Shivon

I will be passing through Florida in a few days time. Can anyone advise me which are the better skydiving gear stores within an hour's drive of Orlando? So far I have the Sunshine Factory and the gear store at Deland. Any other suggestions?

I got mine from a fishtank supplier (sits on a glass ledge around the top, and then the lid of the fishtank sits on the foam). You may want to get onto bonehead though and see if they can send you some.

I have set my trv d box up on a FT narrow the same way as Iwan has, and have never had any problems with it. The camera sits snug, and can be taken out and put back in without worrying my sighting (have not had problems yet). Regards the foam in the box, I find that the foam stuck to the roof of the box deteroriates first, but taking the door off completely and rotating it 180 degrees after about 150 jumps keeps the fit nice and snug. After 300 jumps I replace the foam completely (and start the cycle again). The camera really is quite tight once the door is closed and the red cable is routed.

Thanks again Derek.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply Derek. So let me get this straight - there are still 50 questions, but they are selected from the bank of 118 (well, 116 really with the doubles) instead of 305? I guess the average test result is going to get even higher this year.

An FAA question for DPREs or those helping new riggers: I understood that for the senior rigger test, 50 questions were selected from a bank of 290. But when I look at the latest (11/23/2004) Parachute Rigger Test Questions Bank on the FAA website http://av-info.faa.gov/data/airmanknowledge/rig.htm , I only see 118 questions. Can anyone explain this to me?

They are not required here in Australia, but there has been a reasonable amount of debate over the last 12 months as to wether it should be mandated. One option that has (is) being looked at is paper seals.

I have just finished a major vid project (about 20 mins) which I cut from about 8 hours of footage. Burned my first DVD and realised that I have only used a few basic transitions / effects thoughout. The ones I used most were: * standard 'cross-disolve' for fading to/from black, * Footage sped up (funny parts of the vid), or slowed down (for great tandem exits or tumbling AFFies on exits etc), and * 'find edges' using black and white on the occasional formation I'd be keen to know - does anyone have any favourite effects that they use for skydiving vids. And a similar question, does anyone know of an effect or combo of effects in Premiere Pro that will make footage look like it's 'old'? (the dropped frames, the tan colour that gets applied to footage etc). Thanks guys and gals. Shivon

I'd be interested to hear opinions on preferred exit positions for filming AFF (out of small Cesnas - 182 for example, right hand 'up-swinging' door). My normal position for two instructors is to hang off the back of the door (two hands), with my right foot on the strut (letting the first jump master and student step over my foot on the strut as they go for their foot holds). For AFF jumps with a single instructor, (and I am assuming the terminology is the same for you US guys), I take the spot normally occupied by Jumpmaster 1 (outside float) and go off poised with the student. Advantage of hanging off the door is that I find it a very natural position to get up and over the formation on the hill if required, and I am too far away from (and behind) the student for them to grab my handles etc. Advantage of taking the JM1 slot is that I can gently rest my hand on the student's rig or shoulder so that I can easily time the exit (when the key's aren't always clear [our students key the exit]). Keen to hear your thoughts on what works for you and why you like it. Shivon

In my opinion, age does not necessarily affect the integrity of a container (if it is well maintained), but I think you also need to look at the attribues of the container vs the experience of the jumper in question. The easy solution is to get your rigger to check it out before you buy. People who are selling equipment and are not happy with you getting a second opinion should probably not be trusted (IMO). Likewise, I think that most riggers feel the same way I do in that I would rather to talk to a student about a prospective rig before they buy. That way, I am not going to be asked to fix something that I can not certify as airworthy, or make repairs I am not comfortable with.

Does anyone know if non-US citizens can also become accredited Senior Riggers? Ie, can a non-US citizen attend (and pass) a course conducted in the US by a DPRE, and then sit the written test with the FAA? I have heard of Canadian guys doing it, but what about people from Europe, Asia, etc.

I just desperately wish they would get their website up to date. I guess it might be better if you're in the US when you can easily call them, but if you're dealing with Mriage from overseas (and other time zones), the website is a very important front end to their operation.

The title of the post dragged me in - I just couldn't resist. I think that the most important test of my riggers ticket was the when a very experienced tandem master approached me not long after I was qualified wanting me to pencil pack a tandem reserve with a cypress two years out of date for batteries. He was happy to pay for a repack, but drew the line at splashing out for batteries. It doesn't seem like much now, but at the time it took a lot of guts to hand the rig back and say 'no'. To me, the most important test of a rigger is that of integrity - when you are being 'leaned on' by a sky god to do something you know is not ethical, cuts corners, or is just plain illegal. As a side note, my first save was on my own rig. After cutting away, I got stable and whilst reached for the silver the fact dawned on me. Well, I guess I'm still here.

