Wingsuit/Canopy RW Safety Issues

[ManBird 0]

While I'm not in the position just yet to get into the details of flying a wingsuit with a high performance canopy, I would like to open up discussion regarding safety issues and share what I've learned from the little bit I've done.

First off, don't "buzz" tandems anymore. It puts yourself and others at serious risk. Any bodies moving at vastly different speeds in the air is deadly if the event of a collision. It'd be like trying to cork strategically on a freefly. Even if done safely, it's a good way to get grounded or 86ed from a drop zone, even your own. Yes, I've done it and it's really, really stupid and really, really bad news. I don't do it now.

A good number of us have given buzzes to much slower canopies, and it's been fun. There hasn't been an incident yet and there is no reason for there to ever be one. Let's put this stunt aside and move to something less dangerous, more fun, and more challenging.

At most, you can say "hello" to your friends from a safe distance (minimum of 500 feet at most DZs). Avoid students like the plague. A collision would be extremely severe. The sight of a wingsuit flyer in flight can be frightening to someone that doesn't recognize it, and it's a gamble as to whether or not a student is freaked out already or not.

Don't buzz students. Don't buzz students. Don't buzz students. Don't buzz students. Don't buzz students. Don't buzz students.

The real challenge, the real fun, and the real future of wingsuit flying is in staying relative to high performance canopies that match your flight. Those flying canopies with wingloadings between maybe 2.6:1 and 3:1 can match a wingsuit's flight really well.

The role of the canopy pilot is simple: Track off the line of flight, open, aim your canopy at the drop zone and don't touch anything. We just need your incredible ability to land such a highly loaded canopy. Those thousands of jumps are paying off, eh? Don't make any turns whatsoever. If the wingsuit pilot is outdriving you to the side and you turn... collision. A breakoff altitude should be determined where the wingsuit pilot should leave the scene and the canopy pilot may start flying as they please. 5K is usually good for this.

The role of the wingsuit pilot is more complicated. Your are the faster one. Your are the high one. You are making the approach. That means that the responsibility avoiding a collision is in your hands.

This is top tier wingsuit flying. I did my first flight with a high performance canopy after about 180 wingsuit flights, and I still feel I wasn't ready for it. With over 300 now, I am warily approaching it again. Some more skydiving experience in general would, too. Someone who's done RW for thousands of jumps and many, many years would do much better than me, had they put in wingsuit experience on top of it. Be really, really current if you attempt this and make sure you have complete control over your flight. The last place you want to run into instability is three feet away from your buddy's lines.

Flying "knees down" will slow your forward speed so that you don't out-drive or worse... drive into the canopy pilot. Maintain a good A-frame. Trying to maximize lift while slowing forward speed requires a very solid and efficient body position. Keep in mind that this will fatugue you more quickly than usual. If that happens, get the hell out of there. It's difficult to maintain total control while fatigued, and you should not be near someone under canopy when this happens.

Do not approach from directly above or behind. When you are flying to the canopy, do not look directly at it or aim straight for it. Look at where you want to be. Going directly for the jumper or the canopy may result in a collision. Keep in mind, the only documented dock to date was done by someone who had about 1,300 wingsuit flights at the time, and it took 17 tries. I have not docked, nor have I gone for a dock yet. I've been fairly relative, but will spend a great deal of time slowly, slowly, slowly working towards that goal. Rushing for a dock = collision.

I would like to continue working safely towards flying with canopies. It will take a long time, but I hope to eventually see a new discipline arise.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[diverdriver 5]

Excellent, excellent post.

[kevin922 0]

Good post, I've been thinking about writing one in reference to "flocking" i haven't gotton around to it, the big point though is treat flying a wingsuit like swooping. Don't make any radical "Pop ups" unless you KNOW where everyone is and you KNOW no one is above you. I've been hit before because I wasn't looking down and they weren't looking up before hauling ass up and got smacked, luckily I had a helmet on (which I rarely use)

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

The awareness you are talking about comes from general skydiving experience. Experience that only comes from repetition and training. Also, some people are generally more "heads up" than others. If you have people running into you, then relegate them to less technical and even solo flights. The increased forward speed of our suits make them such that we MUST be turned on at all times, especially down in the thick air. I am pretty color blind, so I am constantly scanning the sky in front and below me for motion. A head on collision with a "lost sheep" would be catastrophic, so I, when needed, am fairly harsh on new wingsuit pilots who are not flying the flight plan.

As to "buzzing" canopies: so long as you plan the dive then dive the plan, it's fine. This, assuming demonstrated airskills and canopy skills. I won't let anyone swoop past me unless they meet very certain criteria. That said, I don't randomly swoop. I plan the event out on the ground in detail. In wingsuit flight, I make sure the canopy pilot is setup properly at the correct altitude and on the correct heading before I make my approach. I always pass off to the side; never over the top. If anything isn't in order I simply turn away and say "oh well." The bottom line here is that you are the pilot of that suit, so fly it, don't let it fly you into trouble.

