johnboy

So who's going to be the first to try jumping it?

Absofrigginlutely. Tandems are about all I shoot and you should have seen the look on the TM's face this past summer after he opened well below me. Fortunately for my mad spotting skills (wink, wink) we were over the airport. I voted less than 200 and found it stupid, btw. I got my Hansen off of ebay with about 140 jumps under my belt. I only jumped it a few times and decided I best wait. 220 I put it back on, and left the still off until I got my FTP about 75 jumps ago (I'm just shy of 400 now). I wish I could fly the camera more. I really enjoy it. But it is no small commitment, and with as little as I get to jump with wife, kids, numerous other obligations, and living in the Northwest, I've even been tempted to sell the camera gear and go back to weekend warrior mode with my shit-hot Reflex and Hornet 190. There is so much more to think about, not just getting the shot and your own gear, but watching what everyone else is doing becomes so much more critical. Being next to the guy on the four way who accidentally deploys prematurely isn't nearly as exciting as that guy whizzing two feet past you from below. Consider the panicing tandem student who refuses to let go of you should you get too close or TIs that loose altitude awareness. I've not experienced all of these, but they have happened. I'd consider golf, but I've already got all this equipment, and its hard to find left handed clubs. And you can't beat the view from 10,000 feet.

Congrats on your new endeavor! I had the honor of doing the video for a 90 year old gentleman out for his birthday early this year. This guy finally had to give up his mountain climbing (read annual trips to the Himalayas) when he was 78 due to his stroke and was trying to find something to fill the void. We had a regular jumper who started when he was 72 and put in about 500 jumps before he decided it was enough for him. My dad just turned 60, retired, moved to the desert to sell airplanes with his cousin, and will start his jump training probably next summer as he too thoroughly enjoyed his first tandem. So in my eyes (and most everyone else's around here), you're still just a kid! Enjoy the journey, as this one kicks some serious tail. Just watch out for the cow pies and give that farmer some of the beer!

I got to try out the spin test yesterday. My rigger has a spare set of hard housings and I'm going to his house this week to install them. I can't imagine my Hornet 190 spinning me up that bad, but who knows? Thanks for the counsel Wendy!

Thanks Wendy. I thought we were on the same page. I will indeed take the demo first chance I can get. It was the kinking of the plastic housings I'm remembering now that you mention it. Good thread gang! I'm feeling smarter by the minute!

Just to clarify, are we discussing hard housing in the rig or inserts in the risers themselves? I probably just confused the issue. Hard housings inside the rig I completely agree are critical. Its the inserts in the risers I'm not totally convinced on yet. Haven't there been some issues with the inserts, too? I need to spend some time with the search feature I'm thinking. Sorry if I confused anyone. Oh, and for the record, Bill Booth rocks....

1st lesson, don't borrow gear you don't know inside and out. Worn out parts or not finding handles where you think they ought to be can hurt you bad. 2nd, take a lesson from Winston Churchill. Never give up! I'm not totally convinced on hard housings, but this defenitely lends to the argument for them. That was freaky. I've not seen that one before.

Do you see much difference between Intel or AMD based systems for video editing? Also, is it worth shelling out the extra to get the pimped version of Vegas (meaning Pro)?

If you're still looking, EG Suits built my for me. The thing is just about bullet proof, padded in the knees, vented booties that drive like crazy. Overall, excellent construction. There's my two cents.

The DZ I'm at basically splits the money with me for video. I do my own editing, packing, buy my materials (tapes/DVDs, etc), my equipment (cameras, gear). The DZO doesn't care about the pictures so I can charge as I feel appropriate. I only sold a few photos this year as I didn't add a still camera until late in the year and didn't feel comfortable selling pics until I got the right settings figured out. Had a few bastard weekends where I would have liked another camera guy there. 10 jumps in a day at a 182 DZ is pretty rough on one's body. Overall, I feel I got a very fair wage for what I was doing. I'm not the most experienced guy at this yet, although I am doing way better than I was even 50 jumps ago. I'm seriously thinking about a new DZ next spring (turbine madness setting in) where I can be more than just a weekend warrior. There is defenitely lots I have yet to learn and will be the junior camera flyer elsewhere, but will also learn more having other camera guys around to pick on me. Oh, and as this is basically subcontracting we're doing, I have no problem with the DZ taking a cut of the pay. They are the reason we get to work anyway; well, tandem and AFF at least. The one exception to that would be fun jumpers. And even then I would not do it for free. Unless it's my hot Austrailian sister-in-law....

Can I make the guess that you will need the mold again later in the process? And would Gorilla Glue work for putting your shell back together? Granted I'm coming from the carpenter's angle, I've glued lots of wierd things together with that stuff.

