YISkyDive

how does my lisence #, jump number, home DZ, canopy, or, yes, name, change what I have to say- even if I do post a bunch. my opinions are just merely that, opinions. dont respect 'em if you dont like em, thats fine and sure as hell wouldnt be a first

thats the last thing I want to see if Wuffos seeing videos of people thumping in. not only would they ask for a refund- theyd probably never ever ever come back to any DZ because theyd get the image that everyone migt exposed to thumping in.

TM: Are you excited for your skydive today? Student: Yes, I am. TM: We are gonna do a high performance landing today, do you mind? It adds some risk to our landing, but it is a lot more fun, enjoyable, and exciting. Are you ok with it? Student: Have done it before? TM: Yah, many times. Student: OK. Next think you know a student has a broken leg/ femur, and the instructor is getting a law suit on his hands for gross negligence, as well as the DZO, canopy manufacturer, and tandem rig manufacturer for a long list of legal garabage just because someone wants to make money and doesnt understand people make mistakes. In that little clip- I dont see one mention of a femur, or what problems hitting the ground in a turn demonstrates, or even one notion that you can do everything right and still get hurt with high performace landings. This things are all true on smaller sport rigs, and im sure they dont change with a tandem parachute over your head. No, I truley dont think we can teach a customer going for a thrill ride what the risks of swooping are. I sure as hell know that even though I was around the sport for 6 years before I started jumping that I didnt know the risk of swooping until I saw something happen upclose and personal. I think the last thing we need to do is expose unnessicary risks to students- Im sure femuring one is bad for repeat business as well as bad on many another levels. By the way- at some DZs, tandem masters talk to their students for 2minutes while going out to a waiting plane... they get trained by maybe one TM on the ground, if that TM doesnt swoop how in the world would the student be properl exposed to the risks of swooping a tandem? Not possible. Just my opinion though, I dont do tandems, So I do understand that I dont have the 'experince' to back up my words.. feel free to disagree..just from the DZs I have been at that hooked tandems it sometimes was a personal gripe that I didnt like.. especially when the TM cut it too close.. even if it was once or twice in a season- it only takes one tandem accident too really mess things up bad for everyone else- especially if the media got a hole of it was 'an un-needed high perfromance landing that landed this first time jumper into the hospital.'

watch ebay for a while. I got a PC101 NTSC for 226.50 shipped, in almost perfect condition. Deals are out there. I personally dont like the 105 with the diffrent video output plug. you always need to carry around yours and hook it up to the TV. 101s are decent, and perfect for throwing out of airplanes when the time is right. I never flew an HC series.. so I cannot comment on that. good luck

So many times this summer, while working at a DZ I had friends and family that wanted to jump. I forrbided them to jump with any tandem master, no matter how good they where, if they hooked on landing, Mind you, I do "swoop" approches myself, so I know it can or cannot be done safely- but there is NO WAY any student understands the risks of what hooking can mean... I think thats why relative and other tandem rig desginers have put up the 3 year min. in the sport- so participants understand the risks... risks that in 2 hours non of us could ever learn. hookin a tandem is plain unacceptable. I've seen a very decent tandem master hook all season- but even as good a canopy pilot he was I saw him almost run one into the ground. Its unnessaery. If you want to hook god invented perfectly good rigs- called sport rigs to do it on. Fly video- or pay for your slot. If a tandem master feels that they have to hook a tandem parachute too land it- they need help flying a parachute. An approach that I have seen that worked actually pretty well was the Stall surge- or I gues called breaked approch- the instructor would go into half breaks on a windless day and then allow the caopy into full flight and flare out. No reason to be doing 180s with students, its pointless, stupid and reckless. Like I said, I turn canopies, and know that the tandem masters know how too a lot better than I do- but I wouldnt let me friends get on the front of any tandem master that would hook... even if that person has 400 tandems in a season, all of which or most where landed with a hook. I didnt vote in this thread, because I am not a TM, but as a packer all season long at a DZ that did a fair amount of tandems, I know that hooking a tandem cannot be broken down into "if the student understands the risks than its ok."- if it was that simple im sure RW and other tandem masters wouldnt require us for three years in the sport before we could get our tandem rating. Its unacceptable to hook a tandem- you risk more than your own life, and thats that. Just like its unacceptable to hook in a packed pattern, there too, you risk more than your own life. You can't gamble what isnt yours, bottom line, dont gamble someone else's life.

Hey, yah. I found the Zenitar.. and was definetly considering it. I foudn some pictures that where less than impressive, and others that were. Does that lens have the ability to have an "infinity" focus? Someone was telling me it was capable, but I wasnt overally sure if it was.

Id love the Sigma 8mm. Or even the 12; 14; 15.. you get the point

I see a bunch of these on E-bay- so of course when you see a bunch of low priced items with the anticipation of a good result, more than likely you will be let down. I found a Wide angle lens (http://cgi.ebay.com/WIDE-ANGLE-LENS-Fisheye-CANON-EOS-DIGITAL-REBEL-350D-XT_W0QQitemZ7590663247QQcategoryZ4687QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting) on ebay- would this be usable with my 300D on a stock lens? Majority of my pictures will be tandem stills. (Let me guess, shell out the $$ and get the Simga15mm) Thanks, Dave.

I was digging around some files on my old external harddisk and found pictures from the first day the Z-Hills swoop pond was ever opened. I was a young kid back than, geez maybe 13? My parents where on vacation so I got dragged along- and snapped these shots. If anyone knows anyone in these pictures, or would like a full resolution copy- Just let me know VIA PM or post or what ever works and I'll e-mail them out. Without further ado..

I dont think hes talking about swooping as much as flying. Being a jumper that took the elip. at lower jump numbers- I liked my decision. I learned lots about harness, lots about performance flight, and a lot about flat turns. I had A Lot of help though- and once I jumped an Xfire2 and found it to perform less in terms of turn speed at a size smaller- I was shocked at how 'aggressive' of a decision I made. The problem with the high performance at a light loading is that it still does amplify mistakes- and if you are not on top of your game that you do increase the chance of getting hurt. I was able to jump the elipticall at 170ish, but only because I also did 250 jumps 220 of those being April to September. Luck probabally played in there too- but I was challeged with two of my most dangerous situtations within 10 jumps of downsizing.. irony. A canopy headon at 80 ft and an out landing are challenging any day- but On a high performance canopy they can be even more dangerous because of the altitude lost in a turn. The eliptical does have a lot of ability to teach- again, I learned a lot about my harness on a 170 that now when I try on a sabre2 I dont even get a partial affect... but at the same time there where 3 cases I can think of that If I did not use a flat turn that was decided in under a second I would more than likely not be typing this. Shit does happen up there- and we need to manage the risk- going sabre2 is by no means a bad decision and on the same size sabre2 as my diablo I will swoop further, easier, in a heart beat.... but thats why I have liked my Diablo- it has taught[teaches still] me to use every little bit of efficeny.

yup, I agree with you both fully on that. I meant more along the lines of 'ease of swoop' I guess? I havent done more than a slow carving 180- so I'm not hitting the powerband at all- but from a Sabre2 same size same approach I had a much much better surf. On my diablo I have had great surfs but it just takes much more focus and work- although that education comes back in a big way on 9cells and others further down the road.

Someone very close to me had a downplane on a 288 Manata. It was a big deal. He got cutaway over the radio and lived.. had he not cutaway i dont think it would have ended well, at all.

I have a 170 loaded between 1.2 : 1 and/ or(depends if I am fat that day- haha) 1.3 :1. It is by far the fastest turning canopy I have jumped. I have jumped a Nitro150, and Xfire2 149. The Xfire2 149 would match the turn rate (not exceede in my perception) but to get a similar speed turn I had to take the toogle much deeper than on the diablo. The diablo is a decent platform to learn advanced flight concepts on- it will teach you how to use your harness well, and it will also teach you about flying very actively. Make no mistake though- a turn low to the ground on this canopy will not be forgiving, even at a lower wingloading. I have faster decent speeds on toogles than on risers- I have also done a 1260 started at 3000 feet that was started by riser and finished by harness.. the decent speed was 55MPH! That is quick... You need to fly the canopy actively, but it is a lot of fun. Openings are good- and the surfs are acceptable.. but you need to flare right on. Its a good learning platform- but I do find that other canopies a size smaller dont compaire to it one bit. I jump a specter150 as a back up rig- the specter doesnt even come close in terms of turn speed, decent speed, and harness turns- and it is a size smaller. Just learn your flat turns and be ready to use them- a 180 at 100 feet would not end pretty. If someone would ask me if Id jump a diablo again for 175 jumps- id take it all over again. I love it, and will continue to jump it. Its a great toy, and, to me, its one of the purist canopies in terms of flying + 550 feet. After that- just know its not a swoopers choice. Be safe- I hope that helps

is it actually being built? or is it in the planning phase?

