frost

What an excellent set up! Clearly visible from the air. Great job. Tha lanes are cut in grass, right? are they easy to maintain when it starts growing?

davelepka: well i guess i was wrong about two camps essentially saying the same thing :) And no, my way doesnt involve "lightening your wallet by $250, and going online to find out how high you should be turning" ianmdrennan : But seems i was right about both sides being so sure in their experience and opinions, that one doesnt want to see what the other is saying :) Did you not just reiterate what i said? "Digital tools are an EXCELLENT help, but should be used properly and with caution along with EVERYTHING at pilot's disposal"

yeah, you're right. progress is bad, lets all go back to whipping toggle turns. Let me ask this then. What are we talking about here? Are you saying "dont use the digital gizmos until you have trained and built your sight picture"? Would this guy be better off without the Neptune? What would you say if he impacted with out the digital altimeter? These are almost rhetorical questions. Seemingly, we have two camps, two points of view here. And although I am not 100% sure what the other is, i am going to guess that both camps are saying the same thing essentially. And that is: Digital tools are an EXCELLENT help, but should be used properly and with caution along with EVERYTHING at pilot's disposal. But because both sides are so sure in their experience and opinions, neither wants to see the truth: we're all agree on this. Nobody here is saying "turn when it beeps and dont worry about anything else". I will continue to use proper tools for the job. I will continue to advocate the "proper" use of such tools to novice pilots. Oh and i would think twice about and use extreme caution throwing the turn if i didnt have these tools. But thats just me, i am too scared and too cautious about this shit.

I'd consider a couple of points. 1. At the Farm (where the video was made) to board the plane you have to ride the bus for about 10 minutes to another airport, which is ~100 feet higher (right?) then the intended landing area. Additional time and altitude variation will affect what the numbers on a digital altimeter will really show and mean when you are landing. 2. If the turn of 180 degrees was made from 300 (or 400 actual?) feet... there is a good chance that he had to stab out of it as is. On the second turn of even more rotation - 220, right? - even if he stabbed, it didnt help. Is even 400 feet really enough for a 180 (much less a 220) turn? Was it a stiletto? :) Exactly right on those two counts. That's what this video really illustrates to me: a novice mistake of not recognizing the picture of a low turn (not to say that even very experienced jumpers dont make it). May be not knowing the minimum safe turning altitude for his type of turn? Definitely not in any way a negative view on digital aids for swooping. In fact, i'd say he should have used an Optima to complement and back up what his Neptune shows. And of course, more jumps to train the sight picture to recognize you're low and the ground is coming too fast.

thats right, i forgot Chicago. Still 10 bucks, eh? Facility wise it's the best place i've ever been to, and the way they ran last year's USPA Nats was just excellent. I guess if that price holds up this year, SDC should expect a lot more people willing to come for a week to do a bunch of cheap hop and pops. I really hope it stays at $10, but i seriously doubt it's financially viable.

Hey if you find a DZ that charges 10 bucks for a hop and pop, let me know, ok? ;) Seriously, welcome to 2008. there are no more cheap hop and pops and 18 and even 20 dollar jumps are long gone, a thing of the past never to return. You'll be lucky if you find a place with $15 H&Ps. Hell, i'd be happy to pay 18 to do a hop and pop, but i cant.... at my dz there are no more hop and pops period. But thats off topic... I do share all your concerns though.

When you have your own drop zone you can make your own rules. Until then, listen to what is said, or jump somewhere else...... Yeah, no shit. As much as i dont want to see rules like that, I gotta agree. Bill Dause has his own ideas how things should be done and makes his own rules, always have and always will. He's been in the sport just about longer then anyone here and has how many? 35K+ skydives? oh and he OWNS the place too

We're are heroes... you see dad?! I am a hero!! The Executive Director of USPA said so! And you said i'd never amount to anything! HA! Thank you Ed Scott, you changed my life, i am a different man now. No more therapy sessions. And no coke or alcohol! for at least a week. P.S. A good article, probably the best one i've read from the technical point of view, not like the usual journalist nonsense.

We did ask him if it would be ok with you, but he laughed and said that he knew how to control his woman. And that he didnt really care what she had to say anyway. Seriously. Thats what he said, i got like 5 witnesses. P.S. Gosh, i sure do hope i didnt get him in any trouble... He is not grounded is he? He'd still be able to swoop at the meet right? btw, did he say he's been drinking beer and playing cards again? and losing money?

