JumpHog

Phree is exactly right. That is a common problem at our DZ. What happens is that every time you plug the cam-eye in, you are putting pressure on the board behind it. After repeatedly plugging and unplugging the cam-eye, you eventually break the board. The only way to prvent this is to tape up the cam-eye connector to the camcorder and never unplug it. This does become a inconvenience though, since you cannot remove the camcorder from your helmet. I am hoping that the makers of the Cam-Eye will address this problem by desigining a cameye that has a break somewhere in the cable that can be disconnected there, rather than at the LANC port board.

ftp://ftp.skydivingmovies.com/public/landing/combine.mpg Here's a great example of a bean field landing. We've been calling this jumper "Combine" ever since this incident.

I fly a Cobalt 85 at 2.2. I fly video for a living and wouldn't want to jump any other canopy. You should definately be completely comfortable with your canopy before you go and mount a camera to your head.

Landing off is usually no big deal, as long as you choose your "out" pretty quickly and carry change for a payphone. As for finding "lost parts" in the woods, that gets pretty dificult. I spent two days trying to find my main and freebag after my first cutaway. It gets very dense out there in the woods. Fortunately, I found everything pretty quickly the second time. By the way, don't let those two reserve rides discourage you from buying a Cobalt. Like I said, I have over 500 jumps on Cobalts. Until recently, I had only had line twists a few times, and each time it was no sweat to kick out of. I simply had some bad luck the past week. The first one was an unstowed brake line, which is going to cause any high-performance canopy to do some crazy stuff. The second one was some severe line twists, that I initially made worse by kicking into the twists. Although I did not include the first 20 seconds of that opening in the video (because my head was pinned down and all you see is the ground), I was kicking in the wrong direction, while the canopy (a Cobalt 85, loaded at 2.2) continued to fly straight and level. It was only after I was able to get my head up and see that I had been kicking in the wrong direction, that the canopy began to turn, which progressed into a faster dive. If I had realised that the twists were in the opposite direction than I had thought they were, I probably would have been able to clear them without a problem. By the time I realised my mistake, I was getting very low and simply didn't have any more time to mess with it. Simply put, the Cobalt is the best-opening canopy that I have ever jumped. If packed with a little bit of care, it will constantly open softly and on heading. I fly camera full-time and even after 15+ jump days, my neck feels fine at the end of the day. As long as I am flying camera, I don't plan on jumping any other canopy. I have owned 4 Cobalts, and plan on continuing to buy them as long as Atair keeps making them. Blue Skies, Paul Eriksmoen

Dave, Both of those cutaways were mine. After nearly 1000 jumps without a cutaway, with over 500 on Cobalts, I ended up having two in a 6 day period (neither packed by me). The first was an unstowed brake line on my Cobalt 105 that instantly spun up. The second one was severe line twists on my Cobalt 85. Unfortunately, both times all of my stuff landed in the woods. After cutting down 3 trees, I was able to recover everything except my freebag on the first cutaway, which is still MIA. Hopefully, I can now go another 1000 jumps without another cutaway. We'll see. Blue Skies, Paul Eriksmoen

Phree, After years of experimenting, the video staff here has found that a video in the 5-7 minute range works the best. In the era of MTV and VH1, people get used to short, action-filled videos. I have found that longer videos simply seem to drag on. If you fill a video with a lot of the training, gear-up, and a long conversation with the student before getting to the actual skydive, most people will simply fast-forward through all of that while showing it to their friends and family. When shooting a video, we think about every shot ahead of time, before printing it to tape. We include everything that the student is going to want to see without letting the video drag on with extraneous material. In my opinion, the videos that are produced at X-Keys are the best videos out there. We have the best group of camera-flyers in the world, with a lot of the full-time videographers making 1000+ jumps a year. I feel lucky, every day, to be a part of this terrific group.

18 paid camera jumps is my personal best. On a busy summer day here at X-Keys, with 200+ tandems scheduled, 15-20 jumps per videographer is not unusual. You simply have to be in good physical shape and be willing to work hard all day. We shoot the video to edit, so that everything we record will be in the final product. That way, we can simply run a real time edit through the editing board, and have a complete, edited video in about 7 minutes.

For RW, I have mine set for 4K, 3K, and 1.5K. For tandem videos, I set it for 5.5K, 4K, and 1.5K. I set my flatline for 1.5K as a "must get reserve out now" warning. The only time I've ever heard it in freefall was after my cutaway on Tuesday.

I have over 400 camera jumps with various sized Cobalts. They are, hands down, the best opening canopies I have ever jumped. They open softly and smoothly, with no spikes and on-heading most of the time. I have only had line twists twice with them and both times it flew straight and stable while I kicked out (even on my 85 loaded at 2.1:1). As a full-time camera jumper, I would not jump anything else. Blue Skies, Paul Eriksmoen

Speaking of that Cobalt ad, is that not the sweetest photo you've ever seen(shameless plug)!!! Blue Skies, Paul Eriksmoen

The Reflex R100 also will not fit a PD113R. Only a DM109 or a PD106.

