Skwrl

At the time? No. I didn't realize exactly what was entangled - I thought it was a steering line, not the excess break line. Panic and inexperience made it worse. In retrospect, I wonder if it would have helped given how spun up it was. I'm guessing it would have, but... Something didn't seem quite right the first time I watched the vid so I took another look. I think you may have a few things going on there... After the deployment starts you do about a 180 as it's opening. As the canopy inflates, it appears as if one side is loaded a lot more than the other...even prior to the snag one riser group is several inches higher than the other. Also as it's opening it looks like the left group has a twist in it? Am I seeing things or did that pack job really suck? I think you're right, but I'd also factor into our thinking that it was a wingsuit deployment and I was just learning how to fly one. I was notorious for having crappy body position, which can cause spin ups (although based on the video, I don't think I had a lot of lateral motion in that particular jump). I think you've identified an additional factor, though! Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

At the time? No. I didn't realize exactly what was entangled - I thought it was a steering line, not the excess break line. Panic and inexperience made it worse. In retrospect, I wonder if it would have helped given how spun up it was. I'm guessing it would have, but... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

https://vimeo.com/37991877 or (typo corrected) https://vimeo.com/37998866 This is a re-edit of an old video that I made of a horseshoe malfunction I had (the main caught on my camera helmet's ring sight; I cut it away, and you get to watch the helmet and canopy fall all the way to the ground). I edited it to cut the boring parts (uneventful free fall) and to add more intelligent commentary. I cut away the main canopy out of sequence (i.e., I should have cut away the helmet), and that should have snapped my neck... But it didn't kill me (or if it did, the afterlife disappointingly similar to being alive), so I thought that you all might enjoy it - it's a bit of a warning to folks who are sloppy with their packing, are too willing to add cameras without thinking through the consequences, or who are complacent on their EPs. Thanks to Dave Gerstein (Pilot Dave) for saving a copy of this video and making it available to me. I revised it for my DZ's upcoming Safety Day. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

The adhesive tape is STRONG... much stronger than I would want to bet my life on it tearing in time. ' I would agree with this assessment. Get a cutaway system and learn how having a camera on your head changes your EPs (it can, very much...) Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

As a law talking guy (that's "lawyer" for those of you who didn't see the Simpsons episode), I - unfortunately - would say "THIS". Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I'm really sad to see this go; I really enjoyed having a single place to go to when I wanted to catch up on the latest wingsuit videos... Thanks for running it as long as you did, guys. Here's to hoping a new team steps forward to continue on their work... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Luckily, Zhills is not near an ocean, or else I'd have to make sure Purple Mike wasn't leading the flock again... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

sometimes you can't, sometimes you don't want to wait... Well, sure. But the original poster asked "what would you do?" My answer is: I wouldn't spend a big chunk of money on a new wingsuit without trying out my options (i.e., I wouldn't just order one without flying it), particularly when there are bunch of methods by which I could try out suits (e.g., loaner suits, rentals, demos, etc.). That way, I'd know it's precisely the suit I want, and I wouldn't be left wondering whether a different suit would have been more preferable. For what it's worth, I wouldn't buy a new car before trying it, either - even if my friends all said the make and model was great and all the cool kids drove it. There is but I don't find them currently worthwhile. I am familiar with SFly but haven't jumped an Alien suit yet, so I am curious: what is it that you didn't find worthwhile with respect to the Alien line of suits? Was it a particular model you tried or the whole line that you think is not worthwhile? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Isn't there an SFly and an Alien suit for those ranges as well? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Always try before you buy. Additionally, you seem locked on to just one suit; you should try others (both other designs and other manufacturers) before deciding that a particular suit is the right one for you - you may be surprised what you'll find. This statement is true regardless of which brand and which model you are interested in. Good luck. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

