grega 0 #1 June 6, 2003 Please post your reasons on why do you do what you do with your head at opening."George just lucky i guess!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
parachutesj 0 #2 June 6, 2003 jumping a side mount. got a riser strike once... ouch. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grega 0 #3 June 6, 2003 Oh i forgot to post why i do it as i do. I lean my head back and pull my shoulders up to hold (protect) the neck in case of a hard opening. Plus i get to see if the canopy opens right."George just lucky i guess!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Faber 0 #4 June 6, 2003 i have leaned the head forward,avoidig sap by the riser,and the same til hol my nech so it dont get a wip.I look at the canopi as i colaps my slider and when i do my hook(well i see some of it...) Stay safe Stefan Faber Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #5 June 6, 2003 Ok....-why- would anybody want to put their neck into a vulnerable position on opening? If you look at the structure of the cervical spine, it is most supported when it is in line with the rest of the spine. If you put it forward, you run the risk of it getting whipped further forward into your chest. If you put it back, you could get a very nasty hyperextension (or whip lash) injury. I understand about putting your neck into the farther range of motion, thinking that it will prevent it from further injury, but IMHO this is exactly what puts it at risk. As for holding your chin on opening, well....I prefer to have my hands on my risers immediately while opening to 1) take care of anything weird that might develop and 2) be prepared for the unfortunate occurrence of someone else in my air space. I've had to deal with both of these in the past and was -sure- glad my hands were where they were. btw, most cameraflyers have a canopy that opens nice and slow, so hard openings -should- be a thing of the past. If you don't have a canopy that opens like that (and are a cameraflyer) PLEASE get one that does. 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
YahooLV 0 #6 June 6, 2003 Is that you with your NEW car??? Geez, nice and shiny! hehehhttp://www.curtisglennphotography.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #7 June 6, 2003 I'm pretty sure that's the car that poor LT had to put to sleep. Her new car is pretty dang cool though. I keep my neck straight and grab my risers as soon as the canopy stands me up. I clear my airspace on rear risers, turn off the camera, stow the slider, release my brakes and get to 1000 feet, turn the camera on, get my landing hopefully get swooped by a veteran canopy pilot for the customer's video, then de-gear and get the landing "whoo-hoo that was the most awesome thing I have ever done!" footage. My helmet is heavy but I can't figure out how I'd hold it or my chin during deployment. I did have to get new dress shirts for work, though, my neck is like an inch and a half larger since I started doing video and stills every weekend. edit: I jump Spectres Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShaggyFord 0 #8 June 6, 2003 I jump a crossfire, so I don't worry about spine allignment and all that stuff. I look up on deployment, hands to the risers and ride my nice looong opening. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sin 0 #9 June 6, 2003 QuoteOk....-why- would anybody want to put their neck into a vulnerable position on opening? If you look at the structure of the cervical spine, it is most supported when it is in line with the rest of the spine. If you put it forward, you run the risk of it getting whipped further forward into your chest. If you put it back, you could get a very nasty hyperextension (or whip lash) injury. I totally agree - I, too, keep my head straight looking at the horizon when opening...didn't always, though. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way. I previously used to fly a setup with a PC10 and a Sidewinder and I had gotten riser slaps that knocked off my wide-angle lens twice. So I got into the bad habit of slightly turning my head right and down to get the camera out of the way of the risers. Then I started flying a new setup - a heavier side-mount setup (PC-110 with huge battery side-mounted to a BatRak). I still used my bad habit to try to prevent riser slap damage and that worked fine for a while until that one day that I got that über hard opening and it whipped my head even further forward and slightly to the side. I ruptured a disc in my neck, which required surgery (not fun!). All better now but after that experience and further research (and common sense if you think about it) I have definitely modified my setup. After the surgery recovery period (six months without jumping!) I started flying an external lens mounted system with my camera in a bag around my waist. Pain in the ass to use and lesser quality but it has sufficed for the time. Now going back to helmet mounted system. Going for as light as possible - bought a PC105 which is just slightly lighter and smaller than the PC101, looking at the 2KComposites FFX because the camera installs from the inside which allows it to be more flush to the head (further away from risers and slightly better for weight distribution). FFX is supposed to be pretty light too (I'm sure it's lighter than a BatRak - it was kind of heavy - relatively speaking). Also, going with the new Diamond 0.3x and 0.5x low profile lenses (less likely to be hit and definitely lighter than standard lenses). A couple other things to help are lens coverage protection so even if the riser do hit it, it should be alright. Also, I have always tended to wear my chest strap really tight - I liked a snug rig. Although, this brought the shoulder straps of the harness closer together and closer to my head. Slightly loosening the chest strap gives it a bit better spread giving your head and camera a little more room. Haven't fully put the new system together yet but it's looking good here in the planning stages!! Sin Seriously, Sin I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy! PMS Groupie, Hispa #34 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #10 June 6, 2003 From my article HERE. Quote As the d-bag comes out of the container, I begin to sit up and shift my ring-sight to the horizon in an attempt to have my head, neck and back in a straight line as the canopy opens. I feel that this gives the best protection against neck strains, but obviously, this might not work for you. It does work well for me. No matter what your body position, you want to get your hands on your risers as quickly as possible between the time you deploy and full inflation. An additional benefit of looking toward the horizon during inflation is that in this head level position, you can watch out for team members doing short tracks and high openings. quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuteless 1 #11 June 6, 2003 going back over the years, I've jumped 16mm movie, 35 mm movie, stills of all sizes. I always used the side mount for motion picture film cameras, and on opening, I'd turn my head to have the camera in front iof me, and grab it with my hand, and grit my teeth. Sometimes it was hard on the neck, sometimes not too bad. My first motion pix camera was a 16mm Bolex, and I had a 5 lb ball of lead on the opposite side for a (uneeded) counterbalance. It soon was removed, and almost removed my head. Still cameras I mounted on the front of helmet, but preferred to have a wrist mount and look through the viewer, and select my shots. On opening, grit teeth and tuck my neck in like a turtle for the helmet mount, no problem with the wrist mount. I jumped with an IMAX camera, weight about 100 pounds. It was in a special housing (looked like planet Saturn) and after jumping a mock up first, and then the real camera....it thundered in. $100,000.00 all over the field. It almost hit a cow that was grazing close by. Have fun....but dont forget to grit your teeth.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chachi 0 #12 June 6, 2003 What I do is look forward until I have been sat up, at which point my hands are on my risers, I then watch the rest of the canopy inflate and watch for nasty weird stilletto openings. ~Chachi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Faber 0 #13 June 6, 2003 Quotei have leaned the head forward,avoidig sap by the riser,and the same til hol my nech so it dont get a wip.I look at the canopi as i colaps my slider and when i do my hook(well i see some of it...) i have reconsidered it.. from now on ill shake my head like a mad man(i cant be as im only a big boy),then if i cant get caught by the riseres ill cut my helmet any way and through it away.That way i guess most people on the ground ill get the oppertunety to see the madness in the jump. Well just be smart spear your neck as much as you can.... Stay safe Stefan Faber Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #14 June 7, 2003 QuoteIs that you with your NEW car??? Geez, nice and shiny! heheh QuoteI'm pretty sure that's the car that poor LT had to put to sleep. Her new car is pretty dang cool though. Yeah, that's my beautiful Mustang GT. Thought I'd keep it here for memory's sake for a bit. When I get some pics of my new 'rod, I'll change the view. Hope to have them in a few weeks. (2Fast2Furious (the movie) is lame. My car is better looking and travels better than -any- of those dustbins! ) 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
Unutsch 0 #15 June 7, 2003 well, i don't have as many camera jumps as i would like to, but on those i had, i allways kept looking at the horizont, thus trying to have my spine in a straight line... and even when i had a fast opening, i felt no pain at all, just this strange sensation that my spine was pushed together... it would be cool to measure how much smaller i was and i too jumped the camera with my chest strap really tight, but after 3 consecutive openings where the risers slaped the side mount and wacked my head, i started to loosen them a bit more, and now have absolutely no problems with that Check out the site of the Fallen Angels FreeflY Organisation: http://www.padliangeli.org Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
