Fordy

off the top of my head we had 13 first time wingsuit flyers over the weekend... all completing at least 2 descents with an experianced wingsuit flyer/coach out of the 13, 4 young ladies took up the challenge and took to the skies, jude will never let Tom forget how she left him in her dust on her 3rd ever flight, never mind mate. her 9st compared with your 14st may be a factor... Sunday was about getting some serious flocking done and paying back the coaches who all gave their time and spare suits for free! two 13 way flocks and two 15 ways.. some nice safe flying throughout with most getting their largest flock dives under there belts... the participants at herc boogie 2002 eat 15 way's as a starter and the experiance shows in the swooping and discipline needed for bigger flocks... Nice We will look to host an imprompto weekend to try and get some more big group flying done before the end of the season A BIG thank you to craig Poxon for giving his time and use of his school's suits, your looking good buddy, the red devils and hinton skydiving centre for the use of there suits and all the participants for there patience in what at times was a trying weekend for all... Heres to the next one.. Fordy

I can confirm that this weekend is the 2nd annual weston wingsuit weekend. 500 jumps or 250 in 18 months as bpa guidelines. there are some suits available to use if you haven't flown before and there will be certified wingsuit instructors here to coach beginners to the more flock hungry experianced flyers.... look forward to seeing you this weekend Fordy Fordy

I think the programme was called red-eye, and we did one on wingsuit and freefly to be aired on sat tv in every country except the uk... typical... typical saturday morning skateboarding type radical dude tv stuff, good posotive pr though fordy Fordy

hey Rdutch, we met in Deland in april /may when i was out filming UK 4 way team V-max, I have jumped Canon's and Nikon's for years and the thought of going digital was a horrible one, could it match my current photography, would i be able to justify the expenditure.... etc etc I made a choice the other week after weeks of deliberating, and bought a canon 10d and canon 15mm lens, i also bit the bullet and bought the canon i950 photo printer... quite some out lay... any regrets.... nope, not 1, fantastic camera, fantastic results, and the a4 prints are unbelievable... I cannot sell enough, everyone wants instant images to take home, and i can now supply.... So now the burning question is what to do with the pentax 645 med format and nikon f100. Hmmmm Andy ford Fordy

YES!!! at last after about a year i have recieved the autographed postcard signed by Harry Ward "the yorkshire birdman" one of the few surviving wingsuit flyers fromthe 1930's. the card was signed on August 2nd 1936 with the man himself on the front... i will frame it and hang it with pride in my rigging room, i now sport a grin wider than the leg wing on my new SF3... Fordy Fordy

well done on your BMI mate... are you coming to weston on the weekend of the 18-19th for thje wingsuit weekend?? bring the little smerdon creature having fun here in deland with different flyers (once the 4 way is done) fordy

it's only a small thing, but i have found it works for me and others who have tried it.. during deployment keep the leg wing tightly closed knees together to have minimum exposure to the air with the bottom leg wing. i have in the past had a couple of twists that seemed to happen late in the deployment sequence, i put it down to the surface area of the leg wing angled, acting like a sail and corkscrewing the body around under the inflating main before it has forward speed... i now very rarely get any twists... Fordy sabre 2 107 javelin- no corner mods/ 30" (factory)pc and bridle. then again i may just be lucky Fordy

ok, lets think.... classic, pd 210/190 20 jumps classic, spectre 150 80 jump classic, spectre 135/ sabre 120/ 20 jumps Skyflyer, spectre 135 100 ish jumps Skyflyer, spectre 120 70/80 jumps Skyflyer, Sabre2 107 90 jumps I weigh in generally around 150lb and jump a 113/126reserve always in a javelin, no mods on P.C, bridle or container...i always relax into a arms in knees together arched position for 3 seconds before pitch and have had no more than a couple of line twists... not had line twists for a long time since learning to keep my leg wing tightly closed all the way through deployment... I don't have a problem with elliptical canopies and jump a VX 69/79 when not flying wingsuits.... jump an elliptical and wait for the spinner it will happen... Fordy

hello all, i am out in lake wales in january for a few weeks, just wondering if there's much wingsuit action there at that time??? (or at all) i'll be packing my w'suit anyway...worth asking the q' cheers. Fordy

i think if i was doing a wingsuit from 1700' it wouldn't be the wing tips making a crazy fluttering sound, it would be my axxe.. respect Fordy Fordy

Why don't you just leave the cables as long as they can be, making sure you can still cutaway the wings succesfully... excess cable just means extra security.. I leave all the cables out and check them before exit, its also easier for the non-wingsuit jumpers who stare at you in bewilderment when you ask if they can see cable protruding at the back... Just my opinion. Fordy Fordy

