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The Sponsor Monster

I crack the conversation at breakfast: I want to write an article about how the sponsorship model has changed since the beginning of airsports. I remark that I imagine it's going to be a long one -- a book, maybe.
My laid-back, easy-going, lassaiz-faire partner (who is, coincidentally, sponsored) almost immediately dusts off and sharpens his little-used claws. Why? Who's going to want to talk about it? What's my problem?
This is a touchy subject.
Sponsorship, after all, is becoming -- has become? -- a necessary evil. If you're entirely self-funded (and haven't burst forth from fountains of preexistent wealth), you're going to hit a glass ceiling somewhere. No matter what your level of talent, you're unlikely to command any spotlight time in the Airsports Circus without outside support. Sure, you can throw drogues or point cameras at shrieking tandem passengers. But there's no question that you can do a lot more when you look like a floating Nascar -- and it seems like everyone "serious" is gunning hard for those logos. There's an implicit promise in those colorful little patches: the latitude to finally bin your ragged-out gear; to go on the event circuit; to join the big leagues.
It's not just skydiving, of course. The windy tube is an even-better example. If you're not the lucky recipient of sponsored minutes, you'll probably burn a full workweek throwing meat around (with a few short demos thrown in) before you get the chance to work on your own stuff. Then, of course, there's BASE jumping. A sport that used to be about jumping situation-ally inappropriate gear and hoping for the best is now highly technical, multi-disciplinary, thronging with new talent and all about the suit upgrade. Full-timing BASE pretty much requires a full lifestyle reboot (and perhaps a cross-continental move). Head-to-toe black and yellow sure doesn't hurt -- a color combination that occasionally comes with a staff packer and access to sky scraping diving boards.
There is, of course, an inconvenient truth at play here: tiling yourself with logos like a mangled game of Connect Four won't put food on the table. Those insignia don't, in and of themselves, represent a living (unless you’re one of the handful of athletes gumming the teat of full-on government funding). Most of them represent gear discounts; free gadgets; a few bucks shaved off each jump ticket; a vetting of your coaching value; a recursive validation you can enjoy whenever you look at your suit, or your canopy, or your Facebook feed. Go 'head and throw 'em all on the table like you're playing Sponsorship: The Gathering, but you're still gonna need a day job. And even then -- as Clif Bar so famously demonstrated -- no sponsorship arrangement is forever.
And what price support?
"It forces noncompetitive people to be competitive," sighed a household-name friend of mine over drinks. "It makes totally normal, grounded people look and act like #$%&*@ glory hounds." And if you complain, of course, you're an ass: after all, you made it. Why are you whining? Aren't you smoking cigars and eating caviar among the cosseted elite?
There is lots to ponder, here. How does a high-benefit sponsorship change an athlete's relationship to these sports*? How does it change athletes' relationships with each other? How does outside support change the sport itself? And that, of course, begs the question: how many fatalities could be connected to upping the stakes for a sponsor?
Legendary MotoGP winner Valentino Rossi said it best, I think, when he was asked why he didn't switch out his beloved number 46 for the 1. It's the champion's right and privilege to do so, and he turned it down win after win after win. "The number one," he said through a sideways smile, "is very heavy on the front of the bike."
* Interesting follow-on reading: a 2010 study by Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton on what scientists call the "overjustification effect."

