dangers of cameraflying

[rmcvey 0]

For myself and other skydivers intersested in this subject, what do the expierenced guys & gals here consider the biggest danger posing new camera flyers both
(video and stills). and if someone was intent on strapping a camera to there head what advice would you give them concerning safety.
Also if you could look back on your early days of camera flying would you have changed anything (safety wise, learning, types of jumps, no. of jumps etc.)
Hope this sparks a few informative posts.
BSs

[rgoper 0]

i don't fly camera, but have been in the sport long enough to tell you, get some training from a competant individual, on equipment, and flying teqniques. fully expect the drag, and rudder effects, and extra weight to change your freefall, learn how to fly on your back, headdown, stand, etc...before strapping a camera on. your helmet, and your new flight suit (with wings of your choice) is your key selection, make sure it has a "single" release system, deployment time will be your new "challenge" when you start flying camera, lines will (can, i should say) become entangled on your equipment, then, jet helmet? cut away main? deploy reserve? just some thoughts for you. don't be like a couple of camera fliers i know, i heard this one guy say "if i go in, i'm going in looking good, because i'm not going to take my helmet off, that's $5000.00!" if you want to fly camera, cool, but don't ever fly something that your not willing to "Jet" in case of a malfunction. start practicing jumping from the "video step/position" on the jumpship now, before you get your equipment, if it's feasable. take care, good luck!
Richard
"Gravity Is My Friend"

[quade 3]

First and foremost, you should be at least a pretty competant skydiver before strapping a camera on your head. I don't mean that you need to know how to crank 20 points, but you should at least be able to fly your body to anywhere in a formation and HOLD IT without side-sliding or back-sliding around the sky. If you can't control your body in flight, then ---YOU--- are the biggest danger.
You'll also want to be a fairly competant parachutist. If you can't manage consistant, accurate, stand-up landings in no wind conditions, then you sure as heck shouldn't be putting extra gear on your head to snap your neck when you biff in.
I would recommend you hold a USPA D license or your country's equivilent.
Basics aside, the danger probably depends on what type of camera flying you're doing. The obvious increased dangers of line snags, neck injuries from hard openings and gear being misrouted through camera suits . . . stuff like that can probably happen to anyone flying camera.
If you're flying camera for RW, (about the only kind I do so it's the only one I'll address), you need to be really aware of other peoples gear and CONSTANTLY on the lookout for someone in the formation possibly having a premature deployment. Anything flapping around; a loose pin cover, a hacky and especially something hard to see like a piece of bridle means you must immediately get off the top of the formation and off to the side where it's safer. Perfect competition video is shot from directly over the center of the formation with you pretty deep in the burble. Still judgeable video, but safer if there's a question of a premature deployment, can be shot with your camera just outside the verticle limits of the formation -- maybe 45 degrees off-axis -- more than that and it may not show everything it needs to.
If you're shooting a new team, you WILL whack into them on exit a few times before getting your timing down. This is expected -- just down make a habit of it.
TIP -- if you think you're going to whack into your team, do NOT put your arms out toward them to block the hit. Just get bigger, you -may- not hit them at all and if you do hit them it will be at your slowest speed. Fight for it and don't give up!
Watch people getting on the plane and check their gear, watch them do their pin checks. When you climb out of the step, look at people's rigs and see if something bad is about to happen. If they have a reserve deployment in the door and you're on the camera step, it's not going to be pretty. Watch how the newbies are taking harness grips at the mock-up. A chest strap is ok -- a grip by a reserve handle might be your death -- so get them to correct that right then and there.
Try to keep aware of where the people that "went low" actually went.
Be certain everyone on the formation you're shooting understands what's supposed to happen in the dive flow -- especially at breakoff. Make certain they understand that YOU have the center and THEY track away hard. Make sure they understand that THEY shouldn't open above a certain altitude.
Unless you have a LOT of experience and are VERY heads up, do NOT go "on level" with the formation to get people geeking the camera as they bullet track away. Yes, this looks very cool on video and it makes for very dramatic photos, but you're just looking for a mid-air collision.
Read THIS.
Paul
http://futurecam.com/skydive.html

[prost 0]

Paul has some really good tips. I film a little bit of everything but the most common is tandems. The points paul makes about gear safety holds true for every type of video. If you film tandems make sure you learn their gear so You will know if something is wrong. There are to many things to learn For this forum. I would not suggest doing anything untill you talk to an experienced camera flyer first. This will make things a lot safer for you and save you a lot of money in the long run.
William

[mountainman 0]

Here is something that HH has made for us HERE.
Good luck!
-------------
JumpinDuo.com...news, guestbook, and links.

