airdrew20012001

I meant do you use it. Drewfus McDoofus

Well, do you? Yes No Drewfus McDoofus

Would you deploy your main if you were on your back? yes no only if I was dire low Drewfus McDoofus

I have anew freefly suit on the way and have been doing the sweats things, works like a charm. Give consistant drag like the freefly suit I demo's in Eloy. I tuck the sweatshirt into the sweats so it doesn't cover my handles and pull the drawstring on the sweats snug. Have seen others do the same, seems to work. Drewfus McDoofus

Shyster, I would say yes. Drewfus McDoofus

Never been to Elsinore or Perris but have been to Eloy, it rocks. Sure the TOWN of Eloy is a depressing little hell unto intself but there is no reason to ever leave the DZ. Drewfus McDoofus

http://www.square1.com (watch out for that Lisa character though, she's a shyster) http://www.sunshine-factory.com http://www.skykat.com http://www.ground-rush.com (good listing of other sites) The used gear stuff in the classifieds here is really good. Drewfus McDoofus

I shoot video of tandems and I see first hand every day the difference between before and after, in that look the whole thing is explained. Sometimes they laugh so hard they crawl on the ground unable to verbalize. Sometimes they can't even put together broken sentences. They shout, they hug me, they high five, they cry, they hollar. I agree with what others said, go to the dz with him, meet the people. See looks on the faces of the first time jumpers and you will know. Drewfus McDoofus

Hey folks, I wanted to start this thread for the newer camera flyers. I encourage the more seasoned flyers to leave three piecs of safety advice. Mine: 1) Set your deployment altitude and stick with it, they won't pay you extra to suck it down. 2) Start simple and build. 3) If you are going to film canopy deployment, make sure subject pulls at at least 4,500 feet. (Especially if you are going to film from your back) Drewfus McDoofus

I got a tiffen 30-37 step up adapter from B and H photovideo (www.bhphotovideo.com). They also have really cool Velbon quick release plates as well. (Oooh, toys!) Specifically: http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___221463___TISUR3037___REG___CatID=0___SID=ECA009C5860 Drewfus McDoofus

I use a batrack with the trv 17 and the rebel mounted side by side on the top plate and it works for me great. I have a d-box for the vid and a velbon quick release for the still, works perfect. We are a cesna dz as well. The other camera guy runs the same set up but with a PC with a roll cage. The third of our camera people uses the same sort of set up as you describe but with one of skydance's compact camera's front mounted. One of the tandem masters also shoots some video and uses a flat top pro, he's never mentioned feeling cramped with it. My concern was the price, I got my bat rack used for $250. The flat top pro is something like $650 new. Plus, you end up with a camera platform that is angled at something like 15 degree instead of flat. I don't have a ton of experience freefly filming but wonder if the angle wouldn't be a hassle. Brain and I both love our batrak setups. Hope that helps Drewfus McDoofus

If I remember correctly you drill a hole in the helmet for your mounts. Try putting up a post using "how do you mount a pc on a hawkeye" if you don't get much response here. You might also put the same post in the freefly posting area since the most prevelant use of the hawkeye is in freeflying. Drewfus McDoofus

From experience I can say I agree. The camera flyer is definitely on his own during the skydive. All rules are off as far as I am concerned. I was videoing a three way when one of the people deployed right under me when I was on my back filming a deployment. The guy said he had lost track of me, when I asked him why he turned 90 degree from the center of the formation, tracked short and dumped he had no answer. (instead of tracking away from the center of the formation and tracking for a while). Depending on what we are doing, we may be above, below, or on plane with whatever our subject matter is. Even when doing relative work where, frequently, it is understood that the camera man dumps in place at break off, I watch to make sure everyone is traking before I deploy. Oh well, beats the hell out of packing tandems to pay for skydiving, gotta get a free slot somehow. Drewfus McDoofus

Got Velbon quick release plates for my still camera and they rock. I also use a D-Box and being able to put the video in the d-box with the still not crowding it rocks. Plus, I got down from a tandem load and went to shoot the last couple of stills of the passanger and her support group and being able to pop the still off with the quickness was the bomb. Drewfus McDoofus

