
pilotdave
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Everything posted by pilotdave
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No jumping for 6 months? Some of us didn't get the memo...
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The spot looked good but something else was missing....
pilotdave replied to Anvilbrother's topic in The Bonfire
"the caption reads: you quickly get used of not having to wait.." http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1005 Dave -
I dunno. They both have to calculate speed and altitude from pressure measurements. Probably both have to compensate for temperature at the solid state pressure sensor (no idea if that's true, but the neptune does). But the protrack has to also decide where you pulled and the cypres doesn't. I'd guess that the cypres code is written to a higher standard, but I'm not sure it's any more complex. Who knows though? Dave
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Don't know about the protrack, but my neptune shows the deployment altitude a little below the bottom end of the deployment... always a LOT lower than where I pulled. I've checked the graph in paralog. As long as your calculated speed is below 78 when your calculated altitude is below 750, your cypres will not fire. How that actually compares to what you see on the protrack would be pretty hard to quantify. Remember that the cypres doesn't "detect" a deployment like the protrack does. It simply has firing parameters. Dave
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Don't even need 500 and a D license for an AFF rating, so that's a bit much for a coach rating. I think 200 is a bit more appropriate than 100 though for the average skydiver to really be able to fly with someone and provide useful feedback. Maybe some people with 100 jumps make good coaches, but I know I couldn't have and haven't met anyone that could... Dave
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Except that almost every camera flyer is still using minidv cameras with lanc ports. Since they work great for skydiving, I don't think they'll be dead for quite a long time. I wonder if the price of the PC1000 is still going up? Dave
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I had problems with the allen screw on my Quick Shoe coming lose (especially when I handle the camera while it's attached to the helmet). My solution was to stick an allen wrench in my helmet under the padding. I check to make sure the camera doesn't move in the plane... if it does, I can quickly tighten it up. Haven't found it lose in the plane yet (since I started carrying the wrench), but I'm a lot more careful to check it on the ground now. The non-permanent loctite is probably an even better idea. Dave
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I do think it's kinda ironic that hypeye went from not needing a control button at all to having all those features. Looks pretty cool... a bit bigger than a cameye though? Wonder how it'll fit in helmets... maybe needs to be externally mounted with some helmets? Dave
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Point is, even if you pulled at say 1200 feet and did get below 78 mph before 750 feet, it will likely still fire. The cypres compensates for your burble when it calculates your altitude. When you're sniveling, the burble is gone and it will miscalculate your altitude. It will "see" 750 feet when you are considerably higher than that. Dave
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***Incorrent information, originally posted by me, removed so as not to create confusion - slotperfect*** Interesting. Got a source for that? The manual just says 1500 feet, I think... EDIT: "A Student, Expert or Speed CYPRES will not work if the aircraft is exited before it reaches 1500 feet (450m) above the airfield takeoff elevation and 1500 feet (450m) above the intended dropzone elevation. In the case of a Tandem CYPRES 3000 feet (900m) has to be reached." (cypres2 manual) So there are two arming altitudes. Must reach 1500 above the takeoff altitude and also 1500 above the landing altitude if an offset is used. Dave
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No need to buy seals and forge anything (other than a signature) as long as the seal thread isn't broken. The seal indicates who closed it... not when it was closed. Most pencil packers just "extend" a packjob... It'd be a lot nicer if they did put new seals on and made up a rigger's name and seal number instead of using a real rigger. Dave
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I'm guessing someone is confusing the 1500 foot arming altitude (which happens on the way up, not the way down). Why would it "decide" to fire so much higher than it fires? If firing was inevitable, why wait till 750? Doesn't do you much good to wait. The 1100-1200 foot numbers probably come from the fact that if you're sniveling down that low, the cypres will probably calculate a lower altitude because the burble behind your back is gone and it will likely fire on you that high. Dave
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http://photo.net/equipment/canon/efs18-55/review/ is a good review of the canon kit lens, which really explains its limitations. The center part is fairly sharp. The edges are soft at wide apertures until you get to about f/8, which is a pretty normal place to be for skydiving (in bright light). I'm not saying you're wrong that a good prime lens will be sharper. I'm just saying that the kit lens works just fine for a quarter the price and half the weight. And it gives the the flexibility of a nice wide range of zooms, so it's more useable on the ground. Each lens has its advantages and disadvantages. If the kit lens was big and heavy, I'd say forget it. But for skydiving, it works great... with limitations. Dave
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Hey, the question was about light and cheap. Just answering it.