By admin, in General,

Dean Potter and Graham Hunt Killed in Yosemite BASE Accident

Dean Potter's Moon WalkWorld reknowned extreme athlete Dean Potter was among the two people killed this weekend during a BASE jump in Yosemite Valley. Potter and Graham Hunt passed away on Saturday when attempting a night time wingsuit jump from Taft Point, a 7,500 foot exit point within the Yosemite National Park. The incident occurred on early Saturday night, and at 21:00, after both Potter and Hunt failed to respond to radio calls, the park officials were informed. Shortly after search and rescue crews had begun searching. The search crews were able to deploy aerial assistance on Sunday morning, when a search helicopter then spotted the bodies of both Potter and Hunt, reportedly with their parachutes undeployed.
At the time of publication, there was still little information as to what may have happened during the flight that would cause both individuals to suffer the same fate, with both parties having extended knowledge of the area and geography, though it is speculated that the two BASE jumpers had undertook a more challenging line in their wingsuit flight from Taft Point, where it is currently illegal to BASE jump.
While both Potter and Hunt were well known for their climbing and BASE jumping adventures, Potter was often seen as a face of the Yosemite climbing community, having established himself as a leading climber over the years and widely being considered one of the greatest climbers of his era. He dropped out of college to persue his climbing, where he grew his love of free climbing, speed climbing and slacklining. He later began BASE jumping, and became well known for his close relationship with his dog Whisper, who he would BASE jump with. Potter had an impressive record of first ascents and some unbelievable free solo climbs under his belt; it would be hard to argue that he was one of the best at what he did.
Potter was no stranger to controversy and both his BASE jumping and climbing decisions landed him in some hot water. His BASE jumps with Whisper lead to an outcry by some, while sponsor Clif Bar severed their sponsorship with Potter, because they wanted to distance their brand from BASE jumping and the associated dangers that is poses. He caused the biggest stir when he free solo climbed Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.
Douglas Spotted Eagle wrote a piece on the life of Graham Hunt which is published on Basejumper.com, an excerpt of which reads:
"Graham was a skydiver and BASE jump/wingsuit pilot, but what he was also well-known for, is his climbing ability. Whether climbing a rock carrying a chainsaw as a firefighter, or simply needing to get to the exit point, Graham excelled as a freeclimber. His strength seemed almost inhuman.
He first came to Skydive Elsinore in 2012 with a tracking suit in hand, and was a machine. Jump, pack, jump pack. Graham didn't socialize much, but always had a smile on his face and was very approachable. His girlfriend asked me to help her pick out a birthday gift for him, and he received an L&B; Altitrack for his birthday that year. He asked me to help him figure out how to look at the data, and in the same conversation, asked about a first flight course. Graham seemed extremely heads up during his first flight course, and I attributed that to him being a very aware tracking suit pilot. Later I learned that he'd previously had a first flight course before he had 200 jumps, at another dropzone. I asked him why he had asked for a first flight course with me, and he answered "I heard you do it differently, and I'm looking for all the knowledge I can find." Read More
Tributes for the duo poured in over social media:




By admin, in News,

The Evolution of Jetman Dubai

Image by Max Haim There's been a ton of social media hype this week about the new Jetman Dubai video released by XDubai. The video, available in 4k quality, has already amassed over 2 million views on youtube within 48 hours of release. But what is the story behind Jetman and will this venture see an evolution to methods of human flight?
Back in the mid-2000s, Yves Rossy of Switzerland set history by becoming the first person to fly with the use of a jet-propelled wing. A step that closed some of the gap between wingsuit flying and aircraft piloting. Before venturing into jet-propelled human flight, Rossy was both an air force and commercial pilot, serving in the Swiss Air Force before flying for both Swissair and Swiss International Airlines.
Rossy first began skydiving, then looking to wingsuiting and skysurfing in order to maximize his flight time, but neither of these were able to satisfy what it is he was after. Rossy didn't want to be freefalling, but rather flying, with as little restrictions and as much freedom and agility as possible, while still ensuring the longest possible flight time. This is what then prompted him to begin his development on the original jet propelled wing.
After developing an inflated wing design in order to achieve more flight time, Rossy then began to design the first jet propelled wing, which was flown in 2004. This first propulsion based wing was only a dual jet propultion system, which allowed him to maintain flight level. In 2006 he changed the design to use 4 jets instead of the original 2. This change allowed Rossy to go from merely being able to maintain flight level, to being able to ascend while in flight too.
Since 2006, Yves Rossy, the Jetman has flown in several high profile flights and accomplished impressive achievements. Rossy is now primarily flying in Dubai, with Skydive Dubai seemingly being the sole sponsor of the venture at this point in time. Teaming up with Skydive Dubai has meant that Rossy has been able to get some crazy video footage of his latest flights, with Skydive Dubai being notorious for their video production quality.

The Next Chapter
In early May, Jetman Dubai began hinting at the announcement of a new development in the Jetman Dubai project and after a few social media teasers, a video was released on the 11th May which announced that Yves would no longer be flying solo. Instead, he would be joined in the air by Vince Reffet, a well known skydiver and BASE jumper. Vince was born into a family of skydivers and did his first jump at just 14 years old. Now just in his 30s, Vince already boasts an impressive tally of over 13 000 jumps.
The French protege is specifically recognized for his freeflying skills, and is best known for his position on the Soul Flyers team.
The training of Vince by Yves Rossy has opened up far more opportunities for the Jetman Dubai project, with the most noteable being that of formation in flight. According to the Jetman Dubai website, Yves began training Vince as early as in 2009.
The visuals of these two individuals flying together are so outstanding that it has many calling fake on the videos. However the truth is that what you see is the result of some extremely skilled pilots, working together to create something majestic.
The Jetman Wing
The Jetman Dubai wings weigh in at a total of 55kg with a wing span of 2 meters, and contain 4 Jetcat P200 engines. Speeds on descent can reach 300km/h, while ascent speeds clock in at around 180km/h. The flight will typically last for between 6 and 13 minutes. Flight begins with an exit, most commonly by helicopter, and when the flight time is over, a parachute is deployed for landing.
A question on a lot of people's minds seem to be whether or not this type of jet propulsion system could work its way into the public. Though it seems that those keen to do some jet flying of their own should not hold their breath, apart from a large budget, it's difficult to see any situation in the near future whereby the safety aspect associated with these wings will allow for public use. In the mean time however, we can sit back, watch and enjoy.
Who knows what is next for the now Jetman Dubai duo, but we can't wait to see it...

By admin, in News,

Exceeding Expectations

Image by Lukasz SzymanskiThe challenge for any business is to exceed the expectations of its customers, especially when expectations are already high. The businesses that can pull this off will gain loyalty and earn valuable word of mouth marketing from their satisfied customers.
Exceeding expectations is a challenge for the skydiving industry. Everyone who books a skydive already has very high expectations… after all, this is a major event in many people’s lives.
Having traveled and visited drop zones all over the US, one of the biggest issues I see is a narrow sightedness when it comes to the guest experience. Too often, drop zones are focused on doing just one thing well: the skydive. Though this is definitely what we should be focused on (it’s what people are there for), we’ve lost sight of the complete experience; if the operation isn’t running efficiently, high expectations will turn to disappointment in short order.
The common culprit in a poor customer experience is wait times. No one likes to wait. Yet here we are, charging a premium price, taking reservations and then expecting people to happily wait for several hours before they jump.
Informing customers about wait times over the phone and in e-mail confirmations (usually 3 - 5 hours) doesn't make this practice any more acceptable or palatable to our customers who are conditioned to expect instant gratification. In a world where we can order something on Amazon.com and have it show up at our doorsteps the next day (or in some markets, the same day), we shouldn’t expect our customers to adapt to our antiquated practices. Rather, we should be challenging ourselves to find ways to better adapt to modern customer expectations. If we fail to do this, we will undoubtedly face the fallout of negative reviews online.
How To Exceed Expectations
To exceed expectations, a business must recognize its weaknesses through the eyes of the customer. The best way to do this is to ask them. However, if you want honest feedback, don’t survey your customers immediately after their skydive; they’ve just had one of the most amazing experiences of their lives, of course their immediate feedback will be positive. When I managed a DZ, I was always under the impression that we were doing a great job because when I surveyed customers following their skydive they always raved about their experience. Only when I started to survey our guests 24 hours after their jumps did I become aware of organizational problems that needed to be addressed. These ranged from employee language on the plane, (not good when your business is located in the Bible Belt) to major frustrations with wait times, to dissatisfaction with media quality. If you want to have a finger on the pulse of your organization, survey your guests after they’ve had time to come down from their initial adrenaline high. If they’re dissatisfied, they’ll typically tell you!
Understand The Touch Points
There are usually 20 interactive points of contact that a customer will have with a drop zone. If a DZ wants to gain a competitive advantage in a busy marketplace and see digital word of mouth marketing spread, they should be focused on improving these customer touch points. The goal should be to reach a five star level of service at every touch point. This is not an easy task, but it’s what has separated brands like Disney, The Four Seasons, REI and Zappos from all of their competition. This way of thinking should not be precluded from skydiving - especially considering the time and expense that goes into running a DZ. If we’re investing so much time and money into our operation, why not be the best we can be?
Below is a list of 20 customer touch points every DZ should be aware of. I challenge all of my clients to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent. The caveat is that the score for each touch point must be graded on the organization’s weakest link within the category. For example, if four out of five instructors give great service and one is average, then the score must be graded on the weakest instructor. Now you see the challenge!
The Touch Points

Website
Social Media
E-mail exchanges
Phone Interactions
Road Signage
Parking Lot (the condition of it)
Greeting at manifest
Condition of the bathrooms
Quality of DZ Food (snack bar or vending machines)
Quality of training
Wait Times to Make Skydive
Presentation of the Jumpsuits
Presentation of the Instructor
Presentation of the Videographer
The Aircraft
The Ride to Altitude
The Skydive
Time it Takes To Receive Media
Quality of the Media
Quality of Materials (certificate of achievement)
The Closing (defined as a thought out ending highlighting accomplishment) In today’s digital world, word of mouth can make or break a business. If you want to leverage this powerful tool to your benefit, then you have to start consistently exceeding customer expectations. Take a step back and view your business through the eyes of the customer. Focus on the entire experience, not just one element within it. Remember, the actual skydive is only one component of the overall customer experience. Strive to make every component as incredible as the skydive itself, and you’ll turn customers into raving fans.

