fasted3

+1 This is my take away from your post, and I'll agree with you. I appreciate the different view points presented here, especially the guy that started this whole shit storm posting his side. I was not as sold on his story as I was on yours. The opposing side had some great points, and I thank them for articulating them so well. In the end, for me, your post wins the day, Thanks. But what do I know?

Oh really? Where did you get that little nugget of wisdom? I don't remember well enough to reference it for you, sorry. Do you think it's not true? It does seem to make sense to me, but I'm happy to get corrected if I'm wrong. But what do I know?

A good post. One factor you didn't mention is that when the main is still in the container, that could make it more likely for the reserve to get stuck. Probably worse if the main is a bit overstuffed. But what do I know?

I share your concerns, and go one further. I know of at least one 'WSI' that doesn't have a coach rating, and probably won't get one. He has taught a lot of people to fly, and IMO is damn good at it. I'd like to see him keep teaching. I'm with Kalland on this one. Being a coach does not guarantee being a good WSI, and not being one does not preclude someone from being a good teacher. Incidentally, The worst advice I've ever heard came from someone with a lot of ratings and WS jumps. PS: I'm not a 'WSI,' nor do I want to be. But what do I know?

Looking at the top of the risers, you can see that the right ones are about 1" 'longer' than the left. In this situation I would immediately grab the right risers and give them a good yank to try and even them up. Your thoughts on this? But what do I know?

Another vote for the Alti-Trak, if you can afford it. I bought mine at 12 jumps and have been totally satisfied with it, going on 6 years now. I've only changed the battery once in that time. I like the automatic recording of exit altitude and freefall time, and the speeds are helpful too. It's easy to read the analog face day or night with the backlit feature. The only downside is the expense, but I looked at it as a commitment to skydiving; I knew I'd be sticking with it. Another plus is the reputation of the company. I've never needed service, but from all reports, if I do, they will take good care of me. But what do I know?

I've jumped at SD N'awlens and liked it, but it's mostly for tandems. The view of Lake Ponchatrain is great. Gold Coast is only about an hour away from there, and well worth the drive. Go there. But what do I know?

Same here. Safire2 189 @ 1.3, and I love mine too. I've had a few less than perfect deployments that still worked out OK thanks to this forgiving canopy. But what do I know?

Here is a thread I started about this: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3483409#3483409 I got some very good negative feedback about doing it. But what do I know?

I got a tracking suit before I had enough jumps to WS, and personally think it did make it a bit easier for my FFC, but the main reason I'm glad I got it is that it made tracking more fun. Sure, there are better ways to spend your money, but if you can afford it I'd say go for it. But what do I know?

I don't think that is entirely accurate, or that she is entirely wrong. Forget the rigid frame and extending far beyond the hands, and replace that with a retractable rod attached to the forearm. When extended, it pulls out an extension to the wing, maybe a foot or so. This could be built into the gripper like a window shade. Retract the rod to deploy. Soaring? No, but some improvement I think, and if it happens, I'd say Giselle predicted it. (And me, lol.) But what do I know?

Yes, most people have switched to 9' bridles and it works well. A few have not and claim it works well for them too, but others have tried it and had problems with PCIT and deployment delays. As I am one that had this experience, I'd recommend the longer bridle for wingsuiting, especially with a bigger suit. My PC is 27" F111 and it deploys my Safire2 190 just fine. But what do I know?

Me too. That looks like a good way to keep the rider in place. It certainly worked better than some of mine! But what do I know?

To Add: This thing is popping up so often that I can't do anything. I hope it's fixed soon. But what do I know?

Yep, I've made a few fun jumps there, and it's a beautiful location with a great view of Lake Ponchatrain, but does cater to tandems. Looks like a long drive to anywhere good. Another great DZ in about the same distance range is Gold Coast, Lumberton, MS. 3 - 3 1/2 hr. drive, open weekends, Otter, super vibe. But what do I know?

Thanks for taking care of that; I haven't seen that message again, but now I'm getting this one. But what do I know?

This popped up today a couple of times. But what do I know?

Hi Brent, I've lived in the South and worked in the oil patch most of my life. Needless to say, I'm surrounded by people making the same points as you do. Lately, I've been asking this question when they go into full denial mode about 'global warming.' Do you think that human activity is ruining the planet? Forget one small aspect of this, IE: the atmosphere, let's look at the bigger picture: In my lifetime, the human population has tripled. Wilderness areas are now parks. Forests are clear cut and converted to subdivisions. The oceans and reefs are dying. Over fishing and habitat loss is decimating any other species than human. We are eating up resources that took millions of years to accumulate in decades. We are on track to add another 3 billion of us, and I may still be alive for that! And all these folks want a better life. They want to drive, have electricity, clean water, be warm, eat well. Is this possible? What do we want our Earth to be like when we pass it on to our grandchildren? I'm sorry, but I don't see this working out well for them. Do you, really? So back to my original thought, considering that we are pretty much fucking up everything else, what makes you think we aren't doing the same thing to the atmosphere? What if this is the big one, the thing that really wipes us out? Will you, and many others bleating about 'economic interests,' carry any weight with the miserable survivors of our greed; those grandchildren left with the ruined cinder we are well on the way to creating? I don't have any answers for this, but I don't want to be on record saying we should just carry on; it's all a conspiracy of Al Gore to make money for himself, and the best answer is just drill baby drill. I'd tag you, and so many like you, as the easy targets to blame, should I be around to explain how and why we made such a mess of this wonderful planet we had. The worst of all possible solutions is to deny the problem. The longer you do that, the less likely we are to ever solving it. So carry on captain, no icebergs ahead, and the Titanic can't sink. But what do I know?

Agreed on all points. The bigger the suit, the more critical is the longer bridle. I don't see any big downside to a 9 footer on any other jumps either. But what do I know?

I know what you're saying, but, at the end of the day, it's not that big a deal. But what do I know?

Say who? Lynyrd Skynyrd. But what do I know?

OK, you stupid wingsuitors, which one of you thinks you can dive and flair across country? I suspect that we understand a lot more than the lady thinks. She, on the other hand, understands a lot less than she thinks she does, especially about wingsuits and the people that fly them. But what do I know?

Yes, the last one from me. So much for trying to have a civil conversation with you. Good day, Madam. But what do I know?

Have you seen videos of people exiting tailgate aircraft and popping high above the plane? It seems to me that speed = lift in this example, Gaining speed by diving is the same principle. Of course you can't pop up to a point higher than you started the dive, but no one is claiming that. If you took it that way it could be where the disagreement comes in. We are talking about a temporary gain in altitude, not a net gain. But what do I know?

I agree with both you guys. As a wingsuit flier I surely have no reason to be hurrying anybody out of the plane. Take your time. But what do I know?