Handcam glove question

[riggerrob 558]

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As a Tandem Master who has done a few Handcam jumps as well as starting out as an outside Vidiot I can see the good old handcam killing the sport.

Another post topic perhaps. Good old money wins in the end with everything.

Q - How did you become an instructor?
A - By doing fun jumps on weekends and then OUTSIDE VIDEO WORK to pay for my jumps until I became an instructor and then Tandem Master.

Lets see a lot of dz's "deal with it" in five years time Staff wise when there are not enough numbers coming through the sport from the above and also litigation aspects from AFF etc. BSBD! -Mark.

I think saying Handcams will kill the sport is a bit of a stretch. The vidiots will lose some work, but I doubt it will eliminate them. Tandems took some students away from the S/L I's in the beginning, but there are still plenty of them around. I believe the people who want to work will always have work. The people who don't will sit around and bitch about us greedy TM's taking all the money.
Vidiots will probably have to buy still cameras or get other ratings to keep making the money they're used to, but I think the sport will be just fine.

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Well said!
When I moved to Pitt Meadows 6 years ago, we did 300 IAD students and just over 300 tandems. That was the first year that tandems exceeded IAD.
In 2004 we did 1,100 tandems and only 100 IAD students. Furthermore, half of those IAD students had already done a tandem.
Adding full-time tandem instructors doubled our number of students. Those extra 600 students paid for our King Air, 9 more tandem rigs, etc.
They also allowed me to stay in Canada all winter, chained to a sewing machine.
By the same token, hand-cam increases the total number of videos sold, increasing the number of videos floating around, telling the general public how much fun skydiving is, increasing the total number of skydiving students, etc.
As for hand-cam excluding old-school vidoegraphers, HAH!

"I believe the people who want to work will always have work. The people who don't will sit around and bitch about us greedy TM's taking all the money."

Lately I have been so busy that I had to pass off work to other instructors.
A rising tide floats all boats.

[skydiveoc 0]

We charge $79 for hand cam, $99 for outside and $129 for combined view.

[NSEMN8R 0]

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We charge $79 for hand cam, $99 for outside and $129 for combined view.

Which one do you sell the most?

[skydiveoc 0]

hand cam...mostly due to the fact that we are a 182 DZ and most want to be in t he plane with their friends instead of solo. We push outside vid with solo tandems.

We also have a ground camera person filming landings as a nice way to tie up the production and give DVD standard format.

josh

[riggerrob 558]

I used to think that Handy-Mount was only valuable on single-Cessna DZs, but yesterday a DZO called from a "large Florida DZ" to order 3 Handy-Mounts because even at $97, every tandem student bought a DVD last weekend and even with his outside videographers doing 1000+ jumps per year, they cannot keep up with demand.

[DanglesOZQld 0]

Like I said, lets just see what happens in five years or so from now. I was also referring more to Australian jumping than anything overseas, US included. We operate a Let which takes 19 jumpers and only have one outside camera guy still employed - and he has hardly had any meaningful remuneration for many weeks............ BSBD! -Mark.

"A Scar is just a Tattoo with a story!!!"

[skydiveoc 0]

Do you make a vertical glove? I sit next to the door in a 182 and thought the vertical might make it harder to open the door. What are your thoughts? I might like to order a vertical glove for a PC 1000.

josh

[DanglesOZQld 0]

Here are two makers of quality handcam gloves with sites.......

1) WAYCOOL
http://www.waycool.com.au/index.html

2) COOKIE COMPOSITES
http://www.cookiecomposites.com/

"A Scar is just a Tattoo with a story!!!"

[riggerrob 558]

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Do you make a vertical glove? I sit next to the door in a 182 and thought the vertical might make it harder to open the door. What are your thoughts? I might like to order a vertical glove for a PC 1000.

josh

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All my Handy-Mounts are vertical format.
At Pitt Meadows, pilots are the only ones allowed to operate the door handle ... something about keeping air traffic controllers happy ...
Also, I prefer the seat behind the pilot as it allows me to take great video of the first tandem pair exiting.
I just down-loaded dimension for SONY's PC1000, so should be able to draw a new pattern over the next week.

