DSE

Thank you for sharing this story. Snags don't occur only on deployment, but that's an easily forgotten point.

Although this is indeed fun, jumping solo at the earliest stages of the learning process can ingrain some bad habits that you won't discover until you begin jumping with others. Other than solo distance/time wingsuit jumps, skydiving is a very social sport. Learning to be in the air with others, and discover your position control and movement relative to others requires being in the air with others that have training to deal with less than stable and position-controllable students. In short, I'd suggest tempering the solo jumps and jump with coaches, instructors, or those rated/qualified to jump with newer skydivers. Your growth curve will be rapid, and you'll be a much better skydiver. Plus, jumping with others frequently means you'll have video that allows for proper debriefs.

You can camp straight across the street from the DZ for 10.00 a night. You cannot camp on the DZ, the airport authority forbids it. Skydive Hawaii will not take you without a D license, a sponsor at the DZ that knows you, or 1000 jump minimum (choose one). Pacific will take you, but it's not a place I'll jump. Then again, I have a D, more than 1000 jumps, and people there that know me.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3894693;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread You've stumbled into the second most talked-about topic on dropzone.com The URL I posted, I used to update every month or so. Since I've stopped updating it, we've had at least one camera-related death, arguably two. Flying a camera, even in today's me-centric, camera everywhere generation, carries a very high risk potential, one you're nowhere near equipped to deal with. A common phrase in any high-risk activity is "You don't yet know what you don't know." Might as well get used to the fact that while skydiving is very new, exciting, and centric in your world, you've entered a sport where hundreds of thousands of jumps have created experienced skydivers who have seen a few thousand "Nick's" enter the realm, and sometimes the communications are shortcutted simply to save time. Forgive us for that. Sometimes, we'll meet a newbie that really, truly believes he/she is "special" and since they either don't understand or don't accept the advice they're given, they do their own thing anyway. I can think of at least five dead people from this forum that fit the above paragraph.

I don't know that his response was rude, but ponder this... If you ask about gear, it'll almost inevitably spark a question of "why are you looking for....?" Understanding why a newer skydiver wants "X" will frame a conversation (much of the time) about what is and isn't safe. Different example; if you asked whether you should be buying an elliptical or non-elliptical canopy...you can bet it will lead into a conversation of "dude, you're not ready for that conversation yet, slow down." Welcome to skydiving.

What I find bizarre is some people's almost complete lack of intellectual curiosity. How a person, such as yourself, can repeated make claims about The Bible yet show almost no interest in it as a document is beyond me. I'm not a biblical scholar. I'm not a religious person. I am, however, curious about the document and its history. With all of that said, even without any curiosity whatsoever it should be fairly clear simply by reading Revelations it is not the work of the author known as John, the Apostle. Do even the slightest amount of research into the subject. Seriously. Forget the bible for a bit; how many have read Thomas Jefferson's thoughts and predictions (and actions related) on Islam, Muslims, and their place in the world? IMO, Jefferson's research and opinion carry more weight than a fantasy novel.

Highly experienced skydiver, landed without incident. Walking back to the hangar with his canopy over his shoulder, a gust of wind caught his smallish canopy and flipped him high enough to let him break a wrist. Learnt my lesson watching him that day and now I wrap my bridle around the middle of the canopy. Not foolproof, but it helps.

The AS100 mounts very nicely on the right side, upside down (this is why the AS100 has a flip option in the menu). IMO, there is no comparison to difference in snag capability; the AS100 is my choice. It also has stabilization, which is the REASON it's my choice. YMMV.

I don't think there is a "one-size-fits-all" solution either. I've only seen a couple full-face cutaways that are useful, and the rest just don't seem to care. Having seen multiple helmet snags over the years (one that nearly killed a close friend when his cutaway wouldn't function under load), I strongly suggest people reconsider jumping cameras on a helmet without a cutaway. VHB simply isn't reliable as a "I can peel it off in an emergency" scenario.

