lyosha

Come now. That's hardly the same. Statistics exist for a reason. In spite of all the outcry, GoPros on low time jumpers are hardly the biggest threat to their safety. As a matter of fact, instances of inexperienced jumpers getting hurt due to specifically a GoPro are extremely rare. I know more 200-jump jumpers that have fucked up nice and proper on their 200th jump (I know several, I'm engaged to one lol) thanks to "OMG YAY I CAN JUMP A GOPRO!!!111" than jumpers that started wearing a GoPro at

Hey, thanks! That's the thing though, it's not my DZ, it's a once-a-year type thing. I have all of one WS jump out of a non-Otter (also barrel rolled). My question with barrel rolls is say you have like four or six or eight wingsuitters or something. What then?

Give us a plan I will listen I am no more qualified to tell gun owners how to prevent misuse of their guns than a whuffo is qualified to come up with skydiving safety regulations. We are able to skydive because at some point in the formative years of skydiving a bunch of people got together and figured out a way to do it safely without substantial blowback to everyone else around us. Gun owners should really do the same. Because all I have are statistics, and those say whatever gun owners have done as far as regulation goes sucks balls, comparatively speaking. And if I was a gun owner, I'd be livid at this and trying to improve it. But I'm not, and I don't have the slightest clue how to improve it. But someone out here is probably a gun owner...

I'll take a swing: As a non-gun owner, it always amazed me not only how apathetic gun owners are to misuse of their hobby items but that they forcibly resist any attempt to curb misuse of firearms. I would have figured gun owners have the most to gain from getting guns out of the hands of nutjobs and criminals...

I'm looking for someone that's not spoiled by Otter DZs (like myself) for some input/advice/sharing of experiences. How sketchy is wingsuitting out of a pac? Are there precautions you take that you wouldn't in an Otter(i.e. barrel roll exit or something of the sort)? What about flocks? Much thanks!

... is a USPA member dropzone. Whenever they remember to pay the dues...

Are you fucking kidding me? I think given that information, it should be public record that he refused to help those that were passengers in the plane he crashed pay waaaaaaay less money for X-Rays (thankfully no serious medical treatment was needed as a result of that). It should also at this point go into public record that he flew that plane directly over the runway at Sussex airport before hook turning it into an irrigation ditch just past the treeline at the end of the runway. So it's not like he didn't fuck up, even beyond airplane maintenance. Seriously how much of an ass can one person be?

Anyone know where in LA or SD I can get some Euros? :P http://www.gojump-oceanside.com/licenced-skydiver/prices/

Yeah, address, telephone number social security number and shoe size or they won't believe your opinion can be valid!

When my canopy coach got himself a new, smaller parachute I remember him walking by me after landing it, grimacing and saying "no, you cannot land this. My [1 size bigger], you can probably walk away from. But not this one..."

This. Most of the features in your helmet will not work for skydiving use. It's open face, so you won't be able to neither hear nor speak into your radio. The GPS will likely have too low of resolution to be useful, and the snag-free camera, while a cool option, is not necessarily something I'd invest a fuckload of moneys into considering my Cookie G3 has a super awesome mouth-area camera mount that works just as well. As far as GPS goes, there are better, more tailored GPS solutions out there on the market for skydiving (Flysight). Perhaps integrate with those? If you want me to spend my limited moneys on a shmancy helmet instead of jump tickets: * It has to be a closed face helmet, with a locking visor that's easy to pop open. Examine some existing skydiving helmets to see what I mean. Go to your local dropzone and have a skydiver give you a tour of their Cookie G3 and all the ways it's so super convenient. As a side note, skydivers slice through the air at 120+ mph. That's a LOT of noise. Your mic won't pick up anything but noise unless you shield it with a visor, and you won't hear shit without a visor blocking a lot of the noise. * Integrate audible altimeter or pockets for an audible. If you cannot accomodate two audibles, your helmet is shit useless to skydivers. * 10 Hz+ GPS + altimeter + programmable glide ratio vocalizer such as flightsight. * HUD with altitude, horizontal speed, vertical speed and glide ratio. * REAL impact protection. Not the bullshit we have in our helmets today. Make it skiing certified and we're talking. * Keep the camera. It's a neat addition. But unless you can deliver on all of those, I'm sticking to my G3 with grellfab mounted gopro, audible and flysight. Good luck!

