kevin922

*lol* yeah they had a nice blurb about where he'd be and when for autographs of course. ;)

Does anyone know why the pouch is not spandex? It seems like it would be safer to use spandex. And if you just put a spandex pouch inside the current pouch, you'd avoid the aerodynamic issues. Yet another question I forgot to ask this weekend. I think it's hard to find an all silver spandex material ;) The mouth of the pouch is elastic, not sure why the entire pocket isn't.

Well i guess it all falls on what the purpose of having the information is. If you want to know who is certified by the company birdman to teach wingsuit instruction on birdman specific suits then yeah.. but if you're gonna do that, why not have "vector tadem rating" "strong tandem rating" etc in the profile as well as it's basically the same thing. If you're asking who is qualified and who gives wingsuit instruction on whatever wingsuit then that is a different story. I don't believe matter has a "certification" but there are definately people more qualified to give matter wingsuit instruction than a birdman instructor. I guess i'm just thinking more in the "broad-future" sense than "specific-current" sense. I know Birdman is the most popular wingsuit out there right now, but definately not the only production one. just my 2 cents.

well i thought i made both points clear in my posting but evidentally not. :) You are correct with both of your statements.

Hi there Jari, so you confirm that tallguy's suit is bigger than the SF1 you made for Christian Michel ? No competition, but you know, all these conversions from metres to inches are a fuss... Who cares? :) I think I had the first absolutely all silver sf3, but again big woop..

Should that be "birdman" instructor or "wingsuit" instructor as there are other wingsuits than just birdman?

Bridge day was awesome! Sorry I didn't get to meet everyone, Tom was a great wealth of information and it was great to finally meet Robert from Birdman and see the new suit :) There was a broken leg, and some broken ankles.. nothing 'major' I made some great jumps ! Kevin

Holy fuck dude.. i thought everyone was joking about how big you were.. That girl looks like a friggin midget compared to you. I hope they charged you for 2 suits since that is how much material they probably used!

lol ya i know how that is. (was a virgin until i was 23) Damn dude, did I miss a thread? When did this get lost..

it is 200 with in the last year (i.e. be current) for with an instructor training of 500 for with a manual training... should be able to find someone out there.

22' came from Robert @ Birdman, it was an AT LEAST not "exact" Not tacking it down could theoretically cause it to travel down to the PC and cut off the large opening where the bridle attaches where air goes in (yes it goes in the mesh fabric as well, but according to my rigger if the big holes are cut off there is an increased possibility of a PC in tow) -- the likelyhood of this may be slim, but it's still a good idea to tack it down.

Yeah this thing has really been coming in handy, thanks chuck! (joke) :)

how high would you say that is?

I too pull around 4,000 feet.. now that i'm experienced. Before that I was pulling at 5K. I've taken it down to 3,000 before with no issues, however if you have an issue (such as line twists) that may be too low to have enough time to deal with it.

Who you calling "jerk", Steve? Another note: What a person really needs to understand and know about glide paths and possible trajectory changes associated with different body positions is "the accuracy trick." Yes, the same accuracy trick you use on a landing approach. While your target may be moving, the accuracy trick absolutely applies if you have already setup what you think ought to be your proposed glide for the approach/swoop/closing maneuver. Something must remain constant for you to be able to make any such judgement, so constantly changing your body position, or "chasing" your optimum glide just doesn't work. There is a good example of such flailing on the BirdMan site in the Cinco De Mayo video. Not a personal dig in anyway on Kevin, but that video of you chasing Lou while he was on his back is a great example of what not to do. Chuck Yeah that was a while ago, after seeing that video i did realize something wasn't right :) Might be a good training clip. Kevin

i must be missing something all i see is "birddogging: A somewaht accurate flight..." and some music picker above it. and your s3 vs pants link doesn't work http://www.deepart.org/sight/s3_vs_pantz.avi

*BUMP*

I think he is not referring to a personal firewall.. I can say I have some experience with Gauntlet 6.0 though I hear the EOL will be in about a year or so and those using G60 are looking to go to Sidewinder..

turns out it was all 'caught on tape' ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The graphic sounds of a deadly bear attack in the Alaska wilderness were captured on tape, revealing a wildlife author's final, frantic screams as he tried to fend off the beast, authorities said Wednesday. Trooper Chris Hill said the tape suggests a video camera was turned on just before Timothy Treadwell was attacked at his campsite. His girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, was later mauled to death by a bear. The recording is audio only, and the screen is blank for all six minutes. "They're both screaming, she's telling him to play dead, then it changes to fighting back. He asks her to hit the bear," Hill said. "There's so much noise going on. I don't know what's him and what might be an animal. "It's pretty disturbing. I keep hearing it in my mind." The remains of Treadwell, 46, and Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, California, were found Monday at Katmai National Park and Preserve on the Alaska Peninsula. Treadwell was known for approaching, even touching, bears in the wild. An air taxi pilot who arrived to pick up the couple contacted the National Park Service and troopers to report a brown bear was apparently sitting on top of human remains in the camp. A ranger shot and killed a large brown bear when the animal charged at them through the dense brush. Troopers and rangers later killed a smaller bear apparently stalking them. Hill said he was stunned by what he heard on the tape. "The audio starts while he's being mauled and ends while he's being mauled," Hill said. Treadwell may have heard a bear and asked Huguenard to turn on the camera, which was found with the lens cap on and packed in a camera bag, Hill said. "At first, she sounds kind of surprised and asks if it's still out there. I'm not sure if she was asking if a bear was outside their tent or in the brush," Hill said. "The audio stops because the tape runs out. Otherwise, it probably would have captured the whole thing." Hill said he will attempt to transcribe the tape. But there are no plans to make the recording or transcripts public, trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson said. Troopers recovered video and still photography equipment as well as three hours of earlier video footage from the site, across Shelikof Strait from Kodiak Island. Much of the footage is close-up shots of bears. Some scenes show bears no more than a few feet from Treadwell, co-author of "Among Grizzlies: Living With Wild Bears in Alaska." Others show a more timid Huguenard leaning away as bears come close to her on the bank of a river. Rebecca Dmytryk, who oversees an animal rescue organization in Malibu, recalled other video footage of Treadwell before his death that showed him in a streambed near an older bear he nicknamed "Quincy." "Quincy, do you remember when you stood over me? You were so hungry, and you should have eaten me, but you didn't. Thanks for not eating me, Quincy," Dmytryk recalled him saying to the bear in the clip. "If Quincy had eaten me, good, 'cause he's a nice bear." Treadwell's family was in shock over the death. "I was dumbfounded, ready to fall through the floor," said his father, Valentin Dexter, who lives in Pompano Beach, Florida.

You do know Robert is the designer for the birdman suits right? I'm sure he has quite a bit of experience flying the suits :)

*lol* So i guess your glass is half empty? just jokin, good to see the thoughts from the man... see you next week. -Kevin

no attached pic

Betsy, is there an advantage / disadvantage to buying prepaid tickets? i.e. is there an extra % for "credit card sales" or is there a discount for "prepaid" tickets vs on the spot tickets?

I've been wanting to see that, i just did a search and turns out the new air and space museum that is opening in december at dulles airport (where there is an sr71 among other planes) will be showing it. i'm psyched! here