SkymonkeyONE

It is my personal experience and opinion as a BirdMan Instructor that a decent skydiver with a smooth flying style will not have any problem whatsoever jumping a GTi as a first suit. My first jumps were on a GTi. Dan Preston's first jumps were on a Skyflyer. We have a friend who had the bare minimum requisite jumps to even try wingsuits and he started on a Skyflyer. That is definitely not recommended, but "they lived" through the learning curve and now both. I will say this, though: If you are considering ordering a suit and "just going for it" without any proper instruction, then you had really better have your shit together. Smart business would be to get to one of the many functions across the nation this year where BirdMen will be. That, or go somewhere that has BirdMen Instructors and demo suits. Wingsuits are EXPENSIVE toys and it would be a shame to drop good money on a suit only to find out that wingsuit flying scares you to death. I fly my suit every weekend, but sometimes still get a bit spooked at pull time when I am jumping alone, hoping my tiny main comes off my back straight. Think of jumping a wingsuit with the same caution you would as skysurfing. That extra piece of equipment has some very specific emergency procedures which must be followed to the "t" or you risk catastrophic consequences. Bottom line here is that you should endeavour to check as many safety blocks as possible on your maiden flights. Once you have your confidence built, then you can truly rule the suit and the sky. Chuck another wingsuit nut My webpage HERE

Yes, it is very possible to have a stuck bag. Here is the scenario: You jump a tiny container like I do (a Javelin XRS) which has a main container which is taller (off your back) than it is long (bottom of reserve to bottom main container flap). If you throw in a full track and do not sit up (like I now do), then your PC and bridle will trail out straight behind you. If you pack with your lines straight to your backpad, then your bridle must pull your bag "over the corner" of your container. Since the bag is taller than it is long, the bag can wedge inside the container and create a PC in tow, since the majority of PC snatch is wasted on the initial yank trying to get the bag "over the corner". It is my opinion, and that of other prominent BirdMen, that this is the cause of most delayed openings and PC-in-tow situations when you are flying at greatly reduced wingsuit vertical speeds. This is exactly what happened to Bobby Pritchard on three separate occasions here at Raeford: the initial snatch force of the PC was wasted on trying to lever the bag out of the container (which it failed to do). When it didn't come out, the parasitic drag of the PC itself was not enough to deploy the main. Hell, it was also not enough to get the risers cleared of the three rings when he cutaway! Needless to say, things got very ugly as he tried to work his three rings with his hands before firing his reserve at a very low altitude. He now has his rig cut and sits up when he feels the tug and has no problems whatsoever. Chuck My webpage HERE

I was actually sitting just inside The Rumrunner, having my favorite sandwich on the planet (chicken and cheese) when Whit and some others walked by. This is my 39th time here since July 98 and I rarely see people sporting skydiving attire, so I grinned when I saw his original edition shirt (like I still have). I was wearing a POPs nationals shirt, just in case any of you were wondering. Oh, believe me when I say that I know all the places not to go to. Sorry I missed Omri. He is a good kid and I am sure he is having a blast at Pahokee. Chuck My webpage HERE

I wear my RW comp bootie suit. I use my legs a LOT when I skydive and I find that that my booties give me a much quicker reaction time in getting to a spinning or flipping student. If the student is extra light, I just pull on my slip-ons for a bit of extra upper-body range. I have only had to put weight on three students in the past 15 years of Instructing. These were both tiny little girls that flew "butt up" and just couldn't arch from the pelvis. I put 10 pounds on one 80 pound girl once and it immediately un-fucked her. Oddly, eventually (after student status), she developed a good arch and never had to use weights again. Concerning radio protocol: If you do not have a third party on the ground controlling your students, then you had better be jumping the transciever. We had an incident several years ago where the JM and student took a bad spot. The student went flying along with no idea where the DZ was, so she was heading for a spot on the other side of a road about a mile from the DZ. Unable to communicate with his student, the JM had the great misfortune of having his student fly right into the side of a moving semi, killing her. Chuck My webpage HERE

