phoenixlpr 0 #76 June 30, 2006 QuoteIncorrect. In finland for example all gear used in skydiving must be TSO'd which base gear generally is not. Harness/container systems and reserves need also to be accepted to use by the FAA (Finnish Aeronautical Association) so at least here you cannot just hook a belly mount reserve to you base rig and jump it from AC. Details..... You can comply regulation if you want to... At least you can try. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #77 June 30, 2006 Quote"No, but they are powder blue, and say "FLY" on the side, making them look devastatingly gay." Ok I scoped out the Hanwags and although I dislike negativity, those boots are just trying WAAAY too hard. My Cats are a lot uglier, but likely more durable for 1/3 the cost and without the "boutique chic" attached to them. Try Crispis instead. Mine are pretty much just black and grey, and they have better ankle flexibility than the Hanwags.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Professor 0 #78 June 30, 2006 Quote Try Crispis instead. Mine are pretty much just black and grey, and they have better ankle flexibility than the Hanwags. I couldn't find anybody, anywhere, even on the internet, to buy crispis from, or I'd have gotten some. There's one dealer in the US for the paragliding model, and they never called me back. Ted Like a giddy school girl. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #79 July 1, 2006 QuoteQuote Try Crispis instead. Mine are pretty much just black and grey, and they have better ankle flexibility than the Hanwags. I couldn't find anybody, anywhere, even on the internet, to buy crispis from, or I'd have gotten some. There's one dealer in the US for the paragliding model, and they never called me back. Here you go.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yuri_base 1 #80 July 25, 2006 Yo! Another 'fine' flight, this time at a fabulous 1.0 glide ratio!!! (the feathers must have grown backwards....) The two last flights with The Shoes sucked the big time, the first one showing ~3.0 for a few seconds (dynamic planeout), then quickly dropping to 2.0 and way below... the second was 1.0 all the way down (didn't correct it for the winds, though, but it sucked anyway). Couldn't figure out what was wrong, even looked over my shoulder, thought it must be PC in tow! -- so poor the glide was. Tried looking between the legs, rolling the shoulders forward... nothing. One foot down = one foot forward, baby. Welcome to The Stall! Here are my thoughts: Once you're trimmed leg-heavy, a slightest deviation from the perfect body position will send you to stall. Forward speed decreasing, the angle of attack increasing, repeat. Also, it seems to be very dependent on the previous 'history of flight' (hysteretic behavior). If you nail the angle in the first couple of seconds, you get the amazing glide as in the first post. If you don't nail it, forget it. Probably only a radical measure, like doing a spiral, will allow you to break the stall and try again. In rear riser analogy, if you pulled the risers past the stall point, it will be hard or impossible to return to the best glide (some rear risers) until you release them completely and go to full flight first. I can reproduce 2.2 in Phantom reliably in default 'trim' (head-heavy), but it will take many flights to nail that wonderful, but extremely fragile - close to a stall, but not a stall - 2.9. The investigation of the Mystery of Clown Shoes continues, stay tuned... or better yet, experiment yourself. YuriAndroid+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buried 0 #81 July 25, 2006 QuoteQuote Try Crispis instead. Mine are pretty much just black and grey, and they have better ankle flexibility than the Hanwags. I couldn't find anybody, anywhere, even on the internet, to buy crispis from, or I'd have gotten some. There's one dealer in the US for the paragliding model, and they never called me back. you can also get them here. shipping is free and their customer service is great. Where is my fizzy-lifting drink? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 74 #82 July 25, 2006 JohanW was experimenting with (fitness) weights on his ankles past weekend, and was mostly getting head-high/stally flight... What you really need is theseJC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohanW 0 #83 July 25, 2006 Well, stally, that sounds too negative. It was amazingly quiet, I'm guessing I was doing less forward with normal downward speeds. I'd need a GPS for the forward, but it felt slow, and the protrack said low 40s down. Which means better L/D. It was also easier on the stomach, because I didn't need to dearch as hard, even though it was normally heavy on the arms. Which is promising. At the very least, it flies easier than without the weights. Next time, I'm going to try to put a little bit more pressure still on the legs to make more forward speed and, if I get a chance, add some more ankle weight (this was only 2 kg). But I can see where that puts you into a stall very easily. It might just take the balance out of the suit (an S3S), needing more leg wing than it has. A Vampire might actually work better for this. At least, it gives me an excuse to put on lead and say it's not for swooping though ankle weights do play hell on your recovery arc - I was just the slightest bit into the corner every time Johan. I am. I think. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yuri_base 1 #84 July 25, 2006 Excellent, Johan!!! Differently balanced suit feels like a totally different flying machine. Balancing adds another dimension to already large number of variables, but this 30% (or more) increase in performance and amazing quietness are totally worth the extra effort to find that supersweet spot.Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #85 July 25, 2006 QuoteBalancing adds another dimension to already large number of variables, but this 30% (or more) increase in performance and amazing quietness are totally worth the extra effort to find that supersweet spot. You should call Robi and tell him his designs are 30% inefficient. Perhaps then he can redesign the pressure balance (removing the need for mass balancing) and all of his suits will fly this much better.www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yuri_base 1 #86 July 25, 2006 Quotehe can redesign the pressure balance (removing the need for mass balancing) I think that starting from aerodynamics (shape of wings) and then adjusting the balance using weights allows for better results than starting from human body's natural balance and sacrificing the aerodynamics to match the balance. It would be nice if manufacturers provided some guidelines on where the center of mass should be relative to wingsuit's geometry based on wind tunnel tests, so that users can adjust their balance on the ground. I wouldn't mind a day in horizontal wind tunnel. Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohanW 0 #87 July 25, 2006 You lose on one end of the envelope what you gain on the other. A suit built for this flight mode might have S3 arm wings and a GTI leg wing, sacrificing drive, or it might be an S1, sacrificing stability. A 30% L/D increase in a very specific flight mode less suited (no pun intended) for flocking (AoA is rather critical, it would seem, and airspeed just results) might not sell as well. After all, you're no longer going Mach 3 with your hair on fire. But it really feels different, and it might be very nice for a sunset jump. (I don't do BASE. There would be very real applications there.)Johan. I am. I think. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buried 0 #88 July 25, 2006 Quotevariables, but this 30% (or more) increase in performance and amazing quietness are totally worth the extra effort to find that supersweet spot. i'm sure you'd get a 10% increase if you lost some of that hidden 6 pack of beer Where is my fizzy-lifting drink? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yuri_base 1 #89 July 25, 2006 Quotei'm sure you'd get a 10% increase if you lost some of that hidden 6 pack of beer 6-pack?! That was in the 20th century... now it's more like a 24-pack. A potential for 40% increase right there! Wait a minute... BEER... that's what we need! Forget clown shoes, forget lead weights... we need beer tanks in our leg wings!!! With a camelback tube to the mouth to dynamically adjust the distribution of beer between the two vessels for the perfect balance and 100% boost in performance! Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tr027 0 #90 July 27, 2006 Yuri, Perhaps you are on to something, but just looking in the wrong area? My theory is you should be looking for the gain in delay available. Because you are artificially inducing higher angle of attack (to position the overall lift vector antiparallel to the direction of glide/fall) the performance should most likely resemble float mode (decreased glide, increased delay). It's too bad you have to travel so far to the dz otherwise you could test more extensively."The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yuri_base 1 #91 July 27, 2006 Yes, it's artificially inducing higher angle of attack and it's totally similar to improving your glide under canopy by pulling on rear risers. The best glide is very close to stall (pull a little more and the glide suffers dramatically - that's what happened on my last two unsuccessful flights). On rears, your forward speed decreases a little, while the vertical speed decreases a lot. That's exactly what happened when I accidentally nailed the magic glide: the forward speed dropped from 100-110mph to ~90, while fall rate decreased from 45mph to 30. While I can reproduce 100/45 (default trim) easily and repeatedly, so far I failed to reproduce 90/30. But that's only 3 flights in The Shoes, with them it's like totally different suit and it will take dozens of flights to nail it. With canopy, it's easy to find the best glide by using "the accuracy trick". With wingsuit, you can't use it because as soon as you look forward, you lose the glide and go into stall. You have to listen to the music of the air until you hear sirens singing. YuriAndroid+Wear/iOS/Windows apps: L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP iOS only: L/D Magic Windows only: WS Studio Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lurch 0 #92 July 28, 2006 " it's easy to find the best glide by using "the accuracy trick". With wingsuit, you can't use it" Ah, but you CAN, Yuri... It works just fine at 3-5 mile ranges once you get used to the visual jump in scale and the fact that the picture changes more slowly than it does when you use the accuracy trick under canopy. In time you'll pick it out real fast at a glance. When I'm long and low it is especially useful for trimming out for distance. I've set course for home many times after flying wild stuff for 2/3 of the way down, eyeballed my initial arrival spot and seen I was going to come up way short, "laid down", stretched my toes out, dropped my head and hunched my shoulders and watched that "nonmoving spot" go clean across the DZ to the cornfields beyond, and known I was making it home no problem. You don't have to be facedown to fly well, think neck posture like a vulture... Your chin, thumbs and toes should be the lowest points on your body. Feel free to look around. So long as you keep your chin thrust out and down you can turn your head any old way without affecting fallrate. Get used to flying like that and after awhile you can tune your glide ratio on the fly, visually. Being able to "see" your flight plan mentally superimposed over the visual panorama is handy. The long distance flights aren't as quiet as the slow flights, but the speed rush is great. -BLive and learn... or die, and teach by example. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sandro_B 0 #93 August 1, 2006 Some weeks ago I was playing around with weights too. But my idea was, to add them to the upper arms to gain more forward speed than the distribution of my body-weight allows. To additionally increase the speed I turned on the back and did a half looping to dive smoothly back on the belly. This should accelerate similar to a smooth 180 degree front riser turn. You can see the according ground-speed in this graph: http://www.trackingderby.com/ground.php?trace_id=1103&u=meters It's not too much. But I think I can still improve the dive a bit. Using weights is quite easy: If you remove the weights from the weight-jackets or weight-belts of RW-people, you can simply tape them around your arms with fabric tape. Just be sure that you can reach your handles, that they cannot get loose and that you do not choose to too much weight. Because it can get hard to reap your slider, fly with the hands in the toggles and to cut away if the canopy is spinning fast. This are just my experiences of around 5 jumps with weights - if you try it, of course you do it at your own risk. Enjoy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
