The111

That was a well written (and very sad) story. I'm still a little confused... did another person go in on that same jump too? And what exactly happened to John? I'm guessing he got knocked out by a collision of some sort (you mentioned him chasing somebody's deployment and hitting someone else's canopy) and landed his AAD-deployed reserve with no flare... was that hard landing enough to mess him up or was it from the collision, or both? I think physically seeing something like that is what it might take to start the "stage" for me, if it does happen with me. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Wait, so did he break his leg on his own face? Or was it just the inertia from the hard opening? Sorry to hear about the injuries. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I got a message on my home phone answering machine from an Orlando Sentinel reporter, too. My only guess is he read my post saying I talked to Gus the day before the incident, and got my name from my profile, and found my phone number via white pages. Whatever. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Here's a pic I found through Google. http://www.lastrefuge.co.uk/images/html/imax_skydive/image_html/IMAX_skydiving03.html I was on the plane with him yesterday. He said to me, "lots of clouds... nice day for Birdman." I said, "yeh, it sure is." www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'd thought about jumping since I was young and always knew it was something I would do when I was old enough. The thought occurred on and off through the years, and I always knew it was something I would fall in love with, not a one time thing. When I was 17 I thought to myself, "hey, I bet I'm almost old enough now!" I did some research on the internet, found out that a city 30 miles away (DeLand) was world renowned for skydiving. I got a job in manifest, did my AFF and a few more solo jumps, then went to college, and quit jumping due to "college kid poverty". I told everyone I met in school, that as soon as I graduated and had secured a good job, I would take up the sport again. THE DAY AFTER my graduation ceremony (I had a job contract signed already) I took my meager savings and went to the DZ and blew it on a recert and a bunch of solos. I've been jumping almost every weekend for two years now. That story was probably too long, but the point is, I did know. I didn't go out of my way and research gear (and especially not cameras) until long after I had completed AFF. But I did know I would love it. And I still do. I have no objective way of knowing I'll do it forever, but I feel VERY strongly that I will. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Also Chris Ash, who took me on my first flight, and works at the tunnel now. I know there are a few more too. And soon meeee hopefully! :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I can hear it now. "Oww... why the fuck did I just do that?!" www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Well if no one else is gonna say anything... I think it's cool! Congrats. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Two feet is two feet no matter how fast you're running. Make sure to get video of this skateboard belly flop! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I call bullshit. Two feet to your belly has got to hurt. Padded landing area doesn't count! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Well, I haven't landed mine yet. Have you? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Then wouldn't you have had a pretty minimal forward speed regardless of wind? Anyway, I guess I just figured with a mal'ed reserve canopy, the thing to be most afraid of would be the descent rate. But I'll admit I'm thinking from the perspective of a solo jumper, and I guess forward speed is probably a lot worse when you have someone strapped to you, huh? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Please explain this. I'm confused, since constant wind doesn't affect the descent rate of your canopy. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Meaning, instead of a large open inlet at the front, they were closed, had some sort of a leading edge (I guess that would be the tricky part), and had mesh inlets on the bottom skin near the front? Would they deploy? Would they fly? Would they suck? Discuss. :) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Have you jumped this Bowie? How does it work? Anybody else have any better/different methods for using a small camera like this? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Yeh I remember you... Bryan, right? (ok, I checked your profile but just to see if I was right!) Thanks for the advice. About the Digital Elph, I actually already have 3MP Casio Exilim that looks like pretty much the same thing. Is it possible to take a camera like that on a skydive? First there's the mechanical lens that like pops out, and I don't know if terminal air/dust would hurt that somehow. I also don't know if it would be adaptable to a bite/tongue/blow switch, but I'll admit I don't know a thing about how those attach to a camera anyhow. And I do plan on taking everyone's advice about not adding stills until after many video only jumps, which was my plan already anyway. :) Thanks again for all the great replies everybody. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I am usually able to finish zipping both legs in the time it takes everyone else to board the plane, and right about the time the co-pilot gives me a look like, "stop leaning forward and getting so close to my controls, I need to take off!" I sit back in my seat and smile. :) I'm about 2" shorter than you FWIW... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Are you talking adhesive stickers? I'd be curious to see how you'd get them to stay on. I've seen at least one person (cough, ScaryPerry) with a patch (cough, 420), but not a sticker, sewn on the back of his legwing. I think it was a patch at least. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

