LouDiamond

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well i have to go from the 22feb to the 2 may i have weekends and maybe some week days off i have to see how busy we are out there. i have just been informed that also we are staying in el centro for some time also again have'nt looked at a map as yet.

It's a safe bet to say you will be plenty busy and or otherwise occupied (stand by to stand by) but it sounds like you have plenty of time on the ground. El Centro is even deeper into the middle of no where than Yuma. No matter where you decide to go, its gonna be a boring ride and a bit of a drive for some weekend flying. If you decide to come to Eloy, let me know.

That's the one and only civilian operation in Columbia and they jump at flandes. The plane departs from bogota international airport and flies to flandes where you jump in on arrival over the dz roughly 30 mins after leaving Bogota and a dropzone departure altitude difference of 6000 ft. This means most jump in without their AAD on unless you have a vigil which can be offset that much at the departure airfield. There is also limited number of seats on the aircraft so some people drive to the dz. Jumping is usualy done the second weekend of the month and thats it. Sometimes there are special events organized by club members and the plane flies to and jumps at other locations, such as the Cali international Airport but they are not a regular occuring event.

Like you, I have one for work and it sits in a drawer. I prefer the MA-10 and the ruggadized Neptune for work jumps.

I agree with Walt, I think thats an Aerodyne slink.

I once saw a set of them put on upside down and when I questioned the owner about it he said that it worked better at keeping the slider from coming down over the soft link. I have no idea if that is actually true or not or if it would work in your situation but I thought I'd throw it out there for your to try and decide for yourself.

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But one question: Are there already atmo competitions, based on either artistic scores, and/or specific formations & maneuvers?

Yes, it's called Free Style and thats where the correct version of the maneuver is routinely done, not the bastardized version that is called ATMO.

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better mounting options, aluminum housing, waterproof.

You do realize you are going to pay almost double what you would pay for a standard Alti-track right? You are essentially paying for features you will most likely never use, the ALTISET feature for example as well as the ability to be submerged for 5 hours and then there is the cost associated with an aluminum housing. The standard version is water resistant and can handle the usual swoop pond dunking and is plenty durable to withstand recreational skydiving activity. If you want to mount it differently contact L&B and I am sure they can accommodate you with out having to purchase the military version. It's your money but I see no reason for you to pay close to $600, which is the ballpark cost, when it sounds like the standard version will fit your bill.

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Hey,

Looking at jumping in colombia while I´m here but can only find one DZ in Flandes. Are there anymore?

No, not open to the public that is. There are a few military DZs on military bases so you are pretty much limited to Flandes.

Why do you want this specific model?

You are not the first one to think this, there was an actual case of "failure to listen to the advise he was given" several years back that I witnessed first hand. The simple answer is no, do not use student mode. I watched an individual use student mode after the mfgr and I both explained to him that it was not a good idea. The next jump he had a 2 out, one in front of another that he decided he would land. Luckily he was able to land uninjured except for some grass stains on his suit. He was jumping a 7 cell base canopy as a main and was still able to cause his AAD to fire when he turned his canopy. I was about a 1000 ft above him at the time and happened to look down and watch the whole thing happen.

Very cool and a good article. Kudos.

For everyones information, Liquid now offers a true goggle in that it has an elastic strap that can be put on in lieu of the traditional sunglass arms, so you can switch back and forth as needed. It is called the T-flex and can be seen [/url "http://www.liquidpolarized.com/product.html?style=15"]HERE[url]

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Lou,

How do you find the weight balance of this helmet with your NVG's and are you using PVS14's or 15's?

Which helmet are you referring to, the ballistic, the bump or the base jump? 15's is what I am using. I haven't worn the base jump with NVGs and I'd be skeptical of doing so seeing how it felt like cheap plastic to me. I really think its only good for a Go Pro on a NVG mount and if you did run NVGs on it, you would need a good size counter weight as it felt lighter than a old school Pro Tech to me and you'd have to add bungees to it as it doesn't come with them. The base jump also has an under chin chin strap so you know it would roll on you like a MOFO

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Does this helmet have any mounting on the rear for a battery pack or would I have to mod it myself?

The base jump model has pile velcro on the back just like the other models so you could attach a battery pack and or a counter weight that had hook tape on it. The big difference is that the base jump doesn't have the Bungee cords coming out of the ARC rails and it doesn't have a military style chin strap but the base jump military version does.

