pilotdave

What model of raven? I've jumped one as a main... I don't recommend it. Dave

Knowledge helps with the fear. Take the AFF first jump course and then decide. Chances are that after hours and hours of training, you won't be so afraid of being alone. Dave

Pay attention at the camp! I don't want you sucking when you get back! So now you get the joy of trying to buy a rig, huh? While you're out there, see if you can find any leads. Don't need to buy, but you could at least get a look at what's available if you can find anything. Dave

Found an A320 checklist online. APU gets shut down after engine start and turned back on after landing (if required). Dave

Do airliners (or at least fly-by-wire airliners) typically leave the APU running? Dave

The A320 is a fly by wire aircraft. If you lose hydraulics, you lose control. There's no backup control cables or anything. As best as I can tell (someone can correct me if I'm wrong), the A320 has 3 hydraulic systems. Two are powered by engine driven hydraulic pumps and the 3rd is driven by an electric motor. Each engine has an AC generator, which of course would fail with the engines as would the hydraulic pumps. But there's a ram-air turbine that will deploy when both AC generators come offline. So I'm guessing the aircraft senses a loss of electrical power, automatically deploys the ram-air turbine, and keeps power coming to hydraulic system #3. It also seems to have 2 batteries... guessing they hold up the flight control computers during the switchover. Or maybe they run the APU continuously. That would provide hydraulic and electrical power. Don't know if it's shut off during flight or not. But I could be wrong! Dave

Congrats! But you are aware that a CA skydiving license isn't valid in CT, right? You'll need to take a check dive when you get back home. And lets just say the CT checkdive is a little more difficult. Just kidding. Thank god we don't need to deal with teaching you anything anymore! Now come back home and jump in the wonderful cold weather with us! Dave

Actually to pass the bird ingestion test prescribed in FAR 33.76 (c), the engine may have to survive up to 16 bird strikes, depending on the size of the engine inlet. "(5) Small bird ingestion tests shall be conducted so as to simulate a flock encounter using one 85 gram (0.187 lb.) bird for each 0.032 square-meter (49.6 square-inches) of inlet area, or fraction thereof, up to a maximum of 16 birds. The birds will be aimed so as to account for any critical exposed locations on the first stage rotor blades, with any remaining birds evenly distributed over the engine face area." The engine isn't required to perform the small bird test if it passes the medium bird test, which can require up to 7 medium-size bird ingestions, depending on the inlet size. Dave

Nope on PIA. Would love to though. Trying out DVD Prep right now... Seems to work great. You told me about it last summer when I asked why the heck I need to render video and audio separately, but I totally forgot about it. Thanks! Looking forward to your new DVDs! But I still couldn't write a complex script on my own... Dave

I don't use any scripts, so I don't know what I'm missing.

I have vegas pro and would rather downgrade to movie studio. I don't use any features that only come with pro. I thought scripting would be great, but it turns out to be much more of a project than I'm interested in taking on. And DVD burning is a bit more difficult in pro. I'm sure pro is better for pros, but that's not me. Dave

You can't see your sensor when you look through the viewfinder. If the hair isn't on the lens, it's on the optics behind the viewfinder. It (obviously) won't affect your pictures since it's not on the lens or sensor. Dave

Why would a jumper care where his jump ticket goes? I don't want to pay 25 cents extra per jump for software, but I don't care if $10 of my jump ticket goes toward manifest and business operations. It's not a question for jumpers, it's a question for DZOs. And they know exactly how much of each jump ticket goes toward manifest so they wouldn't be surprised at all. So I'm not quite sure who your reply is targeting. Dave

The dropzone owners sure do... why shouldn't the jumpers? They also steal, lie, cheat, scam, etc. But it's their life... Right? Either you'll grow up a bit in this sport and realize the mistake you made by supporting those criminals, or you'll just turn into one of them. It's up to you... Dave

