chuckakers

Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Oops - my bad. I was thinking of a different lens. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Might I suggest that you get all your facts first. Ditto to everything said in replies to your post. And by the way, long before you chimed in, I was told through numerous PM's by people in the know that the clearly unsafe acts by these morons was actually put to a stop after phone calls from certain "USPA types" before I exposed it here. Based on video evidence, that was sometime AFTER May of 2009. So much for your "self-policing" BS. Best damn camera flyers? MY ASS! It doesn't take "mad skills" to dock on a tandem canopy. It does take a person with a complete disregard for the safety of an unsuspecting carnival rider to actually do it, and it takes a flaming moron with serious asshole tendencies to do it at an altitude so low that the tandem lands less than a minute and a half later. Video evidence doesn't lie. Video doesn't lie, but apparently you do. You speak as if you have first hand knowledge that this shit stopped long ago ("None of these practices were allowed at this DZ last summer", you said), yet at least one video proves it was happening as recently as May of this year. Are you really so thick that you didn't review the videos in question before posting? Maybe it's your profile that really does it for me. You list your rating as an "AFF Coach". Are you not rated to coach students that progressed using the static line or IAD systems, or do you just want to put "AFF" in front of your rating without actually earning the ticket? I also notice you enjoy CReW. That wouldn't be tandem CReW, would it? How 'bout low altitude tandem CReW? You into that too??? If you are, I'm sure your mad skills make it ok. I've been jumping out of planes for a while now, and one of the things I have heard over and over again to defend dangerous, f*cked up activities is how incredibly talented the people doing them are. When are you and others like you going to figure out "mad skills" don't make a dangerous activity safe? Your post tells me only one thing for sure. You should turn in your "AFF" Coaches rating until your attitude about safe vs unsafe skydiving is more in line with reality. And since you've been in the sport for 30 years, I doubt that's going to happen. Maybe you should have stayed quiet after all. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Becoming? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

This works for two element lenses, but not for single element. It has worked well for me using both types of lenses, although I don't use the zoom if that's the issue you're talking about. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

With a wide angle lens, I agree that the WA mode should be used. As for focus, just use maunal "infinity" and everything will be in focus all the time. Put the camera in manual focus, then manually focus "out" until you see the infinity symbol and the mountain icon indicating infinity. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

If you are burning it to a DVD, use DVDPREP, a script for Vegas made by VASST! Its free and super awesome! DSE pointed me to the download If you are posting to youtube etc, you should just go to youtube and search for something like Sony vegas render for youtube There are tons of tutorials. Project settings has no effect on the final file. all of that is taken care of in rendering. But vegas defaults the preview window to 4:3 so you can change that to 16:9 in project settings! I want to burn DVD's, but need to do it as fast as possible. I'll be doing most of my work as a staff vidiot for a busy DZ, so turn-around time is very important. Does the DVDPREP script make DVD burning fast and single operation? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I tried what you said, but there was no audio options and the video came out with no audio. Where do I render the audio as you instructed? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Just putting together my first test edit on Vegas. Looking for general info on best project settings, file output type, etc. I'm saving the "movie" as WMV and AVI - both take forever to save. Am I doing something wrong? Haven't tried burning straight to DVD with Architect. Hopefully that will be faster??? BTW, I'm using the i7 processor equipped p/c discussed early on this forum - should be plenty fast. Oops, just stopped and gave me an error msge saying it stopped for an unknown reason. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Since you seem to be the self appointed safety police, I'd like to see that video also. What makes you guys think I was kicked off a DZ for something skydiving related? What makes you think I have been kicked off a DZ at all? Maybe it was something in your profile. Don't see any way of interpreting it other than you have been banned from a (some) dropzone. Don't be so defensive. I'm curious why you are scouring youtube for videos from this DZ? Not an exuse for Twin Cities but I'm sure if you tried you could find bad examples from any DZ, even the one you call home, the one you haven't been banned from. I'll start with the issue of being banned from a DZ. I'm not being defensive - I have nothing to be defensive about. As I said in my first reply - that you apparently didn't read very carefully - it's called humor in a profile. As for scouring youtube for videos of this DZ, wrong again. I was actually searching for a different video and happened across the one I linked in my original post. It was only after seeing replies from others that I decided to see if there were others, and as we all know now, there were. Self appointed safety police? Give it a rest. When I see blatant shit like that on these videos, why wouldn't I say something about it. Seems to me someone should - I just happen to be the one this time. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Since you seem to be the self appointed safety police, I'd like to see that video also. What makes you guys think I was kicked off a DZ for something skydiving related? What makes you think I have been kicked off a DZ at all? Maybe humor in a profile is beyond your imaginative capabilities. And by the way, I never stated nor implied that I am the safety police. In fact, I am anything but that. Go search youtube for "skydive twin cities". No self appointed police are necessary to see that what they were/are doing was/is over the line. Their actions exposed unsuspecting first jump students to risks they did not knowingly sign up for. That's wrong regardless of how well they pulled off their antics. I would still like to hear from a representative of the DZ. Something tells me they know about this thread and are following it. Hello? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

There's no reason at all not to do some well-orchastrated formation flying with a tandem. And I agree - some of the moves in the video are stupid. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Whatever the math works out to, I just want to bring up the fact that tandem reserves are designed to open slow in case they need to be deployed at tandem terminal. As such, all tandem decision altitudes are significantly higher than for sport rigs. Another tidbit you may have missed, starting around 6:10 you can see two other canopies flying in close proximity in the background of the video. They're higher than the tandem featured in the video which means to me that it's another tandem who exited after the featured tandem pair. End result - there are more than one camera flyer / TI who engage in this type of behavior at this DZ. Now to be fair, this is Skydive Twin Cities, so there's a chance that these videos are all from the DZs evil twin brother DZ, who does this stuff to make the good DZ look bad. It happens all the time in soap operas. Oh yes, there are several different TI's and vidiots doing this stuff in the various youtube clips I've watched. As for it being a different DZ making Twin Cities look bad, I doubt it. All the vids I've seen were shot at the same DZ. I don't recognize it, but the tandem passengers that posted the vids all called the place by that name. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Because they try harder than anyone else to be in it. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

You're right. Of course it was still pretty f*cking stupid. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Can you expand on that. BTW, do you happen to have a VAAST video that covers the best way to set up a system for editing, best practices for importing, editing, output, etc? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

These guys are a riot! Check out the CRW at 6:13 with a landing 1 minute 26 seconds later. Let's see, that would mean they were doing CReW at an altitude of...hey, anyone know the average descent rate of a tandem? And LOVE the extreme low altitude tight canopy video work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWo8Jk1pOs0&feature=related Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

This guy is brave...or really stupid - or more likely both. Comes from above and behind and flies right between a tandem and another vidiot flying formation filming - and presumably focusing on - the tandem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrkhMNDytoQ These guys are trying to out-stupid each other. "The deceased jumpers were making a tandem skydive. The freefall and canopy deployment were uneventful, but once under canopy…" Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I'm waiting for the video's poster to remove it from YouTube. Of course, if, in the meantime, someone were to download it onto their hard-drive, and then re-upload it onto YouTube, that couldn't happen. Not to worry. The videos I saw were posted by the tandem passengers, so getting them off will be a bit more difficult than just having an insider pull them. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I'm waiting to see a post from one of the people in the video - or any of the many like it I found easily on youtube. Maybe one of these folks...like the Tandem Instructor/Examiner, maybe. http://skydivetwincities.com/staff.htm Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

How 'bout the way the TI spirals the canopy while still facing backwards? That's a canopy collision waiting to happen. Yes, I caught that too. The TI does that in numerous vids I watched. There are also a bunch of side-to-side passes extremely close to the camera. Just search youtube for "skydive tandem twin cities". Wonder if anyone from the DZ will chime in on this. Hmmm. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Yep. Took about 3 minutes to find this one. Nice passenger dock at 5:28. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv4tEjGXyPU&feature=related Another passenger dock on this one at 4:53 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn1U0SWHqO0 or how 'bout this one with the passenger holding the vidiots canopy after another backwards dock at 5:29 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMK0n9fEExI Wonder what Bill Booth and the USPA head shed think about such incredible skills. Anyone? anyone? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Whats a whuffo doing in the landing area in the first place? Oh, just watching a little skydiving from the front row....unsupervised. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

kill a tandem student? 4:50 - dump in place while the tandem pair is still sniveling right above you. Probably not a problem....unless they cut away, of course. 6:13 - do a little tandem CReW. Just an end cell bump to add some excitement for the carnival riders that didn't pay for the added risk, nor understand it. 6:57 - such irony in the soundtrack, but still the best darn backwards tandem dock I've ever seen. Nice 180 hook at 8:31 too. What the f*ck are you people thinking? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCh7Psubs9g&feature=related Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Thanks for pointing that out. Probably not interested at this point, but video in general is probably headed that way. Any opinion on these laptops? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX