Nicknero1405

Getting a good frame is step 2 of camera flying. I've barely begun step 1. How are you supposed to get a frame when you jump solo? You see nothing but blue skies, so that's not going to work. Step 1 is to get used to having something on your head while still keeping your mind to the jump and not to the camera. I don't have enough FS jumps to take the camera with FS yet anyway, so I'll take this chance to jump camera solo, and get my FS number to 200+ without camera before I'm taking it with me in FS jumps.

Instructors with less than 200 jumps. Sorry, but what!?!

Thanks for the message Bill, Last weekend I decided to just take the step and make my first camera jump. And I have to say, it was pretty good. Even though it was a solo jump, I trained my mind good enough to not make the camera a distraction, and it worked just fine. For now, I'll be making lots and lots of solo camera jumps before I take the next step into taking it along in groups. I guess I can see it as taking the student route all over again. One step at a time, and as few risks as possible at a time. For those interested, you can view my first camera jump here. https://nicknero1405.stackstorage.com/s/Hi794pM6AfZLvGH

When I started to skydive, I was thinking the same thing as this guy. "Cool I passed my AFF, time to put a camera on my helmet and start making awesome footage (of nothing but blue skies and clouds). What could possibly go wrong!" Hell, right now, two years later I finally (barely) meet the requirements to actually bring a camera. I got my B license, enough jumps, an (as much as possible)snag-proof roller mount, chin-cup quick-release, etc etc. But every day closer and closer to the weekend where I'm thinking about asking my instructor for official permission, I get more uncomfortable and scared that I screw something up. I've seen enough videos, and read enough stories where it goes wrong. And I want to be absolutely sure that the camera is not going to be a distraction for me. So if I ever end up using the camera, I'm going to only use it for SOLO jumps until I'm absolutely 100% guaranteed that the whole ordeal has become muscle memory where I can keep my full attention to the actual jump, and not the damn camera. And most importantly: Ask your local instructors for advice. It'll save your life.

Idk what in my message made you think the slider replacement was before the cutaway. It was after it, and by the two jumps I did with it, it was a huge improvement.

The slider has been replaced by a slightly bigger one BUT has two holes made into it to release wind pressure on it and making it come down faster. They said it's a common "fix" against hesitant sliders. I got to test it out twice and both openings were perfectly fine. Roughly about 500-800ft which is normal. However I broke my arm on a completely unrelated accident (fell over and caught myself with my arms) so I'm going to be stuck to the ground for a month or two.

It is being inspected this week, and I'm already negotiating having it replaced by a (much younger and probably better) 190 canopy. Would cost me some extra obviously, but well worth it. I honestly lost my trust in this canopy after that incident. And not trusting your own gear is not a good way to enter that plane again...

Haha yeah I know. I edited any post I could to fix that. But OP can't be edited anymore. Idk how I got by the wordt snuffle... o.O I guess I just overheard someone saying it at some point and thought I heard him say that instead of snivel. It's funny because "snuffel" is dutch for sniffing. Kinda like the chute sniffing the sky before fully deploying.

No I didn't. Honestly, I didn't even think that was an option. I was too busy pulling the rear risers and before I knew it I was at 2000ft. Altitude goes down really fast in such stressful situations. Yes... Yes I did for sure. I'm not denying that I made mistakes. I'm lucky that everything ended well with 0 injuries. I've learned my lesson, and I will do everything I can to avoid allowing this to happen again. Which includes, but is not limited to: The magical 2 flares, having my canopy checked by a rigger (Which is currently in process), perhaps opening higher for the next couple of jumps to make sure everything is fine, and being even more cautious while packing.

It was a Triathlon 210. (They say Triathlon is known for it's long snivels) I have had this rig ever since jump 25. So I have somewhere between 80-90 jumps with it myself. And it was a bit of an old canopy already. Although I forgot how many jumps it has done before me. Could be anywhere between 200 and 500 I guess. Either way, I have had long snuffles with this canopy every once in a while from the moment I bought it. Sometimes it opens extremely fast (Almost uncomfortably fast) and sometimes it takes a really long time for it to open. But never did it as long as that day I had to pull the reserve.

With a little over 100 jumps, I had my first reserve procedure. Story behind it? Well... My first jump of 2016, happened on the 10th of jan 2016 and I had a VERY long snuffle. Or however you call the process of deployment where the slider hasn't come down yet when you're still slowing down from terminal velocity. Anyway, I had the bad luck that the slider enjoyed it's time a little too much inside my main as it refused to come down. I opened on 3,500ft and the chute came out of the bag just fine. But at 2,000ft my beeper went off (Alarm to indicate that this is the time to decide if you chop the main or not.) But I got into a brain-freeze and I didn't know what to do. I had my hands on the back risers and I was pulling like a mad-man trying to get the chute to fully deploy, And eventually it finally fully deployed. I looked at my altitude and it said 1,200ft. HOLY SHIT! That could have ended way worse. It's simply too low for comfort and I should have already cut away. But for some reason I didn't. Second jump the parachute opened just fine. But third jump, it happened again. But this time I was prepared. If my beeper goes of again, I'm chopping this son of a bitch!. I looked at my altitude and it was dropping fast! 2,000ft came close and yup, still no fully deployed chute. Beeper went of, and I had no moment of doubt: I had to get rid of this shit and get someone to check it out before it's going to be my death. So I chopped the main and pulled the reserve. All ended well, except of the main landing directly in the channel. aka water. :( I collected the main and let it dry. I found the freebag on a field a little further away and I kept hold on both of the handles Aka Cutaway and Reserve deployer. But damn, this was one heck of a day. I learned a lot this day and I'm glad that I'm actually able to share this story without any physical harm to myself other than a wet main. Here is a outside video from another guy who I jumped with. It's really hard to see because the lens was foggy due to the cloud we went through and I was far away. Even after zooming in 600% it's still vague. But you can clearly see the main and freebag flying away as I tumble down waiting for the reserve to deploy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb9KwNhPNMg

I guarantee many people were probably thinking of something else when reading this thread's title...

I wanted to do something special, but I couldn't think of anything that wasn't already done by someone else at my DZ, or wasn't too dangerous. So I ended up doing nothing special and it was just a regular 3-way during the winter academy.

I'm not really new anymore, but I just want to share the exciting news that I made my 100th jump last weekend. And that when I've only begun back in June this year. So can you imagine, 100 jumps in about 5 months? What started as a simple "JUST DO IT!" moment, ended up in what I've never expected. I met numerous of new friends, new awesome hobby, and overall just a life changing experience. If anyone would ever ask me if they should give it a try, I wouldn't hesitate for even a second and scream: "DO IT! JUST DO IT! DON'T LET YOUR DREAMS BE DREAMS!" ;) Anyway, so far I've been interested in two disciplines: Formation Skydive, and Freefly. I can sitfly decently but I've much to learn in that area. And I love doing formation stuff with some friends. Cheers guys, and may the skies be blue even through the winter! ^^

Sooooo, this thread got from camera discussion, to possible death discussion, to math logics, and now a video sharing thread? What's next?

Woah woah woah, hold on... So you're telling me that you have the opportunity to make your job out of your hobby? Because that would be, you know the best thing ever? Skydiving is great fun. Why did you quit to begin with? Too scared? Not enough money? Not enough time? Either way, welcome back in the sky I suppose. ^^

that is some fucked up logic right there It's actually math. If you have a 5% chance of something going wrong and do it once. You have a 95% chance of getting away with it. If you do the same thing 10 times while maintaining the 5% risk you have a 60% change of getting away with it every time. If you do it 100 times while remaining at a 5% risk factor you have a .5% change of getting away with it every time. But the more you jump the risk factor goes down because the experience factor goes up. I have no clue what the statistic is for 'camera incidents/camera jumps' is so I can't give you detailed numbers but I can safely say that it is far less than 5%. You haven't by chance taken college statistics have you? You do realize each event is its own set of odds. It isn't cumulative otherwise people would be raping a roulette wheel. I never thought I'd be writing this: I agree with JWest. Simple version, coin toss with a fair coin. What are the odds of going some number of tosses before getting heads? With 1 toss, the chance of getting heads is 50%. With 2 tosses, the chance of getting the sequence T-H is 50% x 50% = 50%^2 = 25%. With 3 tosses, the chance of getting the sequence T-T-H is 50%^3 = 12.5% With 4 tosses, the chance of getting the sequence T-T-T-H is 50%^4 = 6.25% JWest's example: the chance of success (the equivalent of tossing heads in the simple example above) on any one event is 95%. The chance of success on each of 10 events is 95%^10, approximately 60%. The chance of success on each of 100 events is 95%^100, about 0.6%. The calculation assumes the events are independent, that success on one does not affect success on others. However, as JWest correctly points out, the events are not truly independent, and the chance of success probably increases with experience. BTW, some unrelated fun with statistics: Mr. Poisson says the chance of you having a malfunction on your next jump is greater than going any number of jumps and then having a malfunction. Mark The problem with JWest's logic is, that he reduced the positive odds but kept the negative odds the same. He continued to subtract 5% from the "total odds". But that's not how it works. With one jump being 5-95%, 2 jumps would remain 5-95% of which each jump is 2.5-45%. Not 5-45%. So yes, in a sequence of a coin toss in your example, the odds of getting the exact sequence T-T-T-H is only 6.25%. But so is the sequence T-T-T-T. So overall, no matter how many times you jump or how you look at things, the odds of safety always remain the same. And this ladies and gentlemen, is why people's "doubling at red-black" tactic at the roulette table never pays out as well.

Gratz on your A. That's pretty darn fast too! :o As a matter of fact, I passed my theory exam for A as well yesterday (already had all practical requirements) so I'm getting mine send home soon too. ;) Anyway, it seems like you're on the right track. All you gotta do is jump, jump, jump some more, and then another jump. And as finishing touch.... You guessed it: JUMP!

If you're already looking for your own gear, I would advice to look for a rig that is suitable for both category 2, as well as category 3 canopies for your wingload. For example, I bought my own rig at 25 jumps as well. From category 2, I could have a 210sqr canopy but the rig also fits a 190sqr canopy for when I reach 100 jumps. That way I don't have to buy a new rig again if I want to downsize. Because that would just be a waste of money.

The fear of the unknown is always frightening. I once had a hard opening (Because the stupid me forgot to stow the toggles before packing) causing my relaxed legs to kick themselves forwards and I hurt my knee because it tried to bent the wrong way. Ever since that day, I'm always scared of another hard opening when I throw my pilot. So I tense my legs in a bent position so that my knee's can't bent the wrong way again. Either way, a Hop&Pop is super easy. If you can have stable exits at 12000ft, you can also have stable exits at 4000ft. (Speaking of which, here in my country it has to be done at 4000ft, not 5500ft at someone else mentioned?) One big advice when doing a Hop&Pop: Do you know what is written on the bottom of your aircraft? No? Or maybe? Well then after this jump you know for sure! Look back up at your plane and read whatever text is written at the bottom of the plane. This will naturally cause you to throw your head back and arch, causing the stable exit to be pretty much child's play. Oh and by the way, don't be too quick with throwing your pilot. It's "Clear & Pull". Wait 3 seconds (1001-1002-1003) and then throw.

I remember my first Tandem jump all too well, and I can absolutely relate to the breathing problems. I too had a hard time breathing on my very first Tandem jump, simply because it was a whole new experience and a mix of so many emotions combined with the 200km/h wind in your face with nothing but a pair of plastic glasses on your eyes. But don't worry, if you start to jump with your own parachute on your back (with AFF or Static line) you will learn to look at the horizon and breathing will become natural as if you're just standing on the ground. It's hard to imagine I'm sure, but the difference is breathtaking. (Haha, get it.... breathtaking? No???) Either way, I have no idea how strong the seasons are at your living area, but with winter approaching it might be something to consider waiting with your plans to follow courses till next summer starts. That way you will have a lot better weather, and a lot more time on your hands to work on your jumps and eventually get a license. Whatever you do, good luck with it! And of course, blue skies!

Skydiving doesn't really require much strength at all. (Not until you start tracking, that is.) It's all about body position and just relaxing in the sky, letting the wind do it's work by pushing your arms and legs backwards into the Arch position. Being flexible is probably more counting than having strength. Specially because it is very important that you do relax your body to maintain balance rather than being stiff which causes asymmetric body positions which results in unwanted spinning. A good (and quite the only one) practise I can think of is just lay on the ground belly down, then hold your arms in a 90° angle next to your head, hands lose and relaxed, and arch with your legs by trying to only keep your hips on the ground (As that is what your lowest point should be during a successful arch) Yes, trying to do this on the ground is hard work because gravity is working against you and there is no wind to help you. But in the sky everything should go much easier as there is no relative gravity, and the wind naturally pushes your arms and legs backwards. One thing I'm wondering however. What made you choose to do a lot of tandems before your AFF? Tandems are expensive and less fun than jumping with your own parachute on your back. I did my first (and only) tandem as my 24th birthday back in May this year, and I was hooked and addicted straight away, so I started on my AFF in June. And now I'm almost at my A license with 58 jumps so far. Things go crazy fast. :o Anyway, I wish you the best of luck on your own AFF whenever you start on it! Blue skies!

This might sound stupid from a newbie like myself, but if you aren't already you should look forward instead of down to better judge your actual height. Specially if you have trouble with seeing depths. You have a much better idea of how high you are if you look straight forward and line yourself up with the horizon.

Glad you said this, because it is exactly what I did. Although I cannot speak Czech at all, there was a nice girl jumping there that knew the dropzone really well that taught me everything I needed to know, and I asked her everything I wanted to know. (Such as things that I was taught on my local dropzone if they were also doing that there, etc.)

Today I, as an AFF-graduate student with a total of 40 jumps decided to visit a dropzone while on vacation in Czech Republic. At my home dropzone in The Netherlands I jump on a relative big dropzone where they use Cessna 208 grand caravan airplanes that fit up to 18 skydivers. At the dropzone in Czech Republic where I made two jumps today they used a Cessna 182 airplane that only fits up to 4 skydivers. So that's a huge change, but it's not my biggest concern. My biggest concern is the massive difference in rules and regulations regarding skydiving. I mean, at my local dropzone we have a huge list of common regulations in all parts of the skydive experience. From certain handlings in the plane ride up, to required certain handlings before landing. (such as the left-hand circuit landing). And much more. But when arriving at the dropzone in Czech Republic, it was kind of: "Show me your papers... ok looks good, there is the plane, Have fun." They didn't care what you did, where you landed (With exception of not to land on the runway grass strip) or what you did in the airplane on the way up or under canopy on your way down. It was kind of shocking how lax they were on rules and regulations. But on the other hand, compared to my home dropzone it was a really small dropzone with less people and smaller planes. So maybe that has a role in it. However, this experience made me think: How hard would it be for someone from Czech Republic who is used to such lax rules and regulations, to come and jump in The Netherlands where they are suddenly dealing with ridiculous lots of regulations? (This is just an example obviously. I can imagine this would be the same for a lot of other jumpers that come from one country and want to jump in another country.) Did someone ever had trouble when you wanted to jump in another country? Or were you even denied for some reason? This seems like an interesting discussion. So feel free to post your stories if you can relate. ^^