[airdrew20012001 0]

To add my few cents:
1) Never try anything new or wierd until you have a lot of experience or have talked to someone who has done it, I found myself in the saddle at about 750 feet once while trying something new.
2) Comunicate with your subjects about break off altitude and procedure.
3) there are those, myself included, who would advise you disconnect your RSL while flying camera.
4) Find experienced camera flyers, ask them a lot of questions. Things you may think are safe can be bloody dangerous.
Relax and enjoy!
Drew

[SBS 0]

I know none of us like him and all, but I'll second what quade said. :-)
Something else that I would consider, is to start video before stills. That is a lot of additions to your routine, and probably won't give that much of a pay off right at the beginning anyway. It is more equipment, heavier, more connections, something else to turn on and off, not to mention taking the pictures while trying to learn how to camera fly. I would recommend that you consider starting just with video, because then you can focus on your aim and your flying, and look at the video to find the angles that may look good for a pictures.
Any thoughts from other camera guys?
Steve

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Start with video, it gives you instant feedback on the shots you were looking for, what works and what doesn't etc. Saves having to wait for developing.
And its fun to mess around with when you are not jumping.
tuppence worth....
D

[quade 3]

Quote

I know none of us like him and all . . .

Hey!
http://futurecam.com

[ltdiver 3]

What rgoper and quade wrote says alot. I've flown camera, both tandem, AFF, VrW, and mainly 4-way, and have seen some scarey stuff in other's lenses and up close. Be ready to jet that camera if needed. Your life is more important than any amount of $$. 3 camera flyers went in last year when their lines tangled with their equipment.
Let me relate a good friend's experience. He has 10,000 jumps and has been a National champion several years. When he experienced, last year, a spinning mal he cutaway, praying that his risers would clear his helmet. They did, but then his RESERVE started to spin!! He then jetted his helmet and the spin righted itself! Amazed, he looked over at the offending line and found the eye piece of one of the cameras wrapped securely by one of the lines. He gasped and grabbed the camera helmet and saved all the equipment. But shuttered of what would have happened if he hadn't released the helmet.
This is not to scare anyone, but his action saved his life, while the other 3 last year didn't take that action soon enough.
If you get involved in camera work, please talk with experienced cameraflyers at your DZ and really look at your set-up. Limit snag possiblities and be heads-up on -every- jump.
ltdiver
__________________________________________
http://www.discover.net/~ltdiver

[prost 0]

One of these "three", John Foster, was a friend of mine. I watched the video tape and that is not what happened in his situation. I would appreciate you not giving comments on his actions if you do not know what happened.
William

[WmLauterbach 0]

Dont trust anyone...
If you are filming a four way or more-way, expect someone in the formation NOT to track away... be prepared for it.
If you are filming AFF... expect the jumpmasters NOT to turn 180 degrees toward the head.... be prepared for that also.
If you are filming head down...... expect someone below you to cork... uh, be prepared for that also.
Know how to escape from your helmet... QUICKLY
Dont jump a new canopy with a camera until you have jumped it WITHOUT a camera...
Look for 'outs' EARLY.... A bad off DZ landing sucks, a bad off DZ landing with extra unbalanced weight on your head sucks more....
Remember that a camera sight conveiently doubles as something that obstructs your vision...
PS.... it also acts as an ancor point for suspension lines
Remember that while you are 'watching' the formation,
NO-ONE is watching you... many are the camera men that have been taken out by an over zealous swooper trying to beat his buddy to the formation....
Be smart... you have a few extra pounds on your head that your next wasnt designed to carry.... you are carrying those pounds while conducting an activity that the human body wast vuilt for......
Be safe...

[ltdiver 3]

Prost,
My heartfelt sympathies to John, you, and every friend who experienced the loss of a loved one last year. You are right, I did not see the video as you experienced.
My source, other than word of mouth, has been the fatalites pages that lists 3 camerflyer fatalities from helmet vs line wrap (Lousburg, NC, Lodi, CA, and Emerald Coast Elberta, AL) and 1 more (DeLand, FL) from a straight-in approach on a 2.0 wing loaded eliptical.
If my information on your friend was inaccurate, and he was -not- one of the line snag fatalities, my appologies.
Could you please contact the fatality pages creator, Barry Brumitt at [email protected] and help correct this error?
Peace and Blues Skies,
ltdiver
__________________________________________
http://www.discover.net/~ltdiver

[prost 0]

He was a snag fatality but not because he did not take the helmet off soon enough. One thing it is very important to do as a camera flyer is to make sure your main is cleared before you pull your reserve. This takes a little extra time and can not be done if you have a RSL. Another reason to pull a little higher. When John cut away his main he quickly pulled his reserve. The main had snagged on his helmet and he didn't even know. The two entangled. After this the damage was already done. The reserve never cleared the main. You can see him fighting it but there are to many problems.
Not all entanglements can be solved by ditching the helmet. True, if your reserve lines snag on the helmet, releasing it should clear the problem. If you do not wait some extra time after releasing your main, you are asking for trouble. If the main is snagged on the helmet, it is possible to not even realize it at first. Once they are entangled, releasing your helmet may not have any effect. John's mistake was not waiting long enough to see if his main cleared. For this reason, no camera flier should wear an RSL, and should never be pushing the lower end of opening altittudes.

[airdrew20012001 0]

I agree.