Mr.B

Sounds like a fun project to dive into. My knowledge of wingsuit design is very limited (I only fly them ), but a friend of mine is doing his own tracksuits and wingsuits in his garage and then basejumping/flying them himself... with no actual aviation education. So for a motivated individual willing to learn, it is not impossible as some people try to make it look... Even more so doable if it's a student project not a commercial one, where I assume no one will actually fly the thing from the plane anyway. My friend website is here: http://www.rbaseg.eu/ You can find contact information there. He is usually very open to sharing knowledge, and as far as I know, he is right now building another suit, so maybe he can snap and share some photos from different stages of development. As for suit looking like Horten H O 229... I think Tonysuits made at some point a suit looking very similar to that (just arm wing - no or very small leg wing). Can't seem to find a photo of the suit anywhere online now, but from my memory it looked similar. It was not a mainstream product, but I remember that a guy flying it, made a very good score (speed wise) during one of wingsuit BASE competitions in Norway few years back. But probably there is a reason (or multiple of them) why the suit never got into mass production. But the idea has been tried already. Good luck! cheers

I'm not sure how you would want to achieve writing 4k RAW on an SD card (with cards, that are currently on the market) ? I'm really curious how only 1080p RAW is gonna work with this. It looks like just 10bit prores already will require top of the line sd cards. Maybe multiplying sd card slots (and allowing a kind of raid-0 write mode) could work for higher data streams, but that would probably make this camera not so "pocket" I think, you miss the point of this product. It's not Scarlet competition/equivalent - Blackmagic Production Camera is: http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicproductioncamera4k cheers, Bart

Seems like Germany and Finland are spoiling Europe's statistics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting#Europe US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shootings_in_the_United_States#List_of_notable_U.S._school_attacks cheers, B.

I'm not sure about that Samyang 8mm on 550D (sensor with 1.6 crop factor) gives around 167 degrees of view, which is just slightly less than in GoPro videos which so many people seem to love nowadays cheers, Bart

This one : http://underdeconstruction.net/stuff/cutaway.wmv ? cheers, Bart

Well, I totally disagree I don't want to be Alti2 defender (heck, they are still not providing NMU for Mac users), but in this case, (IMO) you guys put the blame on the wrong side. This issue should be solved in Paralog software. The problem is not, that there is no IRCOMM2k driver for 64bit Windows, it's the fact that it is needed at all. For me (as a former N2 owner) this ircomm driver, always looked like a kludge (especially considering the fact, that it is not maintained since year 2004, and the last code change in the driver code was made like 8 years ago - you can have a look at ircomm2k site), and it was just a matter of time (new Windows release) , when things will fall apart for windows Paralog users (remember, that NMU does not need any 3rd party software to operate correctly, so it's not impossible). I think you guys, should contact Klaus (author of Paralog) and ask him, what are the chances of getting ircomm2k-less communication with N2. Just my opinion cheers, Bart

or c) it's not their responsibility to fix this problem. IRCOMM2k driver is not their product (so it's not Alti2 fault, there is no 64bit version of such). Paralog is also not Alti2 product, so they cannot change it so that it does not require additional IR->com driver (notice, that NMU can connect with no problems with N2). My guess is that since Paralog is written in Java, it does not have a direct access to IR hardware (N2), and hence has to use some weird driver "wrappers" (like ircomm), that show the device under faked COM port (which is easier to access from within Java code). cheers, Bart

Don't know - haven't seen any zpx Pilot, so I don't know how big they pack. Best way to find out would probably be to borrow I5 and/or 150zpx and check it yourself (or even better with your local rigger). I'm not sure if the sizing chart on Aerodyne site: http://www.flyaerodyne.com/fly/iconsel.asp is still valid, as it looks to me, it was not updated, after they started offering canopies made of zpx fabric (you might want to ask Aerodyne about that). cheers, Bart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQuJr5wuvSw&feature=player_detailpage#t=448s Ofcourse the 'time window' will be different depending on AAD mode (student/expert/tandem). Then there is another question - what are the chances of jumper pulling silver in that small time frame, if he didn't do anything up untill that moment? cheers, Bart

