pilotdave

I'd love to learn more about DZs that are very successful without student radios. Do you have very big landing areas? Lots of outs? Few obstacles? My DZ requires radios for all students right until they have an A-license stamp on their forehead. Nobody talks to them once they prove themselves, but they have a 2-way radio just in case. Very useful for when they land off. I found out recently that the radio requirement comes from the USPA as part of a water gear waiver (for a tiny pond a long way from the DZ that I couldn't hit if I tried). We've got a pretty small landing area, lots of trees around it, houses, and miles of woods on one side of the airport. AFF out of a turbine plane often means long spots and some students have trouble finding the airport. I've debriefed students that didn't find the landing area until they were on downwind. It's hard to imagine we'd do too well without radios. If we went back to IAD out of a 182, maybe. But if I could learn from a DZ that doesn't use radios, I'm listening. Dave

I have it in one of my suits. Never noticed anything different about it. And it's starting to rip up in a couple places. Didn't get it on my next suit. Dave

How is it deceptive? They don't recommend themselves. They list a few dropzones in Mexico. They have a page for every state too. They list real dropzones in those states. It's clearly a starting point for ProSkydiving but it's not deceptive at all. Dave

So I've had a bit of a saga with the ultimate switch so far. The original wire that came with it was broken. I tested the switch itself with a multimeter and I could tell it was working fine. I gave the wire to a friend to fix. In the meantime, ultimate switch sent me a replacement wire, which was totally unexpected. Very good service. I've been slowly putting my camera helmet together. Last thing I needed was a hypeye, which I finally got a couple weeks ago. So I sat down to install the wires on the helmet. I took the wire my friend had fixed and tried testing the switch one more time. Nothing. Quickly realized one of those tiny wires had broken again. The problem in this case was that my friend didn't know the orientation of the terminals on the switch and had assumed they were rotated 90 degrees. Took a little stretching to make it fit. Anyway, no big deal, I had the replacement wire. Unfortunately I had no idea where the replacement wire had gone. I looked all over and eventually assumed it got thrown away by mistake. So I ordered a new one for 17 euros (including shipping from Portugal). When the new wire arrived, I immediately tested it. Plugged just the bare wire into the camera and turned it on. The camera fired nonstop. Eventually I got it to what I thought was working, but clearly there's something wrong with the wire. There was also some extra solder, so one wire wouldn't plug into the switch fully. And I noticed that when the wire was plugged into the camera, I couldn't access any of the cameras menus. I decided to test a tongue switch just to make sure it wasn't a problem with the camera. I reached into my bag where I keep a couple spare tongue switches and what do you know, I pulled out the ultimate switch wire I thought I lost. Guess I put it in a safe spot for when I needed it. Oops. Well, I tested that wire and it worked just fine. So I was able to finish up the helmet. I posted a video of the bad and good wires: http://www.skydivingstills.com/Other/Ultimate-Switch/11897555_B8oi4#842027461_9BGhb-S-LB. (yes, the aspect ratio is screwed up but I don't think it's too important for this one). Anyway, I got everything installed on the helmet and all seems to be well... maybe. I don't think the camera is focusing (autofocus). I have a bad suspicion that the focus contact isn't connected and the camera will be manual focus only. Nuno, can you confirm that the switches are wired to trigger autofocus like a stereo-type tongue switch? So I still haven't jumped the helmet or the ultimate switch. Hopefully this weekend I can really review it. I still don't quite see how I am going to breath from exit to landing... I'll miss too many photo ops! But so far my impression is that the quality control needs work, but customer service is good. I did a lot of googling and managed to find the exact pressure switch that is used. It's off the shelf, just slightly modified. The real product ultimate switch is making is the wire.... which still needs some work, in my opinion. Looking forward to more US dealers too. Hopefully won't have to wait for shipping from Portugal next time I need a new wire. Dave

Looks like Paradive. I jumped there in 2006... thought it was tandems only now. Glad to see that it's not! Dave

I don't think that's deceptive at all. They clearly state they are not in kentucky but provide reasons why someone might want to travel to them. They have the million $ plane, not the closer cessna dropzones. Why shouldn't they advertise it? Dave

