The wingsuits: back from Europe

[Yuri]

Yo !

For those who care, i came back home in 1 piece ;-) It has been a very exciting summer so far... the whole concept of big wall jumping is rapidly turning into big wall flying (at least from my point of view). The term "cliff strike" is gone (unless you hit the other side of a fjord ;) There is never too much wind at the exit point. Making the landing area is becoming a non-issue as our wingsuit glide ratio approaches that of a base canopy (and will pass it soon). Overhanging walls are such a waste: we are looking for a somewhat vertical sub-1000' piece on the top to start from and a loooong slope to fly by. This is definitely a new sport that mixes BASE and pure body flight in the most beautiful way. It's still at the very beginning, baby stage, but grows very quickly. I hope that French people come forward and share some of their experience - they are the best fliers at the moment. I have been stuck with an old Birdman suit on this trip, but it still has opened the entirely new world. Here are a few examples of what it can do for you:

Flying for a minute and opening over the gas station (past the landing area) at Arco.

Taking off at Kjerag #8, flying out of the gorge, over C and D landing areas, opening high over the water and landing on the grass by the lighthouse.

Jumping off Smelveggen #1, flying towards Lysebotn for 41sec, opening high over the water close to the shoreline and landing in the field by the campground.

Speaking of Smellveggen, there is a tight landing area (rocky beach) right under the ridge that gives you a lift on a windy day. It is a good out if you don't make it to the shoreline or if you want to use all 3000' of altitude in a wingsuit on an East wind day. By the way, the usual steep grass landing area is about 2600' below the exit points - this is just as high as Kjerag #7 over the water! When you fly a wingsuit, Smellveggen is about as far as you ever make it during the hike ;-)

The bottom line here is that wingsuits can make our (new) sport unbelievably safer, while adding so much fun it's hard to stay sane. Like anything else, they can also be used to increase the risk to whatever point that suits the pilot - so a bit of common sense will go a looong way! Most importantly, use the right equipment! A freefly-quality rig that will be secure at past-terminal speeds and all angles is THE MUST! Making a whole bunch of wingsuit skydives helps a lot, especially flying with other people and clouds.

Now, let's just wait for the new suit...

bsbd!

Yuri.

[guest]

Yuri, you mentioned Kjerag #8. Where is that relative to #7 ?

[guest]

Hi Yuri

What new suit are you waiting for? Is it the Birdman GTI?

I'm thinking about buying a wingsuit mostly for skydiving at first but I don't now which one to get. How many different suits are there on the market?

I know of the Birdman Classic II and the Birdman GTI. How unstable is the GTI in flight?

I've also read this article about a french suit: http://home.nordnet.fr/~paramag/arch...articleGB.html but I don't know where to buy one or get more info on this suit.

Adrian Nicholas is also flying a suit which I don't think is one of the above ones. Which suit is that?

Any help or comments from wingsuit fliers appreciated!

-Morten

[Yuri]

Yo !

#8 is about 20min hike past #7. You cannot see the exit point from the landing area - it is deep inside the gorge that cuts into the mountain.

bsbd!

Yuri.

[Yuri]

Yo !

I can't say much about either GTi or the french suit since i didn't jump either. Both fly a bit better then Birdman Classic. Adrian's suit design and perfomance are very similar to Bridman Classic (this is just my opinion, though).

The only mass-production suit at the moment is Birdman. Others may come out soon, but i don't have any specific info.

bsbd!

Yuri.

[guest]

>Adrian's suit
>design and perfomance are very
>similar to Bridman Classic (this
>is just my opinion, though).

From the outset it may appear similar to the Birdman suit but is much better performing in the air. Better lift and forward speed.

The suits are made by Katarina Olikainen are are made to fit like a glove. They are more expensive than the Birdman suits but truly are custom fitted and not generic suits.

[guest]

And where do you get your hands on such a Katarina Olikainen suit?

Any dealers, info or a homepage?

-Morten

[Yuri]

Yo !

>From the outset it may appear similar to the Birdman suit but is much better performing in the air. Better lift and forward speed.

Can you support this claim with any numbers i.e. glide ratio ? I may have missed some major recent design changes, but the suit Adrian flew in Norway last summer was not performing any better than Birdman.

bsbd!

Yuri.

[guest]

Yuri Wrote:
Now, let's just wait for the new suit...

I talked to my birdman rep yesterday, and he showed me the order form for the GTI (high performance suit). Since I don't feel experienced enough on the Classic II to move up, I wasn't interested. But it sounded (from the brief conversation) like the GTI can be ordered now.

Perhaps I misunderstood though. Does anyone know better?

--Tom Aiello

P.S. Congrats to JJ for being the first (I believe) to take the Birdman off the Captain (last night).

[guest]

Katarina can be emailed at Tingeling7@aol.com

[guest]

>Yo !
>
>>From the outset it may appear similar to the Birdman suit but is much better performing in the air. Better lift and forward speed.
>
>Can you support this claim with
>any numbers i.e. glide ratio
>? I may have missed
>some major recent design changes,
>but the suit Adrian flew
>in Norway last summer was
>not performing any better than
>Birdman.
>
>bsbd!
>
>Yuri.



The design changes are more subtle - wing changes and the like.

Can I back it up with figures - I can say that jumping with experienced jumpers with a birdman suit - I can and have left them for dead in terms of forward speed and lift.

I've not vast amount of jumps in the suit - you have way more than me Yuri but the they have a lot of data from the wind tunnel and are always making small improvements.

I think that the suits whether they be a birdman classic, GTI or whatever are much the same in concept but the differences come in fit of the suit and the person flying it. Flappy material is drag and some places on a suit are more critical to gaining clean airflow and efficiency with the suit.

Plus we are talking the suit from last summer in Norway. A year is a long time. Katarina has always been very open in discussing wingsuit designs and the like.

As she has been involved in wingsuits with Patrick from the outset and with time spent with a number of aerodynamists - at Onera and many of the formula one race car teams she is probably better placed to answer your technical questions.

[guest]

Do you have any picture of this suit ?

i really would like to see it

[Dwain]

Hey Yuri,

Just got back to Denmark from Norway. Back in the USA on Monday.

Sorry you missed the load up North. It was interesting and drama packed to say the least. I'll fill you in on all the sorid detail later.

No.4 with a wingsuit is fun in an electrical storm. When your hair stands on end and the video camera starts shorting out it's a good signal to exit soon.

DW

[Karin]

Yuri:

Glad you're back safe and sound. I just returned from a great Europe trip - great jumps and fun climbing. Did you get the photos I sent you? Email or call me regarding the French wingsuit - I have some information about availability and turnaround times... I'll be helping them with the owners manual soon, and as soon as that's completed, the suits will follow shortly.

kisses,
karin