The111

Look at the size of some of the smaller capacity, solid state iPods. I think we're pretty close. They also make 8GB CF cards right now, for a somewhat reasonable price. That's got to be what... 30 minutes of HD footage maybe? It would be nice to never have to buy blank tapes again, and already have your footage in a format you could edit. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I think solid state would be awesome, assuming all the size constraints (physical size and data capacity/rate) work out. I absolutely HATE firewiring tape footage. After the last big wingsuit event we had at Zhills I spent HOURS firewiring other people's footage onto my tapes. Then when I got home I had to firewire all that footage to my PC. I've spent probably 15 hours doing this. It sucks that we have to capture at a 1:1 time frame (real video time to capture time). Once we've got digital (non-tape based) data we should be able to "trade" footage a lot faster. Even though we as skydivers represent a small portion of the market, I'd think there are other sports applications where HDD cameras would not be a good thing, so that market should drive the development of these solid state devices... right? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Haha, you are right Andrew... I always get the end of the year mixed up because of New Years. I was not really there in Dec 06 either... except for the very end, 12/31 and 1/01. So I think I still missed Bob... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

To everyone who asked, hopefully the real thing will be done in a few weeks at worst. Keep your eyes open.

Scott Bland talked me into this. Short and sweet, enjoy.

I'm pretty sure they do... at the same location as the old one. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Sure. At a 1G load it weighs one times its weight. At a 2G load it weight two times its weight. Etc. This kind of precise number chasing is not well served in skydiving applications, IMO. What IS an important thing to consider though is that the weight of your camera helmet alone is not the primary factor in how much your opening can hurt your neck. Much more important than weight is (1) distance from the base of your neck and (2) position of your head relative to opening direction. I say relative to opening direction, rather than vertical, since in a wingsuit (which I am 99% of the time) opening is not straight down. If you keep the camera, your neck, and your spine in line with the opening direction, you will only feel compression load on your neck, which is much preferable to the alternative, bending load. To do this requires (1) a nice weight distribution on the helmet and (2) a nice head position on opening. My helmet is about 7 lbs and some people act like that's crazy. But I've heard of certain pros using 20-30lb setups. Now that's heavy duty. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Snopes'd. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

My intent was not to point a finger at James or any of the flyers. I've busted my share of burbles and had my share of fast passes. Just wanted to re-emphasize the risks we're playing with. My entire post wasn't even necessarily related to James' video... just got off on a side train of thought and took the thread off topic. I know I've given someone a GIANT bruise on his calf (so bad he limped for two weeks) and I was only a few feet away when I caught his burble (i.e. what appeared to be a "soft" impact). With an impact to a more vital place, and more closing speed, the results would be horrible. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm confused... were you sitting in the dog's lap, or in your cousin's? Nice shot! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Very nice video as usual James! I missed it the first time around somehow but noticed somebody's reply to it and just finished watching it. Keep the cool camera angles coming. The part where you looked left then right with the "overhead" cam was VERY trippy (even though it was a very simple "maneuver" to do)... I had to watch it like 10 times. I think it looked cooler than the barrel roll from that angle. Some scary looking zoo-exits though, and one pretty hard burble impact. I've never liked the idea of gainers in groups, and disliked even more the idea of only half of a group doing gainers. Even if everyone tries to do it, half end up pointed in the wrong direction and it's chaos afterwards. There's a shot around 00:45 where you finish doing a gainer and somebody screams by, it appears as if they're going the other way but it's hard to tell. Even with "flat and stable" exits for all, bigway wingsuit exits scare me. During the 3-plane loads at 3.0 (does this "3-3" mean we add a plane each year?) I was a bit nervous on exit and while approaching the formation. On non-WS bigway loads (RW) I am sure there have been collisions on the way to the base, with varied levels of severity. But our closing speeds are so much higher than RW guys, and we get so much more spread out on exit, that we always end up approaching the base from a variety of angles, levels, and speeds. It's a big sky, but I keep wondering when I'm going to see (or participate in) a seriously bad "bump". I've had people rush by at very high speeds, in all 3 directions (up-down, left-right, and forward-back). www.WingsuitPhotos.com

And he peed on it, right? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Do you have to use so many cuss words? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

When you get it, aim at a big shiny wall and take pictures in different orientations. See what shape your shiny reflection is. Post the pics.

Are you assuming that the shape of the flash body equates to a similarly shaped "flash coverage zone"? I really don't know the answer, have never even thought of this. But if I had to guess I'd say that the "coverage zone" would be a roughly circular region, regardless of the fact that the flash may be a few inches wider in one direction. Does anybody know? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The meat was awesome, thanks TX birds!

One thing that really needs to be pointed out is that not all problems have solutions. This is a tragedy, but a huge argument is being fueled on the assumption that we can prevent this kind of thing from ever happening again. I think it's also worth pointing out that stupidity is far more deadly than malice. Tens of thousands of people die every year because someone can't control his car properly. But the idea of being intentionally gunned down is somehow more offensive to us than the idea of being accidentally run over. And we somehow place a much greater value on the necessity of personal transportation over the right to bear arms. No, I do not mean to downplay the tragedy of this event. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The night was dark the moon was dim the silence still and cold when creeping softly through the door he crossed the dim threshold I was alone, who could this be so stealthy in the night my heart was pounding in my breast my breathing quick and tight "Who's that," I called in fearful voice "what do you want?" The query came from me I had no weapon close at hand No gun to keep me free But I had trust, as we all should in legislative craft No banned devices I possess My friend, I'm not that daft. A shot rang out, I felt it strike a mortal blow to me As I fell down upon the ground my eyes could clearly see The gun that my assailant held was banned by hard decree No further worry plagued me now I'd been shot illegally www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Agreed, on all counts. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Cool, Katie! My 666 was on 11/10 at 11:11 (totally unintended). How's that for a 111 experience? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I don't understand how he wouldn't have lived if he didn't get hung up on the ledge. What am I missing? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm pretty sure by "up", Chuck meant down (down being toward the ground in belly flight). Loic also showed me this body position. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I wouldn't pay $350 to prolong the life of an old camera when I could get a HC3 new for $800. But I guess if you want to keep that sidemount option available, it might be worth it to you. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

http://www.precise-wingsuit-statistics.com/ www.WingsuitPhotos.com

If my sinuses clear up I'll see you guys on Saturday. Omar I might even jump with you for free. www.WingsuitPhotos.com