Can't vote... pretty sure my Freak n' Suit was under $200. $180 sounds about right. Not 100% sure. Custom design with no extras. I told her what colors I like and said "nothing too fancy." Dave

A few fresh ones. Dave

Not sure why this got such a negative reaction. You can look around my website and let me know if there's a picture you want to use. http://SkydivingStills.com Dave

Some of mine from Eloy: DC-3 low pass scatters the birds DC-3 climbs away DC-3 parking at sunset Dave

Yes, you apply them all separately. You need to be 1000 feet above or 500 feet below. And if you're less than either of those, you need to have 2000 feet of horizontal separation. Dave

Hmmm... not too far from me... http://www.manta.com/c/mm0966p/morley-associates-inc Dave

By the way, the military ones weren't all C-47s. There were also C-48s. Actually, I'm reading that there are a lot of military designations for DC-3s denoting different configurations... C-47, C-48, C-49, C-50, C-51, C-52, C-68, and C-84. I only knew about the C-48 because there's one at an air museum near where I live. Dave

All packing areas are covered, mostly to keep sun off the gear and packers. But it also keeps gear dry when it rains. Tandem gear is packed in a new fully-enclosed tent. Not much packing tends to happen when it rains (since we're not jumping), but when it does, the gear stays dry. Then again, a little water won't hurt anything. If something got really soaked, it would be opened up, dried out, inspected, and repacked. Hope your ankle heals up fast! Another tandem might be a good idea if it makes you more comfortable. But when ya do AFF, good luck... ya might just get stuck jumping with me!

CPI will be opening fridays and hopefully expanding to thursdays in the summer. But your best bet for now is going to be the ranch. Dave

Tried aerostore? I just got one last week. Maybe sold out since then. Sounds like i was just in time. I just installed it last night. Dave

And then he'd need a reline instead of a repack. Reserves work... don't be afraid to use them when needed. In-air rigging is almost always a bad idea... unless it's a last resort. Dave

I think he probably learned a thing or two over his last 100 jumps that he didn't know before them. No reason to think he won't learn a few more things over the next 100. In my opinion, 200 is an absolute minimum. This thread proves why... and the original post is only a small part of that. Dave

I'll go with D.) None of the above. More like 10th jump or something... exiting from 3,500 feet for his first time... and swimming a couple laps before pulling. Dave

There's great info in the Eiff Classic canopy manual. EDIT: Link - http://eiff.com/manuals/manuals_index.htm. See the Fundamentals of Accuracy section... and the rest. Dave

Not technically AFF... but close enough. His 3,500 hop n' pop. Dave

http://www.skydivingstills.com/Skydiving/2009/Weekend-Pics-8-30-09/9467217_Z2jP4#635979657_qSsBT-A-LB BTW, I do take full responsibility for that one (well maybe not the linetwists). She was just learning to pack and didn't carefully put the dbag down at the bottom of the rig when she was stowing the risers. I mentioned that she might twist it by accident and had her bring it back over to show her how I do it. At some point, it got pulled through the risers. Dave

I could be wrong, but I doubt the STOL kit changes the CG limits. Does it give a gross weight increase? I'm guessing that nothing changes other than the empty weight CG. If you have the plane's weight and balance data, you just use the normal chart and plug in the actual empty weight and CG (like normal). Dave

Can't know for sure, but I believe so. Before the Hypeye came out, I was looking online for that solution. Found some forums (non-skydiving) where it was discussed, and it appeared to be possible. Someone was making D-connector to lanc converters. He had posted a schematic somewhere... the big issue was the cost of the plugs. EDIT: But seriously, just buy a hypeye. While I believe using a cameye is POSSIBLE, it won't be easy. Dave

The flatlock is pretty thin, but it will still leave a nasty gap between the helmet and the box... perfect for snagging a line. If you're looking for a single-helmet solution, go with top mount. If you're more serious about video, get a real, dedicated camera helmet. If you want to sidemount, I highly recommend getting/modifying a helmet with no gap between the helmet and the box. I would not jump a mindwarp with a flatlock attached to the side holding a camera box. Dave