Deuce

Well said. On the older Vector system the tandem skydive starts out with the drogue functioning as a pilot chute in tow. No drogue, no main. If the drogue gets entangled at the throw and can't be released you have a horseshoe malfunction that you then have to launch the reserve into, preferably before you attain terminal tandem velocity (200mph+). I could never have done a tandem without knowing the instructor very well. Funny, now that I think about it, both tandems I did were with women, Connie and Spooky. It's not a roller coaster ride. That passenger is under a death sentence on exit unless I do everything right. Even then, we could go in for reasons I would have no control over. A tandem skydive is not a roller coaster ride.

Yeah, I was thinking Sunday at Byron. There's going to be a ton of people from out of town, and maybe we could get Davis's second PAC if they aren't too busy. I'm shopping for a stuffed or inflatable penguin to jump. Who want's to make a long pink boa tube for me? I'm buying.

Given the shape of the "D" maybe you could make the "D" a penguin? I'm in for at least 4, one for each of my suits.

I found out when I got a condolence post just a few moments ago. Shannon is a nutball. I had just started flying camera when she did her AFF at Byron. We had a lot of serious talks. When she fell for Bob she had posted this wierd-toned thread and I called her and she told me all about how Bob had wooed her and how much she loved him and how she had never felt that way before. I was so happy for both of you. Best memory was sneaking into the DC-3 and onto the beacon with her at Eloy one post-midnight raid. Serious party animal, but very deep water just the same. That and the time she rode me in my birdman suit at Perris. Fun, fun times. What a loss for our futures, but what a wonderful person to have known. She made my life much better. Blue skies, Shannon-bo-bannan. I'll be putting a lot of pictures up later.

I jump one. It's unbeatable for getting a very wide field of view with very little distortion. I jumped it exclusively at the Herc Boogie because the plane was huge and so were the groups/flocks. It does weigh a ton, and is very susceptable to fogging if there is any humidity. (That big hunk of class condensing). With the cropping effect of the 10D sized ccd, the "fisheye" on the sigma 15 is greatly reduced. For the money, the sigma 15 is a very good choice.

My preferred home inspector uses the Toughbook. It's very tough and he probably uses it in a similar way that your dad would. A super cool accessory is the HP 460 wireless (bluetooth) portable printer. I use mine when I'm in the field to print contracts and real estate listings with pictures. It's super convenient when there are contract revisions that require client's signatures. Just e-mail the forms to the laptop, download the attachments and print them with the 460. It is a huge time saver when the client is a long drive. I've attached a picture of it docked. I'm getting really used to having two screens, and when it's docked it's just as fast and capable as most desktops, but I always have my stuff with me. He's going to really like it if he does a similar setup.

Lovely. Other than the Hitler stuff.

Shut up you retard Since I wasn't there drinking no go eleven

The steroids are making you crazy-angry.

No. You're the only jumpsuit Superman Wannabe worse than me. That makes you wierd. Or Vierd, since Iwan just bought my Superman Birdman S3.

Best ever? Silverado Golf Club and Resort. Infant twins. Infant Twins About A Year Old. Golf tourney in honor of my wife's late uncle. Great guy. We move into the condo with all the baby paraphernalia, including crib et al. Finally get everything settled, ready to have a cocktail and the phone rings. "Yes?" "Mr. Kelly?" "Yeah?" "Sir, you have to move" "Um. Like hell." "No sir, really" "Uh, no dude, no fucking way. My infants are asleep in the full-size crib we just set up, so you can find another solution" "Sir, we placed you in the wrong room. We need you to move." "No" "It's a nice room" "Uh..... No." "Sir, really. You must take the new room" "Get me the Hotel Manager. Not the desk manager, the real honest-to-God manager of the Hotel" "S---" "NOW. I HAVE SLEEPING INFANTS IN A CRIB YOU WANT ME TO WAKE UP AND ALL KINDS OF FURNITURE I HAVEN'T HAD SEX ON! MANAGER! NOW!" "One moment" "Mr. Kelly. I understand we've inconvenienced you, and I apoligize. A large family booked the upper and lower floors of your condo and we moved you into the lower floor in error. How can we accomodate the need to move you so that the family can be together and also guarantee your satisfaction with the Silverado Resort?" "You can't. Do you want to deal with moving all the stuff we've just settled with our twins? Do you understand this is the first 'vacation' we've had since having children? Ack. No. We're not moving" "Mr. Kelly, how can we make this happen?" "Comp the trip, and something." "Done, Mr. Kelly, I'll have staff over momentarily to assist you in moving your family." OK, then they had a group of guestworkers pack us up without waking the kids and moved us to another ground floor condo fairly close without even waking the girls. We got this odd gift certificate for "Dinner at the Silverado (whatever the best restaurant is called) So, we went to the restaurant some months later on the comp. The Matre de dealt with us exclusively, and I deferred to him 100% on appetizers, wine, entre's, dessert, brandy. I've eaten in exclusive restaurants in Rome, and this place whooped them. I expected, even with the "coupon" to be out a couple hundred bucks. Really, people, "honest-to-God" fine dining is a several hundred dollar affair, even for just two people. Silverado comped the whole thing. I gave the maitre'de a hundred bucks anyhow. Best comp ever. I love Silverado.

