chowchow

mxk, I have a close to 200 night jumps around the world in group sizes ranging from solo to 30+ people, both military and civilian jumps. I have read many of the comments here and the best advice I could give from my experience: Red and Green glow sticks will have limited impact upon your night vision. Red torch lenses were/are used by the military to preserve your night vision, so is green, as red makes reading brown contour lines on a map hard. What is more important is taking time to allow your eyes acclimate to the low light prior to jumping. i.e. not sitting in a bright lit hangar for 20 mins prior to taking off. Positioning glow sticks really needs one thing. Everyone being the same and being briefed so every one is on the same page. I have found through experience the following is the optimal position for glow sticks. A red glow stick on the chest strap, and a green on the reserve flap held in place by two packing rubber bands works best (it illuminates and reflects of the reserve part of the container increasing visibility). And no, the rubber band will not impede your reserve pin on a malfunction (fact!). Green you're good, red you're dead! If you see green you are behind another jumper, if you see red turn right as you are heading toward another jumper. Simple and effective. As for a strobe on the top of the helmet. This in addition to being seen itself also illuminates the bottom surface of the canopy with each flash increasing the visibility. It doesn't make it a disco, just a little more visible. Some people have indicated they don't think a strobe is needed or of little use. I would argue that the other function a strobe serves is for getting attention in the event of an off dz landing of if you are injured on the dz away from the immediate lit landing area. A good SOP for night jumps is strobes on until landing then switch off once safe. A flashing strobe lets the safety staff know there is a problem/injury out there, or lets the plane vector in on you if off dz. I hope this helps, but you should also talk to your DZ staff prior to the event to be aware of their requirements for the night. Blue skies, Bright moons.

Hi Dave, I jump the FTP with 2 x CX 150 fitted. I use a Cookie Roll Cage on and the Schumacher Box on the other. The Roll Cage is good in that you can open the screen for sighting whilst fitted and use the screen without removing the camera during climbs to height ect ( I film 4way). The Schumacher is a bitch to sight in without a TV and use of cables, it is however a excellent protective box and I prefer it to the Cage. I have both mounted on Cookie Liquid Mounts as it allows me to move my cameras around and interchange with stills and Go Pro for different jumps. The Roll Cage does not readily allow the card on the bottom to be removed without unscrewing the hex nut, so you have to use USB if you don't want to be unscrewing it every jump. The CX 150 does have a weak screw thread in the body, so I would recommend going with the Schumacher as it provides the best protection, ease of removal (removing camera and cards) and minimises strain on the camera body. I have a Bonehead Hot Shoe on the front. Go with another brand as these have waaaaaaayyyyy to much movement in them. For what its worth. Ken

No. It was taken over Canberra during the World Rally Champs.

Greetings, This is one of mine that I really like. Stay Safe

I use 2 x Surefire torches on a attachment rail on the top of my FTP. They illuminate out to about 30 mtrs. Works well for video but you will still need a flash for stills.

The FX in motion

Thanks Sneaky. One of the guys at work just purchased one for pics at the car races so I will be interested to see how it performs on the ground as well as in the air.

Has anyone had anything to do with the 7D as yet. Would be interested to hear of any experiences or if you own and jump one. Thanks. If a turtle loses its shell, is it naked or homeless?