RMK

I looked at all the possible locations when I did a HALO and Skydance was by far the best choice. Tad Smith normally runs these courses and it is quite professional with high quality equipment. The FAA will refer you to CAMI (Civil Aerospace Medical Institute) for the “chamber ride” Info at: http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/aerospace_physiology/ One note, a proper HALO or high altitude jump is all about the oxygen, not just the skydive and is not comparable to 20-24K jumps where it is only required to have O2 on the lift up. 30K and higher involves much more and without going into detail, one difference is the need to have a 1hr O2 prebreath to flush nitrogen from you system so as to not get the “bends” "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

The editor of the magazine has provided me a PDF of the article however, it is a 5MB file even in low-res. Is it possible for the mods to accept this file and make a link for others to see? It is OK with the Editor of Loop Magazine to post a copy of the PDF. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’m looking for child-size skydiving goggles in a size for 2-4yrs olds. On a recent wind tunnel visit, they had a pair (looked like Kroops) that were the right size for toddlers. I want to buy a pair and have called both UK wind tunnels, but no one there today knows what brand they are or where they got them. I also tried a couple shops at DZs, but also no joy. Below is a pic of what I’m looking for. Thanks in advance for any info on finding them. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Had some PMs on this, so to share the basic info Requirements: 1. 200 jumps 2. FAA Class III Medical - $75 in US, £100 in UK 3. Hypobaric Chamber Training - Ranges from $75-400; latter if private, former is via CAMI and done at a US military base on a civilian day (did mine at Andrews AFB, it was quite fun) I’ll check the new pricing when Skydance is open on Wednesday, but from memory it was $425 for first timers and about $375 with prior HALO jump training. This included a weekend with full briefings/equipment. Two training jumps from normal height (one with O2 gear on but not activated, one with O2 activated). Then a 5am start on jump day beginning with a one-hour pre breath. 2009 dates were 12-14Jun & 18-20Sep, so I expect similar this year. I'll post exact dates/prices on later in week. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Just a note, the LowePro (Size#1) camera lens case is an exact fit for the Sony CX6/7, CX11/12 and the new 520 series. So will also hold the Sony 100/105 with slightly more room. Good if you just want simple protection without lots of straps, pockets, etc "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I did a 30K jump at Skydance (w/ Tad Smith) a few years ago and am now planning to go back and do a wingsuit HALO. They normally do these on two weekends in either June or September. I had a look through the old threads on wingsuit HALOs. Are there any other groups/persons planning the same this coming year? I’m also interested in any useful tips/links. On my last HALO, the two O2 bottles were strapped to my left leg. From reading the prior threads, I see, for WS, some have put them inside their suits or below their rigs. What’s the consensus on best practice? Or is that still experimentation in progress? "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

The December issue of Loop Magazine (a pilot/flying magazine) has a 10-page feature on jump ships. It may be possible to view the article on their website www.loop.aero "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

FYB (S-Fly) recommends a minimum bridle length of 2.5m (100”) I spoke with SunPath and bought 129" bridle w/ 33" pilot chute. Has worked cleanly and consistently. Also, some go for the "cut-corners" mod to the container, but I don't think it’s needed if you flare properly just before deploying. However, some flyers don't flare at all and the corners will help them. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Also love my Expert and am maybe looking at their Verso or a Phoenix. This concept of people "outgrowing" their suit to go bigger?? Watch the videos of Loic Jean-Albert or others pushing the Experts; then ask yourself can you do it that well and need more suit? I agree with the concept of it being more about piloting and less about "suit of the month" "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I was going through some old photos and ran across this one. It’s from one of Skydive Cape Town’s 206’s. Probably been seen before at another DZ, but it always makes me smile. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

What about mowing the words into the grass? You could make the letters huge and it would make a great photo and show up well on video. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’d been planning to do some tunnel flying for some time but never got around to it. On this first trip, my three-year old son did 6 minutes and I did 4, so he actually has more tunnel time than me. Video at http://www.vimeo.com/7132241 "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

That’s great; I bet you can’t get her out of it now (my 2yr old insisted on sleeping in his FF suit when he first got it). For anyone else entertaining small children with skydiving gear, the smallest size Buzz kite looks/flies like a canopy if you take the lines off it and connect the toggles directly to the suspension lines. (Pics below) Of course, she may have to cutaway her arm wings which will no doubt start a heated discussion here. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Yet again another thread ruined by more inane bitching than actually answering or providing feedback to the original query posted. More often than not this is done by persons with post numbers far exceeding or even 10x multiples of their jump numbers. RE my original post where “Jakee” questioned the wording of the BPA WS guidelines - this was an exact cut/paste from the BPA website. RE my example of the jumper beginning WS training at 350 jumps, now having 100+ WS jumps, receiving WS1 and WS2, yet still being just short of 500 jumps and actively jumping in the UK – it’s not theoretical; it’s me. When did I last jump wingsuit in the UK? 2 days ago and have done so at three differing UK DZs in the last months. There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum who can and do share a lot of their experience; however we continue to have to wade through much unintelligible banter to find it. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Most countries minimum jump number or currency number are to “Start or Begin Instruction”. For example, in the UK, the BPA guidelines begin with “Before attempting a wing suit jump, a skydiver should have a minimum of 500 freefall skydives or a minimum of 250 freefall skydives made within the past 18 months...” This doesn’t directly address the possibility of you already knowing how to wingsuit safely. You can train in wingsuit flying in another country with lower jump number requirements. You may even be able to get your country’s wingsuit qualifications in another country. For example, someone with 350 jumps could learn to fly wingsuits in Spain, buy their own suit, do 100+ wingsuit jumps, even get the BPA WS1 & WS2 stickers for their license/logbook and still be under the initial minimum guidelines for beginning wingsuit training in the UK. However, I don’t believe any UK CCI would stop that person wingsuiting at their dropzone after discussion and proof of the above. I would add that I’m not promoting skirting the rules and just getting by, but on an individual basis I’ve seen people with 300 jumps seem far safer/skilled than some others with 800-1000. For wingsuiting, I’d strongly suggest the training be done on a specific multiday course (like various wingsuit training camps) as opposed to intermitttent one-off training where you get some pointers and just go give it try. Remember, unlike FS or FF, no one can help you if something goes wrong. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

