DSE

That's a relatively "easy" fix, I'm betting they don't have any dynamic range restriction (which is dumb, because they'd get a better image with narrower latitude). I had forgotten you'd become a dealer. Justin rocks, yeah? They're really good people. One of those situations where my opinion was swayed 180 from my original (I thought their products all sucked, based on an early product experience). They are 110% a rock-solid company to deal with.

According to information from GoPro, the compression rate will still keep it less than optimal, but with the resolution there......it can easily be fractalled up...

What is our personal agenda? You've made this accusation before, along with claims of how regulation will "hurt you." Yet you offer no specifics. You think there is a pot of gold at the end of this rating rainbow? For hells sake, wake the fuck up. The rating didn't pass the BOD meeting. True, I have a somewhat "personal" agenda. I want to see good instruction become the norm in wingsuiting. I want to see people waiting til they're ready. I want to see fewer kids dying. Argue it all you want; had the "reccomendations" been "rules" that were enforceable and accountable, Dan and Race would likely not have died when they did. But hell, you knew them both, right? So you know better. None of us that proposed the rating get anything out of it except putting up with attacks, threats, and PM's from people like you that cry "WOLF" over regulations that don't exist, won't exist, and out of fear of actually having to demonstrate skills if you want to wear the badge of "instructor." Man, that must suck to brag about your flying skills all over DZ.com but be worried about whether or not you can stay with an examiner flying as a "student." Scary indeed. One more time, just in case you weren't listening; the WSI rating proposal didn't pass. So, I flew to Dallas, stood in front of the BOD in my pajamas, had spasms that made me look like an escapee from a mental ward...all for nothing. Meow.

those goodbye kisses at airports and bus stations where the tingle seems to linger for hours... they're painful

Mine is one of those "four month things" and I'm not thinking about it at all. Can't wait to hit the air, and bawl at the site of pretty puffies and my friends flocking. Lotsa metal, lotsa broken bones, lotsa pain...can't wait to fly.

Chuck, First, let me say I have a tremendous respect for you. Second, no one plagiarized your work. I wrote *all* the initial documents for our project and my writings became the foundation of our project, and the secondary point of the project was that it *not* be manufacturer specific. The same thing was said to someone else when he wrongfully claimed we'd plagiarized his work. Not one word of our program was plagiarized from anything. Of course you've pioneered a lot of techniques in this sport, and there is no doubt that some of the "Chuck Blue" technique has filtered down through various instructors and students you've taught. But...we've pioneered a few things ourselves. I've never seen either the Birdman documents nor the PF documents. I did have a copy of Campos' book but that was lent out long ago. I didn't find the book very helpful from a "learning" perspective in terms of First Flight help and I haven't had the book around for nearly a year. The program/syllabus we submitted was written entirely based around personal knowledge/experience, and was not aimed towards any specific wingsuit manufacturer. It's a wingsuit rating. Not a BM, PF, TS,FYB, EG, whatever manufacturer rating. FWIW, the greater majority of those involved in creating the program *do* have some form of USPA instructional rating, either Coach, AFFI, TI. It's also true, you and others created a solid Birdman instructional program that very few still adhere to. Just because you are an outstanding wingsuit instructor with a method based around the Birdman program does not mean that others hold the same passion for quality instruction that you do.You're a rare bird, Chuck. But face it...the time for a *single* consistent instructional program that has a foundation based on the USPA training methodology that has been of benefit to ISP/AFF students for years....has come. Administered by one body rather than 4-5 competitors that for the greatest part, have instructors that don't follow the recommendations (Although I know you do).

You missed the USPA discussion about changing the legal age of tandem students to 16. Well...it's not as young as the APF is considering, which is 12 years. Then again, Australia is right next to New Zealand where there is no age limit. Expecting a wingsuit to be 1 mile away from a tandem is a bit excessive as an opening requirement, IMO. What if the tandem is on a long spot? I suppose the wingsuiter(s) could ask for a go-around, but...Our flight plan as a general rule includes (or should include) a far enough out pattern or teardrop that we're well off of jump run anyway.

In addition to Dave's comment to xfer via firewire vs USB, bear in mind that your computer shows only progressive scan information, and your camera is interlaced. Watched on a computer, interlaced content is quite often bad. Some NLE applications de-interlace for you during the editing application.

sounds like head offset. This occurs from time to time. You'd think DV is DV, but sometimes there are mis-matches. Try the tape in a different deck,see if that eliminates the problem. Playing it won't create more problems for you, so leave the "girlish squeals" behind.

I'd forgotten about VLC for Apple, thanks for the reminder. VLC is a GREAT tool for a lot more than just viewing.

Screw that, man... I wanna make a wingsuit Calabi-Yau shape. /Off to figure out how to fly at right angles to myself. So your new nickname is "crab?" I prefer the idea of putting motion tracking sensors on each wingsuiter. Then later, we can easily measure them in After Effects or similar. Then we can easily change colors and faces, too. Imagine, a 100-Way all in one color/type of wingsuit!

The story, relayed to me by a TI who alleged that a wingsuiter either struck his canopy, or was close enough to have burbled him hard. I have no reason to doubt him. That's what was relayed, nothing more. Following that was someone else' story of a wingsuiter that opened up very near a tandem and was heading towards the tandem. The tandem had to avoid the wingsuit. Outside of the session in the hallway, more "no shit" stories were brought up by DZO's and other skydivers as well. The stories weren't used as a scare tactic by any means. They were part of a small point being made that the BOD doesn't have a clue about what goes on. JP Furnari brought up other aspects of that point. In the same breath, I said "The recommendations are bullshit and a fucking joke, people laugh at them all over the world." JP had a story to underscore that statement as well. The BOD wonders why S&TA's don't report a lot of incidents to them, but they end up here on DZ.com or go entirely unreported. A WSI rating or merely a USPA-adopted syllabus isnt going to prevent anyone from dying during a tandem flyby, striking an aircraft on downwind/base/final, or wingsuiters striking each other (or someone else) in a cloud. All the rating or syllabus will accomplish is making people aware that these things can be/are dangerous and should be carefully considered (assuming someone doesn't make a motion to change anything about tandem/wingsuit jumps at the next BOD meeting). {editd to add} the only "fear-mongering" that is occurring here is the FUD being spread by those opposed to a wingsuit instructor rating, most of whom admit they don't teach. A US-standardized program (that is supported by most of the wingsuit manufacturers and many instructors) is far better than no standard at all, which is currently what we have for instruction. I continue to find it hilarious that there are those that call themselves "instructors" that have never had to prove that they can fly. I can name at least a dozen wingsuiters that relate stories of "I never saw my instructor once." Those sorts of instructors have no business teaching. Back to tandem flybys....The FAA came to US saying they're watching. Their interruption of an exit was before anything had been said about the WSI rating that morning. They're watching. On YouTube, Vimeo, etc. If you think that needs to be blamed on someone, fine. Blame the people that post that content so it can be seen by the FAA.

I don't have a problem (maybe I should say I *didn't* have a problem) with flybys until this last BOD meeting when I was pulled outside and told stories, informed, and somewhat chastised. I didn't realize the 'real-world' ramifications of what a tandem/wingsuit (or for that matter, a tandem/whatever collision/incident would be. Being told that every tandem rig and every skydiving aircraft would be grounded pending investigation that could last up to a year...seemed pretty much a good reason to not do them any more. I've done them, I feel I've been very safe flying in the 50' or farther range....but I'm done doing them. The risk just is too much greater than the reward. I can't fly like Chuck or Ed.

As an aside...saw a riser slap tear a CX100 off an L bracket, destroying the thread mount. Fortunately the strap kept it in the L bracket til landing.

you have to do a File/import in your NLE, or purchase a third-party converter. Apple does not directly support AVCHD.

I'll call it "practicing the flute" while you guys hung around.

In Kaysville, Utah, one must possess (and carry) photo ID if they want to enter a convenience store after dark. In Logan Utah, it's illegal for women to swear. At BYU/Provo Utah, a bible must be able to slip between the bodies of people dancing in order to prevent them from dancing too closely.

Taya, You did an outstanding, awesome job with the BOD in both Wingsuit Record and Wingsuit Instructor Rating presentations. You worked hard and it was obvious to everyone. Thank you for standing next to me (and holding me up) during the Sunday presentation. You were a rockstar for wingsuiting at this BOD meeting.

I didn't videotape it (I could barely run my wheelchair) but I'm likely the source of one of the three stories that were talked about. I told a story of a jump I'm aware of where a WS pilot skimmed a main or at the least flew close enough over it to burble the tandem. There were a couple of other stories exchanged not quite as intense. One involved a WS opening in the path of, and facing an already deployed tandem, at Eloy. One DZO on the board wasn't aware tandem buzzing was happening anywhere in the world, while Jessie Farrington commented that the moment she'd heard of it, she banned it from her DZ. One of the other BOD members said the same thing; they'd banned it at their DZ. I think the USPA folks like Ed Scott and Randy Ottinger were really happy to see the discussion happen, because due to the FAA input, Randy indicated he's very concerned we're going to sometime see bodies explode in the air like they did on the GK jump.

Really glad you're alive, James. Better still is that you're walking and talking. can't wait to see your next project bust out.

She shows up pretty regularly, and is always a pleasant face to have around the DZ.

There are a lot of methods, but the main problem you're running into is the encoder itself. Look at what Matt Hoover or Scotty Burns are doing, and you'll see a huge diff. The encoder is *everything,* Cinemacraft is a good but spendy. Try the MainConcept encoder in Vegas. You'll be stunned (assuming you're using a reasonable bitrate). It's not the same encoder as Premiere/Encore use. Squeeze used to be great, but now it's merely "OK", IMO. Adding a touch of Gaussian Blur helps quite a bit. Desaturate just a tad. you'll probably find you like this look better.

Like as in this world-famous Steph Davis??

Chuck, I can't find the "other thread" you're referring to, but in the tandem/timing thread, you refer to Tom Noonan. I have not had this discussion with Tom, it was with Randy Ottinger (USPA Government liason) and an FAA official. Specifically, I was told that the moment there is a tandem/wingsuit incident that involves any injury to the student, skydiving across the US will be *immediately* shut down, all tandem rigs grounded by the FAA, just like they ground aircraft that have an "unknown" or known problem that needs repair. This grounding would last for the duration of any investigation. Said grounding might be a day, month, or up to a year. Empty threat or serious concern? I dunno. I just know that these guys chased after me when I left the meeting a little early. Randy privately mentioned some names of "concern" to me because of YouTube and other posted vids/photos. It's kind of funny, we go out and do really stupid stuff and then post it on YouTube as quick as we can to tell our "no shit there I was" story, and in this case, it's bitten our butts. FAA is watching us now, according to these guys.

Love it!