billo

not too shabby of a weekend at all, i'm glad to be out of school for the summer! :5:1 Fun time had by all at the hillbilly boogie @ mt. vernon. Weather could have cooperated more on Sunday, but hey 5 jumps on Saturday were fun. GREAT partying both nights! The beer is for my first time out of a Casa, what a great plane. I love that automatically opening tailgate!!! b

Oh, you know, every time i buy something of value the first thing that comes to mind is "how can i take this apart?!" Like webracer mentioned, just to make it easier I guess. On the pc330, the lanc port is in the same group as the mic, headphone, and a/v jack. This grouping is located on the right side of the camera, so it goes right up next to the helmet on a side mount. I really like your idea about just drilling a hole, too! I guess I will wait till my FF2 gets here though before i start breaking apart my camera. For now, I am just collecting ideas for now about what lies ahead. tenacious b

Troy, I saw a post in another thread that detailed taking the strap and swivel off of the pc330, but what is the best way to remove the covers from the lanc & A/V ports? Do you just pinch the plastic parts that go into the camera and pull?

Decibel - I think I agree with skybytch's assessment of "when to be a coach" more than just about anything else. To me, it's not so much numbers as much as when you have complete awareness of what you and your student is doing. If you come down from a jump with a friend and remember/say things like "hey i saw you lose your gum at 8000 feet" or "you were orbiting around me clockwise after the 3rd point" or "you're having problems putting your feet on your butt on exit", well then you are probably ready for coaching. If you are overwhelmed by the jump to the point of just remembering "wow, that was a great dive, we got like what, 5 or 10 points in?" then you are probably lacking in the awareness that skybytch describes. Oh, and don't forget an important thing I didn't see anyone else mention...you gotta be SAFE!!! If you can't be safe by yourself (good tracking, altitude awareness) then you wouldn't want to be in the air with an inexperienced jumper IMO. With a new student you have to know when to get out of the dive and then know you can get to a safe distance from the student since they may not be the best tracker yet. Anyhow, just a few thoughts. I am totally not trying to discourage you from pointing out errors you see other lower jump number (or higher jump number) jumpers make. If you want to help them out and are unsure of how to tell them, ask an instructor what they think. It will only better prepare you to coach in the future. But yeah, there is no rush! I've always been a loud-mouth about what i saw others doing in the air, but it wasn't till after 500 jumps or so that i became a card-carrying loud-mouth. By then i was ready to expand my usefulness in the sport and wanted to help out my DZ. blues, b

Hey Geee, I hope you get what you intended to... Looks like from their website (http://www.infinitycameras.com/search.php?SimpleSearch=pc330) that they offer 3 flavors of the PC330: $849, $939, and $1399. Don't know where their $775 deal was from. I talked to a buddy of mine who is a full-time photographer before I picked up my PC330, and he said that the big things to watch out for from New York resellers are used items, refurbished items, grey market items, and USA market items. It is pretty easy to understand what used and refurbished are. He said that he is careful with grey market because those products usually do not carry any sort of manufacturer warranty, and you also have to watch out for overseas items that may sneak over (such as a camcorder that is PAL instead of NTSC). USA market items are sold at the highest prices, but are sealed in the box with the original manufacturer warranty. The Infinity Camera site is pretty vague as to what the $849 or $939 version entails, but the $1399 one is clearly labeled as the USA kit, so I am guessing that it is the USA market camera, while the other two are something else. My buddy said that he'll buy lenses, film, and other cheap things on the grey market all the time, but won't make any major grey market purchases. He swayed me enough to go with a USA market PC330, and I got it for $1,122. Best of luck to you - I feel the same concern that i'm seeing others post about for your camera that is on the way, and hope that it works out for you! b

Excellent...(or should i say "excellence..."?) Exactly the input i was looking for. Thank you!!! b

OK so I've searched through the forum here and found that the Sony excellence tapes are about as good as it gets for all-around shooting, especially on a Sony PC camcorder. I'm checking out the Sony webpage and see 3 types of tapes - premium, excellence, and excellence w/ integrated chip: http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start;sid=AfvW-iVmCfHW7WXbBADc8WppRxSOXw2PcEs=?CategoryName=dcc_DIAccessories_DIBlankMedia_MiniDV&Dept=dcc The forums have a lot of talk about the excellence tapes, but none really go into the chip on the tape. I found the tape w/ chip for $12.49, and w/o chip for $7.49 on B&H. The Sony page really only mentions bookmarking as a feature of the chip. Does it have any other features, like fewer dropouts than the excellence tape w/o the chip? Any thoughts on the differences between the two, and why you use one over the other? Or are the features of the chip not justified for the extra $5? Thanks! B