Um.....okay.....I hate to be the one to say it, but I will: would any load ever get off the ground if "partying the night before" was legally actionable to the point where people would be grounded? I mean, I understand that if someone is not mentally able to handle the skydive they shouldn't, the above quote struck me as something of a wuffo comment. Ow well, "Clay has some beers, let's ground him" Drewfus McDoofus

Just more of a poll than anything else. At the DZ I work at I have to spot the load when flying camera since we are an itty bitty cesna DZ, anybody else in the same boat? As a second questions, anybody ever fall out while getting out on the strut? I haven't yet but assume I will and want to be able to either say "I am a big fat idiot" or "it happens all the time" Drewfus McDoofus

I totally agree. Fuckers! Drewfus McDoofus

amen to that! Drewfus McDoofus

"oh, boy" they all said "that damn Drew is now going to chip in". Or not. Here's my $1.53: buy a good helmet. You have to remember you have invested a fair amount of dinero in a camera that you want to make sure nothing bad happens to. While I have seen some interesting home made gigs that worked, I have also seen some that have not. To the detriment of the film or the camera, both equal wasted time and money be it only on jump tickets or worse, the camera itself. You can get really nice helmets for pretty cheap what with everybody and their dog doing video then selling their first helmet used. If you end up going cheap-o for now you will probably end up getting a decent one later and any and all money now spent is or can be lost. Drewfus McDoofus

Agreed. Read the whole post. I think people should have both if they can afford them. The idea of "I'll wait to see if I react the way I was trained to" was what I was reacting to. Drewfus McDoofus

300 hundred way...Drew no like...feh Drewfus McDoofus

Here's my concern folks: in reading a post about RSL's and freefly I saw one person say that they were going to leave their RSL on until they had a cutaway. That way the person could see if they needed it or not in that if that cut away and pulled the deploy handle they might remove it, if they panicked and only cut away they would leave it. Hmm. I think RSL's and cypress are a great advent to an admittedly dangerous sport. The problem I see these days is a an attitude that people can rely on these backup safety devices instead of proper training and reaction. I have heard of people doing head down two ways from 5,000 on the theory that worst case scenario the cypress would save them. YIKES!! When I started, few had cypress, nobady had RSL, and hook turns killed most skydivers. I had a lineover wihtout an RSL and pulled both handles as I was trained. I had another slow speed mal a year ago with an RSL and still pulled both handles. I wear a ditter and wrist mount and even though I shoot tandem video's I still find a way to peek at my altimeter. My point: rely on your training and awareness not your RSL and cypress. They are worst case scenario back up devices not substitutes. That is all. Drewfus McDoofus

Oops, meant freefly Drewfus McDoofus

Not to pile on stuff but a friend of mine, Earnie, failed two or three levels for failure to be altitude aware. He plowed through the hard deck. I agree with what others say. Plan the dive and dive the plan. Relax and have fun, this is supposed to be a sport, not a job. At least not yet. I knew one AFF master who used to tell his students if they didn't smile at least once he would fail them. Fun is key. Drewfus McDoofus

Here's what I can tell you from personal experience: I had a raider 220 loaded at about .8 and the front risers didn't matter. I had a sabre 170 loaded at 1:1 and they were heavy but you could tell you were diving. I had a Robo Z 170 and it did ok, more fast than the sabre. I now jump a stilletto 135 and the front toggle pressure is light and very responsive. My impression is that elipticals are more responsive than non probably because, especially in the case of the stilletto, the difference in the way the leading edge is trimmed. Plus the wing loading always makes canopies more reactive. I jumped a triathalon 160 and a sabre 130 back to back and the difference was very noticeable. If you are not getting much out of student gear then GOOD! Learn to land straight, into the wind, on your feet in wind, traffic, no wind, side wind, et then worry about front riser turns. If you want a fun ride up high with lighter loading try what I call a sashay. Do about 90 degree turn in one direction, when you get that light feeling during the recovery, drop the opposite side steering toggle and bury it. Even steering toggle pressure is heavy in big student gear. "Be safe, don't be a statistic" Drewfus McDoofus