Titanman2789

If that is the case, fine, but don't let it affect your work. The quality of the video should reflect the $100+ price tag. Work and behavior at a DZ should be professional

makes me wonder how some people get gigs as a video person. i guess at some dzs they let anyone dumb enough to strap a bunch of snag points on their head do video Along with behavior, I think it's important to look professional as well. Don't show up to work as a cameraman/TI looking like you just got out of bed or smelling like the booze you drank last night or like weed. And for camera guys, have a professional looking camera set up, and get a ring sight if you lose people out of frame occasionally

Since this thread was 'revived' I guess you could say, I'll add to it that it was egos and politics that made me want to leave. Was being paid to jump and quit. I'm tired of the way things were being run. And the egos, my god. Getting yelled at by S&TA for something so minor while they blatantly break rules that they help to make. Unbelievable how stuff works in this sport sometimes. Hopefully a change in scenery - new dz - in the spring will help

x2. Exactly. This gopro is said to be shooting a photo every 1.1 seconds. Call it 1 second, and you're getting 55 of the tandem in freefall. That's about how many I shoot but choosing your shots is important. A photo every second you could lose that exact expression right as their feet leave the airplane, you could miss a particular pose the customer is doing in freefall and expecting you to capture. As others have said it is quality over quantity, but as stated by others, quality is better with DSLR and to add to that, quantity can also be better as I can shoot 3 fps instead of 1 fps. While I like the idea of just shooting a gopro for video and a gorpro for stills on a smaller setup with less weight, it's not professional. Keep it as light as possible, jump a canopy that opens nicely most of the time, and what I found that works the best for the neck - do some neck stretches, head rolls, and work out daily

As a former packer: You pay for the pack job, not for the opening.

Fastest Strong tandem was 6 1/2 min for me. I could consistently do 7-8 min packs on Strongs, well...because I had to. 2 pack jobs per PAC 750 load from 1pm until 8 pm. Big $$$$$

I'm pretty sure about MXS and MT being the same d-bag. I'm not sure why they are. MXS rig seems to be "fatter" while MX looks "slimmer." Normal torso, I would say go with MX.

I pack a Katana 107 and Optimum 126 into an MX-1. Tried to get the MX-1/2 but my order got screwed up It really depends on your future plans for your canopy. The difference between MX and MX-1/2 is just 1/2" shorter in the main tray, so there is not a big difference. MXS and MT have the same main d-bag. I would not jump a MT with a 107 in it because it is very loose. I would suggest choosing between MX and MX-1/2. If you plan on doing some heavy downsizing down the road, I would say MX-1/2, but I have seen people with all the way down to an 84 velo in an MX, so I guess both sizes will let you downsize quite a bit in the future

All I can really say was that the stiletto 135 in the mt was a little snug from what I remember. You definitely could not put a 150 in there but it wasn't particularly difficult. Your experience packing may also help, as well as the low bulk reserve. I have found the mirage container sizing guide to be a bit on the conservative side as well. The same MT that I packed the stiletto 135 in also had a katana 107 in it at one point. The sizing guide on the mirage site says katana 107 is soft in the Mt but in my opinion the katana 107 is too small for that size container. If you are really unsure I would call mirage like suggested before already.

I disagree. I have packed a brand new Stiletto 135 into an MT. It was tight but it wasn't THAT tough to get in there. Safire 129 may be very possible in MT. Keep in mind I was also a packer

Mirage freefly hackey. Its easy to grab so getting your technique down for getting out the pilot chute is easy.

Get the M3. I pack someone's Sabre2 170 into an M2 pretty often and its not that difficult.

