BPW wing pics

[DrSteve]

Hi Everyone!

I just got back from 10 days in Bonaire. The BPW configuration was not without its teething troubles. During my first dive I kept getting tipped onto my side, turns out the rear dump valve was on crooked so dumped all the air (weird it didn't do it on land). Got that fixed and spent a while pissing around with the gusset (what a piece of crap the gusset design is - the straps are not close enough together so you get bulgy parts) and trying to make the tightness at the neck of the wing lose enough to allow air flow between each side of the horseshoe.

Anyway, it's all sorted now...just wondering what comments are on the placement of everything in the picture. It looks like the plate is too high up on my back, although I can reach the top of the plate only just with my hand, same for the tank valve.

Cheers!

Steve

 

[jonnythan]

That wing looks awfully high.. and awfully inflated. What wing is it and is the bp steel or Al?

 

[OE2X]

If you saw a pict of me with my wing, you would see that the tank rides very low. I have to do this so that with my 130's I don't act like a lawn dart.

 

[Rick Inman]

Yeah, not the tank, but the wing looks high to me too, compared to the BP.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

The inflator/hose setup seems off. Should the inflator be bungied to the left shoulder D-ring and the inflator hose to the corrugated hose?

BTW, I'm not sure from the picture but you could take some weight off your belt and put it on your tank with trim pockets.

I echo Jonnythan's comments on the wing setup.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hi Everyone!

Anyway, it's all sorted now...just wondering what comments are on the placement of everything in the picture. It looks like the plate is too high up on my back, although I can reach the top of the plate only just with my hand, same for the tank valve.

Yes, the wing is too high. And the placement of the plate is determined by the harness, not the positioning of the wing on the backplate ... so it won't change by moving your wing lower.

You can lower the wing with respect to the plate by using the highest set of mounting holes in the wing. If the plate has more than one set of mounting holes, you can also use the lower set of plate holes.

Most plates and wings give you multiple sets of holes so you can adjust the height of the wing with respect to the plate to better align your center of gravity ... which impacts your ability to trim properly and hold a horizontal hover without having to fin. From the looks of things, having your wing that high is pulling you into a vertical position when you relax in a hover. That's not a very efficient way to dive.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[dbh]

Looks to me like the wing is so high because of the air in it...probably from being overweighted. Do you have a crotch strap? How much weight are you using?

Dave

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Looks to me like the wing is so high because of the air in it...probably from being overweighted. Do you have a crotch strap? How much weight are you using?

Dave

Hard to tell from that angle how much air is actually in the wing. You'd need to look at it "end on" to really be able to judge that.

For example ... look at the two pics in my gallery. These were taken on the same dive ... one a side view and one an end view of the wing.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/s...0/page/2/perpage/9/ppuser/2872/what/allfields

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DrSteve]

Thanks for all the input guys. The tank is an Al80 and the BP is steel. I carried 5 lbs on my belt with that configuration. The inflator hose is attached with shock cord to the left D ring (but looks so weird because the wing as everyone says looks way too high). I do not use a crotch strap. As you can see I have my tank quite high (and did with my Ranger too) to help tip me forward.

In that particular picture I was in a vertical position by choice. Also, I was at 90 feet in that picture so I probably lost a lot of lift from my shortie. I found that at the beginning of the dive I was able to hold a horizontal position very easily, but as the dive progressed it was a bit more difficult.

 

[dbg40]

Im pretty sure you would be better off trying to lower that wing on the plate. The position of the plate itself looks ok, as does the tank, but the top of the wing is too high to get good trim out of. ....But, what do I know?