I'm not sure what kind and how much data you expect. For all I know, Argus has been on the market since 2006 (if I remember correctly), and to this day, there is no reported case, where it was a cause of a fatality (correct me if I'm wrong), and we have atleast dozen people who live thanks to this AAD (Aviacom on their page claims 24 saves, but last time their full page was online - with accident descriptions and stuff - it looked like almost half of them were two out situations, where AAD fired after/during main deployment - so not everyone may agree, that every of these activation was actually a "save" - everyone can judge for themselfs). I'm not defending Aviacom product/actions here. For sure, there are doubts about reliability of Argus cutters. Should we expect a good investigation / explaination and possible improvements in cutter from Aviacom side ? Absolutely. Should H/C manufacturers deny jumpers the use of device that still has better chance of saving them, then killing ? In my opinion - No. cheers, Bart

Some H/C manufacturers seem to imply that by their Argus bans. They don't disallow using their rigs without an AAD, yet they banned Argus units, ergo, they seem to imply no AAD is better than Argus AAD (unless they think otherwise, and it's really just about covering their back in possible lawsuits). I don't feel jumping without an AAD is not safe, but jumping with one is safer in great majority of cases. cheers, Bart

Ok, I should have been more specific - signing a waiver at DZ does not affect jumper safety in a negative way (atleast I haven't ever seen a waiver, obeying to would compromise jumper's safety - most of the time it's quite contrary). On the other hand, telling people, that jumping without an AAD is safer than jumping with Argus is something I can't agree with, since even though it's possible cutter problems, this device saved far more people than it killed. cheers, Bart

Signing a waiver at DZ does not affect jumper safety in any way (unless we consider, that some people may hurt themselfs with DZ provided pen ), so I don't have anything against these. cheers, Bart

Uhm... wouldn't a statement from manufacturer such as the one from Basik (in short - it's not our responsibility to check every AAD on the market; we can't guarantee any AAD will work fine in our container, and it's user decision about what AAD brand to put in their rig) cover H/C manufacturer from lawsuits such as in scenario 2 ? Anyway, considering that probability of jamming the loop (or premature reserve fire, if Argus fired unnoticed in previous jump and jammed the loop) is so much lower (at least current real world data indicate that), than having a no pull situation, I must say, that I seriously hope, that you are wrong and these bans are not a way for H/C manufacturers, to cover their asses. If it is, in my eyes such companies would loose much of my respect and trust, as it would show, that they are more concerned about avoiding court problems, than jumpers safety cheers, Bart

Sorry to spoil your day, but Cypres worked fine in this video. Check this thread for more info on the cause of container lockup: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=2101957;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; cheers, Bart

I don't "get" this way of thinking. I mean... right now, if someone goes in (due to no pull) with Sunpath container on his back, without an AAD (because his Argus is in his locker, waiting for Sunpath/Aviacom "response") , then I think it's even more probable that H/C manufacturer will get sued, because it disallowed using a device that could save jumpers life (I would understand the ban, if Sunpath and others, made a requirement to use an AAD with their rigs). So far, Argus has saved more people than it killed (was there _any_ accident, where Argus was actually a cause of fatality ? ), so I guess, that the suing family, would have some point in such lawsuit. Whatever would H/C manufacturers do, they are still vulnerable to lawsuits. BTW, it would be quite interesting to know, how many jumpers removed, and how many replaced their Argus units, when all these service bulletins were released. cheers, Bart

I don't have an Argus, but if I had one, I would test drop the fcuker cheers, Bart

