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When Should You Upsize Your Canopy?

At the end of the day, skydiving is a dangerous sport. I’ve lost many friends and even family members– under properly functioning parachutes. We can’t regulate stupid behavior, but we can at least spread good information so more people can make wise decision.
So why would someone consider upsizing?
10. Cannot land consistently standing up. If you’re having troubles standing up consistently or even in the same area in all weather conditions, then you need to upsize and take a canopy course to understand the concepts basic flight characteristics.
9. Not current. You can be uncurrent after a winter vacation without skydiving, coming off an injury or just life getting in the way. According to USPA, you are uncurrent if:
A-license holders who have not jumped within 60 days
B-license holders who have not made a freefall skydive within the preceding 90 days C- and D-license holders who have not made a freefall skydive within the preceding six months
DZ policy: Every DZ has their own policy for uncurrent skydivers. Be sure to check in with them before coming out to the DZ to see what you may have to do. Also check the USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual for more info. 8. Jumping at a Higher Elevation. At higher elevations the canopy is going to perform faster and act more responsive because of the air being less dense. So landings will feel faster and turns will feel more aggressive. If you’re traveling to places like Colorado or Utah, you may want to pack a larger canopy.
7. Gained Weight/Wearing Weight. Well, what can I say? Sometimes during the winter, it’s easy to pack on some pounds and that invariably negotiates your wingloading. Also, if you haven’t jumped all winter and you’ve accumulated a new wingloading, you may want to consider getting current on a bigger canopy.
Next, if you’re a small girl, or decide to get on a 4-way team, you may be wearing weights. This added weight will definitely make your canopy fly differently than expected. So before making a decision on what canopy to buy or whether or not to downsize, consider the use of weights to make the best wingloading decision for your experience.
6. Reserve Size. Generally, your main and reserve should be about the same size. If you were quick to downsize or couldn’t find the right sized container, but have a larger reserve, with little experience under a bigger canopy, may be a good reason to upsize your main. (Having the same sized canopies also reduces other problems should 2 canopies out occur.)
5. Types of Jumps. Doing big ways? Wingsuiting? Demos? Some jumps may warrant a bigger parachute. When I do world record jumps, I usually opt for my bigger canopy so I’m not fighting my way through traffic and have a larger range of floating. Wingsuiting can cause line twists or other malfunctions and jumping a more docile canopy can help you negotiate them better. On demos, having a lower wingloading will give you more range to negotiate smaller landing areas or areas surrounded by obstacles – as long as you understand the flight dyamics of your wing.
4. Age/Health/Agility. Take an inventory of your overall health. How are your knees? Wrists? Ankles? Eyesight? Depth perception? Reaction Time? These may be considerations to upsize.
3. Attitude/Experience. Someone’s overall experience and attitude about the safety of themselves and others is a vital component in skydiving safety. Disregard for your own experience and/or safety is an obvious sign to upsize.
2. Because You Downsized and You Shouldn’t Have. Having inconsistent landings? Not standing up your landings? Stabbing out your flare? Landing by touching down on your knees first then popping up to your feet thinking it was an awesome swoop? Spiraling in traffic cause it’s freakin’ fun on a small canopy when not necessary? Scared of line twists? Having a hard time kicking out of line twists? Not paying attention to others in the sky? Land downwind for fun? Don’t follow a landing pattern? What the hell is a landing pattern? Don’t understand the flight characteristics of your wing? Pretty much don’t follow the rules?
1. Finally, if you cannot answer yes to all of these questions, you need to upsize:

Can you land your main crosswind?
Are you comfortable landing crosswind?
Can you land your main downwind?
Are you comfortable landing downwind?
If you had to land out and the only option was a tight area surrounded by obstacles, do you know you could land your canopy accurately?
Do you feel that you completely understand the flight characteristics of your wing?
Do you understand what happens to the flare, landing pattern, stall characteristics and overall flight characteristics when you downsize?
Have you used your rear risers & do you know why and when you’d need to use them?
Have you used your front risers & do you know why and when you’d need to use them?
Have you performed braked turns? Braked turns for landing?
Can you land within 10 meters of a target center at least 5 times in a row?
Did you take a canopy course beyond the B-license requirements? When I first started skydiving, I was young and pretty much invincible. I was on the fast track to get on a small canopy and go fast! And it’s all fun, until you get hurt or you watch someone die. I’d seen a lot of crazy things (especially people “getting away” with bad decisions) in my 20-year career, but in 2003, I witnessed my father’s fatal canopy collision. Then without your permission, things change.
It’s amazing how death will completely transform your perspective on safety, especially when the sport is your livelihood.
We spend more time under canopy than we do in freefall, so this is a moment to check in and evaluate how much canopy education have you gotten? My dad used to tell me, “take stock into your destiny.” So, take that Flight 1 course you’ve always wanted to, finish your B-license canopy training, ask questions, and just know, there ain’t no shame to upsize that thang!
How at risk are you?
Below is a canopy risk calculator that was created by the USPA, which can give you an idea of just how big of a safety risk you're at with your current canopy and experience level
Calculate My Canopy Risk Useful Resources

