dirtbox

paying for a course and paying to work for a company are two VERY different things. making a 2.5 year commitment and paying 10K to be trained (granted it does get paid back) to work for a company... just doesn't jive for me. If a company wants to train employees that is their expense. If a company wants to run courses people can become customers, learn the skill and then perform those duties as an employee and market themselves/negotiate income in an open market. The cost of such a course would probably run somewhere close to that of a degree in many countries (10k getting you to level 1 and than additional money to get to level 4) and would merit a pay rate higher than minimum wage +~20% Yes I understand that the training of an instructor does cost the tunnel money and the 10K/2.5yr contract is there to prevent that investment being worthless. It is a novel way of protecting their investment (shifting their risk onto their employee) which is allowed by what amounts to an essential monopoly on training and wages. So if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is probably a duck. just my 2c

If you pay for a job you're a customer...

not a bit OTT? it really just sounds like a modern version of the charts that have been printed by different people/companies for the last 20 years no? It isn't a substitute for talking to an instructor or common sense, just another way of providing already published information. (I am assuming it is inline with other charts like Germains' or similar, if not disregard my comment.

skip it - go to Az and buy in bulk, the jumps will only be a few dollars more and the free 'coaching' you will get from the load organisers and various events will more than make up the small price difference and make you a better skydiver in the process.

http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/02/03/shimano-enters-hd-action-sports-camera-market-big-lens-waterproof-ant-sensor-sync/ http://www.adventure-journal.com/2014/02/gear-shimano-gets-in-the-action-camera-game/ It won’t be available until May, but today Shimano announced a pretty compelling action camera of its very own. The simply named Sport Camera boasts a few eye-opening stats: It’s very lightweight, at 86 grams (Garmin’s Virb Elite is 177 grams and the GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition is 136 grams). It also has a very large 16MP backlit CMOS sensor. That matches the Garmin and is larger than the largest 12MP GoPro. You probably know that pixel count alone isn’t a good metric of image quality; you can pack more pixels into a small sensor and (gross generalization here) often not get superior light capture. So it should be said that the Shimano’s sensor size may simply be the same dimensions (1/2.3″) as the Garmin’s and the GoPro’s — yes, the GoPro has the same size sensor as the Garmin, just a lower pixel count. We do know this much: The f/2.0 lens of the Shimano is very bright, allowing in much more light than the Hero 3+ Black Edition’s f/2.8.

but isn't this thread for the new one due in March with a 50mbs and a Carl Zeis lens which address the lens quality issue? Or am I reading a different thread :S

it has a shelf life???

I was one of those 500 jumps in 6 months kind of people, I also had 3 years in sport though not much of the 2 middle years involved much jumping due to working in Asia (20ish jumps in those 2 years). In the 6 months of jumping daily I saw four or five ambulance rides, one medivac chopper, one fatality spread over 6 DZs and about 180 days of jumping. In the 2 years since I have jumped at another 5 or 6 different dzs seen about 10 ambulance rides, no more fatalities or medivac chopper rides. (hell I was one of those ambulance rides on jump number 2008). Days at the DZ are days at the DZ. Someone could come out and make 500 jumps and see 5 fatalities or none and that isn't relevant to the time spread of those days IMHO, it comes down to the person and what they are willing to learn and what sort of person they are outside of skydiving. I have seen jumpers with 100 jumps and 12 months in sport make better decisions than those with 10 years and 10k jumps (of course the opposite is more generally true). Ultimately, as this is tied to the TI rating requirements, I feel the current system is dated. Setting arbitrary numbers is not the best way to measure someones skill/ability and aptitude to be a TI. Instead there should be more of a focus on sound decision making processes and in air skills (not dis-similiair to the way the AFF course is done). .02c Dave

like you said air time is air time and it is equal…it also takes about the same amount of ground time to achieve the same. Someone who has done 500 jumps over three years has possibly spent a total of 180 days at the dz to achieve those 500 jumps. The person who has done 500 in a year has also spent the same number of days to achieve the same number of jumps and has been exposed to the same amount of information if measured with a time value (like you are suggesting)…. that said the point it a stupid one as it suggests we learn by osmosis. Simply sitting in an airport won't make me a pilot. I might learn a bit of cool trivia but it won't make me a pilot. IMHO someone who has done 500 in a year is hungry for success, wants to learn and will seek out knowledge while practising with a much higher of frequency. Dave

for work it was mostly shorts and shirt (camera/tandem) as i fall slow naturally so it helped other video fliers if i wore less and was more comfortable for me but any serious RW and for my feeble attempts are free flying a suit for those purposes is better…right tool for the job

I gave this some thought before buying a new rig/reserve and came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter too much. I read incident reports of people loading around 1.1:1 and higher loading (~1.6:1) and they all got pretty equally messed up after hitting solid objects/the ground while out under reserve …ended up matching my reserve to my main (120 smart)…chances are if I am out under reserve I am already messed up from the free fall collision and .5:1 different in WL isn't going to make a huge difference to the outcome of a collision with a solid object under canopy 2c worth

the mount for the dual flat locks that go onto a G3 are available from hypoxic (link below). I just ruined a FTP in a swooping accident and am thinking about replacing it with a G3 dual camera set up but I wonder if it will be as stable as a FTP :S http://www.gethypoxic.com/browse/camera-mounts.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=149&category_id=7

sounds like a cool step forward - Awesome :D

pneumatic computerized FXC??? I don't see a stopper so much as that is the limit of the range of motion of the device perhaps? I know a dz in On that would love this ...

now…try doing it the other way …

the ability to switch to speed mode will be nice for some folk however the price point is getting silly - the cost of a Cypres plus the service fees plus the 150 euro extra makes it nearly twice that of other aads on the market over the life of the unit (and that isn't factoring different service lives and the amount of down time you will experience during the 4 year services)...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/united-arab-emirates-set-to-launch-uci-continental-team As the thread title/link suggests - Skydive Dubai could add a cycling team to its swoop pond, Otters and mega tunnel Also it looks like a new home for a few pros that can't find a home with Mancebo and Sammy Sanchez being linked to it. Maybe Chris Horner might be able to get a contract after all

not to sound like a douche but why was this combination ever packed? If the manufacturer says X is the max size reserve and then the rigger packs in an X+1 doesn't that make the rigger liable? Don't get me wrong, the responsibility ultimately lies with someone choosing to purchase/jump such a combination but at the same time...

be interesting to know the container size and canopy sizes?

I believe the German federation requires a 24hr cooling off period between FJC and the first jump (happy to be corrected if wrong?). I do like this for a whole host of reasons ranging from educational to performance of the student.

I'd like it but you'd have t try outside the US...you guys are all clueless as to what good coffee is...

wait for the rebel II (your in Canada and the season is done so you can wait, unless you're going south?)... seen some friends pics of XRW in a rebel ii with a stock velo 79 with no tabs or nothing... food for thought

some of us just like touching ourselves in public... skydiving is just a cover... a very expensive cover

yeh your instructors are a good starting point, one of them even has a broken leg and plenty of time to discuss such things

relined my pilot 117 with HMA for this season - had about 700 jumps on the spectre line set and was way out of trim, 250 jumps on the HMA so far and it is going great with no problems. Hope that helps