pilotdave

You can switch your password to anything you want. After you log in, go to User Control Panel, and hit Change Password. Originally nobody was even going to see that ugly temporary password... it was for behind the scenes use only. Maybe I'll work on changing it so you put in the password you want when you register. Thanks for the idea! Dave

Would be really cool to do some independent testing of various helmets. Wonder if there's any group that would fund that kind of thing... But anyway, kevlar (or spectra even) might have better properties than plastic or carbon fiber, but the material isn't everything. I very much wonder about a good blow to the ratchet on a Bonehead Havok or to the hinge points of a Z1, etc. How about hits to the different types of visors, chin cups, etc. And then there's the padding inside. Do all the full face helmets use the same stuff? Helmets do multiple jobs. Motorcycle helmets need to protect from very hard, blunt blows, and scraping against the road at high speed. An army helicopter pilot helmet won't hold up to road rash, but it can take a very hard hit from a pointy object and provide some protection from fire. Skydiving helmets have their own unique job to perform. We just don't really know how well they do it, at least comparatively. Dave

Just a couple changes to SkydivingMovies.com today. You can now sort files by file size. Probably most useful to people on slow connections that only want to see the small files. But some people like to be able to find the really big ones too, since they're usually longer or higher quality. Also, the way you sort files has been changed. Just click the headings in the file lists to change the sort order. Reverse the order by clicking the same heading twice. Also, the new 160 gigabyte hard drive has arrived at the server location. Not sure when Matt will be able to install it. Expect a little server downtime while the install is in progress. And finally, any new features/changes you'd like to see? Dave

I agree about the quality control, but it seems to have gotten better in newer ones. Mine really looks like it was slapped together (when you take a very close look), but I still love it. Newer ones seem a lot cleaner. Mine came with a couple of the velcro pieces that hold the liner in sticking way out, sticky side showing when the visor is open, threads sticking through the mouth holes, slight orange peel in the paint, etc. But it's comfortable, fits fine, opens easily, and keeps my head nice and warm. As far as impact protection, I'd LOVE to see any proof that one helmet is any better than another. Of course they aren't all equal, but without scientific testing, I think it's a very bold statement to say one untested helmet provides better protection than another. Many people point out the protec is the "safest" helmet you can get for skydiving. What's it made of? There is much more to how well a helmet protects the head than the material it's made of. Dave

If it comes out sounding like "fuck you, eh!" in proper canadian french, that's close enough. Dave

Another happy customer... A little hard to understand, but it's from a french email address: "Thats gonna be a perfectly bullshit site you cannot beconnected on without any fuck... user name or other pin or wathever. bad trip. keep your videos nobody's wanted." I'm not sure what people write things like that for. The loss is all his, and I actually get a lot of entertainment out of hate mail. I'm thinking about adding a hate mail section to the site so I can share these fun letters with everyone. Anyone know how to say "8677 people disagree" in French?

Alright, since I never said any of that and don't agree with it at all, and it's your whole point, I'll be done here too. Try reading what I wrote without taking it personally. Dave

Right click on download -> save target as. Or just hit stop in media player, wait for it to download more, then hit play. Or use Mozilla Firefox. Dave

And what's that supposed to mean? What exacly is your point in this thread? We should only ask the manufacturer when we have questions about gear? We shouldn't bother to post questions in this forum because the manufacturer will ALWAYS give the best answer to every question? Riggers magically know everything and never learn about gear and rigging from this forum? I'm no rigger, so you'll have to speak slowly and in simple words... Dave

You made up your own opinion based on the fact that there have been 3 recent saves. There are many many pilots in the world that, regardless of the 3 recent saves, believe BRS systems are unnecessary and a waste of money and weight. If you ask Lancair for their opinion (which of course i haven't actually done, i'm just using this as an example), I'm willing to be they'll tell you that all 3 of those aircraft that were saved by BRS systems recently were Cirruses, and that no Lancair Columbias have been in a situation that required a BRS, and yada yada. Cirruses are falling out of the sky all the time, but Lancair hasn't had an accident due to structural failure, blah blah, etc. It's not a cut and dry issue, just like the collins lanyard or the skyhook or the type of reserve handle or main deployment system or exposed vs unexposed pop top. So you learned the pros and cons of the collins lanyard from what, an FAA advisory circular? Just like you said below, a rigger should learn something every time they come here. If they knew it all, that wouldn't be possible. I obviously can't judge whether a rigger is right or wrong all the time, but when a rigger says something contrary to the manufacturer or contrary to the laws of physics, I feel highly qualified to determine that he's wrong. You can't learn how to fly from a forum any more than you can learn how to pack a reserve. But you can learn a whole lot about flying or about packing a reserve. A pilot or rigger obviously has to be pretty careful about applying knowledge gained from a stranger, but are you really suggesting that it's useless for a skydiver to ask a question about gear on a public forum? Dave

Well, I'd obviously go to Cessna or whatever if I had a question specific to the type of aircraft. But if I wanted to know how valuable a FADEC is in a general aviation aircraft, cessna, which doesn't offer FADECs, would probably be the wrong place to ask. How about the Lancair Columbia vs the Cirrus SR20 (or 22 or whatever)... 2 very similar aircraft in almost every respect, but the Cirrus comes standard with a ballistic recovery system, which isn't offered at all on the Lancair. I wouldn't ask either company if a ballistic recovery system is a very important safety feature. If I owned a Lancair and wanted to install a BRS system, sure, the manufacturer would be a good place to ask. But read the original post. He was asking a lot more than "Can I get a collins lanyard installed in an infinity?" Asking a local rigger works too. But how do you know if your rigger knows anything about the subject? My first rigger, a very experienced master rigger, turned out to be a compulsive liar of sorts. Ok, odd situation. But guess where many riggers get information about controversial issues like collins lanyards or skyhooks, or anything else. Yeah, dropzone.com. Not every rigger has had 30 years of experience and seen it all. In fact, most haven't. I've heard riggers say things that are just plain wrong, and I've heard riggers say "I read on dropzone.com that..." In fact, the easiest access to a very highly qualified rigger most people have is right here. Not saying there aren't plenty on my DZ, but my DZ is over an hour away and it's winter. And after asking a trusted rigger, I'm left with only one opinion. And it's ALLLLLL opinion in this sport. If there were any facts, every rig would be exactly the same. Ok, not quite.

Exactly. I'm not arguing for or against the collins lanyard. I'm arguing against ONLY getting advice from one manufacturer when it comes to a feature only offered on certain rigs. Javelins don't have secondary riser covers right? Do you think they tell customers (or potential customers) that secondary riser covers make a rig safer? The truth may very well be that secondary riser covers don't make a rig safer, which I've read on here a number of times and just don't believe but that's a totally different story. But is Sunpath the right place to ask that question? Probably not. And RWS isn't either (though I'm sure someone will quote Bill Booth saying that secondary riser covers are for marketing only or whatever someone has posted a few times). My original post was to Tink, who said that it's best to contact the manufacturer to get answers to all those questions. I think it's best to post right here, and contact the manufacturer too if you want. But hey, when the manufacturer posts here, why do it twice? Dave

Which supports exactly what I'm saying. How do I know that Manufacturer X doesn't feel the same way, when in reality the only reason they don't offer rigs with collins lanyards is that they can't. They aren't going to advertise (for the most part) that a collins lanyard is an essential part of a proper RSL system. I'd rather hear YOUR opinion on a matter like that. RWS, who happens to sell rigs with the collins lanyard, says (according to what you said) that it is essential. Infinity says that since risers almost never break it really doesn't make any difference. Both have a stake in their argument. I'm not saying either one is lying... I'm just saying that a manufacturer may not be the best place to ask for advice on this sort of thing. Dave

Ok maybe infinity was a bad example.... switch that to mirage! But still, I wonder if RWS agrees with: "For sport use, we feel that the RSL is sufficient due to the current construction method used for Type 17 risers." I'm not saying you're wrong or that isn't how you really feel, I'm saying that I'm willing to bet there's another manufacturer out there that believes every RSL equipped rig should have a collins lanyard. Who's right? There's a lot of marketing in both arguments when they come from manufacturers. But thanks for posting your response! Dave

You really think infinity is gonna tell him a collins lanyard is a great idea? They can tell him he can't have one, but do you really think they're going to say it's a good idea? You don't get ONLY facts from manufacturers, you get marketing. Think if you call up RWS they'll tell you an infinity is just as good even though it has no collins lanyard? Dave

Uh huh... like when asked how to get into base jumping: "You go through the motions to get a Skydiving License through the USPA, get up to class D (I think its like 500+ Jumps, not sure though), and get certified at one of USPA's BASE Jumping events." So close...

The file they're linking to isn't on skydivingmovies.com (though that's probably where it originally came from). When that file was linked at http://www.fazed.net it got downloaded 9000+ times on the first day. The SkydivingMovies.com server musta been smoking. Afterwards there were so many links to that file and a few others that i had to rename them. All the links to my site are to the main page, and luckily most people don't bother to register. Dave

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1378344 http://www.borki.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=430 http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?p=3967819&posted=1#post3967819 And I'm sure it'll be popping up in all kinds of whuffo forums, in many other languages soon too. A link from one big site gets spread like the plague. Registration is my antibiotic.

Saw a show about Qatar on TV a while back. It looks like an awesome place to live. VERY wealthy country (oil money). Great healthcare, free education (US and european universities have opened campuses there), etc. The women no longer have to keep their faces covered... and from what I saw on TV, that's a very good thing. Maybe they only showed the pretty ones, but I was impressed. But I think you'll find that it's very modern and probably a very nice place. I just remember after seeing it on TV that I was ready to move there. Dave

I haven't been to a DZ I haven't liked yet. The important things to know are about their facilities, aircraft, etc. The rest (the people, the "vibe") are just matters of opinion. You'll never know if you're gonna like the "feel" of a DZ until you experience it for yourself. And since the reviews aren't anonymous, I think you're much more likely to see many more positive reviews than negative ones... it's a small world. Dave

I don't know why so many skydivers hate the show so much. Their narration isn't nearly as bad as some of the other similar shows, and they've done some positive pieces on skydiving too, like this one: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=997 Yeah, they sensationalize everything, but I don't think they're any worse when it comes to skydiving as they are about anything else. Dave

Everything's set for the upgrade. Just got a new 160 gig (IDE) drive yesterday. I plan to ship it to Matt this week. Dave

I have buddies that will sign a few jumps, but none that'll sign 500 Dave

Just checked my logbook. When I first posted, I had exactly 30 jumps. I dunno how many videos my site had back then...but a few months later i posted that it was up to about 700 videos, 4.5 gigs. Now I have over 11 times as many jumps, over twice as many videos with over 4 times as many gigs. Dave

While I'm here... Anyone had trouble logging in? Some people have been sent right back to the login page every time they attempt to log in. I still don't know what caused the problem (I was never able to repeat it), but I changed the way the login system works a little bit. Hopefully it'll let everyone in now. Dave