SkymonkeyONE

"Somebody open the DOOR!" -Grey Mike "How about that frame grab?" -Scott Bland "I will be there in five minutes" -Jeff Nebelkopf "Gimme TWO!" -Scotty Burns "Can I sleep in the BirdHouse?" -CakeBoy

You don't live on the East Coast, Clint.

House is a tremendously shitty show, brother.

Bring it, fool!

Everyone: Do not be confused by the fact that BOTH mine and Scott's vehicles have huge BirdMan logos on them. We BOTH represent the company indirectly with the same level of authority and we both instruct/coach/mentor wingsuit pilots and even train instuctors. The difference is that THIS is my thread and that this will be my third Dublin Boogie. That and the fact that our school offers demos on everything we have access to. We are truly "non-denominational" in Z-hills. There is no singular BMI/BMCI (or any other brand instructor) that will be "in charge" of anything at this boogie. As a matter of fact, there will be at least four instructors there, so jump with whomever you like. Hopefully, we will all show up, be friendly, and do some awesome jumps together. I know I am going there to have fun! Chuck

Are you kin to psycho Bob?

First of all, there is NO SUCH THING as a "beginner" cross-braced canopy. Seriously. Nobody has any business whatsoever jumping one with under 1000 jumps in my very-experienced opinion. No amount of reading this forum (or Jim's, registered trademark, do not copy) is going to prepare you to own a crossbraced canopy. What WILL prepare you for one is a ton of jumps on slightly-less-agressive, non-braced canopies. What I mean by a ton of jumps is as many jumps as you have listed TOTAL in your profile on one heavilly-loaded 9-cell. You do not have a lot of jumps, brother. Back in 2001, myself and my two teammates (Bryan Harrell from Elsinore and Eric Butts from Hawaii) competed professionally with great success under nine-cells. The worst of us finished 13th overall in the nation that year. Crossbraced canopies do not make great AFF canopies, video canopies, nor general RW canopies. They require a ton of attention, don't open nearly as good as their nine-cell counterparts (which also swoop great). A crossbraced canopy is not "required equipment" to hang out with the cool kids (who can't swoop to save their asses) in the freefly teamroom at most dropzones. I have said this before; possibly in this thread: if you can't wring every single ounce of performance out of what is currently over your head then you DO NOT need a new canopy. Parachutes are fucking EXPENSIVE nowadays. Buy what you can handle and afford and then jump it until you have worn it out or explored every limit of it's capabilities. I am fascinated how fast people "progress" these days. You know what? I have not had a new canopy in four years. Hell, my current Velo is was built in 1999! Just because you can afford a new three thousand dollar JVX does not mean you ought to buy one five months after you jump your first Crossfire. I don't mean to be callous, but you know what? It needs to be said. Over and over again, apparently. Chuck

I can promise you that you will be challenged at this event, Joni.

You funny, ha ha.

Dude, I sent your shit back to Tejas with Ken Ates. You TOLD him to fetch the stuff, didn't you? I am being serious here.

Both Jeff and I will be at Dublin with all of our demos (more than 20 at this point from BM, PF, and Tony). We will train qualified first flight candidates and we will be putting flocks together as well. Consider this a great opportunity to tune up prior to Flock and Dock the following weekend. I will be arriving tomorrow and leaving late Sunday or early Monday. Colon Berry and I will be bringing Wings demos as well. Look for us all to be setup somewhere in the middle of the action. Chuck

I am a pro swooper WITH a PRO rating (under a "real" demo canopy, my tandem main, and my old Cobalt 75). To me, an experienced canopy pilot is someone who can direct his or her parachute safely through traffic and onto a target of their choosing, regardless of other outside influences: high or changing winds, traffic, obstacles. Pro swoopers MUST be able to succesfully navigate courses and stop where they want (zone and target accuracy) in order to even qualify to compete, so you cannot discount that style of piloting. Still, the best all around pilots are those who can seamlessly swap between their tandem rig, their swoop rig, and a "real" demo canopy. Some people do one thing well, but suck terribly under other canopies. Chuck

No. That was actually a bit disappointing last year.

Last student EXITING no later than thirty minutes prior to sunset. Why? You NEVER know if they are going to land on the DZ or if they will answer radio calls if flying astray. There is nothing worse than fishing an injured student out of a tree after dark. Chuck

That's just because you suck so bad, Mark! Me? I will take them big or small, flat or vertical, front or back. People who pigeon-hole themselves into one type of flying really are missing alot, aren't they?

There are two of them in Sunshine Factory gear shop right now.

Quick update: Colon Berry is coming along and we two are going to split duties as Sunrise Manufacturing (Wings) reps. That is unless Ankie tells him he cannot come. We will have demo rigs with us. Jeff Nebelkopf from Tony Suits (Wingsuit Division) will be there with all his demos. We will both be organizing wingsuit flocks . Consider this "pre Flock and Dock prep" if you intend to flock with us the following weekend in Z-hills and are unsure of your ability. I am bringing my tandem rig, but don't any of you think for a second that I am going to do any freebies for "a friend of your second cousin". We arrive Wednesday and will be staying maybe till monday morning. Edited to add: yes we are bringing our golf cart and NO, none of you can drive it. Chuck

You will definitely be able to demo a full PF suit if you come to Z-hills. Still, I really don't see what the problem is with putting some other top with BirdMan Pantz (if you think you must). Speculation that mixing in another top might not be compatible is just that, so if you personally don't have any experience with such compatibility/incompatibility then you ought to refrain from such conjecture. Personally, though, I think a windbreaker or some other hoodie-type top with some flap gives you plenty of torso lift in those pants.

With zero jumps on the canopy I think even jokingly calling it "VK" was a bit premature. Likewise, I am not sure Muffin has ever jumped a Velo to make the comparison. Still, I am sure it's going to be a superior canopy to the Onyx and it's intended audience just from touching and looking at it at PIA. Also, since Muffin has started text messaging, I am not sure if he knows how to use the "telephone" mode on his device. I have actually already bugged him about the new canopy and have not heard back from him yet. Good seeing you guys at PIA, Dan. Chuck

I agree.

The most suitable bracket for smoke in a wingsuit is the one that Jason Weisberg (Voodew) had at the last flock and dock. They are awesome and wingsuit-specific. Not sure if the supplier ever built anymore though. Chuck

Hey, Muffin, did you jump the new canopy yet? The thinner one? Someone was asking about it in another thread. Call me (that means actual talking; not a fucking text message, you juvenile delinquent). Chuck

The original Xaos competition canopies (and I do mean original) were jumped at the PPPB meet at Perris in 2001. They showed up with non-cascaded lines on them, but half of the guys put cascaded linesets (which George brought with him) on for the meet after test jumping them for a day. I know that if you ask the right person you can get a cascaded HMA lineset straight from the factory. I am not sure if Andy and Jeffro are jumping continuous or cascaded these days. Chuck

Positively first rate, just like the rest of your stuff. It's great that you guys have taken the time to produce this material. Still, this one had no "real" footage. One way you could have gotten good "flare" footage is from people swooping a backflyer with video. Again, fantastic visual tools. Chuck BMCI-4 Z-Flock Wingsuit School

You are going to love that suit. It flys great.