BMFin

Agreed, though I guess most tandem camera flyers will shoot JPEG because its much more time consuming that way..

A Sigma 10-20mm without a flash ? Im not a professional photographer but this setup sounds like a bad idea. Most likely the bar is going to be quite dark and you would need a decent flash (preferably with a bouncer). The lens isnt really good for anything other than taking pictures of the audience, and even then you will propably not have enough light. A 50mm f/1.8 would be a cheap solution to actually make some difference. With f/1.8 the need for a flash isnt nearly as big.. Canon 50mm 1.8 is something around 100 dollars.. Personally I like the 16-35 L f/2.8 alot for this kind of things. Even though it is also really wide and demands you are close to the subject.. (I also shoot with 1.6 crop censor) Attached a sample of the 16-35

I also feel that flying your setup 90 to the course is maby a little easier. Though I guess some might fell different if they are accustomed to fly 0 to the course, wich you forgot to mention.. Most difficult is ofcourse to fly 180 to the course when you are having to deal with the downwind all the time, that is if the course is not on crosswind (and you are going to land to the wind). On crosswind it could be easier to actually fly 0 or 180 to the course. Or what do you think ? When I was doing 180´s with the wind within the same direction as the course, I mostly drove the setup someworth similar to when doing 270´s but instead I flat turned first 90 to start flying 180 to the course and initiated 180 from there. It is ofcourse evident that you are to start the turn quite quickly after the flat turn and therefore you might not be as observant on the surrounding traffic since as you are busy on starting the 180. However I dont think I should have skipped 180´s on my progression only because flying setup 90 to the course is easier. I think going to 270´s from 90´s is such a step It requires you learn the 180 before going to 270´s Anyways, Im still learning these things and I gladly learn from you if you feel different..

Are you saying they skip 180´s out of their learning progression ? Thats real nice !! Also, what about 360´s are they "old school" also ?

A wideangle converter ? http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3115092 here you go... Search is your friend

heres a couple of threads posted within the last 30 days: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3172613 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3168468

This very same question is being asked here at least once a week. Theres a lot of other similar threads here. Search is your friend. Maby compiling these threads here as sticky wouldnt be a bad idea either..

1-30 Navigator 240, 220 30-50 Sabre 170, 150 50-370 Hornet 120 370-400 Vengeance 120 400- Crossfire2 109 (now at 1.7ish)

Have someone IAD you out of the plane with the biggest student canopy you can find !

Are you sure ? Also, unless Im mistaken there are some skydivers that have modified a remote for a point and shoot compact camera. I think lazlo has done it at least and some other regulars on this forum. Sure it requires you are a bit more tech savy than the average..

U seem to have confused the upwind / downwind situations: When you say I am downwind it is actually the opposite of flying downwind. Same goes: being upwind actually means "flying with the wind on your back" (if you are flying towards the landing zone) And what Ian Drennan said I believe goes together with just about any canopy control guidebook out there.. though if you would have a lightly loaded canopy double fronts might yield better penetration when flying strongish upwind. What I do is I apply the default settings based on the situation and then use the "accuracy trick"..

On the first page of classifieds there are two very good articles for detecting and avoiding a scam. http://www.dropzone.com/content/Detailed/594.html http://www.dropzone.com/content/Detailed/593.html

Exactly. Packing for your self for the same "40 jumps" I referred to earlier, will most likely help you remember how to pack your main + plus some other important issues... Sure DZ´s will get less money out of the students because it takes about 2 hours for them to pack after the first jump and they might not have the juice left in them to do more jumps on that day.. I definetly hope this isnt the reason for not making students pack their own... I sure someone can tell me a valid reason ?

If hes talking about the cobalt listed in hes profile, it most likely has spectra lines. Also I doubt the other three canopies he had before were all vectran either.. If you doubt your ability to judge the condition of the lines why not just take it to your rigger and get his / their opinion on the condition of the lines ?

