stratostar

Due to the size of the video camera I was using at the time the unlock slide hung over the side of the FTP plate when locked but under the body of the 10d, it was hit by a riser during a very uneven deployment, this opened it just enough to let go of the still. I was using someones rig, I broke my own rule of never using borrowed gear and being rushed, for 1. When the bag came off my back and it stood me upright I had lines tight on the left side and all slack on the right, just as I was thinking oh shit cutway bam right side got tight and canopy opened right riser hit the latch when it went tight. Lesson learned, if you think it can happen, it can happen, it's just a matter of time. I would say the newer gold members are better due to the release design, I have had strobo's stick in the open position and have to be checked to make sure it locked, however with the way I had it set up it still would have got knocked off. I set it up knowing I could lose it if it got a snag, had it been a normal deployment it wouldn't have been lost, but not every jump will be normal, plan for the worst, hope for the best. Yes I got away with it for a long time, at least all I lost was a camera and not my life as planed for. Things to keep in mind. 1.Make your set up so things will break off if snaged like your eye sight and even your cameras. 2. Never get rushed to meet a plane. 3. Don't jump borrowed gear. 4. pack your own rig, you only have yourself to blame should it not work,hard openings ect.(camera set up's can be heavy) 5. Don't take chances your not willing to pay for or die for. 6.Never jump a camera helmet without a cutway system 7. seek out more experienced camera flyers for advice before jumping your helmet. 8.stay out of the no fly zone during any camera jump no matter what. 9.learn to fly your body first not your camera. 10.Never stop learning. Just to name a few. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Sean Crossman 7-2-05 hit by camera man on deployment. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Sounds like your dog is trying to tell you to go digital. Got a new puppy who found a disk I just burned and chewed it all to hell, but good thing I had the files still. Yes you will have those days or weekends where it just won't go your way, sometimes it is best to just put your steup down and walk away and worrie about fixing it durring the week, cuz your can get in a hurry trying to fix things and just make it worse, if you get in a rush you set yourself up for more fuck ups. But it will get better. attachment is my 10d that went in from 3.5k we all have bad days ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

It was going to be the airport that skydive indy was going to call home, but the word on the street is they aren't going to open as posted on this site. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

It's our low standards education system. We can't help it. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Yea but dude you forgot that this will bring a lot of new people into the sport. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Because it's about the sport, not attached to the sport, or should I say using the sport. I sell my skydiving photos too, to people in the photos, I guess I should start using photo shop to add in some fuck scenes in the back ground of those shots so I can make more money by selling them to big-jugs mag. While I understand that others may not agree with my point of view, that is fine, I still wouldn't buy or rent this kind of crap, I see it as using the sport, others don't, no big deal. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Have you ever watched an adult film? Was it gonzo style (all sex) or did it have a plot and a story? If the latter is the case, did it hold your attention (i.e. did you watch it from start to finish or did you just "finish" and then turn the movie off?) Now, if we can take that entertainment value and add the one thing to it that everyone does and enjoys, I don't see how that is a bad thing. Again trying to make money off your love for the porn and your love for the sport. Sorry but sounds to me you both were sitting around trying to think up a new story line angle and came up with marketing to skydivers as well as regular porn shoppers. Only skydivers would sit thur the jumping scenes, my wife and I wouldn't, we would even think of renting or buying anything with jumping on the cover of the box we both think it is LAME. Married couples from middle america will hit the FF 8 times out of 10 to get to the fuck'n & suck'n. IMHO , I will feel that I have made a contribution to the sport and community that has welcomed me with open arms. Seems to me like that would put money back into the sport...in other words more skydivng dollars. If sex and skydiving sells so well why not go open you a nudist camp dz with all the money you make then you can give back and have all the naked skydiving wuffo's and skydivers you want and a lot of free actors as well. I don't really care if you make your movie and sell it, but my wife and I wouldn't buy it or rent it, we don't care to suport people who would try to cash in on the sport in this way, I'll buy a Mike McGowin or Norm Kent film if I want to see a good skydiving film. If my wife and I want good porn we'll fast forward to the good shit and skip the lame acting and bad story lines no matter who made the film JMHO's Now putting on flame proof body condom. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Not sure, but a friend got a HC model # ? and said it will only send out the fire wire and won't take in the signal, one way only. So maybe that is the same case here, try playing out on yours and taking in on the other camera. You may want to look in the manual or on line and see if this is the case. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

I would have to say no I wouldn't buy it for the simple fact it sounds like another lame skydiver/porn producer trying to find a way to cash in on skydiving dollars. JMO. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

You forgot to add, and pay the going rate for the work done instead of taking half for doing you the favor of letting you work for them. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

yes and the glass may be better, but I have not look into them only because I'm not in the market. thats what they say. You may want to look into promaster brand as well I have had a .5 promaster for the last 11 yrs. it ran about 80$ back then, and I have had good luck with it. As for the poster who said the weight of the sony broke off the front of his trv11, this is not uncommon with with trv's all of the front is weak and I have had to rebuild many over the years and they worked fine after words. Most of the time it is due to over tighting the lens or just abuse like dropping or bumping the camera not the weight. When I say abuse, you wouldn't even know you did it till the mount falls off, if you take the lens off a lot that hurts, most people over tighten and don't know it. You have to ask your self, how much do you want to spend? Are you trying to be Norm Kent or something or are you just flying video for your own fun jumps or are you doing paid videos. Also how much money are you willing to throw away when you lose a helmit or have a camera knocked off your head. I lost a 10d on opening last season that was 1300.00 bucks thrown out plus a 500.00 dollar lens so in total 1800 bucks thrown out in the trash. So again how much money are you willing to throw away? Get what you can afford and are willing to lose. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

check ebay, seen some there. buy now $? bhphotovideo.com mo $$ sony.com even mo $$$? ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

I would agree that the photos should not just fade away ,for every reason you posted. It was hard to watch the event unfold live on TV that day, but you couldn't turn it off just the same. A friend called me who didn't have TV and asked me what was going on, so I turned on my TV and was giving him a report, I remember telling him about the parts of the building falling down, then it hit me in one clear shot, it was people jumping and not part of the building falling, yet. Being a skydiver made it all the harder to think about making that choice,there is no hope, burn up or jump. When you put yourself in that place, I have to stop to wonder how long did they think about it, to not have any hope of rescue and to pick your way of death. Some of the photos I saw of people in freefall their body positions looked as if they were skydivers while others just fell out of control, I know it's weird for me to say that, but I had to wonder if that was someone like me a skydiver, making the choice to jump and flying not falling. I think I would have jumped too, but it easy to say that sitting here at home and not trapped in a burning building with only one way out. A sad day for many people who lived it and one we should never forget, yes it is hard for many to see the photos but I think it is important to stir those feeling in us, for we can't begin to grasp the feelings of those who jumped and those who didn't. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

NEVER! I wise old man once told me, (see sig line) ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

You will be missed by many, I'm sure! Best of luck, sparky. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Why not just stow the line groups in a "normal" way? It's has a prove track record. If you want to leave extra line in the pack tray, why not have your master rigger put in a stow band attachment at the top of the tray to hold the line like a sweethog container, also a proven track record. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

What is really funny is when you see a guy doing this they give all kinds of stupid answers as to why they do it. Had a jumper who was leaving about 3ft unstowed in the pack tray, when I asked him WTF is wrong with him he said he wanted his bag to speed up as it left the pack tray. Your not the only one who thinks it is a cause. When pointing out the same history lesson you just posted, we older guys get the what do you old fucks know (attitude) "your just not with it when it comes to todays gear and hiperformance canopies", unless your someone like Bill Booth, then they listen. While I may not jump that hotrod crap I have seen a lot of jumpers die from doing stupid shit and it don't take a rocket engineer to have a clue. Kind of funny how history repeats its self, like people catching cutways and learning the hard way as to why we don't do that and haven't been doing it from the late 70's early 80's when back then it proved to be a stupid human trick. Thanks for posting your input on the 3d tandem jumping too, as many of us posted we didn't think it was a good idea to do so, most of us that have been around the sport awhile knew that you must have had a good reason as to why you have said for years what not to do using your gear, and the testing data to back up your claim. Again thanks for your post and history lesson. Yes you need to get out more! ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Back in the day when everyone had big ass boat canopies and round reserves ,hanging out a round for more drag was always a good last hope for more drag, seen it done more then once. However with more and more people jumping tiny hotrods and ramair reserves I would think it would not be a good idea for more then one reason, like a down plane or the extra drag changing the angle of attack of the hotrod mains we see people jumping today. I know a few jumpers who did canopy transfers from low altitudes and had they not got a round reserve out to transfer to they may not have made it. Some of the crew dogs I know still like to have a round reserve in their rigs even today just for this reason. But I don't know how common this is with crew dogs today, just the ones I know who have told me this is what the prefer on their backs. (a no cutaway from wrap, more drag issue, or canopy transfer) ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

You go to opening day on 4-1-06 if you can or when you ever you can after they open and go see Brew the new MGR or Kip the S&TA and they will point you in the right way and I'm sure will help you in anyway to get refreshed and back in the air... ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

dawn dish soap will cut it if it is real heavy (used to clean thick fifth wheel grease off fifth wheels with dawn dish soap) Have your rigger do it would be best for they may have done it a time or two. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

hey there's always dz partys or at least a stripper bar. he's going to let him jump, so some naked chicks can't hurt. Dad would be a hero for sure. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

well start by reading your poynter manuals if you have them, but the answer is on page 72 of vol-2. paragraph 3 and you need to see illustration #2 as well. But in short, clamps 3 inch apart and a load of 40lbs (18kg) for 3 seconds, this is what I use to test a canopy in a non destructive method on old shit. And then there is always the old school "thumb test" not as good but it works. Or do what Terry say's Read the the poynters manuals lot of good stuff to read about. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

Your killing me, I just spit beer all over the keyboard. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

For the record I have amassed one of, if not the largest collections of jumpable retro rigs anywhere in the USA and have many mains and reserves well over 20 yrs old that pass tensile strength with flying colors. And we jump them regularly, I have been jumping my 1965 MK-1 paracomander since I got it in 1984. As with many of the others in the collection it hasn't blown up yet! I have also had a few people send me PC's that were pulled tested by others who ripped the shit out of the taffeta and called it unairworthy when in fact they just didn't know what the hell they were doing and the canopy would have been fine had thay not trashed it doing the pull test. I have also seen plenty of sun rotten canopies tear like tissue paper, some more then 20 years old and plenty that were less the 20 years old. So it would depend on who is doing the tensile test as to how relible the test is. And how well cared for the rig/canopy has been over the years. ~ you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo