freefalle

Well, it finally arrived! my nice big comfortable camera suit. With a little, okay alot, of help from Ray Dutch I got the swoop cords hooked up and got in the air. all I can say is WOW what a difference a set of wings makes I could'nt believe how much I could slow down. Im still gonna leave the camera helmet on the ground and make a few more jumps to get used to flying it but its NICE!!!!

what kind of container is it?

Ray, I noticed that too. Kinda sounds like poor customer service to me. That would be like for finding out that their seatbelts open on impact, recalling the cars and wanting you to pay for the repair...... Ummmmmm whats goin on with that???

I dont a damn thing about setting something like this up but could we chip in and give Chris and Nancy some cash. Im dont think Chris has insurance and his medical bills are going to be insane. Im sure as long as Chris is recovering nancy will be slowing down production of her suits to tend to Chris. They still have rent to pay and everything else. Chris and nancy have given alot to skydiving and our community perhaps its time to give a little back. Anybody have any ideas? Chuck

I was one of several people at the hospital with Chris and Nancy. Chris was conscious and responsive. He was aware of the accident and recogonized those around him. I have a working relationship with the staff at the hospital and had the chance to see his X-ray as well as time to speak to his nurse. Chris fractured vertabre c6 and c7 for those of you who dont know vertabre c6 and c7 are in the neck. According to the nurse and the x-rays, the fractures are severe and Chris is paralyzed from the nipple line down. He currently has function in both arms although he lacks sensation. Chris will be in surgery this morning to repair other spinal cord damage. As far as the incident goes I can only tell you what we saw from the video, I will not speculate beyond that because I can not be sure and I will not propagate rumor. Chris and a freefly student were on a dive, at one point the student fell rapidly. Chris assumed a head down position and closed altitude (the student was not in the video frame at this point) approx 2 or 3 seconds after Chris went head down the camera stopped working for approx 1 second due to the impact. when the camera began operating again you could see chris's hads and feet, in the video, it is obvious that he has not control over them. I do not know if he lost consciousness as a result of the collision. Chris continued to fall until his ADD fired. Chris then impacted the runway in what was described to me as a downwind landing. Chris was conscious shortly after assistance arrived and could be heard speaking on the tape. The video is one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen and I never want to see it again. Chris was transported by helecopter and is currently located at Halifax Hospital 301 South Clyde Morris Blvd Daytona Beach FL 32114 As of 0030 hrs Chris was in ICU and will be most likely moved to SICU subsequent to his surgery. Like Ray said keep him and Nancy in your prayers his got a long road to recovery. But let there be no doubt Chris will recover. The Student in this accident was transported to a local hospital by ground for evaluation of possible fractured ribs. I do not know the name of the student at this time, but lets keep him in our prayers as well as this incident and its results must be weighing heavily upon him.

2 weeks ago, my grandmother passed away. She live a wornderfully full life of 95 years. So was both mentally and physically strong up to the last 2 weeks prior to her passing. My relationship with my grandmother meant alot to me. She was a special women who instilled many values in me. My grandmother lived about 4 hours south of me near Miami. Due to work and partially my own laziness, I rarely made the trek to visit her. I miss her so much right now and I feel so damn guilty and selfish for not going to see her in the months prior to her passing. I did attend her funeral, which was a celebration of her life and for that I am grateful. With the passing of our own DZ.commer Holly as a reminder of the fact that we know not the day nor the hour our higher power my call us home PLEASE, remember never leave a loved on one bad terms and never wait til tomorrow to visit that loved one. dont take time for granted.

Im looking at getting a new helmet, a flat top narrow to be exact. I currently jump a hawkeye using a side mount. I know many people say that the top mount is easier on the neck and spine when it comes to opening, is there any other advantage or disadvantage to going to a top mounted camera? Im primarily shooting 2 and 4 ways now for pratice I eventually want to shoot 4 way teams and tandems. thanks for the input.

manbird, I use a paper reforcer (circle) on my goggles to sight my camera,works great for the fun jumps. Do yourself a favor buy a 6.00 laser pointer the ones that go on a key chain work great. If your going to have your camera helmet in Deland let me know when youll be in town Ill help ya do the sight work. enjoy and be careful. chuck

from what Ray Dutch told me theyll go through the entire camera and fix any thing thats worn or out of specs. Its alot of money but its better than the cost of a new camera!

My triathlon is pissing me off, I bout the canopy because I read several reviews that it was a great canopy with nice openings. NICE OPENINGS my ASS. Ive less that 100 jumps on mine, its packed the same way every time. in the last 5-10 jumps each opening is geting harder and harder to the point it opened so hard it put me in the hospital with severely bruised ribs a few weeks ago. A bunch of the people at my DZ have told me that the Tri. has a history of bad openings. I really cant afford 1300 dollars for a new sabre 2 but I can afford to get hurt if I continue to jump this canopy. Anybody else have any feed back on the triathlon? please share. thanks

thanks for the engouragement deuce Im going to try to get Ray to work with me. Im really looking forward to my Camera suit getting here too I think (hope) it will make things easier for me. Theres always a great wealth of informaiton in this forum.

duece, Im not charging anthing for my films Im just learning and by no means have enough skill to be good enough to charge anyone, but hey we all gotta start someplace. for now Im praticing ALOT. Ray, I should be at the DZ hopefully Ill be able to catch up with you there any help would be appreicated. You were right about merlin, the production date for my wing suit is the 24TH of april...