What did you build your rollcage (?) out of? I like that!

In 5869 and 5871 it looks like your mold is a bit lopsided. Is this the case, or just a function of the angle the mold is at vs the camera? I would imagine it to be the latter given the time you've put it sanding and filling low spots. It kinda looks like a blue man group thing, btw. One way or the other, I think I might have to try this in the spring. Thanks for posting all the shots and info.

Thanks all. Vegas was on the shopping list already, faster computer, Canon 40D, either a Sony HC or A1 camera (seriously considered CX7 and dropped idea again), and now, I guess, a BD burner. Gonna be an expensive winter. (sigh)

Yeah, I figured that after I typed and posted my response, but I'm too lazy to delete it. Oh well. I'm not really paranoid, even though I KNOW all of you think I am....

I hope I'm not hijacking by asking if you have thoughts as to which HD format you think is going to be the standard. HD DVD being backed by Microsoft certainly has an advantage, but with Sony behind BD, it has advantages, too. I've also seen more BD burners available now than HD DVD burners. Thoughts?

Who said I'm giving packing advice? Unless your responding to relyon, in which case I'd say CRW guys are nuts. In the highest sense of respect, of course. And if you are responding to me, it takes more than that to get me riled up! In my defense, in retrospect I probably didn't need to cutaway the 2nd one. It was a VERY hard opening (more likely a result of poor body position than packing; Hornet 190s are pretty forgiving) and with camera stuff on my head, I was seeing more than a few stars. I think it was a brake fire and probably could have fixed it quite easily. With a few line twists on top of the brake fire, my head stuck down, passing through 2200 feet with no clear solution to the situation, I made my choice, and I'm still here for everyone to harass me about it. Take at as you will. And to still keep this somewhat on topic, one hand on each handle got things squared away for me just fine.

Does anyone have a brand they like better than others? I will never buy a Maxell again, but I get great results with TDK or Sony, both -R and +R. Any experience with Discmakers, anyone?

FWIW, I remember reading a letter in Parachutist some time ago from a guy who thought he was about to buy it because he couldn't get his reserve clear and fully inflated due to some specifics I can't now recall (other than he had two canopies out and the main was partially wrapped around him). The thing that really struck me in the letter was that he figured out that his right arm was pinned and was thus unable to get his right hand up to clear his cutaway handle which had apparantly not been pulled all the way. By reaching over with his left hand, he was able to get the cutaway cleared, the main finally released, and he transferred to a reserve that inflated fully just a few hundred feet up. That could make a good argument for both hands on handles, although it seems he didn't necesarily have that option to begin with. Since reading that letter, I practice my handles on the plane before exit first with one hand on each handle, two hands on each handle (look, reach, look, pull, reach, pull), and then also practice both handles with my left hand behind my back, and finally both handles with my right hand behind my back. Perhaps I'm paranoid, but that letter did make my think. On both of my cutaways, btw, I've used one hand on each handle. That has to be the best line I've read in these forums yet!

Just my two cents.... My first rig did not have an AAD. College kid, low funds, butt ugly rig (brown Racer with orange dot, ugh), etc. After a seven year layoff from the sport and a few kids later, my wife was cool with me jumping again (she knew it was part of the package when we got married), but requested conservative choices for canopies and an AAD. $1200 isn't cheap for a piece of equipment, but it is pretty cheap life insurance. I don't ever want to be in a spot where I need it, but if even only for the sake of my wife's peace of mind, it's worth it to me. An AAD isn't the cure all, neither is an audible (mine never leaves my camera helmet and probably never will), as everything in life is subject to failure at some point or another, but they are good tools. It is up to each of us to decide whether or not to use them, and I can respect a decision either way. I will most likely always use them, particularly since I don't ever plan on aggressive swooping and the majority of my jumps are now camera jumps. Just have respect for what you're doing!

Would there be any benefit to doing this with carbon fiber vs fiberglass? Seems to me there might be some weight savings, even if not much, but I can defenitely see the cost going up a bit too. I'm assuming the comfort level goes up a bit with a custom lid as such. Not to be confused with a camera helmet being comfortable. But I do like how much more comfortable my Hanson is vs my FTP. I see helmet building instructions in my near future.

***I'll rephrase the question a little bit: Do you (and I mean literally YOU, not me) pull to a full arm extension, or do you pull to a full arm extension and then grab the cables and keep pulling at them until they are all the way out of the housings?*** A full arm's length should be plenty for your cables to clear. Even if the very ends of the cables are still in their respective housings, they will have long since cleared the loops they were holding in place, be it your three rings or reserve closing loop. I know from in flight experience that the cables on my current rig completely clear the housings, but my old janky looking Racer, the cutaways did not. However, they did still clear the loops on the three rings quite handsomely. All of this is assuming you don't have amputations just above the elbows...

" In Reply To -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What surprises me is that the TI, being a rigger, apparently did not supervise the pack jobs and continued to jump them even after experiencing problems with it in the first place. . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Which is why I wondered aloud if there is more to the story from the OP.... " Now I get what you were going for, DSE. Sorry for not picking up on your inquiry sooner. Yahoo had been observed on his tandem packing a few weeks before the weekend in concern. This was the first weekend he had been packing unobserved. In my estimation, since he was now "experienced" (ahem, cough, cough) at packing tandems, he figured he could go faster than when he was originally being observed. Hence the ball of shit pack jobs he gave TI. To comment on something you mentioned earlier, DSE, yahoo figures me the asshat at the DZ. Long story short, he figures somehow that I stole his video last year, even though I was editing video he shot using a borrowed camera (he didn't own one at the time), with lots of 10 second clips leading up to the jumps, none of which include any verbal interaction with said subjects, most of which don't include video of said subjects' landings, and with his nice big thumbprint in the middle of the lens. Since I gave myself some credit for editing at the end of the video (editing takes a long time when you have to create something out of nothing) in addition to crediting him for the camera flying, I am now somehow the asshat and a video thief to boot. So yes, he and I do have some personal issues, but quite frankly I don't have enough time in a day to worry about it. I care far more about what's right than who's right, and I'm quite certain he is not right in his attitude toward others in this sport. If I am truly in the wrong, I offer my apologies. but I'm pretty sure I don't have anything to apologize for.

I'm not sure how to answer you DSE. There really isn't much else to add to the story other than it concerns me his attitude toward others who will jumping equipment he's touching, or, actually, his attitude. I've no problem saying he's a better skydiver than me because of freefall skills, but aren't we parachutists first? According to the defenition I unintentionally laid out, even though I probably have 1500 sport and student pack jobs, I too would be considered a terrible skydiver since I've yet to pack a tandem rig. But that's also a liability I don't want to take on until TI (who does all my rigging, too, btw) and I spend a lot of time working together on packing tandems. I'm sure I will figure it out as there aren't massively huge differences in the packing and I'm confident I'm not an idiot, but still... But again, its his lack of maturity that disturbs me. I've not jumped with him in well over a year because of it and I am %100 sure I don't want him touching my gear. Maybe it's the skygod thing that's really bothering me here.

So there is this jumper, whom I will call yahoo for this discussion, at our DZ who started packing tandem rigs for a while. Usually the TI has been doing all the packing, as he is also a (damn good) master rigger and rather finicky about his pack jobs (makes good sense to me), but yahoo wants to train as a rigger and would like the bucks for packing anyway. I like jumping camera with TI because he and his rigging are like absolute clockwork. I've yet to see one of his pack jobs open anywhere other than absolutely straight on heading and I've never once been below 3000 feet on opening because of him going low. With yahoo packing rigs a few weekends ago, this same TI had a lineover on end of the canopy (that cleared itself quickly), and two openings with linetwists so bad, he admitted to having hands on handles ready for a cutaway while waiting long enough to see if the french links were going to end up around the same level or so. He was able to get out of the line twists both times, but he was rather pissed about three ugly openings in one day. Particularly with tandem passengers strapped to him. At the end of the day, yahoo starts trying to train another guy on packing tandem canopies as the TI and DZO are watching. As yahoo is throwing the canopy around like a dog with a brand new rope toy, DZO asks TI, "are you going to let him keep packing these balls of shit for you?" Yahoo's response is, "I don't care really; I'm not the one who will be jumping it anyway." I might tease somebody with this line, but yahoo was serious. I doubt we will see yahoo for a while as he is no longer allowed to pack tandem (or student) rigs and is also banned from any further rigger's training at our DZ. Granted yahoo now has more jumps in a shorter period of time than I've collected over the years, he doesn't have kids to feed and has more time than me to jump anyway. My point is I will never be convinced that jump numbers alone will make a better skydiver. When I found out yahoo had touched my reserve on the repack that saved my life earlier this summer, I got pissed enough to tell TI and DZO that if that happens again, I will absolutely have to take my business elsewhere. I seriously hope yahoo gets his rectal cranial inversion reversed as he's very talented in the sky, but I find his immaturity on the ground disturbing and I just hope someone doesn't get dead because of it. Okay. Rant over. Thanks for listening as this has been bothering me for a while now.