Luke Aikins Planning No-Parachute Jump From 25 000ft

Luke Aikins may not be a household name like Felix Baumgartner or Jeb Corliss, but he has been instrumental in the development of several high profile stunts and well known skydiving events. Born into the skydiving world, it was almost natural that Luke would go on to follow in his family's footsteps. Over the years he has amassed over 16 000 jumps, while also establishing himself as a skilled BASE jumper.
He worked directly as a consultant with the Red Bull Stratos team, acting as a vital aspect in the highly publicized Baumgartner jump. Luke is also one of the safety and training advisers for the USPA, and helped in creating the Red Bull Aces wingsuit event.
However Luke is now looking to emerge from the background and place himself at the center, by making a jump from 25 000ft, without the use of a parachute, in the project titled "Heaven Sent".
The idea relies heavily on his skills as a precision flyer, requiring unbelievable accuracy in order to land in a 100x100 foot net, which will be suspended above the ground. In the first video teaser for the event (above), Luke goes on to mention that while the size of the net may seem large, from the point of exit, it would not even be visible.
This would not be the first jump where a skydiver has exited the plane without a parachute, with motocross legend Travis Pastrana being one of those, who famously exited shirtless, drinking a can of Red Bull. However, the big difference here is that in other occasions of "parachuteless" exits, the skydiver was then grabbed in freefall and still landed under a canopy, or placed their rig on while in freefall. With Luke Aikins, there will be no one and nothing to catch him, except for the hundred foot net, and Luke will be exiting from more than twice the height.

