DSE

May it be the most color-filled, sepia-toned, black & white, HDR, 3D, and safe year yet. Thanks to all of you who contribute so much to this community through your words, photos, ideas, suggestions, posts (even the ones that have been answered 100+ times) and presence. Blessed be the altitude, may you always find it beneath you. Own the center and pull high! ~douglas

Dirty, worn, well loved by at least 4 previous owners. The colors were from the 80's. The manufacturer of the container and reserve are long out of business. It didn't fit well, but it was affordable and made it possible for me to skydive. It was the most fun rig I've ever had. My first *new* rig is a Rigging Innovations Voodoo, and it's incredibly comfy, has seen me through a thousand + jumps. I wouldn't trade it for the world (except for maybe a new Voodoo).

then set it for FIREWORKS in the exposure menu...and hope for the best. It's going to be noisy as hell, and given the dynamic range (bright whites to pitch black) you'll likely end up getting lots of pixilation and streaking. It just doesn't go slow enough and the sensors are very small. Anyway...the only setting that will offer any degree of benefit will be the one mentioned above. Test it by going into a totally dark room with just a couple small LED's like you'll find on most electronic gear on/off indicators. Spin around the room really fast....that's about what you'll get.

I'd highly recommend you find another camera if you want useful footage. The CX100 isn't good at all in low light and doesn't have an IR mode.

Where does one go after a Velocity?

John LeBlanc mentioned something along these lines at PIA a few years ago...so I jumped the Spectre a bit. Perhaps they're trimmed differently now, dunno, but the Sabre II flies a lot flatter than the Spectre did for me, but the Spectre openings are slower and a tad more predictable.

duplicate post.

Given that I've got approx 1K jumps each on 7 vs 9 cells...my experience is that the glide angle of either a Spectre or Storm is significantly different than a Silhouette, Pulse, Safire, Crossfire II, Firebolt, Pilot (all of which I also have jumped). Given the same opening altitude and wingloading, there is simply no way I can fly as far as the other guy on a 9 cell. Tried it on numerous occasions. Maybe I need to get some canopy coaching from ya. See you in Reno?

Betty, We should be able to get you squared up for AFF, but you'll be looking at a custom rig as a sport jumper, almost for certain. While there may be a used rig out there that will fit you, finding it may be very difficult. John's point about reaching toggles is a good/important one, so we'll want to put whatever container you consider into the hanging system. A leg deployment system isn't far-fetched for your body type, either. Grab Lob, Tom, Lelo, we'll show you some options. Gonna see you again this weekend?

the point is, there is _no reason_ to be a "frame or two out." None. Even the most simple app in the world will allow for frame accurate sync. If you were shooting really slow shutterspeeds (which the GoPro doesn't do), then the shutterspeed would be a real problem, but shooting at high shutterspeeds...being in perfect sync would be nirvana, but it's not at all a big issue.

Very soon, and yes...Vegas is dev'ing for it (as are Adobe). Did you see the Digital Adrenaline article on Sandy Bridge, Vegas, and SONAR?

Somewhere, I have video of a bad-azz paraglider pilot who tethered his Contour to his skydiving helmet. He landed badly, head tilted because he couldn't release the Fastex. There is a post about it in the Photo forum from approx a year ago. A big object might hold a line or two, but a tether can wrap around everything. Look at Jeff Donohue's post regarding how tough it was to lose his helmet when he had a nasty snag. A tether is much worse than a snag point; a snag point can't wrap around lines, can't bind up risers...

I'm unable to search efficiently right now but if you can find pix of my helmet or Iwan's helmet, you'll find what it looks like. I'm probably selling one reasonably soon....

Please, please do not use a tether. This could create much bigger issues. Wrap that tether around a riser or line... it's a whole new mess. We try to LOSE our cameras/camera helmets in the event of an entanglement for a reason.

Kiss it goodbye if you do that. 110% guaranteed. Seen 3 of the topmounts disappear too, one of em' with the aluminum mount, torn off the first jump at Flock n' Dock 6.0

Freakin' Suit and Tonysuit have been very good for me. I had a Bev suit for a while too.

Ask Tony Hathaway...he can swoop the sh** out of a Spectre. Just about any canopy can be swooped to a degree, given enough power/speed. Some just much farther than others. Soft tiptoe landings are just as much fun as planed out landings, especially for demos, accuracy, tight areas, older jumpers, people with foot/leg/knee problems, and myriad other reasons. That's why there are so many canopy choices, right?

Nah, I'm the dumbass in the picture that doesn't know the difference between framerate and shutterspeed. (or what a mullet actually is). If you're shooting at 60fps, then the shutterspeed could be as slow as one exposure every 1 second, every 5 seconds, or every 1/8000 of a second and every value in between. Frames per second bears zero relationship to shutterspeed. Your car can be turning a constant 3,000 RPM but the speed may vary depending on terrain, gear ratio, number of cylinders, etc. [edit] attached is an image where I've offset sync pulses on three separate cams. The eye, nor the ear can detect the offset even though they're 50ms off for a total of 100ms offset in cumulative time.

are you talking shutterspeed or frame rate? Very different animals. Framerate is constant. Shutterspeed is variable. Shutterspeed is gonna be what it is with a GoPro, you can't lock it. Shutterspeeds will be close enough that it's not an issue, and unsynced shutters are a VERY small issue when dealing with speeds of 1/48, 1/50, or faster. (see attached). Framerate...easy to lock a sync pulse and be spot-locked on (no pun intended). The sound may -carry- over 2-3 frames, but the attack/transient point + amplitude is only a sample. (see attached) Depending on the application you're using, be sure frame quantization is turned off. (some apps can't do this). If you can line up the attack/transient points to within 1/250 of a second, there is NO WAY the eye nor ear can detect the offset. In the example I just created for you, the transient points are within 1/1000.

If you're a "frame or two off" with a clap, there is likely something "off" within your editing software. Claps, audio slates, burst gens, flashpops, even dog-training clickers are used every day in the film, video, and 3D production biz as sync points. Audio that is within even a 1/10sec window is just fine, but tools like Vegas and Edius allow for sample-locking (1/1000). Syncing the start time isn't "revolutionary"; syncing the shutter is. I agree, there isn't a market for 3D tandems, at least not at this point in time, and likely not for many years to come. 3D definitely isn't a fad, but it's extremely early-adopter stuff. This past year, I've found our company becoming more and more immersed into the world of 3D production, consulting, software development and presentation. It's very cool in specific applications. I don't believe general skydiving fits those applications *just yet.*

But it does have repercussions on others. Tandems are already managed/legally different than a standard skydive. And if, just if...someone burns in, it'll have an impact on skydiving at a variety of levels. Tandem skydiving is already "dangerous" enough without making it more "exciting." If they wanna fly a wingsuit, then let the student get to the point that they are 100% self-responsible. Innovation is great, I'm a big believer in it. But there are "stunts" and there are things that can be made commonplace. Tandem wingsuiting carries too many uncertain elements. I do not believe you can explain the risks to the average tandem student. They do not understand the risks they're dealing with as it is; they just know "I'm jumping from an airplane and it might kill me." But they don't understand sidespins, won't understand flatspins, and it's silly to try to explain it because they *still* won't cogently get more than "I'm gonna make a skydive." Keep tandems as a "training tool" (amusement park ride) and we'll keep the government out of our sandbox, but it would be a difficult argument to suggest that tandem wingsuiting is a training tool when industry practices demand 200 jumps before putting on a wingsuit.

I've put several hundred jumps on Silhouettes in sizes from 230 to 135. A wise ole' jumper told me early on that the Silhouette was the "best kept secret" in skydiving. I agree. The Sil has a wonderful flare, smooth glide, and is exceptionally forgiving (even at higher wingloadings). It's a hybrid, so easy to pack. It'll get you back from long spots. I've only got around 50 jumps on a Spectre, so my opinion isn't as informed. The Spectre opens beautifully as well, but it won't get you back from a long spot. It has a steeper glide. Still, a great canopy. I've got around 1K jumps on its cousin, the Storm, and in terms of glide, they're not that different. Both are good canopies. Are you looking for slower openings, greater glide, more control? What don't you like about your current canopy?

To act more on the naughty thoughts I think.

How about avoiding anything "stupid" above 2K as well? Very recently saw a 2 out. He disconnected his RSL while his hands were in the reserve toggles and converted his side x side into a downplane at 150'. Depending on the rig and situation...one may be different from another.

I don't believe in loosening legstraps for many reasons, the largest of which being that it will change the point at which you'll be flaring to half brakes. USPA gives it as an optional practice. RSL is recommended to be disconnected prior to water entry. My feeling is that the RSL release prior to entry is wrongfully emphasised. I've cut away a main in water, twice (intentional landings) I think it's already a stressful situation for most, even experienced skydivers may struggle with the number of things to recall. I teach it, because it's USPA doctrine. Unfasten chest strap, flare to half, land it with PLF attitude. Get out of it, and get away from the main. I think that summarizes it fairly well.