.

I am not sure of any NORCAL BM-I's, but with over 500 jumps and having someone experienced to hook the rig up for you and give you pointers, you should be OK on your own. That said, real BM-I's have proven themselves capable of proper instruction and can offer corrective action in flight as well as on the ground. If you have the money now, I can promise you that you would not regret the purchase of a BirdMan suit now, so long as you don't get a suit that would get you in over your head. A classic, classic II, or GTi would be a fine choice as a first suit. Chuck BM-I (among other things)

Exactly! Somebody just needs to set up a bubble for us and not leak it out to "the regular people." I am very spoiled here on the plantation.

Actually, I think the problem is that too many people think they have dibs on Skymama. Chuck

Bring the pain.

Yep, Skinny Puppy "chainsaw" is one of my favorite industrial albums. That, some old Morrisey, Business and Industry, Camoflage; shit like that. I have a lot of stuff in that genre in old cassette cases hidden somewhere; even some vinyl ten inchers. Typically today, though, I mostly listen to trance. I have gigs of Oaky, but generally just keep www.digitallyimported.com tuned in on either the vocal trance channel or the hard trance channel. Chuck

Every DZ that has even the smallest quantity of small, performance mains now has to do their best to work solutions. Here at Raeford we have a designated "high performance" lane and we teach, ad nauseum, that it's everyone's responsibility to keep their head on a swivel. While our landing pattern is generally left-hand, those doing HP landings generally end up doing a right 270 off of base from a higher altitude. It's my opinion as the S&TA here that this is a fine working solution, so long as I don't have any errant, non-briefed jumpers flying across the HP lane at 400 feet on base. I have just moved our HP lane out to what I believed to be a "safer" area, but now am reconsidering the move, as it put the entrance gates sqarely under the base leg for "non-HP" traffic; probably not too bright, but we will figure it out in a DZ meeting sometime this week. There must be some balance between your student, "standard", target accuracy, and HP traffic. The "old" rules of the air still apply, obviously, but everyone, including "the lower jumper" needs to be vigilant. Spiralling your Stilletto 120 down well below 1000 feet then toggle whipping it at 250 feet just to beat four guys on much smaller Velocities to the swoop lane is assinine. This, especially when you know that those other four guys throw their carves at between 700 and 900 feet. Stilleto man would have been much smarter to just chill out and wait for those guys to pass him at altitude and let them throw their turn. Then, he would still have sufficient altitude to setup for a clean run through the course without fear of being overrun. We have it even more freaky here what with the high number of demonstation teams practicing on the same DZ, plus the GK style and accuracy guys setting up for the tuffet. Communication is key to safety. Good briefings to new and visiting jumpers help, but gathering the masses for occasional meetings is what keeps "regulars" who have just not ever had to worry about mixed traffic before understand that there are new variables that affect all of us. As the equipment grows more and more different with each discipline (we used to all do CRW with whatever we had in our pack tray at the time), then so must our landing guidance. Communication and education are key to safety. Sincerely, Chuck Blue D-12501 Manager, Raeford Parachute Center School AFF/SL/TM/BM-I, PRO, S&TA

After Jari chopped his spinning canopy last Sunday, I had to remind him of why I traded my smaller velocity for the Sabre2. We had already had a conversation about it and he was already seriously contemplating the same thing. While I never had a single problem with my Velocity 79 in my wingsuit, I always knew it was not the smartest thing in the world to be doing. Chuck

Here what comes. Please post specific questions and specific news in this forum.

copy cat.

Holy Shit! Does this mean I am not getting my stuff? Ugh.... Chuckie

My Sabre2 97 is the shiznit! Man, I love that parachute for wingsuit flights. Chuck

The problem here is that I don't think you need any more inflation in your wings. Crossbraced parachutes of today have incredibly small air inlets and remain very pressurized. What we strive for is minimal drag while allowing just enough air in to maintain optimum pressurization. Chuck

I have quite a few jumps out of Sugar Alpha when it used to come to Lagrange, GA. I also have a ton of jumps out of two of them that they use in Guatemala. They also fly two Aravas down there at Puerto San Jose. There is a nice Smithfield turbine that flies people on Fort Bragg as well; very stylish. Chuck

Actually, I think that removing the webbing would allow that air inlet to distory in flight. Imagine removing the rib from the cell of a parachute. The cell would open into a circle. If you removed the mesh, I think you would have to reinforce the hole with some smaller grid of fabric to maintain the shape of the inlet.