dragon2

if you do it by the book, he can have a copyof the originals, because you will have to keep your originals for some 5 years, in order to show to the ministry of defense (again: if you do it by the book, you also have to register yourself with this ministry...) (I'm talking about the netherlands here) True. I also really wouldn't be willing to part with negatives anyway But all the digital stuff is easy to copy. ciel bleu, Saskia

It is a Canon-affiliated site, it should therefore be accurate. Not sure what you mean tho, a 500 is a Rebel XS, according to the site, the 650 is a different camera and is way way older (okay so don't ask me about the logic in the numbers, if any): EOS 500 (EOS REBEL XS) [EOS KISS] introduced 1993/discontinued 1996 No really new features, but in 1993 was the world's smallest and lightest AF SLR with built-in flash. Quartz Date version available. Canon User, September 1993, page 4 EOS 650 introduced 1987/discontinued 1989 Canon's first EOS camera introduced the first new Canon lens mount in over 20 years. Focus, March 1987, page 18 ciel bleu, Saskia

My understanding (The Netherlands): If I take a picture of you in a public place, and you don't immediately or beforehand object, is my property to do with as I please, provided it doesn't hurt you (definition of that seems a bit fuzzy). If I take a picture of you in a private place (ie your home), I have to ask your permission before publishing it. If I take your picture because you hired me to do so, you payed for it, so it's yours (the original + publishing rights). I may be off base here, but these are the rules I use, myself. I'm not real particular about handing out originals (mostly I shoot digital stills, and a bit of DV). You can print the pics if you want, or I can do it for you, probably cheaper too. For vid, just hook up a camera or vcr. I only charge a little bit, because I payed a lot for the equipment, and it costs a lot of time shooting and dubbing and mailing and burning etc. I don't jump with camera yet, but when I do, the same will apply. But hey, if someone'll cover my slot, that someone can have the originals no problem. I do want credit if published on a website/in a compilation video etc. Keep in mind, I don't make a living shooting pics/vid, it's just a hobby, and one that's a bit cheaper (usually) then skydiving..... ciel bleu, Saskia

I've only been able to see the code for the polls for a while on one pc while polls worked fine on others(didn't make a screen print, also can't recall which operating systems/browser versions, my bad). The code was just inserted instead of the poll (at the top of the page) with no mention of errors. Right now, XP w/IE 6.0, it works fine. ciel bleu, Saskia

This is an excellent website for comparing Canon EOS camera's, it includes the different model names too (ie Rebel G vs 500N: EOS magazine (direct link to camera's) ciel bleu, Saskia

Solved a bunch of my problems (and adding a financial one, by the way ) by getting rid of my old laptop and getting a new one. Bought a Sony Vaio, running XP, with 40 GB HD, 256 MB DDR, AMD 2000+ (running on 1,67 GHz), with USB2.0 and firewire. Added another 256 MB DDR and a firewire/USB2.0 200 GB 7200 RPM HD to it, and voila

Hmmm do you mean that the 4-6 and the 6-6 cables CAN'T carry power? I had a laptop with an interface card (sold it to Henny ) with 2 6-pin ports. Now I have a Vaio with one 4-pin port. I did notice that the 4-6 and 6-6 cables are somewhat cheaper than the 4-4 cables (?). Anyway I got an adaptor-type thingie for my 4-6 cable so I can turn it into a 4-4 cable , so that's one cable less in my bag. But if the cables themselves are different ..? ciel bleu, Saskia

Hmmmm, and collisions between photographers (me!!) and jumpers.... Got knocked down for the first time a couple of weeks ago . Actually the photo I took about 2 secs before the collision is kinda cool (see attachment), and is in the new edition of our national magazine the SportParachutist . But it hurt, nevertheless.... Had a couple of almost-collisions too, but I seldom need to duck or get out of the way. I'm supposed to stand (or sit) still of course, but I had to move a couple of times . Can you say: target fixation?? Sometimes, jumpers want to be in the picture too much... ciel bleu, Saskia

We had a student grab one of the throw-away student rigs instead of the ripcord rig he should've gotten. This wasn't noticed when he was pin-checked (well, the rig itself was fine). He pulled, held the ripcord (he thought) in his hand, but nothing happened. So he performed his emergency procedures, and landed ok under his reserve. A slightly smaller mistake than grabbing a tiny rig with no AAD and stuff, but nevertheless one that could have ended in a horse-shoe I believe. ciel bleu, Saskia