Barry Williams on Canopy Safety (Skydive Elsinore 2013 Safety Day) [Video]

Barry Williams on Canopy & DZ Safety (Skydive Elsinore 2012 Safety Day) [Video]
Performance Design's "Survival Skills for Canopy Control"
Contributors: Melissa Lowe, Barry Williams and Jason Moledzki

By admin, in Safety,

TJ Landgren - Freefly Master and Expert Canopy Pilot

Name: Anthony Landgren

Age: 35

First Jump: 1997

Skydives: 20,000

Home Dropzone: Skydance Skydiving, Davis CA

Tunnel Hours: 1000+-

Sponsors: Liquid Sky Suits, Velocity Sports, Cookie composites & Icarus Nz




Cut Aways: 12

Container: Velocity Sports Infinity

Canopy: Perta 67, JVX 88

Reserve: Icarus 119,Icarus 1092

AAD: None

Wingsuit: Havok,Tony suits Apachi Rebal

Helmet: Cookie G3 and Cookie Fuel

DZ: You started skydiving quite young, when you were just 16. When you did your first jump, did you ever foresee that your life would end up revolving around skydiving, to a large degree?
TJ: I did my first jump at Parachute center in Lodi,Ca. After that first jump I knew that I wanted to skydive for a living. I figured with skydiving there would always be cool new disciplines starting and always be interesting.
DZ: Many of the top flyers talk about how they initially struggled in their AFF training and that their skills had to be developed through constant persistence and that it was never something they felt came to them naturally. What was your AFF training experience like? Did you feel as though things came natural to you in the air?
TJ: Aff was a little rough for me, I failed level two twice and for a second I thought this was harder then I initially assumed. I took a couple days to rethink what I was doing and whether skydiving was really going to be for me. My Aff jump master Yoni Bango said "Just arch and smile, and don’t forget to pull. YOU GOT THIS" The rest is history. Some things in skydiving came natural and other things took a little more time. I had to keep telling myself to just keep trying you’ll get it!
DZ: You're considered an expert in both freeflying and in canopy piloting, which discipline do you find yourself having more fun in and do you see yourself leaning more towards any one discipline in particular?
TJ: I love freeflying and canopy piloting a lot! I find myself learning more in freeflying, with all these new tunnels popping up witch makes it easier to fly 7 days a week. I spend most of my time at Ifly SF Bay. On the canopy side I haven't been able to really push my canopy in a long time. The DZ I was jumping at would not allow big turns. I left that DZ about a year ago and started jumping at Skydance in Davis CA. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. Now that I get to swoop all the time I would say I’m having so much fun on my canopy. With all these new canopies coming out from Icarus makes it a really good time to fly fast canopies.
DZ: Which competitive teams are you currently a part of?
TJ: NorCal Alliance
DZ: In your opinion, what makes Norcal Alliance such a strong team, besides having skilled flyers?
TJ: What makes us a strong team is the comunication with each other and the pure love for what we are doing.
DZ: Outside of skydiving, what other sports are you most interested in and which do you partake in?
TJ: Outside of skydiving I like to snowboard, wake board and speed flying. I would say out of those 3 I speed fly the most.
DZ: You've got quite a number of achievements under your belt. Which of them stands out as your proudest and why?
TJ: The freely world records! It’s awesome to see all your friend from all over the world on one big jump and also all the people I have coached over the years ripping on the big ways. Truly rewording.
DZ: Your schedule is usually pretty busy, with something exciting almost always on the calendar. What events are you most looking forward to at the moment?
TJ: Extreme Week in Norway! It’s an awesome country, people are friendly and the event is amazing. Seeing all the extreme sports in one place is epic!


DZ: Outside of your home dropzone, what is your favourite dropzone to jump at and why?
TJ: Wow, that's a hard question to answer. Do you base it on scenery,lots of jumps in a day or if they have a tunnel close by. I love Skydive Arizona for always having a plane flying and a tunnel running. For scenery, Torquay in Australia - the view is amazing and the ocean is so beautiful. First time I saw a kangaroo was there.
DZ: In your opinion, which aspect of skydiving safety doesn't receive enough attention?
TJ: Canopy piloting, I feel a lot of DZ are stepping away from this. I remember when DZs where building swoop ponds not filling them in.
DZ: I believe you have a keen interest in Canopy Wingsuit Flying / XRW, this is a discipline that not many people may be aware of. What does XRW entail and what makes it so interesting to you?
TJ: Xrw is when wing suit flying relative to a open canopy. It is so amazing watching a person in free fall while you are under a open canopy and talking to them like your on the ground. Nothing gets me more pumped up then XRW. When you are doing Xrw you normally want to load a canopy at 3.0 or higher. The canopy pilot exits first with the wing suits and 10-20 seconds after the canopy pilot will be about 90 off of jump run by this time. When the wing suit gets close he should be aproching on the canopy pilots head level after the wing suit pilot figure out the speed we can then try to dock. The wing suit pilot flies in and the canopy pilot tack the dock. You fly around for about 2 min break off is at 5,000 ft.
DZ: You do canopy testing with companies who are working on new products. Are there any new products in the works that you've seen that you're excited for?
TJ: Yes! I love testing new canopies. Icarus is playing with so many new ideas. I can’t wait for there new line of canopies coming out.


DZ: Which disciplines do you see dominating the future? Do you think we'll see more cross disciplines where jumpers are merging various existing ones in unique ways?
TJ: I believe dynamic flying is going to dominate the future. Its got all the cool things in freefly that keep us pushing the edge, sit flying, head down, carveing and a hole bunch of eagles.
DZ: What are you hoping to achieve in the next 5 years of skydiving? Are there any specific accomplishments you're hoping to achieve?
TJ: I would love to do another canopy world meet and win and do 2 way VFS, Oh and win a Dynamic comp but will see.
DZ: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us TJ, and all the best with your flying! Keep killing it!

By admin, in News,

6 Tips To Boost The Bottom Line

In an industry where everything costs a lot of money, creating opportunities to maximize on customer expenditure is essential. Many of the DZ's I visit focus solely on tandem and video sales and are merely satisfied with any other purchases made in the gear store. Let's be more strategic by increasing peripheral sales to help boost your bottom line. The margins on tee shirts are too substantial to ignore. Also, guests who purchase a second tandem become part of your marketing team by recruiting others to join them on their skydiving adventure. Are you doing everything you can to boost these sales?
Understanding What We Have
The skydiving industry has something that retail companies, salespeople, and corporations crave….no, WISH they had with their customers. That word is connection. Ever been to the Gap during its heyday in the 90s or even the Apple Store of today? Millions of dollars have been spent by these companies to mix the right elements to make the retail environment inviting enough to make a connection. Selling has been turned into a science focused on stimulating the consumers senses.
Walk in to an Apple Store and pay attention to what you're seeing. Visually, the store is appealing with clean lines, lighting that isn't harsh but illuminates and is soft. The colors in the store window are vibrant. Audibly, the music is up with an energy-induced, toe-tapping beat. The music isn't an ipod on shuffle but is part of a science known as multi-sensory branding. Everything is by design to connect with customers and create an environment that is inviting, warm and allows no obstacle for consumers to react on an impulsive purchase. The energy felt within the Apple Store is palpable as the throng of people within the store creates a vibe that makes the price of the products not seem so incredibly expensive. Touch - having all the products out and available to touch and play with is part of the Apple Store's brilliance and pushes the connection between user and product. Playing with an ipod is much more powerful than simply
looking at one. Smell - Think there isn't a smell at the Apple Store? You won't notice what you're smelling, but instead notice what you're not smelling. There is no musty smell from hundreds of people crammed into its tight quarters, but rather a smell of newness that matches the vivid environment. Undoubtedly, the store is cleaned very well at the end of each day. Everything involving the senses is calculated and by design.
Whether you're an Apple lover or hater, Apple has created a retail model that spares no expense to create a connection with the consumer. When a connection is made, sales are made. The skydiving industry has conquered the hardest part of selling: we have the connection. Now, let's make some sales!
Closing the Sale
The moment a tandem student lands from their skydive is SALES GOLD. The reserved person who arrived at the DZ who hemmed and hawed about upgrading from video to video and stills is now primed to spend a little more money…at least $18 for a tee shirt. The connection the student has with the tandem instructor and the organization is now sealed as serotonin surges through the veins of an individual who has just completed "The best experience of their lives." The consumer WANTS to share their experience showing off a tee shirt or product that says, "yeah, I jumped out of an airplane and loved it." Be sure we're creating the right environment to make the sale.
NOTE: You don't need to have an amazing facility or retail space to accomplish this.The minimum requirement is that your sales area is clean and feels organized.

6 Power Tips To Boost The Bottom Line

The Closing 1. The Tandem Instructor
The tandem instructor is the gateway to an easy sale. The student has entrusted his / her life to the instructor while facing their biggest challenge and they lived! Big time connection here. If your DZ is meeting instructors in the landing area with a rig, then you're negatively affecting your sales. Great that you're busy, but if there is not enough time to complete the experience, then you're clearly understaffed. A great book has a strong beginning, middle and end. Too often, we end the tandem experience improperly without an instructor:
a). debriefing the tandem student with encouragement about how well they did during the jump
b). the presentation of a certificate of achievement signed by the instructor with a shake of the hand or hug and the signing of log books (instructors and student's)
c). presentation of sales opportunities that the customer has become eligible for having completed their first jump as well as the next steps to becoming a solo skydiver.
A Word on Instructors: Passionate instructors will buy-in to this. A DZ's success is everyone's success and job security for all!
2. Placement
Where the closing takes place is key to driving sales. Ideally, have the presentation of the certificate of achievement take place in the store. Once the instructor shakes hands and departs, the student is left with feelings of exhilaration and happiness in the retail space.
3. The Store
The gear store, regardless of size should feel clean and organized. If the store is poorly lit, has worn out carpeting, and is bulging at the seams with product then make the correct changes. Offer less product if needed to make the sales environment more friendly. All products should be neatly hung or folded. 

4. Displays
Be sure your customers can touch tee shirts. If tee shirt designs are simply on display behind the counter with sizing in drawers, then you are not maximizing sales. As with all retail stores in the mall, people want to see how tee shirts will look on them. The interaction of touching the product is very important.
5. Offer a Deal
Even if it's perceived. There is a euphoria in shopping when people feel like they've received a deal. Observe the madness of Black Friday in the US as shoppers quite literally feel a 'high' when getting amazing deals even at the cost of getting out of bed at 4:00am, fighting traffic and huge crowds for the opportunity to spend money in a crazy environment! When presenting the certificate of achievement, offer an exclusive discount in the form of a coupon (preferably on card stock, so it feels substantial) for those that have completed their jumps to receive a discount on purchasing their next tandem, a discount for beginning AFF and a discount on a tee shirt). Even a $2 discount off of a US$20 shirt feels good to a shopper. You don't have to give the house away to see a jump in sales.
6. Create an Urgency
Don't give customers options to get a deal after they leave the DZ. There is no better sales environment than the moment after a jump. During my time at Skydive Carolina, I offered my guests who had paid full retail the opportunity to purchase a gift certificate for a tandem at half the price. The discount would be valid for that day only, pushing the student to make an on-the-spot decision. (The strategy is not to force the student to jump the same day, but to leave with the discount in hand in order to recruit others). Once the customer leaves the DZ with an option to buy later, the percentage of sales decreases dramatically. If someone called within a few days begging to cash in the offer…I would always honor it.
The psyche of most people doing a tandem skydive is to share in the experience with others. My basis for good marketing is to convert happy customers into 'talkers' for your DZ. Anyone leaving with a half off tandem promotion becomes a marketing mouthpiece. They will try to recruit others to join them for their next tandem experience and of course you will capture them at full retail. Some people return alone, but that is the minority. This is part of equipping your guests to become the marketing machine for your DZ and the best part is they're paying you to do it.
Owning and running a DZ is harder than most people can imagine. The lists of to-dos and responsibilities are endless and being ahead on anything is typically short-lived. My thoughts are geared towards working smarter, not harder and to convert your happy customers into marketers.

By admin, in General,

EUGENE SKYDIVERS REGAINS RIGHT TO LAND AT CRESWELL AIRPORT

EUGENE SKYDIVERS REGAINS RIGHT TO LAND AT CRESWELL AIRPORT
Agreement helps pave the way for skydiving to return to Creswell

CRESWELL, Ore—Urban Moore, owner of Eugene Skydivers, announced this morning that his business has regained the right to land parachutes at the Creswell Airport. “The settlement with the city cleared all hurdles and now it’s official. We can land at the airport,” stated Mr. Moore through some early morning text messages to employees and friends.
Last August a settlement was reached between Eugene Skydivers and the City of Creswell in an attempt to end an eight-year legal battle. Although the agreement accelerated a resolution, Mr. Moore credits the United States Parachute Association (USPA) and the Airport Defense Fund (ADF) for providing much needed support during his legal challenge to the eviction of skydivers from the airport.“I couldn’t have gotten this far without the help of USPA or the ADF. I’m looking forward to going back to work. This is a great day for skydiving,” continues Mr. Moore.
The settlement has established safety guidelines and written procedures that both sides agreed to. The policies in place will ensure safe operations for all parties involved. Weather permitting skydiving is expected to resume at the Creswell airport as early as Thursday, Feb. 13.
About Eugene Skydivers Urban Moore opened Eugene Skydivers in February 1992 at the Creswell Airport. During the last twenty-years, Eugene Skydivers has performed exhibition skydives for businesses, charities, and political campaigns. In 1998, an Oregon State skydiving record was hosted at the parachute landing area of the Creswell Airport. To date, Eugene Skydivers has successfully performed an estimated 70,000 skydives. The hours of operation are Thursday thru Sunday and by appointment.

By Ronn, in News,

BlackVue SC500 POV Camera Review

POV cameras are popping out of the ether these days, and a small company in Korea, previously specializing in dashboard cameras, has entered the POV fray with their small box Blackvue camera. The Blackvue closely resembles the frame of the GoPro, and that’ll be the first comparison most folks will make when looking at this camera.
Size and weight-wise, the BlackVue is identical to the GoPro, JVC Adixxion, Swan, and the majority of other POV cameras, and the profile isn’t terribly different from its main competitor.
Why would one look at the Blackvue SC500 (or any other competitive camera)? Price, form factor, simplicity/ease of use/setup all fall into a consideration. The Blackvue is ridiculously simple with few buttons, no menus to scroll through, and the simple modes assure perfect recordings every time.
The camera features Wifi output for monitoring, an included/detachable LCD display, and is capable of shooting 60p footage for smooth slow motion. The housing is a rubberized, non-water/weatherproof housing that mounts on a stickypad/thumbscrew system (compatible with GoPro mounting accessories).
The camera is essentially choice-free, in that it offers three shooting modes.
30p (standard/default 1920x1080/30p)
Still Photo (also capable of timelapse)
High Speed (1280 x720/120p)
IMAGE QUALITY
Let’s start with the most important aspect of image quality.
Image quality from this camera is about what I expected it to be. It’s not “drop your jaw this is incredible” good, and it’s not really poor, either. It’s better than some of its competitors, lesser than others so I’d refer to it as “average.” The camera features a Sony Exmor imager, similar to the imager used in the Sony AS-15 cameras, and I’m a bit surprised that Pittasoft didn’t take greater advantage of the features this sensor offers. They’ve tuned the sensor to be quite dynamic, as this screengrab demonstrates.
The lens is a fixed 170 degree lens, similar to most of the competitor POV cameras. The glass is exposed, as there is no cover/protection for the lens in the housing. The lens does come with a small rubber cover that is easily lost and falls off if the camera is tipped over. It is possible to sit the camera farther back in the housing, if the LCD display is removed, thus providing some lens protection via the housing.

The BUTTONS
There are only three buttons on the camera (unless one counts the LCD power button on the LCD pack). One button powers the camera and selects the mode (Video/Still/High-Speed). One button for Wifi on/off, and the record start/stop button.
The removeable LCD pack also has its own power button.
Buttons are large, so operating the camera while wearing gloves won’t be any kind of an issue. The built in speaker provides audio for playback, and also provides status indicators when buttons are depressed. However, this speaker/audio indicator is hard to hear in a noisy airplane.
INDICATORS
All indicators are found on the front of the camera. This is where the first weakness in the camera is found. The indicator lights are small, and difficult to read in daylight. The record light is also dim and although the streamlined look of the record indicator is sexy, it’s also difficult to see in a well-lit aircraft cabin. In the 120p test footage, you can see the camera operator squinting and covering the camera to shade it from the sun, as it was challenging to see whether the camera was recording or not.
BlackVue would do well to take a page from their competitors playbook and put a larger indicator light in their next version.

The HOUSING:
The housing is unique; a rubber “O” ring design surrounds the entire camera. The intent is to dampen vibration and provide protection against scuffs and scrapes common in the action sport environment. The housing is capable of holding only the camera, or the camera/LCD combination. The housing offers a pair of holed mounting tabs, identical to the GoPro camera mount system, and in fact, the two are compatible. This is a huge benefit to camera owners, as they have access to the full complement of GoPro mounting accessories. Smart move on the part of Pittisoft to jump on this before any of their competition has realized that when it comes to camera mounts, standardization is a good thing.
This system is not waterproof, nor even weather resistant. While I’d have no problem using it around mist, clouds, etc, I’d also be very uncomfortable in any environment where water might cover any significant portion of the camera. Pittasoft does have a waterproof housing in the works at an undisclosed price.





