DSE

Wandering thread.... I've never seen a premature deployment of a tandem, but have seen a drogue collapse after it inflated. I was in front of student/TI. If I can find it, I'll post a photo. I moved well off and continued to shoot. The increase in speed "felt" a lot different than a trapdoor.

Your canopy flies in the air. How can you tell without any reference like the ground which way is downwind? I'll reply with my limited experience. Of the two no-input landings I've witness (both skydivers not conscious), neither were upwind. one was straight in; according to the video winds were around 15. The other had a slow turn but moving overall in a downwind direction, landing in the slow spin was crosswind. Both had a relatively high ground speed. Scott's death wasn't caused by the high speed landing, but it contributed to his already damaged body. I didn't mean to imply that any skydiver who is unconscious will automatically land downwind, but rather in the direction the wind is moving. However, would a wingloading chart that could improve the odds of safety in an unconscioous or no-input couldn't be counted on for accuracy in a real world situation, could it?

You may not want them criticized by others in any way but the bottom line is that there are safety issues in the videos, and I'd expect anyone to bring them up regardless whether you want them criticized or not. The question I still have, "are you certain you can always get out of the way of a deploying tandem main when you're in that position?" I'm not sure I could. The forum is here to discuss whatever you'd like to discuss as related to skydiving with cameras. Dialog about flying techniques is as welcome as discussions about camera technology. In other words, if there is a topic you'd like to share or ask about, a few keystrokes is all it takes....

Speed would be relevant to wind in addition to wingloading, and a no-input landing would likely be downwind, right? I'm told the reason the US doesn't have wingloading requirements tied to licenses is the legal aspect. If so, wouldn't this data be cut from the same cloth?FWIW, I've seen one no-input landing under a .8:1 reserve (skydiver lived with broken face, radius/ulna, tib) and a video of a no-input landing under a 1.3:1 (skydiver didn't survive). both were very high speed, and not sure how any of that data could be accurately presented and avoided as information in a lawsuit?

With or without wings, you think you always can get out of the way during deployment when you're that far above the tandem? Perhaps I'm too conservative. BTW, another value to wings is that they can push you back if you need to backslide quickly.

If that angle makes up for the bulk of the shots, I agree. Boring. I shoot a 24mm lens, not a 15mm (my 15 took a 3k tumble), so I don't get a horizon. I've learned to love the 24 on an APSC camera, evn though the exit isn't QUITE as big as I'd like. That said, wings give me the range to go from very low to very high, very fast. I'm archable enough that I can drop from high back to level very fast too. Having a small built in weightbelt doesn't hurt. Because of my size, I tend to get a LOT of the 230 lb instructor/200lb student combos....but I love my wings even more for those, simply because of the angles I can get with greater stability due to the faster fallrate + wings.

-Barrel roll while keeping a heading. -tracking a known distance ie; from landmark A to landmark B. Have someone show you the best direction and landmarks for setting your heading so you avoid tracking up/down jumprun. -Front loop and hold a heading -Backloop and hold a heading -Find an instructor/coach and dock with them -Do the above, but turn a 360 and re-dock with them -Do the above, but turn a 720 and re-dock with them That's the top half of the skydive. At the bottom half; Walk to a point in the landing area and put down a Frisbee, paper plate, or similar that you can see from above. Try to land on/as close to it as you can. While under canopy, play a game with yourself. Try to guage your altitude without looking at your altimeter. Then check your altimeter to see how close you guessed. Do this above 1500' so you remain aware of your landing requirements. Congrats on completing AFF!

If it doesn't work natively in Mac, it must be the "other thing." HDV was "bad" because Mac doesn't natively support it (although every other platform does). AVCHD isn't "Bad." Apple is "bad." Apple intentionally chooses to not support AVCHD or other MPEG format with native decoding. You cannot use native AVCHD in any Apple product whether it's FCP, iMovie, Soundtrack, Logic, etc. It must be transcoded, which adds time to the editing process. If speed isn't your need and you're a Mac owner, then use iMovie or FCS/E.

Karen, A couple of years back, Laszlo (who wears wings most of the time, I think) taught me how to get really low on tandems and stay, getting a similar shot to many of yours on your photo pages. I love that angle, looking up at the student and catching the drogue. I don't think I could sustain the position without wings. I know I can't carve/orbit as fast without them. I can always assure the student is in frame, but can't always assure the angle I want if I don't use wings. Several guys on the DZ have told me numerous times how un-cool wings are. Was it Mike McGowan that said "Until you can outfly Joe Jennings, you'll wear wings?"

A quick search here will turn up Jason Cooke's (Cookie) contact info. I've had few dealings with them, but they've all been very good and very fast to respond.

Great shots as always, Juan! Glad you're back in the sky!

LOL, not sure what I did to deserve this dubious honor, but I appreciate the sentiment. You're welcome!?!

I'll be Downunder in Oz for the APF conference...if you'll be attending, please elbow me.

You can still open/close the LCD and power up/down the camera without the HypEye connected. It's a PITA, but it's doable.

let's keep the primary CX100 thread going? Any newer NLE application can handle AVCHD, either via proxies, transcode, or native. If you're using old software, you'll need to update.

I recommend the spot focus mode/manual. I don't recommend the Autofocus.

PS: Are you suggesting that I don't get it? Get off your defensive horse. I don't know whether you "get it" or not. Skills in any sport that isn't tightly regulated cannot be based on ability as much as experience. Statistics can't prove that someone is or isn't prepared for XXX activity at XXX jumps, but it goes a long way to improving odds. I'm sure the OP is a very capable skydiver. I've read his posts where he says reading books gave him a leg up on everyone else in his class, and his posts on freeflying, rigging, canopies, etc. He's obviously very excited about the sport. That's GREAT! The problem isn't the onesie-twosie guy that goes out in a wingsuit before he's got the experience or numbers. It's the guy that comes to the internet and brags about it, helping set up the "I've got mad skillz, I'm current, confident, and comfortable in a skydive, so rules don't apply" mentality that less capable but equally egotistical and enthusiastic people will read and embrace. If you don't want the "usual dropzone.com bullshit" over ignoring recommendations, then don't come to dropzone.com and boast about ignoring recommendations. It's really a pretty simple concept, no?

or like: But don't expect any happy clapping for someone putting on a wingsuit at 150 jumps. There are reasons for the milestones. Some just feel they're more "speshul" than others. Then there are those that [url "http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3535071;#3535071"] "get it."

If this genuinely happens, then they're fools. Funny thing; we put effort into advertising, radio spots, special events, spotlight articles in newspapers. When we do these things, we can track the increase very easily. When we don't, we can track that, too.

Not to beat a dead horse, but that is a scary way to be thinking. At least a quarter of the people in the Incidents forum thought they were "good enough to do [insert action here] +that." A few get the opportunity to try again. to the OP, glad your wingsuit jumps are successful and fun so far, and hopefully you gain enough experience so that when things do go to sh**, you'll know how to manage it, regardless of the discipline.

I hope to get to the DZ tomorrow or Wed. Sorry I can't help now. In my mind, it's in the General Settings under the File menu options, but I can't specifically recall. I think it's a "Reset to Zero?" Hopefully I'm not confusing it with another camera.

I wear wings not because I *have* to but because I want the range. Even if I'm shooting a big heavy guy with a heavy TI, I still want my wings so I can easily pop up fast and use my body to get down fast. If I'm flying with a lightweight person, I use the wings as well, as they help steady the flying. Like the old saw says..."Dress for success." Wings allow me creative freedom and a broad range, but I still wear em' on super heavyweights, too. Wings are great to help for those fast orbits going opposite the tandem when they're doing spins. [edit] Phree beat me to the punch and said it better.