DSE

FWIW, I did see ChutingStar with a brandnew (but used) Tonfly X3 for dirt cheap...

It has a big fan community because it is the standard for most instructors. The thing about a Phantom series suit is that if you can't fly your body, it stays stable and won't take you for a ride. Once you learn to fly your body, it allows you to push some serious limits. We saw more than a couple guys in Phantoms at the Performance Cup, outperform much more experienced jumpers in SBirds and in one case, an Apache. The Phantom series allows for very impressive (although not world record-setting performance) flight, but also allows for docking and RW work. Look at all the past Artistic competitions. _All_ the winning teams have been on a Phantom-based suit (Shadow, Phantom, Havok). Once you learn to fly your body properly in a smaller suit, it's quite easy to transition to a large/draggy suit. Learning on an unbalanced suit makes it harder to unlearn bad habits once you move to a more tuned suit. It's actually pretty obvious when you watch various training videos in different suits. We only have a few thousand coaching videos here though.

one of the best commentaries I've read in a long time... Spot on.

Of course you're right. It's only the morons and idiots that can't determine their relative body position in the air. Some of em' even wear cameras so they can show their friends how bad their body position is, relative to the earth.

A-the approach to the field required that the flag carriers and other demo jumpers be over. It is a very tight stadium. A pro should be able to manage this. B-the landing area itself was very much clear, and plenty large. The problem was the demo jumper misjudged the toilet bowl effect that is quite common with stadium jumps.

Umm... if you got a wingsuit, that suffices for those that require payment for services rendered. Just sayin'...

Were you wearing it? And... If it's a new, custom WS, you need to 'bless it' by having sex in it (with yourself doesn't count)

Perhaps someone has something that works, but my "testing" of a couple models from Astra and AudioTechnica didn't fare so well. http://www.arcmics.com/professional-radio-accessories/throat-mics Coupled with motorola systems for air to air haven't worked. Nor did the Stryker system. Perhaps one of the military systems would work, no clue and no access on my part. My best result has been an AT 830 series wireless in a Bonehead Mamba helmet, but it's a talk/listen system, not a talk/talk system.

This is the hard part, I agree. Until the BOD begins to understand the impact of the 'peace love skydiving' approach, credibility of passionate and skilled skydivers will plummet. What did the BOD do with the guy that dropped a flag weight through a house (He's an S&TA) What did the BOD do with the tandem instructors doing CRW with their passengers? What happened to the three clowns that did a wingsuit rodeo from 2000' and had AAD fires? The organizer that was caught cheating on records, and records officially rescinded? What about the AFF instructors that left their AFF student alone in the plane while they went off on a fun jump during an aircraft engine failure? The Demo group that consumed "approximately two sixpacks" prior to a demo (and caused a small, but very visible) incident? ~nothing. I think you'll find that the newer guard of the BOD really wants changes to occur. The older guard of mostly non-jumping/DZO's, doesn't.

I just looked at this camera at Bass Pro shop. It's not anything better (and a tad worse) than most of the very cheap cameras out there. On par with Swann... So..it has some sweet features, but the image still blows.

Just to ask the question again; HOW MANY AFFIC have you attended? It's a valid question, to identify how much you understand about the very course you're complaining about. I sense that the answer is 'none.' I stalk you? ROFLMAO. You aren't quite my type, although the long grey hair is kinda sexy. Have you been drinking again? You're right...I know nothing about AFF or Coach programs

Rich, My team lost a demo gig because of someone else' mishap. Last saturday, someone brought up the S&TA that dropped a weight through a house. When the question gets asked about 'bad' demos that everyone hears about, how do you respond? What's your approach to a conversation that starts with "Do you know this guy that did XXX on TV last week?"

There is nothing wrong with practicing it, provided you have someone with knowledge help you with it. I'd advise against starting this too early, you may develop poor habits. We do train for ws jumps without a ws at our school, but if your jump numbers are accurate, I'd focus on other belly skills, and worry about the deployment process (which is quite simple, if taught correctly) when you are much closer to your FFC.

Not at all talking about I/E. Talking about AFFI. Currently the average cost for someone to travel and achieve the AFF rating, is around 2500-3K$. Avg 800.00-1000.00 for course, plus around 16-20 jump tickets, and usually plus share of outside video cost. Add travel/lodging to that. Then toss any unpaid leave days on top of that, if you're not a full-time skydiver, and most people at small DZ's certainly aren't. Now you can double that cost, because the course will have to cost more because it uses more Examiner time. More practice jumps would likely be required. Perhaps because you're genuinely unaware of what's being done out there, you're clueless to the costs involved, too? What else have you missed from the toolbox, Andy? Of *course* things can be improved. People who actually do this as their sole job, people who have attended and participated in meetings, standardization, and examine candidates are actively working to improve the standard and system. Just to ask the question again; HOW MANY AFFIC have you attended? It's a valid question, to identify how much you understand about the very course you're complaining about. Or perhaps you're too (your words) holier than thou to answer the very easy question?

Chris; This forum isn't Speakers Corner, nor Bonfire. You're seriously out of your element here. I'm going to ask you nicely to please quit with the novels and disinformation. This forum generally stays clean of BS, it's nice to keep it that way. Thanks.

And you call me a "condescending tool?" Yes. I have ideas. And brought them up at the AFF Standards meeting(s) that I've paid to attend. And discussed them with people that actually *can* make a difference vs constantly whining about how no one meets "my" standard. Strange, I didn't see you at those meetings. I haven't seen you at any of the USPA S&T meetings either. Technology can be used for much of the pre-course. Examiners can provide candidates with better/more concise information prior to a course. Some examiners already do this. However, I stand by my point. The best training methods and programs in the world cannot weed out "weaker/poorer." It doesn't matter if you're training firefighters, policemen, lawyers, or Walmart clerks. There will always be people that can momentarily meet a standard. Should the AFF standard be raised? That's really the point of your debate, isn't it? I feel it has room for improvement, of course. Is it acceptable for the precourse and course to be held back to back? It certainly is. In general, the course program works. What candidates do or don't do with the information, how they implement the techniques, is entirely up to the candidate afterwards. It's entirely up to how the DZ manages the candidate afterwards. And it's entirely out of the examiner's hands once the candidate is out of the course. Some examiners take personal responsibility for how their candidate manages themselves following the course. Some don't. Whether you like it or not, financial feasibility _must_ be a part of the conversation. If you want a stellar, significantly-improve-the-candidate course, then it adds length to the course, which in turn tremendously increases cost. If you don't pay your money to attend standards meetings or USPA S&T meetings, would you spend the money for a better rating program for yourself? How many USPA AFFIC have you attended that has inspired your negative view of the program? Are you willing to pay 8-10K$ for a rating that won't provide a whole lot more than a minimum wage return? I don't think so. Any idiot can sit behind a keyboard and spew how much better they are than anyone else, Andy. People who actually do teach and have passion to make a change get up off their asses, attend meetings, make attempts to understand the process, and actually do make differences. They are the "tools" used to make change. If that makes me a "tool", so be it.

If watching the plane means keeping eyes level so that the head is up, that works whichever way you say it.

Tried a diff USB cable/adapter? Try this: power off battery out memory card out shutter button pressed and insert battery with shutter button pressed power on camera (mode button) ..

And a protection cage for the exposed screen...

I can see how that reads awkwardly. Students at some DZ's are never put into a training harness, rig, or other simulation tool during their training. In other words, they're being taught with hand motions vs having pulled a hackey, main release handle, or reserve ripcord during their training. I find this unconscionable in a world where training harnesses can be built for a few bucks and an hour of time.

I don't know anything, but have heard rumors from within the industry.

Entirely agreed. Some of the coaches being output are pretty damn clueless about teaching, and while those same skills break down very nicely for advanced coaching, it's not the same as teaching a student from near zero to hero.

No, and therefore there is no absolute that guarantees that things won't go badly once people have left the aircraft. That doesn't mean we don't do our best to provide information, direction, and post-jump feedback. Trackers are rarely a problem for anyone at our DZ. Angle flyers, are a different breed altogether. Because it's the new rage, there are a lot of very low-time people doing it with no clue about how the different angle affects where they are flying. We've had a couple of camps to address this at our DZ, and the information seems to be disseminating very well.

Two jumps from a Beech 18. I'd imagine Ed has quite a bit more experience. T'is a tight door for a rollout, but if the pilot provides a proper cut, you're entirely closed and head-up towards the door, all will be well. If it's a cargo door, it seems it would be quite easy to roll (never jumped a cargo door model).

Other than Canon not building this themselves, what gives the impression it's the "best skydiving action-vid camera?" Low bitrate, always-on display... Looking forward to playing with it, but I don't think it's a contender. GoPro, Replay, Sony are the current choices. When Contour comes back online with their new re-org, I think they'll be seriously competitive too.