In Finland, it is part of the training to pass a test where you prove your ability to pack and that you have the basic knowledge of the gear you use. It is generally not allowed for students to use packers. Stundents will pack their own basically from jump no.1 (under supervision ofcourse) I wouldnt want to underestimate the USPA training, however I have taken wuffo friends from Finland to US to make their FJC and I must say I was suprised how little they knew of their gear and that neither of them had not even learned how to pack after 40 jumps. Maby it wouldnt be a bad idea to add some basic education on gear before handing out the A licence ?

Ok. Lets start a list of the bad rigggers here. That way no rigger on the list has to be responsible of their actions and even if they arent on the list they may always say it was your own fault you didnt supervise the packjob... This is what you are suggesting right ?

Why is everyone saying "learn about your gear" in this thread ? Sure learning can never be a bad thing, but its not really relevant here, since the only person that has shown lack of knowledgement has been the riggers who are responsible of the reserve pack. Also these "learn to know your rigger" opinions are such bullshit. Licenced rigger is a licenced rigger. If the licencing system isnt reliable enough, then theres something wrong with the licencing system. Secondly how can you expect someone with 100 jumps to posses the ability to judge a riggers competence by "getting to know him" ?

Yeah... Why do you even have this FAA rigger certification system ?

Outstanding photos.. Did you shoot them ?

Nice hybrid man ! Maby a little offtopic, but the first thing that came to my mind is that this is a good example of why you need a strong flash sometimes on the day time also..

The Canon 10-22mm is about 15 grams heavier than the Sigma 15mm More expensive it is though...

LOL ! Once Aivo gets into character you will not be able to overlook the party! Thats a good time to visit hanko ! Cya there !

I think this is one major reason why some people are considered as skygods. Its a shame that there are people who get offended when someone politly tries to hint them that they are actually "a little busy" at the moment. Most people unfortunately have limited funds and spending 20+ dollars on someone else just to make the other one happy will eventually end up being a lot of money if you have to do this regularly.. If skydiving was free it would be a totally different story..

I made a few hundred jumps on a 120 Hornet. (keep in mind that smaller canopies handle differently compared to bigger ones even at the same wingloadings). I dislike pretty much everything on that canopy besides the gelvenor fabric wich makes it really easy to pack. The openings were horrible and the recovery arc was super short. I have also flown sabre2 120 for comparison and found it much nicer in everyway besides the packing. Hornet 190 is propably a someworth smaller than the sabre2 190 I would definetly choose sabre2 out of these ones. I cannot tell you how pilot compares to the two, but the pilot is also semi-elliptical and could be considered as the successor of the hornet. If you are happy with the pilot, why not keep it until you are ready to downsize ? No reason to change only because you "would rather learn how to fly a "semi-elliptical" first before downsizing" IMO

This is very true, but it will definetly not only vary among countries but also within countries among different insurance companies. In finland theres a lot of insurance companies that will cover skydiving equipment. Im sure there are lots of them also in sweden, also. Are you sure you have checked each insurance companys policies individually ? Even so, there are also a lot of differences to what kind of incidents does the insurance cover. For example my home owner insurance will cover theft unless it happens due to my negligence. ( for example leaving my rig or camera gear unattended inside a locked vehicle is not covered) Then again any damage to sport equipment (wich a sport parachute system clearly is) that happens while the equipment is used on its purpose is not covered on my insurance, but if the incident happens while the equipment is not being used in skydiving my insurance will cover unless there are other factors inhibiting the indemnity. Camera gear on the other hand is not sport equipment and therefore the indemnity is not limited in the same way, but it might be hard to prove the insurance company that you were not neglecting responsibility while jumping out of an aircraft with the gear attached to your head. In my home insurance there is a "calculation sheet" how much they will discount from the original value based on how many years since the equipment was taken in use, and these percentages vary based on what kind of equipment is in question. (electronics, Sport equipment, art work etc etc..) Because of this "caluculation sheet" I wouldnt get what my gear is really worth in real life, but when im under my travel insurance I actually have "multi-insured" my gear with two insurancies. (home owner and travel insurance) and I am therefore entitled to claim the rest of the remaining value from the other insurance. (according to finnish insurance laws you are not entitled to claim more indemnity in a multi-insurance situation than the insured object is worth in real life) Sorry for the bad english..