goobersnuftda

I simply love my full face helmets. In my real life job I always have the wind in my face so when I go skydiving, I very much enjoy not have to deal with it (Oxygn A3, Cookie G3, Sidewinder -first camera helmet and it was full face) Eventually I upgraded my whole system from a FF2 which had a stills platform to a SkySystems Vapor Wes Pro. Sure it initially looks ugly like a juggernaut flat head but once you mount everything on it, it is 5 lbs of neck snapping beauty :) There is a DZ user here that took a Factory Diver visor and jammed/mounted it onto a Vapor Wes Pro. He did an awesome job but as of yet, have not figured out how to jam my visor into my similar setup. You have to buy the visor separately obviously as well as the camlock tape to secure it inside but let me know if you have any success. Full face rocks. I may have a larger nose but I simply hate all that forced air up my schnoz...

I have two quotes: (1) Solo skydiving is just like MASTURBATING. Sure it's fun but eventually you will want someone else there with you. (2) ...... good for a T-shirt, bad for telling those in the first jump course

Yes, you are correct.

I took the issue of backing up from a completely different perspective. The key backing up is the case you house your PC in .... seriously. This is what you want. The very unique thing to this case is that little small 3.5 bay slot at the bottom of the drive bays is a hot swappable bay for any SATA hard drive. As easy as people plug in a USB memory stick into a USB port, just slam in any SATA hard drive into that bay and away you go. No rails to install just the actual hard drive gets plugged in, the power supply is there as well as the connection to the motherboard all right as the computer is hot and running. For $80 you can pick up a 2 TB hard drive and you have tons of removable storage. Nothing is faster than a hard wired data connection to move that data fast (especially HD formats). The best way get the data from the SD or CF card to the HD is here. Just make sure your motherboard supports 3.0 otherwise it defaults to the slower 2.0. You will seriously appreciate this when you have those 10+ Gig files to move over. 2.0 seems so slooooooooow..... Write a simple batch file that takes the computer date and makes the folder names and away you go. If you make things simple and cheap, they will get done :) So much easier to take a backup of the tens of thousands of family pictures, videos, skydiving medias and with the push of a button, the HD ejects and you take it away for safe storage. The fire department is great and all for coming and putting out the fire but as an added bonus, they fill up your place with water for no additional charge. Good thing the HD's are elsewhere.

Without a doubt, Firefox and Download Helper

Our 206 is an early model 1965 but if you have a later one like a F, G or H, here is a web page that states an easier way to get a lot more power with an engine you can plop in: Clicky and she burns kerosene. How it will work with various props with this type of engine I don't know. Looks like it is still a 1,500hr TBO.

Our issue is that this one plane will be transferred into doing most of the work for a few years. The P206 will be the work horse to take as many tandems (2 or 3) to 10,500 AGL (2,000 ft ASL DZ) as well as all the PFF. There will be times that 3 get out to H & P when the other PFF-3 go to altitude. In between loads (x5) IAD will be performed. This plane is an early model, like within the first few years the 206 came out so all those late model modifications will be of no use to us. I know turbo is great but we do not want a turbo. As the work horse, we will have down times because people can not get their s&*$ together and you must be absolutely vigilant about proper shut down procedures, cool down times etc. It's nice and all to play around with highly tuned toys (and those turbos) but this is a business and with a simple shut down mistake once or twice, the club is down with a mega $$$ bill. So from what I am seeing, the IO-550 is the biggest engine for the power. A 2 blade is fine but in the link I provided above, the 3 blade seems to give you the ability to use most of the hp at a lower rpm. I looked into the tuned exhaust system and though it has worked wonders on other Cessna's, alas there is only approval for the smaller Cessna's below the 206. Oh well. Wing tip extensions already installed. Any other practical ideas for performance? If you are going to do an engine overhaul, this is the time to get organized and make some decisions for the next 1,700 hours (before going on condition).

The standard engine for a Cessna 206 is a IO-520. When it is overhaul time it is best to up the power and put in a IO-550. Is that the largest engine that can be STC'd to go into a 206? Now the other thing. The propeller. 2 blade or the upgrade to the 3 blade. Yes there are quietness and vibration differences but as a skydiving plane it is all about climb rate. Which one is the better of the two. I'm researching the issue that with the IO-550 and the 3 blade prop, you can use the 300+ hp continuously at a lower engine RPM. http://tinyurl.com/y8g37w9 BTW, turbo is not an option for us. Yes it is more $$$, very much more risk in cooling it down but the general rule of putting a turbo on a 206 and restricting it to top floor only is not an option. Wing tip extensions have already been installed. Any other feedback on performance would be greatly appreciated.

