Warlock BirdMan = Fun !

[Yuri]

Yo !

28 new shots from Norway are online. Enjoy!

http://www.maxho.com/base

bsbd!

Yuri.

[Shaun]

Hey Yuri,
I left a message on the board a while ago about getting information on wingsuits , thanks for your resopnse.I have ordered one which will arrive on Monday 4th Oct.and want to use it down here in Cape Town ,South Africa.I plan to skydive it until I'm comfortable with its flight but as information is limited concerning BASE jumping it, could you help me out as to what I should be aware of when jumping it.ie body position on exit,flight characteristics,canopy deployment and emergency actions.I have 70 base jumps - jumping about 2 or 3 times a week and 130 skydives.Thanks for your help.
Shaun.

[Yuri]

Yo !

A single most important danger is putting your
pilot chute in the burble at pull time. It's annoying at 2000' and will kill you at 400'.
Basically, you need to make sure you throw PC as hard and far out as you can. I also collapse my
leg wing at the same time, while others pull in full track. Both ways seem to work. Wingsuit doesn't seem to affect on-heading perfomance: i got 28 straight openings in a row (within 90' sector). Still, be prepared to turn your canopy fast: even though you'll be a mile away from the object, making a landing area is important!

I have been using 38" ZP wide mesh PC on most jumps. The way you put PC in a pouch is very important: BASE-standard "mushroom" works great, do not fold it skydiving style!

bsbd!

Yuri.

[guest]

Wingsuits is and will continue to change some aspects of basejumping. There are however certain things you need to be careful with. As Yuri said one of the main concerns is pilotchute reentry into the burble. It happened to a jumper on a jump at Kjerag. Needless to say he tried "everything" to clear it, ended up head low and had several linetwists very low. He kept cool, undid his twist and made an uneventful landing. It is on video, and the vifeo is available in Kjerag. Recommended viewing for anyone attempting wingsuit jumps from fixed objects. I will ask Birdman int. this week if they have more copies, it could be worthwhile to give it to base jumping customers for the cost of the videotape.
Before you jump the suit from cliffs, make sure you have enough jumps from an airplane with it to feel comfortable with all aspects of it. Also it would be wise to have an understanding of basic aeordynamic prinsiples. If flown to slowly it can stall. On the first two-way this summer, my friend Chris Mæland entered a stalled spin along the cliff after he stalled the wing. He cut away his wings and tracked away, but needless to say his flightpath ate up a lot more altitude, and he was much closer to the wall than he had anticipated. I haven't talked to Yuri, but Chris, Thor Alex and I found it to be easiest if exit was slightly flatter than normal. Wings exposed symmetrically (very important). On the average it took 3-5 seconds before we started moving away from the cliff. After that speed will slowly increase to what you know from airplanes. As Yuri mentioned, the pull is the next challenge. I have seen several techniques applied, but basically they are some version of the following : collapse both wings attached to your arms symmetrically, find pilotchute and throw pilotchute hard away to the side. Note that both arms need to be symmetrical as you do this to keep stability. Do not bend your legs as the opening sequence will be happening at an angle 30 to 45 degrees behind you. After throwing the pilot chute recollapse both wings, this will let you have your arms on the cutawayhandles during the deployment and reduce the burble behind you. The main difference between skydiving and base is obvious, you have no reserve. Therefore it is recommended that you keep your hands at the cutaway handles in case you need to work your risers quickly. Most people seem to collapse their legwing as well during this sequence (starting with collapsing your upper wings), but as Yuri mentioned some don't and it seems to work both ways. Also be careful evaluating a new site. If it has not been jumped using wingsuits, you are a testjumper, opening a little higher than you normally would is very smart, especially when starting out.
One last note, the angle that the wingsuit will place your body at will be such that a velcro closed system is very vulnerable. Do not try this with velcro, the last thing you want is for the velcro to peal and have you canopy come out of the container. I really like the warlock, as does Yuri and Chris, but all pinclosed systems work fine as this summer has shown. Earlier this summer close to a minute of freefall was achieved using birdman suits from cliffs by Yuri, Chris and myself.

321 cya

[Shaun]

Hey Yuri & Captain Chaos,
Thanks for your advice . I can't f..king wait to get into this wingsuit . If you're ever thinking of coming to Cape Town let me know we have some awesome jumps.
Shaun.