johnmatrix

I have not jumped either but as you have said, I believe the original Cruise was a simple one-piece suit, the Cruise + had inflatable cells on the inside that gave it some more shaping.

Done it, can't recommend it highly enough. Within months I avoided a cliff strike, on my first and only slider-down 180 (160 more like it), I believe mainly thanks to this course. I still commonly see jumpers doing things I was taught to navigate and avoid in this course. 500+ jumps and nearly 10 years in the sport now, no object strikes or major injuries, still going off many things I was taught at SRBA, worth every cent. Thanks again Tom and crew. :)

Yes to all the above. And less a drill, but more - make sure you are achieving the maximum performance of the suit. Many go to a big suit for more performance but in actual fact could just fly a bit better in their current suit.

+1

I haven't jumped either, however... I am sure the Carve 21 is better but can't imagine it's going to suddenly change your entire flight envelope compared to your current Carve. I reckon you're better off sticking with your current suit until it's well and truly thrashed, then getting whatever the current Carve is and enjoying the new and improved version, whether it's a 21, a 23 or whatever. I have a Carve 2. I did one jump on the original Havok but it was so long ago I can't really say what the difference is, though I am sure the new one is better.

I've been in the WS tunnel and definitely found it good for learning. Raw performance flying is a different kettle of fish but you can still bring little things you learn in the tunnel to that. For another example look at the WS flying you see experienced freefly tunnel flyers doing. They bring skills they've learnt in the vertical tunnels to WS and it helps.

The PLF is one of the most important safety skills to learn. It's saved my butt numerous times. Even if you develop a sliding-in or similar technique to dissipate forward movement, you still want the PLF in your tool box. You could get sink on landing, turbulence could collapse your canopy, you might land off and have to land in a tight spot in deep brakes, you could have an entanglement and land under two (or 1) malfunctioning canopies, heaps of stuff could happen where a PLF may make the difference between walking away dirty and sore or going to the hospital.

I am a wingsuit coach and agree with the above comments. My first WS flight was my 201st jump and I went fine. However, I was current and had been preparing for well before hand, both in the skydiving I was doing, and research and visualisation at home. Since then my DZ has bumped up their minimum numbers to 350 for a first WS jump. While I don't have a problem with people starting on 201, it is true that some are under-prepared. The 350 jump minimum has meant more first WS flight students are now better prepared, but of course you still get the odd one who isn't. I hear from some of these people that they really want to wingsuit and they're super keen to do it, but have evidently done no research whatsoever, not on first flights, suit types, or just basic preparation. To OP: whatever the jump numbers, it sounds like you're almost there. Keep jumping and it won't be long. It's worth the wait.

I felt the same way too - welcome to skydiving. The fear is unpleasant but it looks after you, worry will keep you safe. As you jump more, and get more confident, it will be less unpleasant, but as said above you must continue to worry about the details. Keep going - you'll be right. :)

If you are 100% absolutely not going to do acro, the C4. But I think a Freak may make more sense as it's apparently fairly similar in performance and you may change your mind in the future and want to do more backflying. Additionally if you do get a high-performance suit in the future like a C-Race then you may find yourself still using the Freak for backflying, not so much the C4. I've done 1 jump on a Freak 1 and none on any Colugo so there's not much I can say in terms of personal experience.

+1 Also, wingsuits cost money. No need to buy another if you're having enough fun on your current suit.

You can do PPC in any wingsuit. I used to do it in my Phantom 2. It just sounds like you and your friends are simply flocking in bigger suits and are unwilling to dial it back a bit to accomodate others with less experience. So yes, for the OP, if he wants to fly with friends it does depend on what those friends are jumping and how they are flying as to whether he keeps up or not. Here's some video from last year in my Havok Carve 2, around the 3.30 to 4.28 mark. I had some nice jumps with people in Strixs, an ATC, Hunter, but of course if they'd put on the power then yes I would have eventually been left behind. https://vimeo.com/398767154

As said above, your instructors who have watched you land will be able to give you the best advice. I was 92kg when I started and my first rig was a 190. BUT - I was OK'd to go to a 190 after my instructors had watched me land.

fanboi detected

It's been done. Some guy tried it a couple of years back but it did not go so well. Someone may help you. Your project does sound cool but a live streamed wingsuit skydive is not going to be super interesting footage unless you have a group of people. If you in fact do need all that gear (is using a mobile phone via Facebook not possible?) then that's going to need some thought from the jumper too.