kashton

Thank you for all of the replies and advice! No, unfortunately I did not have a helmet on. No one wears one at the gym when they boulder but from now on I will be wearing one. Kevin, while there are ways to increase the snivel on your main (larger slider, etc.), you're going to have to take into account that while it is your intention to jump the main, you're really jumping your reserve on every jump. A reserve is packed to open in ~300' at terminal; and will be abrupt. I have a Skyhook. Will this help with such a scenario? Thank you for the advice =) That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

Thanks SimpleJack! I am currently doing EEG work with my Neurotherapist (He is one of the top one's in his field right now and doing a lot of research work in it). It has been very helpful so far and we are trying to fix the areas of my brain that were injured in the fall. That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

Hi, I've been skydiving for about 10 months now and just had a mild traumatic brain injury from an 8 foot fall while indoor rock climbing (bouldering). I had a concussion and don't remember 48 hours of my life that started right after I fell and hit the ground. I have been working with my neurotherapist to repair the damage (apparently mild traumatic brain injuries can be very severe, more severe that major traumatic brain injuries in many cases). I am afraid (and so is my doctor) about the rapid deceleration that occurs during opening. Is there a parachute that swivels for awhile before it opens to lower the G-forces exerted on my body and brain? I currently use a Saber 2 170 (I weigh about 165 lbs). I am, of course, not jumping for a few months until my brain heals well (at least 4), as my injury happened on the 18th of December. All help and advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and hopefully I can repay the kindness to the skydiving community with my future physical therapy work =) I am 23 and going for my doctorate in physical therapy and want to work with physically and mentally injured patients, possibly skydivers who have been in accidents. Thank you!

What kind of lens is that? That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

Some of my better pictures of my fairly new freefly career That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

River God - follows a fascinating plot during the Egyptian times with ample action moments and a very fun plot. Black Hawk Down - fast paced action, written very well, time line is easy to follow, I learned a lot from it. Embraced by the Light - everyone should read this book That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

Sraja, Congratulations on getting your B-license! You got yours right before me ;-) I received my B-31771 last Wednesday That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

oooooooo ahhhhhhh NICE setup!!! Looks badass That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

This has to be one of my favorite threads on this forum. It will probably save someone's life one day. I am curious as to what I would do in such a situation, now that I've read the replies to this thread. I have a Saber 2 170 and weigh about 155 lbs, so what altitude would I need to pull at to be under AAD fire velocity by 1050'? In this situation at 1200' I would probably go for my main instinctively, as was mentioned previously. That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

well told sir That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I believe they are the same cameras. I own the TG1 and I mostly use SD HQ and the video quality is excellent. That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

^^^^^wait did I read that wrong? Lol, I'm just messing. I understand your point now. It is a wise one. Thank you for the wisdom =) That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I'm confused. How does that relate to jumping a camera with low jump numbers That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

That was very impressive performance! Great camera and great mount. Thank you cookie for the work put into making a box for this camera! That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

WoW, that is just a little bit more professional than mine That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I found a camera that has the potential to be a promising contender in the sidemounting FF camcorder class. I think many people have over-looked it because it doesn't have a wide angle lense. The Sony HDR-TG1: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10510551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665400969 This camera is definitely not new news though it did come on the market quite recently, but I stumbled upon a site that may increase the camer's versatility and popularity: http://techmoan.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/sony-hdr-tg3-with-a-wide-angle-lens-2/ It may need a little modification to make it airworthy, but it is a good start. With some custom mounts built on the side of the helmet it is possible to limit the distance from the side of the helmet to the other side of the camera to 1.5 inches. I've tried it and it is unbeatable for it's compact (and titanium) frame. It is surprisingly rigid and should hold up well in the air but I won't know until it is jumped. I have a good way of mounting it which I can show pictures of sometime soon but right now I have to sleep. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

Alright Rubb, give that a try That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I just found this gem: http://www.basejumper.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=66251; now that's the best way to depict a flying squirrel That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I'm about 170 lbs and 5 ft 11 so you could call me skinny ;-) I meant a 90 degree angle bent at the knee if there was some confusion. I made it up a long time ago while diving into a pool but I'm sure someone has done it before out of an airplane... it is a great time. My favorite part is watching the plane fly away as I tumble through the air "similar" to a flying squirrel... i guess. At least I like to think it looks like one lol P.S. Don't judge me by my drawing! I am in fact a decent artist... That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I finished my AFF around two months ago and have 28 jumps so far. My first solo was a ton of fun, I just did flips and practiced tracking, I focused on altitude awareness also. Remember to focus on altitude awareness and also on where other skydivers are both in freefall and under canopy! It is so easy to lose 1-2k feet by forgetting to check your altimeter... and then realizing you are at 2,500 feet.... then you have pulled by 2,200 and open by 1,700, hopefully. In this case, you will have already passed your hard deck for emergency procedures and you have made it very dangerous for you if you encounter a malfunction. My recommendation (please take it with a grain of salt) is to do a few dives practicing tracking and a few practicing arching/de-arching. Ask experienced jumpers how they track and test their methods (always ask your instructors though). Practice your turns also. For example, track *perpendicular* to the flight path and then turn 180 degrees and track back the way you came. Practice practice practice your emergency procedures. Practice them in your head when you are not skydiving and also before every jump. If you end up having a malfunction you will do whatever you have practiced so be wise about it and practice it before it happens! Watch every video you can (go to www.skydivingmovies.com) on emergencies and learn from them. Also watch videos on tracking/freeflying/whatever will make you a better skydiver. I am now practicing a little freeflying for fun with coaches. I do mostly sitflying right now. In my opinion, you should start with the essentials and work your way towards your A-license. You will need to jump with coaches to get your A-license so you may as well utilize their knowledge and ask every question that comes to mind. Don't forget to buy them BEER! Just for fun, try a flying squirrel exit. Have your legs at a 90 degree angle and grab your ankles while diving out of the plane and let yourself tumble for a few seconds, ONLY IF it is safe to do so out of the plane you jump from, and IF the pilot is OK with it. It is pretty fun to do! You can also curl up in a cannonball and fall really fast when you are high up for a different experience. Remember though that you will fall MUCH FASTER than just belly to earth flying, which you are used to. You must also have the right rig to freefly so ask your instructor which one to buy if you plan on purchasing your own. Altitude awareness (I cannot stress it enough)!!! REMEMBER ---> if you cannot make it back to the DZ AND perform your ENTIRE landing sequence (starting at 1,000 feet), it is best to start your landing sequence in the safest place possible that you can reach. I have already had to walk back to the dropzone one time because I pulled a little too low and the tandem took awhile to exit the plane, so we were a little too far from the DZ. I should have asked the pilot to turn around and I should have pulled higher, my mistake. I learned many lessons from it. Remember to spot where you are before you exit the aircraft and look down for other planes (no kidding)! I had a plane fly about 200 feet right above myself and my instructor on AFF level 6. Be careful! If you aren't where you need to be, tell the pilot. He can turn the plane around so you can jump closer to the DZ. Learn to spot. Practice it every time you jump. Some instructors will not recommend this but I use an audible altimeter also. I do not ever use it to know when to break away or pull, I use it as a safety measure in case I lose altitude awareness (that is if it has batteries and is accurate). Better yet, use two. And buy your own helmet/goggles! Heck, buy your own rig if you can, make sure your instructor approves everything you do or add to your dives. You must be comfortable with EVERYTHING you add to your skydive because it just adds more to think about during your dive and can add complications that weren't necessarily there before. Purchase a SIM (Skydiver's Information Manual) from the USPA and read through it. Work on getting your A-License =) Oh yea... practice your emergency procedures (IN THE AIR AND UNDER CANOPY) and check your altitude!!! That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I still have to take my "A" license exam but I have fulfilled all of the requirements and have already completed my skydive test (last saturday)

I read it before I posted That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I haven't seen any discussions about this camera. I am looking for something with a very slim profile and this looks like a good candidate. Has anyone had any experience with this camera? How does it perform in freefall? This camera is not compatible with any wide angle lenses that I know of. Would it be a good idea to stick with a camera that has a wide angle lens? I will only be using it for fun jumps and training purposes, not professional photography. Thank you! That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

When you're afraid, keep your mind on what you have to do. And if you have been thoroughly prepared, you will not be afraid That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive

I just finished AFF Level's 2 & 3 - tons of fun. I learned quite a bit from level 2, turning and tracking. Everything went smoothly. Will be doing 4/5 soon, I can't get enough of this I want to be there right now That John Denver's full of s**t man... It's a great day to be alive