Ronaldo 0 #1 September 23, 2011 Finally I had a chance to write a quick review and give my first impressions of this awesome product: > Package - well, my suit was not shipped but delivered in hands directly to a friend at TS factory (ZHills). It came in a simple transparent plastic bag. It didn't come with a transportation bag, though. Honestly, I would expect a $1600 suit to come with at least a simple nylon bag with draw cord. I had to make my own (which I ended up liking a lot since it is compact and prevents the leading edge from bending) > Documentation - Again, I would expect such an expensive piece of equipment to come with a CD, pen drive or at least a better quality printed copy of the manual. > Suit construction and fit - Awesomely built suit. Fits me perfectly (my wife has part of the credits for taking perfect measurements). I’m not a pro but I have some sewing skills so I can really appreciate the work behind this suit. Just one thing I would change: the leather soles. IMHO they attract too much dirt and look horrible after just one day of jumping. I will definitely replace them with cordura and also add some kind of BASE soles. The suit has some really nice features such as the stiff leading edge and retractable leg wing. I was able to walk around freely without being worried of dragging the trailing edge. It was fun to see one of my friends in his brand new V-4 walking around like a lady in long skirt. > Gearing up – incredibly easy! I just love being able to put the leg straps on first with no view obstruction. I’m just paranoid about forgetting them and usually check them a few times on the plane. > Flight – in 7 letters: A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I was a little apprehensive since I’ve been flying only my Sfly Expert lately. This was definitely the biggest suit I’ve ever flown but I was amazed to see how instinctive and easy the flight was. The suit is very stable and seems to fly on its own. I don’t need to put much effort to achieve a relatively efficient position. On my third flight I easily outflew a friend in his V3 in a performance race. I noticed that the wing tip grippers barely move and I can pick them up easily during flight. Wing pressurization is so solid that on the last jumps I was barely touching the grippers. > Deployment – although it may sound weird pulling time was much more comfortable than on the Expert. Got some tips with Rob Haron and had 7 on heading openings in 7 jumps. As soon as I feel the canopy inflating I bring my knees up and arms tight to the torso. While in this position the scape sleeve is great for pulling the rears and correcting the heading before unzipping the wings. Well, I can’t remember the last time I was that happy with a new toy! Just can’t wait to have some outside video for debriefing. I’m pretty sure I have a lot to improve but the suit is so damn good that even if you suck you’d still get a decent flight!Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michalm21 2 #2 September 23, 2011 Awesome, congrats! Now go tell your V4 friend to use magnets in the leg wing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdatc 0 #3 September 23, 2011 Quote I was able to walk around freely without being worried of dragging the trailing edge. It was fun to see one of my friends in his brand new V-4 walking around like a lady in long skirt. See, that's funny, cause my X2, the leg wing fails to retract enough and drags (Measurement was done by Tony Himself), where as my V4 with the magnets work well. I like the base soles option, however, they were different then the picture, but should hold up well with me walking around in them... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ronaldo 0 #4 September 23, 2011 Maybe you can adjust the length of the bungee as long as it still allows full inflation. I believe my friend just didn't notice the magnets, I'll tell him about it Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KrisFlyZ 0 #5 September 23, 2011 What? A review without pics . Yeah I believe the S-bird ( what used to be the super Mach 2 I believe) is very easy to fly. I expect this reaction you posted above...A-W-E-S-O-M-E and the last sentence. I saw this first hand at our DZ. When I get a few mins I have a some video to post. Quote I’m pretty sure I have a lot to improve but the suit is so damn good that even if you suck you’d still get a decent flight!Laugh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ronaldo 0 #6 September 23, 2011 Quote What? A review without pics . OK, here we go Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KrisFlyZ 0 #7 September 24, 2011 Very nice! I am uploading the video and it is taking forever....about 3 hours left. I should learn a little about video compression. I don't think that file should be nearly 500mb. It should be online tomorrow morning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KrisFlyZ 0 #8 September 24, 2011 Turn the sound off. leading up to @1:35ish I am setting up to fly past Matt and see Brian zip across my FOV. Jump 2 is a nice cloud surf...with the jump going to plan B right outside the door. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYUEInCrd1Y Brian is flying the light brown(beige?) and green SM2. >You gotta love the Texas clouds > Somehow video does not do justice to how amazing that jump felt. He flies a Phantom and is almost always flocking. He tried my v3(but spent all of the jump trying to get down to a flock...I videoed the entire jump flying his P2) but when he put on the SM2 on he was flying at performance levels that he was very happy with on that suit with less than 10 jumps. The V3 IMO will perform at least as well as an S-bird for the same guy but someone trying both before buying will most likely choose the S-bird. Quote On my third flight I easily outflew a friend in his V3 in a performance race. How does your friend in V3 compare to you physically? And how much performance flying does he do? Both those are relevant to the conversation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ronaldo 0 #9 September 25, 2011 Yeah, I can see he passes and disappears like a bullet! On the race the speed difference was not that big. I’m not sure how many jumps he has on his V-3 but he is probably 5” shorter and around the same weight. I really felt an amazing range of forward speed with the suit. This was also the first time I was able to use the flysight (although I have it for months). I just need to install Paralog so I can start analyzing the flight data. I’ll post the data soon… just can’t wait to jump it more! Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KrisFlyZ 0 #10 September 25, 2011 Good advertising yeah...I am stalling(or popping ) the suit at that point to try and swoop Matt after opening, the guy in the phantom on my left. He opened with an off heading opening and I did not want to approach from behind and the SM2 in my view distracted me as well. Oh cool!! Flysight is an awesome GPS. Have fun with it. Just for contrasting flight modes. A small clip of break off in the V3 when I break early and fly away. Quote http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsRn5MuFayw Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
