DSE

Maybe because the data is there anyway so why not look at it in comparison to other jumps? Because it's fun? Or perhaps because it provides feedback about how your body position affected the way you flew? I wasn't on the jump to see how long I could stay up, nor to see how fast/slow I could go. I was there to experience a wingsuit jump, and one byproduct of that is that the Altitrack records the jump. Jumptrack records/displays both TAS and SAS. The speed reported is TAS.

Whether you believe in god or not is your own thing. However, doesn't it seem arrogant to assume that Mr/Mrs XXX became trained as EMT's, doctors, or whatever else, and were at the DZ/your disposal, and all the other aspects of your accident and recovery were placed before you by a god, vs the hard work, training, practice, and experience of those that were available to you? If they're Muslim, agnostic, atheist, pagans, or other 'religion,' does god still have control over them? More to the point, how does god decide who it will look out for and who it won't? Could it be that god was punishing you by breaking your bones, and the 'ungod' was saving you by having its representatives there in the form of scientifically and liberally educated persons to care for you, thus defying gods greater plan of preventing you from skydiving again? If one theory is believeable, can't another be so?

I'm sure your second tandem will go better than your hubby's taekwondo. See you tomorrow!

Must be going around everywhere today. Same story here; tandems and AFF's were grounded, but we did put up a fun load. DZM made it a point to talk to everyone on the load to be sure they understood that the winds might shift. A couple bailed. Winds increased while we were in the air, pilot reported gusts of 30. The problem wasn't penetration; it was the shifting winds at a variety of altitudes, and rotors from the hangar and other objects. In retrospect, I'd rather have ridden the plane down, and if you're at all concerned about going up, the worst place to be is under canopy coming down. IMO, you did the right thing, and at the end of the day, the only person who can make that call is you. Screw what others think, you're the one that has to feel good (or not) about it based on instinct.

Nice! Got my first one in today, was a blast. Same suit, Birdman GTI. My stats: Exit-12522 Deploy-4600 Freefall-76 seconds Avg 81mph (according to Altitrack) but that math doesn't quite work out with speed/altitudes. You did a lot better than I did. Linetwists due to bad body at deployment wasn't as hard to deal with as I'd anticipated.

It's a good feeling, isn't it? While it's not something I'll do all the time, it was fun to do and necessary to get out of the way for the D license. Happiness is nailing the tuffet two jumps in a row in the dark.

Here is the review I'd been asked to write, modified from the print version, and slightly longer for the web.

DW, You realize that the 3 posters above you were probably not even alive in 1974... or at the least still crappin' in their pants then... think a PC is a pilot chute... and have no real idea what a ParaCommander is... umm... in actuality, I'm glad those days ever pre-date me... Don't bet on it.

Cam did OK in a sit. I'm uploading about 5 mins worth of footage right now, slower going working over wireless, but it'll be up. No great shakes video, I'm uploading a tandem shot earlier today, left the camera running all the way to the ground. Not exciting stuff, but more "real world" for most folks. Besides, my sit sucks, the guy I was with was very lightweight and my fall rate control still isn't good. He pops in and out of frame as I sit and it wasn't his fault. Also uploading some footage without wide lens for the rest of the world. BTW, at full rez, you only get around 20 mins on an 8 gig card, unless I missed something here. Havent done the math, but it's 15Mbps at full rez. It's 500MB in size, just plain ole' freefall

So did Jimmy Hall, Jonny Stewart, and a couple others whose names I'm fuzzy on.

I'm probably wrong, but it seems to me that part of the idea is that the wings would "replace" the drogue, as the wings would significantly impact vertical speed and stay subterminal. or, maybe that page went up on April 1, and we're all just late on an april fool's joke.

I missed the bit where it said the student had wings - maybe it's just the TM that does? Obviously it's hard to know anything without a photo or drawing. However it seems there are three options a-TI/TM wears the wings, student does not b-Student wears wings, TI/TM does not c-both have some sort of wing In the event of A, wouldn't the TM/TI potentially be restricted, thus causing a slower response in a difficult situation? In the event of B, it seems a student could really mess up the TM/TI, but maybe not. In the event of C, what would happen if the TM/TI and the student were not of equal position, and were at odds with each other with regard to airflow? Could it be that they intend this suit only for experienced skydivers, and training for wingsuits? Would it still be a bad idea if used for skydivers with at least 200 jumps re; the BSRs for wingsuiting?

Now that I'm cleared of embargo, is there any interest in being able to download footage from this camera? I've got footage both with an SD wide angle on the front end, and no wide/native HD. Which is of more interest?

You won't *ever* see a difference in tape when dealing with digital formats. The difference is "insurance." Dropouts are less likely with AMEII tape. Anyone who tells you that various tape formats for digital media will provide a better or worse picture is either a jester or a fool. It's digital. 1's and 0's. Either they're there or they're not, but higher grade tape provides a deeper storage quality on the tape, and allows for greater penetration of the oxide, but that does not translate to better image, merely a more stable/safe one. Consider it the same as differences between HDD qualities. There are crappy, slow 2100 rpm drives, and there are high-grade 15,000 rpm drives, and both have different error-correction and recovery qualities.

Depends...do you want a good warranty, or do you care? B&H will back it up very nicely, as will Ritz Camera, but you'll pay more. Ebay is a good location if you don't mind grey market or non-warranted. Some of them are warranted on Ebay, but most aren't.

Is it a reflective vignette/halo? Or a lens barrel vignette? If it's the latter, Stratostar gave you the recipe. If it's the former, is the inside ring of your wide silver-colored? If so, color it black with either folded over tape, or a black magic marker. That'll zap it most of the time.

Dunno about freeware, Sony Vegas Movie Studio does a great job at this but it costs around 50.00

yes, I've seen (and worked with) the new iMovie. I don't agree that it's "totally easier" etc, but it is a significant improvement over what was there before. In another thread, I referenced it, as I've been working with the new iMovie for a couple weeks now (beta) for purposes of AVCHD.

Very cool~! IMDB, here comes JT!

Isn't it legal to create a 'backup' of movies you own? ? It is legal to create a backup copy of a movie that you've licensed. It's not legal to circumvent copy protection on the movie. The topic opens up discussions that are probably best left to Speakers Corner.

The Master rigger that received this for his birthday was pleased as could be. His first comment was "Damn, why haven't I thought of that?" He then went on to give me a lesson in positive force devices, and why they've been frowned on for so many years, and explained that today's rig manufacturers are building rigs that can easily withstand the small relative forces applied with this sort of a tool. He immediately used it on another seat rig, and was tickled that he could do it without asking someone to come help with the second pin.

Thanks for the catch. I've only flown a Triathalon a couple times when I needed a second rig for a back to back. It was old enough, I just assumed it was F111. Sure felt like it. So, to amend my previous comment, going from an old ZP to a new ZP does have some difference, but going from F111 to a ZP canopy has quite a diff.

This is how we do ours as well.

An addendum to the thread; Apple today announced iMovie supports AVCHD, so now you can own a CX7 and shoot AVCHD and edit the footage on your MacBook Pro or other fast Apple computer.

I wish more vidiots/editors saw it this way, Stratostar...every video that goes out is a commercial for the DZ, and it also is a commercial for your work, and expression of your interest in the student's "special" moment. Having done everything I can think of to speed the process, I'm now interested in the best product I can create within a reasonable amount of time. Yes, overall I can sometimes take longer than an analog edit on an MX console, but then again, my vids repeat the exit at least once, repeat the deployment at least once, and repeat a key moment/fun moment in the skydive at least once. They get a menu with their name on it, they get a lengthy "This is what skydiving is" video on their DVD, they get their name titled into the video, and sometimes fun/funny graphix, etc. The quality difference has been noted more than once on our DZ, in one case one customer wanted some sort of compensation, because he was on the same load as his buddy, and his video was standard fare, while his buddy not only got his DVD first, but it included his photos, and alll of the above vs "ground, climb, alt, interview, freefall, post jump" and some music taken from iTunes. It's not just about doing the job, IMO. It's about doing the best damn job you can for the allotted amount of time. If you can't change the amount of time (which most of us can't) then you've got to change up the way you accomplish the goal, no matter how it's achieved. All that said, there are many ways that the workflow in iMovie (or any other NLE) can be used to speed and improve the video editing process. No point in fighting it, as in the next season or two, you'll be doing HD at some level anyway, almost guaranteed. And there is no, and will be no, analog editing of HD the way things are being done with DV.