If you are sketchy in your suit you don't have any business attempting these kinds of maneuvers. Technical flocking is for people with refined skills and great air awareness. If you possess neither, you need to work on them before putting yourself (or others) in potentially hazardous situations. It's like Omar at Eloy told a flailing FF wannabe: "it's nothing 1000 jumps won't cure." Don't be reckless in pursuit of coolness. Get out and skydive and the skills will come. People making one wingsuit flight a month will have a much harder time getting to the next level than those of us who keep a task-specific rig sewn into our suit.

Chuck

[ManBird 0]

Excellent commentary, SM. I agree that buzzing a "slower" canopy can be done safely, but only when planned by experienced skydivers that are in complete control of themselves and NO students should ever be involved.

However, I highly discourage "buzzing" as a goal. This is because once you've done it, what do you want to do? Get closer. Getting close to another human that is moving slowly is a distaster waiting to happen. If the goal is to get close on a buzz then it's only a matter of time before we see a double fatality. We have this bad habit of waiting until something happens to start making precautions. The potential for distaster is so evident here, though, that there is no reason to wait. It's something I'd rather not test, nor see tested.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[andy2 0]

just out of curiosity how many people do you get that fly 2.6-3.0 WLed canopies that want to do this for you? I can understand the novelty of being under canopy and flying with a WS for a jump or two, but what canopy pilot would want to do this as a routine thing? It seems pretty limited to me (or am I not envisioning grandly enough?).

Why not focus on relative work with other Wing Suits (docks, approaches, etc)?

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let my inspiration flow,
in token rhyme suggesting rhythm...

[ManBird 0]

There are definitely those on the canopy side that want to fly with us just as much as we want to fly with them. It is much more than a novelty for some people (myself included). It's a testament to the evolution of the wingsuit towards the goal of true human body flight.

It's the challenge. It's because we can. Why jump out of a plane in the first place? It's for the same reason that you do anything challenging. It's the controlled accomplishment with the (near) elimination of of risks.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[blair700 0]

Yea, what Steve said..

Plus, I've only done a couple of canopy flybys, and the best one so far was with a dude jumping a Stiletto 107, don't know about the WL, but 'he thinks' we can get much closer, that's not my point though...
Everytime I see this guy at the DZ, he's like "cmon man, I'm dumping high on this one, buzz me buzz me..." Its funny because he's one of the best AFF Instructor/Riggers we have there. I think there is fun to be had on both sides.
But like they said above, this needs to be planned and executed by expert skydivers and wingsuit pilots...hence why I haven't tried it anymore...I have much to learn on my own for now.
Later
Blair

[ManBird 0]

Fortunately, most tandem instructors will tell you straight up, "do not buzz me". I've been told that simply because I was wearing a wingsuit. I didn't even ask if I could or say that I planned on it. They just came right out and said it. This is good. Tandem instructors should make it clear, especially to skyflyers that they haven't seen before; "Stay away from me and my student."

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[ManBird 0]

Quote

Don't be reckless in pursuit of coolness. Get out and skydive and the skills will come.

There is little better advice than this.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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[kkeenan 14]

I have very little wingsuit experience. I have, however, been in several Bird-Dog jumps on the CRW end, including the first ones a few years ago at Quincy. For anyone not familiar, that is a fly-by of a big CRW formation by one or more wingsuit flyers.

As long as everyone involved understands that one of these jumps is the airborne equivalent of having William Tell shoot an apple off your head, then it is a case of informed risk.

I read an account written by someone who was standing on the bridge at Royal Gorge. It is an understatement to say that the impact was devastating. I think that anyone who witnessed that accident would be very reluctant to act as a human racing pylon.

Wingsuit flight is a lot like making a Space Shuttle approach. You can go left and right and down more steeply, but you can't ever decrease (flatten)the angle of you approach beyond the optimum. The bridge pass seems like a particularly hairy stunt, because of the layout of the obstacle. If you are trying to fly over the top, and your optimum angle turns out to be too low, your only option is to try to dive under it. If you're flying perpendicular to the bridge, left or right still gives you more bridge. At least flying at a CRW formation gives you a few more options as far as finding clear air to head for in case Plan A takes a dump.

I don't think Bird-Dog jumps are any more dangerous now than they were a week ago, it's just that now we know more precisely what the consequences of mistakes can be. Obviously, no one takes up CRW as a means to extend their lifespan. Skydiving itself has perils that most of us know and respect. As long as people understand the risks, they can make the choices that we all make each time we do whatever we do.

I never saw Dwaine Weston fly, but he must have been a tremendously skilled pilot. It's a shame that he's gone.

Kevin Keenan

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Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[ManBird 0]

Quote

As long as everyone involved understands that one of these jumps is the airborne equivalent of having William Tell shoot an apple off your head, then it is a case of informed risk.

Exactly.

Let's keep this thread specifically about canopy and wingsuit RW, not wingsuits and fixed objects. They are completely different and because of the recent tragedy could open up a big can of worms.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

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