Exoitic as in not the usual place YES ..... Nice and warm... NO. -44. The wind direction was from the south (it is always from the SOUTH no matter what) The color of the bears is WHITE Back in 2005 the quality of the cameras was not as they are today. Stills taken from miniDV tape. Camera lasted about 3 min before shutting down. Once landed, pocket camera I had inside the parka lasted about 4 min before shutting down. Fresh battery swap (from warm armpit) and lens refused to turn on and extend :)

Though part of what you say is true, I see your quote from above: The reason why PC's are #1 in the world at 92% (apple at 5%) and Android at 37% (apple at 27%) is due to cost and the ability to be open and free from constantly paying licensing fees. CNet Video of top 5-really good Making a video present then "opening the wrapper" to change the format is free for AVI. The apple "wrapper" you just get to keep everything the same but have to pay $30 for each computer you want to use to change the format for the other 92% that the world uses. Apple .... a company for the shareholders NOT the computer user. Awesome company for scamming $$$, the reason why AVI is everywhere for free. If you could have wrapping paper that you to open, change, edit, convert etc. and rewrap for free why on earth would you pay $30 for wrapping paper that allowed you to do the same thing? In a way I guess I answered my own question. The reason why Canon sold out to loser apple is for $$$. apple knows damn well that they will make $$$ for people who want to get away from the stupid MOV format and move into the 92% of the world. Canon gets a little "somethin -- somethin" for signing that contract. I know that Canon would never put the proper warning on their #1 brands of DSLR cameras though. "WARNING, in order to keep the price of this camera down, we have taken $$$ from apple and you are forced to putz around with the MOV format. If your name is not "Stephen Speilberg" and you can not shoot a 100% perfect video on each and every take, you will have to pay apple $30 for each person and computer that uses this camera and wants to edit the video to a format 92% of the world accepts for free. Please take that into consideration when looking at the compeditors HD video format (Sony CX HD cameras) which are right beside this box" I know I may sound bitter and harsh but come on. To be the #1 DSLR camera in the world and to be just about the best there is then as you run the 100 yard dash you stop 1 foot from the finish line because you "got lazy and took a payout" is such a sad thing to see.

I sent a request through the Canon technical help form to see what Canon's answer and rational was behind the MOV format. I wanted their best option to convert the MOV file to an AVI format that is much, much more user friendly and mostly compatible with the rest of the world. In the end, I was run around the bush for a bit and when the yapping stopped, they disappeared without answering anything. I think the Tech's at Canon should run for political office :) ================ Thank you for contacting Canon product support regarding the video file format used in our EOS Digital SLR cameras. We value you as a Canon customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you. Thank you for your input. Here at Canon, we take feedback like yours very seriously, and I will make sure that your comments are submitted to our suggestion box for review by our management team. Thank you for taking the time to write to us about this, and please do not hesitate to submit other suggestions or comments in the future. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance with your EOS 7D. Thank you for choosing Canon. Sincerely, Dirk Technical Support Representative ========================== I guess some people can make a whole career out of CTRL CTRL

Oh yes I do agree but when it comes to keeping the world flowing in the easiest most efficient way possible, is it better to please the 5% of the world only to tick off the 91%? It should be the other way around.

I had someone send me their answer and I simply love it, I think it is the best: "Welcome to the wonderful world of catering to the minority."

Man, I hate, hate, hate MOV files. With Canon being the #1 digital camera in the world, why on earth did they sell out and use MOV files for their HD video on their DSLR's. Wife's camera is a T2i, I have a 7D and another person at the DZ has a 5D. Everyone is swearing their heads off at the stupid apple MOV HD video files it creates. Converting MOV files to a more useable format is unacceptable. Each and every time you convert something some quality is lost. I love my Sony CX150 (AVI of course) but the Canon 7D has the ability to shoot HD video at 60 fps for awesome slow motion sequences. Then that stupid apple MOV files are the only thing the damn camera puts out. Even the apple people hate quick time. It is a crappy player. Every apple person I know installs and uses VLC. Proof in point... what a HUGE pain in the *** Apple is. Just die already. Premiere Pro or other NLE I can not belive how horribly complicated this MOV file format is. Why on earth continue to support it.