[Squeak 17]

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Here are two makers of quality handcam gloves with sites.......

1) WAYCOOL
http://www.waycool.com.au/index.html

2) COOKIE COMPOSITES
http://www.cookiecomposites.com/

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[oozzee 0]

hey aussies,,,

QLD boy...now living in Hawaii..

surfing,jumping, etc...

Just recently started flying with a hand-cam...
have 4000 tandems !!

IT IS QUITE THE CHALLENGE....

..... No doubt about it!!!!
be prepared for exit probs!!!

On all tandem exits it's our arms that grab the air and allow drogue deployment...
if you want your ''handcam vid'' to be decent ,,,,
you are videoing the exit no matter what!!

..I spend more time than I'd like,, stuck on my back and have the occasoinal side-spin issue!!
because of the 'hand-cam'

There is absolutely no question that while you are trying to focus on the camare ..YOU WILL..fuck up!!

....Of course this comes back to TM training and currency....

Fly a few practice jumps....

If handcam is coming your way....test drive it!!

It took me 3-4 jumps to get the hang of it.....

the shit hits the fan,,,
.......screw the camera ...
Pull ...'ALL ' the handles!!!

[riggerrob 558]

Wow!
I may only have 200 jumps with Handy-Mount, but only got flipped on about 1 percent of them. ...can show you video footage of my other 198 stable exits.
Only tried side-spinning once - didn't enjoy it very much - but that was in the previous century, long before hand-cams were available.
Hint: I had more than 2500 tandems before trying Handy-Mount.
Yes, I have done most of the other scary stuff, just a long time ago .. starting in 1986.

[riggerrob 558]

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As a Tandem Master who has done a few Handcam jumps as well as starting out as an outside Vidiot I can see the handcam killing the sport.

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I disagree, it is the high entry cost and demographics that are killing the sport.
Those first 300 to 500 jumps are so expensive that you need a real job to pay for them. And if you have a real job, you would be foolish to quit that real job to earn a fraction of your former salary working on a DZ.
This year, we cannot hire full-time staff for love or money. We have a line on a keen young Brit, but Immigration Canada is busting our chops over his working visa.

By the same token, we are always short of packers on busy weekends.

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[skydiveoc 0]

You guys should try a backloop exit. Rob, I have no probs with back to wind position in 182 and Hawaii OZ man you must be in a turbine so position is not an issue. Backloop is sweet with hand cam because legs do all the work. I just plop out in a sit with back to wind and arch back after a second or so with straight legs. You will always rotate with a drogue friendly orientation. You will especially rotate nicely drogue high when they de-arch. With hand cam, just put your hand out front and follow where they look. I find my right hand goes back to a back track position with this exit and ready to fire the drogue. You cannot hesitate though. Once you see the window come around you must fire, especially with the skinny fetal chicks.

ANd of course I like the facial shot.

With this exit, again legs and body bring you oriented, not the arms.

Try it hand cammers!

[DanglesOZQld 0]

I disagree that the entry costs are that high compared to other sports. I gained a Private Pilots licence on an apprentice wage. Just a matter of setting your goals and going for them.

It would make getting the jump numbers required for instructor and tandem master ratings easier if you were jumping for free or much less using outside camerawork now and again to help with this aim.

Having to pay for everything up to ratings level would not stop people from getting their ratings eventually in some cases but others who come across hurdles such as family and marriage would be less inclined to do so, therefore an increased reduction in the amount of available and qualified staff.

We are already seeing this now due to prices increasing and other factors but with handcam I believe it will be another stress on the sport for numbers of future staff.

I do almost everything at the moment so this really doesnt affect me but I can see the sport suffering in the future!!! BSBD! -Mark.

"A Scar is just a Tattoo with a story!!!"