0001~ ScottyBurns.com 0002 - omnia 0003 - Simon 0004 - Jack Johnson 0005 - Mark Wane 0006 - Miguel Aviles 0007 - Ralph Kubicsek 0008 - Eduardo Garces 0009 - Daniel Smith 0010 - Gleison 0011- BJ Michaeli 0012 - Kallend 0013 - Sam Adams 0014- Jeremy Tyer 0015 - Skwrl Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Someone messaged me by Facebook to tell me that the USPA has changed the rules relating to wingsuit records (again). Apparently, this means that the new California - arguably US - record for largest flock is a four way. (Either that or it is a hum drum ten way flock from Utah a few years ago; I am a little unclear on this...) Since I don't follow any of the record discussions, can someone explain to me what is different about the new rule (compared to the old) and why the change was needed? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I guess if not wanting the clearly mentally messed up to have guns because my ex-girlfriend call killed by such a guy (domestic violence dispute) makes me an elitist authoritarian in your world, then I find myself wearing that label as a badge of fucking honor. But more to the point the taxonomy in the article is still simplistic and misleading and doesn't advance the discussion. Categorizing people is a great way to negate them (and tune them out). Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Gosh... Such categories? Where do I fit with the "lost a loved one to gun violence, but own a handgun permit" and "think firearm ownership is OK, but is OK with some limited restrictions on some types of firearms?" Do you think it's possible that - like so many other things in life - it's way more complicated and nuanced than the discourse makes it out to be? Nah, name calling is way more fun. [Rolling eyes.] Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

[Heard over the dropzone.com intercom] Paging Chuck Blue to the PD PULSE for wing suiting thread... Chuck Blue to the PD PULSE for wing suiting thread... Thank you. As much as I love Chuck to bits (in a manly way), he doesn't look as half as good It's more I was hoping to a response equal in sheer awesomeness as his response to a picture of Giselle in the other thread... Ah well. Maybe I have to do everything around here... Since she's an Econ Prof., I'd go with: - "I'd let her study my positive externalities... " - "I’m a pure public good… she can free-ride on me any time she wants..." - "I'd maximize her utility..." [I'm here all week, tip your waitress...] Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

[Heard over the dropzone.com intercom] Paging Chuck Blue to the PD PULSE for wing suiting thread... Chuck Blue to the PD PULSE for wing suiting thread... Thank you. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

It's really not any different than what anyone else does, it's just a lot of little kinesthetic things that I do to make me keep my body in position, in particular my legs. None of it is going to be unfamiliar to any of you; the coaching I got was to become more aware of what I was doing as it was happening. (The difference between knowing how to do something and doing it, I suppose...) Here's what I mean: when it's pull time, after checking airspace, I close tail wing, making sure my knees and ankles come into contact with each other simultaneously and symmpetrically (i.e., neither knee is slightly in front of the other). Once they are in contact, they are glued together, they never separate until I am ready to unzip my arms (i.e., after checking airspace post-deployment). Once knees and ankles are sealed, wings go to my sides with right hand on hackey and left hand on the left part of the BOC. I arch in a position that - if you know yoga - could be called an "upward dog". If there's any turn (or more likely, wibbly wobbly motion in the air), I give it a second or two to bleed that momentum off. Pitch is a pretty standard symmetrical pitch, with arms reaching in to grab my main lift web, elbows tucked in to my sides so nothing catches air. Pretty typical, really. I think I just had to focus on it more than some people. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Well, since you solicited, they were loaded at slightly under 1:1 (for the Sabre2 210) and slightly over 1 (for the Storm 190). I am about 200 lbs with gear and too lazy to do the math. For what it is worth, the Storm 190 is what I've done the last 600 jumps on; I didn't change canopies to solve the problem. The problem was poor body position, which - in my unsolicited opinion - can cause a spin up on any canopy, although of course it's easier to do on a smaller canopy than a large one. I originally thought it was the canopy, but changing canopies didn't solve the problem. So instead, I got a lot of good coaching, principally from Justin Shorb and Lurch, but also from Scott Callantine, Spot, Zach Schroedel, and Scotty Burns (I'm sure there were others, too, sorry guys...). In my case, it had a lot to do with asymmetry in my legs (one leg drop or tail open), which was actually pretty subtle, even on video. With those guys' help, I developed a whole technique by which I pitch that eliminates - or at least reduces - the problem for me. More unsolicited thoughts: Bigger canopies are great - I fly one because I suck at landing, but wear $3.5k of camera gear on my head. But big canopies don't solve body position problems. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I think I remember that. When was it ? The cutaway was September 2007; I posted the video December of that year. I've been jumping since 2004 - I guess I need to update my profile. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Video please

