Chris-Ottawa

The other pilot has been jumping his Apache for a few years, this was my second jump on the Aura (let alone second jump since a 7 month break). In my opinion, that explains the difference in exit even without factoring in the high speed. I'm fairly confident that my exits on this suit won't look quite the same in a couple of years either. I agree, and I had neither of those on this jump. I have about 10 jumps out of this plane ever (even fewer wingsuit), and had zero jumps on the Aura, let alone out of a plane that had no flaps deployed. I think the combination of everything added up. Not much more to say...I botched the exit, went for a ride and shared the video to be learnt from. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I'll happily share that info, but I'd rather know your thoughts before I do. What's on your mind? "When once you have tasted flight..."

Here's the slow-mo video of the spin (1st person) and another exit from Saturday, done the exact same way, just better. http://youtu.be/dLqlvPcPKzE "When once you have tasted flight..."

This was not an intentional high speed pass by any means. The pilots slowed the plane the best they could, the gear was deployed, but unfortunately the flaps were not functioning at this point in time resulting in the high exit speed. My last jumps of the year were done on a Vampire 4. As for your assessment of the video, you are correct. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I don't blame the plane or the pilot, but either this person was there (Justin?), or they noticed that there were no flaps being used. The plane is a King Air, which has a tiny door and high exit speed on a good day, but when the flaps are not used, the exit speed is much quicker. If I'm not mistaken, a 182 exit speed is 80kts, a King Air is 100-110kts, and with no flaps, it's 130kts? I could be totally wrong, but I seem to recall that for some reason. I'm sure someone will correct me. As for my exit, this is how I always exit. I'm still relative to the wind, I'm just not oriented straight up which makes no difference. I'll upload another video in a bit which shows the same exit on one of the other jumps, as well as the slow motion video of the spin (first person view) just because it's interesting. "When once you have tasted flight..."

So, I bought an Aura over the winter and I've been itching pretty bad to jump it. Finally, the DZ's up here in Canada are starting to open, so I headed out on Saturday to jump. I made a couple of mistakes, and though I'd share. Mistake #1: Last jump, Sept 29, 2013, these jumps, April 12, 2014. Mistake #2: Rushing the exit Mistake #3: Noob wingsuit error So here's what happened. This was jump # 2 of the day, the first jump went flawless even though I could have benefited from some form of a recurrency jump before strapping on a brand new wingsuit. On exit, I rushed a bit because I though my co-jumper said "GO". What he actually said was "Whoa, take you time ". Of course, I was at the door and heard none of this. So, I exit. The tail of the suit grabs some air, puts me head low, I recover a bit before opening my arms, but not quite enough. As I open my arm wings, my left wing catches air first, and causes my right wing to catch air on top instead of the bottom. This instantly throws me into a pretty wild spin. I do 6 revolutions total, during which I was trying to outfly it by twisting the leg wing, opening one arm wing or the other, balling up, and finally arching which recovered me instantly. I would have arched first, but I wanted to see the effect of trying to outfly it. Effect: None... It all happened very quickly, but it was a good experience overall, especially since I was able to recover. It would have been really sketchy to dump my main into that had it come to that, but the jump continues uneventful after that and I followed up with another successful jump before heading home. Anyways, just posting to share if anyone can learn something from it, or if anyone has any critique etc. The best lesson I can say is to remember your training. Arching is your best friend...and I recalled exactly what I was taught by Jeff N. on my first WS jump as this was happening. Video clips are as follows: 1) Outisde video, 100% speed 2) Inside Video, 100% speed 3) Outside video, 25% speed http://youtu.be/SI5gLqCrtDQ And yes...I know my back zipper was undone slightly. I've got to get some ties to link the zippers. The front ones were tied together, but not the rear. Either way, this likely had no impact on the resulting spin. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Your options are really Skydive Toronto, Parachute School of Toronto and Skydive SWOOP. SWOOP is a club, and jumps a 182 I believe. I think they're weekend only. PST and STI are both North of toronto and jump most of the week, but May umping could be spotty due to runway conditions, weather, or limited clients to keep planes running. PST is my favorite DZ in all of Canada so far, but I think they're only runing Cessnas this year (unless they've got something in the works for this season). STI just acquired a Caravan. I'm not sure if it'll be running by May, but I'm sure the DZO will want it to be. It just came from overseas and has to get some work done to make it a jump ship. They also have anywhere from 4-6 Cessna 182's as well. Anyways, those are your choices, unless you wanted to take the drive to Burnaby. I've never been there, so I can't speak to it. "When once you have tasted flight..."