Thats right, Beek, McNenney said everyone can crash at his place. He said everyone was welcome. You can drink and party there. So dont hesitate to call him up when you get in town, late at night. Or dont even call - just show up at his house he'll be happy to see you. He said that. SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Good luck there guys. unfortunately, i will be skipping the last two FLCPA meets... No direct or cheap flights. The upside is - at least I'll be saving the lunch money. The downside is - it doesn't matter since you'll take it at the Nationals :)

PC 1000 does have a D connector jack, but I dont know if i HYPEYE D PRO can be used with it. SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

just like old VX they will make any size you want. I think they computer scale it? But I seriously doubt it's possible to have tested most popular "custom" sizes, much less all of them:) I dont even know how extensively they test their regular sizes... i am pretty much same weight as you (~240 w/gear) and I own a custom sized JVX92 (ZP). I love the way it flies at a fairly heavy wingloading of 2.5-2.6. I had an 87 (sail) and at 2.8 it flew great.

Cant speak of controller (you mean HYPEYE D PRO?), but i am very happy with regular hypeye and hypeye mini, much better then cameye. I've had two of each. Both hypeyes still serve me well, cameyes are history. better quality, brighter, cheaper. Cameye button? Never had much use for it on the Rawa PC1000 or Cookie HC3 top mounted box. Plus extra helmet mangling was never to my liking.

has anyone fit a flat top mount to a regular freefly helmet? what did you use? Something like Cookie's Adaptor for the Liquid Flatlock is perfect, may be something is available locally in the US? http://www.cookiecomposites.com/shop/Accessories/26/index.htm

thats what i was looking for and thats how it should be. exactly!

When i hear "cautious when recommending" i always want to ask a sarcastic question: Should a new pilot first use an analog alti and his eyes to train the correct sight picture, and only then start swooping by beep? err.. i mean using proper tools?? :) Silly, of course. But I think we may be getting slightly off track here and losing the point. I doubt anybody here promotes swoop by beep. The main point is: you should use correct tools for the job for your own benefits.

I think we're talking about same thing, essentially. But what i recommend to newer pilots is this: if the digital altimeter says you are below the predetermined safe altitude for your type of turn, DO NOT execute the turn at all, do a straight in approach or do a smaller turn (say a 90 instead of 270). Those who are capable of speeding up/slowing down the turn when needed, how to get to their set up points in various conditions, etc. probably do not need advice to use digital altimeters - they already know the benefits.

Do you address the proper patterns and set up? Do you explain how and for what points to set up the swoop alarms? I am sure you do, so i dont know how someone ends up in the corner, if he executes a turn at the correct altitude and uses the audible alarms along the predetermined flight plan.

I recommend digital devices with NO hesitation. Further education on traffic, patterns and good manners under canopy should always follow, but I would much rather have a 'hook by the beep' pilot, then a dead or broken one. I'd guess that these things may save more lives then all AAD combined :)

With a recent low-turn fatality of an experienced pilot, this poll came to mind. I wonder how many pilots that choose to do any degree of rotation to pick up speed for landings utilize proper tools? I strongly feel that with the aid of altimeters like Neptune and Optima low turns should never happen! New and experienced jumpers doing high performance landings should ALWAYS use proper (read: DIGITAL) visual AND audible altimeters. Combined with simple self discipline (if it beeped and you are not there yet - DONT turn) they will help prevent dangerous low turns from ever happening I use two audibles (an Optima and a Neptune) and a Neptune as a visual aid.

Two more days i think.

Your nickname is suiting. Anyone with a few hundred jumps getting ready to do freestyle under canopy is DEFINITELY a next generation skydiver. Try using Search.

I've been using a .3 for several years now, among other lenses. On PC1000 and HC3. With adapter ring. Also test jumped RL .5 and .2. Nothing like what you describe Just thinking... It's a pretty solid one piece unit... but could it be that one piece of glass is getting lose?

yeah, we've been flying a lot with Brian this winter. He is a good guy, a great flyer and a teacher by trade, so he can explain things pretty well. But all of the guys that work there are great flyers! As in most tunnels these days, i'd guess. So it probably comes down to their personality and teaching methods. With some you'll click better then with others, you know? A side note for OP: make sure you book your time WELL ahead, like at least a month! The demand for air crack is pretty high these days :)