parachutist

Today I took my new editing computer to the DZ and used NLE all day instead of analog editing. After 4x tandem videos I'm estimating my average time from taking off helmet to having finished DVD in hand was 30 mins each. Analog editing had been taking me about 15 mins each. Recording to a memory stick is something I'll appreciate. That'll probably cut 5-6 minutes out of each project for me because my Sony HC42 requires removal from helmet every time (There's no 1394 port on the camera so I have to dismount it & plug it into the docking bay). Then I still have to rewind tape and find start, then capture to the PC. One difference I noticed between my analog and NLE DVDs: The audio sounds fabulous after using NLE. It must have been all the analog connections through my video editing board that were causing distortion... I figured the hiss was normal. In comparison, all my Vegas Movie Studio projects today had crystal clear audio. My slow-mo shots are a lot smoother too using Vegas Studio. I'm totally sold on NLE for skydiving vid editing. I need to speed things up when producing, but I think that'll come with practice and when I get a different vid cam. More advantages the PC has for me vs. analog: It's quicker for me to set up shop, the hardware has smaller footprint, has fewer power plugs. I mounted an LCD monitor with speakers to the side of the PC chassis, added an internal card reader and DVD-R drive, then made up a harness with a carrying handle. So I can carry it in, plug it up, remove LCD sceen protector, and ready to go: http://www.funjump.com/editing_system/IMG_0007.JPG http://www.funjump.com/editing_system/IMG_0010.JPG http://www.funjump.com/editing_system/IMG_0014.JPG http://www.funjump.com/editing_system/IMG_0019.JPG Chris

Why do you think you're not ready for CRW video? Here's my opinion why you could: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2936980;search_string=shooting%20crw%20video;#2936980 You just need some subjects :) Chris

As far as safety is concerned I believe the camera person has it pretty easy when filming CRW if they follow some basic guidelines. How to exit the aircraft without worrying about an off-heading opening running you into another jumper? My favorite method is to exit first: I take rear float outside the plane. The pilot of the CRW formation will then give a visible + audible "ok... ready... set... go" count. I let go of the plane on 'set' and deploy almost immediately (with enough pause to make sure my pilot chute doesn't get thrown over tail of aircraft). The pilot of the formation exits on 'go' and gives approx 3 second delay, then deploys. If you have off-heading opening then you're going away from everyone else and worst consequence is video quality suffers because the subject is small in the frame. If the pilot of the formation has off-heading opening then he could be coming your direction, but since he gave a 3 second delay he's well below you and clear of you. What if you have a snivelly opening and the pilot of the formation has a 180 off heading opening? Wouldn't this put you in his colliison path? It's possible but very unlikely because as soon as you throw out your pilot chute you already have drag. That drag slows both your descent and your forward speed. Your descent and forward speed get slowed down even more when the canopy is out, even if it's snivelling. Meanwhile the CRW pilot was giving his 3 second delay and travelling further away and further below you. This distance gives you and the other guy enough time to deal with the situation.... same benefit that you get from tracking after an RW dive. Typical position for a CRW videographer is filming from the rear. When you're behind the formation keep your altitude at or above the middle of the formation. This gives you time to react if a wrap occurs. Wraps are wings that aren't flying very well, with a lot of weight suspended under them, so they descend pretty fast. If you're concerned about getting hit then you can apply some brakes and add more vertical separation, but generally they'll be far below you quickly. A common area of danger during a wrap is when chasing a wrap. The camera guy wants video of the wrap so he'll spiral down filming it. At the same time one or more CRW dogs who weren't in the mess will also be spiraling down to chase freebags or trying to help. This can lead to a canopy collision while spiraling, which for obvious reasons would be very bad. Generally the videographer stays behind the formation, but for specialty photo/video angles from the front or sides, the camera just needs to stay up near same level as the top of the formation. If you were to fly in front of the formation anywhere lower than the top, then you'd create a burble for the formation and you'd get lots of cursing after landing. Don't dock on the formation, especially while first learning to shoot CRW. Some seasoned CRW videographers have been known to dock on the bottom of a large diamond formation, then turn 180 under therir canopy, look up at everyone in the formation and get some great photos. These guys are very experienced and they carefully choose to do this only with the most stable formations. Even in the best conditions this can be a dangerous maneuver. What's the right gear? Canopy: Easiest is to use the same canopy as those in the formation. If they're doing 2-way, sequential, or diamond formations then use the same wing loading. If they're doing stacks then loading a bit heavier would be good because they'll sink fast. Why not use a 9-cell for filming? Because you'll likely spend the whole dive zig-zagging back and forth to keep the canopy behind the formation and to stay down with the formation (7-cell CRW canopies are generally slower and sinkier than 9-cell freefall canopies). So when you review the video you'll be dead tired from all the riser/toggle work and the audience will get seasick from all the zig-zagging. - camera & camera helmet: Helmet can be same as used for freefall. When starting out I suggest keeping it simple by using a small light video camera... learn to handle the harder-opening CRW canopies, then proceed from there and add a still camera if you choose. No wide angle lense. There's no need for it, especially when first starting out filming CRW. Using the stock lense on a vid camera gives you plenty of distance from the formation. - Aircraft: Slower air speed generally means softer openings so cameras don't feel as heavy on the neck. Some good aircraft for filming CRW Twin Otter, Cessna, PAC, Porter. Some aircraft that don't generally provide soft openings: CASA, King Air, jets Keeping these guidelines in mind can help everyone have a great time during and after the dive. Chris

Welcome to the world of CRW. It's addictive :). That said, here's what I think about your progression straight to a downplane: I think downplanes and new CRW dogs shouldn't be mixed. Downplanes have a high casualty rate... and not just from the downplane itself, but also from other complications that could occur after breakoff. Probably the jumper you were learning from knew what he was doing and was in control, but I think learning the basics of CRW such as stacks, offsets, top docks, etc would be a better investment of time. Here's an incidents thread from a couple years ago about a downplane that an experienced CRW dog flew with a low-timer. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=575990;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=50; While in a downplane, this CRW newbie's reserve deployed. He was lucky to walk away from this one. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1169973;search_string=downplane;#1169973 Downplanes bring complications even to those who are very experienced with CRW: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1302533;search_string=downplane;#1302533 In all 3 of these incidents there's a commonality: The downplanes were held to low altitudes. One of the first things I teach to new CRW dogs: Altitude is your friend. If you have issues such as wraps, entanglements, etc, it's much more appealing to be at 6,000 ft than 1,500 ft because the higher you are, the more time you have to assess the problem and correct it. I don't encourage downplanes, but if you are going to do them, please avoid the part of these stories that keeps getting people in trouble: downplanes at low altitudes, and no downplanes while any other canopies are in close proximity. Chris

What will you do with the original video at that point? With miniDV tapes I just stack them up in a drawer at home. But for solid state media do you plan to leave it on a RAID array, back it up to DVDs, or ? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the purpose of the stick... is the original recorded directly to the stick while shooting, or is it recorded to a tape, then transferred to an external stick after you're on the ground? Chris

"Pulled down" can be useful with some very large canopies, ones where you'd need 10 foot long arms to stall it using toggles. With some of these monster canopies the jumper gets very little result when flaring, unless the lines are already pulling down on the tail a little. Chris

I just know the rig was repacked and the lines were fixed the next morning. I wasn't aware there were 2 separate lofts

Like Spizzarko noticed, it was a pair of broken A lines, broken during deployment. The canopy was ok and the lines were replaced at the Lodi rigging loft that evening, so it was ready for jumping the next day.

In this case when I said "base" I meant the entire 9-way formation that was in the photos, because eventually they'll be the base for a 100-way. "Base" in these formations refers to the top diamond.. it can be the top 4-way, 9-way, or 16-way etc. It always builds from the top down. In the 2005 record we referred to the top 25-way diamond as being the base, because all 25 exited the first Casa... then other planes flew by at lower altitudes so that other jumpers could dock on the 25-way base. The very top 3 or 4 jumpers (so far) are the only ones that go to the extremes of having split sliders.

Those pictures were of people specifically practicing for the base of the upcoming 100-way attempt. The base will be very fast: so fast that if you got behind it you couldn't catch it. If the base is fast it'll improve the health of the overall formation. The very top people in that formation use methods outside of CRW norm so they can get that extra speed. You'll also notice those top canopies don't use retractible pilot chutes... they have standard bridles with collapsible pc's instead.

Even if a master rigger packs it and seals it this time... what happens when you have a reserve deployment out of state (on vacation) and the local senior rigger says "No, I can't pack that Mirage reserve pilot chute into your Sunpath container. You're screwed... go home and order the right gear."

Got any pics of that shredded canopy, Dave? Shots of before & after it gets mended would be good to see. Has Dean lost hold on the title of "Slasher" to someone half his size?

I picked up a Lite-on DD-A100GX Friday for $99 at Best Buy. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7944674&st=liteon&type=product&id=1152228787065 They are phasing out this model, so there aren't many left, but if you click on the "Select Preferred Store Availability" link, you can see if any are in stock near you. I used it this weekend and it worked great.

It's good that PD didn't put a loop in the line for you and bar tack it... that would have limited you to 1 toggle setting. This way you get to find the correct setting for you. Overhand knot works great if you tie it correctly, but from your description of slippage I think you may be using only 1 end of the line for the knot, and tieing it around the other end (wrong). You should be holding the 2 ends of the line together like this: ======= then tie an overhand knot using both at the same time so that it ends up looking something like this: ===\\=== See the images at the very bottom left corner of page 10 in this PDF: http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/MAIN.PDF After the overhand knot's been tied correctly the loop will remain the same size... it won't cinch down tight and it won't get bigger if you pull on it.

Wind or no wind shouldn't matter. If it will plane out, then you should be able to have a nice landing. In my experience it depends on the particular Lightning you're flying. Each one has its own characteristics. I've flown a few 160 Lightnings, all with the same world record line trim, all at similar wing loading of approx 1.38. Some had plenty of flare during a straight-in approach, others would not plane out unless extra speed had been induced. I could still stand it up with one of these that didn't plane out, but it was always descending a bit and not comfortable. Add straight-in front riser input and the landings would improve a lot. Really I think it depends on the canopy you have. Then there are differences between the size models. I've always felt like the 143's generally have the best characteristics, though I was probably overloading the 126's a bit much to get an objective opinion on those. The 143's that I've tried have all landed great without any front riser input required... better than the 160's in my opinion. Chris

Quote from the 2005 Parachute Rigger Handbook, by Sandy Reid: ===== Many riggers fabricate these loops in the field, which, in most cases, is an unauthorized procedure. The Safety-Stow® loop is an integral part of the approved reserve deployment system and is manufactured under an approved quality control system from approved materials. The rigger should use only OEM approved parts for this. ===== After reading that, I went ahead & ordered some replacement safety stows from several manufacturers. Now I have about 40 in my rigging kit, alongside some replacement Cypres batteries... stuff that I know I'll need & don't feel like waiting on when it comes time to replace.

DSE: Thanks for the info. It's been a while... I've been busy with my M-F job. Anyway, I went by a local photo/video store & asked them the same questions that I asked here & they told me similar advice & suggested that I pick up Sony Vegas studio. I remembered you'd mentioned Sony encoding software as being strong, so I tried it out. It works great... and it's easy to learn, especially with the included how-to-get-started DVD. I thought I recognized the host's name in that DVD from somewhere ;-) The finished DVDs that I've made with Vegas studio are nice & smooth. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction

Wash the whole helmet in a big sink using laundry detergent, and rinse thoroughly. The z1 liner is glued in place, unless they changed manufacturing procedures since a few years ago.

