Mr17Hz

This is more of an ad than a worthwhile link. The pictures are not a very high resolution and they have PROOF stamped all over them. If you'd like to advertise your site, you should find better places to do it at. your proof photos give no indication of the quality that a D-200 can produce. Thanks for wasting some of my time and becoming just another one of those unsolicited ads on the internet that isn't even putting the profit made off ads into a service that I'm using. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

As a beginner, I feel that the Sticky FAQ thread in this section is a little weak. It has some good information, but only a small percentage of what I was looking for as a beginner. I have compiled some questions together that I think would be good to add to it. I've found the answers to some of them in the forums. I've added some suggested answers that I’ve come up with, feel free to correct me. There are also a few questions that I had a hard time finding good answers to. It would be very helpful if someone could take the time to answer these, but then also have a moderator cut and paste parts of the post into the current FAQ, or add a new FAQ... Camera Questions: Q: For video cameras, what is the difference between higher priced wide angle lenses that target the skydiving market, and lower priced lenses that are more generally available? A: Skydiving specific lenses are often only a single lens, rather than multiple. This means the lens will not stick out away from the camera as much as some others, which is less of a snag risk. Some have said that these types of lenses provide a higher quality picture as well. The downside to them is that you can only zoom in about half way, so for doing tandem videos, the ground or 'just landed' close up shot does not work well. For the sky, they are safer and look nicer. Q: What is a full list of skydiving industry manufactures that offer camera helmets, box enclosures, lenses, etc. A: Some that come to mind are Bonehead Composites, Cookie Composites, and WayCool. Lets try to make a full list with web links to main pages. Q: What are important features of a skydiving Video Camera? A: It should have threads required to attach a wide angle converter lens, and it should have the ability to attach an external switch and status light. The LANC port used on most high end models is the preferred interface, as the CamEyeII provides a very cheap intelligent controller with status lights. Q: What is a list of commonly used Video Cameras in skydiving? A: Sony models: PC105, PC350, PC1000? Q: What are important features of a skydiving digital still video camera? A: ? Q: What is a list of commonly used Digital still cameras in skydiving? A: The Cannon Digital Rebel XT? Q: What are important features of a skydiving film still camera ? A: ? Q: What is a list of commonly used film still cameras in skydiving? A: ? Clothing Questions: Q: What are the benefits of using a camera suit with wings, from the perspective of belly fliers, free fliers and tandems? A: ? Q: What are the benefits of using booties while camera flying from the perspective of belly fliers, free fliers, and tandems? A: ? Other Questions: Q: What Type of eye sights are used in skydiving, and when might I decide to use them? A: ? Thanks for everyone’s help. I’m particularly interested in details about how a camera suit with wings helps camera flying… I’ve always wondered, if it gives such good control, why don’t non-camera people use them? If I get good replies to this, I will take the time to include the answers into the document and repost it for a second thread of suggestions before it's submitted to a moderator to be posted as a sticky... -Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

I would love to hear the story behind this shot: http://www.funairphotos.com/gallery/pages/smokejump.html It looks very dangerous... One deep breath of smoke like that could put somebody out. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

I'm a software developer, and have to agree that the cost here is not the displays. You could go with VR glasses... but honestly using projector screens would probably be the best because it would provide entertainment for spectators as well. Projectors are dirt cheap. You can get a VERY nice setup for less than $15,000... Software development, on the other hand - even if you provide "fake" environments (not real dropzones), and just a few, you're looking at over $750,000 in development. You might get away with less, if you're a company that already does flight simulators and has a lot of the engine and console work and experience in-house.... but these are low estimates... It would not be unrealistic for the total costs to exceed 3 million, just for a basic feature set. there are not exactly pre-researched physicals engines to control lifelike parachute flight... Writing a starwars space flight simulator is easy, but if you start to talk about real flight simulators, (Microsoft's Flight Simulator is one of the best at-home simulators, and has a very realistice physics engine) the research work alone becomes quite heavy. If you start talking about providing the ability to fly at "real" dropzones... you're adding even more staff to your development team. You need surveyours and more talented artists... What I'm getting at, is that the cost of visual display's is nothing... Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Has anyone ever proven this, or is it just based on reading of the specs? In 1999 I set up my first in-trunk computer for playing MP3's in my car... The laptop hard drives that I used for my system would go bad about ever 2-3 months until I finally gave up... Recording to a disk drive while it's being shaken around just isn't a good idea. Eventually I set up a computer with an external hard drive that was mounted in foam to reduce the shock significantly, that fixed my problem. The pressure changes would only add to the situation.... Hard drives just arn't good being knocked around a bunch. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

This really depends on a lot of things, the canopy size, your weight, your body position and speed at opening (both vertical and horizontal speeds, in the case of a hop and pop). The type of canopy makes a large difference, as well as the size of the slider, and how the rig was packed makes a difference to (you can roll the nose to slow down openings). Opening fast isn't always best. I jump an Icaras Safire canopy as my main, and it takes about 800 feet to open every time... but i'm told that my reserve would probably open in 300.... but these are all averages and estimates. I havn't had a researve deployment yet. This doesn't mean that I would even CONSIDER cutting away at 500 ft... My hard deck is 1,800ft Your post didn't indicate if you're a skydiver or not, and your profile has not been configured, so i'm writing this as if you're not a skydiver and just interested to know, sorry if i'm pointing out things that are obvious. -Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Harddrives are no good in freefall. Do any of the features of this camera make it more apealing to use than MiniDV cameras? It probably would not take much to replace the internal hard drive (probably a laptop drive) with a solid state ramdrive... granted, it would be a little costly, and void any warranty, but I though it'd bring this up anyhow. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Does this mean that the camera shoots 4 times as many frames per second? Or does it just digitally extend the time by displaying each frame four times as long, or does it digitally "fill in" the 3 extra frames with some sort of digital morphing technology? Also, is this feature easily triggered by a LANC controller so that the 3 seconds of filming can begin at any time a jumper decides? Even better, does it easily transition from full motion to slow motion, and then back again when the 3 seconds have finished recording? It sounds like this has the potential to be a very cool feature. -Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Sparky, I've never met you, but have appreciated your posts. Remember that you're part of the skydiving history that you mention above. Have you thought about writing a book? While there are a handful of good skydiving books out there, there aren't enough that are more biographical than technical. I hope some day that I have enough wisdom to be able to put together something that will help carry on any of my many passions. From the information contained in this thread, and all of the others you've contributed to, you're clearly in the position to do so. As a new guy that hasn't had a lot of chances to share stories with old-timers around a bonfire yet, I would like to hear some of them before they do get lost! This goes for all of you who have been around for a while and have watched the times change. Good luck, Sparky, in whatever you have planned for the future. -Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

I just recently purchased my first camera rig, and went with the PC1000. At the time I contacted SONY about the HDR-HC3 camera and they told me that the lens could not be replaced with a wide angle. So it seems as if this is not an option for skydiving... If anybody knows differently please let me know, but it seems that the cheapest sony HD camera that could be used is in the $3k range, and is also not very small... Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Did you pay with a credit card? It so, dispute the charges. Also, see if there is a service similar to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) in Thailand to report their bad business practices too. Also, are you sure your request got to the owner, or did management stop it in its tracks? You may also try writing a letter. Lastly, threaten to contact a local news authority, and if they don't respond then write a few letters to the media. One bad story about a skydiving center practicing bad business, and they could loose half their income for a year. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

