pr3d4t0r

Hi! Looking at the RI CURV 2.0 and the Vector3 M-351 for speed skydiving. We were pretty much set on the M-351 but UPT's delivery dates may be too far in the future. CURV: http://rigginginnovations.com/skydiving-containers/curv Vector3: http://www.unitedparachutetechnologies.com/sp?view=item I'm not as familiar with RIs containers as I am with UPT or Sun Path. Any pointers, references will be welcome. (We've evaluated a pile of other rigs from Sun Path, Peregrine Velocity, and so on -- you're seeing what looks like our finalists.) Thanks in advance and blue skies! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

ProTrack are notoriously inaccurate, and make it impossible to score after a high speed tumble. FlySight has much higher pilot tolerances. GPS is more accurate than barometric measurements. My understanding is that ProTrack (and ColorAlti, which I use for altitude awareness) use the same Bosch barometric sensor. Good enough for lower speed data capture and accurate enough for altitude awareness. I used FlySight, ProTrack, and ColorAlti for training. Barometric readings are too variable and inaccurate. Let’s hope we go GPS. Cheers! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Agreed -- I'm thinking of having the camera inside the helmet, something small, that I can sync with the FlySight for the speed read out. More for fun than as a training aid. The FlySight pitch and speed sound (real-time) plus data dump (off-line) and the tunnel are my main training aids. By the way -- do you know what software it's used for adding the running speed/altitude to the video? I'm a n00b on that. And in reality I may not do it if I can't fit the camera inside the helmet. It's for fun, after all. "This is how you get ground rush at 11k..." kinda thing :) Yes -- but that gap won't be there for long! Augusto and I will spend 2 weeks training in Krutitsy, Russia in mid- to late winter, then maybe head to Germany before next year's rounds start. I'll ping you when those dates come, perhaps we can jump and share a beer at some point! Blue skies, thanks for your replies! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

A camera almost anywhere else will introduce drag. I think of the camera as a POV fun device, not as an aid in training. You make an excellent point, though. Excellent, I didn't know that. Did you compete in Australia? I couldn't go due to a prior commitment in Japan, would've loved to join Kyle, Joe, and the rest of the competitors there! Blue skies and thanks for your comments, pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Greetings! Can you please help me figure out the optimal setup for producing videos of my speed skydiving training jumps? I'd like to have a combination of in-helmet video and the speedometer showing progress as in this video (duration 1:15): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2yZiA8VcgQ I'm aware that the speed is added in post production. I use FlySight as my data source, may have to cave in and get an inaccurate ProTrack (or two) if the EU competitions still use them next year, and if it's the only data source. I prefer the camera in-helmet (Bonehead AERO with special springs set up) to eliminate drag. My helmet has two ColorAlti altimeters inside, there's room for a small camera between them. If mounting the camera on my body is a better idea please let me know. tl;dr: recommend camera, camera mount, and software please. Thanks in advance and blue skies! pr3d4t0r Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

No -- but our local iFly has a "stunt rig" that we can use in the tunnel; it's a mockup with the right straps, reserve/cutaway handles, weight, etc. I used it last time, it helped me stabilize and feel the difference between front/back of my body closer to how it'll fee in the air. I should've taken some photos - very cool idea. Cheers and blue skies! Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Hi! Rewatched it today again, after over a 100 jumps and 3 months since the first time I watched it, now groking the technique better. Angle flying coaching on Friday all day to work on the transition to almost-head-down (we did some math with my instructor at the tunnel and we figure ~80º should do the job), then it's all practice jumps and learning to relax and go with the flow until the competition. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Blue skies! Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Greetings. I'm training for a speed skydiving event. I've logged about 30 skydives (13K-5K) trying to fly head down, with mixed results. About 3 hours of iFly tunnel work. I can stand upside down in the tunnel or use the corners (octagonal tunnel) to transition, have a very hard time transitioning to head down and maintaining that for more than 5 seconds without tumbling when flying in the real world. Not sure how to correct at this point. Instructor on tunnel has me modify head and hips position, but I don't "feel" my head and hips in the sky during a real skydive - I suspect that the container might throw me off in the sky. Do you have any recommendations on drills to practice in the tunnel and/or in the sky over the next few days to learn the correct head/body position? Head down in the tunnel is hard on the neck after 10-15 minutes because once I drop I have to keep flying on the top of my head against the grate, legs straight, arms tight in the front, but I can maintain it. Instructor and I are trying to figure out how to improve, all recommendations welcome. Planning on 40 minutes of tunnel (2*10 min session, two days), and between 15 and 25 skydives this coming week (more if time allows). A million thanks in advance for your advise!

Greetings. I'm training for a speed skydiving event. I've logged about 30 skydives (13K-5K) trying to fly head down, with mixed results. About 3 hours of iFly tunnel work. I can stand upside down in the tunnel or use the corners (octagonal tunnel) to transition, have a very hard time transitioning to head down and maintaining that for more than 5 seconds without tumbling when flying in the real world. Not sure how to correct at this point. Instructor on tunnel has me modify head and hips position, but I don't "feel" my head and hips in the sky during a real skydive - I suspect that the container might throw me off in the sky. Do you have any recommendations on drills to practice in the tunnel and/or in the sky over the next few days to learn the correct head/body position? Head down in the tunnel is hard on the neck after 10-15 minutes because once I drop I have to keep flying on the top of my head against the grate, legs straight, arms tight in the front, but I can maintain it. Instructor and I are trying to figure out how to improve, all recommendations welcome. Planning on 40 minutes of tunnel (2*10 min session, two days), and between 15 and 25 skydives this coming week (more if time allows). A million thanks in advance for your advise!

Looking forward to it -- thanks! Also: thanks to Amazon too -- she's teh awesome and also offered helpful advise

Howdy. We consulted with Bonehead -- their recommendation was to drill the helmet and use the screws. Great fit, and the FlySight is in a great spot, facing the sky above during my tracks. I now have Cookie mounts on both my speed and my comfy helmets (AERO and Black Mamba), tried them yesterday, worked great. Thanks and cheers! Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

New suit prototype got here yesterday, base line terminal velocity in neutral position is 165 mi/h (vs 140 mi/h for my other suit). 3 speed skydives yesterday; first two were conservative acceleration to only about 370 km/h, learning to fly the new suit. Last one was at 415 km/h. I tried your technique following this protocol: 1. Flatten the track when the 4,500 ft alert lights up 2. Slow move - arms forward to starfish for deceleration ~3,900 ft 3. Neutral box man by 3,500 ft 4. Wave off between 3,500 and 3,200 ft, under full canopy by 2,700 I followed the protocol on all three speed dives, worked like a charm. I'll increase the speed in future training. Thanks for your advise -- this was very helpful! Cheers, E Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Hi. I upgraded from an Alti-2 Galaxy to an Ares II a few weeks ago, after evaluating both the Ares II and the Viso+. The Ares II has a larger screen and a low profile. The Viso's screen is fine but I felt that the Ares II had overall better construction and it works better for my use case -- I abuse gear and needed something with the flattest possible profile. As far as the internals and firmware, both appear to use the Bosch barometric sensor and have similar capabilities. Cheers, pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Hello! What's the best way to attach a Cookie mount for FlySight to Bonehead AERO? Under consideration: * Drilling holes + adding screws * Find a strong adhesive (similar to GoPro mount's) Thanks in advance and blue skies! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Awesome -- thanks! Will practice it that way, with the appropriate altitudes and track glides for slowing down before deployment. My European suit will be almost identical to this: https://ciurana.eu/fotki/_data/i/upload/2018/06/26/20180626080059-1e058773-xl.jpg -- the specs from the manufacturer are cotton for the sleeves. My US suit (developed by a different team) is zero-p Polyester all the way through, skin tight, with winglets + brandy belt, similar to my RW/tracking hybrid suit. I appreciate your recommendation, will let you know early next week how it went. Blue skies! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Awesome -- thanks for the advise! I will try this in the coming training sessions. It makes sense. It also explains why European speed skydiving suits have those cotton sleeves -- to help decelerate. Blue skies! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

I always went to a monster track and gradually spread arms away from my side and spread the legs out more and more.... That was my preferred deceleration method until I consistently clocked sustained speeds greater than 240 mi/h. Either the transition isn't fast enough to avoid hard deck, or if done too fast the wind force against the arms is too strong and can lead to sprains or dislocations. Thanks for sharing your experience! pr3d4t0r Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Hi - I spoke with Kyle Lobpries, current USPA speed skydiving champion. His technique is to flip on his back, starfish, flip back to belly, wave off, deploy. I’ve been practicing being on my back in the tunnel (harder than it looks), will test this technique as well. The brandy belt with winglets suit is almost ready. Will test in the next few days too. Cheers! Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Maddingo wrote: Indeed. One of my suits is loke that, with brandy belt to deploy, retract. The European speed skydiving suits have high drag cotton sleeves in the upper arms — looking at those too. Technique, though... need helpz from friendly peeps! Blue skies - pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Almost 24 years, about 2,550 jumps since my last cutaway. First cutaway was on jump 40, 01.April.1995, brand new J3 + brand new PD 210 + Tempo 170 reserve. I haven't seen my Tempo fly since then. Most beautiful sight when I did, though. At least 6 jumps during which I should've cut the main away instead of dealing with nasty line twists or CRW gone wrong, two stuck pilot chute pulls that were cleared on second try (leg pocket vs BOC now). Better judgment now, I would cut away/dump the reserve without over thinking it now. Blue skies! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Hello. What are the safest, most efficient ways to slow down after crossing the 5,000 ft agl line during a speed skydive? Current technique: end the head down track by tucking knees right below 5,000 ft agl, transition to boxed man, wait for ~3,500 ft agl for wave off/deployment (~130 mi/h terminal velocity by then, according to FlySight and ColorAlti). Why I ask: I'm flying a modified RW suit until my purpose-built suits are done. The material in those suits is much slicker and will allow faster speed. I need to figure out the safest transition while moving a speeds in excess of 450 km/h. Thanks in advance, I look forward to your recommendations. Blue skies! Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

After evaluating all the helmets quoted here, I'm going with the Bonehead AERO with a smoke gray visor. The visor latching system will withstand speeds >= 450 km/h and a couple of speed skydiving competitors are using it. I appreciate your feedback, will look for the Cookie G1 for international competition... whenever ISSA organizes a new one... Everyone take care and blue skies! pr3d4t0r Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

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Hi, I've tried registering with the International Speed Skydiving Association web site several times, never saw a reply back. Posting here in case one of the site admins is a dropzone.com member and can advise me of next steps. Thanks in advance and blue skies! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA

Jérôme wrote: Agreed - we disqualified the Icarus 2000 4fight (in fact, the whole family of helmets from the company) earlier today. The only ones that keep popping up are: * Cookie G3 -- the company offers special speed skydiving springs and have outfitted several competitors. * Bonehead AERO -- waiting for them to get back on Thursday to confirm that they have a speed skydiving version, specs, etc. Unless we find a good viable alternative, so far the Cookie G3 seems to be the way to go. Cheers! pr3d Eugenio, home: Bay Area Skydiving, CA USA