nicknitro71

From what I have seen BASE birds wait about two sec before openings the wings. It seems you opened too soon and got head down before you were able to generate some lift. Watch some of Robert's launchs. Memento Audere Semper 903

I've now put more jumps on my S3 and things start to get better. The thing I learnt the most is not to fight too much with the arm wings. You gotta find a compromize to what they want to do and how much strenght you can put into them. I found that pushing the elbows up, holding on the winglets, cupping the shoulders, and keeping the legs straight is the best position for both performance and energy conservation. Also making turns with the legs gives you much less dive. The S3 loses a lot of altitude and picks up tremendous speed with arm turns, that can be fun in the sydiving enviroment but potentially deadly in the BASE one! Memento Audere Semper 903

But usually they don't get pulled that low Memento Audere Semper 903

Probably only Jari, Robi, or few others get 2.5! Memento Audere Semper 903

sort of I don't agree. The longer time equals the minimum sink rate that does not equal better glide ratio. Memento Audere Semper 903

I don't think that slightly bending the knees reduces the surface area. Completely kicking your butt with your feet will do so but a slight bent is almost equal to pulling the stick back hence elevating the elevator on the horizontal stabilizer. That's how I picture it anyhow. Same thing when you cup your shoulders making your wings more gulled hence increasing slow flight charateristics, I think. Memento Audere Semper 903

Tonto, I'm still a rookie on my S3 so take it with a grain of salt but thus far that is my impression. If I go for distance, i.e. legs straigth, slight de-arch, slightly bent elbows, shoulders rotated, hands on the winglets, my speed is in the mid sixties. Again on a S3 and I'm about 170 out the door. If I try to float more I have to cup my shoulders even more and slightly bend my knees; by doing so the speed goes down to the lower fourties but it seems I cover less ground. I'm planning to jump with my GPS, a Rhino 120 but I don't know how good it is for such a task. Memento Audere Semper 903

Container = Wings Main = don't know I though like the idea of the R.A.G.E. Reserve = probably a SMART Memento Audere Semper 903

nice landing Memento Audere Semper 903

I was one of the first ones to purchase the Neptune. I’ve been though all the updates including the beta versions. Version 2.1.1 and above are flawless. I’m now running 2.1.2 and it’s right on regardless the jump type: WS, CRW, or a 1 sec H&P. I love the simplicity of use, all the features, and the looks too. Mine original unit was one of the first ones and suffered some minor cracks on the screw bushings. It got replaced for free and the newer one does not have the cracking problem. This problem only affected some older units. I had some logging problems with earlier software versions but the newest one is again problem-free. If you hear “stories” about logging problems I bet they are referring to units that use/ed older software. I also have the paralog program. Downloading jumps is very easy. It’s done via an infra-red port. Same deal for the updates available at alti-2 website. The program itself is really cool giving you stats, graphs, and you can be as descriptive as you can on the info you put on each jump. The Neptune on top of being waterproof is very sturdy. I once tried to land my WS without unzipping the legs and I landed right on top of it; not a single scratch on the unit, just some grass stain on the band. The Neptune uses a single Li battery that can be easily found anywhere. I tried to use it once as audible and it is much louder than my Pro-Dytter. The volume can also be adjusted. I’m very happy with my Neptune and I recommend it to anybody both as visual and audible altimeter.

Very well said. The saddest thing is that the real brain of Atair is Stane, one of the nicest persons I have ever met as well as a great visionare and engineer. Memento Audere Semper 903

Same here. Memento Audere Semper 903

In that case you can just put the Neputune on the other wrist and flip the screen. Memento Audere Semper 903

version 2.1.2 (the latest) is flawless. I did birdman jumps, H&P from 3K, and anything in between. It's all good. Memento Audere Semper 903

Then it's all good! 185 here 1993-1994. Memento Audere Semper 903

Only if you were or are part of the "Folgore" coz that's the beret emblem (#1) minus the yin yen closing pins. Memento Audere Semper 903

Driving is not that entertaining (at least on public roads) and can get you killed. Memento Audere Semper 903

50 yards by 25 is about the size of 1/4 of a football filed. Quite large if you asked me. Memento Audere Semper 903

I mean rotating them and also pushing them forward. The wings actually want to pull your arms back and make your shoulders flat if you let them do it. Memento Audere Semper 903

