rhys

And then there are those with inflated egos that think that their way is the only way and anything other than what they are used to is inadequate. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

One does not need to film 4 way to use a camera. We had to jump a camera helmet without a camera before we could put the camera in( cameras were big back then), afer a jump or 2 like that we were allowed to put the camera in... then we were only allowed to do 2 ways with them until we could keep it in frame with no problems. It is an incremental growth, and when you begin, it takes various stages before you have the competence and experience to move to the next level. If you start with a camera (solo) at 100 jumps you may be able to film 4 way by 300 jumps. if you start at 200, then you may not be able to do 4 way video until 400 jumps... You have a S&TA for a reason... USE them. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Seriously Bill you need to grow up a little. You ridicule the system that works elsewhere absolutely fine, and try to make it all out as if It is my choice that it is this way, and try to make a stab (boarder line personal attack). This is childish and not becoming of a moderator. The rules in New Zealand have been around since well before I was jumping, and have nothing to do with me. Do not try to make this a personal thing. We don't allow people to take tandems until they have at least 1000 jumps. so our standards are higher in that respect. The USA is not 'the world' and this is an international forum, I respect that your rules are as they are, but that does not mean that rules that differ in other places are of a lower standard. Our rules are simply better. (that was a joke by the way) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

These are just words, give us some substance... Show me the idiots that you suppose ruin it for the rest. This seems like a protective attitude the hinders the growth of your people. This attitude reminds me of ; Mothers wiping and cleaning everything with antibacterial wipes and soap to keep things clean for their children. Their children get ill more often. Those that are subject to a little dirt have better immune systems... If you set the rules for the lowest common denominator, you numb those with aptitude and hinder the growth of the sport as a whole. Maybe the problem lies with having 100 jump wonders running around being coaches and S&TA's that do not care enough to know what the people at their DZ are doing. If someone is not ready, then they should not be allowed to jump camera, this could be at 500 jumps. It seems you believe that I think that everybody with 100 jumps should put a camera on, this could not be further from the truth. It really comes down to the individual. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Fair call, but once again; I have seen many people begin camera at 100 jumps with no problems whatsoever. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Cool no need for a tangent, you get the drift. We are all allowed out differences of opinion, and we all have different rules to go by. What is considered right, comes down to the opinion and experiences of each individual. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

I'm quite aware of that.. Ski Jibbing with speed wings done by more and more people is likely to boost ski sales however, and jibbing random shit is tough on equipment. It is not just on the 'thrashing your gear' front they (the ski manufacturers) would be interested in, but more importantly the new market they are obtaining from speed flying, as a sport it is set to grow considerably in the coming years. Speed flying is attractive to many different people that will learn to ski specifically for speed riding. I am a snowboarder and have never purchased a pair of skis but now I want some.... ...for speed riding. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

That is your opinion because it has been drummed into you. My View is mine because it is what I have experienced and seen many people experience. I am yet to see any problems with it. When do you think it is appropriate to be a coach? Do you think it take more or less skill an judgment to be coaching people or filming them? "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

More rules made for idiots to hold back the competent. Here in NZ the reccomentdtion is 100 jumps for a camera. By 200 jumps I had at least 50 camera jumps. It should come down to the skill of the person, not the number of jumps. A S&TA, DZSO or whatever it is called at any gven DZ should have the authority to decide who should and shouldn't jump a camera. But many of those would rather a rule to make their job easier. Some are more competent than others, and some are complete dipshits. Jump numbers have little to do with it. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Agreed. some are too cautious of thier ego to discuss thier shortcomings or debatable subjects. Charge on... "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

What, synthesising oxygen? If you can carry enough oxygen you do not need to aclimatise, no? "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

keener than me..... "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Not at all, he has amazing skill and deserves everything that is thrown at him. I am not even entirely sure if he is sponsored, just the red bull labels are a bit of a hint... "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Better update your profile before all the 'Super_on_line_good_guys' Rheme you for getting a tandem rating at 300 jumps... haha "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Sponsored!! (?) I remember in the 90's it was fashionable for skateboarders to 'focus' (intentionally snap) their skateboards if they continued to fail at landing a trick. This was done and pushed in manufacture sponsored videos.... I doubt this is the case here but with the guy all 'red bulled up' I recon the state of the p-tex and rails of his skis are the last thing on his mind... Ski manufacturers will love this video, though it did not look like there was too much friction there... "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

The guy stiffened up his legs at the very last moment, and the moment he arched they became stable. This should be expected on every jump, if you are scared of this happening, then you should consider not doing tandems, it is our job to deal with this. We cannot expect every customer to do exactly as we tell them, we should expect every customer to not do what we tell them. Jumping from a plane for the first time is scary, it seems to me this guy just got scared and remembered what to do a few seconds out the door. His legs were extra ordinarily wide and stiff, this is not that common, but still to be expected. Be safe and have fun. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Seriously, it is great flying but a farking CRAP customer DVD. There is plenty that could be added, like the camera guy giving a fuck about the memory he is archiving for his customer. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Agreed 100% While the exit was nice and the camera guy has good skill, he would not get paid for that jump at my DZ. 1 no effort for pre jump interview 2, Sat in the co pilot seat and got a simple wave from afar. 3, no in plane interview 4, no orbit or pop up to get the perspective from above, was too busy sit flying. 5, no decent post jump interview Once again at my DZ if I saw that being given to a customer, the camera guy would not be paid and the customer would be given a discount (the amount that camera guy usually gets paid). There is much much more to good tandem videos than good flying skill, and good flying skill does not mean good footage or a good video. I have seen camera people with 250 jumps make a 'much' better product than that example. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

