Deuce

Bah. If you can get close enough, and like the curvature, use the .3. That is the lens I usually use, but I zoom it to about a .6 or back it off depending on whether I'm shooting a 20mm or a 14mm still lens. If I am inside, or know I'm going to be close, I can back it off. I agree that it is the most versatile lens, all around.

From Voodew's information: Cross the street if you see me. You misspelled "Deuce"

Yeah, I'm the paragon of seriousness. No sense of humor at all. Edit: Just about everybody I fly with is better than me. With maybe the exception of rodeos. I challenge anyone to take a novice on a BM rodeo. To all: Increase the expertise of the sport. Increase my expertise. Please. But let's do it in a positive way. SoCal knows all about Matter suits. I know NOTHING about them, and I suspect that suits are as different as meat from cheese. Let's just keep it all moving forward, safely, without being bitter about what the different camps are doing. I have a BirdMan SF3 suit. I have not mastered it. When I do, I may move on to a Matter suit or whatever is cutting edge at that time. I hope that the masters of the different disciplines are cordial. I am a master of the Glock pistol. If I were to switch to a Smith and Wesson or back to a Sig, I know that those Masters would welcome me back. And not spend inordinate amounts of time criticising the past.

Hey John? I remailed the 121-way DVD to you a while ago. Did you get it? With Tony's permission I can generate some MPEGS for you. Lemme know. That last 121 way jump was astounding.

Oh, Val, I've travelled quite a bit, for an American, and I loved Australia. Sydney is like a perfect version of San Francisco. Brisbane was European and very friendly, and the whole Cairnes area was like Santa Cruz, but prettier and with really big fucking spiders. If you could pull off Oz and New Zealand, quit your job and do it. I travelled the whole East Coast of Oz with a couple Kiwis, and it really was just about the trip of my life. The trip of my life was Italy. Rented a car, and drove from Rome, to Naples, up the Amalfi coast to Switzerland, through Milan and Venice and out through Milan again. Romantically? Italy can not be beat. Fun? The Auzzies are the most fun, ever. In the universe. The sunsets on the Amalfi Coast, in Italy, were the best. Just beautiful, and the food was so good. The beer was better in Oz, though. Tough choice. You're young. Do both.

My man, before I reacted to your post, I clicked on your name to see what you posted as your bona-fides. You drew a line in the sand with the BMI's and Birdman about how they have to publish thier information or be subject to increased liability. If your efforts make the sport safer, great. You'll be more successful if you try and make friends along the way, though.

some more unsolicited advice? Too many video flyers are using a wideangle that is way to freaking wide. Watching little people far away just sucks. A truly great contemporary videographer who uses no wideangle at all is Greg Gasson. I know i push my product a little hard here, but if you click my sig line and download the free preview of last years holiday boogie, you'll see a really cool bit of video where Greg goes under an RW group in perfect timing with a deck of industrial haze. With no Wideangle at all. They can be a crutch. Get good without it, and then use wideangle and zoom as tools in your camera flying toolbox.

Yeah, you have to modify the Nikon in a way that will void the warranty. Mike McGowan also jumps Nikon. And I am his butt-boy.

Yeah, that interests section will really improve the general respect for wingsuit instruction. A little unsolicited advice: being an avowed sportfucker will hurt you with the sincere that are in search of knowledge. Argh. Didn't we just do this in another thread? I don't know any underqualifed folks who have Jari's (the BMCI) rating. I'm a very current AFF-I and Tandem-I, and a very current Birdman Suit-coach. Argh. Argh. Argh.

This is the Sienfield Thread.

Toughen up. Now. You simply must.

I love you Lisa, and when it mattered I loved you most with the help of the vonNovacks, Mouth, BendyWendy, and Sangiro-san. You are a light. The light requires fuel. Take what you need. XO JP

Paul is Quade, but if you are asking me (I'm JP, the older , suaver, handsomer one) I'd suggest the Diamond .3 or .5 if you are wanting to spend some money. The lens you have is fine, but a little fisheye-ish. Just zoom it in a little. You'll generally want it to match the field of view of whatever stills camera you end up using.

Ach.

I don't know what's on the agenda today, but I know it will be printed on some fabulously creamy stock.

Dude, that guy is from Colorado. Schoolyard tactics can involve pipe bombs. OK, that's over the top, but this thread is silly. It started with MTV. MTV. Say it with me. Think "Thriller" with a liberal agenda. Wine.

OK, you are in a strange place. I enjoy trying to figure out other people's strange places like you enjoy watching fat girls cry. But in a positive way. You are wierding. Like the "wierding way" in Dune, but in southern California and the mujahadeen call each other "dude". I would really like to capture the moment when you suavely pull the trunk lid down and then spoon up to your girl, like it was normal to sleep on top of a spare tire (for a car). Very cool visual. Do you have the ability to put the back seat down and get access to the interior of the car, or is it a true "Silence of the Lambs" kind of experience? Dude you are the wierdest-cool in a while. Superhellacoolio. (look that word up. I coined it) Probably right after I saw you Birdman jump out of that balloon in Eloy.

Freefly pud. Love it, wouldn't have anything else.

Oh, golly. Stuff like "No, I am not your dad, I make your mommy see god!" and stuff like that. As to beating kids, I am opposed to it. I really think consistency is the key. Too many parents enjoy their kids being "cheeky" until it happens in an innapropriate place or circumstance, and then it is offensive as hell. And then they lose it or beat the shit out of their kids. The problem at that point is that it is like lightening out of a clear sky, and the kids don't get it. Parenting is REALLY FUCKING HARD. It is an all-the-time thing. When you are tired and your kids are acting foolish, you have to be just as disciplinarian as when it happens when you are fresh and it is not in an embarrasing situation. Consistent, firm pressure is the key. It's how my kids teacher can have 35 of the most smartest kids in California under her control, happy and learning. That and we got Jesus to kick their asses when nobody else is watching. (Laugh at the Jesus reference, people. Have some wine.) This is a very cool picture of children making a comet at the Chabot Science Center in Oakland. -not having a "real job" now that I am a homemaker means I get to chaperone all the field trips. More dads at homeroom would settle the lads out too. The teacher loves it when I have my "room mom" days. I'm the scariest "room mom" of the bunch. Love your children. They are in the driver's seat when you are on your deathbed.

Ah, the wealth of tart reply possibilities this generates.

Have you arrived at your destination canopy size? If you are where you want to be, canopy size-wise, you are more likely to be keeping this rig for a long time. That being the case, spring for the bling. My container will hold a 150 or 135 main, and I ain't going smaller than that. If you are going to go smaller a couple sizes, then don't invest in a bunch of options you want, but the next buyer may not be interested in. SoCal is right about there being competitors for your business. An advantage to Wings is their commitment to customer service. Check with folks at your DZ abou their rigs, and when considering buying any rig, make sure the manufacturer builds a great product that is right the first time, and when it isn't makes it right ASAP and with a smile.

WHat she said. Lew, that was a very generous gift of your time to respond like that. Lower. If you can't see the chest strap on the tandem, you are not low enough. Low enough is when you can see hip straps, chest strap, and drogue. I also think your lens is too wide.

I was a Nikon guy before skydiving got me. I like the metering and autofocus better on my Nikon N90s. THey have to be modified in a way that voids the warranty to use a tongue switch. I went Canon with the 10D, and in the next year will probably upgrade to the 20D. I also think Nikon lenses are better, subjectively. But I'm shooting more Sigma now, so the lens thing is not as big a deal.

On a busy weekend Fri-Sat-Sun, I can make 25-30 tandems, or about $750-$900. Last Saturday I made 10 on Saturday alone. I'd think in a real tandem mill, you could make $1500 a week during high season. As the other AFF instructors said, AFF pays the same per-jump, but you are not taking an AFF student "on a ride". The best days are when you knock out a mess of tandems early and spend the rest of the day doing AFF jumps. I much prefer teaching AFF, but the money is in tandems. And often times tandems are very fun, too.