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I just put my little girl (ok she's 30 but she's still my little girl) on a plane to go back home. She came down to FL to see the 12:01 Star Wars show Thurs. On Friday she came out to the DZ to watch me jump and decided to make a tandem jump. The folks at the DZ were terrific (as usual) and made it a very special event. I rode up with her and she got to see me exit, which helped with her anxiety. Not to be outdone by Ann Curry, she landed out (safety first). It was truly a day to remember and we both have video to help (I had a tune up video done to show where the rough spots are now that I'm soloing). When your family and friends can't figure out why you do it, it sure is nice to have at least one person understand the feeling. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Change -1 Currently 186 1 away for wing load target --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

QuoteAren't Coral snakes the ones with red and yellow bands together, red and black bands together are king snakes or something harmless? Red and black, friend of Jack, Red and yellow a nasty fellow....does that rhyme mean anything to you folks who live down in snake country? Quote Down here in Florida we have both. Both snakes look very much alike, but the head of the Coral Snake starts with a black ring. I don't remember the whole rhyme, just the "black" and "get back" part. They are very pretty, have small weak fangs that don't penetrate clothing well, and are shy and nocturnal. They're also one of the most deadly neurotoxin producers in this hemisphere. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Hyperbaric was my thought too - ground because you wouldn't want to take them to any altitude. Course there could be many other reasons. I used to live in Montevallo - can't see why any ambulance would leave Birmingham unless they had equipment on board that was needed for a pick up. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

My wife is a survivor - 6 years and going strong. It is the reason I'm back in skydiving. 30 years ago she came to watch me jump - I lost a layer of skin to the new anti-skid on the 182 strut and bled like a stuck pig. Our JM broke his ankle landing in a gopher hole, her request - stop jumping - I did. Never lost the love of the sport, just chose a greater love. Six years ago she was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer that required a very aggressive treatment including bone marrow transplant. After her terrific attitude and spirit and her determination to fight with all she had I saw a change in her. The little things that used to bother her no longer mattered. She started enjoying life while she was living it rather than spending all her energy preparing for tomorrow. She never forgot how much I loved jumping and this spring she returned the gift I gave her 30 years ago - by giving it back. Her last checkup was good - no sign of return, she goes with me to the DZ and watches me jump and with me to the tunnel and sits outside the glass giving me hand signals to keep my chin up - arch - and get my legs together. Clouds do have silver linings - I know - I've seen them. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

5. Because my company builds generators and anything that uses that much electricity is GOOD! 4. Because I like the tingly feeling I get in my fingers when I'm done. 3. To watch the WOW! look on grown-ups faces when they hit the air. 2. To watch the WOW!!!!!! look on kids faces when they hit the air. 1. Because Paige and Ari let me share their time and help me feel less "neophyte". --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Where to begin? I wasn't relaxed and in an arch. An AFFI advised me to arch on the ground and pivot on my hips, then de-arch and try. De-arching caused me to potato chip alot (I'm a bigger person 6ft 190lbs). So a good arch was problem #1. Problem #2 was the torso movement for the turn. rather than pivoting at on a center line (which I did OK on the ground) I was "shrugging" my shoulders. It helped me to think about "Lifting" the opposite shoulder as well as "dropping" the shoulder into the turn. Words don't express this well, so when your AFFI reviews this with you, just think about what your "whole" torso is doing, not just part of it. Congrats on AFF 3. I'm betting your arch is much better than mine and you'll be relaxed and have fun with your AFFI. Ask your AFFI to review the accuracy trick with you. If there are pilots that hang at the DZ talk to them about flying patterns. I'm a private pilot and that has helped in understanding the pattern and position. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

On AFF 2a the dive went well but slow execution and we came out of forward movement at 6000 ft (my DZ'z pull altutude) - Reserve side gave me the finger (pull signal). OK so I was expecting 6500 (lock on) and saw 6000 and had a momentary "Holy Cow" reaction - reverted to muscle memory which means I went back 35 years reached to pull with both hands, went head down - woke up and did it right (for a BOC). Just before I got to the handle main side pulled for me. We were above 5000, but on a long spot. As it was the camera flyer landed out the AFFI's just made it back over the fence, I at .75 on a Navigator spent time over the holding area and landed on target. On AFF2b I was so into my head about AFF2a that I rushed, never got stable and didn't complete the dive flow. On AFF2c got it right. I also repeated AFF5 twice. Graduated AFF almost half way to the 25 required for an "A". Probably take longer than that to get it. Now there's a morale here somewhere - everyone can make up their own. I graduated with time enough left for a congratulatory high five at 8000 ft. Every solo has been comfortable and relaxed with altitude awareness and time to see the things I never saw during AFF. The door floater exit even works well. When you are in training - any training - you only fail if you fail to learn. Everything else is like life - wake up the next morning and you're a winner. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Gotta love the Z1 - AFF4 I didn't catch it, the camera flyer didn't catch it, the AFFI didn't catch it - Check in - Check Out - Prop - Out -In - Step - BINGO! Open Visor. AFFI Flipped me and tried to close it - Got back on my belly - finally got it shut and completed the dive flow by 8000 including a forward motion half roll with standing layout recovery (I don't know how just got on my back arched and recovered). Thanks King Air for the 15k exit. In real time the video is funny, in slo-mo a beautiful thing to watch. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Now that's what I'm talking about. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

60 MPH Dark night - blacktop Car with no lights enters the highway from hidden drive and turns on lights. I locked up "BOTH" wheels (Harley ElectraGlide) - stayed straight - upright and matched speed with about 6 feet to spare. Bought two tires the next day and vowed to start using the concealed weapon permit. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Current: 187 lbs Loss: -2.5 lbs New wardrobe date - July 1 --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

"After you tell everybody at the office you got high this weekend - you're really gonna need this video" "Bugs don't start till 1000 feet - so you can smile till then" "Think of it this way - it's like driving at Bristol without the car." --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Most motorcycle dealers of any consequence have a training program. My advice - take the course sit on and ride several bikes - you can rent Harley's and Harley offspring to try them out. Find out what fits and what your comfort zone is for the type of riding you want to do. If you plan on taking someone with you on most rides - another consideration. You'll want (or more to the point they will) a couch on the back not a pincushion. I've been riding for 40 years - I now sit an Electra Glide Classic with all the bells an whistles. If you are the right size and strength the bike under you is less about engine and more about comfort. I ride with guys that sit on a 250 and guys that sit on a Vulcan. They all love their bikes. They all go just about as fast as they care to. Being a "mature" gentleman, it's about comfort and balancing the beast while it's stopped . Hey this sounds like a wing loading thread doesn't it? --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

==== Sage advice from people so far, with the appropriate level of concern and emotion for a newby. Keep us all posted as to your progress at getting to FL. Hang at several of the DZ's if you get the time (7 days isn't much). Also - fill in your profile - it'll help people talk to you. Things you may want to consider, study, and discuss with your instructors in addition to main canopy size: The "Fit" and style of the harness The size of the reserve How everything fits together The first step to avoiding a trap is knowing that it's there (Thufir Hawat). If you're going to be well informed "go deep". I was at the DZ this week and I asked the AFF 4 waiting to gear up which rig he was using so I could get geared up (AFF's have priority) - his response was "I just jump what they put on me". You're already headed beyond that mindset. I'm a newby to ram airs and z-po, but not to plf's or life. When you don't know what you don't know, do what you did - ask. See you in Ratland --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

QuoteI came to the conclusion that it was due to the thermal shock (it was winter) experienced by the battery. I am not an engineer, but I was told that the sudden change in temperature was creating a drop in the power provided to the camera. I switched from a 9v to a 12v battery, and kept it protected inside the elmet, and it was ok. == Alkaline and NiCad and NiMH batteries are subject to temperature changes. Lithium isn't. You might try that if you're not already using a lithium battery. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Since you went to Iowa As for the safety aspect - get a professional opinion. What everyone else said about quality etc. etc. but let me guess the motivation - don't want to be a camera flyer just yet, don't wan't the hassles of a head mounted studio, and don't plan on putting 20 jumps on a tape. Do want to capture the moment, see the jump from your perspective, want to remain safe at your skill level? Right so far? There are several small cams on the market that record in MPEG4 which may be just what you are looking for. There are one or two that even record in at a decent quality level but have less than optimal lenses or chips. If your plans are low profile and download your jumps every jump or two, a chip recorder cam might make sense. You wouldn't need a lanc cause you'd probably just turn it on when you got on the plane (or on the trip to altitude if you're not jumping a King Air) and turn it off when you got down. A 1 GB chip would give you about 20 minutes at the higher (for the camera) resolutions. All this for only $600-1000 U.S. Of Course there are also a few very small digitals on the market that will return a video stream at about the same quality (a little less) that would mount very cleanly on the front of the right helmet, are very light, could be used for video or time lapse stills, and cost $300-$400. If your looking to mount a non-obtrusive device for personal use there are some options. As for the safety aspect - get a professional opinion. Like me at this stage - I don't know what I don't know about what could go wrong - and if it can go wrong it eventually will. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Not sure why you want to but . . . If you are using 6.5 or later you can select the movie's time line - click File - Export - Adobe Media Encoder and use one of the WMV formats. These can be customized to frame rate and resolution to suit your needs. BUT can only be played on a computer. The other formats like video CD are going to be larger. If you bought Premiere and have never done this, you may need to download the encoders from Adobe. They are free, but will require some time to download. If you're using a light version or older version of premiere you might try exporting to an AVI format like cinepak or indeo but the quality won't be as good. There are other options - just really depends on what you need the files to be smaller for. I always save my movies as an export to Tape to keep a relatively high quality copy in case I change my mind later. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

When too dark - Tunnel When too windy - Scuba When too cold - WAIT this is Florida it's never too cold. When not in Florida - NASCAR --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Get a Sony DVD+/DVD- 2 layer. Most compatibility is DVD-, Multilayer will give you more space for back ups and storage of all those video captures. RW is generally a waste of time effort and money but it's nice to have now and then, --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

BTW There is a credit card 2M and also 440 on the market that is about the size of a credit card - and lonly slightly thicker than a credit card - would make a great at altitude radio. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

W0SAR - QSL --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

First Jump in 69 (the 1 year signifies skydiving not parachuting. Pilot's License in 75 Bought a plane in 78 to commute to work - several thousand hours later started feeling like a driver with limited parking privilages. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

I learned that 11 people will pack fast to beat the sun to make a load and get a student into the air for his graduation jump. Pulling high, going to half brakes and watching the sun go down is a wonderful thing. Even these old legs can run out a landing when the whole DZ is watching and cheering. Bud Light comes in an extremely large variety of containers. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

Can I join the challenge? Personal Stats: Age 54 - elevation 6' - Occupation business executive (a.k.a. babysitter) - Locale Florida Rationale: Restarted Jumping 3/15/05 - 9 so far Bought a Spectre 210 at a silent auction for an injured JM. Refuse to jump less than 1:1. Besides . . . y'al know the rest. Started at 201 (B.A.N.) in April Now- 189.5 (B.A.N.) Goal - 175 Tips that work for me: Learn to love diet soda - It's an aquired taste but if you've got the habit (mom put Mountain Dew in my baby bottle) it's a must. Thank god for the new fountain flavors (Cherry Vanilla Doctor Pepper.) Develop a strategy for business lunches - order the most expensive dish on the menu (if they really wanted to impress me they should have bought me a Z1 instead of dinner) - eat two bites of each course, don't forget desert - when the server asks the first person at the table if they can remove the plate say "take mine too please", put your elbows on the table, stare into everyones eyes meaningfully and say "OK let's get down to business". Treat yourself at milestones. Every 5 lbs. we go to a nice restaurant for a celebration dinner. Margaret loves it, I love it, and Chef Henry loves it, Dianna the Hungarian server loves it, and since the portions are bigger than my shrunken capacity now is, Mickey the Dog loves it. Use logic - I drop (insert your weight here) pounds every time I jump - I can do this drop one pound a week thing. It helps me to remember what I looked like in my last video in a jump suit. Enjoy the moment - when your co-workers ask "You look thinner - are you ill?" Say YES and walk away looking sad. That also works for turning down the office complaints. P.S. No one at work knows I skydive. DON"T CARRY DOLLAR BILLS or CHANGE. It's hard to get snared by the candy machine if you don't have the right money. Do all the regular stuff on an as needed basis, ie. walk yes ride no, stairs yes elevator no, sex yes sleep no, etc. An the most effective thing - SCUBA Dive. Getting into and out of a wetsuit burns more calories than anything else I've found. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.