RMK

DSE, are you holding someone else's helmet for them in the photo? Is that a GoPro with a rubber band? You’re our video “Sensei”; we’re looking up to you. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Slovakian helmets I referred to were TonFly www.tonfly.com Very nice; though not the cheapest prices for headwear. You owned a vintage British sports car? You are either a masochist or a skilled mechanic. Even Brits give old British cars a wide berth- preferring our German counterparts. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

www.pprune.org "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Unless you happen to live in the same city/town as the manufacturer, sending off an item is the same hassle for 500km as it is for 5000 miles (that’s 310miles or 3100miles). We’re in a minority sport, so if you want to buy the best selection of equipment, you’ll be dealing with multiple countries. Example (my views): best canopy/container = US, best altimeter/audible = Denmark, best helmet = Slovakia, Best ADD = Germany, etc The world outside of the US is not such a “scary place”. To note: - US leads the world in credit card fraud - US is only industrialised country not using chip/pin credit card security - Measurements?? WTF, US is one of only three countries on the planet not using the metric system (only others are Liberia and Myanmar) English usage? I find I encounter better command of the English language from persons in the Netherlands, Germany or France than southern Florida. Phone costs? International calls are extemely cheap now if you use a service. Living in one of the most expensive places in the world, I can call the US or Australia for 1p/minute - it costs me more to ring my local pizza delivery. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Both FAA and JAA (European equivalent) prohibit PPL license holders for flying for any compensation or where they have not paid at least their pro-rata share of the aircraft cost (example: a PPL pilot must pay at least 25% of the cost of flight in a four-seater). That said, many PPLs would still jump at the chance of cheap flying to build up their hours. However, in the long run it will make it much easier for the pilot to be a CPL which is quite easy/cheap in US but is quite complicated and many multiples more expensive in Europe. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

The helmet is one of my old ones. I had it fitted with a thicker liner and some neoprene around the chin strap. The small parachute is actually a kite with the lines taken off (you can still attach the lines to use it as a kite in the park). It’s a 1.4sq/m Flexifoil Buzz http://www.powerkiteshop.com/kites/flexifoilbuzz.htm For the suit, I inquired about having one made by a couple of the manufacturers and found it would be a 6-week wait and about £200 (a 2yr old doesn’t need a £200 jumpsuit), so instead it’s a small boiler suit that I found on the web and had a seamstress put matching leg cuffs and a bunch of skydiving patches compliments of my local rigger. And lastly, a Google search on “children’s skydiving goggles” will not yield any results. They’re actually children’s horse racing goggles, but are very similar to the old standard Kroops skydiving goggles. In the UK they’re imported from the US, so will be easier for you to find. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’ve been taking my son to the dropzone since he was an infant. They want to be like Daddy; get them some “play” gear and occasionally take them with you. Also it’s your judgement (and their wish) but both could fly in a wind tunnel. Attached are some pics for ideas. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I once landed off and was picked up on the roadside and given a short ride back to DZ. Gave what I thought was $4 to the guy and said “thanks, here’s a few dollars for a beer”. He seemed overly happy and said “that’s more than a beer costs”. To which I replied “no problem you’ve been quite helpful”. Later when I went to pay for lunch I realised the missing $20 from my pocket as I had tipped him $24 – then I understood why he was so pleased with my tip. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Cape Town, SA www.skydivecapetown.za.net Swakopmund, Namibia www.skydiveswakop.com.na Empuriabrava, Spain www.skydiveempuriabrava.com Skydive Cape Town has the ocean with Table Mountain and Robbin Island in the background. Swakopmund is lunar-like desert meets the ocean. Empuria has mountains and a great bay on Mediterranean. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I see what you mean, he’s not wearing shoes. That looks dangerous indeed. He could get a nasty blister when landing. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

You’re on the wrong website forum; we’re talking about skydiving here. Over on the PPrune forums they discuss this type of stuff all day. www.pprune.org "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

For photos, I use ACDSee www.acdsee.com which is excellent. However, I’ve not found anything near as good for video. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Yes, and Quicktime will play the output .mp4 files perfectly. However, they will not transfer to iPhone via my uTunes, so my next idea was to use Vegas to convert either the FLV or MP4 into the MainConcept AVC/AAC (.mp4) "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