Well personally I'm really wary of anything that can come loose in freefall, like a shirt tucked in your pants or under your legstraps. I'm a big fan of one-piece jumpsuits. I now usually jump a freestyle suit (with short legs), plus either freefly pants or leggings (tights?) depending on what I want to do. I'm also getting birdman pantz

Can you jump older gear in the USA? Here (Holland) every part of your rig has to be less than 25 years old. I know that for instance in Germany it's much less than that, so there this Parafoil would be worthless. ciel bleu, Saskia

Yeah well, I'm not so heavy myself. I went from Skymaster 280/230 (didn't really notice the difference between those 2) to a Merit 190. Wow. In hindsight, a Spactre 210 would have been a better move! This was the first time a canopy was sorta actually responding to me/my body. And it had normal lines instead of the longer student ones on the Skymasters. It's also a french chute, meaning a short toggle range. Reaction: Wow! How the f%^&* do I slow this thing DOWN!!! My wingloading was really low... After the Merit and a Spectre 190 (liked that one MUCH better, even tho I learned to properly land the Merit eventually) I jumped a Triathlon 175 for 4 jumps (piece of cake) then got my own Spectre 150 after 75 jumps (only loading it at 1:1). Again: Wowww!! FAST! Eh..... Some help, please?? If I'd gone directly from the Skymasters to that Spectre 150, I can just image myself in the author of the above excellent story's shoes . No thanx. Maybe if you're much heavier you can get away with skipping (larger) sizes a bit, but I'm not sure it'd be a good idea even then. Personally I can't imagine having to make the jump from 0.45:1 to 1:1 in one go. No way. ciel bleu, Saskia

My first canopy was a spectre 150 too, got it at 75 jumps, also loaded it at about 1:1. Then I traded it for a spectre 135. Loved it. It was more fun flying, landings seemed about the same. But then I demo'd a safire 135... Much more flare, and it has about twice as flat a glidepath (sorta tested that by letting both my spectre and that safire fly with not much input from me, starting at 1000 ft, with zero winds; the safire put me down almost twice as far). It's a safire 1 tho, so it's a bit smaller than the spectre. They're both great canopies. I think I'd have less difficulty landing a spectre in a really tight place, but then I have only 40 jumps on my first 9 cell in a looooong time. I'm keeping the spectre (unless somebody happens to make me a really great offer for it) for when I'm ready to start camera flying (CREW). I think it would also make a better canopy for demo jumping too, but I suppose once I really get to know the safire that'll work too. The safire is more fun to fly. The safire makes it easier to get back from a long spot without rear risering etc, but the spectre will usually get you back too, with some work. The spectre handles turbulence much better. I was wishing I was hanging underneath my spectre a couple of times . The spectre allows me to easily stay close to CREW guys with a much higher wingload (~1,8:1) than me, and that without collapsing too much I can follow those guys with the safire but it's more work because I float so much then. Oh well, I love both canopies... ciel bleu, Saskia

What I found out, after I had painstakingly put together my first 30 min vid using Ulead Studio 6: you need an avi file to export video, my mpeg didn't work, and I had no HD space left to create the apparantly much much larger avi file ciel bleu, Saskia

Oh found it: http://members.lycos.nl/dragon2/chutes12/index.html It's the pic called ' bordje' (which means 'sign'), at about 1/3 of the list. ciel bleu, Saskia

Here's a pic of one of them, I used it as background on my site (I have the full pic somewhere too, can't find it right now tho): http://members.lycos.nl/dragon2/chutes16/index.html According to Paul (USPA) these are made here in Holland... No idea if they ship ciel bleu, Saskia

Yeah, and an itty bitty skyboard at that. Skysurfing is on my wish-list, but for now I´m quite busy with freestyle/freefly/crew and my next priority is (well, will be) camera flying. But I suppose the freestyle/freefly will help with skysurfing. Dutch regulations say you need: your C license (200 jumps), a video of the following 2 jumps, performed in a suit with no extra drag on the arms: 1 ) sit exit, go to stand up, within 5 secs stand-up and hold for 10 secs with a 360 turn, go to daffy and perform 3 controlled stable dummy pulls. 2 ) sit exit, 3 back layout loops, go to daffy and perform 3 controlled stable dummy pulls. Then there´s some regulations about size of board, exit and opening heights and stuff. And some more if you want to film a skysurfer. ciel bleu, Saskia

