DAMO

Hey t0n3z, I wouldn't base your decision on most of the info you have received in this thread, while I am sure everyone means well all of the US based info is basically irrelevant if you are based in OZ and thinking of working in NZ. There is nowhere else in the world that does the number of tandems that is done in Taupo and you can make a good living, a lot of the jump staff in Taupo have families, own there own homes and live a good lifestyle. Now I am not saying it is all good, there are pro's and con's just like anything, its up to you to decide if the pro's outweigh the con's. I have been a full time jumper since 2000, within the next 2 to 5 years I will be in a position of not having to work at a job any more, all built from a skydivers income. If you want more info on full time jumping in OZ or NZ drop me an email and we can have a chat through Skype or something. Later.

Definition of a good living?

$50 for vid/stills to 12000ft $60 for vid/stills to 15000ft No editing and only film freefall, gear up and landings filmed by ground camera person.

been using waycool for years, still going strong.

Lost for words. RIP!

When you pull the drogue release on a vector the drogue collapses straight away, the drogue on a strong doesn't collapse untill the canopy comes out of the bag, just like a normal pilot chute.

A drouge on a tandem is NOT to deploy the main. The main is pulled seperatly. It is to keep the tandem stable in freefall and it also helps the cameraman to be able to stay right in front of the tandem.*** The tandem master should keep the tandem pair stable, not rely on the drogue. When it is time to deploy the drogue is used to deploy the main by pulling the drogue release, the drogue then works like any normal pilot chute pulling the main bag out of the container and to line stretch. So the main purpose of the drogue is to keep the tandem at a reasonable freefall speed so openings don't damage gear or bodies.

While this scenario is possible I think it is highly unlikely. If you pull your cutaway with the main still in the container and the risers sitting in the their normal position with or without riser covers open the three-ring system doesn't automatically release, it still requires a small amount of load on the risers to be released. You can try this on the ground and feel the amount of load required. I prefer covers open for sub-terminal openings on HP canopies for more consistent openings.

I couldn't agree more with this, except I would say you don't even need it for bigways or competition. I have seen world meets won with the paper asshole! What I don't understand is why people go to so much trouble to mount their camera's as cleanly as possible to prevent snags and then go and mount a ring site on the helmet. Put the money you save towards jumping and get some more experience before you think too much about video, there's no rush. You will do much better video when you are more relaxed and flying is more natural. Good luck.

We do HC and get $40 extra, we dont have to do any editing and we only shoot freefall footage, ground footage(gearing up, walking to plane, landings etc.) is shot by ground camera staff. I personally don't think you should do it for any less then what you get paid to do the tandem, ie: $40 for tandem $80 for tandem with HC, therfore doubling your income. Especially if you have to use your own camera. I think $10 is no where near enough. I Have had a couple of mals with the glove on and it has not caused any problems. Although I have seen experienced tandem masters make some bad decisions. As mentioned the best thing about HC is the first reaction after the canopy opens, can be very entertaining! Is outside video better then HC? That is definitely a matter of opinion, they both have there good and bad points. From my experience if given the choice the media will choose HC over outside, they seam to prefer the it. I personaly don't have a preference, I think they are both a good product. We do both and occasionally a passenger will actually get both HC and outside. As a tandem master if I am doing a tandem I would prefer to be doing a HC as it doubles my income, as a cameraman I don't wont to see the end of outside video either, witch is what has happened to pretty much all the DZ's in OZ with a lot of camera only people not to happy about it. You can see why DZO's go to HC only, especially when they charge the same as outside, its a smart business decision. Interested to hear others opinions. Later.

I don't think sit suits necessarily teach bad body position, they do tend to teach people to rely more on the arms for stability. Ideally people should be learning to use the legs for stability leaving the arms free to take grips, give peace signs, etc.

Hey Shani, so how did Project Horizon go? rredman, can definatly recommend any of the MonkeyClaw boys. Say hi to them for me.