If you want to be able to have any type of carving accuracy course, you will need a wider ditch/pond. Diamonds are perfect for that. Still, the fact of the matter is that in PPPB meets, only accuracy is conducted mostly over water. Distance and Speed are both set up with the entrance gates over the pond, but the majority of the course is out over land. Three feet is pretty standard as far as homemade swoop ponds go. It's plenty deep to cushion a blow, but shallow enough that you can stand up and keep your rig out the water after a chow. It also makes it much easier for support personnel to come to your aid if you pound in. The deepest part of the new pond in Cedartown, GA is about 2.5 feet and it was more than fine. If you are more into "water level" type events, then a long, straight ditch is OK, so long as it has sufficient width to do some carving. I would go at least 240 feet and at least 40 feet wide. Using a liner is VERY smart, as some ground is very poreous and will soak water right up. Filling it once with a firetruck or off a hydrant would be smart for the the first time. Maintaining the level will depend on your climate. Hot, arid areas with no shade will obviously evaporate faster than one in milder climes. I know places that are able to maintain the level with a hose, but plenty of others that require a firehose. As I recall, the pond at Perris lost about 1000 gallons a day when we were running the meets. As previously stated, you ought to just call Jim Slaton and talk to him a bit about it. He has his shit together on this subject. Chuck My webpage HERE

To me, it all depends on how far around I have left to turn to make it through the gates. Generally, I throw somewhere between a 180 and a 270, always to the right. I generally have my right leg up and my left leg fully extended during the turn, inducing opposite lean. If I find myself too far back at the middle of my turn I swap lean to the inside to tighten the turn. I find that by doing it this way my canopy flies smoother and builds speed in a more linear fashion than just cranking down farther on the riser. That's just me; EVERYONE on tour does it different than the others. Some guys will set up in deep brakes right over the top, then quickly pull both knees up and together and stay even in the harness; only varying their degree of turn with their front risers. One guy doesn't touch his risers and just throws a huge harness turning 360. It's not very accurate, but whatever floats your boat. As far as your canopy staying in a dive longer by opposite harness-steering, I truthfully don't know. I don't notice it one way or another. Chuck My webpage HERE

We had swooped downwind all day Friday in stronger winds, so I was surprised we jumped into the wind. It made for some pretty stunning chows. Chuck My webpage HERE

I agree with Dan. At least when I flock, the fun lies in staying together and making formations, taking grips, then zooming over and under your buddies like dolphins do. The only people that get left in the dust are the truly sucky pilots. I have been in good-flying formations with people in all three types of BirdMan suits. The only time I see a "real" difference in flight characteristics is at breakoff time, when really good SkyFlyer pilots (like Jari) just kick in the afterburners and zoom away. That being said, myself and one other Raeford guy are going to order SkyFlyers for "just us", faster, technical formation flying. This will also leave us with extra suits for instruction. Chuck My webpage HERE

Agreed. I never made a jump on a Classic; only demo GTi's before buying my own GTi. I didn't have any problem with it at all. As for better fliers being able to do truly bad-ass things in a classic, that is definitely true. Bobby Pritchard has slowed his to 28mph for extended periods and rules over Raeford. He jumped my GTi two weekends ago a few times and he said the biggest difference is in the physical strain to maintain an efficient wing. He said his arms were smoked after jumping my suit. I don't think a GTi is a bad choice as a first suit for someone with a "calm" body position in whatever their other chosen discipline is. Chuck My webpage HERE

I personally use an open face helmet (BoneHead Mindwarp)for the reasons that Paul listed, plus the fact that it is preached in the course. Namely, you want your student to be able to read your facial expressions, and also that you can scream commands at them from close range and they can DEFINITELY hear you. I have buddies that don't give a shit about this,though, and always JM in their bug hat (full-face helmet) because they have been kicked in the face too often by flailing students. Chuck My webpage HERE

John, did you get that Strong rating "just to have it", or are you going to go and work with John Hayes or the GB club some? As a Vector bitch, I am not sure why else you would want it. Kip has been on me to transition to Strong for quite some time, seeing as how we have both systems. Still, with SkyKat taking over the school, all I am going to be jumping is the Sigma. Chuckie My webpage HERE