I mounted my still camera lengthwise on a stroboframe on my first camera helmet, an Aviator LT. It works. But if your not going to be using your still camera that much, consider just using a thumbscrew to attach the camera directly to the helmet.

Dude, you have to do a ratio. Wait a sec.... 24/9832's My Grammer Rocks! Irregardless of Amazon's slights! Irregardless!

I came up very by-the-book. My first camera jump was at 198 jumps. -and I prefer skydivers to call me "JP". My goal was to fly tandem video asap to defray costs. I got "proficient" at RW, 4 to 14 way, and then got a camera, and then got a camera suit. I was doing "spec" camera jumps (where you find a tandem master who trusts you enough to video their passenger for free and then try and sell them the video) at about 220 jumps, and was on the wheel by 250. I took the AFFI course at 950 jumps and the tandem I course at 1000 and change. My first Nationals flying camera I had about 1200 jumps. This October I'll have my first advanced team at my third nationals, and I'll have about 2250 by then. In sales, and in life, it is best to underpromise and over deliver.

Hey, Stumps. There is no Rebel version of the 5D yet. When the 20D came out, shortly afterwards the Rebel 350xt (I may be getting them model wrong, the current rebel) showed up, and it performs in-between the 10D and the 20D and is WAY lighter. I'm waiting on a plastic-bodied slightly detuned full-frame Rebel version of the 5D. It's not out yet, but I'm pretty sure it's coming.

This past Holiday Boogie in Arizona, either Brent Finley or Greg Gasson explained the difference between this and camera flying I've heard yet. Putting a camera on your head at 50 jumps is providing a visual flight recording of the jump that happens in front of the lens. This is wholly different than "Camera Flying" which is a deliberate piloting of the lens, to frame and record a specific subject.

I do the opposite. I try and buy top end because you get to hang onto it longer. I got the 10D when it first came out, and it's still OK. I'm waiting on the Rebel version of the 5D. Right now I think the Rebel XT is the best camera for the money for general skydiving.

Bah, I will always need your friendship on the DZ. Hanging out with you only ever brings good stuff. Nationals plane rides with Lori? Coolio! You flying advanced or open? My team is a reconstituted NorCal version of Elsinore GT. With a cooler name. And me

No, it's not OK. The first rule of practical spotting is ignore the shouting assh*les in the front of the plane*. As to pushing any group out of the plane, it's not a friendly thing to do no matter where you live. Jump tickets are getting REALLY expensive and people can afford to jump less. If somebody can only get a couple jumps a week (or month!) that setup and exit is a precious thing for someone to screw up just for a giggle. Think of the difference between just slick-nailing a perfect exit (that never gets old!) and funnelling one. I agree that jumpers that get pushed deserve replacement tickets from the pushers. *Pilot not included.

Bonehead Optic, then.

Geez, Dave, what do you really think? I've flown camera at Nationals twice with intermediate teams, and went clean last year. No booties. I don't suck. I have an Advanced team this year.. The members are all veterans and will medal. I'm leaving nothing to chance and I'm sponsored for the suit, so I opted for booties. Booties like I wore while setting the current world sequential record . To the original poster, booties aren't necessary to shoot world class video. Like Dave said, if you want to fly on your back or in a sit, they are a pain. Also, learning to really fly camera wings is difficult enough, and if you've never flown a suit with booties, the combination of wings and booties for the first time is going to be a pretty steep learning curve. Even if you don't suck.

All my camera jumps and my first two nationals were in a suit that didn't have booties. I like not having to screw around with booties cause I have enough to do with the camera helmet. On a busy tandem day in the summer where I'm going to be on the floor of the plane all day they're just another thing to have to screw around with. -But- I found I would like to have them to get over a four way team that flattens out quickly after exit. I am going to train all year with an advanced team for this year's nationals, so I'm going with a suit with booties. Booties just provide extra speed and braking power in exchange for some additional complication. I've never seen "removable" booties that worked. Get a suit with or without them, but I'd suggest not getting the removable ones.

Ha! Made you look!

Ah! What a great point!

http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Sony_Handycam_HDR_HC3/4507-6500_16-31749257.html?tag=sub We've got a guy flying the HC-1 at our dropzone (not a staff camera flier) and it is truly the bomb when it gets dark enough for our Hi-def projector to show it off on our big screen. The HC-1 is pretty big, though. So here comes the HC-3. It has a lanc port and a firewire on board, and that lack is one of the biggest complaints on the newer PC cameras. Street price is going to be about what I paid for my 120 when it was brand-new. I was discussing this with some other pretty serious videographers, that when my pair of PC 120's go belly up, that high-def is going to be the way to go. Watcha think? -I know that I'd like a switch for Pal to NTSC