I don't think that this is that bad of an article from a factual standpoint. The reason behind it was specifically to discuss the recent high number of accidents. The author makes it a point to state numerous statistics, and their sources. While the 1 in 1000 statistic is a little biased, so are all statistics, and the fact that the author provided other information, such as the aproximate number of jumps in the US compaired to fatalities, is good research. 1 in 1000 could be true, if you consider that on a single jump you may have a 1 in 65,000 accident rate, and the average licensed skydiver makes 65 jumps a year. The author sited his source for the statistic, you can look up that source and see how it was derived. The author also does a good job at pointing out that some skydivers are simply higher of a risk than others, he mentions the low equipment fault, and that some skydivers push themselves to be more extreme than others. There are a lot of well researched facts in this article, and sources are apropriatly sited allowing the reader to make an opinion about them. As for the dry humor at the beginning and end of the article, these statements are clearly indicated as opinions or points of view for the sake of making the arcitle interesting. One of them is even a direct quote from a skydiver. While I would not have written this article the same, and I may not agree with the point of view of the author or the use of humor in certain places, the point is - he got his facts right, and provided multiple views of those facts, and sited sources... Which allows the reader to interpret them as they would desire. Articles like this don't make me angry, what makes me angry are unresearched blatent lies or opinions presented as fact found in many articles. I don't feel the author deserves all the greif he's getting in here. -Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Join the Skydive Chicago crew: http://www.skydive-ixtapa.com/ Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

At Skydive Chicago, you can buy a 100 jump package for $1,700 and that locks in your rate at $17/jump. Instead of AFF, they do AFP, which is an 18 jump program, you can purchase all 18 coached + video jumps for $1,800. So if you price out your 18 AFP jumps plus 182 jumps at $17 each ($3,049) that leaves you at a grand total of $4,894 for your first 200 jumps, or an average of $24.47. However, the deadline for the $1,700 package is soon, if it hasn't already past, so I would give them a call at 1-815-433-0000 to find out for sure. They will give you a refund if you don't use the jumps, however they will change the rate of all previous jumps to the normal price of $23 each if you don't use up your first 100 in the year. Also, they've just closed for the season, I think they open up again mid-march. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Make a kite! Make a 'message from outer space' capsile and drop it someplace far away from the dropzone? Turn it into a giant wind-sock? Make an inflatable holiday decoration? I could think of tonz of fun things to do... I can't wait until I get ahold of an old cypres, too.. i ahve a bit of a background in hobby electronics and i'd love to turn it into some kind of a toy. (to be used safely, of course). Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

You'll get your best answers about UK laws from this website: http://www.bpa.org.uk/ to find the closest drop zone to you go here: http://www.bpa.org.uk/dropzone/dzone.htm Give them a call and ask! :) Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

In most places, either for insurance reasons or because of laws, 18 in the age you need to be to skydive. There are exceptions but you ussually need to be a special case. In certain places like mexico, it's more common to see people younger than this going. That doesn't mean it's impossible in the US, just that most places won't. Getting an A license will cost you around $2,000 - $2,200. Gear will cost you between $3,000 and $6,500, and at that point you can jump for around $17-$23 a jump... So it's not cheap, but it's also not impossible for someone with a low income to handle, if it's what they really want to do. You can also take a slower route, renting gear for around $70 a day, after you're licensed, and there is always the possibility that you find someone to loan you gear. Hope that helps. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Skydive Chicago uses their own AFP program instead of AFF, three differences are: The AFP program has 18 steps instead of 7, so that you focus on doing less per jump, but more times. Under most cases, only one jumpmaster is used. 2 Jumpmasters are used for someone who hasn't done a tandem in the last 6 months, or if the instructors decide so for special cases. ALL jumps are ALWAYS done with a camera. A video debreafing is PART of the experience. I can't say how much this helped when I went through the program earlier this year. On the first 2 jumps (before release) you really don't get too much out of the video, but on the later jumps it helps so much to see where your legs / arms were compaired to where you THOUGHT they were. SDC has instructors that have both side and top mounted cameras. I believe they leave it up to the preference of the instructor. I've since flown with people from various dropzones of similar experience level (~100 jumps and under), and it really shows how much of a difference having an 18 step program helps with having solid fundimental skills. I'll do a belly jump with an SDC graduate after 25 jumps with little concerns, but I won't jump with someone trained at another school unless they've had over 50 jumps, because of my own experience level being so low, and not knowing what to expect. Sorry to sidetrack the thread, but I wanted to give a students perspective of how much I think having video available for AFF / AFP training helps. Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

