MichaelBess

LMAO! Now that is funny!

I too say "stay away form JVC" for freefall. I know people that have had nothing but problems with Canon's as well. I am on my 4th Sony and have never been let down. I even was thrown over the tail of a twin-bo (left three very nice dents) and in the process crushed my new PC-100 (new pilot made a very bad move, long story). Sent the camera to Sony and had it completely rebuilt, I have never had a problem with it. Sony's rock! The Sony service centers are reliable and can fix most anything we can throw at them.

One reason that the law appears not to be working is because it is written way to complicated, and is easily misunderstood. Gun control laws should be easier to understand and simplified in my opinion. The new law should read: Gun Control = Using both hands! Then all would understand both the meaning and intent of the law.

Are you sure there is no LED to indicate record anywhere on the camera? What is the model number? Another option: Sell the Samsung and get yourself another camera. Use pawnshops, EBAY, local newspapers etc. (to keep the cost down to a minimum) if you are looking for a used one. You should be able to essentially trade into one with a bit of effort. You will be glad you did. Just my two cents...

A long torso or any other body oddity is an excellent reason to get a custom fit by ordering new. I'm sure you will be very happy with your new gear Congratulations in advance. Yes gear that fits well is safer. Having your handles where you expect them to be is a good thing! You are doing a good thing by seeking advice before you commit to your decisions. I offer this piece of advice as well, be careful as to whom you listen to. Be sure the person offering you advice has the best answer possible. Find a mentor that you trust at your DZ, knowledgeable rigger (preferably not connected with sales), Instructor, S&TA etc. PS Be safe and don't get in too big of a hurry to downsize. An uninjured skydiver gets more jumps in... Hey guys. It's Paige from Wings...*** Paige, I applaud you for taking the time to address this post. You obviously believe in excellent customer service. Thank you!

Then it would be quite confusing for a person that got their "C" already at 100 jumps.... Thanks Paul!

I believe Martin from Toledo (in Washington) was jumping a Canon Elura until he got fed up with it. He had nothing but problems and he ended up replacing it with a Sony. It worked fine on the ground but was not suited for his freefall needs. Just my two cents...

Oops, I knew they were going to change the requirements for a "D" soon. Thanks Paul! But as for the 200 jumps specifically I do not see where that is a recomendation in the new SIM. Section 6-8 states two things (that I see). "A USPA C license is recommended." and "The jumper should have made at least 50 recent jumps on the same parachute equipment to be used for camera flying." Can you show me where it states 200 jumps?

And it's wheel side down

Just in time for my network connection to NASA to quit... I wish they would televise this in my area!

You do presume a bit much with such a superlative statement. I agree with USPA's recommendations as to have a "D" license before adding the complication factor of jumping with a video camera, or still camera. There is no substitute for experience. With that said, there is more to gaining experience than strictly jump numbers. Case in point: Your DZ has a "D" license requirement to land on the airport. You go out and make 100 hop and pops to go along with the 100 you already have to get your numbers up, take all the tests and you are a "D" license holder. Does that mean you know everything you need to know about aircraft traffic patterns, the heat generated by black asphalt and what it does to your canopy, landing when a plane is taxiing etc. etc. NO! You need to study the situation you are about to subject yourself to, and get the experience you need. You need to study and learn from reputable sources (DZO, S&TA, Instructors, etc.) and not a “skydiving teen” on their way up. If you were to do a poll of when some highly experienced camera flyers started jumping cameras you may be quite surprised as to the result. I started jumping a camera at 74 jumps and Mini-DV did not exist back then. The cameras were HUGE and very heavy for the most part and the gear was very different. I know of a bunch of others (I wont mention their names) that started at that level as well. I am in no way recommending that people go out and try when I did, rather I am recommending they ask what they need to learn to survive and then they learn it. Having a mentor that has the experience to teach them what they need to know is more important than just jump numbers. If someone has trouble with altitude awareness or stability weather they have 60 jumps or 300 the advice that they would get form a reputable camera flyer is the same "You are not ready yet" etc. But I would hope that just because they reach their "D" license they do not assume they are ready to "give it a go"! The reverse may be true in some cases, just as they may be ready to learn prior to having their D. It depends on the individual, the skills they poses, and their willingness to listen and learn. The most important advice I could give a fledgling video person is simple. Never "Assume" anything… Ask! Seek out the knowledge from reputable sources of everything that can and does happen. Have that reputable source go over the gear you intend on jumping well before you show up at the DZ to jump it. Lastly "Know your cameras inside and out" before you intend on jumping them. Education will save your life and others.

I know he means well by trying to keep the numbers down... Naw, he's just a touch senile Besides how many people say "They love Canada" in the video?

Jeff, thank you so much! I am so glad you like it!

More information about the location can be found at: http://www.skydivelostprairie.com It's not just "A" boogie, it's "The" boogie for a lot of us (IMHO). You have to see it to believe it! If you have never been there you really need to go (July 24th through August 2nd are this years dates).