The VIso is probably the simplest, yet highly accurate altimeter out there. When in freefall, it simply shows your altitude, ie: 10.2, meaning 10200ft. You can't get much simpler than that and the customer service is absolute top notch. I personally buy nothing but L&B products (assuming they make one of what I need). Plus, it's the least expensive digital altimeter I believe. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks everyone! You all basically confirmed my suspicions that I was able to gather from the photos and info on chutingstar and the manufacturer's website that the Wedge seems like the safer option as far as crashing goes, but they wil both serve the purpose. Deimian, have you used the Viso Mount? I'll be using my Viso for wingsuiting instead of trying to look at my wrist, but I suspect that the chest strap mount might allow it to fold under, or move etc. I like the idea of a mudflap mount, but then I have a slight issue with packing, not that I'm too worried though. To anyone with the wedge: I have a Viso that I'll be mounting to it, but do I need the Digital Alti pouch to attach it, or can I mount it directly to the flap? I'd really like to avoid the pouch, but it seems that this would be my only option for the Viso. Thanks again! "When once you have tasted flight..."

So, I'm looking for a mudflap mount and can'tfind much more info than a couple threads on how to make these yourself, or some of the safety implications, but nothing comparing the two (or other options I'm not aware of). So, really simply, should I buy the Wedge, or the Altimount or another alternative....and why? Wedge:http://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/wedge-mudflap-altimount Altimount:http://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/altimount Thanks! "When once you have tasted flight..."

You translate this as me saying it was ok to steal someone else's photo? Ummm, Ok... I translate it to "The probably guy figured it was his own photo and had rights to it so he posted it", NOT that he knew he was stealing someone's photo and I condoned that. I think you're talking about the original photo (which is now removed and I did NOT have a chance to see). I'm basing my comments on the photo that is still online and had Laszlo's comments. I also assume Laszlo made it his duty on the first photo to comment (with equal amounts of attitude) and the person opted to remove the photo (which I mentioned in a previous post) to avoid any trouble. Maybe Laszlo's first comment was polite, but based on my interactions with him, the comment that is still online in the album and via some other posts online, I highly doubt that. This is the one I'm talking about: http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/2355164/ I disagree! As previously posted (by me oddly enough): Maybe because a little respect/courtesy would be appreciated and the guy might happily take it down by being kindly informed of his mistake...maybe not though, who knows. Or maybe, because there was so much attitude in the post, he opted to be defiant knowing that the odds of anyone actually doing anything are incredibly slim. And he's probably 100% correct. Circling all the way back to the beginning, I don't think it's ok to steal photos and claim them as your own. I also don't think it's necessary to come on full force and be unnecessarily rude when a polite reminder would have sufficed. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Again, I haven't once said that it was totally cool that this guy claimed the photo as his own. I'm talking about the approach Laszlo took in notifying him. You guys seem to be focusing on what you "want" to hear in my posts rather than what I'm actually saying. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Remind me, where did I say that it was perfectly cool to steal other people's work and that there was nothing wrong with the person submitting someone else's photo? A quote from one of my above posts would be perfectly sufficient. Thanks! "When once you have tasted flight..."

You guys are abolutely hilarious. You're acting like these pictures are the next Mona Lisa worth millions. Reality check...you're not that good and every tandem passenger all over the world thinks that "their" tandem photo is the best. They're all the same, the only reason that a skydiving photo would move forward is because of it's impact, not the lighting, framing etc.. Honestly, we're talking at what? $1000 for first prize in a large contest like this on a good day? You'd spend more than that crying to your lawyer that someone on the internet stole your photo. In my opinion, if you really wanted to make money, DON'T SAY ANYTHING, wait until Nat Geo publishes it, then you have some leverage. So, now that we all know you really didn't want anything, my point is proven. These comments were made simply to be a dick and prove a point for a photo that the poster didn't even own, or know who owns it for that matter. "When once you have tasted flight..."