The exits 'should not' be a problem, it is all about timing. If you are outside then as long as you leave slightly before the tandem you will NEVER hit them. The problem lies if you leave slightly after them. Some wannabe camera guys have asked me if they can chase me, the answer is always....NO. This is asking for trouble. Climbing out and exiting at the right time is the very first step in filming tandems. My suggestion for you is to leave slightly early and track towards them. Track like anything, otherwise you will be separated considerably. The potential energy of the tandem pair is about twice that of yours so they will always be thrown further than you, this is why we need to track towards them (after you have left slightly earlier), use your intuition to not hit them. Ask the TM to give you a good cadence/count, if they refuse to, then don't jump with them, they are either incompetent or an asshole. You don't want to jump with either of those scenarios at this point, choose someone you trust. Get some wings, practice with them first, they are very different. don't get huge ones, elbows to the bottom of your ribcage is great to begin with. A baggy camera jacket is also quite good for slow fall fates but they don;t have as much range (unless you can fly in your head) Just make sure you S&TA is happy, your TM is happy and most important you are happy that everything is feeling good. If you feel uncomfortable or pressured, or that ther TM is up to something mischievous, just go and do something else and come back to it later. That can be a good thing to do at any time anyway, taking your mind off the task can refresh your ability and make your progress better. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

That is not the answer to the question... "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

So... If you have an asshole TM you are in trouble... give me a break. To the OP, Always check the spot on exit, when I learned it was the job of the camera person to determine whether or not we climbed out, and I started doing this at 200 jumps. Practice orbiting the tandem, it is best to do this after you have made it in and got the face shot and are still high enough to make some decisions. When you are behind the tandem pair, pop up a bit so you are looking down on them and you can also check the spot there too. Try to make this a nice orbit on a diagonal axis, if you are good you can stop in front and slightly below that pair. Don't be afraid to pull a little higher and miss the opening. If the TM is such an asshole that they do not check the spot, allow for it, or hose you on purpose... Make sure you are one step ahead of them. Film the spot, your alti, and track off and dump at an appropriate altitude and take your footage to the S& TA. Just because you are filming and have to keep things in frame, does not mean you have to be oblivious to everything going on around you. Use a dytter and program it slightly higher than the (tandem) opening altitude so you can have a heads up for when the tandem should open. You will discover how many do not open at the correct altitude, this is not your problem, you are not obliged to film the opening if the TM hoses you. I can sympathise with you, some come from big turbine DZ's with many things going on, and some come from smaller DZ's with only tandems and a few fun jumpers. I have to agree that you should have reasonable competence getting footage before you start filming tandems. We were using cameras at 100 jumps and did most of our jumps from there with a camera. At least make sure you can keep a subject (your buddy) in frame the whole time on 10 consecutive jumps. This may take 10 jumps or it may take 100, each persons aptitude is different. Them manufacturers allow for the idiots, I don't want to assume you are an idiot. Your S&TA has the final say at the end of the day. And If they are happy for you to jump a Katana, then you most likely have good aptitude. Be safe and have fun...

Seriously that is fucked up. That is litigation getting in the way of common sense. 500 jumps is too little to get a tandem rating, an 500 is too much of a prerequisite for filming tandems. How many here can honestly say that every person they have seen (including themselves) filming tandems at their DZ waited until 500 jumps. I would bet that more than 90% started at artound 200-300 jumps. The manufacturers have been sued before, and they are covering their ass. The rules in NZ are 200 jumps as a 'guideline' same in Aussie (regardless of the manufacturers). It seems what people are willing to do in real life and what they are willing to say on the internet are 2 different things. You are a MOD Phree... so you have to be the online good guy, but in all honesty, how many jumps did you have when you jumped with a tandem for the first time? "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Considering the Icarus 330 is the best all round work horse on the market, some will disagree and many will agree. NO, a 328 is not too small. It seem with a number like 328, it is out there specifically to compete with Icarus 330. Drop a couple of feet of the size and it is instantly cooler, no? . I will take any sized customer on a 330. A 400 is to big, a 389 is too big.... A student canopy over 300 sq.ft is too big... "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

I did the diploma at the NZ skydiving school, I never had a jump before but I had no doubt that I would love it and that it would be an attractive career for me. I was broke before I started so what did I have to lose? I applied myself and was a commercial skydiver within a year... 8 years later I am a DZO. It all depends on how much you want it, what you are willing to put into it/sacrifice, and what opportunities come up when you are ready for them. Things are completely different in different places. Be prepared to travel and eat noodles for a year or two... "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Most riggers here do not use seals, neither in Australia. When I first saw a seal I thought to myself; someone could fuck that up pretty good. My feelings were correct. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix