indyz

It's definitely on one of the 90s Norm Kent videos. Probably either From Wings Came Flight or Willing To Fly. Air & Space Magazine has an article about it. No pictures, unfortunately, but it does list several other films that the footage might be found it.

The latest version of iMovie (2008) only runs on Intel Macs. Older versions are available for PowerPC G4 and G5 Macs. All versions of iMovie require OS X.

A temporary fix for the pipe handle is to get a cork from a wine bottle and shove it into the handle, then trim the ends. Won't fix the feel, but you definitely won't get your finger stuck in it.

We did it at Sky Knights in East Troy last May. More details here. We are hoping to get something organized again this year, ideally around May again, but we haven't started planning yet.

You need to configure the server to serve WMV files with a "audio/x-ms-wmv" mime-type.

Yeah, I was asleep at the wheel when I wrote the part about building a converter. You'll need one of each.

FWIW, AI servo mode is mostly designed for capturing action shots when using longer lenses with shallow depth-of-field. When using a wide angle lens, either manual focus or normal auto focus should be sufficient.

Here's why Conceptus recommends the mono plug for moving object: Some cameras support an autofocus mode called "continuous autofocus" or "AI servo". If your camera supports this mode, and you are shooting autofocus, a mono plug will force the camera to continually attempt to focus. If you used a stereo switch, it would wait until you triggered the switch before focusing, wasting a little bit of time. Assuming you are at roughly the same distance as the last shot you took this is no big deal, but if you have moved significantly, the focus time could cause you to miss the shot. So, if you are planning on shooting autofocus, and your camera support AI servo mode, you might consider the mono plug. If you are going to use manual focus, use a stereo plug. Also, some cameras like the 300D only support AI Servo in certain modes (Sports, in the 300Ds case), and don't work with a mono plug in modes that don't support it. Personally, I'd buy a stereo switch, then build a mono-stereo converter out of junk-bin parts and have the best of both worlds. Or just buy one of each switch and save myself the trouble.

0-20: PISA Skymaster 230/270s 20-25: Sabre2 170 26-~300: Spectre 170 300-500: Triathlon 160 (with a lot of demoing/borrowing in the last 75 jumps or so) 500-1200: Vengeance 135 (with a bunch of borrowing, CRW, and a couple hundred tandems mixed in)

If the shirt is a parody (and the Supreme Court has been very liberal in what it considers parody), then the shirt is perfectly legal and in fact protected under the First Amendment. These shirts have been on sale for a decade and there is nothing Warner Brothers can do about it. Then again, the guy selling them is Canadian. Who knows what their laws are.

I'd be happy to get a response at all. I never even hear back from about 75% of the people that I contact. As far as wanting payment before an inspection? That's just the terms of the deal. If you don't like it, walk away. It's nothing worth being upset about.

In theory, the focal length of your video camera with a lens is equal to the base focal length of the camera multiplied by the conversion factor of the lens. So a camera with a 50mm base focal length and a .45x lens would be equivalent to 22.5mm. In theory. Unfortunately, it isn't that simple. First, he focal length of the built-in lens is probably not 50mm. You have to check your camera's manual to be sure (it might also be printed on the camera body somewhere). Second, and most important, is that there is no standard for conversion lenses. For example, a Sony .6x lens is wider than many .5x lenses. Adding step-up or -down rings also affect the conversion factor.

This years Nationals was really well handled in that regard. Just about everybody used Firewire, but they were also set up for composite, s-video, and had a PAL/NTSC converter.

Skydivers need to stop thinking of AADs as just a device that will save them if they are knocked out. Check out Airtec's list of documented Cypres saves. The majority of AAD fires happen to skydivers who are fully capable of pulling their handles, they are just "out to lunch" for whatever reason. I can tell you that after my relatively short time in this sport, I need both hands to count the number of AADs fires I've seen, and not a single one of those jumpers was unconcsious or otherwise injured. FWIW, I went over 1000 jumps without an AAD. I finally bought one this summer. In retrospect, it was silly to wait that long. $1300 is a drop in the bucket in this sport.

Then why do you still own it? It sucks, but it's not dangerous. I won't buy another one, but I'm not in any hurry to replace it.

I don't like mine. I put two rides on my Tempo 170 (1.2:1 wingloading) this year. It opened just fine, flew straight, and turned like a barge. I was glad I was under the reserve at 3000ft on the first one, because it gave me lots of time to play with the stall point, which was at my shoulders, just about where I would have expected half-brakes to be. It was a windy day and I made a hard but not painful stand-up landing into a plowed field. The second one I landed on grass and PLFed without thinking twice. The problem I have with Tempos is that there doesn't seem to be any consistency. Some are great, some have a built-in turn, mine could have hurt me if I hadn't had time to practice my flare. If you buy one, make sure the previous owner has actually used it, and is somebody you trust to give you an honest assessment of how it flies.

With the number of scams going on I've had to make it a personal policy to never buy or sell overseas. It's a shame, because there are some good deals out there, but it just isn't worth the risk to me.

I don't have a problem with my students goggles fitting, and the students I video don't have problems either (obviously shit happens every once in a while, but it isn't a regular occurence). Setting the goggles up to stay on correctly isn't rocket science. I use FlexZs or tube-stoe style goggles for passengers that don't wear glasses. Adjust the sizing on the ground and double-check before exit. I think a major cause of losing goggles is improper adjustment, and letting the passenger wear them too high on the face (not making a good seal around the nose). I'm also not a fan of goggles with elastic bands, like Kroops. For passengers who need over-the-glasses goggles, I highly recommend that they wear a strap on their glasses and a frap hat.

I've had video guys give me copies of particularly good stills and I've done the same. I also don't mind firewiring them the video or making them a copy of the DVD or stills CD if they ask. If every TM wanted a copy of every jump, my attitude would probably change. We are a club DZ. In my experience, things like this are more relaxed at clubs.

Ok, let's do a thought experiment here. You get in the plane blindfolded. The pilot takes you up to altitude, picks a random heading for jumprun, and you get out. You deploy and let the canopy fly on whatever heading it opened on. With the blindfold still on, can you tell which way is into the wind? You can't, because the canopy is moving in the airmass. It's the same as if I put you blindfolded in a canoe, in the middle of a river. Would you be able to tell if the canoe was pointing upstream, downstream, or across the river? . That is not an appropriate physical model. Say the canoe was also moving towards the bank (like gravity pulls a parachutist towards the ground). The river flows less rapidly close to the bank, so the end of the canoe closest to the bank will slow down relative to the other end, and the canoe will turn. The shear in the stream will induce a rotation. Sorry. I should have added "assume you are near the middle of a really wide river."

Ok, let's do a thought experiment here. You get in the plane blindfolded. The pilot takes you up to altitude, picks a random heading for jumprun, and you get out. You deploy and let the canopy fly on whatever heading it opened on. With the blindfold still on, can you tell which way is into the wind? You can't, because the canopy is moving in the airmass. It's the same as if I put you blindfolded in a canoe, in the middle of a river. Would you be able to tell if the canoe was pointing upstream, downstream, or across the river? Until you introduce an external reference it is simply impossible to determine which direction the wind is coming from. You do it by opening your eyes and looking around. If the canopy wanted to do it, it would need a GPS or inertial navigation system or something.

God, what a clusterfuck. He watches a tandem have a streamer, then dumps without tracking or even turning 180? Then he flies himself into the cutaway main?

How would they ever know? The screws you remove to replace the wrist strap are the same screws that hold the case together.

The secret of skydiving altimeter adjustments is that you aren't really calibrating the altimeter, you are just rotating the entire internal assembly. You can see this for yourself by taking the back cover off an Altimaster Galaxy or similar alti. Think of it as setting the time on the clock by spinning the face instead of moving the hands.

By hard to come by, do you mean you are only considering used equipment? Because when I ordered a new Cypres last month, I had it in 5 days (and I could have had it overnighted, if I was in a hurry).