What plane? I love co-pilot in an Otter. I can zip up while sitting down (do it in sections), and then I don't have to be all hunched over, half-stood up in a full plane from 9k, hurting my back and zipping up. The best would just be if all Otters had benches though. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

What happened to Ray? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I realize this question is broad and the answers will vary based on a million things (location being the primary), so bear with me and answer to the best of your ability, if you feel like it. a) With no camera jumps to my name, roughly how much experience with the camera will I need before I go asking DZO's to let me film their tandem and AFF students? I know people learn at different rates, but what tasks/skills should I focus on? I'm guessing film a lot of belly stuff, offer my services for free to new jumpers and new teams if they're interested. b) What equipment will I need? I'm leaning toward FF2 helmet, HC42 vid, Digital Rebel still, and some sort of camera suit I'd imagine (which I'd also imagine I'll have to learn how to fly). Looks like it will cost me upwards of $2k, but I already knew nothing in this sport is cheap. :( c) Assuming I have the skills and the goods, how hard is it to actually find work? This is the question I hesitate to ask, because I know there's probably not an easy answer. I'm lucky that I have quite a few DZ's in my area, and I do plan on talking to each DZO in the near future and asking him this question. I'm basically just wondering if anyone out there personally has invested lots of time and money with the hopes of becoming a vidiot, only to be told that the DZ doesn't need anymore and there are already 20 other people asking for the same job. That would suck, and I'd imagine it does happen some places, but like I said since I'm near so many DZ's I feel I have better chances. edited to add: Does it make it harder if I'm only available on weekends? (because of weekday 9-5 job) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

There's no way to get a flash on a FT-narrow, or even worse, on a FF2? No way the flash could mount straight to the camera or anything? Thanks for the replies, everybody. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

When I talk to people about video cameras, both on the DZ and on here, I always hear Sony PC-10x cameras mentioned, leading me to believe they're popular and good. I hear the PC-109 mentioned a LOT. Also, looking at lists of "compatible cameras" on helmet manufacturer pages, I see something like this, for example (from 2KC's page): Q: What cameras can be used with the 2KC Helmets? FF2 fits PC-6 ,8 , 9, 100, 101, 103, 105, 107, 109, 110, 120, 330, 350, 1000, HCxx However, when I search the Sony webpage I can't find a reference to almost any of these cameras. Are they all old models or something? If so, what's a new inexpensive camera good enough for someone looking to do say, tandem video? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm looking to start flying cameras and am doing my research on equipment and helmets. I've noticed the FTP-type helmets (large, full face, with a huge mounting surface on top) referred to as "professional" (and usually quite a bit more expensive). What actually makes a helmet like this superior to say, an FF2, which is smaller and cheaper but still allows use of two camera simultaneously? My guess is that with the super large mounting platform, you can mount other sorts of hardware - exactly what, I'm not sure, since I'm new to this, the only thing I could think of you would need besides two cameras would be a flash (which btw, why would you need a flash? - I've seen them on some of the crazy "pro" setups). On the downside, the big "pro" setups seem bigger and heavier, which to a newbie like me sounds like more weight on my neck and more entanglement risk. I don't need the best of the best, especially when just starting (weight and size are important to me), but I would like a good enough setup to do some sort of "work" videography (tandems, AFF, coaching, whatever) if my skills progress far enough and the opportunity presents itself. Would an FF2 type setup be good enough for this? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

So is that directly related to the "fps" of the camera, how many pics you can take per second? www.WingsuitPhotos.com