In Holland, it´s mandatory to have an AAD if you don´t have your C yet (min. 200 jumps). RSL mandatory ´till your A. Dunno, it might even evolve into AAD´s mandatory, period. Although I think even in France and Spain the mandatory AAD can be waived for say foreign CREW jumpers (it was during the european championships in Spain last year). As a side note, the australian rule of RSL or cypres seems a bit odd (doesn´t make much sense to me) since they are 2 totally different things. ciel bleu, Saskia

Hmm are they? I mean, if you take 2 regular alti´s they read slightly different altitudes. Both are accurate enough tho (presumably). With a digitude, you get an EXACT number. I don´t think that means it´s more accurate though, at least not THAT accurate. Just because it´s digital and gives that exact number doesn´t mean it´s right about said number. Not sure if I´m wording this right, it´s a mathematical thing. I´ve jumped with a guy who has a pro-track, same as me. We compared them after, they read a 100 ft difference in exit-height. I´m pretty sure we jumped at the same time ciel bleu, Saskia

In Holland you need (off the top of my head): 3 consecutive good exits 2 consecutive good dummy pulls 1 good c&p within 12 hours 1 good 5 sec 1 good 10 sec (can´t remember if there is a longer delay in between or not, I think so tho) 1 good open-at-set-alti jump 1 good open-at-set-alti jump from 12k At least, that´s how I remember it. That´s not entirely how I DID it tho . How I did it (I don´t have my logbook handy): A whole bunch of SL jumps with not-so-good exits Maybe 1 or 2 decent exits somewhere in there Couple of not-so-good dummy pulls What the heck, If I throw you outta the plane at 5k will you pull after 5 secs? YEAH!!

I used to have soft contact lenses. I had a rather large cylinder in both eyes (is that the same word in english??). So those lenses did not only had to stay put but also not stick too much because they had to stay the right side up. Hmmm... Didn't always work. Got scared once when my Z1 visor blew open. Closed my eyes almost completely to avoid losing my contacts. Also I always had to wear my goggle when boarding if the engine was already running. Or when I was sitting close to an open door in flight. But, last year I got Lasik, never been happier.... ciel bleu, Saskia

I've got a FF helmet with Total Head Coverage on the front. I bought it at Empuria. I got the impression they made them there, or somebody did. Don't think it's a 'real' company or anything, just some enhusiasts. I really like my helmet. Liked the price, too. And the fact that it holds two audibles. Didn't see any fullface helmets there, tho. I have a fullface, an older model Z1. FF'd with that one just ONCE. Sit was okay, but in a stand the visor flipped open, no fun, esp. since I was wearing contacts at the time. But, some people DO FF with Z1's... But I bought myself a real FF helmet, to be safe. ciel bleu, Saskia

Isn't a magpie a bird??? Yeah, one that likes shiny things a lot ciel bleu, Saskia

Well I just tried capturing vid on my pc. Tried it about 7 times. Wtf??? Almost 10% dropped frames!! My laptop had zero dropped frames. I don't get it.... What causes that?? ciel bleu, Saskia

Okay I've just got my camera last week, wheeee!! Got a Sony TRV25. Not jumping it yet, for now I'm just shooting landings and stuff. I got all the firewire hardware I needed and starting fooling around on my laptop with Ulead VideoStudio, which came with the firewire card. My laptop is a Celeron 800 MHz w/256 MB SDRAM, and only 10 GB HD, running WinME. You can guess the result: about 5 minutes of edited video, if that. Now I'm setting up my desktop computer again. It's a PIII 700 MHz w/512 MB SDRAM and 2x 40 GB 5400 rpm HD's, for the moment also running ME (I fear XP isn't going to work, and 98 SE didn't work very well before). My question is, I've got Ulead VideoStudio 5 SE and Pinnacle Studio 7. I'd never edited (or shot) video before last week, so I have no clue. Are these any good, keeping in mind these modest specifications? Which one? Or should I get something else? And yeah, I wish I could get a nice P4 & stuff, but alas.... An extra HD, maybe. ciel bleu, Saskia