EXCELLENT article. I don't know that newbies are "encouraged" to be unsafe, but the groupthink often suggests "if I can do it, I don't see why it would be difficult for you"... Frequently I run into skydivers that think from their own ability and perspective vs the ability and perspective of the person they're communicating with.

If I understand you correctly, the cutaway is at the mount itself? if so... Picture a line around the camera, under tremendous load from a spinning canopy. How do you guarantee a release at the point of load? How do you propose the cutaway is reached, if the release is under the snagged line? In the case of a wingsuiter, they won't be able to reach the top of the helmet. If the cutaway is on the top of the helmet, what prevents it from being snagged at exit points, but allows easy access if it's snagged? For cutaway purposes, the channels won't help, or am I seeing it wrong?

How would you get the cables inside the helmet and assure a smooth pull? The mount design is nice, it does look identical to the system Chutingstar offers; a cutaway would make a big difference.

The irony here, is that you still don't know what you don't know, but feel like you're a hero because you can copy/paste from GoPro's website. The issue unrelated to what one can or can't do with the angle.

Hopefully this is taught at every dz. It's standard practice at the dropzone's where I've taught.

As I've stated before, I'm a proponent of the UPT and Jerry Baumchen designs. All of my rigs but one have these bags in them. Factory support from both Jerry and UPT is outstanding, should one need it.

Exactly this. I don't think the flanges need be large, and they can conform to the curvature as well. The same flange one might use for a nylon screw would be useful for the person who prefers VHB, no?

Have you had a rigger measure the lines? Is there any play in your brake lines? The Sabre 1 has a relatively light front riser pressure, or at least the 170 I had did. Closed cells/bucking were never a problem for me. I'd suggest measuring for line trim, or having someone do it for you. http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/linetrims/LS_120-170LT.pdf

how's your asshole? how's yer asshole?

Since you're still mocking it up, why not put a couple of flanges at the base that would allow for either nylon screws through the helmet, or for VHB tape to attach?

For setting the first (beer) FAI wingsuit formation record of 42 people in slot. Although the rules allow for some slop in a formation of larger than 40, this group didn't need to fall back on the rules. Everyone is in the sweet spot. Been a great month for wingsuits, with the first FAI Performance event and now the first FAI world record. Congrats to all involved! Great to see some forward movement in wingsuit competition both world wide and at NAC levels!

A slow card can cause corrupt files, which would make it appear that the camera is broken. Beware buying cheap cards. Beware buying cards on the internet. Lexar, Sandisk have all had counterfeited cards that have fooled even retailers. One major retailer replaced around 1000 counterfeit cards last year. Buy good cards from reputable sources that will replace the card. http://oeding.com/tutorial-how-to-spot-a-fake-memory-card/

It doesn't make sense. It doesn't. I've followed this case over the last year off and on, and I just don't understand the time, money, and effort KG has put into her Citizens for Quiet Skies. The data has proven on multiple occasions that the noise from the Otter is no more than background noise inherent to the area - she has sacrificed huge swaths of time, and essentially forfeited any semblance of a normal life. Everyone wants to "matter." Perhaps her life is so empty and pith-filled, that this effort has become her reason for living, a reason to self-perceive that she "matters." Others certainly have dedicated themselves to lesser causes, and occasionally been found mentally unbalanced as a result. “For neither good nor evil can last for ever; and so it follows that as evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand.”

I was so enthralled with her that I turned her laugh into a :30 ringtone on my phone for my daughter's phone profile. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxhZWxju4_IlS21JeWNrOGd5MVU/view?usp=sharing

The brand/class of card make all the difference in the world... are you using high-grade cards, or cheap no-name cards? Are you sure your cards are up to the task of recording HD? Connectivity is a different story; GoPro has a long history of connectivity problems.

For shooting tandems with the typical GoPro or .3 wide lens, and a 15mm (actually 24mm on most DSLR), a ringsite isn't needed, IMO. I don't have one on either of my smaller camera helmets, only on my Flattop used for carrying bigger cameras and special uses.