why do you say this? Most people on my DZ shot .43 just wondering, not criticizing. thanks

What exactly is your camera doing? is it making any abnormal noises in the lens? Is it failing to write to the CF card? Does it do it in all modes? what happened when the Err99 came up? where you pressing a praticular button or did it just fail? I just had an Error99 on my 300D from a stock lens that the appature wouldnt work properly at boot up. Did you attempt to take a few pictures without the lens in to see if it would work? If you can rattle off some shots without the lens in- than its a lens issue of some sort. If you can't- it might be body. Be extrememly careful shoting with no lens(I dont even know if the manufacture recommends that..) because if you get any little bit of dust, debrie, or other camera destroying materal within the camera- you now might definetly have a body problem. The way I fixed my lens was to blow into the opening of the bottom of the lens as hard as a could. Some how a mechanical motor derailed within the lens and blowing on it realigned everything. That doesnt mean this is your problem- as said before Err99 is a code thrown for every problem but those listed specfically in the maual. Good luck- I know how much it sucks to have an Err99 on a new toy. I was livid.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

How long is the a subTerm. reserve openin sequence with the skyhook for standard skydiving practice? Also- how fast is an "instant deployment" with RSL or quick silver pull without the a SkyHook. Just wondering. I've heard 200ft for the first, and 500 for the second.. but I have never really heard figures either beyound guesses or educated guesses.

Awsome video- I like the transitions and the editing a lot! Acro wingsuit is an awsome part of the sport! One question though- Could you tell me(or PM me) how you made the awsome opening titles? I'd be intrested in making something like that for my videos. Thanks man! Great video again, Dave.

Im sure I offended Brian with some of my statements- but id be intrested in a price at least. I live an hour north of Phila.. so Im not that far.. if there is a 'tenative' waiting list id hop on that.. I'll know better in a few days. (3 or 4 or so) Thanks, Dave.

My stock lens actually took a shit on me today. So thats a wonderful experince in under a week with this camera . I bought it second hand so now I guess I need a new lens. I've seen a ton of threads about lenses but I keep getting really confused- AndyMan what would you suggest as a replacement lens for free fall? Is there a decent lens that could do freefall and ground shots for landing and not break my neck? Im pretty depressed right now. What cha gonna do. Dave.

Thank you very much for the help. Thats an awsome post- which I did not see at all when I searched.. Thank you Dave. (and too others)

sorry?

Well at least I don't like Stilettos's, so thats a good start. I think you just dont understand what I mean by racing and other sports have helped me. I has NOTHING to do with speed up progression, doing mad wack hardcore 270s at 330 jumps (dont do em, have not done em) or anything like that. Those sports have just helped me able to interpret information at a high rate of speed.... maybe not- but it just helped me. Kiteboarding also- a very dynamic sport- it teaches a lot about "feel" versus a set method of doing things. what ever.. no need to argue this one out anymore.. I never said it sped up progression, or eliminated essentaial steps. God I wish I could be able to not femur and fly a 111 Xbrace toy off of student- but I cant so I keep my dumb ass on a 170. I dont know where you got from me saying I found auto racing helped me that I was somehow trying to argue that it made me bullet proof. I mean sure- in a car you fuck up your day probably is still 10X better than when you miss under a parachute- but again I was ever assocationing the two on that level. And on the dyslectics- forgive me for not being sensitive to people with tough or more difficult cases. Obviously everything needs to be more thought out before anything can ever happen. Only time will tell, and hopefully, what ever happens, it will involve an improvment for both racers and non racers.. because obviously we need to classify them in the femur category... they think they are bullet proof somewhere said they can't femur and can skip essential steps in the learning process of flying a parachute. [sarcasim] Never said that. Never would have thought it. Dont think it. Like I said earlier- my statement at least shows the WLing chart is not enough. But, I agree with marks- It will help with people that go 'look what I can do..'

I stand corrected.. Recieved in my e-mail tonight from USPA... Its a step- and I am glad to see USPA do that in time for Safety Day. Very cool. It may not be one on one coaching, but hopefully the information helps some people out there... or at least makes them better off than they where. good stuff.