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It's an icon. Specifically favicon.ico. If you do a search on that, you'll find out how to make/add one. http://www.dropzone.com/favicon.ico is dropzone.com's favicon.ico. Dave
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The sigma 15 weighs about double and costs about 4 times as much as the kit lens though.
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Anyone Ever Saved By Another Skydiver In FF?
pilotdave replied to SkyHigh04's topic in General Skydiving Discussions
Don't know if I'd call this a "save" because the guy still could have pulled his reserve. But in this video a guy dislocates his right shoulder on exit and someone pulls his main for him. http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=254 Dave -
Low cost and light, there's only one option... The kit lens. Works just fine. Start with that and if you find something you don't like about it later, buy something else (which WILL be heavier and more expensive). Edit: Be prepared to get suggestions for heavy, expensive lenses in posts to follow. It always happens.
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Flying in turbulence (was: Fatality - Deland, FL)
pilotdave replied to RMURRAY's topic in Safety and Training
Doesn't even need to be level flight, just unaccelerated. But if you're climbing or descending you get a vertical component of drag (and thrust) that complicates things. At high AOA, the coefficient of lift does increase (allowing the wing to generate the same amount of lift at a lower airspeed). So basically I still don't get their argument for brakes. But they still might be right... Dave -
Flying in turbulence (was: Fatality - Deland, FL)
pilotdave replied to RMURRAY's topic in Safety and Training
I have a degree in aerospace engineering and I feel like I just read an explanation of how atmonauti generates lift. -
Nothing new... skyride scam has a lot of aliases: http://www.igovincent.com/ Dave
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Oh the horror! You might have to take the same course as everyone else if you want a rating! How awful! USPA SUX! The teaching skills part of the coach course is repetitive to anyone that's read the coach section of the IRM too... I think I had to come to the course with the written test completed. Then we spent an entire day learning the material on the test that we'd already passed. That was... fun.
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I bought Vegas Pro, partially for the scripting. Turns out to be much more of a project than I expected. There are a few different programming languages you can use, but it's not simple like creating a macro in microsoft word. It's some serious programming. So unless I figure out what I want a script to do (which I don't know yet) and get someone to help me program it, or someone else shares their ready-made scripts (hint hint!), it's not a feature I'll likely be using. I really like a lot of things about vegas. Some things seem much easier in vegas than they do in premiere (although it's been a long time since i've used premiere and it wasn't the latest version) and other programs I've used. But other things seem to take me longer. I haven't cut my time to edit a tandem video to anything reasonable yet... but a lot of that has to do with the way I film (in no particular order and not to a particular "script"). Dave
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Are you talking about classic accuracy (as in the real deal, landing on a tuffet and competing). Like this sort of thing: http://www.skydivingstills.com/keyword/accuracy? There are canopies designed specifically for accuracy. Your best bet for info is to find someone locally that does classic accuracy and talk to him. It's so different from "sport accuracy," where you'd jump a normal canopy... all the guidelines for wingloading and technique are different. This would be a good start for learning too: http://www.styleandaccuracy.com. Dave
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I have one. I think you'll find that your experience will completely depend on where you go to school. I took a really crappy MBA program. My company will pay for any degree... MBA sounded easier than a masters in engineering, so I did it. Really couldn't have been much easier, and I have no background in business. But an MBA from a school like MIT is going to have a lot of math. My program wasn't THAT easy, but considering I came out of it with a real live masters degree, well, its hard to believe there'd be an easier program. Dunno if it holds any value yet... haven't changed jobs. I do notice that generally when somebody gets promoted to VP at my company, they almost always have an MBA. Figured it couldn't hurt. Best part of my program was that it was held in a hotel near work. Books were brought to us, and dinner was included in tuition. I've never been to the campus and don't even know where it is. Dave