outrager

Why, yes! In fact, i've named the last cliff i opened up this summer "Lucifer"

Me. And you've seen exactly what happened bsbd! Yuri.

I just took out Prodigy and re-checked the connectors. If you rig it correctly there is absolutely no way in hell it will release accidently - the fabric will rip first. In fact it takes some effort to release it intentionaly. The only way to have an accidental release is to bypass the loop, and people do that all the time. Well, serves them right for not using their brain bsbd! Yuri.

Can you please elaborate? I can't quite see how is it possible to loose a wing - the hip attachment takes some effort to release intentionally on the ground, at least on the Prodigy i flew while in Europe. I did see many people misrig it, though, where they didn't pass the webbing under the loop before snapping it. Yes, i was shocked to get the glide and speed that beat Classic, directly off a cliff on my first fligts - without any skydiving practice! Prodigy is easy and safe, however it is very responsive when flown to the max - probably harder to keep a perfectly maxed out body position than in Classic or S3 or V1. It is more fun, though, like anything with a higher wing-loading bsbd! Yuri.

And you missed quite a few... because you were LATE!!! Glad you got to fly a bit, though! See you next time! bsbd! Yuri.

Yo ! No offence, but after reading a bunch of your posts i will put money on you the very next time i'm at The Ranch. bsbd! Yuri.

Yo ! The trip is finally over, with a grand total of 31 big cliffs. Plenty more left for the next season The world of wingsuit BASE is exploding at mind-blowing speed. The summer has been too much fun, and i would love to share this experience. Due to BASE ethics i cannot post site details (also access to many of the sites is very sensitive, and most are advanced as far as starting and flying a suit). Please contact the locals, they have been more than helpful and i cannot thank them enough! Maybe a good compromise is a short list of flights out there, by no means complete - just a compilation of the last trips to give you an idea and motivation

The trip is wrapping up but not quite over yet. 2 new walls just opened up in Dolomites, many more to do on the next trip. 22 walls that were new for me, many good old ones. V1 made it over the football fields (3.7km mark) open at 200m (plenty of time to get booties off) at 1800m French site. Prodigy easily flew over the bar at Italian Terminal Wall, also open around 200m - this is a glide of 1.8. It was my 5th flight ever on it, quite wobbly and dirty. With some skydiving practice Prodigy will reach 2.0. Lots of fun!!! Hope to see ya all again soon! bsbd! Yuri.

Yo! After chickening out of 140m start by the cable car, hiking down to a regular exit and flying uneventfuly, i find a postcard at the restaurant below that says a certain Swiss guy already did it a year and half ago! Lots of respect here... Overdose is getting unbearable. Got a couple more walls done, not sure if anybody flew there before. Change of plans: will try another 2 or 3 and move back to France on the 4th. Come and play!

Wait a second... first we've got to define what is a different object Then we've got to define what is a BASE jump. Just had this discussion with Aussies in Switzerland after jumping a less common exit in a valley, and i wish you luck! We ended up concluding that a base jump is not a base jump and stopped right there I think i did 160some object and 1090some jump today, by a relatively conservative definition. bsbd! Yuri.

Yo! I am having a massive wingsuit overdose. Many more walls done in Switzerland and Italy, and quite a few coming. Looking with wingsuit eyes, there are literally hundreds of possible flights all over the place - more so if you feel comfortable with low and positive walls. My current comfort zone is 200+m, but the suit starts flying way before that. Got to do a few fun flights on Prodigy, and now it's my favorite tool for easy walls that don't require do-or-die starts or very long glides. Prodigy has a bit higher wing loading, so it starts a tiny bit slower, but then it goes very fast - and if you fly it right it glides at 1.5+ without much effort. It has a very different feel from a regular ram-air arm wing suit. You notice right away if the wing is not flying, where on a Classic for example you can go vertical and still think that everything is great

The wind at altitude, especially on such a high skydive make any glide ratio estimates meaningless. I strongly suspect they had good tailwind - i wouldnt embark on such a project in headwind

Yo! Another nice new do-or-die flight from a well-known Swiss exit over the air base. The weather is sketchy, will see what else can be done for the time being

Yo ! A lot of various cliffs done around France. 4 new fligts in 600..1700m range opened (from existing 200..300m cliffs). The taller one is a fun place with absolutely no landing options between 0.5 and 3km marks. Nice flights from other high mountains: 1600m with a scary very underhung wall to start and another 1800m with a long flat plato to pass were particularily nice. Many places require a glide of around 2+ to reach LZ or use all of the altitude, which is a joke in this suit. Nevertheless you must fly good, start quickly and be very consistent with your exit, as the walls are generally low (300m range) and there are ledges to jump/fly over. Some are do-or-die either on exit or in mid-flight. Access is a sensitive issue and you must talk to and preferrably go with locals. Glide keeps improving and stands around 2.5+. Somebody with a better body type will definitely reach 3. Starting the suit is getting very, very quick. I now feel comfortable at low and underhanging exits, which are plenty everywhere! Now, with more experience on V1, it is a HUGE improvement over S3 and it opens up the whole new world of flying!!! I cannot even describe it here: something like a kid from Moab that went to Norway for the first time is a good analogy ;-) More to come later, moving on to Italy and Switzerland. P.S. Tom, maybe move this to BASE forum? bsbd! Yuri.

Yo! More flights off various big mountains... it flies better bit by bit, the best glide so far is 2.5 (1100m, 2.1km with 200+m dirty high pull after running out of LZ. Totally still air at sunset). Seems to start very quick, which is a good thing as many of the new big flights have somewhat of a sketchy start. More to come, will hopefully do a bunch of 1800..2300m flights soon. Oh, compared to my old S3 prototype, V1 starts a bit faster and the glide is marginally better, but it keeps improving (i have 3 years experience on S3 and only 2 month on V1). bsbd! Yuri.

Condolenses to all friends and family. Sorry i was too sad yesterday to say anything here. We chatted online but have never met in person. Yesterday morning by coincedence we both went to the same cliff but didnt know about each others plans. He must have passed within 10m of me on the way up, while i still slept in the car. I have seen the helicopter leave while standing at the exit an hour after they have jumped but didnt know about the accident until a couple of hours later - while sitting in a police station writing a report about my passports, money and all stolen from the car while i were up jumping. What a weird, dark, twisted day! I went up again and did a memorial jump in the evening. Fly high, and we will meet somewhere in another life! bsbd! Yuri.

Yo! Just a quick note that i am alive and unhurt. There was an accident in France today on the same cliff i have jumped. At this point i do not wish to post any details, the freaky coincidences of the day are just too much. bsbd! Yuri. edit for thread title ~TA

Yo ! Just got back from a bit of training in Lysebotn. Made 7 flights off Smell #1 in winds ranging from strong West to light East. The best flight was around 2.2km mark (the field behind White House) riding the wind and updrafts by the wall pulling around 200m, the worst 1.6km (the first field) fighting the headwind and downdrafts, pulling around 100m. True glide in no wind conditions seems to be around 2.4, flying to 1.7km mark and opening reasonably high. Flight time was around 56..60sec. Obviously some room for improvement, and somebody with a better body type can get a really, really good flight there. Off to the big walls, to be continued! bsbd! Yuri.

Could you please send me Julian's current contacts? I'm at base416@yahoo.com. Julian, if you read this please drop me a line! Too much fun stuff to fly from this summer!!! :) bsbd! Yuri.

I will endorse anything for 10 free packjobs. As for the details, let my packing bitches deal with it Flying out to Europe tomorrow, back late August. See ya there ? bsbd! Yuri.

Yep, to cover 8 miles with an average glide of 2 would require about 21k feet in zero wind. Adding 4k for a very conservative opening gives an exit altitude of 25k - much easier to manage than 40k. Any tailwind will help to lower the required altitude even more. Of course, if you are given 40k anyway you can shoot for a much wider section of the straight bsbd! Yuri.

I have to disagree: i use BOC on all wingsuit flights, BASE and skydives. For my body/rig/suit combinations it works perfectly, so there is no reason to complicate the system. Most other people, especially taller folks with shorter rigs, do find the leg pouch much more convenient. bsbd! Yuri.

Well said! bsbd! Yuri.

This is an awesome flight. Vesa rules! As far as delays go, extra 400' gives you about 8sec (Ostankino flight was 15sec). This delay highlights a very high pilot skill level. It does not, however, tell anything meaningful about the suit. For example, i get the same airtime in Classic, Skyflyer and Vampire. The distance is what's really important, and Vesa gets a lot of it! I believe that there is no measurable difference between S3 and S3S (nor between Classic and GTi). bsbd! Yuri.

Aside from logistics, the differences are huge. First, the hike to freefall ratio is about 5 times higher. You have to walk up all of the altitude. What is easy and natural for Norgies is a hellish nightmare for most US jumpers :) Second, the weather - it can and eventually will trap you on top. If you are not prepared to spend the night on a cold mountain in the rain, snow and fog, your life will be really miserable. Third, the accident/rescue situation on the bigger walls: god help you if you're injured or stuck on T.V. or H.N. If you can deal with all that, and love long hikes and tracking/wingsuits - life is good!!! bsbd! Yuri.