I've searched everywhere and CAA (I live in Sask) is the best. Just got a different Visa credit card and the included travel/insurance they cover if you book with them excludes "extreme sports". I know Ontario CAA get's their insurance elsewhere and skydiving is not covered but I pay $54/year for $5 Million in travel health coverage and skydiving is covered. The rules I have to follow are trips are only covered 28 continuous days or less (come back 1 day then it resets) but I don't have to register or buy when I leave, just pay the annual amount and I'm free to go anywhere in the world for 28 straight days. For that price you should have that travel insurance anyways. The US can be a scary place to take all your money away from you. Sitting in a coffee shop minding your own business and someone decides to 4x4 through the place. You wake up 18 hours later to the BEEP BEEP warning of the hospital printer because it ran out of paper (again) as they are tallying up your hospital bill. $54 is nothing to save your life style and income. Saw a bill once from a friend where a US hospital charged $18 to "prescribe" an extra strength Tylenol. yea, nice.

Here is the listing for all FAA STC's. Choose the make then the model. There are lots and lots of 182's to choose from, gotta be specific. Clicky BTW, having the ability to have 5 jumpers on board doesn't mean 5 can jump. The weight is the limiting factor that will stop you then. Wing extensions will help with increasing the weight limit.

Well since it is family day and the weather is bad, that gives me more time on my computer to post more useless stuff :) Here is my failed attempt at a mounting bracket for my 580EX flash. I saw the Sky Systems EL Bracket and thought that it might work. It initially interested me because it is the perfect dimentions for the flash, it has a redundant securing system nylon strap with clip and elastic bungee chord (chord must be knotted once it goes through the bracket not how it is displayed in the picture I took). The cold shoe or hot shoe mount for the bottom of the flash would be screwed to the bottom of the plate with the appropriate bolt (drill a hole through the bottom of the plate). That little bit of height is what was needed for the flash to reach over the top of the bracket. It also gives a hard point to secure the flash to instead of mounting the flash directly to the bracket which would not be a good idea. In the end this did not work for me because I lacked the proper amount of flat top real estate. Seems that the 7D is a bit wider than the other Canon cameras (you can tell by the size of the right hand grip of the camera). I was only off by an inch or two but did not want any of that hanging over the side of the helmet plate. Oh well, from failure comes success. I have some different parts coming in that I think will work better plus instead of having the bracket screwed down to the helmet, I would like to be able to quickly remove the flash if it is not required to save some weight. PS, I got a good deal on a never used Sky Systems EL Bracket :)

I did give a thought to mounting the Hypeye inside the helmet in much the same fashion my FF2 helmet was. The reason why I went with it is that the CamEye II on my FF2 had that little red button that was very, very easy to hit. Actually too easy and I accidentally turned it on lots by simply grabbing the helmet at the wrong place. This Hypeye needs a significant push on that center button. With the whole button mounted externally on top of the plate you can always push the button down and not ever push the thing back through the hole you drilled. Also there is a nylon threaded bolt that screws in to the back of the Hypeye so it is very easy to mount externally. It also now sits in a place on the Vapor helmet where you are not grabbing it all the time (like the side of the helmet where the FF2 decided to mount theres). I would stay within the confines of the plate dimensions. I think you are asking for possible trouble if you start hanging things off the side.

As an add on, I love/hate my flash. I love it that it has the ability to reach into and attack the darkest corners but it is just another something to add to the weight :) Here is an example at about mid afternoon taken flying into the sun. These are the original pictures and have not been run though Lightroom yet. In the last picture, you can actually see the shadow of the jumper on the wing behind her head.

Wow what a timely posting. I’ve been acquire (and upgrading) my camera system all winter and it is just this weekend I am slowly putting it all together. I too jump from a DZ where we have a 182 and 206. Vapor Pro..... man what an awesome helmet. It has to be by far the most comfortable camera helmet ever (much the same as I love my Oxygn). Beats the heck out of anything with a ratchet chin cup. First up, be careful with this stupid carbon fibre plate, it is evil. Never ever work on it inside your work shop. That very fine black power dust will get everywhere. It is more fine than graphite and it doesn’t just blow away, it will coat everything inside your workshop and be more abrasive than a sand storm. Use fine grit sandpaper to finish off every cut/hole you do to it. Blow it off, wet towel clean it and seal it off with clear nail polish because even the smallest piece of grit will get into your camera and mess it up. My old camera helmet had my 580EX flash vertical. Though it did mount nicely, there were times you could most definitely see that the flash band was opposite to the orientation to how my DSLR was mounted (see extraneous pictures taken from a football demo jump). I have moved up from a 30D to a 7D. Yes it is heaver but man is it a monster camera. Fastest DSLR on the planet ( 8 shots/sec @ 18mp). Why do you need that you say? When I first started out my XT was 2.5/sec and when that tandem rolls out, in that 2 seconds I only got 5 shots. Many times even on my 30D (5/sec) there were times I wish I had the students face money shot just a frame before or the frame after. With the 7D, I monster out 16 shots :) If you are going to shoot, be a tourist on steroids :) I cut the goofy looking brim off the front of the helmet so that it is flush with the front of the helmet. In both how the 7D and the CX150 are mounted, neither of the cameras are visible in the recorded image/video of the camera beside it. That little bit of room at the back left of the plate is where I will be mounting the 580EX flash, horizontally. I had an idea but it didn’t quite work out as I planned. Have some new parts coming in and hopefully it solves the problem. Everything is nice an compact and though it will have some weight to it, I moved the weight back over the top of my spine instead of hanging it all as far forward as possible. It’s amazing how far back you can mount either of the cameras before the helmet comes into view. I cut the two slots for the cables from my tongue switch and Hypeye controller so that the left slot is right over the little sealed cavity on the sides of the helmet. No need in tucking/taping all that extra cable when you can easily just stow it away. I start my major work for the year next week so it might be a while before I finish the helmet off completely when I start jumping again in June. PS. In the picture you posted, watch out so that the right side of your DSLR does NOT extend past the side of the plate. One riser slap and you will have some serious problems when the risers try to rip off your DSLR.

The best tandem videographer for me is the one that no one knows is even there (unless you think about it :) No arms & legs in the video frame in free fall, no camera helmet pan from the student in the plane over to your sorry face with your tongue sticking out, no talking on the ground which hammers up at 300% the sound because YOU are right on top of the camera where the student is 6 feet away. If you have a really good TM, he is the one that is interacting with the student and doing all the jokes/talking. There were so many times there were the usual "stupid" things that go on at the DZ around the fire pit and even the regulars talk about the 4 guys that were doing the thing on the video ..... then I remind them how the video came into being...... OH YEA, YOU WERE THERE TOO :) The video is all about the student. It is their day.

The air bases in southern Italy are very, very busy now. Clicky

Very true but life as in skydiving, it is all about what you can compromise in order to get what you need. Of course don't leave your brakes stowed until your final at 200 ft, use this technique to get you past a bad situation. Look up, you will be able to see any tension knot, miss rigging in your brake lines. Give yourself enough time to deal with issues if they happen to come up but the decision to swap distance for flight characteristics is yours to make. True, your canopy will fly much better with brakes off as it was designed to but your sink rate will be much, much more than using this technique. All I am saying is that this is an extra tool in your tool box to help you out when you are in trouble (over water, over trees or mangroves). If you are not skilled enough to use the tool properly please dont. But in the mean time, give yourself the ablity to expand on your skydiving skills and do some 10,000 ft hop and pops to see what this PD "tool" can do for you in case one day you may need it :)

Performance Designs has two canopies that will get you the best distance from a long spot. I don't know about others, just PD. Sabre-2 Stiletto You must not release the brakes on opening. What you do is once the canopy is in flight and everything is OK pointing in the direction you want to go is to slightly, ever so subtly pull on rear risers (brakes still not released) for a second or two then release. It is more of a feeling as to how to do this properly. Think of it as the typical crayon drawing kids do of a water wave. You slow your descent by getting on your rear risers and achieving more lift. You release the risers moments later and build up more speed. Stay on the risers too long and you defeat the purpose and sink. Many people don't even pull on their rear risers rather just push them outwards (left & right) then release. The best way to learn this skill is to go on many cross country jumps with your fellow skydivers. Open high and all try to stay together. Just like when you were first learning to fall with someone doing RW, you need that external focus point to see how you are moving in relation to others. Yup, good old Saber-baby has saved me on many a bad bad spot. Been in Thailand when a guy was much closer to land than I was and through this technique, I made the beach and he had a waist deep water landing :)

Depending on your model (ours is a 1959) check your service manual. When you get rid of the screen and move to an approved spin on oil filter, the oil change "ABILITY" increases. Don't be stupid though. If you go to 100 hrs you will be paying mega $$$ in maintenance costs in the long run. Always change the oil every 50 hours but with the 100 hr "ability" in your approved maintenance schedule, you can run up to 55 or 58 hours to get you through the weekend without having to pay an AME/AMO $65 to write a single line in your book to get a 10 hr extension. That alone pays for the 50 hr oil change.