So, you're saying that you want to have 100% of your clients that you've EVER filmed to ask you for authorization for every place they ever post a photo? I sure as hell hope you don't mind quitting skydiving, or can afford an admin assistant because your life just got a whole lot busier with emails, phone calls, fax, letters etc.... Also, I hope you can afford a damn good copyright lawyer because there's probably one or two of your photos on Facebook, Twitter, imgur etc... But just one or two right? You seriously want that? I HIGHLY doubt that. Let's look at Mr. Parth Patel's photo a little more objectively. Let's say he doesn't own it, ok, fair enough. What does your comment accomplish? Clearly nothing because: A) You don't own it so you're just showing him how uptight you (we?) are B) Your comment was unnecessarily rude/snarky C) The picture's still there so he clearly doesn't care D) You make skydivers look like dicks to go along with our already notorious rap sheet. E) I'm guessing you made another comment on the original photo and that person opted to take it down. Don't you have anything better to do than to browse the web and pick battles for other people's photos? Do you SERIOUSLY want the flipping trophy to put on your mantle along with the $50 prize (I have no idea what it is, but I'm fairly certain it's not a million dollars, a mansion in the hills, and a Bentley)? Does your pride/ego need a stroke from a shitty Nat Geo contest? Seriously, this is so incredibly petty it's shameful for someone of your caliber to post on this. You don't want anything from this contest and you know it, you only commented to be an ass. Now if this was for a cover photo of an upcoming issue...maybe I'd be making a phone call to Nat Geo, but I certainly wouldn't post online just to prove I'm an ass and make a point. Could you not have posted recommending that the guy give credit to the photographer instead of himself without being a douche? Check this out: "Hey man, I'm a professional skydiving photographer and we work really hard to give our customers great pictures. It would be hugely appreciated if you gave credit to the photographer (your tandem master) because he was the one who took this picture. It's a great shot, and credit should be given where it is due. Also, you may want to consider copyright law if you don't have the photographer's permission to use this photo publicly. If we get asked, we're usually happy to allow the publication of our photos with credits. We appreciate your co-operation! Good luck in the contest!" My point is not who the picture belongs to, it's how you presented yourself and represented skydivers. It was pointless, unnecessary and show's your poor attitude. Anyways, that's all I was getting across. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I love this. A photographer comes online to complain about people "stealing" skydiving photos. Sure, I don't dispute the ownership of the photos, but then another photo is posted where the guy makes no claim that he took the picture...yet this same photographer decides it's his duty to show everyone how much of a douchebag skydivers can be by calling the person out on a public message board. The client knows no better, they paid for a cameraman to take their pictures and then they were provided the digital originals for them to take home. That can easily be interpreted as "their photos" at that point. Regardless of whether they are or not, a kind reminder would have sufficed. Golf clap for you sir... Have you heard of private messages, or contacting the company hosting the contest/event etc? See the comment for yourself: http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/2355164/ Have you considered that maybe he had consent from the owner? Maybe the TM was his friend. Maybe he works at the DZ. Maybe the owner doesn't care if he uses the photo? Maybe there was a verbal agreement that the GoPro was the client's and the pictures would remain his? All questions you do not know the answer to. Anyways, not like we have any skydivers that have egos to protect or anything. Best we show the public that we are friendly and courteous....right up until you piss us off and we lose our shit on you. No wonder there are so many farmer McNasty's around the world...it's people like the above and their attitudes. Mind....spoken. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Oh look...more speculation... "When once you have tasted flight..."

Regardless of the speculation in support or against Argus AAD's, the point is this. Anyone who relies on an AAD to save their life probably shouldn't be skydiving. In my opinion, the only reason an AAD should fire and you should require it's use would be if someone was unconscious. Anything else is 100% user error. 1) Why didn't you activate your own reserve? 2) Why did you get to the basement of your skydive without getting something out? 3) Why didn't you cutaway sooner? / Why did you cutaway so low? 4) Why don't you use a dytter? Why weren't you checking your altimeter? The defective device is the jumper using it because they failed to operate a parachute correctly. Yes, I realize that there are exceptions and once in a lifetime chances, but in reality the reason for AAD activations in MOST cases...is human error. If they didn't put themselves into that position, they wouldn't have required it, regardless of how well it works. Out of all the AAD activations I've read (including all brands), very, very few of them are actual "saves". 95% of them are users who lost altitude awareness, or were too dumb to save their own lives. Much the same, everyone thinks that airbags are the end all be all of road safety. Nope, many people actually die DUE TO AIRBAG DEPLOYMENTS. Does that mean that cars shouldn't have them? Nope, it was a "chance" to prevent death but no one is freaking out about airbags are we now. Everyone seems to have a personal vendetta against Aviacom even though all their information is 6th hand and lost in translation. But I'm glad that we've certainly got some experts on here that "know" that they are defective (all of them I might add). Some of them might even have known that lady, who has a friend, that told his Uncle, that a guy from over there told a story about a guy that had a mal one day, who had a friend that knew a guy that wingsuits and had an incident in Empuriabrava. I'd trust that guy's internet forum posts anyday over the official police reports.... Jump whatever makes you feel comfortable, if not, it's probably best you stay on the ground....or risk being another Gerardo Florez...or whatever that guy's name was for suing a dropzone because his canopy opened... "When once you have tasted flight..."

Sure... "When once you have tasted flight..."

I'm not here to debate, I stated my interpretation and that's all. Even if it was a complete failure, what about those cypress units in zhills that resulted in a double fatality? Point is, none of these units are perfect. They are designed as a failsafe and every mechanical device has potential for failure. There's nothing "more"wrong with an Argus than a cypres, out a vigil out an m2. Each company s marketing material will claim otherwise but that's why it's marketing. "When once you have tasted flight..."

1 of my 2 Argus are in for service at Chutingstar right now. Through my discussion with them, they indicated that Aviacom is still reviewing the test results and providing the certificate. They're simply not selling new units or making new cutters. As for cutters, between the 2 places I talked to, they said there is still lots of supply. The batteries are cheap. I buy them off of eBay for $20 for a 10 pack of current Duracell batteries. I jump mine in a Mirage and Wings. It is a proven design, it works and I'm completely comfortable jumping them. If you read all the incidents involving Argus cutters, each one has an "odd" circumstance surrounding them (ie: ball bearing inside the cutter from a rigger's packing weight. Translation, in my opinion, 100% of the Argus incidents could have occurred on ANY other cutter. Depending on age, they're worth in the neighbourhood of $200-$400. That being said, I traded a 2010 Argus fresh off of service for a Cypres 1 with 1 year left. The other one, I think I paid $200 and it was from 2009 with a 1 year old service if I recall. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hate to say it, but he's kind of right. Yeah, you could be unlucky, but ask 1000 jumpers how many canopy collisions they've been in and I bet you would get less than 2% that have ever had one, let alone 2. I'd have to side with DcloudZ until proven otherwise. Having a blank profile doesn't lend you much credibility either. It's hard to look at yourself objectively...and realize you were doing something wrong (or maybe not). PS: What DcloudZ said wasn't "smack", it was an observation and an opinion which yuo disagree with. Maybe he and I are wrong, but you certainly have been involved in an exceptionally high number of canopy collisions. To the OP, canopy flight is my favorite part of any jump. When I fly wingsuit, I fly a more docile canopy and I miss my "fun" canopy. Lots of people do hop and pops, but I do MANY high altitude hop and pops. I love sitting up there and messing around on canopy, trying different things and recovering or just testing it. If there's one thing anyone should practice in skydiving....it's canopy work. It's the one thing that will consistently save your life. Think of it this way. Driving a motorcycle in a straight line is fun, but really learning the bike and driving it on a twisty track is even better. It all depends on what you like. You don't need a tiny fast canopy to learn it well, you just need to learn whatever you fly well. As you get more jumps, you'll understand... "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks. I actually found him on FB and sent a message there too. I was just hoping someone could draw his attention to his email or messages on FB. I've been to Start and contemplated calling them, but I'm not "that" desperate. I'm sure either the ad will come down, or he'll eventually get back to me. Thanks! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, Scott is selling a rig in the classifieds that I'm interested in and I can't seem to reach him via the classifieds. Does anyone by chance have the ability to get him in touch with me? I can provide my email/phone via PM if you can get it to him or even just let him know that I've sent 2 messages. Thank you! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks for the info...you are absolutely correct on the post style machine. Here's a picture if that helps anyone else. "When once you have tasted flight..."