By admin, in News,

Email export

Welcome to the mail export help section. We hope you can find the information you need here. If you have read through this section, and still need more information, please post to the mail export help forum.
Contents:
Background How to prepare How it works Direct export List of supported webmail services Indirect export Set up your email program Troubleshooting Direct export Google mail security measures Outlook.com mail security measures Background
The team at Dropzone.com has decided to re-evaluate some of the site features. While we aim to improve and add many features in the near future, we also want to remove some features that we believe to be redundant or outdated. Doing this will streamline the site, and allow us to shift our focus to the more important parts of the user experience.
The free email address and functionality that Dropzone.com users get when they sign up was a pretty neat feature in the 90's, when it was still relatively difficult to get an email address. Nowadays services like Google Mail and Microsoft's Outlook.com offer the latest and greatest in webmail services at no cost. These services are easy to use, and are here to stay. It makes little sense for Dropzone.com to offer a webmail service when much better alternatives are readily available. This is why we have decided to retire this part of Dropzone.com.
While retiring the email service is good for the site as a whole, there are users who will be inconvenienced by this event. We apologize in advance for any difficulties. Dropzone.com offers some ways for you to export your existing emails to other webmail services or email clients. This means that you do not need to lose your mail. This help document will aid you in this export.
How to prepare
Here are a few things you should do before you export your mail:
Make sure that your dropzone.com account isn't linked to your dropzone.com email address. To check this, go here, and look next to 'Email:'. If there is a @dropzone.com email address, please change it to something else. Notify anyone who uses your Dropzone.com email address to communicate with you. This is important, since your Dropzone.com email address will soon be deactivated. You will still receive mail for a while after you do the export, but soon any email sent to Dropzone.com addresses will be lost. Let them know where they will be able to reach you. Make sure no online accounts you have use your Dropzone.com address. Usually, when creating an account at a website, you submit an email address as a method of identification and communication. Please go to any online accounts that use your Dropzone.com address, and change your identifying email address. Decide where you will move your mail. You probably already have another email address. If you don't, you can export your mail to a computer program like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird without needing an email address. You can also create an account at one of the supported webmail services listed below. Please note that moving your mail to Google mail or Outlook.com accounts often require a few extra steps. Decide how you will move your mail. If you want to export your mail to your current webmail service( Google mail, Outlook.com etc ), you will be using our direct export. If you wish to export your mail to a program on your computer (Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, etc), you will be using our indirect export. Please note that you will need your email account's password to do a direct export. For mail webapps, this is usually the password you use to log in. Take a look at your folders.When you export your mail to a program or webapp, the folder structure in your Dropzone.com mail will be maintained. For example, if you export to Google mail, the mail located in your inbox on Dropzone.com, will end up in your Google mail inbox, mixed up with everything already there. We recommend that you move all your mail and folders to one folder called 'Dropzone mail', so that it stays separate from other mail in your destination account. Please note that AOL mail does not support subfolders. It is best for AOL users to move any subfolders out of their parent folders, and rename them appropriately. Folders names can be up to 40 characters long. How it works
There are two ways you can get your mail: Direct export, and indirect export.
Direct export
A direct export moves your mail to another email address. This is the best way to export your mail to a webmail service like Google Mail. Here steps to do an indirect export:
Make sure that you are prepared for the export be reading through the How to prepare section. Go to your Dropzone.com mail, and click on the green 'Export your mail' button, which is located in the pink notification bar just above your list of emails. A dialog titled 'Dropzone.com email export status' will appear. After having read the information given in the dialog, you can click the 'Start export' button to begin the process. You will now see a dialog titled 'Dropzone.com email export'. The dialog also contains 3 empty text fields. Type your dropzone.com password into the first field, labelled 'password'. Type the email address to which you want to move your mail into the second field, labelled 'email address'. Type the password of the email account to which you want to move your mail into the third field, labelled 'email password'. Click the 'Export mail' button to start off the process. The 'Dropzone.com email export status' dialog will appear again, saying "The export has begun". Your mail is now being moved. The mail export can take up to 30 minutes. You don't need to keep the dialog, or even the browser tab, open. The entire process happens on our server in Canada, so feel free to continue with other stuff while it happens. You can come back to the dialog at any time to check if the export is finished. The dialog updates automatically, so you don't need to refresh your browser to check your export's status. Within 30 minutes, the dialog will tell you that your export was either successful, or that there was an error. If it was successful, well done! You can now say goodbye to Dropzone.com mail. You can also click the 'Export your mail again' button in order to repeat this process from step 4. If there was an error, please see the below troubleshooting section. List of supported webmail services
Dropzone.com mail can be exported to any of these accounts with the direct export:
AOL mail: E-mail addresses containing '@aol.' Apple iCloud mail: E-mail addresses containing '@icloud.' GMX mail: E-mail addresses containing '@gmx.' Google mail: E-mail addresses containing '@gmail.' * Microsoft mail: E-mail addresses containing '@hotmail.', '@live.' or '@outlook.' * Yahoo mail: E-mail addresses containing '@yahoo.' Yandex mail: E-mail addresses containing '@yandex.' * These email services have some extra security measures that add a few extra steps to the export process. See Troubleshooting
Indirect export
The indirect export can be used to export your Dropzone.com mail to an email program on your computer. Examples of these programs include Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird or Apple Mail. Below are the steps to do an indirect export:
Make sure that you are prepared for the export be reading through the How to prepare section. Go to your Dropzone.com mail, and click on the green 'Export your mail' button, which is located in the pink notification bar just above your list of emails. A dialog titled 'Dropzone.com email export status' will appear. After having read the information given in the dialog, you can click the 'Start export' button to begin the process. You will now see a dialog titled 'Dropzone.com email export'. The dialog also contains 3 empty text fields. Type your Dropzone.com password into the first field, labelled 'password'. The other 2 fields must be left empty. Click the 'Export mail' button to start off the process. The 'Dropzone.com email export status' dialog will appear again, saying "The export has begun". Your mail is now being moved. The mail export can take up to 30 minutes. You don't need to keep the dialog, or even the browser tab, open. The entire process happens on our server in Canada, so feel free to continue with other stuff while it happens. You can come back to the dialog at any time to check if the export is finished. The dialog updates automatically, so you don't need to refresh your browser to check your export's status. Within 30 minutes, the dialog will tell you that your export was either successful, or that there was an error. If it was successful, you can now download your mail to your computer. If there was an error, please see the troubleshooting section below. Now you need to download your Dropzone.com mail to your computer. To do this you need 2 things: Your Dropzone.com mail imap details, and a mail program on your computer. Here are your Dropzone.com imap details: Email address: your dropzone.com email address Username: your dropzone.com email address Password: your dropzone.com password Server type: IMAP Incoming server address: dropzone.com Incoming server port: 993 Use SSL with incoming server: Yes Outgoing server address: dropzone.com Outgoing server port: 25 Use SSL with outgoing server: Yes Using the above details, you will be able to download and view your mail with a program of your choice. If you need help configuring your mail program, see the email client configuration section. Set up your email program
Different email programs might look and feel a little different, but the general workflow for getting your email into a program should not differ greatly between programs.
Instructions to get your mail in a variety of email programs can be found here. Remember to use the correct details:
Email address: your dropzone.com email address Username: your dropzone.com email address Password: your dropzone.com password Server type: IMAP Incoming server address: dropzone.com Incoming server port: 993 Use SSL with incoming server: Yes Outgoing server address: dropzone.com Outgoing server port: 25 Use SSL with outgoing server: Yes If you need more specific instructions, take a look at these links:
Microsoft Outlook 2003+ Microsoft Outlook 2000 Microsoft Outlook 98 Mozilla Thunderbird Apple Mail in OSX Troubleshooting
If you are experiencing problems, please check out the following sections.
Direct exports:
Make sure that you type in the correct password for your destination email address. We have no sure way of authenticating the destination email password before the export, so if you make a typo or type in an entirely incorrect password, there is no way we can warn you about it. Also make sure that you did not mistype your destination email address. Please make sure that your destination mail service is on our list of supported mail services. If it isn't, let us know. Google mail security measures
Google has built some extra security measures into their mail service, which means that your first mail export to Google mail will likely fail. Here is a workaround that will help you export your Dropzone.com mail to Google Mail.
Make sure that you are logged in to your Google mail account. If you have received an email titled 'Suspicious sign in prevented' or 'Google Account: sign-in attempt blocked', it means that Google blocked your export. Make sure that access for less secure apps is enabled. To do this, go to here and choose the ‘Turn on’ option. If it was turned off, you can come back and turn it off once your dropzone.com mail has been moved. If you have Google’s two factor authentication enabled, follow these steps. Not sure if it is enabled? Go to here, and check next to ‘2-Step Verification’. You will need to generate an app password in order to get your dropzone.com mail on your Google account. To do this go here. Click ‘Select app’ , and choose ‘Other (Custom name)’. Type in ‘dropzone.com mail’, and click ‘Generate’. You will be given a password. This is the password you will use in the ‘Destination email: email password’ field when you do your export. You can now try the export again, but with this new password. If you don’t have two factor authentication enabled, follow this link, and click ‘Continue’. Your next attempt to export to this Google mail account should now be successful. Outlook.com mail security measures
Microsoft has built some extra security measures into their mail service, which means that your first mail export to Outlook.com mail will likely fail. Here is a workaround that will help you export your Dropzone.com mail to Outlook.com Mail.
Make sure that you are logged in to your Outlook.com mail account. If you have received an email titled 'Microsoft account unusual sign-in activity‏' or something similar, it means that Microsoft blocked your export. If you have Outlook.com's two factor authentication enabled, follow these steps. Not sure if it is enabled? Go to here, and check under to ‘Two-step verification’. You will need to generate an app password in order to get your dropzone.com mail on your Outlook.com account. To do this go here. Copy the password provided, and use it in your next attempt to export your mail to your Outlook.com mail account. If you don’t have two factor authentication enabled: Click on the 'Review recent activity' button in the aforementioned email. In the 'Recent activities' list, find a 'Security challenge' with 'Canada' as location, and '204.187.14.148' as IP address. Click the 'This was me' button. Your next attempt to export to this account should be successful.