Since I started packing reserves, I occasionally come into contact with old rigs (ie, 15 year +) rigs which people keep refurbishing and putting back in the air. A friend of mine was recently given a container manufactured in the early 80s which he is cleaning up for use with a square reserve. New parts include new main and reserve bags and pilot chutes, along with main risers. I think he is doing it for the novelty more than anything (he normally jumps a very modern rig). I was wondering though - does anyone have any horror stories of old rigs that have been put back into service only to have a major component (like a main lift web, or a riser) fail? Regardless of how good the harness looks, is there an age where we should no longer trust the reserve harness / assembly to withstand the required forces? Shivon.

I like rear float off the door (like diablopilot). I find it an easy position to get nice and stable from the exit, and a good position to get the Tandem with the plane in the background for a good few seconds.

I have done about a dozen projects in Premiere of about 20 minutes length (a couple got up to about 40 minutes), and haven't had any problems until this one... ...I did a project today, the only difference from the others was to add about 150 still shots played at about 1 second each at the end of my vid (after about 10 minutes off footage). It previews fine, but when I export it to tape (back to a DV camera) and then play it on the DV camera, it looks like it drops the occasional frame (it's not bad, but noticeable). I have had a look at the help files on export settings, but I can't work out what to change in order to fix the problem. Does anyone have any ideas?

I got a reply back from PD. They indicated the next step would be a competition line set for the Velocity. It would appear it would be a factory retrofit as opposed to a rigger job. Date of release is unknown as yet (still in testing).

John Chapman (the then APF Technical Officer) wrote an excellent article for the Australian Skydiving Magazine (ASM) called "Camera Safety". It was in an edition in the second half of 2003 (unsure of which one). I thought it was the best 'up-to-date' summary of the hazards associated with Camera. You could get in touch with the Australian Parachuting Federation (APF) to see if they could source it for you.

Thanks guys - that really helps. Prior to your responses I sent PD an e-mail asking what the situation is. I'll post the details when I get a reply.

Does anyone know of a manufacturer that is offering HMA line sets for canopies that were originally sold with spectra / microline sets? I have done a search and seen that people have been talking about HMA for a few years, and saw an article in the British mag several months ago talking about retrofitting a small cross-braced, but I want to find out if HMA is being offered as an option for the bigger canopies (120 to 170). Also - have any other riggers had to attach a HMA lineset? What was your experience? Can a bartacker used for Microline also do HMA?

IMHO it could be one, or the other, or neither, or both. It's really hard to say. With just over 100 jumps, and having jumped five canopies in that time, I don't believe you have really had a good chance to consolidate how you pack so that you are consistant every time. IMHO, I would also say that the average person with 100 jumps would not be able to feel / know what was a solid, stable deployment that wasn't in a small bit of track / slightly backsliding, or with uneven legs on deployment, etc etc. Especially if 65 of those jumps were small to no delays. So what can you do. The packing things seems pretty easy to fix or identify if indeed it is the problem. Just get a senior jumper / packer / rigger to watch what you are doing. It should be pretty easy to find out if that is the problem. Regards what's happening at deployment, I would try and con someone senior into jumping with you, preferably with a camera if possible. Camera's a great learning / teaching tool. You can slow it down, watch what the legs are doing, etc. For example, you may be able to work out if you are inducing a turn by your 'throw' action. With your questions about double-stows though, my advice would be to get totally away from doing that all together. The stow may be able to be put on differently to make it tighter. Have a chat to someone who knows what they are doing at the DZ.

Certainly weight was a big consideration when I got the 300D. Being less expensive as well sealed the deal for me.

Here it is

I don't have pics, but I'll take one tonight (minus the stills camera - obviously) and post it.

I mounted the 300D on a 'quick-shoe'. It's a japanese mount which is pretty compact. Works like most mounts - it has a bit that attaches to the platform of the helmet, and a bit that attaches to the camera screw. The camera bit then slides on rails and locks into the helmet bit. My 'issue' with the mount is that it raises the base of the camera about half an inch above the top of the helmet, increasing the chance of a riser strike. I don't have a solution for this though. I don't want to add rails (etc) to the helmet to deflect risers, so I think the next 'mod' for me will be a new helmet. I would definatley be more comfortable with the camera sitting directly on the platform of the helmet, but I don't think it's practical for getting access to the camera battery for recharges, or for transporting the helmet / camera around. I moved the 300D slightly off-centre to compensate for the weight of the TRV on the side of the helmet. I started with the TRV in the dBox, and then found the point at which moving the 300D (obviously the other direction) evens out the weight. Didn't take much horizontal displacement, but definately made a big difference to comfort (especially after a few loads).