djmarvin

If Bonehead still sold the Bat-Rak I would buy one!!! I wish they would re-release the helmet!!!! DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Yeah but now it looks alot like the GunRak and I never really liked that helmet. Guess thats why I waited to get this one. But still is a great way to give more space on top. I like the idea, just not for me :) Tell Kelly I say hello DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Not really. I bury my chin into my sternum on opening. If I do lose it, oh well, thats one reason I have a cutaway system too. My life is worth alot more than my camera. I haven't had any issues with the risers striking the camera. If you look you will also notice that the SLR doesn't extend more than half an inch past the side of the helmet. It was definitely a concern of mine. That is why I took quite awhile at Rantoul with Chuck's helmet and my cameras checking to see how far things would stick out. DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

A couple people have asked is it possible to top mount two cameras. Attached are a few pictures of a side by side top mount. THe video camera is a Sony HC-85 (great camera by the way) and the still is a Canon Rebel 2000. I have mounted a 10D on there as well (haven't jumped it though, just check to see if it would fit) The weight feels evenly distributed on my head. Even if I take the still off and jump just the video. My biggest concern when I was mounting this was line snag. So I took some wire (coathanger) and cut it to length and molded it between the D-Box or Goldmemeber plate, and the helmet. I absolutely love this setup. Thanks to Chuck Blue for letting me fiddle with your OI at Rantoul. As you can see the side by side mount did work out after all, but like you said its a TIGHT squeeze. DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

I have an Optik Illusion and have top mounted my HC-85 and 35mm SLR next to it. I will post some pictures of it soon. BUt to answer your question, yes it is very possible to top mount two cameras DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Juan, We (greensburg) are scheduled to be open till November 21. We are open every day this week (unless its like today, damn rain) and not only are we open this weekend, but it is $15.00 jumps all weekend long. Come on out when you get the chance and knock out some jumps and if its too rainy or dark to jump we can knock out some of the other stuff on your A card. You should have no problem finishing your A. DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

TRV 17 I put well over 1,000 hours on it and still haven't done anything to it, outside the occasional head cleaning. I still use it as my back up and plan on sending it in to Sony this winter for cleaning. In my experience the camera last longer than I allow them to. (drop, break, crack, spill, etc) DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

In my opinion it c an be done safely. Just make sure the TI is ok with it and brief the student to what you are going to do. I would only dock with one hand. (Usually my right hand to their right hand, spinning the tandem paircounterclockwise, this puts less stress on their arm. As a TI I will turn in the direction the camera man goes to help keep the tension light.) I only dock one hand, because I have hada student or two not let go. In that case I can smack their hand with my free hand. They let get the hint real quick. These are my opinions and probably don't mean a thing, not even to me :) DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Fab, That guy just pulled down his rear risers while the brakes were still stowed. It starts as a dynamic stall and then is considered a Full Ram Air Stall by USPA SIMS. He does that all the time. If he has a good spot count on Papa Surf stalling his canopy. If you ever do decide to try it, make sure you are high and let up smoothly and evenly on the risers. I have done it several times on a canopy loaded at 1.9 and his is about 1.4. DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Had about 1200 jumps, coached for about a year. Mainly freefly jumps and video jumps with tandems. It was still a struggle but after 7 hours of belly tunnel time it made it easy. My girlfriend just got her rating with about 350 jumps. She planned ahead and made alot of small way RW dives. Forces you to fly alot more instead of just sitting there and waiting for the formation to complete. "Fly your slot!" You will hear this in the course quite abit. I personally recommend going with the small RW dives and really concentrate on doing only that, also get together with an evalutor if possible to make some practice jumps. I know there are a few here (greensburg, in) Go to the precourse!! I highly recommend Jay Stokes course. He is very fair, but has great input to help you along. DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

I have one (if you are refering the HC-85) It is my third Sony camera and I love it. Thing I hate about it, is the fact that everything is different now. New power cables, batteries, A/V plug, memory stick.... so all my old stuff is no longer compatible. Also if you use a Cameye II to turn your camera on and off, it no longer works, it will turn off your camera, but not back on. You can still use it to switch from record to standby and vice versa. The larger chip is definitely noticable and you can see it in the quality. Customizable menu is great for the touch screen, puts those little things you use everyday at your fingertips. The nightshot (without the IR) is not in "green" they are whighter than normal but still in color. Larger lens. If I had to do it all over again I would still purchase this camera. Hope this helps. DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Optik Illusion !!! The side mount area is larger. The top mount area is designed for larger bodied cameras like digital SLR's. After taking a long and good look at Chuck BLue's at WFFC I ordered one right away and just got it! In my silly opinion order an Illusion. you won't regret it! DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

as my main is opening and i know i do have a good canopy, i yell oh no, oh no, not again....usually the passenger will frantically ask WHAT WHAT WHAT....I forgot to make the bed again this morning. I love using this one on those "macho" guys who "aint scared" DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

