parachutist

Let's see it. I would think .3x too narrow to get the full picture, but maybe I'm wrong... show me what you're seeing.

N3's small size is an advantage because you can mount it most anywhere: Hand, wrist, underside of wrist, mud flap, glove, helmet, arm, leg etc. Altitrack has a much shorter list of mounting options.

I was in a customer service job for a large computer parts business several years ago, and we'd do the same thing this girl did for you... send you a shipping label either via e-mail or snail mail and have you drop off the package at FedEx... *unless* you were to complain loudly (squeaky wheel gets oiled). In that case we'd schedule FedEx to come by your house or office and pick up the package at your convenience. Our main priority would be to deal with your issue and get you off the phone ASAP, so we could go on to the next ringing phone line... especially in December. Customer svc is typically overwhelmed this time of year, from now til mid January. My experiences with ParaGear have all been positive over the last 10 years, with accurately filled orders every time. I'd say you got a fluke instance here.

Posting some photos would help. Also, what year was your Triathlon made? Some of the older ones were made with thick fabric which packs much bigger than newer ones.

If your top priority is speed, then it'd be a good idea to eliminate the AVCHD footage, unless a customer has specifically ordered a Blu-Ray DVD. When shooting in standard def, the whole process goes faster no matter what type of computer you're using, and as long as you're delivering to standard DVD, the end product will be equally sharp whether you shot in AVCHD or SD. New top-end Macs and PCs can both edit AVCHD pretty fast. If there are 2 video editing systems at the DZ, I'd keep them identical. That way there's only one system for new editors to learn, teplates from one system can be copied to the other, and end products will all look identical. So I'd say buy another PC

Ok, that makes sense. I didn't recognize who it was intended for. I'd like to start playing with the flat exit idea during slow passes when I get some time. It sounds useful.

That seems like a great way to avoid gaining lift during exit. If I'm envisioning what you're describing, you're basically going head down into the relative wind right out the door. Head down takes some practice though. When learning head down it's very easy to cork out of it by having some part of body in wrong position. It seems like the exit you're describing would be similarly finicky and easy to get spun around if you're not good at head down already. Are you teaching FFC students this exit technique, and if so, how are they doing with stability during exit? Does it make much difference whether they were belly flyers or freeflyers before trying this exit for WS?

I've got about 1,000 Sigma jumps now, and I still feel quite comfortable with no helmet... then again, that may be because I'm jumping Icarus mains that snivel nicely.

That image looks weird with dude's head cut off... Like he flew through power lines & got decapitated or something. How about a Sonic Birdman instead?

I went from the 117 Vision to a Cobalt 120 to cure it.

You'll be rendering the same video twice: once to a video file (MPEG2) and once to an audio file (AC3). After the video file was created, just hit Render As again, and choose save file as type Dolby Digital AC-3 Studio and use the default template for AC-3. Now you'll have a video file and audio file. If they both have the same name, like skydive.mpg and skydive.ac3 and they're both in the same folder, then you can just add the MPEG to a DVD Architect project and it'll automatically use the audio file as well.

What's the source of video footage? Was it from a tape, or flash card? Was it HD or SD recording? SD will render fast, HD will take longer. If your final goal is to burn a standard DVD, then you'll want to output to MainConcept MPEG-2. There are lots of options inside that selection... I'd choose either DVD Architect NTSC Video Stream, or DVD Architect NTSC Widescreen Video Stream, depending on your source video. This will render video file only... then you'll need to render a Dolby Digital AC3 audio stream as well.

Matt, I had melted riser damage from an Aerodyne Vision with HMA line set. Here's the thread I posted about that with photos of damage. This was over a year ago... my solution was put the Vision in a bag & it's sitting in a closet now. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3346001 Chris

Two years ago I migrated from my Optic to a SkySystems Vapor (similar to FTP). I kept my Optic close by just in case I decided I didn't like the Vapor. In the end, there's no way I'd go back to sidemounted cameras after the experience of having everything on a flat top. It's so much simpler, with more room to mount stuff, and the helmet stays in place instead of rotating forward & back on my head like an Optic. The Vapor is firm around my head when closed, but I don't get the crushing sensation you're describing. I close the bone on mine in wintertime 2k before exit altitude just to stay warmer, and it's comfortable. A few days ago I was unpacking winter clothes & noticed my Optic still in a storage box, complete with ring sight still mounted. If you're interested in going back, you can have mine for cheap :)

I wouldn't have any faith in software from a domain name "keygenguru". That's short for Key Generator Guru, aka Get-Your-Cracks-Here-dot-com

. I see you have had problems with HMA damaging your equipment. Not sure HMA is the root cause. I have nearly 2000 jumps on a few different canopy's with HMA and have not had any damage due to the lines. (just my anecdotal experience) I can't say for sure that HMA does or does not cause damage or line burns more than any other line type but to claim it shreds fabric might be a bit of hyperbole. I think it may be a good idea to look for other causes. The reason I'm drawing this conclusion: Both canopies had other line types originally: spectra on the Vision and vectran on the VX. Sliders were in great shape on both canopies. Then line sets were changed to HMA on both canopies. The VX shows minor hredding on slider only near the grommets where they rub lines on the way down. Damage to the Vision slider is much more obvious... the red slider is shredded much farther inboard. The only variable that changed for these 2 canopies was the type of line, and after both were changed to HMA, both showed similar damage to their sliders.

There was a FAQ that clarified the process. The FAQ made it pretty clear that advance approval and payment was required. So you think it would have been out of bounds to honor the document which stated Nov 7th was registration deadline? Oh wait, that would indicate the orgazining committe had the fortitude required to admit their errors and make good on their word. Obviously they do not. Jeeze... this guy had his pelvis split into two separate pieces a few months ago. I think he had his hands full without the burden of searching for a FAQ that may have been posted somewhere, which may explain he needed to ignore the Nov 7th date. (You got a link to that FAQ?) It would take all of "Yeah we screwed up... we'll allow you to use the date we printed... and welcome aboard!"

QuoteFor a new 'A' with less than 100 jumps HMA lines have damaged the sliders on both my Vision 117 and my VX109. I really dislike HMA for this reason. I much prefer Vectran because it doesn't shrink like Spectra, stretch like Dacron, or shred fabric like HMA. Aerodyne has a big hole in their offerings by not making Vectran available as an option on any of their canopies

Or unless you paid attention to the fact it's really dangerous below 1000 ft. It's fun up high too. Crowds don't need low stunts to enjoy the show.

I remember a few months ago Bill_K had this issue with sound... he ended up uninstalling a Divx codec and updating Vegas to latest version (which reinstalls Vegas and possibly reinitializes some codecs?). he said the combo of these two actions did the trick.. both audio and vid worked for him after that.

How are you holding up with the daily jumping on these formation loads? When I was there a few days ago you were jumping & packing... just wondering if you're able to do all that repeatedly while keeping up with the bigway event

Why do jumpers stay so far apart in these formations? would they be burbling each other otherwise?

I got to visit Elsinore for only one day (yesterday), but it was a blast. I owe some beer... it was my 9th WS jump and finally I got in a couple docks! Thanks Marco and Spot for flying right there with me. Good luck on the next several days. I wish I could be there

Fire Captain, not Coroner. IMO the guy was just talking. I know one other jumper who had a very similar head impact with same type of aircraft. She woke up in a tree because her Cypres fired. Incidents I've read show that impacts with horizontal stabilizers of typical skydiving aircraft don't usually cause death.