I actually did a real level 4 the day after I graduated, while the other guys were still in the course. Perfect, right up to the point where he pulled his BOC pilot chute and held on to it for four seconds while piked forward and falling away on his back. NICE! I re-jumped him the next day and he did fine. Chuck My webpage HERE

Well, my brother, let me tell you a little story: The "other" team I jump on (the USASOC command demonstration parachute team) has 16 brand-new rigs with Flight Concepts StarTrac 1 and StarTrac 2 mains. We have blown up several of them, snapped A-lines on several more, and blown up sliders on others. All of these mains were cut with a laser plotter and are technically "accurate" in that regard. This, of course, has nothing to do with sewing tollerances, which was the subject of the original post. What is the problem with our StarTracs then you ask? Well, in the "old" GlidePath days, they were cut by hand off of a stencil. Those parachutes were fine, but eventually the stencils wore out and then the owner of the "old" stencils took them with him when he left the company. The "new" stencils that they made were not perfect copies and the info plotted into the computer is off those "new" stencils, thus the problem. The canopies were just fixed with a fairly straightforward nose-mod on the center cells, but not before the damage was done to our necks and backs; not to mention equipment. My point is, just because one manufacturer uses a laser cutter does not mean their product is "better" than one produced in the "old" manner. In the end, it is the sum of all things ( airfoil design, accuracy of cut, sewing tollerance and technique) that makes one parachute better than another. Chuck My webpage HERE

Just to update you guys: Jason Eames showed up the day of the meet and, with no practice, took third place overall! Outstanding job, brother! It was nice meeting you and I look forward to seeing you on tour this year. For everyone else who was wondering, I got 7th place. I got a vertical extension on one round and ended up a foot short of shore once, so that's my excuse. Actually, nearly everyone went swimming at least once! We had practiced all day Friday running downwind, but the decision was made to run all three events into the wind on Saturday. Winds were about 10mph, but a bit higher at turn-in altitude, so lots of people were making their turns too far "downtown". As a result, most people who knew they were going to be short went BIG for the cameras. Steve Utter, the cameraman for Team Method had a crew of people stationed around the course getting shots from all angles. Steve-O was in the water and got some great shots of people doing flips and diving into the water. The best examples of proper water entry style were Cisco from Deland and Morgan from Chester. Jim Slaton got cool points for his round 6 cutaway and his deadman. Amazingly, Jim Slaton still managed to pull off a second place overall score! Jason made his money with some great consistency and smooth style. Overall winner was T.J. Landgren of Team Method. He took home $800. Individual event winners were: Jim Slaton- Distance; Nathan Gilbert-Stop Accuracy and also Cone Accuracy. The meet was fun and Hans Paulson and the DZO, Ben Butler, did a good job of putting the pond together in such a short time. I really did not have the cash to go to this meet after dropping $750 on the AFF Instructor course last week, but when my boy Hans called me and asked, I simply could not turn him down. I pulled out the plastic and went for it, driving 500 miles the next morning so I could get in a day of practice. Jim Slaton did the same; he immediately hopped on a plane from California to Atlanta and arrived the same night I did. Jason Eames came down from Virginia and Morgan came down from Chester, SC. That being said, we were all very disappointed when several prominant local swoopers who compete with us on the PPPB tour did not make the trip across town to compete. Unfortunate. Steve-O from Team Method is currently putting together an article for both Parachutist and Skydiving, so keep a look out for them. My wife did not make it down as previously planned, so unfortunately I do not have any photos to offer. Thanks to Ben Butler, Hans Paulson, and the members of Team Method for being so hospitable. Chuck Blue Team Atair My webpage HERE

Zofo, I am EXTREMELY dissappointed that I was not able to attend your fiesta. Dan called me after I had already enrolled in the AFF cert course and asked me to go down and fly the company colors, but alas, it was not to be. Hey, at least I passed the course! Anyway, I know there was a crowd of you wanting to try out our canopies and work a deal with Dan for some custom stuff. I will be out of town this weekend, but am free pretty much anytime this summer (other than competiton weekends) to come and hang out/skydive/ party/ talk Cobalt stuff. Once again, sorry I was not able to make it; I am sure it was a blast. Chuck Blue Team Atair PS: I still have not been initiated into your clan. When is the next major gathering? My webpage HERE

I will be at the pond swoop meet at ASC this weekend (actually will be there tomorrow evening). I am bringing my suit just in case anyone in the area wants to do some flocks after I get done practicing and competing. Maybe I will see some of you there. Chuck My webpage HERE

Crossposted from the swoop forum by yours truly....I will be at the swoop meet this Saturday(May 11th) at ASC outside of Atlanta, GA. My buddy Hans Paulson just called and told me about it. For those interested, here are the particulars as I know them: Registration is at 0800 on Saturday Six rounds of competiton including Distance, Target Accuracy (kick the foam things), and stop accuracy (swoop the pond then stop on a target at the end of the lake). Entrance fee is $150 plus jumps ($10 bucks a whack) Not sure about the prize money. I am driving down from Fayetteville, NC tomorrow at lunch and practicing all day Friday. I plan on competing Saturday, partying that night on the DZ, then driving back home first thing Sunday morning. Atlanta people who want to see some first rate competitors throw down the swoopy-wompus ought to put aside the policics and meet me there. Jim Slaton is flying in from California tomorrow night. T.J. Landgren, Joe Bennett, Caven Warren and plenty of other PPPB regulars will be competing, so this will not be a chickenshit affair. I am bringing my BirdMan suit along also, just in case anyone wants to flock. Chuck My webpage HERE

I will be at the swoop meet this Saturday(May 11th) at ASC outside of Atlanta, GA. My buddy Hans Paulson just called and told me about it. For those interested, here are the particulars as I know them: Registration is at 0800 on Saturday Six rounds of competiton including Distance, Target Accuracy (kick the foam things), and stop accuracy (swoop the pond then stop on a target at the end of the lake). Entrance fee is $150 plus jumps ($10 bucks a whack) Not sure about the prize money. I am driving down from Fayetteville, NC tomorrow at lunch and practicing all day Friday. I plan on competing Saturday, partying that night on the DZ, then driving back home first thing Sunday morning. Atlanta people who want to see some first rate competitors throw down the swoopy-wompus ought to put aside the policics and meet me there. Jim Slaton is flying in from California tomorrow night. T.J. Landgren, Joe Bennett, Caven Warren and plenty of other PPPB regulars will be competing, so this will not be a chickenshit affair. I am bringing my BirdMan suit along also, just in case anyone wants to flock. Chuck My webpage HERE

Just a quick note to say that I finally went back to the AFF instructor course 12 years after failing the first time. I spanked the course and passed in three skydives (the bare minimum). Billy Rhodes was the course director and he was a designated evaluator the first time I went. The course is challenging, but not hard at all to the properly prepared student. The first time I went, I was competing religiously in 4-way in the Carolina Council. I made absolutely no practice dives, instead launching "Venezuelan Connections" from the otter in prep for a meet the following week. Needless to say, I thought I was plenty bad-ass to just wing it, but instead, failed miserably. 2000 jumps and over a decade later, I went back just to check that last block and become a "total" instructor. Also key was the fact that my wife got her AFF ticket about four years ago and I was jealous. Anyway, now I have ALL the ratings. That and two bucks will get me a beer in Aviators.... Chuck Blue D-12501 AFF-I, SL-I, Tandem-I, BirdMan-I, SM-1! My webpage HERE

To clarify Clay's post: I cutaway from my competiton Cobalt 75 on a wingsuit jump after I had a premature brake deployment instead of just cutting away my wings and releasing my other brake. My fuck-up completely; not the canopy's fault. In my opinion, the fact that I jump a 75 square foot napkin with my winsuit is testament to the fact that I am secure in the openings of my Cobalt. chuck My webpage HERE

Here is the deal: if you have EVER had a delayed deployment while jumping your wingsuit, then you ought to have your rig modified. To me, it's a no-brainer. I have two of the tiniest sized Javs (one is four years old, the other a one year old Odyssey). I have jumped both with my wingsuit, but generally only jump my "pond rig" with the wingsuit and keep it sewn in 99 percent of the time. I throw my pilot chute in a full track and then sit up when I KNOW it's in clean air and have not had a problem with this technique, but I still cut the corners on my older XRS "just in case". I left about one inch of bartack in the bottom corner, but the rest is picked out so my bag will just flip out the back without having to fight its way over the lip. No big deal if you sit up, but for those folks who stay in a hard track and are jumping a tiny container it can turn into a pilot chute in tow situation without the mod. I base my decision on my personal experience; you do the same. If you don't have a problem, then don't sweat it. I personally have had a few delays without the mod so I made the easy decision to fix it. Chuck My webpage HERE

I am probably going to be there too, so it will be a blast to skydive with you guys. Chuck My webpage HERE

That is "old school" and was how I learned. Now, the great majority of C-182 SL programs have the student hanging completely. We have experienced FAR fewer bad exits as a result and recommend it to everyone still doing it the other way. The problem with the "left foot still on the step" method is that you have a lot of people jumping more up than out and hitting the wing, thus pointing them more straight forward (head into the relative wind). We had plenty flip forward and more roll sideways when we did it that way. I also had more people hitting the step on the way by. We have them hang in a "big X" with knees nearly locked and toes pointed, arched purely from the pelvis. The positive legs get them in a better, less vertical body position and makes for less roll-over onto the back because they had their feet on their ass. Having them hang makes it impossible to get back into the plane. We also put the odds more in our favor by streamlining the climbout/exit verbage: -"sit in the door" -"crawl all the way out and hang" -"go!" We used to have a "crawl out" command, right before "hang" where they would get out into the "left foot on step" position and then look back in at the JM. We had a fair shair balk once they got out there, not wanting to hang, so we just made it one movement all the way out and hardly ever have a refusal. Bottom line with us is that if they balk before they hang and the spot gets long, then we will bring them in; if they are hanging, they are going...period. Of note here is that I get well out of the plane with my left hand on the strut, left foot on the strut, and I control the SL with my right hand. If they do not get far enough out, not arching correctly, or don't have their legs out, then I talk them into the correct position. Also, if someone seems really sketchy on the ground, then I will never make them first out. If jumper number one does not go, then the plane is landing and you just wasted gas. I am pretty good at picking out the scared ones and set the exit order accordingly. Generally, after having them watch a couple of others exit, 99 percent of scaredy-cats will exit. You just have to put on a relaxed face and assure them it's going to be OK. Chuck My webpage HERE

Let me tell you what NOT to do: -don't get so drunk at the dropzone that you compromise your integrity/morals/scruples in any way. You will definitely regret it. -Don't ignore you wife when she comes to the dropzone at your request. -Don't treat your loving wife as an accessory. -Don't post EVEN A HINT of any pre-marriage sexual exploit of yours in this or any other electronic forum. It's very stupid and, from experience this weekend, will lead to more grief than you can imagine. -Even though you know that you would never play around on your very-loving wife, don't ever type anything on this very-public forum which would leave her or anyone else wondering if you would. What are your questions? Ladies and gentlemen: Let it be known that I love my wife with all my heart and have no desire whatsoever to screw around on her. I have, in fact, made a mockery of our relationship recently and feel terribly that she is suffering for it. What did I do? I, without thinking, responded foolishly to the "poop chute" thread with something which, of course, got read by not only all of you, but by my 2,800 jump ex-Golden Knight wife. Needless to say, she was NOT impressed. Bottom line: I am a fucking moron who got caught up in the spirit of the moment and posted away. That kind of behaviour is assinine and I regret it terribly. If I were able to, I would delete any and all of it. I will get it taken care of. Anyway, I love my wife dearly and hate that I slighted her in this manner. If any of you feel the need to reply to this post, please do so in a PM so as not to further propagate the situation. Chuck My webpage HERE

I jump a Competition Cobalt 75 with my wingsuit. It opens very soft and straight; both key characteristics of what you want in a canopy for wingsuit use. If your normal main is a "spinner" that you EVER have to fight, then don't jump it with a wingsuit. While with practice you can get your wings off almost immediately, there is still a chance that a spinny main could get away from you before you have a chance to stop it. There are a lot of straight/easy opening mains out there, so do right and choose one of those instead of jumping a "known offender" on at least your maiden flights. Chuck My webpage HERE