research- camera flyers input required

[sky-pimp 0]

How many people have actually had a problem with snaging on there camera helmet ?

what i am looking for is peoples actual experiances with any kind of problem they have encountered due to the shape of there equiptment .

haw many of you have actually had a snag or near snag on your camera helmet and because of that experience what alterations did you make .

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YeHaaaaaaaaaaa

[pcalandra 0]

Thankfuly, other than a riser slap on the side of the helmet or having my ring site kicked off by a foot in the face on exit I've never had any other problems in about a 1,000 camera jumps.

[freefalle 0]

I've seen video of two seperate camera flyers that have had there ring site get snaged by a line both of them resulted in the ring site being torn off as they nylon screws are designed to do.

[jtval 0]

well, I dont fit your decsription but I wonder if when those SANGGED flyers vhime in if they could tell us if they are TOP or SIDE mounted.


My stat's are
I havent had any problems--top mounted
250 video jumps

My photos

My Videos

[quade 3]

Unfortunately, the people that had the worst cases can no longer post.

For example;
Jan Davis Killed in Lodi

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Miami 0]

I had an incident I posted about here.
Hope that helps...

Miami

[AndyMan 7]

I've had minor hangups on my sidemount a handful of times - not really a hang-up as much of me being able to feel the riser torquing my head out of the way. I've also had a few openings where a riser scraped the tip of my nose.

In a nutshell, I've had enough minor experiences to know that a major one is possible, and even likely - so I do my best to be prepared for when that happens.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[diablopilot 2]

Never had a problem, which is why I'm a firm believer in top mount systems.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[sdctlc 0]

I jump a top mount system and have had no issues. I hear about riser slaps and the like with side mounts but never wanted to go there so I have always gone for a top mount system. Now have a nice set up with a full batrack and have not had any issues. That said I also have a chin strp cut away system in place as well if I ever do.

Scott C

edited to add: I dont have an issue with side mounts but I "see" some potentials for snags that I never wanted to visit. I think if it is approached correctly and people use the new "clean helmet" designs that are out there they are fine.. I think its safe to say that given that its proven by the number of them out thereand the lack of incidents comming from them other then riser slaps and other minor things. I am not saying that top mounts are perfect at all but I just personally like a top mount system better and in turn feel better jumping with it....

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[ltdiver 3]

Sobering statistics.

Cameraflyers and Incidents.

http://www.skydivingfatalities.info/search.asp?MinDate=1%2F1%2F1990&MaxDate=31%2F12%2F2005&Place=&State=&Country=US&Category=&MinAge=17&MaxAge=78&UnknownAge=on&MinJumps=0&MaxJumps=15000&UnknownJumps=on&AAD=&RSL=&Description=camera&DescriptionOperator=OR&Lessons=&LessonsOperator=OR

Jan Davis is on March 31, 2001, along with another camera/canopy snag fatality just a few days before on March 24. Both very experienced cameraflyers.

It still gives us pause. These two incidents, so close together, caused many of us to stop and re-evaluate why we got into cameraflying in the first place and if we would continue.

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[x3mcam 0]

Top mounted lot of shit on a FTP.
~1000 cam jobs - nuthin more then a few riser slaps. (lost a protrack once, the old Sabre kicked me!)
Except for a Skysystems Vapor taking off into the horizon at linetrech after the locking system broke.

Ringsite attached with a steel rod, no plastics here, but that can also break, if you are dumb enough as I was. Borrow you helmet to some-one who doesn't know what to do - slammed into the TM's back!

knock-knock, no reserve rides either :)

Tomppa

[jtval 0]

Quote

Never had a problem, which is why I'm a firm believer in top mount systems.

two great things about top mounts are.
1- NO RISER SLAP ( at leas tin my experience)
2- ONE line of sight!

I dont like ring sights either I go with the old paper asshole ( loose leaf ring reinforcer) it's as close to free as possible and it is just as useable as a ringsight, but doesn't add a snag while it enhaces youre ability to center your object

My photos

My Videos

[garywainwright 0]

2500 camera jumps with no hang up problems.

I top mount my cameras,
I stow my excess brake line,
I have my ring sight on my left eye (ie opposite to my deploying hand)
On 3 cutaways i took a good 3-4 seconds from chopping to pulling my reserve handle to make sure i was flat and stable (obviously no rsl and plenty of altitude)

And i do have a cutaway system.

gary

http://www.garywainwright.co.uk

Instagram gary_wainwright_uk

[Fuzzy 0]

My stuff has always been top mounted, with multiple cameras and ring sight. So far no hang ups or other such problems, but also no cutaways while wearing the camera.....yet

I do however know of / have seen:

Sidemount Systems
Two side mounts snagged by risers during cutaways. In one case it broke the box housing the camera (not a D-box, but home made if memory serves right). Also saw video a few years ago of an unstable reserve deployment where you can see the person "hand feed" the freebag bridle past the camera. Although still jumping alot, pretty sure this person has not worn a camera since.

Top Mounted
A jumpers canopy blew up & ended up with lines flying all over the place, and had to clear the lines away from the camera before cutting away. Can't remember if they had a cutaway system or not.

In all cases the people landed without further problems. In the last two incidents, I'm not sure if top or sidemount would have faired any better or worse over the other.


I don't have a problem with either set up, but always tell people who ask, to find out and know the inherent problems with either one and be ready to deal with them.

Fuzzy
Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

[steveorino 7]

Before my Flat Top I had a still mounted on top of an Optic along with a side mount video. I've had the wide angle lens slapped off but I guess that doesn't constitute a snag. I did however have a tandem droque thrown over my head as we left the plane. Ireached up and unsnagged it then "asked" the TM if he could throw the droque a little later rather than right off the step.

steveOrino

[davelepka 4]

Quote

Ireached up and unsnagged it then "asked" the TM if he could throw the droque a little later rather than right off the step.

Thats a joke right?

[steveorino 7]

I wish ... all too true. I had video of it, but when I showed the video to the TM to ask him to throw it a little later, I accidently hit record and recorded over it (but not until he saw it and his response was "Oh, sh#&!"

He's been better about it since then.

steveOrino

[davelepka 4]

Quote

I wish ... all too true

I'm sorry, we had a miscommunication.

I was hoping your request to hold the drouge was the joke.

It's your job not to be downstream on the relative wind. Always.

The TM's should be able to get the drouge as soon as safely possible. If there was a way to staic line the drouges, for the sake of the TM, I'd be all for it.

Your influence on the dive flow of anything you're filming should be zero.

[steveorino 7]

I left on his exit and he tossed on the step. Not a single person here at the DZ (including the TM) thought it was my fault.

How would you keep from being downstream of the relative wind in this video?

http://www.skydivevideo.info/497brennatandem.wmv

steveOrino

[pcalandra 0]

I forgot to add that I had a cutaway from a spinning malfunction last year with my FTP and didn't have a problem. As I located my handles I kept my chin down as I choppped and didn't bother to look up and film it. I waited until I felt the main leave and then looked at the horizon :)

[davelepka 4]

Quote

How would you keep from being downstream of the relative wind in this video?

If you're talking about the exit, I'd either get off on time, which would have been earlier than what we saw, or I'd recognize that I missed the exit, and trail the tandem.

The only time you should be downstream of the tandem is on the step. This why you leave before them, it clears their airspace to throw the drouge. It's the only way to get under them to get pictures with the plane in the shot.

TM's should be free to conduct their skydive as if there was no video.

[Superfletch 1]

I was demoing a friends rig one time and when I was setting up for my hook I got my sidemount hooked up in the risers which hampered me from looking over my shoulder at my landing area... Everything turned out fine but it was a scarry couple of seconds not being able to line things up correctly.

Since then I have decided to not wear my camera helmet when flying new gear for the first time.

Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher
D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I
Videographer/Photographer

[dzolloyd 0]

I am the DZO and the pilot of the cessna 182 in this video. This is not the only time this tandem master has thrown the drogue on the step. He actually leaves the door with his hand on the drogue handle. The drogue has barely missed the tail of my plane on at least a half dozen exits. I have had talks with this tandem master about this type of exit, which I will not tollerate at my DZ, and he promises to do better and has. ALL tandem masters should be stable before deploying the drogue in normal jump situations. If they are not confident in their flying skills (exiting), maybe they should not be doing tandems.

GET SOME, altitude!

[RM1 0]

I had an incident about 3 months ago. i was flying a side mount with a bonehead box and about 2 seconds after exit another camera flyer and i collided facing each other. The very second we hit the 2 helmets locked together and put us in a head down position. Long story short we spent about 4k feet trying to free our selves with no luck. I could tell the other guy was about to cut his helmet so i grabed a firm hold of it. Once he was out his helmet i was almost instantly able to free it from my helmet and i held it for the rest of the jump and ended up landing with it. Once on the ground i noticed a slight dent in the red cable that holds the BH box shut. Apparently his ring site managed to find its way between the red cable and the camera lens and got stuck. Prior to the jump and long with any other camera jump i always go over every part of the helmet that could be an issue to include making sure the cable was pushed all the way in. All said and done he lost his protrack and the big pad in his BH optik.

[davelepka 4]

Quote

I am the DZO and the pilot of the cessna 182 in this video. This is not the only time this tandem master has thrown the drogue on the step

Well that really sucks for you. Either way, the camera flyer should be off the plane BEFORE or AFTER the tandem. Either of these situations will result in the drouge going right past the camer flyer, not into them.

If the drouge had become stuck on the camera flyer, that would have been a problem. If the tandem had been mis-rigged, or a drougne release handle pulled in the climbout, that would be a bigger problem.

Anyway you look at it, a camera flyer cannot stop others from making mistakes. They can however, do their job, and stay clear of the action, as opposed to adding to the trouble.