Not to be the Devil's advocate here but you have 21 jumps (or there about) right? Have you taken into consideration that the rig you want now (based on your canopy size requirements) will not be the rig you want at say 100-150 jumps? Unless money is not a problem what I recommend to my students that they consider finding a used rig (with plenty of help from their rated instructors). I would hate to see someone buy a new rig and then get rid of it in 100 jumps because it was too big or… Just my two cents worth... To answer your question on my 3 rigs (all BOC) I have two hackey sacks and a monkey fist. I like both designs very well.

Hi Ed, if you do find a source for the Canon plug don’t forget about us "Die hard hand switch" guys. It would be nice to deal with just purchasing the plug with a pigtail (at a good price), as opposed to making our own from cutting expensive accessories apart. My two cents...

I agree with you with one exception. Look for what they did for our sport. After the movie Point Break came out for example, DZs across the planet were packed with potential new jumpers. They do have their place, besides "we" watched them...

As for the LP 03 tape you would go to http://www.skydivelostprairie.com, print the order form, and mail it to me If there were others you were looking for specifically, I use Google a lot. If you were looking for the Rantoul or Quincy video, do a search on "freefall convention video" and most years come up.

That would depend on if you were looking for a Hollywodd type production (Dropzone, Terminal Velocity, Point Break), or a skydiving video like the Lost Prairie 2003 video?

Hi again, I thought we were having a good debate and meant no disrespect about asking if you were a Dr. I really do want a medical explanation as to what my test facts have led me to believe. I am sorry if you feel I was trashing you, that was not my intention. I question everything as I hope others do (like yourself). I support that way of thinking 100%. I do hope everyone has an open mind and considers all possibilities. I am guilty as sin of sometimes not having an open mind all the time

Semantically speaking, you asked for a doc. The person you're discussing this with is just that. Sorta cool, no? She never stated she was a Dr. only that she had studied medicine for 7 years. I asked if she was a Dr. and still ask that question for my own curiosity. Cool if she is and could help with the medical side of a series of new tests. Semantically you'd be right. In terms of the discussions it's irrelevant; the increase must be large enough to affect the fitting of the helmet on my head. Close. On my head because it was my study that I did. It was done because it did indeed affect the fit of my helmet. I found it really did not take much to fix it in the form of making the lining bigger. Maybe a T-shirt thickness (plus a touch) around the circumference of the top of my head did the trick. This is why I suggested that particular thickness to repair your problem with fit. I encourage anyone to perform as creative a test or series of tests that they like and share their findings. Can we add 3) "the lining stiffens and compresses less or similar thing"? If so, we're in complete agreement Yes you can for your study if you call it 4). 3) is still valid. It would be necessary if there were any foam in the equation. For mine it became irrelevant because my helmet has very little pliable foam lining. My lining is rigid Styrofoam as I stated and the only compression would be a very thin fabric covering the Styrofoam. It is under full compression at the ground and at altitude so not a factor. If a helmet were to have any closed cell foam within the liner I would assume it may make a difference. Maybe the trapped air in the closed cells? Worth looking into. Neat! Any idea on how you're gonna measure the helmet? I mean, it's a curved thing that's hard to measure accurately. I ask because I want to do some experimenting too I completely agree it's a hard thing to measure accurately without compression of the soft tissues etc. I was thinking of using a mold that I made from plaster. A VERY messy job by the way. It's a complete head mold including the jaw line. If I put tooling points into the plaster (a series of bushings) and fit the mold on the ground lining up a jig that would accurately measure and hold the mold together on those points with pins. Then repeat the process at altitude using a controlled set of temperature variables I hope to do jus that. The measurement would be the increase of gap where the mold is cut into two to allow it to go on your head. If it will not go on due to expansion "side to side" then I would have to devise a 4 piece tool (by cutting the mold front to back) and measure across all points. Would make for a neat test and the measurement would be relevant. Isn't there a possibility that there are qualities in the casting that makes it susceptible to shrinking/expanding? I.e that it is not clear whether it's the head expanding or casting shrinking? Yup, that was my reason for listing 3) as plausible. I have to figure that something very thick (like the Plaster mold) has a very rigid property and with any study we have to make certain assumptions. Coolness, you did a study? Got a link so I can check it out? Nope, the closest I have to posting my findings are the past few days ramblings here. I do not have a web site yet. By the way, the reason I got into measuring in the first place is that I make video helmets and had to figure out how tight I could make them. The tighter the fit the less your skin is allowed to move on your skull causing camera shake. When doing video work you want the helmet to become a part of your body. I stumbled on to the expansion thing when I made a few too tight. They would not latch at altitude without serious discomfort. Get on the ground and it fit again. I had to figure out why so I started doing tests.

Then we both agree that the head does increase slightly at altitude. Thank you! I could not agree more. I was asking others WITH medical explanations to assist us in our debate as I am not a Dr. nor do I study medicine. I have no claim to the medical profession (other than basic CPR, first aid, and first responder training) so I can not make any medical claims as to the “Why”. If you are looking for a medical explanation stop reading now, and have a nice day. If however you will count years of observation and a scientific study I did about this specific topic, read on. Are you claiming to be a Dr.? Have you studied this effect as I have over time and with personal observations in varying conditions? I did ask for more than a med student to help us address this issue... I am not discounting your 7 years of study in the medical field and at the same time I would request that you do not discount my 13 years of study on this topic. I'm certain there have been a plethora of studies in hyperbaric chambers by many of our planets military physicians and scientists regarding this or similar studies. I would love to see if there have indeed been any sanctioned studies (not opinions) as to the amount of size increases to various parts of our bodies including the head. I never claimed that the skull bones increase in size, although I would find it very hard to believe that they do not increase slightly. Yes they are tightly woven together as one unit but even solid steel increases and decreases in size. Remember that ANY increase in size "IS" an increase even if I have to get my machinist calipers out to measure that increase. As I stated all along! The HEAD (inclusive of more than the "Skull alone") does expand slightly! I have more video jumps (by more than 4 times) than you have total jumps. That alone states very little with one major exception. My video helmets are custom made by myself to fit very tightly, as did the first person's helmet (Claus’s) in this post. I have personal experiences that above 10,000 my helmet fits noticeably tighter than it did on the ground EVERY time regardless of temperature variance. By temperature variance I mean the difference in temperature at ground level and exit altitude (eg. 60 deg. F ground temperature and 38 deg. F at altitude would equal a 22 deg F variance). I am not the first person the notice this phenomena. This leads me to believe one of three possibilities. 1) The helmet shrinks, 2) the head expands. Or 3) A combination of the two. I will attest that temperature plays a part in almost everything shrinking and expanding so we need to eliminate temperature from the study to determine if 2 is plausible. We do that by looking at total temperature variance versus size change using altitude variance (eg. a 20 degree temperature variance versus a 50 degree variance using the same altitude variance). Since my study did reflect this then we need to look at altitude causing the helmet to shrink. I have no reason to believe this possibility because of my experiences as a machinist so I simply discount it as plausible. Since the helmet fits the same (tighter at altitude) regardless of temperature changes (between the ground and at altitude, eg. a 50 degree variance versus a 20 degree variance at the same altitude variance) and is made from very stable materials (fiberglass and hard Styrofoam), we can eliminate temperature from the study. If temperature was the factor it would be dependent on the variance of the temperature and increase or decrease based on the variance. My deduction is quite simple that the head does indeed expand slightly at altitude enough as to affect the fit of the tight helmet I describe. This is proven fact. I stand by my statements. I know the increase in size is slight, and only affects a very tight fitting stable (no open cell foam liners etc.) helmets. I will however do a personal study and try to measure the effects as well as I can with a measuring instrument. This debate has piqued my curiosity as to the total increase in size. Feel free to study this yourself by making a casting of someone's head as I have. Then try and get it on them at altitude. Then try again on a day with less temperature variance between the ground and at altitude. You will have to deduct what I did if the casting was tight to begin with and the person did not change their hair length or style.

It's OK, A bunch of folks decided to stick by the story that the earth was flat once too Neither of the links I posted state "the skull doesn't expand" (in such an eloquent misuse of the English language) so I'm not sure where you got your information. The head does indeed get bigger at thinner altitudes and I stand by my statements. The head is inclusive of skin, muscle tissue, hair, 14 facial bones, 22 skull bones, ligaments, etc, etc. Cool link showing how all the bones go together: http://face-and-emotion.com/dataface/physiognomy/cranium.jsp This is an excerpt from the first link: This is an excerpt from the second link: Looks like we agree to disagree and it will have to be a good debate for someone else to research and set us both straight... Is there a Dr. in the house?

I can appreciate you questioning what may appear to be hard to believe. I suggest you study a bit. Maybe look at the following links as well: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/healthbody/public/en_ or: http://www.flyana.com/dvt.html There are many more articles and studies but these were the first few that came up when I did a google search "body expands at altitude" Pretty cool huh!

There are some very good suggestions here so far. I would take it one step further and ask you what kind of learner are you? Some people are technical learners while other are purely visual. I am a visual learner so I selected "Teach yourself Visually" by Sherry Willard Kinkoph. I personally like the book! I purchased it at Barnes and Noble. For the technical learners I may suggest Classroom in a book. I bought that one as well but did not like it nearly as much (Personal learning preference). Creative Cow is an excellent site. Another site you may consider is: http://www.wrigleyvideo.com. Click on tutorials and download a few. He gives you step by step instruction on a variety of tasks for Premiere 6 as well as Premiere 6.5.