pilotdave

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    7,302

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

Everything posted by pilotdave

  1. pilotdave
    You'll need a firewire port on your computer, then a 4-pin firewire cable to connect to your camera. The other end of the cable can be 4 or 6 pin firewire, depending on the port you put on the computer. Should be cheap and easy to install a firewire card in a PC. Dave
  2. pilotdave
    Yup, thats the one I saw. So he added the visor? I really liked the look of his helmet. Best pic I got of it (from FAR away
  3. pilotdave
    Any idea if there's a full face version (with a visor)? I have seen one jumper with a sky systems full face flat top helmet... a prototype I'm sure. Looked like a factory diver with a big flat top. That's the one I'm waiting for... Dave
  4. pilotdave
    http://www.endangerous.com/pcords.html I bought some non-custom pull up cords from him on ebay a long time ago. Quality was good. skypapa, order thousands of em... they'll sell like hotcakes. Dave
  5. pilotdave
    Dave
  6. pilotdave
    More exciting than an old drunk holding a knife to someone's neck at the bonfire? Or catching a thief red handed after he stole a camera and a day's worth of tandem videos? How about getting a university-owned van stuck in the woods for a while after driving through REALLY deep puddles? I didn't think so. Dave
  7. pilotdave
    I guess I wouldn't be at all surprised if PD used some of that optimum technology on future mains. It opens fast, but soft. Maybe people are getting tired of 800+ foot openings on a lot of mains. Some people jump more docile mains with wingsuits... I know one that uses a PD 7-cell for wingsuit jumps. I'd choose an optimum reserve over a PD 7-cell (or 9-cell for that matter) any day. But only if they wear well of course and the price was right. Dave
  8. pilotdave
    I thought it landed GREAT, and I don't swoop. Landings were a lot more like my Sabre2 than my PD150. Openings were way better than the PD150 too. The regular PDr 143 lands fine, but like you'd expect a good 7-cell reserve to land. The optimum landed much more like you'd expect a decent 9-cell main to land. Dave
  9. pilotdave
    Firewire is the only way to go. Dave
  10. pilotdave
    I don't know the answer for sure, but I'm guessing it can go either way. If a jumper is flat and stable at pull time, at terminal velocity, his drag is equal to his weight. Assume he throws out his pilot chute and is instantly stood up. For a split second (at least), his drag will be out of equilibrium with his weight. The drag from his body will most likely be reduced, but he'll have additional drag from the pilot chute (and dbag). If the new total drag (drag from the pilot chute plus the drag from his body) is less than his weight, he'll speed up to a new, higher terminal velocity. Otherwise he'll slow down to a new terminal velocity. So does the drag from his body decrease more than the drag caused by the pilot chute? Maybe it depends on what he's wearing, how much he bends his knees, how big his pilot chute is, or whether or not he's wearing his clown shoes that day. I still don't see how it would ever matter... Dave
  11. pilotdave
    http://www.tonfly.com/ Dave
  12. pilotdave
    Out of curiosity, what effect do you think it would have if skyride went out of business (or got out of the skydiving business) tomorrow and all their websites and ads disappeared instantly? Would the number of tandems decrease? Would the amount of money spent at dropzones decrease? What exactly is the benefit to skydiving, in general, of the existance of skyride? Dave
  13. pilotdave
    There is a canon 14... but it's really big and heavy and ~$2000... so yeah, I'm guessing 15.
  14. pilotdave
    IS is not useful for freefall. Not really necessary for wide angle lenses in general either. Really helps for telephoto lenses where a little hand shake will ruin a picture. It lets you use a lower shutter speed and still avoid the blur caused by a shaky hand. At wide angles, you can move the camera a lot more without affecting the pictures nearly as much. Plus, at the types of shutter speeds we normally use for freefall, image stabilization will have no real affect. But you can't really use it anyway, since you need to hold the shutter half way down to allow it to stabilize before you snap the picture. Dave
  15. pilotdave
    That scene was more popular with the Czechs than the Slovaks. Also the Canadians liked it more than the Americans, obviously (it's a Canadian show). http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=5674 Dave
  16. pilotdave
    Yeah, everybody that pays a pilot chute fee gets a pilot chute. It's pointless to reiterate all the stories about skyride in yet another thread. If you really want to know about skyride and not just argue, the information is out there. Do a google search for "skyride scam" and you can find all sorts good stuff. Here's a good one to get you started: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/1800skyride-c14757.html It's a long read, but pretty entertaining. Nice insight into what goes on at Skyride. Ryan Berger wouldn't know anything about this stuff though... Dave
  17. pilotdave
    More popular here in CT than Mirage, Infinity, or Wings I bet, and getting more and more popular. So strange how rigs are so regional, even far from where they're made. Dave
  18. pilotdave
    Well, they may have. Skyride believes USPA did something wrong and has sued. Now it's up to the legal system to decide if USPA did something wrong. If it's not looking good, they may choose to settle with Skyride. I sure hope it doesn't end up that way... USPA tried to make a stand against skyride, but it may have backfired. Dave
  19. pilotdave
    I don't think poor performance is one of the reasons new jumpers are discouraged from jumping wingsuits. Dave
  20. pilotdave
    The nearest DZ is Paradive, which is near Netanya (if you have a map handy). I jumped there last year. GREAT dropzone. People were great, beautiful scenery, great facilities, and a couple of Caravans. Smallest freaking landing area I've ever seen though, but plenty of outs. Unfortunately last I heard they were becoming a tandem mill and not allowing any fun jumpers. Don't know what the latest is. There's another DZ in the south called SkyKef. A bit farther away, but it's a small country so it's not THAT far. Dave
  21. pilotdave
    The USPA is a division of the NAA. At least thats what it says on my USPA membership card in the FAI section.
  22. pilotdave
    I'd say the only reasons it would happen are if a judge tells them they have to, or if that's part of a settlement. Either way, I hope the USPA rewrites their own rules for group/individual membership and kicks them out again. Dave
  23. pilotdave
    I have a PD150 in my second rig. Mine's still in pretty good shape, but not great. It takes perfect timing to get a nice landing on mine. And since I don't jump it often, when I do, my timing is usually off. Check and make sure your brake lines aren't too short. There should be some slack in them when your hands are all the way up. Mine were VERY short (pulling the tail down constantly) for a while, which made the flare much worse. After I got that fixed, it became a little better but not like a nice crispy sabre2. Dave
  24. pilotdave
    Here's the best I can do... lots of canopies, but not the greatest shot. Big version is available though... Dave
  25. pilotdave
    I thought about that! I found some heated motorcycle gloves that looked like they'd work great for skydiving... except that you need to wear a fanny pack with 8 D batteries (or plug into a motorcycle 12-volt system). I thought that might be...annoying.