By admin, in Dropzone E-Mail,

Dangers of Being a Hero - Camera Safety Advice

Norman Kent is not only one of the leading skydive photographers, but he is also an advocate for safety relating to freefall photography and the use of mounted cameras within skydiving. Norman has been jumping with a camera since the mid-70s when at only 25 jumps, he strapped on a Kodak Instamatic.
Over the past 40 since, Norman has established himself as a leader in the skydiving photography world and is a well respected member of the community.
In the past, we've run several articles relating to the safety of camera usage. In 2013, Melissa Lowe published a piece titled "Hey Bro, Check Out My GoPro" which tackled the topic and included conversation with Norman Kent over the potential safety issues of the camera.
Since that time, the popularity of action camera use in extreme sports has skyrocketed, with more and more individuals focus being shifted towards the media capture side of the jump. Norman Kent has released a new video on his Youtube channel titled "Dangers of Being a Hero", in which he addresses and revisits some of the topics relating to action cam safety.
In the video Norman runs through several series of video which illustrate just how easy it is for snagging to occur on the camera, and continues to express how despite the fact that many people feel as though the risks are exaggerated, that the incidents are occurring, even if only rarely has it thus far resulted in death or injury.
"It's not the equipment itself, it's the attitude of 'it's only a GoPro'"
Norman Kent continues on in the video to look at alternate mounts that can be used to minimize snag potential and further ways in which one may be able to increase their safety when flying under a camera.

By admin, in General,

BlueManifest

online software to manage all activities on your dropzone: http://www.bluemanifest.com/en/

By mad, in News,

SFly Release Ridge Wingsuit

SFly have just announced their latest addition to their wingsuit products, with the release of the Ridge. The Ridge has been in development for a while, and saw extensive testing taking place over the past months. The suit will cater towards the more advanced flyers and was developed with skilled BASE jumpers in mind.
Introduction
The new SFLY RIDGE is a wing suit 100% designed for mountain flying. The RIGDE has been developed since the very beginning for the demanding and experienced wingsuit BASE jumpers who open always­ shorter exits and seek for new lines requiring more and more glide performance without compromising on speed.
Its key features are :


­ Ultra short starts


­ High glide ratio


­ High speed


­ Ultra clean pull
The RIDGE development has been made possible by a 15 month collaboration between Stephane Zunino, original SFly designer, François Gouy, mountain guide who has opened numerous exits, and Julien Peelman, aerodynamic engineer mostly known for its high performance parachute canopies designs like the Icarus Petra and the Icarus Leia by NZ Aerosports.
Numerous test­ pilots have tried the various prototypes that have led to the final version: Soul Flyers Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet, as well as the Frenchies from Vercors: Maël Baguet, Vincent Cotte, Jean­Philippe Gady, and Matthieu Leroux.
Last summer François Gouy used a RIDGE prototype to open mythical exits in the french Alps, such as Ceüse or Les Rouies, thanks to both the short starts and the high glide performance.

Overall Design
The RIDGE is probably bigger than other suits.
The RIDGE has a high arm sweep, and a longer and thicker leg wing than other wing suits in this category.
Leading edge

The RIDGE leading edge is designed to match both the best possible aerodynamic performance with the easiest pull. That is why we have split the sleeves in 2 parts: the upper arm, made of parapack with an under layer of soft foam the lower arm, made of neoprene. And we have assembled these 2 parts with a diagonal cut so as to maximize the surface of the combined parapack­foam leading edge.
Finally we have added an inflated cell behind the arm in order to fully fill­ in the sleeve and to get rid of that empty space between the back of the arm and the arm wing. This cell is connected and inflated by the arm wing.


Partitioning
The RIDGE is partitioned in a way to offer the a super tight fit around your body.
This allows better wing control at all times and a great agility.
Start
The large inlets with opened airlocks allow an ultra fast inflation of both arm wings and leg wing.
The higher arm sweep and the larger surface of the RIDGE enable the wing to catch air as on as soon as your feet lift from the ground. Because of its thicker profile the RIDGE starts flying even at very low speed, allowing quicker forward motion start. These unique features give the Ridge an unmatchable exiting profile.
Glide
The high glide performance of the RIDGE is the result of the balance between surface and profile.
Because of its unique profile/surface balance, the RIDGE has an excellent glide ratio. Whatever the wind conditions, our test pilots have experienced and recorded a better glide ratio than with with other wingsuits.
Speed
The drag created by the large surface and the thickness of the suit is compensated by the extended length of the leg wing, allowing the RIDGE to easily match and outcome in speed the other wingsuit of its category. The RIDGE is remarkably fast and easy to fly in any wind conditions.
Agility
The unique partitioning and tight fit around the body make the RIDGE an easy and fun wing suit to fly, yet very responsive. The RIDGE allows aggressive dives as well as sharp turns without loosing control. What’s more, because this wing suit is highly pressurized, it has a incredible lift power in flight.
Opening
The pull is ultra clean thanks to the bevel shaped wrist end of the sleeve. The soft neoprene patch behind the elbow gives extra freedom of movement to ensure an easy bending of the arm and a clean pull. Your hand will reach the pilot chute handle naturally no matter how long you’ve been flying.
Canopy deployment
The neoprene half sleeves allow both an easy punch­out and a high risers reach-
up.
More information can be found at the SFly Website

By admin, in Gear,

Sunshine Superman - Press Release

Synopsis


A heart-racing documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular –and dangerous– feats of foot-launched human flight. Experience his jaw-dropping journey in life and love, to the pinnacle of his achievements when he and wife Jean broke the BASE jumping Guinness World Record in 1984 on the Norwegian 'Troll Wall' mountain range. Incredibly, within days, triumph was followed by disaster. Told through a stunning mix of Carl's 16mm archive footage, well-crafted re-enactments and state-of-the-art aerial photography, Sunshine Superman will leave you breathless and inspired.




