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Man that's an EDGE case Idk who let him out of the plane, but jeez. But to answer your question I did it because I was not breaking a requirement, rather - a recommendation. Also, and you don't need to dissect this one logically; many people have done it before me. Insert any action you'd like to that phrase and weigh the risks. I do plan on ordering a snag-free mount and chinstrap cutaway for my hr2 before jumping with it again because in my view then I've hedged against the most uncontrolled risks. I do not believe I will lose alti awareness. I'm sure you'll be glad to debate me on that I'm still at the point where breaking off at proper alti is more important than the dive itself (if you know what I mean). I'll have 2 new audibles as well, so the odds of failure will be minimized by several factors. I'll continue jumping an RSL because there will be no snaghazard. That's really it - hundreds of not thousands of other jumpers have probably given it far less thought but I could care less what they do. I have no shame for what I do/done/did/gonna do - it is what it is. There should be a sticky that says 'how to jump with a camera and not kill yourself' all other details left out. Thanks, Jeff

If you find my comment scary I'd stay out of the skies.

I jump wherever I am. Could be AZ, FL, NY. I was licensed at skydive long island and did AFF at skydive city in Feb 2011. A-57934 Recently moved to Denver and haven't been to Mile High yet...will be in AZ this week though if anyone wants to grab a jump on Weds at Eloy. Primary reason heading to AZ is to train so if anyone is interested in a 75 mile bike ride and a 10 mile trail run in the national forest let's make an afternoon of it. I don't make every jump with a camera - as I said it gets kind of boring, the gopro is a pain to use in the plane and I have plenty of footage of myself at this point. It just is what it is. When I have more interesting skills to capture on camera I'll probably revisit it more seriously in 50-100 more jumps. My precautions before jumping included: - getting an audible - reviewing the SIM - reading dozens of stupid threads like these with zero practical advice, just hostility What I did not do which I will at some point: - chinstrap cutaway - I always left my RSL attached - 2nd audible (TSA stole mine so I have zero audibles now!) - talking to someone who flies a camera best, Jeff

To the OP -- see, you need to think for yourself in this sport. People have lots of opinions. You should read the SIM and make your own. Are fewer distractions better, most likely but you don't need to have a skydiving license to figure that one out. Go read through the incidents forum..the latest one had nothing to do with a camera. Come to think of it, none have? I mean fatalities - one exception was that BASE check in Asia. http://www.uspa.org/Portals/0/Downloads/Man_SIM_2012.pdf Page 140 best, Jeff

You're so blind to your own beliefs. I didn't give advice, I simply expressed my opinion with full disclosure of my limited experience. I also highlighted that whatever I said, would be met with disagreement, as predicted

You'll find the sport is filled with hypocrisy and generalizations. Many people with 10-20x more experience than I have will tell you it's dangerous, but then they fly a canopy that's considered high performance because they believe they can handle it, just as you believe you can handle the camera. I would say wait until you have at least 75-100 jumps and make sure you have an audible alti, plus a mount that really reduces the snag-hazard. Build extra time into your prejump routine to make sure messing with the camera does not detract from proper equipment checking, before and after you get into the plane. After you have a few dozens vids you'll realize it's not as cool as it was and you'll be less interested in it overall until you have a new 'skill' that's recordable, which will probably be some type of freeflying that may begin bearing fruit around the 200-300 jump mark if you practice, etc... my 2 cents - there will be much disagreement but this is my experience. Jeff

Remster, Cool - yeah maybe I was briefed the year prior, but when I reg'd since I had been there before I guess it wasn't reviewed. It would be a good sign under the waiting area before you get on the truck. Right by the no s-turns graphic. Jeff

also know that 1st down sets the pattern. I don't believe there is any signage indicating this so when on my 2nd jump over the holiday boogie I kept the same pattern on my first I was accosted by people freaking out that I stuck with the first pattern I flew. I think 2 people actually cried and went home (though I was nowhere near anyone in the air, landing in the alternate field). I looked around after that and still saw no signs of this rule other than that it's the rule. Having jumped at deland, zhills and blue sky ranch dozens of times, which is more like a free for all when it comes to patterns, it was very strange. Stay heads up. Jeff

Eloy is a little faster than PA probably. I got licensed on Long Island, NY and Florida and Eloy always seems like there's zero wind and the air is thinner and warmer. There are tons of outs...it's basically one big out if you're landing on the alternate grass section (closer to tunnel). I think the 1.14 + the thin/warm air with less predictable headwind will feel pretty quick, yes. Jeff

but if you're heading more left than right, turning right exacerbates the problem by creating a net effect of zero.it's a tough thing to generalize because the moments of realization and impact are so close...probably better to say: ' turn so that your existing momentum is used to your advantage' anyone ever chop to avoid one?