Anybody who steals like this should be in Jail, or a mental institution, or someplace where they're not free to roam about. We all have obligations to the great society we live in, and keeping people who wreck it and threaten it's decency is top on my list. If he's got a mental or physical condition that needs to be dealt with before he can be trusted in a free society, then it should be dealt with where he is not threatening or negativly influencing others. Lara, i'm sorry, but all you're doing by sticking up for him is giving him the idea that what he's done isn't as bad as it really was - but those who exhibit behaviour like this are the same kind of people who were shooting up their neighbors in New Orleans a few weeks ago. They need to understand that there are rules that need to be followed to keep our society civil, and often these are lessons that only that which a correctional facility will help. Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

You'll be fine jumping at a different DZ, Provided that you have your log book you'll probably do one low level jump to prove your recurrency / ability to fly stable, and then start up where you left off. Just make sure you jump at a USPA DZ. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

I got these clipits off of www.dictionary.com. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

As already mentioned, don't listen to stories: they're rarely acurate. Even news casts. Look for 1st hand witness reports and official FAA or USPA anouncements. I think the incident you're talking about is this one: http://www.dropzone.com/fatalities/Detailed/128.shtml I have very little experience in the skydiving industry (1 year and 93 jumps), but I do know that at my home dropzone (Skydive Chicago) they let students pull their own main. So yes, you could technically save yourself. However you would have to be extremely talented to do so without training, as well as lucky, as you would probably not know how to follow through with emergency procedures. I also assume that the droge would have to be already deployed. What it comes down to is that yes, skydiving is a dangerous sport. Statistically, you have about a 1 in 65,000 chance of not making it to the ground alive... But I think you'll find a number of other activities (including driving) are just as high a risk, or higher. You might find this post to be informative. http://parapub.com/parachute/statistics.html Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

I found this link to be of value: http://parapub.com/parachute/statistics.htm I recently paid $3000 for my used rig (about 200 jumps) It's a year 2000 with an AAD and was maintained by a rigger. I worked out a deal where I'm paying him $500/mo for it. The best advice I can offer for gear is to not be in a hurry if you want to buy something used. Rent equipment for a while and be sure to keep your eyes open for rigs and deals. Skydiving isn't cheap, but it's not impossible to get into. pace yourself and don't skip costs. Matt Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

I did a search for www.skyride.com at www.bbb.org, and they didn't show up with any complaints. I have always recommended to all of my friends and family who arn't always good at spotting a scam to check the Better Business Beureau before making any online or telephone purchase from an unrecognised company. Complaints can only be made by those who have actually been a victum of bad business practices. If anybody that reads this falls into this catagory, I would strongly recomend filing a complaint with the company on the BBB's website. I would also point out that places like the BBB only work when people use them. If you've had a bad business experience with a company, report them to the BBB! And make sure to check the BBB before you do business with any unfamiliar companies. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

I was at the dropzone near the tail end of this. I kept my distance from the pond but everything that I've read here is consistant with what I heard except that he did not go swimming alone. There were a few of them swimming and messing around in the pond - a girl in the group called others (who were sitting on the deck, 10s of feet away) to her help when he "slid down her leg" and hadn't came up after 30-40 seconds. She felt he was playing a joke. Everyone in the surrounding area dove in and started searching the mucky - weedy bottom of the pond for his body. I was told there were about 10 people in the pond looking for him. When I showed up they were just taking him away, He was under for about 10 minutes but they did recussitate him, and he was talking when they took him away. It wasn't until the next week that I found out he had died in the ambulance. The pond was about 24 feet deep where he was found. This is all second hand information that I got from talking directly to people who were whitness to the event moments after the event took place. I was coming home to my weekend trailer which is about 100 feet away and has a clear view of the pond. Matt Christenson [email protected] http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.