This looks exactly like something that was going around to helicopter tour operators about 6 months ago (and posted on helicopter pilot forums). Looks like they’ve just cut/pasted from helicopter tours to skydiving training. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Empuriabrava, Spain; it’s the best dropzone in Europe and one of my favourite places to jump. I know many Brits, that don’t even jump in England anymore and just do trips to Empuria. I’ve actually got 4 times as many jumps there as the UK DZ I call my home DZ. Good vibe, top instruction and lots of planes. Info at www.skydiveempuriabrava.com "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I will put the camera on to give it a try, just wondering if anyone had any good results from any specific settings or having the night mode on/off. One thought: the scene mode has a “fireworks” setting, has anyone tried that with success? "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’m doing some night jumps over the weekend. Probably a silly query, but has anyone ever got any usable/interesting video from these? Does using the night mode yield any results? Or is not even worthwhile attaching my camera on the jumps? For reference, I’m using a Sony CX6. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Try DogTag at www.dogtag.co.uk they can provide annual global cover for skydiving. There’s also PJ Hayman Adventures Policies (I used them for 5 yrs) but they now only cover Europe not the US also. DogTag has quite reasonable rates and can cover a wide variety of extreme activities. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

If you liked your S-Fly Expert, then why not go and demo the new S-Fly Verso. If you’re used to the clean flight of a monowing you’ll get the best of both (and it has back vents). I’ve got an S-Fly Expert and about 80 wingsuit jumps. I’ve demo’d other tri-wings, but you can feel the extra drag as soon as you exit. Admittedly, the trend to big “floaty” suits trend is feeding on itself. People get bigger suits to fly slow & floaty and others then must do the same to fly easily with a large flock. It’s like Americans buying big 4x4 SUVs in case they get hit by ... another big 4x4 SUV. Just look closely at some of the latest flock photos on the net; not only are legs bent, but people are flying around with about a 90 degree bend or more (I’m not an aerodynamicist, but that’s not an airplane wing to me). Personally, I like having a fast/agile suit for aerobatics and flying in small/mid-size groups which accounts for the majority of my jumping. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Thanks again, will give that a try. As for usage, I just had a couple frames from my vids that I wanted to grab a still for my computer photo album and/or iPhone. I bought VegasPro last year and have been just learning as I go. I have your VASST Discs and find the Sony Creative Software and Creative Cow sites useful when I “get stuck” trying to do something new/creative. Googling a VegasPro problem usually yields many pages of sites. Do you have any other “best picks” for video editing forums or how-to sites? "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Thanks Spot, I had Vegas set to BEST/AUTO. The BEST/FULL setting gives a much larger image (1920x1080x32b PNG). However, there’s now a varying amount of “combing” in the output photos. It’s not too bad; I tried BEST/HALF and the combing is gone, but not as good of a photo as the BEST/FULL. Any ideas re the “combing” Hope you’re healing well. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’m using Sony Vegas Pro 8c. Is there a way to get higher resolution screengrabs (JPEGs). The “Save Snapshot to File” button produces a 480x270x24b image. I’ve searched here and on some of the Sony forum sites and can’t find an answer. Additionally, the “Copy Snapshot to Clipboard” yields a distorted aspect ratio if pasted into say a MS Word File. This is from HD recordings on a Sony CX6 set to highest quality "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Thanks, I’ve heard good reviews of the Puerto Rica and Montana events. As for Moab, (from the UK) this would involve maybe 2 or three flights and then a 6hr drive. In the past has it been possible to charter a small plane between a few people or either has Skydive Arizona let some people fly in their jump ships to Moab? Looks like a fantastic place to jump, but a bit of a journey for international travellers. Re “Kallend” - Shouldn’t you be over in Speakers Corner ranting on something? The next post got it right. I fully understand if people are into big-ways & records, it’s just that this has no appeal to me. This is but one my hobbies/interests, I don’t have unlimited free time, and wanted to note to any potential repliers that I wasn’t interested in big-way/record events. I just came back from one; I wasn’t that impressed. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"