thanks for the reply, right now, Im just wearing my free fly suit. its a little baggy but not huge. I ordered a camera suit back in Feb. from Merlin but they are so backed up its projected manufacture dates isnt until the 24th of April. with any luck it will be sooner.... well see

okay, Im starting to get frustrated and I could use some advice. Im usually jumping from a twin otter, and exiting from the camera step. On climb out I reach out grab the handle with my right hand, put my right foot as far back on the step as I can, then I grab the handle with my left hand.then I put my left foot out on the step in front of my right. my knees are slightly bent. I try to leave at the same time as the person Im filming. I try to keep my eye on the subject, and just kinda fall away from the side of the plane keeping my legs straight. it seems to me that Im falling away from the people Im filming. Should I be leaving later? 95% of the time I end up well below the people Im filming so I have to flip to my back to try to get the film. Im alot larger than most of the people Im filming (6'2 225 lbs). Im not jumping with a camera suit yet (still waiting on it to come in) is there anything else I can do to slow down enough to stay above or on level with my subjects, is my camera suit going to fix the problem? what is the best technique for exits (Im primarly filming solos or 2 ways right now) I eventually want to start filming tandems and 4 ways. Im frustrated I feel like no matter what I try I cant stay with the smaller people Im filming any advice would be appreicated. thanks!

I asked the same question you asked so I'll tell you what I was told. Most people will tell you the magic number is 200 jumps. jumping with the camera is a task that takes alot of skill and attention in the air. If you're not totally competent in the air adding the distraction of a camera can be unsafe. YOU have to do what YOU think is safe not only for yourself but for your friends that your going to try to film. If you cant fly the dive without the camera, you pose a danger because you will try to out fly your ability to get the film. You may not think you will do it, but trust me you will. If your going to strap that camera to your pumpkin spend some time with some experienced camera flyers at your DZ most of them are a wealth of information and will give you advice.

Ray I sent you a PM but if you need a camera til yours gets back call me Ive got a PC 100 you can use.

please see my post it explains your question :)

okay, I've read this thread and feel compelled to respond. First off Chile, If the police were at the DZ conducting an investigation, its because the were ordered there by a LT., Commander, or the chief of police. They were sent there because there was a complaint called in to the police department. The complaint could have been made by a prior visitor who observed the drug use, it could have been made by a skydiver at the DZ who has a problem with skydivers getting stoned and the getting on a load with them. OR it could have been made by the city its self who may have a problem with the DZ for what ever reason. Often times the city may want to use the property the DZ is on for other uses, if they can get rid of the DZ they have use of the property. If the police make cases for narcotics (especially felony arrest) the city can close the property under a form called Nuisance abatement. Regardless of the aformentioned facts. Those officers have a duty to enforce the laws. Its not fair for anybody to bash them for doing their job. I AGREE there are alot of dick head over zealous cops out there but I think they are the exception, not the rule. Regardless of how polite or professional a cop is most people will call him an asshole if he gives them a ticket or has to arrest them for violating the law. Remember The viloator broke the law and the officer is just there to enforce the law. As far as the guy at the DZ being held for several hours awaiting a search warrant,,, I question that, if the police officer smelled an odor consistant with that of burnt cannibus he has the lawful right to search the vehicle based on that probable cause (cite case law from the supreme court) to search the vehcile without consent of the owner or operator If for some reason, you are correct and he was forced to wait SEVERAL hours for a search warrant, he has a pretty good case for violation of his 4th amendment right (see us constitution regarding search and seziure) and any evidence discovered resulting in his arrest would probably be supressed. I think the point Im trying to make here is this, the law is the law and regardless of how we feel about it Police are tasked to enforce the law regardless of wether or not you feel it is a victimless crime. Is it fair to bash the police for doing what they are paid to do? If you dont want a negative encounter with the police dont break the law, if you have an issue with a rude or unprofessional cop and you feel your rights have been violated, contact his internal affairs division and have him investigated. You may not be the only person hes been a dickhead too. I am a police officer, I am also an avid skydiver who spends alot of time at my home DZ, yes I know the're are people there who use drugs and they also know what I do for a living. they respect me and I respect them and together everyone is happy. I will tell you this. The undercover detectives that were at your DZ, if they think they have a case, THEY WILL BE BACK. and people will go to jail. Do yourselves and your DZO a favor keep the drugs off the DZ its not worth the legal battle. good luck thats all I have to say about that.......

I too bought my Hawkeye used, I just covered the old holes with some gaffers tape and havent had any problems with them. If you really wanted to cover them up you could get a fiber glass repair kit and spend some time smoothing them out but that would probably end up resulting in the need for a paint job to the helmet as you would need to do some sanding. Good luck have fun

wanted to take a minute to say thanks to the guys in South Carolina at Blue Sky Adventures. My other half and and I just got back from our trip. We spent the day at BSA and had a BLAST. EVERYONE was super nice, from the time we walked on to the DZ until the time we left we were made to feel welcome, like we belonged there. Sam thanks for the sit fly advice.. Well see you guys in Oct. at the Harvest Moon Boogie! If any of you guys make it down to Fl look us up!

Ive heard alot of talk about the Cannon Rebel 35mm. So I figured Id do some research and perhaps pick on up. The question is Which on is the most commonly used. It appears there are a few models of the Rebel. Any advice? Im considering the 2000 which from what Ive read in the past seems to be widely used for skydiving. Which lens should I be looking to purchase for skydiving purposes??

I think this question has been asked before but I cant find anything while doing a search. Does anyone know where you can buy the warning label that is found on a canopy? My other half and I are working on an idea for a novelty item we want to market and we would like to use that label on it. Any help would be appreicated. Thanks

Delands been getting the Porters up alot during the week. You should be able to accomplish your goals. Good luck Ill probably see you there.

Anybody going to be at blue sky in SC on Saturday? My other half and I are going to escape from Daytona and head up to Savannah on Fri, were heading up to SC on sat. to make a couple of jumps. Anybody else gonna be there????

so what do you guys think, is it going to mean getting a new box or will I be able to mount it with what Ive got???