fasted3

Well, I said I'd answer you so I will. Your statement is absurd because there is no instance that it is critical to exiting right on the line in order to not land out. It is critical to not exit over the line if you are not allowed beyond a certain distance from the DZ, but you can exit as close as you want, avoid traffic, and land on the DZ no matter what the wind is doing. Your statement makes more sense for those without a wingsuit. Experienced wingsuiters can fly themselves to a good deployment point no matter how close to the DZ they exit. So I stand by my original post on this subject. Make people aware of limits. Instruct pilots to not let anybody out beyond those limits. No more wingies flying around where they're not supposed to. Very little to do with wingsuit instruction for beginners. But what do I know?

Quite a bit. I don't understand what you mean by that comment, but will be glad to reply if you will clarify it for me. But what do I know?

That is a completely different subject that has been somewhat overlooked in the heat of the other discussions. One similarity is that it is used to support the WSI initiative, and again a straw man that does not need to be addressed in this manner. Again, it is more experienced winsuiters that are likely offenders, and has little to do with basic instruction. To stop it, make a clear policy at each drop zone exactly where the limits on flying are. Involve the pilots to make sure they don't let anybody out too close to the line, and have consequences for violators, ie: first offence, warning, second offence grounding, 10 lashes, or whatever. Problem solved. But what do I know?

Ok, let's count Icarus too. Speaking of myths, the number you say was basically pulled out of somebody's ass too. I wonder if that was used to ban wingsuits in the first place? This time, let's stick to facts. But what do I know?

I agree, and the 2 you mention are the ones I know of, yet there have been posts by at least 2 different people that claim 5 examples of people with less than 200 jumps dying in a wingsuit. This was done to promote the current WSI initiative. I'm all for an open and honest debate about this subject, but not for supporting it with made up facts. For the same reason, I'd like to find out more about the other 'facts' being tossed around about this. Were there really 11 tail strikes by wingsuiters last year? Are there really instructors teaching exits with open wings? If we are supposed to make a decision based on these 'facts,' I for one would like to know that they are indeed facts at all. Thank you for providing this information. The format and details provided are the kind of things that seperate rumors from facts. But what do I know?

Whew, I'm glad he's gone. Deliberately playing stupid, (again,) adds nothing to the discussion, and the point was perfectly clear. The coach rating is geared toward teaching wuffos how to skydive, and the most relevent reason given for requiring it for wingsuit instruction is the teaching skills imparted by the coach ratiing. The USPA coach rating course is not the only place to learn how to teach, and if one is a good teacher, no matter where they learned how to do it, and a knowlegable wingsuiter, then they have as good a chance to impart the necessary skills as anyone else. This is why I'm against the WSI proposal. Excluding qualified people is what it's all about, and carving out exclusive terrain in our sport for selected people. A jumper with 200 jumps should be able to figure out for himself who he wants to teach him to fly. As for people teaching it wrong, ie: exiting with wings open, how about just calling them out on it? Name some names so people will know who not to go to. To me, that will help aspiring wingsuiters a lot more than setting up an exclusive club within the USPA heirarchy that may or may not give us any better results than we have right now. I'm sick of all the 'facts' being tossed out on this issue which I suspect are half rumors and BS. I'd like to know more about the supposed rash of tail strikes. I'd like details of the 5 newbie wingsuiters that went in, when I only know of 2. I want to know who is giving bad wingsuit instruction, and exactly what they are doing wrong. Put all the facts on the table before asking the membership to make this important decision. It feels like a railroad job to me and the tracks may well be leading someplace we're better off not going. BTW, I'm not a wingsuit instructor or want to be one. But what do I know?

I use the sleeves on every jump. As soon as I'm stable my hands are on the rear risers in case I need them. When I'm sure I'm clear and headed to the LZ I unzip. If it's cold I'll wear a long sleeve T-shirt without problems. No doubt anything more bulky could be a problem, but I don't wear it. I am a firm believer in the benefit of the safety sleeve. But what do I know?

