icevideot

... Just to be clear, I never thought it was actually an evaluator. I suspect it is someone trying to play bad student. The evaluators I have seen (which haven't been all that many) would never waste that much time waiting for a candidate to do something. The learning curve is on pause so I believe they would either start something different to get some use out of the jump or would start to spin to show why it is not okay to be a spectator. I just don't believe it is a student and a rating holding instructor. Not by our standards anyway. I can't speak for other countries any more than I can read the comments on their message boards. Just my .02 "... this ain't a Nerf world."

In my experience and from what I have heard from more experienced people I trust, this is well beyond the point where openings begin to become faster or less predictable. I load well beyond 2:1 but less than 2.5:1 depending on the amount of weight I am wearing and I jump with a heavy camera setup. I do shrugs to keep my neck strong but I still don't want to find out it isn't strong enough by breaking my neck. The hardest opening of my life was on a Stiletto 107 that opened nice 4 out of 5 times and snapped a bit on the other ones. At least until the day I videoed my body from the waist down with a top mount camera. I didn't jump for 2 weeks and never actually relax on openings since. I am willing to keep an eye out for wear and tear and even replace the lines on a schedule if that is what it takes. I still say if it is good enough for a Katana it is good enough for my trusty old Stiletto. I would agree with you without the cameras. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

Hell hath no fury like that of a woman with a sharp object. Sheez! "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I hope you give us the cliff note version on here or at least direct us to it when it is done "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I'm glad you dug this up. I missed it the first time. Very informative and confirms everything I have read and heard about Bill Booth. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I am jumping a Stiletto 89 loaded heavily for mostly video and some AFF jumps. Having had a tired Stiletto 97 relined, I know how much being in trim can improve openings and flare. It made a dramatic difference in the entire flight range. I would like a lineset built from HMA so the trim will not change as much. I know the lines will still need to be replaced and I will have to look much closer for wear issues. I do visual and controllability checks on every opening and will chop in the event of a broken line no matter what it is made of. The canopy is just too small not to IMHO. When I contacted PD they responded very quickly and explained they don't build or endorse the use of HMA or Vectran on Stilettos because they haven't thoroughly tested it on this particular canopy. I have to respect that. The Stiletto is an older design so I doubt it will ever be financially viable for them to test. Makes sense to me. I know there are people out there with experience in this because I have seen some of the canopies around. I just want to know what you guys jumping them think. And for you guys building the linesets, do you alter the trim at all? I have read that the trim is set initially to accept a little shrinkage from Spectra. That doesn't sound right to me because I want the fresh lines to be in trim, not for the canopy to come into trim in a couple of hundred jumps. I want to repeat, I am not trying to turn a Stiletto into a Katana or anything else. I am not looking to deviate from the trim intended in the design. I just want trim "stability" for lack of a better word. Thanks for any help you guys can be. PM's will work as well but I like to use the board for most stuff. Happy Holidays, Robin "... this ain't a Nerf world."

Have you seen the Frankenass video? That video is very entertaining and he is an awesome skydiver but he got a lot of line twists on x-brace canopies. Later I realized he often looks at the ground and does what appear to be knee turn 360's during deployment for the video! Usually he kicks out of them but on one he had to cutaway and the following reserve deployment fractured his neck. Believe it or not skydiving has some of those "special types" and if they were making a staged video I would deploy a student size and style canopy on my back or while in a turn. There is a reason we tell students that pulling is more important than stability. The equipment is very reliable and you still have your reserve if needed. After seeing movies like jacka$$ I can easily believe people to be capable of that. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I can only speak from my experience here. I took the course from Bram and Ellie. I worked very hard to prepare but I was still not sure what to expect. I took the pre-course and made practice jumps with Bram. I felt very well prepared after the valuable tips and techniques he taught me. After only a few practice jumps he recommended I "go hot" with eval jumps. Once you do that all practice is over and you swim or drown. I am really interested in the idea that he could show me his tricks and I would easily correct them. What he really did was probe my strengths and weaknesses and help me improve. On the eval dives if your strength is falling fast you will definitely be having to catch floaty students and vice/versa. His ability to fly like a student still boggles my mind but the confidence I gained by catching and correcting situations that were not my strong points made me absolutely certain I am ready to be an instructor. I would also recommend his course to anyone as well as happily take a student with any instructor Bram graduates. He gives a lot of credit to other directors that have been mentors for him and I feel very lucky to have chosen his course when I was ready. After my own preperation, I would have went to any course believing I had the ability to pass. Also, I would like to say everyone in the class did not pass. 2 jumpers simply needed more in air practice but since they were from another country they wanted to try. Bram gave them an honest and non hostile evaluation and at the end, they were found wanting. I am sure they left understanding what they needed to improve and could both be excellent instructors now. If you want an easy course director Bram is not him but if you want an outstanding teacher who will also be extremely fair and honest, go to skydiveratings dot com "... this ain't a Nerf world."

hmm, My vote is that it is BS. The student kicks harder on his belly than on his back and the instructor is a little too relaxed and just hanging back watching. I don't know any instructors that would wait to see when and how that is going to excalate into something worse. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

Can I get an HMA lineset for my Stiletto 97 from PD yet? I mean they no longer use Spectra on Katanas. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

Thanks a lot for all the input from each of you. Everything is inline with what I have heard before but it means more to me to hear it from camera flyers. I am a little surprised to hear the velocity performs that much better but PD definitely builds nice rides. Since the Xaos 21 opens a bit softer and is a lot cheaper (if you know where to shop) I am going to go that route. All I need is a couple of busy weekends and I'll be ordering a shiny new 88. Thanks again and cheers, Robin "... this ain't a Nerf world."

156 jumps in 3 years? Did he make 1 jump a week for 3 years or did he go un-current 10 months a year and get re-current and do 26 jumps a month for 2 months each year? That would be closer to 6 months in sport than 3 years. My question is how much energy, focus and attention was directed toward skydiving in that time? I think he is a troll as well but it does bring up a weakness in using stats like time in sport, jump numbers, and wing loading in skydiving. I use the same stats as a reference when I am not familiar with a persons abilities but the skills they do or do not exhibit are much more important. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

"I currently have a Kenko 0.5X on video" Unfortunately, all Kenko 0.5x lens are not the same either. I used a Kenko SGW05P for years which is listed as a "0.5x Pro" lens by Kenko and costs $60 to $80. When it started flaking stuff inside the lens I bought a $25 Kenko SGW05 lens. I used the same thread adapter for both lens and they are both on the same TRV18 and the pro lens was wider than my Digital Rebel so for tandems, I would have to back out a couple of feet to catch their hands. The cheap Kenko lens matches the 18-55 lens that came with the camera set on 18 almost exactly. I guess you just need to get your cameras and borrow from friends the lens you might be interested in or try to buy them from somewhere with a liberal return policy. I never seem to get around to returning anything unless it was incorrect or broken when I got it so I don't know who to suggest. That does remind me I need to get another pro lens from B&H so I can fly my exits tighter without videoing nose hair. Thanks. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I've been jumping moderate to heavily loaded elipticals most of the time I have been skydiving. I also do most of my jumps with a pretty heavy video setup. My Stiletto 97 is ready to give up the ghost so I am thinking of a Xaos 88. I have heard their openings are more camera friendly than the velocity (which I like) or the Extreme(s) (which I have never tried). I am sure some of you are jumping crossbraced, yeah I see you, and was hoping you would share some of the things you haved learned. I am also wondering if it is worth the extra money to get the 27 over the 21? I love a good swoop but I am not likely to ever be competetive and am really interested in getting back from longer spots. Of course if the 27 is a lot more fun?... Thanks for sharing guys. For those of you newer to the sport that want to downsize a little too quickly just remember you don't buy a canopy based on what you can land at the dropzone. You have to think about landing downwind in some field or backyard that doesn't look nearly as inviting once you are close and committed. Things can get really exciting! Cheers "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I have limited experience with the cone and pin setup but I do know the cutaway cables are quite flexible. Do you think they might kink under pressure? If they try to pull partially through the rather large hole in the strap it seems like it would make for a very hard pull. Looks very nice but I am no pro-fabricater. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

But I just want pretty pictures.... "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I have a TRV-11 that worked great for many jumps before I managed to break it and mine had the Carl Zeiss lens with the 30.5 threads. I had to use the step up ring because my lens also had the 37. I don't know if this means all TRV-11s are this way but mine is. My Current TRV (18 or 19) is the same. I hope this helps. Cheers "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I wish you luck. I agree that if you own it you will jump it sooner rather than later. (It will call to you in your sleep, trust me...) That being said, I think we should stop wasting time on this thread, it has all been said. Oh, and if the ground comes rushing at you from the corner of your eye, you may as well flare because the impact is gonna drive your arms down anyway and you just might get lucky. Blue Skies and safe decisions, Robin "... this ain't a Nerf world."

Has anyone else had trouble with this? I tried zooming in a touch while videoing some unpredictable rw so I wouldn't have to fly so close and the picture shook noticeably more. It looked like a slight vibration. Does the zoom effect the steady shot? I use a TRV19 I think. It replaced my TRV11 so I am not quite sure of the number "... this ain't a Nerf world."

In comparison to the price of a new camera/lens setup, I find Wal-mart's developing pretty cheap. You get the prints back in 2 days (all but once anyway) and you don't pay for the prints you don't like. They do a surprisingly good job most of the time. I think it must be all the practice they get. I agree, don't take anything in freefall you wouldn't be okay with losing...just my op "... this ain't a Nerf world."

Quote... Might be a bit of a hassle if you use a communal dubbing station like I've seen at a few dropzones....reply] What he said... We have the standard cable plugged into the edit board at the dz. On a busy day doing tandem videos it would proabably get old swapping cables. My girlfriends pc101 is pretty nice so I might just try to find a "new" one of those. thanx for the help "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I am hoping this isn't true because I have been wishing for a pc 105 as soon as I can spring for it. I read somewhere on the forum that the a/v connection was different from the standard 3.5 plug. Can anyone verify this? "... this ain't a Nerf world."

I have always gotten glossy prints because I think they look better most of the time but I was wondering if there is any benefit to matte when it comes to high quality scans. It may even be worse for all I know because of the texture. What do you "pros" think? I use an Epson Perfection 2400 Photo to scan and it does a great job. "... this ain't a Nerf world."

there is a guy at my dz using one and he is learning 4-way video and practice tandems. The quality is way up from the last canon I saw but it still doesn't like low light very much and seems to adjust to changes a smidge slower. I say Sony all the way but would probably go JVC next. Just what I have seen and I don't know anything about their model numbers "... this ain't a Nerf world."