Best viewed in 720p
CONNECTING POINTS
The camera provides a mini HDMI port for instant viewing on a monitor. This is critical for debriefs, as when one is working between loads, it is time-consuming to remove a microSD card and read from a computer or other playback system.
The camera also offers a USB port, suitable for charging or playback over a computer. Both ports are covered by a removable plastic plug. Like other small format cameras using this “feature,” I find it annoying, as it’s a small plastic part easily fumbled while wearing any kind of glove, and may easily be lost.
BATTERY LIFE
There is no easy way to say it; battery life is unimpressive. Out of six jumps, the battery failed on three of them, even though I disabled the LCD screen. The unit had been charged prior to each jump, and turned on to check on the ground prior to boarding the aircraft. It’s possible my unit wasn’t entirely up to speed, yet even after charging overnight, the unit couldn’t manage two jumps in a row with the LCD preview enabled. There is no indicator for battery level if the LCD display is disabled, yet the LCD preview eats most of the battery. Wifi is also a battery-killer, but fortunately, the WiFi indicator is very obvious, and unless cell/wifi preview is absolutely necessary, users would be wise to leave it off (this issue is similar with all the POV cameras, but the Blackvue seems to be a bit more wifi power-hungry than some of the others).
In speaking with the folks at Pittisoft, they indicated that they’re now shipping a firmware offering better battery life.
SUMMARY
All in all, this is a very simple camera, easier to operate than most of the POV offerings out there due to its limited functionality. Some people are looking for easy-to-use and this camera absolutely offers “easy.” Picture quality is on par with cameras costing more, and offers a better image than some of its same-price counterparts. It’s super-fast to set up and as there are no menus to cycle through, there is virtually no chance of not knowing which mode the camera is in.
Its light weight makes it perfect for many other applications; I particularly appreciated how well it flies on a UAV drone.
The price is competitive, the camera is very easy to operate, and the build is robust. I for one, am looking forward to seeing how Pittasoft’s new camera does in the rapidly broadening POV market.
Price: 300.00 USD
Available online and at some retailers now.
About The Author

DOUGLAS SPOTTED EAGLE is an audio and video pro. He is a Grammy recipient with DuPont, Peabody, and Telly awards lining his studio; he is also a participant/producer in multiple Emmy winning productions. Douglas is the Managing Producer for Sundance Media Group, Inc. and VASST, authoring several books and DVDs and serving as a trainer and consultant for videographers, software manufacturers and broadcasters. He is the author or co-author of several digital media titles including Digital Video Basics (VASST), The FullHD (VASST), and Vegas Editing Workshop (Focal Press) among many others. - See more at: http://www.dropzone.com/about/Contributors_895.html#sthash.oSWvVDbz.dpuf

By admin, in Gear,

Plans for Middletown Wind Tunnel Announced

The expansion of iFly indoor skydiving centers continues, this time with development planned for the Middletown, Ohio area. Start Aviation LLC and iFly Corp recently signed an agreement that would see a vertical wind tunnel build in Middleton. Though the exact location of where the tunnel will be built is still undecided, Middle Regional Airport has been listed as a potential location.
Start Aviation LLC is the operator of Start Skydiving, a dropzone that has in recent years shown itself to be one of the best in the country, while iFly has shown its dominance in the global wind tunnel market with more than 20 wind tunnels located around the world, and the company continuing to show impressive growth.
While still in the early stages, aspects of the project have been released; such as the plans for the indoor skydiving location to include a restaurant, classroom and an office.
With the development of the Middletown tunnel, there will be a total of 15 iFly tunnels in the United States, several of which have been established in the past couple years. With the next closest tunnel being located in Chicago, the city hopes that the new attraction will bring in visitors from surrounding locations.

By admin, in News,

Shimano Enters the POV Camera Market With the CM-1000

Action cameras are popping up all over the place, from all sorts of companies. Garmin shocked a few with their release of the Garmin Virb in the third quarter of last year. Now it's the Japanese manufacturer Shimano that has joined the party. Unlike some of the other action camera competitors, Shimano is a long standing company founded in 1921, but is typically known for their cycling, snowboarding and fishing equipment.
Shimano will be releasing their first POV action camera in May this year, which will look to compete with brands like GoPro, Contour and Sony. The new 'CM-1000' as it's called, certainly has some interesting features that could allow it to challenge the competitors. Unlike most other POV cameras the CM-1000 is waterproofed to 30 feet without the requirement of any additional housing. The weight is also very impressive, weighing in at just 86 grams; more than half that of the GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition when waterproof housing is attached.
The most impressive feature for us is the aperture of the camera lens which sits at F2.0, as opposed to most competitors' F2.8. This full-stop increase in light will allow for better low-light performance from the camera, a topic that is often focused on and often falls short in some manufacturers. The sensor is also very impressive, boasting a 16 megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, likely able to produce high quality still images as well as full HD video.
The CM-1000 will come with multiple lens modes, a standard 135 degree view as well as an ultra wide angle 180 degree view. Another pretty cool feature is the auto image rotation, which will automatically rotate the picture to the correct orientation, regardless of how you hold the camera. Bells and whistles come in the form of ANT+ capabilities, allowing users to connect the device to training devices and heart-rate monitor. Especially useful for those who like to keep track of their data.
While one would imagine that coming from a company who is renowned for their cycling gear, that their camera would be focused towards cyclists. The CM-1000 seems to target all POV users, with the company's focus put on things like waterproofing.
In summary, the CM-1000 looks impressive on paper, it has what appears to be a high quality sensor, a large aperture and is light weight. It is however important to remember that these are only a fraction of variables that will affect the overall video and image quality. And it will be interesting to see how the camera handles transition in lighting, as that's always an important factor with POV cameras. Though if it performs as one would expect from a company with a history of quality products and a large development budget, this camera is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Shimano's CM-1000 will come with a lens cover and two mounts (one adhesive and the other helmet mount) and USB cable.
The CM-1000 will set you back $299 on release.