Yes, these benefits, probably can be achived with a proper lineset too, but then a canopy manufacturers would need to make these linesets, to match jumpers body and/or harness size. This might also mean more testing of specific canopy / lineset / harness combinations. Not to mention it could be a little difficult to actually demo such manufactured canopies, as a lineset for big guy might cause funky openings for a smaller/thinner girl. I think we are better of with canopies that are built for a "lowest common denominator" I haven't seen it mentioned here, but loosening a chest strap and bringing slider down the risers, will also result in moving a center of mass (of canopy+jumper system) a little bit lower, which not only means better harness input, but also less chances of getting into unintentional line twists after opening (for instance as a consequence of a too aggressive toggle input, or canopy collapse). cheers, Bart

More speed / higher internal canopy pressure certainly helps in most cases with "unstable air", but I think that in this case, the fact ,that the jumper was flying with a little bit of brakes applied, might have actually saved him/her some bones. I imagine, that if the canopy was in full flight, a forward surge after collapse would be greater, and it would cause a greater altitude loss during recovery (unless a jumper would apply brakes just before collapse recovery, but the whole "event" happened so fast, that the jumper probably wouldn't be able to react so quickly ). One thing for sure - someone was very lucky

If you email L&B, they will send you a pdf copy of Optima2 manual. I'm not sure why they haven't yet put it on their website. cheers, Bart

MPAAD is "all in one" type of device (meaning - central unit, cutter and control unit are all in one box), so I think it's a bit more than just a new looks ;) At least the cutter must be a completely different design. cheers, Bart ;)

Seems that 130/160 also shoot in 1080 50p mode: http://www.sony.lv/product/cam-high-definition-on-memory-stick/hdr-cx130e#pageType=TechnicalSpecs Pity about the OIS thing cheers, B.

Can't say anything about N3, but I was using N2 until I broke the LCD eariler this season. I quickly needed and alti so I decided to try and bought a Viso2. IMO in terms of product quality Neptune beats Viso hands down. I was very dissapointed when I got the Viso (I haven't seen it before, but I heard a lot of good things about the unit). First thing I noticed when I unpacked L&B alti, was the display, which is about 30% smaller than the one on the N2 (despite the fact, that both of these alti's are similar in size - N2 being a tiny bit bigger). Viso display also has quite poor viewing angles, if you look at the altimeter at a wrong angle, instead of your altitude you'll only see 888 (like in cheap calculator displays). I also think that N2 has better (more readable) "font" - for instance it's easier to mistake 0 for 8 (or vice versa) on Viso, when quickly glancing on the alti during a jump. Looking at my videos, I noticed, that now it takes me a bit longer on a jump to read an altitude from Viso, than it was when I was jumping Neptune (dunno, maybe because I used N2 first, for a longer period of time, I got more used to the way it displays informations). But what really pisses me off with Viso is it's "user interface". Navigating through or changing device options is like painting a house through a doors keyhole. Both of these altimeters have 3 buttons, and on Neptune they are put into an excellent use - you got a nice readable menu, that you can navigate with ease. On Viso you need to know some "secret" key sequences (like push some button for X seconds, then another for Y seconds, until some icon dissapears, etc.) in order to change/view unit settings. You will probably quickly learn some of the "combos" to access most frequent settings, but once in a while you'll need/want to change/enable something not so common, and if you won't have a user manual with you then, you'll be screwed. With N2 you can just throw away the manual as the unit is so easy to use and set up. Other than LCD and ease of use, I don't have any complains about Viso2. Both of these altimeters seem to be very reliable when it comes to the most important task - measuring current altitude. What can be a very important point in case of Viso is a user support and service that L&B provides - which from what I heard is absolutely unmatched. I know people that had their Protracks washed in a washer or broke LCDs in their units, and L&B just exchanged these units for a new ones, with no additional costs! I broke my LCD in N2 during one of the jumps, and it seems, that repairing that, will cost me 65$ + shipping. So now I'm considering selling my Viso, and buying an N3 instead (which from what I know is much tougher device)

The filtering mechanism may only check the URLs not the whole site content. cheers, B.

Maybe they use some crappy filter rules, that see an ass in the clASSifieds ??? cheers, B.