Javelins are also great for mixing canopies of various sizes with no ill-effects. My Javelin OJ was made for a PD143R and a 135 main. Here are the canopies that I've had in it. Diablo 150 Diablo 135 Diablo 120 Diablo 110 Cobalt 105 Right now, I have the Cobalt 105 in it, and it still looks great. It isn't baggy or loose-looking anywhere, and the closing flaps remain tight simply by shortening the closing loop. As far as I know, my main flap has never come open, even in the most aggressive freeflying.

What's up Stacy? Sounds like a plan. Maybe after a few drinks at the Tiki Bar, I'd feel brazen enough to try and land the thing. How hard could it be? I hope your first few days in Florida have been treating you well. Take care and see you Memorial Day. Blue Skies, Paul

I would just like express my absolutely terrific experience with the folks at Atair. I sent an e-mail to them last week with a couple of questions, regarding some problems I was having with my canopy. These problems were, in no way, a problem created by Atair, and from a business standpoint, they had obligation to help me out. Nonetheless, Dan e-mailed me back the next morning, saying that he would be happy to help me out any way he could. He agreed to meet with me this morning at his offices. Upon arriving there, both him and Heather were both very friendly. They gave me a tour of their facilities and showed me some of the new canopies they have in production. They also showed me a Cobalt 25 that they recently produced. Of course, no one plans on landing the thing, but it would be great fun to fly and then cutaway. After that, they pulled out all of the canopies that they had in stock and ended up trading me one of them, in exchange for the Cobalt that I brought with me. They had no legal obligation to help me out, and simply did it just to make another happy Atair customer. I have been extremely happy with their products, having purchased three Cobalts, and having talked several people into buying their own. Now I can also mention how great their customer service is as well. Thanks again to both of you for all of your efforts to help me out. You both run a first-rate company. Blue Skies, Paul Eriksmoen Current 4th-time Cobalt owner

There is a brewery in Kansas City, called Boulevard Brewing Company. They make a Pale Ale that is, by far, the best Pale Ale I've ever had. Unfortunately, it is only sold in the midwest, and since I've moved to New Jersey, I've been going through withdrawals. I should have stocked my car full of it before I drove out here. Oh well. Behind that would probably be Pete's Winter Brew.

I'm with Austin on this one. Muck Fizzou!!! It's too bad that Mizzou is going to get their butts kicked by Oklahoma rather than us. I would have loved to have gotten the opportunity to watch KU slaughter MU in the championship game. Oh well. Blue Skies and Rock Chalk Jayhawk.... KU!!!!!

For work, I use a TRV-30 and a Canon Rebel 2000 mounted on a Flat-top Pro. For fun jumps, I use a PC1 mounted in a sidewinder helmet. Both are great setups for their respective uses. Sony is the only way to go!

Well, after months of getting ready, the day is finally here. Tomorrow morning I leave Kansas City, my home of 13 years, to make Southern New Jersey my new home. I just wanted to give all of you New Jersians a heads-up to watch out for this Kansas boy. Lock all your doors and hide all your woman, and I'll see ya in a couple days. Blue Skies, Pogo

At my home DZ, we fly 182's. When I'm flying camera, it's usually just me and the tandem pair in the plane, so I'm the one spotting. If there is a fourth jumper, I have them get out first. Unless I know that person to be a good spotter, I usually still spot the load. I have never fallen off the strut, though there have been several times I thought I was going to get ripped off the strut when we've had new pilots that don't know how to cut before exit.

Phree, If you want to see a great bean field landing, check out: ftp://ftp.skydivingmovies.com/landing/combine.mpg I took that video last year at Skydive Kansas. Fortunately, the jumper was wearing a full-face helmet, which took most of the beating. Ever since then, his DZ nickname has been 'Combine'.

It has happened. http://www.skyxtreme.com/archive/july2000/safety.html Scroll down to "Skydiver Got Hit By A Bird"

If you are committed to buying a zoom lens as opposed to a fixed lens, you should consider the Canon 22-55mm zoom. I recently purchased a Rebel 200 Body ($249) and this lens ($99) from B&H Photo. The 22-55 range will work much better for freefall photography. For tandems, I set it to 28mm, which is just slightly wider than my video setup with a 0.5 wide angle lens. For closeup freefly dives, you can crank it down to 22-24, to get a good wide shot. Don't waste your money on a 28-105 if you plan on using it for skydiving, because you will not probably be using anything over 30mm. The 22-55mm lens is also lighter than most of the fixed lenses I've come across. Good luck.

I recently noticed that commercial as well. They are silver Factory Divers (no flip-up face shields). I thought it was sort of funny to see a commercial with a group of aliens wearing skydiving helmets.

The biggest formation I've been in was a 60-way. The largest formations I've watched from the ground were the 300-way attempts a couple of years ago in Chicago. Although it didn't complete, it was definately a sight to see.

Born in Bismarck, ND Currently living in Kansas City 1st Jump at Skydive Kansas (Feb 5, 2000) Home DZ is Skydive Kansas (though soon to be Skydive Cross Keys)