costanza

not sure about the OP, but I'm planning on getting a 1650 case. anyone that knows me from work will understand why i have to spend some time looking for a non-black/tan/od-green one. sadly, mil civ's don't get the same discount on luggage that you active duty folks do...

sweet that's just what i was looking for. so, you'd recommend the 1650? i'll have to check at work and see what we have laying around and do some sizing of my gear after the holidays. have you had any trouble checking it, as long as it's locked? any idea how much the overweight charges are, or is that per airline i wonder? doesn't fit your helmet or any reason not to put it in there too? you don't happen to have a picture of all your gear packed up in the case, and one showing all the stuff you're able to fit in there?

i've been looking for a solid gear bag for travel to the dz, and now that i seem to be bringing my rig every time i travel, something good for the airplane. this looks like it would be solid for gear, but does it offer much protection under the plane? i'd be worried about my rig getting crushed somehow or have another face shield smashed on my helmet. it doesn't look like it would fit in the overhead bin either. i would be curious to hear if anyone has any advice on using this exclusively as a gear bag for travel and how it works out.

thanks ken. that's exactly the idea we are going for, i'll look/ask in there. I don't think i know anyone that actually uses one anyway.

looking for a sample flysight data file, anyone out there have one I could look at? typically, how big are the files on average? anyone have an idea on the amount of data this thing generates (x MB/min)? to anyone that has a flysight, do you use it, how is the data that comes off, useful? how easy is it to use, any issues with device orientation?

most commercial GPS chipsets update at 1 Hz (update once per second). There exist chipsets that update faster, but would result in the units costing thousands of dollars a piece, or Recon would have to sell millions of units to offset the costs. edit: GPS also has an issue when there exists little movement in x or y coordinates. if you have a gps system, and stand still, you can see that your position floats around and jumps, speeds are not consistent, etc., as GPS requires movement from one coordinate to another. This is great for any flying with movement over the ground (ws, tracking) and useful while under canopy, but less useful under most free fall and tracking conditions.

Know what else does this? Jumping with experienced fliers. You'd get far better footage and far better advice and the most it would cost you is a jump ticket. What even? This is a terrible analogy. Are you sitting there telling them your trashpack is superior? It'll open, what's there to be afraid of? I have disagree with you linwood, and agree with excaza on this one. i'll give you two examples. first, i taught myself how to snowboard. it's not hard, done in a day for new people. just take your time and figure it out. was i able to get down the mountain? sure. was i doing it as confidently and as well as i could have? nope. a one hour lesson corrected many of my learned errors. you can only learn so much from watching something. you won't get that nuance. to parallel your 5 seconds comment, seeing 5 seconds is great! i'd be super excited, and tell everyone and their mother. but you know what? without any sort of proper instruction or mentorship, you have no idea how to improve, because you have no idea where you started from. you need to have that transition of knowledge. another example i'll put out there - how i learned how to fly in a wind tunnel. i sat there in the waiting section for 3-4 flights ahead of me, and then a retired sergeant major looked at me and said 'go.' that was the depth of my instruction - one word. when it was time to learn how to fly military equipment he said 'put this on and get back in.' the first time i sort of figured it out. i gave them some good laughs. the next time i went in he was there to coach me. i figured out what to do with my arms, my legs, etc., but there were subtle nuances that I would not have known without his guidance. in fact, a direct contradiction to your statement, some of those first flights i was in there alone, and have to figure out how to fly on my own. i developed some bad body position habits I carry to this day. so, no, those 5 seconds of video do not provide you with any sort of metric with which to gauge your success or failure. if that were the case, we would all be jumping cameras, in wingsuit flocks, on jump 10.

I have RX sunglasses I wear with my fullface, and have contacts+well fitting goggles I can wear with my open face. One note for people looking to jump glasses and a fullface. Make sure you try on the helmet with the glasses you intend to jump! I had an issue the first time with my glasses that their shape was too wide when the shield was down - they ended up digging into my nose and bending down lifting off my ears. Also, make sure the temples aren't too wide so that when you put on the helmet, the temples aren't digging into the side of your head, or bending the glasses themselves. I bought my glasses first, since I need them to see, and found a helmet or other solution that worked. If someone wants to buy a helmet first, make sure you bring it when you buy your glasses to make sure they are going to fit properly. Another quick note, everyone know's these helmets are tight. I have to take my sunglasses off through the face shield to take my helmet on and off. Just make sure you don't forget where you put them, or have a safe spot in the plane to rest them where they won't fall/get stepped on.

I know how you feel. Not too many jumps compared to others, low 40s, but had the same experience with rental gear that you did. That's the problem - you're using rental gear. Every time I rented gear, it was almost always a different canopy. That makes it hard to time your flares. You don't have the same confidence in the canopy only because you don't have as much experience with it. How broken in some of those canopies were also adds to the flare, as does a host of other factors. I think the biggest thing you can do is to try and get the same canopy if you are renting gear. That way, you can build up some of that muscle memory and confidence. Once you get your own gear, that learning curve will start again. One thing I thought was a good idea was to try different canopies every time I rented, when I could, to try out different models. Like getting a different rental car when you travel. Sadly, it takes more time to learn the subtle nuances of a canopy than it does for a rental car. Why the hell do they still make cars with crank windows and manual locks??? Hope that helps!

Two drop zones you might want to check out are Jumptown in Orange, MA (http://www.jumptown.com/) and Skydive New England in Lebanon, ME (http://www.skydivenewengland.com/). SNE has bunks on site to stay in and places to put up a tent, I don't know if Jumptown has similar accommodations readily available. Both are about 1.5 hours from Cambridge. I've driven to both, if you have any questions shoot me a PM.

Some painkiller might be useful for sure if you plan on spending a lot of time in there. If you do plan on spending a lot of time in there I would also bring some chapstick or something like it, and saline nasal spray.

slightly off topic, but I owe you eleventy bajillion dollars... yes, it's an interesting idea, but as mentioned above, the amount of parasitic drag that will be generated will prevent a ram-air canopy from performing as it's designed. Like many other things, an interesting 'solution' in search of a problem.

I have the Bonehead Havok (gen 1 to the Revolve), and noticed my last jump in NE was fogging up pretty bad. Likes others have said, it might have been those particular conditions. Also, if you are looking to get a full face because you wear glasses, make sure you bring them with you when you try them on! I had to go through a bunch of options before finding one that didn't mash them into my face.

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_20588007/longmonts-quiet-skies-rumbles-over-prank-i-love

not sure which section to post this under. this last week it was announced that the 2016 Olympics in Rio will drop windsurfing for a new kitesurfing event. it's great to see kitesurfing will be getting a huge visibility boost, such a fun sport. http://www.internationalkiteboarding.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4287&Itemid=267 has there been discussions among USPA about trying to get some sort of skydiving event into the summer games as well? perhaps an accuracy competition? I know there are already world competitions, which seem like the natural precursor to an Olympic event. I know people will bring up the various licensing and legal regulations (would US jumpers be bound by the FAA regulations, regulations of the host nation, rank all regulations and pick the most strict?). what do you think?

it is probably designed to be two stages like that to reduce the risk of the bridle wrapping around the wing or vertical stabilizers.

i had that happen to me too, first time i spent about an hour in the tunnel with an open face helmet. the membranes in your nose get dried out and it causes microsurface cracks. the capillary blood vessels in your nose are very close to the surface, and once the microcracks begin, you sneeze once, and you rupture the capillaries. expensive solution, get a full face if you don't already have one. cheap and easy solution - get a bottle of saline nasal spray at cvs, walgreens, etc. and after each jump, give each nostril a puff. worked for me at least.

I have a pair of the original recon goggles in my desk drawer. The idea is nice, but the gen 1 i have is just massive. You really do have to have the right head/face shape and structure to wear them comfortably, and still be able to see the HUD screen. I have not seen any of the newer models to see how the new design fits. Did they end up going to an Android platform on the newer models as well?

what did you think of the altitude steps marked on the dial face?

250 feet +/- seems like an awful lot of altitude variation. but, digi's having only 10% of that in error? is the sensor technology that different where digi's can get such better accuracy? are some using a GPS altitude v. baro, or combination? I would think the baro sensors would be more accurate, unless it's just a new baro sensor v. an older one.

My interest in the log book function is purely my own. I can track my own progress easier that way. I always plan on filling out a paper log regardless. If the battery goes, does the entire device stop working, or just the data logger?

Am curious to hear people's preference on altimeters, analog v. digital. For jumpers fresh off student status, I feel like the general response will be analog since that's what you just used for the last 20-something jumps, and are getting familiar with it. Getting deeper into the analog comparisons, what are the thoughts on the Altimaster GIII v. Altitrack? I do like the log book function, but the pencil and paper route has worked for many year already. My biggest concern is the steps used in the face itself. Does anyone have one and found it slightly confusing at first? Easy/Easier to read? Still putting together my gear and I know which to get is something I will agonize over, for no good reason.