Shyandinnocent

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If you asked the manufacturer, why would you ask a bunch of people on the interweb who may have no experience or certainly a biased experience? Follow the manufacturer's directions.

I understand the wisdom of what you say, but much like the FAQ that was linked to by another person here, PD was reluctant to make a recommendation.
So I ask other people, and not just on the interwebs...

To be clear, I have not had problems with openings on this canopy, and I like it very much. I´m trying to get a clear picture of what I can expect if i go to another type of line that what I have always jumped. Now that I read my original post, I see that I was not very clear about that.

Thanks for input, tho! I always like that I can depend on the forums here to provide advice and information that are cautious and safe!

PS! I knooow, 600 jumps is too much...

I have asked PD this same question, but wanted to post it here.

I have had microline on this canopy, but after 150 - 200 jumps it started to get noticeably out of trim, and now at 600, it´s bad. The lines look quite nice, but the trim is v bad, so thy need changing.

Canopy is a 97 and the rig is quite tight. Does anyone know it these lines pack about the same? Drag is not a concern for me, my landings are vanilla.
Also, is the Vectran going to snatch me more? I suffer from "cameraneck".

Any help greatly appreciated!!

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I don't see what's the big deal with me asking an honest question to gauge how the secret canopy police operate. The canopy gestapo are everywhere and it's helpful to know their tactics so you can maximize your amount of fun while minimize your risk of having it taken away.

I call troll!
And a funny one for a change

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Well, he is the president.

Not our president, no!

IM

Whatever I need to do the job I was hired to do.
Sometimes feel like Paris Hilton (or equivalent) on the DZ, in that I will have to change my clothes several times a day...

IM

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Yes. You are an asshole, BUT when you consider those who think that you'll be ok.

(That probably doesn't make as much sense when you read as when I say it.)

Had to read it out loud once or twice to get your meaning

Agree with jtval!
YES you are an asshole. Don't worry, there are many of us!

When people expect to get something for nothing, and think you're a jerk when you won't give it to them... Tell em to get f....d!
It's YOUR gear, and YOUR jumps. You do what you want to do!

IM

(edited for spelling)

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Some people have NO taste!
One woman wanted me to put Celine Dion's "My heart will go on" over the whole thing. I did, under great duress...
IM

How did you choreograph something so horrible which obviously doesn't go with skydiving, lyrics or pace of the song?

I didn't! I COULDN'T! How could anyone? But it is what the customer wanted. I told her I didnt have that song, but she said no prob: I got the CD in the car! The end result was not nice, but she was stoked, ang I guess that is all that matters.
My beautiful video... RUINED...

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. I would check & re-check my gear feverishly the way an obsessive compulsive locks the door 10 times to make sure its locked... people would stare; it was bad, trust me.

Me confused...
I check my gear obsessive compulsively on the way to height.
Tis that a bad thing?

Welcome back!

Edited for spelling

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I had a friend who was a cameraman for a team.
He wore both of his swoop cord hand loops under his gloves.

On opening, his canopy went into a turn and he could not reach his toggles. Since he was a cameraman, you see him working with it for 40+ seconds.

As a safety issue, never put both loops under your gloves.
Personally, I always wear both of mine on the outside.
I haven't had a problem with it.

Or under your alti, for that matter...

I use 3 tracks on my videos, and have "sets" of tunes that 'go together' with eachother and the style of video I shoot. I also shoot different styles of videos, depending on the person (young, old, boy, girl, party loving tourist, etc...) and I always ask beforehand what genre of music they like, so I can get it right from the start.
Sometimes, they bring their own music, and MAN, sometimes it's horrible. But they paid for it, and that's what they wanted.
Some people have NO taste!
One woman wanted me to put Celine Dion's "My heart will go on" over the whole thing. I did, under great duress...
IM

I cover canopy control extensively before each jump. Most students are nervous about the jumping out and freefall, and seem more casual about canopy control ("desn't look too hard"), not realizing that it is the last inch that is going to hurt bad if you don't get it right.

So, yes, I also teach this. BUT I also teach my students not to go over bad areas in the first place. In the wind direction on your diagram there is no reason for my students to be over the bad area at all. We're a 182 DZ, and if I can't spot better than putting my student over tiger country, I shouldn't teach in the first place.
Having said that, sometimes students fly around thinking thay are one place, when they in reality are not, and lets face it: sometimes they just aren't thinking. In that case, I get on the radio straight away, and help them to safety, and then cover it all in the debrief. And the brief for the next jump, and that debrief, and so on.
I am all for giving students a chance to prove themselves, but if they are doing obvious stupid shit, I am not waiting for them to get hurt to make them learn a lesson!!
I do realize that this is different on DZs running big turbine aircraft, but surely you, as an instructor, have the resposibility (and authority) to ensure a good enough spot for your student?
Sorry, just looked at the original post, and realized I was a bit off topic!
IM

I had to change the "script" of my videos to be able to switch between songs without and obvious quiet patch. Works fine. Our new mixers only have one audio in, so had to change anyway, iPod or no iPod...

IM

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Barrel roll during tracking before pulling? If some one tracks bellow you and pulls while your are rolling, you could hit him/er.

If you are tracking above someone, you should get out of his/her way. If you didn't see them and tracked into them, you prolly would have hit them anyway, roll or no roll.

I normally only barrel roll when I don't have everyone accounted for on a messy dive, or on a 2-way, for the practice.

IM

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Yes, set your own brakes... un-stow your slider... and cock your pilot chute... AND... if... you pay a packer, you take your chances...

...most importantly!!!

I set my breaks when I land, less twists in the steering lines that way.

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What will it take to have DZO's say "You're too fat, we won't take your money and let you go skydiving."?

Our guy does that every time. Without using the word "Fat", though... If there is no doubt they are too big, he will esplain about safety issues and that there is no amount of money that they can pay that will let us disregard safety and take unnecessary risks. Some people get disappointed. Nobody argues. Most larger people seem to have experience with their size being a hindrance or handicap.

We're all glad he has no problems with telling people they can't go because they are too heavy. That means we don't have to. The only time I did, I had the lady (4ft7" 225 lb) screaming at me for 20 minutes that I had ruined her first wedding anniversary... It was ugly...

Couldn't find other threads about this, so sorry if doubling up.
A coupla times now, I have had to do tandem vids in low light conditions (i.e. late afternoon). The pictures don't come out very well, very dark and blurry... Hate to disappoint the punters, so want to find out what others do.

I have a 350D with the kit lens. I have tried to use TV and 1/200, AV and small apparatus, P with ISO set to 200 or 400. I have not tried the kit flash, because I don't want to cut holes in my wetsuit condom unless I have to.

Any adice out there?
Thanks!

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"Whuffo you jump out of them planes?!"

English being my second language, I just find it hard to pronounce and the grammar bugs the living shit out of me (can you say 'shit' on the internet?)

Where does the term come from anyway?
Edit: I mean, who came up with the scentence and the word first?

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How many linked up-jumper exits do you think there have been over the last 40 years?

With a wrestling whuffo strapped to the belly of one of the participants who wants to throw a drogue before reaching main deployment altitude?

My piont exactly...
I am quite sure thet there are TM/Vidiot pairs out there that can perform this w/o a hitch, and quite safely. But the unpredictable can happen when you throw a completely freaked out, sensory overloaded wuffo into the mix. Personally, I stay the hell outta their reach (am vidiot, not TM).

Direct quote from an incident report printed in the recent Australian Skydiver mag: "F licence jumper (meaning he has more than 1000 jumps): On a 4way exit, one of the other jumpers set up on the inside of the stack up grasped his cutaway pad which was inadvertently pulled on exit."

And these were experienced skydivers. (everybody OK btw). I always stay out of their reach, and when I cant (in the plane, for instance) I cover my handles with one arm. Have had my cutaway released by student (AFF) in the plane once, and ain't going there again...

Stay safe

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You might suggest that if he needs assistance maintaining proximity on exit............

.....that he go get more skydives before he films tandems.

*laugh* and nodding in agreement...
Not a TM but a camera person, and from the safety point of view, don't wabnt your student freakin out and holding on to any part of my gear (cutaway/reserve handles). HHow would I assplain that away to my CI?

This discussion goes way beyond wether Jarret is OK docking on tandems or not. For instance:
Here in Oz you are leagally allowed to jump with a camera and jump with tandem at C-licence (100 jumps). It then comes down to your Chief instructor and the individual TM. Most USPA jumpers in this discussion seems to think Jarret has no business jumping with tandem at 200 jumps, is that because of his jump numbers or his on-line attitude (apart from the whole hanging-on-the-tandem-to-not-float thing>>>)?
When are you OK to jump with tandem? 200? 300? 400? beyond? Wheras I know I am bringing up a general point, and prolly should start a separate thread, please come back to me. Beacause I also want to mention that if anyone lists "FIRE!!!" as their intrest in their profile, then.....

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Scary fucking stuff!

Ypu are not wrong

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Safety is a relative term

If you put this on a DZ.com forum, you're not jumping with me.

Just trying to get some idea of how many jumps people out there are putting on their cameras before they have to be replaced.

I have a PC101, 4 years old, that I have put 800 jumps on and my boyfriend has put 200 handycam jumps on. The only problem I have had is that the LCD display doesn't turn on if I open the display to wide. (Am reluctant to have it serviced as these things tend to have more new problems when they come back).
My boyfriend is on his 3rd camera, only got about 500 on each of the 2 first ones.

Do you think there is a difference in wear and tear doing handycam, versus jumping your camera in a box?
How many jumps do you budget on getting out of your camera when you buy a new one?

Blue ones!
IM

My camera jacket has the wings attached to the front of the arm, but has also little sitwings (like the old sit-suits) on the back of the arm. Works great on the belly or on the back, with the added stability if you have to sit/stand up for some reason. Only had to do that once, tandem had a collapsed drogue, but it worked just fine...

I'm 5'3" and 140lb

Good luck!

Just buy any old filter that fits over the lens and gaffer tape it stuck. Easy peasy

In case of a hard opening, I don't give a shit about riserslapping a camera. I am more concerned about having to spend the rest of my life with a whiplash.
I used to jump a fairly firm opening canopy (with side video and topmounted stills) and I used to get strained muscles from the top of my neck to the middle of my back in the right side only. I discovered that the firm openings were pulling more on the left side of my head (where the videocamera is) and therefore straining the right side of my back. So I started to keep my head straight and actually cupping my chin with my hands to brace for firm openings. Makes it interesting if you aren't symmetrical in deflating/inflating your wings...

As soon as I could afford it, I bought a Crossfire 2 and now I just deploy like on any other jump. Looking straight in the horizon and then looking up when I feel myself sit up in the harness. Before that, I hadn't seen my deploying canopy for 700 jumps...