Except I did already fix the problem. Those chops were all within the first 200 wingsuit jumps I did - the last one was at least 600 jumps ago. I was able to diagnose the problem with good coaching - why else would I be talking about it? But hey, it really doesn't matter to me if you take my advice or not. That was just my experience that I felt like sharing. Do whatever you feel like. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

My four cutaways on a Sabre2 210 and one on a Storm 190 would like a word with you... They were crappy body position, all of them... Carving turns can spin up big canopies, too... Better to fix the underlying problem... For those keeping score at home, my first cutaway was from a helmet/ring sight entanglement that makes for a great skydiver ghost story - I'm talking about the ones after that. I'm almost off my Reserve AFF. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Positive? No - I can't say that I've measured it. I overstated that bit - and you're right to call me on that. I believe it goes over 29mph. I know I can definitely build up speed when I toggle whip... I'd have to play with my canopy and some logging altimeters... This might be a good question for the canopy forum. It certainly feels fast, though... The way I think about it, the situation that you're concerned about is a sort of a controlled wingsuit flight into terrain. To be going less than 79mph, I'd imagine you'd need to be at least somewhat in control of the suit. (Although I admit watching some of you twig-like guys makes me wonder whether or not that's true...) That would require the wingsuiter to be flying the wingsuit, not unconscious, not having a medical thing going on, or otherwise not incapacitated. For me, the risk of the "Event that Renders Skwrl Incapable of Pitching" is the main reasons I jump with an AAD. If I can't pitch, I'm probably going faster than 78 mph... I acknowledge that there's always the "I forgot to pull" risk (I'm thinking about the four way that went in on the South Pole), but I deal with that risk in other ways - I have four altimeters on me, two of which make lots of noise... Personally, I don't think controlled flight into the ground is going to be what does me in. [I am now knocking on wood so that none of you clowns gets to post a Nelson Muntz style "HA-Haw" jpeg on my memorial site if I go in that way.] Your results may vary, of course... In any event, before using a student Cypres, I'd want to be 110% sure I can't accidentally get over 29mph under canopy... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I've got a Xbird and an Sbird, and a Storm that I load about 1:1. I'm not sure I understand your reasoning. I looked up the firing specs on the Airtec website. Conversely, for the Expert Cypres: Are you saying that you think the Student Cypres might be better for wingsuiting because a wingsuiter might be flying at less than 78 mph (but more than 29 mph) at 750/1000 feet? If so, I don't think I'd call that prudent - even my ginormous Storm can pull turns at greater than 29 mph if I fly it like a retarded monkey; I wouldn't want my AAD popping off unexpected. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Hi! I'm Jeff. Nice to meet you! Now you know someone who hasn't had good luck with blow switches. I found them really hard to calibrate so that I wasn't either huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf or just shooting a metric shit ton (larger than an Imperial shit ton) of shots just because I was breathing. Add to that you need to focus on keeping a seal with your lips? Too much frustration. I use the Pro Mouth Switch, and have used the same one for the last 400 jumps. I am told this is unusual, but the trick is "don't bite the tip". (Why am I having flashbacks to Catholic school after writing that?!) In any event, my suggestion to Kenny (the OP) is that he try a couple of different designs and figure out which one he likes the most... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork