ChrisL

Camera dropped over a couple square miles of wooded area. Left my head on exit at 13,400 ft. Looking for it would likely have been pointless. Even if I found it, which was highly unlikely, it would probably have been damaged beyond use. Only value would have been recovering the memory card and it only had 3 jumps on it. I didn't bother. Had I known it came off I might have tried to spot the area directly below and downwind a bit but as it was, I didn't even realize it was gone until I deployed and reached up to turn it off. __ My mighty steed

---------------------------------------------- You might have something there. Mine is a Pilot 150 and I'm 135+Gear, so 145 at most. I'm sure it has an effect. I'm loading my 188 at 1.3 and have no end cell closures at all. My last pilot 188, same thing. the 210 before that had closed end cells many times. __ My mighty steed

My first WFFC was the last one before they ended it. I'm glad I at least got to go to one before it ended. It might not have been the best one they ever put on, but I had a blast and made a lot of jumps. Some non-standard jumps I made included the Perris DC-9 and jumping from 23,000 ft from Mike Mullins King Air. Lots of cool memories __ My mighty steed

I didn't actually take it that way, but I admit my response could be viewed as defensive.

Like I said, the mount and part of the camera body were still attached to the helmet. Obviously what I missed was fashioning a decent enclosure for the camera since the camera itself is obviously not strong enough to take a direct impact. All due respect, (and I do respect your opinions, DSE) I think you are making an unfounded assumption here. I take your point, but I would reply that you are assuming I didn't have a thought for potential damage/injury that could have resulted from the camera falling simply because I didn't mention it in my post. In fact, initially I was quite concerned about this possibility. I looked at an aerial photo of the area below our exit point and determined it was all wooded. Even so I felt a fair bit of anxiety about it. In the future I will take care to post ALL of my thoughts, feelings, and reactions to a given event. People are in far too big a hurry to make assumptions about things that are left out, and the assumptions are usually negative.

Used to happen with my pilot 210. Doesnt happen at all on my Pilot 188. Possibly a higher wing loading inflates it more quickly. Either way it was never a problem. Couple pulls on the rear risers and they popped right out. __ My mighty steed

No. I've never had a cutaway, and I know people with a LOT more jumps than me that have never had a cutaway. __ My mighty steed

I'll remember to consult you the next time I have to choose some words. In fact, my words were 100% accurate. They just didn't tell the entire story. They still provided more information than your profile does. Would you care to share your level of experience so that I have some idea how much weight to give your words? The consensus seems to be that 200 jumps is the minimum recommended jumps for camera. Billvon's advice was "I'd wait until you have 200-300 jumps, until you can do RW without worrying about whether you will get there or not, without worrying whether you can break off safely, without ever losing sight of the people on the dive. Once you can do that, then add the camera and do very simple skydives until that is second nature as well." I meet all the skills he recommends in this quote, and I started jumping this camera on jump 307 Is your belief that I shouldn't jump a camera yet based on a general opinion about camera flying, or about me specifically? OK. I suppose my head is a snag point, if you want to look at it like that. In fact I do feel lucky. It could have been my head. Instead it was a camera that can be replaced. Your friend should feel lucky too, because no matter how shitty a deal he got dealt, there is always someone that had it worse. Once again, I'm not comparing my loss to anyone elses. It still sucks. Indeed. Not very often to me, though. Still, I'm not immune no matter how careful I try to be. __ My mighty steed

Reading this thread about my camera kinda makes up for the monetary loss a bit. What people know for a fact is that I have just over 300 jumps and that I lost my camera when I exited the aircraft on Saturday. I made absolutely NO mention of how this camera was mounted, why the mount failed, or what my attitude about camera flying in general was. I guess the fact that I'm a relative newb and the fact that it came off tells the entire story, doesn't it? I must have a cavalier attitude about it, because it wouldn't have happened if I took camera flying seriously, right? Internet = funny In point of fact, the mount was my own design, was tight to the helmet, much closer to the helmet than the mount they provided. It had no snag points, and in fact, the mount didnt fail at all. It (as well as part of the camera body itself) was still attached to the helmet. The body of the camera itself failed when it impacted the door frame because my foot slipped when I was moving out and it clipped the door edge just right. It was a one-in-a-million fluke, and it cost me $300.00 I take EVERYTHING in skydiving very seriously, including flying with a camera on my head. I waited until I had well over the minimum required jumps to try flying one. I ALWAYS listen to the safety recommendations of those that know better than I do. Did everyone simply forget that sometimes you can do everything right and shit still happens? To those that posted about how things could be worse, that's irrelevant. I wasn't comparing my pain and suffering to anyone one elses. I was just posting about what happened and it still sucks even though it was only $300.00 Have a nice day

Lost my new ContourHD 1080p in freefall. Just caught it on the door on exit. $300.00 jump __ My mighty steed

I've had both with rings and without, and I can say that I vastly prefer having the rings. I'm much more comfortable under canopy than I was on my older rig that did not have them. Both rigs were Vector 3's, with the same size harness and container. Only difference was the hip rings and a skyhook, so its a pretty fair comparison. Keep in mind that my own experience, and the position in which I am most comfortable might not be the same for everyone. __ My mighty steed

What do you mean by "a canopy piloting rig"? __ My mighty steed

Couldnt he just whip one up using bed sheets and twine? __ My mighty steed

Not all the nay sayers were posting negative responses to be jerks or to be insensitive. There are some serious challenges of physics and the limitations of the equipment that are not something you can get around. Most modern gear was simply not designed to safely handle the amount of weight. The stress of decelerating that much mass can prove to be damaging to the gear, and to your body as well. I wouldn't say its "impossible" but its certainly going to be difficult to accommodate. I'd suggest contacting gear manufacturers directly with your questions. UPT, Sunpath, etc __ My mighty steed

If you are looking for used gear, be aware that not all older vectors and javelins can be retrofit. __ My mighty steed

I owned 2 of these. A 210 and a 190. Both opened off heading 75% of the time. I was never able to find a packing method or body position that eliminated this. Had some pretty hard openings as well. They Fly great They Land great If you want consistently great openings you might wanna try a different canopy. I switched to a Pilot. Had a couple of those too and not a single complaint. They dont have quite the flare as the Sabre2 so its a trade-off. __ My mighty steed

Got a good bit of advice from a couple guys on hdforums. Using Novello wiring extensions, MAgnum cables. Should be quite sweet when done __ My mighty steed

Good man. I've been bit by my own dog on a couple occasions. Blood was drawn. Still have the dog. He's my boy. He isnt mean or aggressive, but theres a lot of reasons dogs can bite you and most of them dont deserve the dog to be put down. I hate it when people just kill their dogs or get rid of them like they are trash or some kind of object if something unpleasant happens. __ My mighty steed

Lemme know if ya ever come near Cross Keys __ My mighty steed

Between your bikes and his parties it must be a lively neighborhood :) Speakin of, I'm installing 12" Fat apes on my Fat Boy this weekend. Looks to be a 2 days job what with replacing all the wires and cables and brake lines. Wish me luck __ My mighty steed

Checked out his site. If its "Trevor" thats some nice work :) __ My mighty steed

Chris Alexander - Underworld Tattoo - Gap, PA Truth. Although I have one tattoo thats crap and I paid a lot for it. You definitely gotta get the right guy. __ My mighty steed

including the tip I paid about $800.00 holy shit!!!!!!! I shoudl hav charged for the ones i did in jail... I was just glad to have a way to kill time! I have a few of those too. They didn't cost me anything, but then again they dont quite measure up in the quality dept As far as size and coverage, you can get tattoo's this large for a lot less if they are shitty stencils off the wall, but as the level of detail and realism increase, so does the amount of time it takes to do the piece. Most good artists charge around $100.00 - $125.00 per hour (or more) for custom work. Some good ones that are just getting started and trying to make a name for themselves will go lower than that, but you are lucky to find someone like that. __ My mighty steed

Since 99% of what people say when they are drunk is just plain stupid and useless, this seems to be a counter-productive rule. Sober minds come up with far more interesting thoughts. __ My mighty steed

Shingles __ My mighty steed