pilotdave
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Everything posted by pilotdave
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Camera doesn't need to be straight as long as you know where it points. Both of mine are cocked a few degrees to the left. Never noticed that my (sidemount) video camera was off a little bit until I added the still camera. After spending hours trying to get my still camera on perfectly straight, I realized I needed to bump it over a little to the left to match the video (and the dot on my goggles). So after all that work (including making a template of the base plate in photoshop), I just cock the camera plate a little and eyeball it. Works fine.
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One of those "this is what it's about" moments
pilotdave replied to FCipollo's topic in General Skydiving Discussions
You should obscure those clouds like they cover faces on Cops, so we can't recognize them. Dave -
Been having all kinds of fun with my canon 70-300 USM IS (f4-5.4). A few examples attached. Larger versions are available on my photo site. First one is an example of pretty low light at ISO 1600. The rest are well lit. All shot with a Rebel XTi/400D. It's the only telephoto I have used so I can't really compare it to anything else, but I can say that I've been really happy with it. The IS definitely makes a difference at 300mm. Very weird to watch your image just stop moving when you push the shutter half way down. I mostly use IS mode 2 for landing shots... it stabilizes only perpendicular to the direction you're panning, so you can follow a moving canopy while still damping out hand shake. Really makes it easier just to follow a canopy, let alone get better pictures. Dave
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http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1051 Dave
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Not as far as I know. Dave
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You might just not like the spectre.
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Hmmm... when was that? It was leaking last winter but I haven't seen it mentioned since then. I always threaten to grab the keys out of the ignition before I exit, but the pilot says he'll chase me out if I do that.
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Yeah, in the US the pilot needs to be on oxygen above 14k (above sea level). That's pretty much what dictates that most DZs exit at about 13.5. The ones (one?) that goes to 18k offers oxygen, and we use oxygen for special jumps when we go above 14k. Dave
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I do. Dave
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Containers have to be sized for the canopies you'll put in them. So until you know what size main and reserve you will want, you shouldn't buy a container. Also, you will likely be able to find a complete rig when you're ready to buy something, so you won't have to find the separate pieces. You could buy an AAD, but it's likely that the AAD you buy will have a life limit and required maintenance. No reason to have an AAD sitting around losing value and life when it's not being used. Dave
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An altimeter would be a fine purchase. No reason to get an AAD or container now. I'd recommend a quality analog altimeter. Reasonably inexpensive and could last your entire jumping career. Dave
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http://www.paratelemetry.com/ Dave
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That happens to a lot of people in cold parts of the country. Every April, dropzones all over the country have a Safety Day to get the season going. Jumpers come out of hybernation and get retrained on emergency procedures, canopy flight, aircraft safety, and a bunch of other topics, all in one morning. It's a lot of fun... and then we jump. But if you have an A-license and don't mind the cold, there's no reason to go uncurrent. Winter jumping is different and fun... although I'm NOT looking forward to the cold. Dave
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It was your accent. I almost went with Australian, but you didn't say "mate." Dave
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Best I could find of my own pics. The Guy on the left gets right into his max track position very early in his track. He starts in a "superman" position with his hands out front, then suddenly throws his arms under him into a flat tracking position. Dave
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You're probably better off getting a picture of your own track than a perfect one. Chances are you'll be able to see what you're doing wrong by looking at yourself. I film all the coach jumps I do... Really helps the students see that they aren't doing what they were taught. They think they have their legs out and are dearched, but the video almost always proves them wrong. Dave
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This assumes there's no acceleration (or deceleration if you prefer). The jumper's fall rate wouldn't change if he produced only his weight in lift. We're apparently able to create slightly more lift (and drag) than our weight, which causes our fallrate to decrease. Eventually a steady-state is reached when our fallrate decreases enough to reduce the amount of lift being produced, and we maintain a constant fallrate. Dave
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I'd disagree with that explanation. I believe that the vertical speed in a track is directly related to horizontal speed. I don't think we start "climbing" in a track until we've picked up a lot of horizontal speed. To me, that indicates that we're creating some amount of lift. Dave
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Nope... they haven't done static line in probably 20 years.
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If we're not generating lift, what is it that causes our fallrate to decrease as our horizontal speed increases? Dave
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I think you miss the point though. A good track is about glide ratio. Horizontal AND vertical speed. It's entirely possible that a person can go faster horizontally in a poor tracking position than they can in a really good tracking position. That means they will cover more distance over a fixed period of time. This is useless at the end of a skydive when you're trying to get away from your friends. Here you don't have a fixed period of time to work with. You have a fixed vertical distance. Horizontal speed is unimportant until it's combined with vertical speed. It's the ratio of horizontal speed to vertical speed that makes a good track. So in the real world, a good track will always have a slow fallrate, because we simply can't make ourselves go fast enough horizontally to have a good track at a high fallrate. Dave
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A slow fallrate isn't necessary to get a good track... it just makes it a lot easier because otherwise you'd need a REALLY fast horizontal speed. A good track is all about glide ratio. You want to descend at the most shallow angle as possible. You can do that while falling at 200mph, but it might mean you need to be going horizontally at a speed requiring rockets to help you out. The slower your fallrate, the slower your horizontal speed can be and still get a good flat track. Course it works the other way around in real life. You get a slow fallrate by going horizontally really fast and generating some lift. Dave
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I've never heard the word tuition used that way, but it was the right word... http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tuition (definition 2). British people talk funny! Dave
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It's really not different. AFF is part of the ISP. But after finishing AFF, you'll continue on to coach jumps and learn more advanced skills for jumping with other people. AFF teaches the survival skills you'll need to jump on your own. The coach jumps teach you the survival skills you'll need to jump in small groups. You can read about the ISP at http://www.uspa.org/publications/SIM/2007SIM/section4.htm. Dave
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The "45 degree rule" for exit separation DOES NOT WORK
pilotdave replied to kallend's topic in Safety and Training
Well, if the CG was within limits, leaning forward probably wouldn't be necessary. If the CG was so far aft of limits that it caused a stall, leaning probably wouldn't help. Wouldn't hurt either, I guess. I don't know how much you could possibly shift the CG (in a 182) by leaning one way or the other. I'd guess (and hope) not very much. Dave