murrays 0 #1 March 7, 2003 One of the local skydivers just got back from a trip to Zephyr Hills. While there he bought a Sky Systems helmet, stuck his PC-9 in it and went up for a skydive...and forgot to do up the chinstrap! As his helmet floated off at about 11,000 feet he was thinking, "Man am I dumb!"He landed and went out looking with another guy. After about 45 minutes they found the helmet next to the runway. My buddy picked up the helmet, turned the camera switch to off and then to camera again. It beeped and shut down due to low battery. He took it back to the dz, put a fresh battery in it and it started up just fine. So, he rewound the tape, watched the video of the 11,000 foot freefall, impact and the 30 minutes it took for the battery to run down while it lay on the ground.His helmet is fine and the PC-9 seems fine. Pretty amazing!-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #2 March 7, 2003 You have GOT to get a copy of that helmet going in.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #3 March 7, 2003 I'll talk to him tomorrow an dsee if he wouldn't mind sharing on here.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Craig 0 #4 March 7, 2003 Quote You have GOT to get a copy of that helmet going in. Heh, no doubt. You can check out one on http://www.skydivingmovies.com under the public/misc directory with a filename GoodbyePC1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mountainman 0 #5 March 7, 2003 The one with the PC1 turns off in the middle of freefall doesn't it ? I thought it did... or maybe it just gets spinning too fast to see anything. I can't remember. I would love to see that video from recently as well ! That is so awesome that it survived the impact. It must have landed JUST right.http://www.brandonandlaura.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicknitro71 0 #6 March 7, 2003 Man, that's funny! Buy you said the helmet got out at 11,000 but I see a canopy inflating right when the helmet took off. Also, where's the landing?Memento Audere Semper 903 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JumpHog 0 #7 March 7, 2003 Earlier this summer, one of our videographers lost his Flat-top Pro, along with his PC9, on opening. The helmet went into the woods and after several days of searching, he was unable to find it. About 4 months later, one of the locals shows up with the muddy, battered helmet. Apparently, he was walking in the woods when he heard a beeping sound. He followed the beeping and found the helmet half-buried. Turns out that the battery on his Time-out audible was low and began beeping. Upon inspecting the helmet, it looked pretty bad. The camera was top-mounted with no protection. Hoping to recover the footage, we opened the camera and removed the tape and let both dry for several days. The footage from the tape was pretty incredible. The most incredible part was that after 'bouncing', the camera kept recording for 45 minutes until the tape ran out. The biggest shocker was that not only did the camera power up, but it worked flawlessly. It played and recorded just fine, and the the touchscreen still worked like new. Considering this camera went in at ~100mph, and then sat in the rain, snow, and freezing temperatures for 4 months, I couldn't believe the thing still worked fine. Needless to say, Sony camcorders rock!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mountainman 0 #8 March 7, 2003 Someone should collect these stories and send them to Sony. WOW !!! I bet these videos would make it on RealTV.http://www.brandonandlaura.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #9 March 7, 2003 QuoteMan, that's funny! Buy you said the helmet got out at 11,000 but I see a canopy inflating right when the helmet took off. Also, where's the landing?I haven't gotten a copy of my friend's footage yet, the clip you checked out was somebody else's. Will try and get a copy over the weekend.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skychic68 0 #10 March 7, 2003 Unfortunatle, somtimes a cameras freefal to the earth below is instant death. My camera buddy had to cut away his helmet and lost his TRV. Not really protected by a box. Found it later and it was totaled!!. wow, if that had been his head....... But Sony does ROCK!!Que sera sera Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
konradptr 0 #11 March 8, 2003 That sucks that other people's PC9s are falling from the middle atmosphere and still working, and mine goes 45 days out of warranty, and starts acting up. And Sony wants almost $300 to look at it and fix it... ------------------------------------------ Getting banned isn't that bad...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cpoxon 0 #12 March 8, 2003 Have a similiar story myself. My helmet chin strap came lose after a freefall collision. After establishing that both parties were okay, we quickly tracked off. The air got under my helmet and lifted it off. I helplessly watched it quickly slow down above me out of my reach. Only had a vague idea of where it landed and a search with some friends failed to find it. A local farmer found it a few weeks later in a muddy field and it was eventually returned to me. The ProTrack was still attached and functioning and I was able to download and determined the helmet struck the ground about 50mph! The PC1, which was in a D-box, still functioned and the attached stills were retrieved from the tape! The camera pointed up and the helmet started to spin as it fell so apart from the few initial shots, the rest of the footage contains a rotating sky and canopies until the camera switches off on impact. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cajones 0 #13 March 8, 2003 Perhaps dropping it from altitude would fix it?... I'd recommend progressively higher altitudes, though. Don't just try it from 11 grand, maybe start with 5 or 6 feet, and go higher bit by bit, 'til you find the correct altitude that fixes your particular problem. Unless, of course, each camera is only good for one fall. In that case, take it as high as you can and drop it, since the higher altitudes also include all of the altitudes below it. In the Navy, we called it "percussive maintenance." The laws of physics are strictly enforced. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KawiZX900 0 #14 March 10, 2003 for sure. do it with a proposal for users stories pitch for a t.v. ad and maybee promise to send them the footage, do testimonials etc once the palm is nice and greasy free cams and a grand sounds about right Accelerate hard to get them looking, then slam on the fronts and rollright beside the car, hanging the back wheel at eye level for a few seconds. Guaranteed reaction- Dave Sonsky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #15 March 14, 2003 QuoteYou have GOT to get a copy of that helmet going in.I got a copy of the video and burned it onto DVD for my friend. He is going to send it to Sony marketing department. I have a Quicktime file to post but am going to wait until he hears back from Sony....the value might go down if it is all over the internet. It is pretty funny!-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #16 June 23, 2003 At long last, here is the video of my friend;s camera going in at ZHills last winter. I apologize for the file size..18.7 mb. I also forgot to set it up to stream so you'll likely have to wait for it to finish downloading before playing. If you frame by frame it near the end, you'll see it fall by canopies just before impact. Quicktime needed to view.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #17 June 23, 2003 Geeze!!! That's scary shit! Talk about an adrenaline rush!! ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freakydiver 0 #18 June 24, 2003 Mine too )-: Never dropped it or anything and it won't focus for a damn right now. I'll bet I'm dropping 300 bux here pretty soon )-: -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." -- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