I have also had the same problem on tandems. One thing I have been using that really helps is the same thing I do on my sport main. As soon as you can grab the riser, do so, and pull them apart. This has cut down DRAMATICALLY on linetwist on tandems for me. I don't recall having one since I started doing this DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Concentrate on small RW dives. These make you fly your slot alot, instead of sitting there waiting for everyone to make the next point. Also utilize the precourse. I have shot video for several AFF rating courses as well as being an evalutor. Just my two cents DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Already answered, but I agree. Two piece. I have had a couple two pieces and a few one piece freefly suits. It is nice to just take the jacket off and have no bulk around the waist on the ground. Also in warmer weather the ability to wear just pants is nice. I have seen people order one piece suits and the turn around and get a pair of pants. Obviously the two piece would have saved them money. My Firefly suits rock and would highly recommend one reguardless if you go one or two piece. DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

[reply I've wondered about this too and have yet to hold headdown long enough to expect any head rush if there is any. I don't know the answer but I do have a physics point to bring up. Gravity is an acceleration. When you're at terminal velocity your body is no longer accelerating due to air resistance (drag) balancing the acceleration of gravity. Your blood doesn't have this drag and is still being affected by gravity. Therefore my spider-senses tell me that your blood would rush to your head in freefall just like the ground. But what do I know. Maybe the increased heart rate keeps anyone from noticing any blood rush. I wonder more and more about this, but if your theory of blood rushing AFTER T.V. then how come my face is never red while I am headdown. If the blood rushed to my head then even during the short time of freefall there would be a noticable reddening of the face, yet I have never noticed my face being red from the videos of myself I have watched. The only thing I can think of to even come close to compare this to, is the Aircraft used to train astronauts. The jet does a parabola and during the zero-g dive the occupants stay weightless relative to the aircraft. They are not affected by drag (like you are saying of blood in the body) However they never seem to speed up despite this lack of drag. Really I have no clue for sure and I have put way too much thought into this now. :( DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

No. Not a stupid question. I have heard it many times over the few years I've been in the sport. My explanation for this is: On the ground you are not moving, however gravity is still "pulling" on you so your blood still flows down to your head. While headdown your body is moving downward as well so when your blood is getting "pulled" down so is your body. I have nothing to back this up outside logic (although sometimes my logic isn't all that) DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Lots of great freefly friendly gear out there now. Container: Infinity, great on protection,fit, and cost! Jumpsuit: Firefly, awesome quality! there are some major names out there that have made some changes lately and I have watched their suits falling apart by 100 jumps (I won't mention names, because I won't trashtalk anyone, just talk up those products I believe in) Helmets: I like bonehead, nice light weight, but still great protection. Like the looks of their gear too. CYPRES: people say an AAD should be a requirement for freeflying. I think its just a great idea for skydiving period! :) (but as a choice not a regulation) Audible Altimeter: Learning to freefly you will have faster speeds meaning pulltime comes quicker and some people have a hard time looking at the alti at first. STILL WEAR AND REFER TO A VISUAL ALTI! The most important gear: FUN!!!!! :) DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

As an instructor I agree with you. Where you are v. the students landing area makes a difference on assisting a student on landing. For that reason if I do have to talk a student down on radio I either land in the same area the student will or very close to it so I can immediately be within that area to talk down my student. (by the way, I rarely have to do this since our DZ has a person talking students down, but we do on occasion have to do it ourselves or take our turns talking the students down) DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Has an Instructors forum ever been considered. It could be a great place for instructors to come together and discuss different techniques and lessons learned in their experiences. It could also be a great place for those wishing to earn their ratings to gather information to better prepare for their courses. This may have been discussed already. It may be a horrible idea. But Just throwing it out there. What's your thoughts ???? DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

I was jumping at a DZ and one guy took a spaceball on the load and hid the fact. He never recovered it and it hit a factory going through a floor or two of space before it hit the concrete deck within a few feet of a worker. Yeah they go in. Thats why it is important to have a qualified ball master on the jump when you get to the point to jump with one. I have never jumped with the Vladiball but look forward to doing so one day. (I am just too cheap to buy anything! ) DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

One gal I know falls as slow as mid 120's (according to pro-track)(she is 5'9" and 120lbs) Got her working on speeding it up a bit and getting her outta her baggy ass freefly pants and thick sweatshirt and into a properly fitting Firefly suit. So no your sit is not that slow. Like most people have already mentioned you are in the average range. Over time you will learn to slow it down a bit too. Good Luck DJ Marvin AFF I/E, Coach/E, USPA/UPT Tandem I/E http://www.theratingscenter.com

Looks like you got some great plans going on. AWESOME to hear. Keep us posted on your progress! Blue Skies DJ Marvin Vertical Axis Entertainment

You are right about the people you have around you to give you advice. The names you list are great resources. I haven't jumped in Titusville since 99 or 2000, I can't count that far back :), but I remember there being several great flyers there. As for any advice I could give you, you've already heard I'm sure. You have some great flyers around. Get some coaching. People can not push this enough. The money you spend on 3 GOOD coach jumps is worth way more than the jumps that money could have bought. I have even heard the comparison of 1 coach jump is worht 5 non coached jumps. Also you going back top the tunnel to learn is a great mindset. Sounds like you are off to a great start! Now for my sorry bit of advice :) One problem I see alot with new and sometimes experienced sit-flyers is they tend to push their arms back to far behind them. This will tend to push your chest out and that causes you to back slide. If you ARE pushing your arms back to drive, try keeping them straight to your side (still out just not pushed behind you) and try leaning on the air. Light input here will get you alot more than you may expect. If you are already doing this then ignore me. Good Luck! Blue Skies, DJ Marvin Vertical Axis Entertainment