pilotdave

Ahh, maybe they changed after 4-way ended. But for 4-way we plugged in firewire and composite at the same time. Judging was live off the camera through composite and video was also captured in Vegas through firewire at the same time (unless ya had an AVCHD camera). Dave

At US Nationals? Judging was done with composite to DVD recorders. NLE simultaneously captured to a hard drive for other uses. Dave

I was in your shoes a few years ago. I went with a 2Kcomposites FF2. It's got a lot of features that the rawa didn't have. Those were the two helmets I was choosing between though. The FF2 has a smoother box... no snag points and a smooth surface to deflect lines/risers compared to the rawa (which isn't bad). The rawa has the thumb screw prodruding from the bottom of the box. The FF2 uses a captive thumbscrew (it doesn't come off the helmet) under the helmet padding. Nothing to lose when you remove the camera. Maybe things have changed but when I was looking, there was no cutaway option for the rawa either. I wouldn't buy a camera helmet without a cutaway. The FF3 can fit a wider range of cameras than the FF2, but I don't like it as much. Dave

Choose a camera first, then pick an appropriate helmet. You might get frustrated if you start with the helmet then hope to find a camera that fits.... assuming you're talking about a side mount. For top mount it doesn't matter. Dave

I'm guessing it's a P206. The U206 has the cargo door in back. P206 has a door like a 182. Dave

You don't need a $100 gearbag. I went to walmart and bought a cheap duffel bag. Finally won a real gear bag in a raffle a couple years ago. That's how I get most of my stuff...

It's really important to know this about your AAD. It's not because you might blow through 1000 feet head down or in a sit. If you do that, who cares if your cypres fires a little high? It matters if you screw up and pull your main down below 1500 feet or so. As your main snivels, you will be stood up but continue to descend at high speed for a little while. If you're still doing over 76mph vertically as you go through about 1200 feet, your cypres may fire (for the reason mike explained above). That would give you a 2-out. That's why you need to go for your reserve significantly higher than 750 feet if you find yourself in freefall down low. Problem is that it's a tough decision and most people will instinctively go for their mains, not their reserves, when they're in a hurry to get a canopy out. But the point is, when you come down under a 2-out and you swear you pulled by 1200, your cypres didn't misfire... it did what it was expected to do. Dave

Another reason to use a bag is WTF are you going to do if your reserve handle gets pulled by accident? First you're causing a bomb scare, then you have to deal with carrying and storing your mess. Wonder if your reserve PC spring is going to get bent as you wind duct tape around your rig to hold it all together. I can't understand why so many people choose to ignore USPA's advice, TSA's advice, and common sense. Yes, carrying a rig loose through an airport and onto an airliner does make you super cool. There's just no way around that. Maybe, just maybe, it's worth the possible hassles. Dave

The climb to 18K in that plane would have taken about a week. If you paid extra for 18K, you probably got ripped off. What DZ is that? Dave

I'd go to the airport and fly the rest of the way. It'd be a boring show. Dave

I'm still confused. The OP was clearly (or apparently not so clearly) looking for a solid state memory camera (SD card), not a standard definition camera. He wants to know what sony memory card camera to buy. We don't need to rehash the whole conversation... just answer the man.

He may be referring to the 5D Mk II, which shoots great video (to us mortals anyway... I know you wouldn't like it

And we don't know how skydiving helmets compare to anything else. We can only guess. People say protecs are better because they have a certification. But until someone plunks down the cash (and figures out the proper testing criteria) to get skydiving helmets crash tested, we really don't know. The stiff foam in a protec might transmit light bumps to the head more than the soft padding in a skydiving helmet. Maybe better for hard hits and worse for soft ones. Who knows. Dave

Maybe the correct answer is that you're ready for wingsuits when you can define "the work" yourself. I agree with mccordia... it's not about doing 200 solo tracking dives. Dave

It got really cloudy and rainy right before sunset... but then cleared right out. Absolutely (and pointlessly) beautiful day. Always has to happen right after a gross weekend to mess with us. Dave

Here's my shot of it. Not really all that interesting.

For the most part, pilots fly where they want. You would think the pilot would have routed himself away from the DZ since jumpers were in the air though.

They're all different materials (except kevlar and HMA, which are the same) with different properties. Spectra is also used in helmets for impact resistance and light weight. I don't personally believe that the materials our helmets are made of makes a whole lot of difference (ie Mamba vs. Z1). They don't have impact absorbing foam in them like a motorcycle helmet does. If you hit either of them hard enough, whether they break or not, the force gets transmitted into the wearer's head pretty well. Neither is designed for any significant impact. They are designed for kicks and head bumps, etc. The beloved protec is made of plastic. That's because of cost. There are better materials, but who cares? It's not a motorcycle helmet. It's designed to prevent injuries when someone bumps their head on the sidewalk after falling off a skateboard. Materials really start to matter when you get to extremes like road rash at 60 mph. There's no perfect helmet. It's all about tradeoffs. Protection vs. weight, cost, visibility, aerodynamics, etc, etc, etc. A helmet can only be judged against the job it's designed to do. Dave

I think the spectre and sabre2 are quite similar in many ways and a 150 in either of them is a bit of an aggressive choice for a first canopy. Personally I prefer the way the sabre2 lands and the way the spectre opens. I chose a sabre2 after demoing both. I'd highly recommend demoing anything before you buy it. Don't be afraid to go a size bigger too. Dave

That second one looks familiar... Dave

I guess it's DZ specific, but it's a huge no-no to exit without a green light (if the plane has lights) at some DZs for all the reasons mentioned above. If the pilot forgot to turn the light on, we yell at him. Sometimes he didn't forget... he meant not to turn it on. Dave

Are you sure? http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Shop_Digital_Direct http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Lenses_N_More Dave

You do know that DSE shot that video, right? If so, good reference. If not, thats really funny. But I also wonder if other DZs are having trouble with magnetic riser covers picking up metal filings. We have a couple sigmas with magnetic riser covers and as far as I know, we haven't had any problems. If you're packing on metal filings, maybe you have bigger problems than riser covers? Dave

If thats true, it's just silly. The best way to protect themselves would be to install it correctly and test every installation (when it can be installed without test fitting). And then provide warnings that it may not work. The FF2 didn't come with any instructions and the design wasn't the same as the pictures on their website. When I got it to match the photographs as close as possible, it utterly failed a test. Had to try another configuration to get it to work. Clearly they weren't concerned with legal issues. Dave

That's the old cutaway system. From the pics on the site, it looks like the new button system has ratchet straps on both sides. I have an FF2 with the old system and I agree... there's no way that system could have come pre-installed since it has to be fitted. But I did need a rigger to help. At least mine came with all the necessary hardware (and cameye installed properly). Dave