A. yes, legal/licensed copy of Vegas (inclusive of your fine VASST discs) B. understood; I’m not certain what the SpeedBit software outputs C. was checked; I unchecked it, restarted Vegas, but still no joy I notice for these files, when I drag them from the Explorer window in Vegas to the timeline, only an audio track moves instead of the usual video and audio. I’ll assume it’s a problem with the SpeedBit downloading software and will try something else. Vegas has always been able to read anything I’ve thrown at it Any suggestions on flash video download programmes? There are loads of them, but I’m not trusting of downloading random software I’ve never heard of. Thanks for the help. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’m putting some videos on my iPhone to view offline and can’t figure out my problem. I’m taking some flash video off a website using SpeedBit Video Downloader which creates either: 1. a .mp4 file that will play in QuickTime, but not work with SonyVegas Pro8c timeline or iPhone transfer 2. a .flv file that will play with VLC Media Player, but also not play in the Sony VegasPro8c timeline In either format, SonyVegasPro8c only has sound but no picture. I’m using a PC for the above and either file will play OK in their native video player. Any ideas? "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Pimp it up with all the columns you want; just inset columns as needed. I kept it simple as a template. For example, my personal copy has an added column for differing types of wingsuits flown (copy/edit the formula where it tracks your jumps per rig) "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’ve seen prior threads where people were looking for ways to backup their logbooks and/or keep track of jump numbers, types and gear info. Attached is an Excel file with two spreadsheets; one for jump entries and a second sheet that automatically updates and consolidates the info into a single page view. Just edit the example personal and jump info to make you own file. Be careful when editiing the formulas; I’ve included a notes doc. I made this spreadsheet several years ago while bored on a long-haul flight. Blues "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’ve had international medical/sports cover for several years. I previously used PJ Hayman, but over the past years have switched to DogTag www.dogtag.co.uk and consider them the best available in the UK at present. You can mix/match level of coverage (medical/travel) and they have good coverage of a large list of high risk actvities (not just skydiving) and are priced quite well. I would suggest you avoid the high street/package holiday offerings from the likes of M&S, Columbus etc; you’ll only be disappointed should you rely on them "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I have a scanned copy of the course notes from the CAMI Physiology Training (Hypobaric Chamber Day). It’s an 80page PDF and 7MB, but I could send it to someone to post for others if interested. I did it a couple years ago at Andrews Air Force Base on a civilian training day in preparation for a 30K jump. The training is quite interesting and fun if you get the chance. A cool item was a video shown to us just before the chamber session. If you get to the point of black out from hypoxia your brain erases the roughly last 30-60 seconds of short term memory (like losing the RAM in your computer). This guy (off O2) was being shown cards from a deck and calling them out then he gets stuck on one and as each successive card is shown, he keeps repeating (5 of Hearts, 5 of Hearts, 5 of Hearts) no matter what the card was. He’s about to drop and they put his mask back on; he quickly comes to and they ask “are you OK?” They start drawing cards again and when he calls the first one correct, they ask “are you sure it’s not the 5 of Hearts?” He looks at them bemused and didn’t understand it until they showed him the video afterwards. Main 2 things I took away: 1. Everyone in the course experienced slightly differing onset of symptoms 2. After going hypoxic, you may not yet be unconscious but at that point you’re no smarter than a Cocker Spaniel and are capable of only the simplest of actions "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

That’s a great old suit. This thread made me remember this old photo (Cape Town, Feb 2003). Does anyone know what brand/suit this is? I remember him saying they were testing it. Though don’t know if that was a reference to his flying or the suit itself. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

DSE, thought you’d appreciate this. Of course in Europe, we get matched with differing Google Ads when clicking on video. In the UK, when watching this video you’ll occasionally get an advertisement from a French University for their MBA and PhD programmes. Maybe the Goggle algorithm is matching up “better get some education” or you’ll end up like these guys videoing their mate bellyfloppping in a pool. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

For the Sony CX6/CX7 or CX11/12 what is the largest stick (Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo) that someone has used successfully. I’ve got two 8GB sticks, but thought I’d buy some 32GB however wanted to be certain they’d work. Also, do the “Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX” sticks have any real advantage or is it just marketing. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

With everything well documented and some video in addition, you should have no problem. I did my AFF in Cape Town, South Africa then returned to the UK and did my consols at a mix of Weston, Hinton & Black Knights. Good pick with Empuriabrava; excellent drop zone and people. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

UK VAT is 17.5%, so not including shipping & customs charges, the VAT alone is about £525 on a new rig. Your best choice is a cheap flight to Florida to pick it up yourself and get some jumps in the US while you’re at it. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

A recent tunnel session at AirKix Milton Keynes: http://www.vimeo.com/10717970 "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"