Weight lifting can only do so much in this case I think. The problem is that with BM jumps muscle movements are isometric. You muscles are contracted but they don't actually move. This leads to fast anaerobic respiration and fast fatique as well. Almost two minutes of that is a lot. Hopefully I'll be able to find a compromizing position. Memento Audere Semper 903

I did not put many jumps on my S3 but I would like to give a fresh review before I actually learn how to maximize it. First thing is that despite the number of jumps you have (both FF and WS) if you are not physically fit do not get this suit. Stick with a classic or a GTI. This suit demands a great deal of force no matter your experience level. I’m 5.10 ½ 155 Lb with 6% body fat and I work out regularly still the S3 kicked my ass, arms actually in just three consecutive jumps. To get a decent fall rate those arms must be put to work hard. Keeping the legs straight is not a big deal. The forward speed generated is tremendous and despite the fact that I’m still far from flying efficiently I got as low as 43 mph for about 5000’ on my fifth jump. This tells me that I should be able to get in the 30s and hopefully in the 20s as I learn more about it. Turning is relatively easy and the S3 does not fish tail unlike, they say, the normal Skyflier although I have never flown one. Pull time is critical because the fabric of the wings could cover the BOC. You just gotta pull the fabric aside with a little search and then pull hard. I don’t slow down or close my legs during pull time. If your arms get tired during the flight, and they will, relaxing them will put you in a steep dive; it happened to me twice. If you find yourself in that situation just bend your knees to reduce the lift from the legs. The most efficient position I was able to find thus far is with the legs completely straight and wide, knees locked, feet pointed out, arms 5 degrees bent at the elbow, shoulder rotated it as much as possible, hands on the winglets, and a slight de-arch. Turning with your feet generate shallower banks, the opposite is true by using the arms. I find the suit easy to turn, fast and crisp, but not too oversensitive. It did not over-steer on me. My canopy openings have been flawless so far. I jump a h-mod Viper 105. My container is a Wings EXT with open corners, and I have a 28” PC. I place the bag with the bridle grommet facing the BOC. Overall I’m happy with the S3. To tell you the truth if I was just going to skydive it I would have probably gotten a GTI. The thing is I want to do BASE with it and I need fast pressurization and lots of forward speed. I really think if you are not gonna be doing WS BASE or if you don’t care about squeezing out every MPH an easier suit might be a better option. Finally the quality of the construction is unbelievable, Robert does a helluva job putting the thing together and the CS at Bird-Man is top notch.

Well I was able to make six jumps on my new S3; three/day. I could not physically do more. This thing is better than any workout I know of. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but to get decent performance I got to rotate my arms, shoulders, and pull them forward as much as I can. Few times I had to pull at 5K because I was out of breath, and I'm in pretty good shape. On one jump I had to wait about 30 sec before I was able to pull the slider down after opening! I got speeds in the lower 40s consistently and the best FF was a 110 sec out of 13K with deployment at 3800 with almost 3 mile coverage. The turns are crispy and the suit does not oversteed at all. Actually turning seemed to be the easier part of the flight. Is this thing gonna get any esier on your body? How many jumps can you do it comfortably in a day? Memento Audere Semper 903

Hi guys, I'll be in Sarasota Fl for work next week. I live in northeast PA . Saturday the 24 I would love to hook up with somebody local to jump at Zhill or Lake Wales. Thing is I don't have transportation while there and I cannot find a public way to get to those DZs. Please PM me or e-mail if interested. Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

I'll be Sarasota Fl next week. Do you know the closest DZ? Memento Audere Semper 903

I'm in the same boat as you. I will do mainly wing jumps from big walls when in Europe. Low cliffs are not for me. Some antennas and bridges here and there. I went for an ACE with the composite top skin. I will not take advantage of a vented canopy and being 90% of my deployments at terminal wing-suit velocities I think a canopy like the ACE is perfect. I ordered mine with the fine mesh slider too. Openings thus far have been great. If you want to do both, low cliff and wing-suit maybe a vented like a Black Jack is your best buy unless you got cash to spare to get both A black jack or any other vented canopy will give you much harder openings at terminal even with a fine mesh, keep that in mind. Memento Audere Semper 903