I don't generally do tandem videos, so almost all those sales were experienced jumpers. I don't think I did more than 3 paid tandem videos in 2008. But I still made more money on those than all the other pictures I sold combined. Lucky for me, I'm just doing this for fun. But I agree... When I have done video-only jumps and shot stills anyway to sell online, I never sold a single one. Not gonna sell too many stills on the spot either since my DZ now makes us include 2 8x10 prints and a CD of stills with every tandem video. Dave

I sold a whopping 220 pictures in 2008. 119 of those were digital downloads, the rest prints. But the best part was my profit on all those sales. Get ready for a big number here... $128.14! Only problem is the website I sold them all through costs $150 per year. So my grand total profit from selling pictures on my website for 2008 was: $ -21.86. I guess it's obvious I didn't get my MBA from a good business school. Dave

That was part of his point. There's no firewire on a CX12. Transfer is much faster than real time. Dave

Yeah, need better luck to find a video guy. Nobody blocking his wind...

Holy crap, nice find! That first decal of the head down skydiver is my design. They totally stole it from me. I have all the original files, including the image I used to create it. I pulled it into photoshop and compared it to my design and it matches up 100%. And I know they didn't just happen to use the same original image as I did since I modified the shape of the skydiver's head and one of his hands. http://www.velocitysportswear.com/head-down-decal1.html Attached is my design as I used it on a T-shirt, which is still available for sale. I believe that the sale of this decal by Velocity Sportswear is impacting t-shirt sales! So how many bajillions should I sue for??? Dave

Talk to your instructors about jumpsuit options and what would be suitable for you. They know how fast you fall and what options might work best for you. I wouldn't personally recommend swoop cords unless your instructors say you really need them. They basically turn the material in your armpits into wings. Stretching one arm out (like when reaching for a grip or presenting an arm for someone else to grip) can send you out of control until you learn how to counter it. You don't sound unusually heavy, but it depends on your height and build. Chances are you can slow your fallrate with booties, inside knee grips, and fabric choices. And most importantly, you'll learn technique to control your fallrate better. I know some people that fell like rocks when they got licensed and no longer had any fallrate problems after 100 jumps. Dave

Trying to use one suit for both will only hold you back. Get a proper fitting RW suit with booties first. Worry about a freefly suit later, if you decide you need one. Dave

Holy buzzards in basket...where do you find a vidiot like that? I'm pretty sure Harry and Norm are staying busy these days and traveling quite a bit. I'm not going to claim to be an expert, but it's not hard to get most of that done. Most of the AFF instructors at my DZ don't recommend video for AFF jumps due to the possible distraction, but they allow it. Then when they watch the video with the student and debrief it, they're glad it was done. I mostly stay high and off to the main side, out of the student's field of vision. For practice pulls I get a bit behind where I can see the handle and the student's hand. When they finish with practice pulls I move back toward the front, but usually stay a little high and still off to the side to see body position and hand signals. Some of the instructors will often turn the student to face the sun too (when it's possible to choose a heading)... I don't ask for it, but they know what will get the best video. I don't often get the "money shot" on aff videos... sometimes barely even get the student's face because I'm high. But I try to get useful debrief video, not tandem-style video. Dave

Ahhh... kill line pilot chute and hackey handle are standard on infinity rigs. Most manufacturers charge extra for those. I'm surprised they don't have other options on the order form though... Maybe you'd just write in special instructions if you want something different. Dave

Pilot chutes, deployment bags, and risers always come with the container. You should see options for the pilot chute and its handle on the order form. Dave

I video every coach jump I do. Helps IMMENSELY. I'm not a very experienced coach, but I definitely see a lot more on video than I do in freefall. So I can give a much better debrief with video than I can without. Also, students really understand what they're doing wrong when they see it. Much more than when they just hear about it. They think their legs were out until they see their heels on their butts on video. And it's really key for tracking. It sure looks different than it feels. As far as the problem you're having with other video guys, that's definitely not a problem at my DZ. I'm the only video guy that regularly shoots (other people's) coach jumps or AFF jumps. We don't shoot those like tandem videos. I don't charge for those videos... just a slot. And nobody's complaining. Except the AFF instructors who hate when I ruin their comfortable ride to altitude in the 182 by taking the 4th slot. Dave