They should mandate everyone > 30 jumps wear one. ... just think of all the footage!!!

This. Also, if you exclude crossfire and zulu, perhaps it is best to leave stiletto out as well. Try one of the big 3 - Sabre2, Safire2, Pilot in a size lower. Don't get a Firebolt unless you jump a racer. ;)

I've had my N3 do lots of funky stuff. One time it went to 2500 ft when I was at 1000 ft and proceeded to go down to 1000 ft at roughly freefall speed. If you want something that won't glitch out on you, use an analog altimeter.

Wearing a GoPro at

Oh come on, it's not THAT bad if you take care of your shit. There are people there that have gone many times and their rigs still look brand friggin new. And there are those that don't want to bother and just get an alternate BM rig... Washing with Woolite works well I'm told. Clean out the cable housings as well. Change out the closing loop if you feel anal - it absorbs some of the sand as well.

Also: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4631430;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

Go to facebook and search for "SoFPiDARF" Ask your question there. They'll give you the good advice.

That's a very reasonable approach. But last year when my own gear was covered in shit I came across a guy with a brand new infinity that still looked brand new in spite of three jumps. So I asked him for some tips. Containers do much better if you keep the exposure of them down. Try not to jump in the dust storms, and once you land bring two big black garbage bags with you - one for your canopy and one for your container. If there isn't dust getting kicked up you might get lazy and just walk the canopy back to camp without covering it and it'll probably be fine. Don't take the container out of the garbage bag when you pack it. Most of that dust actually gets into the container from wherever it touches the ground. For me that was always the packing area. Your canopy will take on dust, and that is unavoidable. But it airs out in a few jumps, and the remaining coat can be washed off if it bothers you so much. It never bothered me, but ten jumps in the center cell got cleaned in the natural process of packing. Most people seem to give zero f**ks about their equipment though, and do whatever.

man that shit is just outright gear abuse Yes and no. If you are thinking of skydiving at BM it is absolutely worth it to talk to one of the veterans that have done it several years in a row about minimizing damage to gear and post-BM gear maintenance. The damage is mostly avoidable and reversible with effort.

The Foghead is rooted in the R Bird which in turn is a modified Raptor, they all are in the same family. If you are current and confident on a Raptor then a move to a Foghead should be pretty seamless. my problem is I'm 6 foot 4" 260 pounds without gear. I just get left in the dust on the Raptor. am I going to see enough performance increase with a fog is to make it worthwhile I have no idea what a Raptor is, but the guy that holds the US speed record for wingsuits is also tall and heavy. ;)

I currently jump a sabre1, and so does my girl. Mine has a slider pocket, she split rolls the nose of hers, so openings are buttery soft for both of us. I previously jumped a Sabre2. For my next canopy I'll probably go back to jumping a Sabre2. Sabre1 is a perfectly fine canopy, but I enjoyed Sabre2's more because it is "sportier" for an ambiguous term describing flight characteristics.

Demo the Pulse before you try and go this route. I had a similar thought process for my first gear, but ultimately got a wings a size larger to stick a sabre2 into. Containers depreciate pretty handily, but it's worth it for a canopy I like much more. Also for a first container don't be afraid to get an old PDR. Spend the savings on jumps.

I'm pretty sure my stowless D-Bag doesn't put 8-12 lbs of force on anything...

To skydive into the playa it's now C license "or equivalent" (200 jumps) with some additional currency requirement (something like 50 or 100 jumps in the last year) that I forget because this is a "demo jump". But they'll let you skydive into the airport with 100 jumps.