For the bigway-trimmed line set (sequential) there's a trim chart online: http://www.cfworldrecord.com/2007/canopyinfo.html

Sorry Chris but I wholeheartedly disagree with this. I don't want anyone to hit me anymore than I want to hit them. Shifting a problem to the swoop lane isn't any more acceptable than a 'swooper' hitting another jumper who isn't swooping. Blues, Ian Well we finally found something that we totally disagree about. That took a while I agree that impacts aren't good for anyone, but those who're swooping are willingly accepting a higher probability of injury. For this reason I do believe there's a difference between those who choose to "go big or go home" and those who are out for some RW or who just graduated AFF. Protecting those who are not willing to take the risks of swooping is my intention, and complete separation is a good way to begin achieving that goal. Sure there will still be risks in each camp, but they'll be more manageable and the landing patterns won't be so zoo-like. See you soon, Chris

I too know individuals like the ones you're talking about. That's why I specified swoopers as a whole. (I think I learned how to swoop with respect for others from some of the same people you're talking about). As a group though, swoopers include some overconfident people who believe themselves to be more capable than they really are. Swoopers as a group can't be in the same areas as standard patterns, because they cannot be trusted. As a group swoopers are a dangerous crowd. I know because I'm in that crowd. A good analogy would be car racing. Yes it's done on the city streets, but it ends up with broken people and jailed people. That's why we have race tracks with bales of hay to protect the drivers and walls to protect the observers. Swooping needs its own area, far away from standard landing patterns too. Same reasons. Fast doesn't mix well with slow. This separation would still end up with some broken swoopers, but in my opinion that's ok. Swoopers can run into objects or each other and that is ok... it's a known risk that swoopers choose to accept. Running into observers or running into people who're flying standard landing patterns is not ok... those people didn't choose to subject themselves to the risks of swooping. Chris

I don't believe that swoopers as a whole can ever be mixed in with standard patterns. Some pilots could, but you can't really isolate those individuals and give them a 'responsible swooper' card. Here in Georgia we just experienced a local DPRE/former USPA director/TI/AFFI/Master Rigger/Licensed pilot take out someone by doing a high performance approach through a traffic pattern. There are really not many more qualificatons that a jumper can have... he had them all and estimated 10k+ jumps, and still took someone out. I believe you have no ground to stand on when trying to convince anyone that swooping will be done responsibly in same air space with standard approaches. I don't mind dumping high & landing long after the freefallers for some swooping practice, or landing out in a different area and walking back. It's really a small sacrifice to make. Chris

Moving the swoopers all into a swoop zone would help students learn a safe left hand landing pattern without being intimidated by swoopers, without being misled by downwinders, and without beig confused by seeing carving turns at low altitudes. If we can have a uniform style of landing in one area, then I can tell the FJC students to watch people in this area "This is the pattern we were just discussing in classroom. Those people in that other area are among the most likely to get hauled off in a meat wagon.. I recommend not doing what they're doing." Also if we have a standard landing pattern mandated in one area, it will help us to bring uniformity. We can pull someone aside and say... "Look, your're the only one who's coming in from that side.. this is a left hand pattern, so just watch what everyone else is doing and follow the same pattern in the future". I can't suggest that right now because they'll be looking at many different landing styles, including 450's.. all in the same landing pattern. Separate landing areas would be like having a bunny slope on a ski resort: providing a safe zone and a good learning foundation for upcoming jumpers, or for those who just want to have a fun jump without a high speed pass at the end. Separate landing areas wouln't fix all the issues suddenly, but it would give us a great tool to work with. Chris

Interesting how prices fluctuate. The silver XT body was $484.95 at Bhphotovideo 2 weeks ago. I snagged one and had some fun with it this weekend. I checked with some tandem students who hadn't ordered video to see if I could tag along. I was in KennyP's position a couple weeks ago... had done lots of reading and I wasn't sure what to get. I'm glad I bit the bullet and spent some $$ on the camera and a 28mm fixed lens. I'm looking forward to learning more about video/stills this summer. Attached is a photo I took yesterday with automatic 'no flash' setting on the XT, auto focus enabled on the 28mm lens. I think the XT makes it easy to start out with very little knowledge, but with capability to tweak it manually as you learn more. Chris

You UK folks have a great mag over there: Performance Bikes. The stuff we get over here in the US is mainly just flashy glossy photos. PB magazine sets things in proper perspective. I remember reading some of their articles years ago... they'd be trying out some new bikes and thrashing them hard. Then one of their riders would go down during the tests and they'd show the compound femur fracture in all its glory, complete with road gravel stuck in the skin. It was real & it made me think about what may actually happen when things don't work out as planned. Chris