AndyMan

I'm a demo jumper on a pro demo team. You know, matching canopies, jumpsuits, the whole works. I would love to have the skills to do a big swoop like that. They clearly do, so as long as they've got the ratings and are in date, I don't see anything wrong with the demo - except for the butt-slide. Regardless, it looks like the crowd loved it - which is the whole point, isn't it? I hope the buttslide dude was mocked without restraint. I don't see any logic in complaining about swoopers at demo's, as long as they're qualified and following the crowd clearance rules. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Not so much a standard procedure, as much as simple steps you should already know: remain calm, use a hook knife if you've got it, and try to figure out how to extract the parachute while also flying your parachute and keeping yourself safe. I've never been in a wrap, and I hope to continue to avoid it - probably unlikely since I've been doing a lot of Canopy formations lately, but I imagine it's a very stressful event. If I can go 1500 jumps without an accidental wrap, everyone can. I think the nutshell here is that you should avoid the wrap in the first place. This thread should make it clear that it's virtually impossible to put yourself in a wrap on your own. Ignore the case about the barrel roll I posted above - although it's a real risk of this maneuver, even attempting this maneuver is so rare it's it's not worth considering. I mentioned it more out of curiosity than anything else. Therefore, the only real risk of a wrap comes from the people around you. Avoiding canopy accidents is a relatively straight forward thing to do. Most jumpers go through their entire jumping career without seeing a canopy collision, never mind being in one. The key here is two simple items: 1) Keep your head on a swivel to know where people are around you. 2) Fly a standard pattern, so that you're predictable to other jumpers. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

A real scenario where it's possible: The failed attempt at a canopy barrel roll. Now this isn't really what the poster was asking, but it does fit the definition. A canopy barrel roll is where you manage to essentially rotate around the center point between you and the canopy. It's a very risky maneuver, that some of the best canopy pilots have screwed up. It's certainly not recommended for most jumpers. One possible outcome is that as the pilot reaches the peak of the barrel roll - essentially over the top of the canopy, his airspeed decreases such that his canopy stalls, and he falls down onto the underside of his canopy. I've seen this happen, and it's a terrible situation to be in. The jumper was lucky to get his reserve out at about 500 feet. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I've seen him hotdogging during bigways before. Specifically, I remember one incident where not only was he swooping through a busy pattern, but he was swooping crosswind through a busy pattern - needless to say he was the only one swooping crosswind. That specific incident ended with a friend going to hospital with a broken back. That was 7 years ago. It's amazing that he's still doing shit like that. I'm equally amazed that DZO's will have him on their DZ. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Last weekend we had some fun building a wedge. I was the third person to dock. My slot was the right wing. I was approaching in brakes, the top guy took the dock, and I was trying to figure out how to transition from brakes to outside front riser. Almost immediately, well - see the attached image. I had a great view, I somehow managed to avoid everything and stayed clear of the mess. That's me in the bottom of the picture. I don't recall my canopy folding in as I would have expected if the cause of the mess was the lack of outside front riser. Instead, to the best of my memory, the top guy seemed to be sliding sideways (to the left) away from me, and pulling the left wing away from me. The wrap happened in an instant. It seemed like it literally went from normal to mess in a blink of an eye. None of us have a good explanation for why it happened. So, my question is: What's the "for dummies" book on building wedges? I know getting on the outside front riser is important, but what else? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I only know three options: Put it on your head and secure it, secure it to your chest strap, or secure it to your seatbelt. If someone wants to film a takeoff, as long as their helmet is secure it's ok. Holding your helmet in your hands may very well kill someone. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

So now there's tunnels in Orlando, Perris, Eloy, Colorado, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Hollywood, San Francisco Bay, and even one in Montreal. What's wrong with Chicago? SERIOUSLY?! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The best advice is to call up a suit manufacturer, and talk to them. I don't recomend camera wings. They seriously impede tracking, which can make break-off tricky. I also don't recomend swoop-cords - these are designed for "swooping", or more accurately - late divers who need dive at a high fall-rate and then slow down quickly. This isn't what you're looking for. You're looking for a suit that just plain helps you fall slowly. A while ago I ordered a "big boy suit" from Tony Suits, and was very happy with what they came up with. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I've never been impressed with the Spectre. There are better opening canopies, and canopies that are a lot more fun to fly. I don't think the Spectre is an "all round" canopy. It seems to fill a niche for people who want slow openings, but aren't terribly interested in the other aspects of canopy flight. For someone like you that has the experience, The Katana may be a better choice. It is an outstanding canopy for camera-flying jumpers who want canopy performance. Katana openings have been softer than any other canopy I've jumped, including Spectre's. You will have no complaints of sluggishness. It flares beautifully. They make them as large as a 170. Higher wingloadings should be approached carefully. I do not recomend Saber 2's for camera jumpers. Their openings suck, comparatively. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Both Premiere Pro 1.5.1, and the crapware Sony thing that came with my HC5 have serious frame dropping issues with my current setup when importing HDV. Both work fine if I have the camera downconvert to DV. Admittedly my current setup is a little weak: 3 year old AMD Sempron, but with 2 BM ram and gobs of disk. I assume the problem is my processor. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

This is all changing with HDV. I don't know what the hardware requirements are to capture and edit HDV, but it's clear to me that CPU and memory requirements are much higher than standard DV. Thankfully, you can have the camera downgrade to DV. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Black plastic one: http://www.google.com/products?q=sony+vcl-0637H&btnG=Search&hl=en&show=dd (top one pictured). Metal grey one: http://www.google.com/products?q=sony+vcl-0630X&btnG=Search&hl=en&show=dd 2nd one pictured. Of course you also need to make sure you get the correct thread size. I believe the PC1000 has a 30mm, which is a bit nonstandard for sony. Most sony's have 37mm. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

"Fix it in post" doesn't work too well in reality. Most dz's don't have a NLE system handy, nor do USPA judges like edited video. That said, leaving it in 16 * 9 is exactly what I do - because i've got 16 X 9 at home. The bigger downside is that when you switch from a camera that's natively 4 X 3 to one that's 16 X 9, you do lose real estate off the top and bottom. You need to compensate by going to a wider lens, or shooting from farther away. Personally, i don't like the appearance of the uber wide lenses. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Very neat. How did you get the outside exit shots? Where was the camera? Where was the camera flyer? _An __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I have both Sony .6 lenses - the black plastic one, and the gray metal one. Only the black plastic one has trouble with moisture. On a dry day both are fine. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm very happy with my Sony HC5. I shot both the HC5 and a PC1000 during Nationals. I found both reliable, and but prefer the quality of the HD on the HC5. What I dislike about the HC5 is that the aspect ratio is natively 16*9, so when I put it in 4*3 mode it ends up chopping off the sides, requiring a wider angle lens. Hopefully 16*9 tv's become more common on DZ's so that I can always shoot 16*9. That said, I shot 16*9 with a Sony .6 lens at Nationals, and didn't have any problems with framing. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

CSC Rhythm had an awesome time, and was proud to post their highest score ever, by a wide margin. We are thrilled with our 3rd place advanced finish, even if we couldn't take away any hardware. Big props to Perris Aftermath and Katalyst who kicked our butts, and also to CK Vision, who did an awesome job and earned their spot on the podium. This year was my first nationals, and I had the most fun I can remember. I performed at my best, and my team did as well. We all did the best skydiving of our lives. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think nothing looks better on a Mustang then a pair of 8 inch wide racing stripes. On a black car, I like a muted dark gray. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

That's not a problem. If you're qualified to fly a pocket rocket, learning how to hit a small target isn't very hard. I earned my pro-rating honestly at a 1.9 wingloading. Funny, I usually do the exact opposite! I fly a big triathlon for most of my demos. See attached, _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Is anyone using the Sony .7? I'm looking to match the Sony .6 I have on my PC1000. Any other suggestions? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

.deleted. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The scale of the problem is getting pretty bad. It's taking nearly a minute for pages to load, with occasional timeouts. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I know this is a supremely lame question, but stores change, and reputations change too. Doing a search won't be helpful. What stores are people buying from now? Any recommendations? I used to use dbuys.com almost exclusively, but their prices aren't that great anymore. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Alti-3's are pretty much the de-facto standard. http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/square1/p229.asp#AltimasterIIIGalaxy. There are different wrist bands available that may be more secure. http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/square1/p229.asp#AltimasterIIIReplacementWristbands Also, take a look at the electronic ones like the Neptune http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/square1/p229.asp#Neptune or the Viso http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/square1/p229.asp#Viso. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I use an altimeter watch, and while I'm pretty happy with it I need to stress that I really do not recommend them to newer jumpers. The numbers are small, and it can be difficult to read them. I strongly recomend a more traditional altimeter for newer jumpers. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.