hi Carlos - I'm all about picking up one or both of these lenses, but i was wondering why the common echo from everybody that you need the .3 for FF and the .5 for RW. are folks so spread out on the FF dives that only the .3 will do to catch everybody? or is the .5 too narrow for a gripped group of freeflyers? i was also wondering if your statement was general or if there were exceptions. for each of the situations below, which would you pick? (the 0.3 or 0.5...anyone else chime in w/your opinions of these two lenses in the below situations as well...) - filming a 4-way RW from above - being part of a 4-way RW (w/camera) - filming a tandem from 10ft away - being part of a 6-way zoo FF (w/camera) - being part of a tight 4-way FF (w/camera) - filming a 2-way FF from 10-20ft One last question. I have pretty long legs, 17" femur from my belly to knee in a sitting position. is the 0.3 so wide that my knees will keep popping into view when in a regular sitfly, looking straight ahead? what about the 0.5? thanks for the advice. can't wait to put my order in!

strip foosball???!?!! i never knew there to be such a game!!! thanks for the warning/advice (on pregnancy/on sex) i will try to keep that in mind next time i walk up to a foosball table while blitzed! b

Josh, You will be able to find one for $50 if you wait long enough, one may just come around. Be sure to check the classifieds on dropzone.com and ebay too. I bought my 1st FT-50 at full price while in AFF. I got my 2nd couple years later after my 1st ended up in a corn field somewhere during a particularly rough jump, and i got it used from a buddy who was getting out of the sport for like $20 or something. I recently picked up my 3rd FT-50 so that i can sew it into my knife pillow for CRW and S/L students, and i got it used off of dropzone.com for $60. I think $50 will be a tough find, but worth it if you can get it. That's what I was looking for one at all winter, and couldn't find any that cheap. I finally cracked and went with $60 this spring because i needed another altimeter. It is my fav altimeter. Huge numbers, good construction, and cheaper than the altimasters. Don't worry about the 12,000 thing, it just keeps going around after that. You may have to replace the velcro every 1,000 jumps or so, but the altimeter should last longer than you as long as you don't drop it from 2,000 feet. good luck on the hunt!

ZOOM! hey there fellow anvil, welcome to the forums! Good luck with your training. If any of your instructors happen to complain about you falling too fast, tell them to stop being pansies and put on some weights! b

no crap, i had seen you at the boogie and probably talked to you after many trips to the beer truck before, but had no clue you ran around with his sort back in the day. i guess i always figured you for much younger. it really is a surprise that matt is still alive...i sure hope he gets dragged out to the dz this year for more than one or two trips. good to know what you've been kicking after all that time too. so did you go to school in iowa then? jump with the freaks before the dropzone in winterset? at winterset, we have been pretty back and forth between RW and FF. some seasons, everyone wants to focus on some serious FF, then during that winter everyone talks about mixing it up and doing serious RW the next year. it goes back and forth and nearly everyone crosses the line each year to do what the rest of the sneetches are doing. both disciplines are a blast, and that may have to do with the folks you are participating with. i'm glad that we're the folks that can have fun doing anything! oh and btw, i've heard that 2004 is going to be "the year of the belly", but that will be decided once we see how our teams do at the npsl meet at skydive iowa this upcoming weekend... 113 days, 11 hours, 21 minutes, 20 seconds and counting!

TRUE DAT!

LOL, you know, i thought you had a freedom suit last time i saw you in eloy! i didn't even look to see when your original post was, but thought the thread was recent cuz of a post from may 4 of this year. oh well. maybe it will help spread the word and get FMC some more business!

jeff, i am with you on barefoot or flipflops. i was just instigating trouble with earlier posts. people give me silly looks for jumping in tevas well into the cold of winter. i haven't looked at the society for barefoot living website in years. what a great site!!!

ouch! ok, that sucks then. ya gotta elaborate more!

speaking for the organization of people with smelly feet, i say SUCK IT UP!!! maybe she had some nasty sort of foot rot and the doctor recommended that she take off her shoes to let those toes breathe! i dunno. i'm sure if you would have stuck around that the smell would go away pretty quick. maybe they need better ventilation in those computer dorms. b

yo dave, i'm a huge guy too, and freedom suits has me sold. i've jumped a tony suit and tony pants, and neither have handled the test of time very well. i've seen the jumpbubbles, and they look nice, but i thought that they had stopped production for awhile. maybe the person i heard that from was on crack. that guy does have a nice jumpbubble, and i think that there are many similar characteristics between jumpbubble and freedom. i also really thought of going with firefly since they are based out of my hometown. but, i didn't like how the fireflys look so much like bell-bottoms, with narrow legs and wide flares at the hands and feet. in the end i chose freedom for my new suit last year after seeing a great suit on a TM out at skydive chicago. so anyway, i got it nearly a year ago and it is still holding up very strong. i got the "wacky phat" model that is a step bigger than the "fully phat" that is on the freedom website. i got the double material on both the arms and legs. karen did a dam fine job on the sewing on that suit. i've done plenty of sewing with my rigger and know what to look for in a stitch, and i tell you they are all well done. there are no stiches on the "outside" of the suit, except for the zipper front, the velcro cuffs, and the stripes down the side. the rest of the seams are folded in, wrapped with half-inch binding tape, and then double stiched through that. (that would be the practice for connecting the body, arms, crotch, knees, legs, etc) karen also has a great sense of style, so feel safe if you grant her some artistic license if you don't know quite what you want. i sent her in a couple different types of fabrics for the stripes down the sides of the suit along with a basic idea of what i wanted, and she just went to town. enough about all that, it also flies great. it took me a jump to get accustomed to the feel of all of that material flapping on my arms, but i quickly adapted and never notice anymore. the fabric is the proper length near the arms, and does not balloon out so far that it would ever interfere with handle operation. weighing in around 260-280 with gear, i have always been on the fast side when it came to belly flying. i know they say that the suit doesn't make the jumper, but this one has definitely increased my range. i found that when chasing my first few tandems with it, i could be on the level with the TM and go up and down the length of the bridle like it was nothing. before, with if there was a small tandem and i was chasing, i would be de-arched so much that it would make basic manuvering around much more difficult. ever since i got that suit, there has not been a single tandem that i haven't managed to dock on. oh and it works dandy for RW dives too. again, i can concentrate more on the points i am supposed to turn and not so much about trying to not be low. freefly i can't complain at all. i have changed my sit stance from more of a "laz-e-boy" style closer to an upright sit to stay with my friends. i can also now do head down with more people than just the other big boys that i did it with before. i really like it, and so does everyone else at my dz. i am the only one there with a freedom suit and it just makes peoples' jaws drop. many of them are planning on picking up a freedom suit when their current suits wear out. so that is my testimonial! not a doubt in my mind that my next suit will be another freedom, but i probably won't need another one till i pick up my tandem rating and want a suit to take the wear/tear of butt landings. lemme know if you want anymore info. later, b

mushroom, MUSHROOM!!! dammit wingnut, i had that tune out of my head for a whole week, and now it's back! www.badgerbadgerbadger.com

hells yes, tipped the waitress big for the whole round of free drinks!

Well, I am about to throw down the cash for the 2k Composites FF2 helmet (they are the only ones cool enough to make a custom helmet for my giant noggin) and I am trying to decide on the last option...cutaway handle pre-installed, or no cutaway handle... From the pic on their website (http://www.2kcomposites.com/html/cutaway.html) the handle seems to jut a bit forward. To anyone who has the cutaway on their FF2 - Do you think that it sticks out far enough that it could be accidentally pulled by others on some rougher dives? Has anyone experienced any cutaways of it due to snagging of the handle? How securely is the handle attached to the chincup? (looks like velcro in the picture perhaps) Would you recommend the cutaway handle, regardless of how much extra stuff may or may not be strapped to the helmet? (i'll just be using a pc330 in the side for the time being) Thanks for any opinions, Bill

VEGAS BABY, VEGAS!!! is right!!!!! i was just out there for the first time the weekend of the 1st and it was AWESOME!!! it was 4 days, 3 nights, and only 8 hours of sleep of some of the craziest partying I have ever seen! tried to hit as many BJ tables as possible at IP, luxor, MGM, slots-o-fun, sarhra, etc. got stuck in the elevator at stratosphere for nearly an hour...drank enough free booze non-stop that i would have broken even, if just from that! i was the only one of 12 folks that was up any cash at the end of the weekend.... GOOD LUCK TO YA!!!! (and don't forget the -1,0,+1 too!)

Ouch, i knew there was a reason that i didn't make it out to Wamego that often! Were you the "second witness"? b

how lame am i so far this season??? 0-0-0 come to think of it, those have been my numbers since eloy. i spent all day today working on a final paper for my econ class Oh well, i get to hit vegas next weekend, and then back to jumping the weekend after that!!!

i think i had 4 1/2 days jumping (cut short by sickness) and 20 jumps or so. already have next year's boogie on the calendar! :) b