🚀 go-pugleaf

	About a year ago I bought a new SFR Flitesuit because I had the 
opposite problem -- I chronically went low and had to "Hug the Ball" to 
get back up.  I was just getting used to my new suit when along came two
skygods with their brand-new skinny suits.  They were hardup to try them
out, so they invited anybody and everybody, including me, on their load.
I eagerly accepted their invitation, but when they saw my Flitesuit they
puked on it and said I would have to find a skinnier suit if I wanted to
jump with them.  Since I didn't have my old suit with me that day, I had
to hunt around the DZ until I found someone about my size with an old
wingless suit.  I put it on and up we went, after extensive dirt dives,
of course.  We launched a four-way base off the plane very smoothly, but
as soon as we dropped grips to transition to the next point, down I went.
I got to watch everyone else's belly buttons for 10,000 feet.  I "hugged
the ball" till it squeaked, but nothing I tried got me back up.  So, the
moral is, skinny suits are not necessarily Gods' gift to skydivers.  It
really depends on your own body dimensions and those of your fellow jump-
ers.  Use a suit that you are comfortable with, and matches you well with
those you commonly jump with.  I, for one, will stick to my Flitesuit for-
evermore, no matter what the skygods say.  I don't pay good skydiving bucks
to watch everything with a worms-eye view.
	You are right about one thing though -- reaching out with a winged
suit will invariably cause you to backslide.  This forces you to fly to your
slot with great precision, and take grips only when you get there.  I don't
mind it though, because it has forced me to tidy up some of my sloppy flying
habits.  The nice thing about my Flitesuit is that I can always "fold my
wings" if I need to fall faster, but they're there for me when I need to 
slow down.  Once you go low with a tight suit, you're probably down for good.
	It is commonly assumed that a faster fall rate will give you "crisper"
control.  This is probably true.  But think about this:  Joe Skygod is wearing
his skinny suit so he'll fall faster and have "more control".  I am wearing
my Flitesuit, and am still able to fall at the same rate as Joe.  So how much
difference can there be between our degree of "control"?  Not much, I'll bet,
as long as we're falling at the same speed.  About the only difference is
that Joe can reach for me without severe effects, but I can't reach for him.
	Oh well, to each his own...

             *
            / \
       |---/---\---|            Ken Scofield    C-9355
       |   Gone    |            Hewlett-Packard PCD
       |  Jumpin'  |            Corvallis, OR
       |-----------|
			{ucbvax!hplabs, harpo, ogcvax}!hp-pcd!kas