How does anybody know that anybody won't hit the tail when jumping out of an airplane? It's happened with people not in wingsuits. How does anybody know that a well trained wingsuiter won't hit the tail? That's happened too. Spot has developed a great program and I'd advise anybody that wants to learn about wingsuit flying, coaching or instructinng to go there. I have had coaching myself from Spot and it was first rate. I applaud his contribution to wingsuiting, and I wholly believe that he is not doing this for monitary gain. Where I differ is in making this manditory, and it is a stretch to apply it to tail strikes. That is indeed a concern and I'd like to see it never happen again, but for the USPA to take on this level of burocracy to deal with this issue is not necessary. There is no need for me to repeat all the arguments against it, but I will say that I agree with them. I hope this initiative is not passed. But what do I know?

You're welcome. Let us know how it turns out. But what do I know?

Nope. The longer you leave them the more gray ash will form and you would think that would make it a good idea to wait a while, but I did one where it was getting late and people wanted to leave so I just scraped out the big flaming chunks and went for it. It was one hot mofo; looked like lava, and everybody was saying don't do it, but I did. No burns. A few others were planning to do it, but chickened out. One other guy did it though and didn't get burned either. We were both experienced and having said that, your first one I'd say let some ash form on top first. Another tip is to have a wet spot near your exit point so you can stamp out any hot crumbs that might get stuck to your feet when you get out. You should do it at night and pretty dark to get the best effect, and you'll see the ash part better that way. Scrape out any chunks still flaming a lot, you want nice crunchy coals. Here is a video of an early one I did. Filming the fire for too long, sorry. https://vimeo.com/2281 But what do I know?

I've done it several times; my longest was about 20'. There are a few important things to know about it. Make sure your feet are dry. Wet feet will steam instantly and cause pain. Feet need to come down flat into the coals. This causes a layer of protective ash to form and is what protects you from getting burned. Dragging your feet will break this barrier. Walk quickly and calmly; visualize how you're going to step out the other end and just go for it. Don't do it drunk. It's not magic and no psychic powers are involved. I had no instruction from anybody. But what do I know?

Sort of. The difference is you can't get the slow vertical speeds without a ws. If you are doing a really good track that slows your vertical speed a lot then deployment isn't bad. BUT, if your not, and just angled down with high vertical speed then it can be a real slammer. It's easier to get soft openings in a wingsuit. But what do I know?

Mount a gopro in or on the aircraft, see who's doing it wrong. If somebody is coming too close, show them the video and instruct them on how to do it right. Added benefit is proof that most of us are not a problem. But what do I know?

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3831280#3831280 But what do I know?

My reserve is kind of like a pillow with a crevase underneath. I think the loose part of my handle was tucked into this crease enough to cause the above mentioned damage. I'm pretty sure it was through the ring properly, but if it is impossible that what I described can happen I'll just accept that it wasn't through the ring right. But what do I know?

Yes. You have to complete (and document) all the requirements for both licenses (jump numbers, skills, training, written tests), but you'd only need to pay for the C license. That's what I did - it took me a while to get water training for the B, so I figured I was close enough to 200 jumps that I'd just wait for the C. In this case you don't actually get a B license; no number is issued. It is not necessary because as you correctly stated, the requirements still have to be met, other than paying for it. Some have gone straight from A to D in the same manner. But what do I know?

I wonder if this is the only explination, or if the same thing could happen if the handle were to be tucked too agressively under the reserve but routed correctly through the ring. I know of at least one case where a rather inexperienced person packing was tucking the risers under the reserve rather than alongside, not realizing that the risers need to stay clear of the reserve to avoid rig damage. Tearing the reserve loose is one consequence, could the above toggle damage be another? Mostly a question for riggers, but all opinions welcome. But what do I know?

I am more convinced than ever that a water landing is possible. But what do I know?

Yes you did,and I was wrong, I hereby eat my words and it's a happy meal! Way to go GARY! But what do I know?

Thanks for the reply, but I disagree with you. I think Obama wants to be reelected and high gas prices work against him. But what do I know?

So you ignore my post. Why would you state thtat Obama wants us to be depentant on foregn oil. Stiill waiting? But what do I know?

Why would Obama want us to be more dependant on foreign oil? But what do I know?

I used to use a Silhouette 230 in my J4. It didn't look good and was probably not safe or good for it. I also had a PD 210 which seemed to fit fine. But what do I know?

How does that joke go? I just flew in from 35k and boy are my arms tired! Well done! But what do I know?

A bad spot would really suck. But what do I know?