About The Film


Sunshine Superman is a non-fiction feature that lets the audience experience what it feels like to jump off a cliff and walk away alive. In the freewheeling 1970s, what is now considered an “extreme sport” was considered simply crazy. Jumping off a building or bridge with only a few moments to release your parachute was not only seemingly illegal, it was deemed suicidal, even by many seasoned skydivers. Yet this is not a film about death. It is about the essence of life—of what it feels like, if for only a moment, to truly fly.
In that era of danger and excitement, a man named Carl Boenish helped coin the acronym “BASE”, which stands for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth—the various objects from which Carl and his friends would jump. Carl was the catalyst behind modern fixed object jumping; an electrical engineer and filmmaker who believed in BASE-jumping as a spiritual practice through which mankind would overcome all of its self-imposed limitations. He religiously chronicled the early days of BASE in beautiful 16mm film, often with cameras mounted to the jumpers’ heads. Carl’s skills were perfectly married to his milieu and his moment, as he was able to capture on film the very birth of the activity of foot launched human flight.



Jean and Carl Boenish in SUNSHINE SUPERMAN, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Carl’s story, and his visual chronicle of an era, could have easily been obscured in the era of YouTube, or at least remained hidden within BASE’s secretive culture. Several years ago, however, director Marah Strauch and producer Eric Bruggemann began research for what was originally to be a short film on early BASE-jumping. As Strauch interviewed the people who had witnessed the sport’s birth, and discovered more and more footage of ordinary men and women in fearless flight, she understood that BASE’s story was much larger, much wilder, and far more beautiful than she could have guessed.
The Boenish archive, to which the filmmakers have been granted exclusive rights, is utilized extensively throughout Sunshine Superman, as are many other early films and videos documenting BASE’s eccentric characters, historic moments, and tragic losses. In the eight-year process of making Sunshine Superman, the filmmakers have archived and restored thousands of feet of original films and other historical material. And yet the film does far more than recover these lost documents. Strauch has traveled the globe to conduct personal interviews, revisit tragic settings, and above all to document the living, breathing continuation of the story Carl Boenish set in motion.




A scene from SUNSHINE SUPERMAN, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Director's Comments


“At its core Sunshine Superman is a love story. As a filmmaker I wanted to capture the essence of danger and the bitter sweetness of falling in love. I am interested in characters that pursue activities or goals that most people would think are waste of time and in this case a death wish. This film is about having your breath taken away, either by love, passion, or by dizzying heights. This film is on the surface about discovering a new extreme sport, in the 1980’s in California. On a deeper level the film explores themes of death, obsession, and living an authentic life despite the consequences.
My uncle Mike Allen was a BASE jumper and aerial photographer and it is through him that I entered the world of BASE jumping. My uncle, who died in a 1991 auto accident, was a well-respected member of the BASE jumping community. He learned some of what he knew about aerial photography from watching the films of the Father of modern BASE jumping, Carl Boenish. Mike Allen left behind a pile of his BASE jumping videotapes and films and it is from these labels and titles that I found the fellow jumpers Mike had known. I also discovered the sport of BASE jumping; it struck me as an expression of freedom and a celebration of life. I was astonished and brought to tears by the beauty of the footage.
Carl Boenish was considered the most prominent inventor and the “Pied Piper” of BASE jumping. I was enthralled by the story of individuals who push themselves to transcend human limitations. Carl did not believe in man-made limitations. He believed BASE jumping was an expression of the human spirit. He was a visionary. Carl Boenish was also a filmmaker. He pushed his own physical limits to make films. He was transcending the physical, to find the spiritual. He was flying. Carl wanted to share the joy of BASE jumping with the world.
When finding the look of the film I gave Nico Poulsson and Vasco Nunes (the Norwegian and the US cinematographers) many references for the look of film from German/ European Romantic painters, to Andy Warhol’s portraits, to Scandinavian design catalogues from the 1980’s. We looked at sources that create a very stylized and cohesive film that will hopefully feel very familiar yet different due to the subject matter and milieu. We created a film that embellishes the patina of the 1980 in California and Scandinavia. At the same time showing the beauty and sublime Romanticism of nature and man in nature.




Carl Boenish in SUNSHINE SUPERMAN, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
I was interested in creating a film that pushes the boundaries between documentary and narrative. Sunshine Superman makes use of the largeness and the expansive nature of the story and scenery. We shot on location in Los Angeles, Texas, and Norway. We shot the film as if it were a large-scale narrative production. We attached cameras in places that can only be reached by highly talented rock climbers. We shot BASE jumpers flying from mountains with state of the art equipment. We shot a non-fiction film but I am fully intending Sunshine Superman to offer a visceral cinematic experience.


Press Release by Magnolia Pictures

By admin, in News,