This is for everyone participating in this thread. Save the drama/playground antics for some place else, if you want to pull each others hair, do it elsewhere. Giselle, et all, stop with the you said/he said crap. If you cannot have a discussion without calling each other names stop posting. I know it must be boring in the UK right now with not much jumping going on but it doesn't give anyone the right to violate the rules. Stay on topic and stay away from anything that could even be considered a PA. Failure to do so will result in a lengthy banning, again, that goes for everyone. You have been warned so don't get butt hurt when you find yourself banned from the forum. That is all, carry on with the topic.

To follow up on what Trunk mentioned, I am pretty sure the AC Ryan Playon!HD2 will indeed play your clips back to back , one after another. I had the chance to play with one and I seem to remember it having that capability. You can even create folders to place the clips in. Now, with that said, I don't know if it will help you achieve your end state or not, which is to edit the clips into a tandem video correct?

If you do decide to purchase a Playon@HD2 do some research as their website and others aren't very clear in some areas on what the difference is between each model and what you get and don't get either feature wise or in the box. For what you are doing the PlayonHD2 with a 1-2 TB hard drive is probably what you will want. I am picking this model up myself to do something a bit different than you but fundamentally the same. The other thing is that they don't sell them in the USA in stores (that I have found) , the one site listed on the AC Ryan website for sales in the USA is actually located in Canada. But seeing you are in Germany, you shouldn't have an issue as they seem more common in Europe than the USA and several stores stock and sell them.

http://www.acryan.com/wheretobuy/

A pretty decent video review can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeOuv0kYvXE&feature=related

Talk to Matt Hoover, he has the CD. He mentioned not long ago that he would help people with obtaining a copy since there is no longer a source to buy them from. Shoot him a PM/E-mail .

Here is some more discussion material I came across, skip to the 1:45 mark to save yourself some time. Enjoy.

I have the Ballistic and the Bump version of the OPS-core helmet and use them both for jumping. I also recently got to play with the base jump version. Its cheaper in cost but the feel between the bump and the jump is noticable due to it being a molded helmet. Most skydiving helemts are made of CF and the bump is made with CF so the feel is similar,the molded jump felt very plastic-e to me. With that said, they both come with the chin strap you mentioned and occ dial adjustment system as standard. I use the Go Pro NVG mount with my Go Pro and a contour on the ARC rail when I need to use NVGs.

With that said, jumping with a half shell isn't like jumping with a regular skydiving helmet, especially if you wear an audible. If you want a helmet that has the features of the jump/base but in a open face that can hold an audible, look at Boneheads military version called the Versa, they also make a half shell similar to the Bump(not on the website). I also have and use both of them and both are in the normal skydiver price range where as the Opscore bump is in the $600 range, BH's is made of similar materials and is in the $250-300 range. The jump is about the same/less but it is not in the same league material wise, its molded plastic and quite honestly,feels cheap. I don't see most skydivers liking or finding much use for a half shell that provides even less protection than the standard skydiving helmet but costs close to the same.

Ray Kubiak is like Keyser Soze, be carful what you wish for.

Kubiak's ruthlessness in the tunnel is legendary; he is described as having had enemies and disloyal team mates brutally schooled, along with everyone they hold dear, for the slightest tunnel infractions — and as having personally flown circles around people who have seen and can identify him. Over the years his tunnel flying empire, including the consumption of Monster and the creation of fresh moves and tricks flourishes as does his legend; he has become "a spook story that tunnel rats and wannabes tell their kids at night."

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I'll try to dig up some examples when I have some time.

No need to, I've been a first hand witness to several of them, I am more than familiar with the dynamics.

No, the ones I'm referring to all require you to manually lock the door in the up position. I do it by myself all the time and don't find it at all awkward. Not saying everyone may be able to do this but it is not impossible.

Can't have a reunion without some pictures.

As the linked video shows, the problem is that these collisions are historically happening either at a lower altitude, during the landing sequence, where cutting away might not be an option and or where there is no time for the user to react(during/immediately after deploying). Again, its a good idea and there is tech out there being developed to do this but it still won't prevent the problem of canopy collisions that is happening in civilian skydiving.

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this needs a video demo, you and DSE should go make one

I've already got a few that show just opening/closing the door. If I get the time I'll try and post them up. If someone has some bandwidth and can host them let me know as the files are pretty big.

I'll throw it out there so someone doesn't later say " I thought you needed two people to do it". While using two people is a good idea to open the door, it isn't required. One person can open/close a skyvan door once you know how it works. This can vary from aircraft to aircraft though.