I think the N3 (not the N3A) is a good digital altimeter in general. The canopy alarms can be heard when it is on your wrist too. As for the vengeance, I think it has a lot of dive. Do a search for vengeance here in the forums. There is one post quoting John LeBlanc talking about why PD discontinued the vengeance. He says its dive is pretty close to the velocity. I've jumped a vengeance 120, 107 and katana 107. Both canopies have light front riser pressure but the Katana's is a little lighter. Both of them dive very similar. I felt like the Katana was trimmed steeper in full flight than the Vengeance

I don't see what the big deal is. He's asking if the Nitro is too much or if he should get it. Bottom line - the answer from most everyone is no, stick with the Sabre2 150 or 170. There is no reason to be suggesting bets on when he will bounce under it. He hasn't made up his mind yet, just looking for some advice. I agree though with sticking with the sabre2. You're worried about being on a canopy that you'll get bored with quickly, but based on what billvon said the nitro has a shorter recovery arc than a sabre2. Sounds like it probably turns faster on the toggles too - which is fun, sure, but in my opinion, you will get more out of a sabre2 at your experience. Plus the sabre2 is more suitable for learning swoop landings. You may not feel ready for it now, but you may want to learn to do them in the future and that sabre2 will still be fun and more forgiving when you screw up a low turn learning to swoop. As for the size of the canopy, like others have said you will probably be just fine on a sabre2 150. You're heads up and have good canopy control but it sounds like you are at a small cessna dropzone. It's pretty easy to be "heads up" when you have 3 other canopies in the air (that are all probably landing before you since they are more experienced.) If you want to go to CK soon, I would suggest you consider the 170 because flying in a canopy pattern with a bunch of idiots makes canopy control a whole lot different than following the other 3 guys that were in the 182 with you back to the landing area. Not that jumpers at CK are idiots, but there are those yahoos under canopy everywhere that don't jump that regularly and you will have no idea what they are thinking in the pattern

From my experience packing Mirage, you should be able to fit the next size up from what is listed as optimal into a Mirage. The hardest part will be putting the canopy in the bag. I've seen and packed a 170 in an M2 and a Velocity 103 into an MX. As for a 210 into an M5, I can't say I have any experience, but my best guess is that it will work if you are ready to put a lot of muscle into it.

Saved my life once. Practice it enough so that you can do it without thinking about it. After being cut off on final once i had to scoot over to one side a bit. Moved over 20 feet to the left with barely changing my canopy's direction of flight. Almost just like sliding over. Not sure how I did it, but practicing flat turns sure helped

I believe I have seen people with an optimum 143 in an MT. So I would go with the regular PDR 126 in that rig, just to save some money

I've found that mine is often right in the middle of the alarm as I'm passing through the altitude. So its set at 5000 ft, it starts maybe a couple hundred ft above that, and the beeping stops a couple hundred ft below it.

Thats what we tell our tandem instructors! Its such a rare occurrence that its OBVIOUSLY not our fault. We tell em that they should stop spinning on deployment, train their students better, etc. Thats my word and I'm stickin to it!

Do nothing to the slider? or even kind of crumple it up so that its real small before you wrap up your canopy and lay it down.

As a packer, I know that sometimes shit just happens. You can feel bad but don't dwell on it at all. What kind of mal was it? All kinds of things can happen. Was the person that chopped it mad at you? I've had a few people cutaway my pack jobs, but no one has ever come down yelling and screaming at me. After looking at videos of it though, none of them were really my fault.

Where I am, students are just directed to a packer to ask them for a packing class. We usually just rotate it around. The rate is usually $20/ hour for the packing class. This what the office tells them and what the other packers charge. It is after all, this job is how we pay the bills and packing classes are usually done on weather days when we have the time. While everyone else charges this for their packing class, I don't charge anything. Most students will just tip me well for teaching them, whether its money or booze (sometimes both). I've only had one person not give me anything for the packing class, which is ok too. I was never charged by anyone for teaching me how to pack, so I just don't feel like I should charge for a packing class. We all just want to jump right? Its just my way of giving back to the sport what its given to me.

There are mounts that are curved for helmets that don't have a flat surface

I have an M1 with a vengeance 120 and a tempo 150 reserve. The vengeance 120 is listed as soft on both the m0 and the m1, though I don't think this is completely correct. In my m1, the vengeance 120 i would say is optimal size. As for the reserve, I can't comment. My best advice would be to call up the manufacturer and ask them what size container to get. Thats what I did. If I hadn't I would have been very disappointed.

I jump a VN120 at about 1.5 WL. I think it has a lot of flare power. It will slow down and float you to a nice easy landing if you are doing it correctly. Flies great. Just be ready to steer the openings a little bit once it starts inflating