danielskydiver

I personally never had problems with the connexion, which is the 90 degree plug that doesn't stick out very far. But one of my colleagues made a tiny 3D printed case for his plug, to keep it from bending. i'm going to check up on that when i'm at the DZ

I completely agree with the advice given before, a telezoom is not the most straightforward way to get footage. However, if (for whatever reason) you decide to use the 55-210, it helps to screw off the reversed lens shade, that gives you a bit extra space and might even be enough to allow the gopro to be pointed correctly.

Being a light (62kg) tandemvideot for the past 400 jumps, I found out a couple of things to keep in mind buying a suit and flying it. At first, although obvious, make sure the suit itself is form-fitting your body. This can be a tailor made suit, but can also be a cheap 2nd hand if you're lucky. For the wings, most important is the ability to fully collapse them if needed. When I bought a new suit, the wings initially extended all the way to my forearms, so even if i kept my arms closed, the wings would still have drag and float me away from any fast-falling tandem pair. I had the wings reduced to my elbow, and it hasn't been a problem since. So basically I just collapse the wings if I want to fall fast, and extend them when I want to get another angle or fall slower (believe me.. there are always tandem pairs falling even slower than you ) Wings don't necessarily make you fall slower; in my video suit, i'm actually able to fall significantly faster than my RW suit that has booties and grips sticking out. Regarding the fallrates; a part of that should have already been resolved by collapsing wings and a tight suit. Practicing arching helps a lot as well. I personally am able to fly without weights now, and it saves me lots of energy on back-2-back loads running back and forth. Using weights is not a crime though; if you need it, use it. If you need any more tricks, give a shout or pm

Though i'm not jumping a super heavy setup (cx115 and sony nex), I do support my helmet during opening: After I've pulled my pilot, I support my helmet by grabbing it at cheek level on both sides. By doing this, I basically carry the complete helmet, making it unable to rotate or snap forward. During opening I try to look at the horizon as well. This trick worked perfect for me last ~500 camera jumps, including those on a Sabre 1 Daniël

Changed it in my profile to avoid miscommunucation

Go with 2.5 indeed, follow what was teached you. I assumed they didn't teach an altitude at all, so that's why I mentioned 2k. Yeah I know I don't have tons of jumps and i'm certainly not a skygod but it's just the way we teach the students to do. Whether it's high enough or not is a second discussion. But I agree, extra altitude is never a bad thing.

Hey man, good to hear you did go on with the most awesome sport in the world I have a little tip regarding your EP's; we teach students a decision altitude, 2.000ft. When they don't have a 'land-able' parachute at 2k, chop it. It's quite simple but it's a very useful tool to know whether or not you have time to deal with a mal. Why 2.000ft? Because you have plenty of time to execute your ep's and land your reserve at a proper location

yeah that's also what I think, the relative wind is in tracking right at my altimeter (hand mount, faced down) so the pressure will be higher. As long as you aware of the difference it isn't dangerous, but when I saw my altimeter 'tripping' I was curious if it was an error in the alti itself, luckily it's not

I use Birdz Vision goggles with my 2x helmet, especially the wide strap is comfortable in a narrow helmet like this. I've put around 100 jumps on this configuration and the only thing I sometimes feel is the plastic buckle at the back of my head, you solve the problem by simply putting your helmet and goggles on again. I have the same problem with the goggle jumping in my eyes, I just leave them on under canopy. Only when i really need to put them of, I pull it down over my ears and chincup, the only downside of this is that you can't put them on again without getting your helmet off. blue skies!

Hey everyone, Since one season i'm using the neptune N3 digital altimeter, a really improvement from the analog rentals (IMO) because it's much more accurate. However, when i'm tracking away after a FS-jump and look at my altimeter, it tells me al lower altitude than actual, I see this because when i'm returning in bellyfly to pitch, my altimeter goes up about 100-200 feet. So to make it clear; Track-away > reading altimeter in tracking until 3500ft > returning to belly > altimeter says 3600/3700ft and then drops as usual. I think it has something to do with the higher air pressure in tracking. Has anyone experienced a similar situation? maybe with other digital alti's?

I've got your point now, I think we just disagree. Indeed it would save me some money if i'd buy a non-camera helmet. In this case it would save me about 100-150€ when i buy the Tonfly Performer or Speed instead. For that 100-150€, i'd rather want a helmet which is capable of flying camera. Even if I never going to fly one, it's still a good plain helmet. But when I want to try camera, or I only fly camera at some jumps, It's possible on a save way with the helmet without buying a new helmet right away. Like axelander said:

You've got a point there, and indeed this helmet isn't made for big photo/video setups, and I don't expect it to be. I just want to be able to jump a gopro (or similar small cam) safely; with the non-camera helmets, you are forced to use the standard gopro mounts, which I think aren't very save.. So the main point for me to buy a camera helmet is the flat top section, this allows me to install a bracket and mount the cam on a saver way. (correct me if i'm wrong) So all in all, I want a funjump helmet, with options to mount a gopro etc. on a save way. Here's an image of the helmet+bracket http://www.tonfly.com/res/site15975/res618219_new-2.jpg

Safety is of course my first priority. But could you explain what's less save about flying a helmet with camera mount without camera? The helmet has the same shape as a multi-purpose helmet, only with a (quite small) flat area on the top and a integrated camera mount. In my (sky puppie) eyes, the mount won't increase the risk of line snags etc. or am I wrong? Daniël

Thanks for all input! I still think i'm going for the tonfly, because i've read a lot of positive reviews, almost no negative points. @piisfish: Jumping isn't going to be a problem, this season i'm trainee at a DZ so I can jump for 'free'

Hey guys, I'm planning to buy an open-face helmet, I think the Tonfly 2x. This helmet has a chincup with hard or soft ratchet straps. The soft ratchet straps remove the rigidity of the chincup and allow the mouth to be moved better. I'm used to rental helmets with a normal chinstrap, those hemets aren't very comfortable. Is a chincup is more comfortable? Since I have just 23 jumps, I'm not allowed to jump camera yet, but I want a helmet with the possibility to mount a cam when i'm allowed to. So all in all: should I buy soft or hard ratchet straps? Or should I consider a different helmet without chincup? Blue skies! Ps. Does anyone has good/bad experience with Tonfly helmets?