By admin, in Gear,

Norwegian Military Upgrades Gear - Surplus for Sale

The Norwegian Defence Force recently replaced all their parachute systems and in turn sold their surplus gear to a company (Alfa Nordic AS) which is now looking to sell the large collection of Performance Designs and Parachutes de France items. There were originally 120 main canopies and 120 reserves for sale, with the current inventory selling quickly.
The canopies are said to be in good condition with the majority having around 100 jumps on them with only a few with more than 200 jumps, and many of the reserves are still in their original plastic bag. The DOM for the mains and reserves are between September and October 2001. Any damaged canopies that were found in the original batch have been removed from the sales pool and as of yet there have been no returns on any of the sold items.
The canopies have reportedly been and are currently being stored in boxes on pallets, covered with thick transparent plastic in a dry and warm storage area in Norway. Alfa Nordic’s main building is located in Hokksund, Norway with the rigger being located in Voss.
The items originally listed as for sale include:
Performance Designs:
Navigator 220
Navigator 240
Navigator 260
Navigator 280 For 4000NOK (about $635)
Parachutes de France:
Electra
Techno For 1000NOK (about $159)
The current item availability can be viewed via Google Doc
Should you wish to make a purchase or enquiry you can contact Ron Holan at

ron.holan@gmail.com

By admin, in Gear,

Andrey Veselov - Featured Photographer

Andrey Veselov is an extremely skilled photographer, whose first taste at professional skydiving camera work began when he invited as a ground videographer for the Russian National Formation Skydiving Team; a few years after beginning skydiving in the Russian Airborne Army. His heart however always lay in photography and it wasn't long before he had a Kiev-19 camera attached to an anatomical helmet he made and was taking photographs of 4-way and 8-way teams.
He later became a professional cinematographer and photographer with involvement in numerous world record team jumps around the world.

Andrey, who runs skyphoto.ru has captured skydiving photographs in the remotest and most unique of areas, from Micronesia to Siberia and the North Pole. He boasts an unbelievable portfolio of thousands of world class images and has over 13 000 jumps to his name.
Every year he participates as a Captain and a Camera Team member in various international big-way events.

He is also the winner of various awards including the 1997 Interphoto contest of professional photography, where he took first place in the "sport-singles and series" category and the "best photography of the year / grand prix". He also claimed first place in the Canon Photo Contest in 2001.

Be sure to check out the amazing work Andrey has submitted to dropzone.com
VIEW ANDREY VESELOV'S GALLERY

By Deleted, in News,

Ricardo Sa Freire - Developing The Cookie FUEL

Cookie Composites was founded in 2003 by Jason Cook and Jeremy Hunt, in Australia, with the focus of manufacturing high quality skydiving head gear and accessories in small series. In 2006 the company decided to invest in their industrial design department. Since then new methods of product development and manufacturing were introduced, improving the products and allowing the brand to grow. Today Cookie's products can be found all over the globe.
Ricardo Sa Freire is one of the creative minds behind the very successful Cookie FUEL helmet. The talented industrial designer has been working with the guys at Cookie for almost a decade, having designed gear items that can be found in thousands of skydivers' inventory. We caught up with Ricardo to find out exactly what went on in the design and development process of the Cookie FUEL helmet.
Dropzone.com: When you were approached by Cookie to do this design, what was the high-level brief? In a nutshell, what did they want in terms of design, cost and market positioning?
Ricardo: I've had the opportunity of working with Cookie for the past eight years and together we have developed several products from helmets to accessories. All projects start the same way, we observe things. The market, the users, materials, new trends etc. Once we understand these factors we can begin to design something. In the case of the Fuel we knew it was time for us to design a new open face helmet that could provide all the great features it now does. We then set our minds to design the best open face helmet possible. It should be safe in the air, easy to customize and comfortable without forgetting about the aesthetics.
Dropzone.com: Talk us through the basic phases or steps that goes into designing a new helmet, from the initiation of the project to when the first products roll off the line.
Ricardo: Whenever you design an object, that will be directly used by a person, there are some steps you need to take. Considering that all your pre-project development is done (research and strategic decisions) you then start the conceptual phase. This is where the ideas and findings you previously came up with are explored. After filtering these ideas it's time to test them through models and prototypes. Once everything is up to our standards we move to pre-production, where we make a final assessment and give the final touches. During the whole process we have constant discussions over the concepts, looks, and solutions. We only move forward once the three of us are satisfied.
Dropzone.com: When you set out to design the FUEL, did you start from the proverbial "blank canvas" or did you build on concepts that you've looked at before?
Ricardo: The concept behind the Fuel was something that came up after a lot of talk between Jason Cook, Jeremy Hunt and myself. Way before we started designing it we knew all the features and options the helmet would have. When it came to the helmet's shape and looks we were very open about it, all we knew, was that, it had to tie up with the rest of our range specially the G3. We wanted people to put these helmets side by side and see they were related.
Dropzone.com: Working with Jason and Jeremy on the project, were there specific areas (build quality, comfort etc) where each individual focused,or was everyone involved with all aspects of the design?
Ricardo: All three of us have very different skill- sets and expertise, this allows us to cover a lot of ground during the development. Jason and Jeremy have the business/production engineering side of things really locked in. They know if we will be able to produce what we are developing in a realistic way and will also come up with elegant and intricate solutions like the G3's visor mechanism, the Fuel's cutaway chin-strap and may others. They are also skydivers, something I am not. I have been an industrial designer for more than a decade (designing mostly sports equipment) and I am very comfortable designing new products for the skydiving community. But even after learning so much about it by researching and talking to athletes I still trust their judgment when we are exploring options during development.
Dropzone.com: Is there any added pressure when designing a safety device, where a prototype may fail a strength test and require a change in design?
Ricardo: Cookie products are not safety devices however we understand the environment in which they will be used. We know how we want something to perform and shoot for that. Most of the times we get a better result than we were expecting but when we don't, we learn from it and come up with a better solution. The Fuel's cutaway chin-strap is a good example. After the concept was turned into a prototype and tested we realized that it held more weight than we expected and took less force to activate. So after testing it many times we realized that that was not ideal and decided to make some adjustments to have it performing exactly how we wanted.
Dropzone.com: Where did you look for inspiration when designing the Cookie FUEL? And do you find that you are more influenced by natural or industrial elements?
Ricardo: The Fuel's main design influence is its functionality. Of course we wanted a helmet that looked good but the final shape came from the idea of optimizing the features and comfort. So I wouldn't be able to choose only one of the two options. It is a tool with no unnecessary features like a turtle shell but it was though through down to it's minimal details like a high-tech component.
Dropzone.com: What are the various trade-offs that you have to keep in mind during the design process? Are there any specific ones you'd call out that was particularly difficult for this design?
Ricardo: Trade-offs are part of the design process and sometimes they can turn into improvements. During the development of the Fuel we came across moments were we had to choose between two directions but we normally do it after testing both so it never feels like you are missing something. But this also has a lot to do with the fact that we knew what we wanted to achieve from the beginning.
Dropzone.com: Did you arrive at a bunch of concepts from which you guys chose the final candidate or did you pretty much work on a single design and evolve it to where you ended up?
Ricardo: We have been working together for so long that we really understand each other and Cookie, as a brand, became what it is today because of this. The earlier projects had a lot of concepts and designs to choose from and that was necessary back then. But nowadays we have really matured in terms of design. We know how a Cookie product looks or should look, so now we focus on making it the best possible. And we will keep doing it.
Dropzone.com: What, in your opinion makes the FUEL stand out from other freefly helmet designs available on the market?
Ricardo: The Fuel delivers a lot in a low profile package. It's light, comfortable and allows you to customize it in a very fast and simple way. It is a helmet that will evolve according to your needs. You can choose to mount L&B; or Alti-2 altimeters, side mount Sony or Contour cameras and top mount GoPro cameras by choosing between the classic snap or the snag-free Roller-Mount all this combined with a cutaway chinstrap. The only thing missing was a chin-cup. But I am happy to say that we have just finished the development of a completely new chin-cup and cutaway system that will be presented in the next week or so. We are currently building stock before starting to take orders so keep an eye in our Facebook page for more info.
Do you own a Cookie FUEL? Let us know what you think of the helmet.

By admin, in News,