Cornjumper

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Posts posted by Cornjumper

  2. This weekend, I overheard a tandem passenger mention in passing that he wished he brought his hand-mounted GoPro camera (he uses it for other adventure sports) so he could ask about wearing it on his tandem. As coincidence would have it, I came across a video today on youtube showing that exact thing. A tandem student with a hand-mounted camera.

    http://youtu.be/4iM-wy_C9Uo

    Here's a few questions that have come up for me-
    Is this a good idea? Bad idea? (Bad idea only because the SIM says so?)

    Will it be harder (or is it already harder) to convince low-number jumpers to not jump video camera when the new, small cameras are no longer a physical safety risk?
    What's the best way to measure that someone is mentally ready to jump with a camera?

  3. I'll further set the record straight since the I'm the goofy looking guy in the video.
    Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm sure many of you would react in a variety of different ways if you were in my shoes so I'm only going to speak from my perspective/opinion.
    Could the have been avoided? absolutely. But it wasn't, and that's one reason we're here, to learn.
    The lesson here is to pay attention to your hands and where they're at on a dive, especially on exit. That, and accidents happen, no matter how much prevention is involved, they will still happen.
    By posting a video of an accident that turned out okay, where every one landed safe, and the most damage that was done was a little dust on a freebag, and maybe some bruising to an ego (which it totally in check, there's no skygod mentality from bobtomcrap) We get the benefit to laugh along with learn. I know myself and everyone involved on the jump had a great learning experience and hopefully after chuckling at my expression, anyone that sees the video will too.
    For those questioning the experience level of bobtomcrap, he's not a veteran cameraflyer but I've been on numerous jumps with him, including my tandem jumps. Without hesitation, I trust him completely to film me and my tandem students again. Jump numbers don't tell me much about ability, actions do, I know jumpers/videographer's that have a lot more time and jumps in their logbook, but I wouldn't trust them half as much as I trust bobtomcrap.

    With that said, I also have the exclusive benefit of knowing my facial expression wasn't the funniest one on that jump. We rarely get to see the cameraman's face, and damn, I wish you could have. The look of terror and panic on his face as he was holding my cutaway handle was more than enough to show guilt and sorrow for his actions. And yes, I find that hilarious. Most anyone that knows me well would agree it's completely on par with my sense of humor to laugh my ass of about this after the appropriate conversations have been had.

    After flying away from the camera (cutaway handle held against my body) I stuffed what I could down my jumpsuit, grabbed the extra wire flying about and put in in my teeth. Checked my altitude, went through a quick confirmation in my head to verify that there was no risk in leaving my main in the container, and deployed my reserve. My sweet flying, perfect opening, great flaring, Smart reserve.

    My reaction in this video isn't terror or shock, it's surprise at what's in bobtomcrap's hand and an understanding of why he had that look on his face. Practicing my emergency procedures in a hanging harness only a few weeks earlier and discussing events similar to this at Safety Day helped me be completely prepared for an emergency situation that I was able to walk away from and laugh.

    And oh yes, my reserve was due for a repack in 2 weeks so thanks for the free repack! ;)

  8. Has anyone had a tandem student with Polio (affecting their legs)?
    My uncle really wants to make a tandem jump but we're concerned about landing with his weak legs. Does anyone have any ideas how to protect his legs?

    Thanks!

  9. I'm a vote for prescription goggles, I was too worried about loosing a contact so I went with the goggles from sportrx.com I made around 100 jumps with mine (and even used my benefits from work to pay for them!) and they worked great every time. I kept them until I started corneal refractive therapy and I now use a regular pair of $10 goggles.

  10. Whoa,
    if you watch the video you can see the instructor try and move the students hand back to the pilot chute but the student resists and grabs the cutaway. I even think the instructor tried to get the student to release the handle but couldn't so he pulled the pilot chute to get the main out of the way and work on getting an open reserve. That is definitely a dumb student.

    Max-X kicks arse!!

  12. I have a pair of prescription goggles from Sportrx and they are great! I was even able to use my work benefits to pay for the goggles since they are prescription eye wear.
    If your prescription is stronger than what their website says they can make, give them a call. They were still able to make my prescription strength with the goggles that I wanted.

  13. Does anyone have any information supporting or refuting the idea that having a straight pin on your rig (pullout systems) increases the chances that you'll have an open container before you jump?
    I've heard that this can happen when a jumper's rig is pressed against any object hard enought (such as the back of a seat or the side of a plane) to loosen the pressure around the closing loop, allowing for the straight pin to fall out, while a curved pin would stay put.

    Do you think the problem lies with using a straight pin or have a closing loop that is too long?

    Also, are curved pins used at all with a pullout system?

    Thanks!

    (Seeing as how this i my first post I must now leave the warm glow of my computer screen to buy beer.)