I played with my initial modification and had a loop that went over the back of my hand from the wrist to the wing tip, worked very well.. my only concern was if on deployment i pulled the pc through the loop i may have had a page to myself in the Darwin awards... john loken (skyflyer from Sweden) has semi rigid inserts down the edge of the wing that he picks up with thumb and forefinger... works nicely, so i have re-moded and it works just as well with less chance for problems on deployment... either way, wingtip flying gives better lift IMHO... BUT!! you can't see your alti!! because your hand points the other way Fordy

stop bitchin at me Craig just because i didn't put it up as a link....mmmm teach me master Fordy

I have hijacked some gallery space on my dz's website and uploaded some stills scanned from medium format (645). All were taken at the swedish herc boogie. The file sizes are quite small so easily looked at... www.rafspa.com Fordy

i have just had the most bizarre but delightfull offer... an autographed post card of Harry Ward "the yorkshire birdman" signed in 1938... awesome.. am now negotiating with current holder who was going through her late gran's old photo albums and happened upon the autograph... the scan looks very authentic.. Fordy

The Swedish Herc boogie has been for for every one a great success, 119 loads of 80 jumpers so far... 2 years ago 3 wingsuit jumpers came along to play... this week over 30 with various groups flying together working towards something big... this morning after a 21 way and numerous 14 and 15 way jumps we launched 27 wingsuit skydivers off the tailgate of the C130, safely flocking together and flying back to the dz... a fantastic acheivement for all involved... the visuals have been awesome, impressing every one at the boogie who have and have yet to fly a wingsuit... the video of John arne Löcan flying up over the top of the C130 had every one cheering in the evening video review... i will try and post some clips of the bigger ways and john's awesome flying.. get to this boogie if you can in 2004 as it coul be even bigger for the wingsuit team..... Later Andy Ford Fordy

just wondering if any of you wingsuit nuts are planning on a trip to Lidkoping (excuse spelling) for the c130 boogie.... Hoping there will be plenty of flock action there.... Andy Ford

over the last few jumps on my skyflyer i have used a sabre 2 107 and love it, sweet, slow, on heading openings and a bit of fun under canopy compared with the spectre range, I would recommend the spectre as a great wingsuit flyers canopy, and now the sabre 2 as well.... I jump a small vx generally so thats out of the question for me on any wingsuit descent, i would rather have the slower non-elliptical canopy and a slower canopy ride than a hot elliptical and the chance of extra problems... I jump non moded container, bridle and P.C.... Fordy Fordy

well at the moment i am doing a lot of one on one and group dives so the descent is always going to be a little faster, i managed a couple of solo's today both "plucking" at the wingtips for part of the flight and had a 51mph average and a 56mph average, the weather wasn't awesome so i spent some time carving down through gaps in the clouds thus adding speed to the descent.... i think i am going to mod the wing tips with an easy grip toggle maybe on bungee cord so it retracts when i am flying to dock or deploy. I don't really want a trailing loop of tape flapping around when i deploy as murphy may step in and kick my arse.. :-) I am convinced (in my own little world!!!) that the eXtra stiffness in the wing the "plucking" provides is having a posotive effect on the descent rate, it is just un-comfortable to maintain and a bit of a pain to initially pick up (i have to chase the wing corner with my thumb and forefinger) and i can't see my wrist alti as it points away from me... doh!.... but i am having fun experimenting and it feels slower when i have hold and hit the position.... still having a ball.. Fordy

I think from the flights i have made with GTi fliers the wing curves back towards the body, where as the s'flyer wing drops straight down parallell to the body... this may make it harder to pick up (it's hard enough with the straight wing tip..) Fordy

i have over the weekend been playing with the wingtips on the skyflyer during flight, in the slipstream when the wing is inflating i am reaching back and taking hold of the bottom corner of the wing between thumb and forefinger and tweeking it out with the intention of stiffening the wing.... i have managed a 48mph flight from 11900 pulling at 3500 at 2 minutes exactly, there is definately a difference in the flight characteristics when i have a good taught grip on the wingtip... as yet i am not sure how much of a posotive difference.. If you are flying using this technique i am interested in how you find it, as i may end up modifying the tip's with a easy to grab handle (it hurts the wrists reaching back and maintaining the position over any length of time).... all views appreciated... Fordy

Hey all... I have 120+ descents on my classic birdman suit and 120 on my Skyflyer... i am still trying to find the "sweetspot" on the skyflyer..... I have recorded 31, 32 and a couple of 34mph descent rates but i am consistently in the 50's and 55's.. I fly with a rigid leading edge, hands pushed back to tighten the wing, slightly cupped at the shoulders and sucked in stomach, legs straight , Pressing the shins against the airflow, toes pointed.... some time dropping the knees to slow and gain lift... any tips from the top would be appreciated. It seemed easier to get the classic over 2, 15 than the skyflyer... Thanks for any advice Fordy