I'd agree with Bill that YOU CAN GET HURT REALLY BAD. Most of the time it's a twisted ankle or knee but even that can f*ck people up. I watched by buddy's girl land between hangers at deland on her 20 something'th jump and she opened at 5k. Not sure what happened....the mind is a strange thing. Not worth sugarcoating things but you have to let people think for themselves with the best, unvarnished no BS info out there. Being self reliant is a big concept out there. You're responsible for you. There is no welfare when you ride a junk canopy down the LZ... the check is cashed or it bounces, no pun intended. There's no foodstamps to pay your way out of a low cutaway after low deployment and line twists. The buck always stops with you... Just don't be there in the first place and if something like a camera might cause some problem..maybe leave it at home. Maybe it's safer on some jumps than others. There are tons of variables, camera is one that can be isolated. I don't think it's a big deal but IF IT IS ONE TIME, that one time could have a very bad ending. We are talking about very small odds so it's difficult to generalize other than 'better safe than sorry'. Guy seemed really shook and didn't chop, end of story probably. Read the SIM, review EP's so there's no hesitation in your procedures. I haven't looked at it in months I will probably read through before I jump again sometime next week. I owe it to myself and my future years to come.

I chopped on that rig from UPT and it was a good learning experience. At 1900 feet, not quite at the spot I wanted to be (in order to retrieve the cutaway main) after having my hop and pop converted to a full altitude jump I was a bit apprehensive. I had a reserve over my head pretty damn quick though and got to fly the pd 176, which is what I actually have and is pretty easy to fly compared to my 210 but I guess they're built to be ultra docile. Will it make me less hesitant to chop should I need to in the future -- impossible to say. In some way shape or form I think it was beneficial. at a minimum it was a cool feeling dropping out into freefall again

TSISK - I would agree. One day since I can't do head down naturally, I will rig up an imax to my head so the position is inevitable. 2 birds, one camera.

Yeah I'd bet that kinda low FEELS really low after nearly dying in a collision. Can't overstate the importance of EP's -- not just what to do, but unmistakable parameters that you'll obey unflinchingly. Like a switch on a machine.

Does anyone know his altitude after the assessment that the lines were blown? If he was at 700'ish feet or even a grand...maybe he determined it wasn't safe to cutaway?

Would he be ok landing on the runway? That's my judgement tool.

Cypres has been around for decades...they are the leader anyone disputing that is sucked into the industry minutiae. That said, I don't even know their URL or phone # but I have one in my rig.

No just the opposite - it's only on for a minute.

Lots of people like to do the opposite of anything you tell them. It takes a minute to get to 1000ft, wtf lol

Airtwardo we're not dealing with joint probabilities here

I agree - a bigway adds additional risk but it's cool right?

I'd agree re:opinion since the power of any statistical test will be too low to render a numerical response. Maybe a better segment is # who die under a fully operational canopy. When we talk to newbies about people dying at least we can say, don't worry...only a few per year actually die the way you'd expect...most actually have a good canopy over their head. But then you'd pause for thought and realize the absurd nature of the true statement you made? Jeff

I know we're not focusing on landing fatalities, but given that they make up a large proportion of overall fatalities and given that we're dealing with SMALL odds...it merits segmentation. Think of an investment fund...the utility stocks can't be compared with high tech...one pays dividends and the others (hopefully) grow quickly resulting in rapid price appreciation. Your avg return will not resemble the individual return of any one category. Need I further the analogy? Swooping is an obvious thing and one can reach an objective conclusion about whether someone swooped. Less time between exits, sit flying all over the place, not tracking...those are much more subjective and hard to ascertain whether it actually happened. Further, those poor decisions are not intentional whereas I am fairly certain most people doing HP landing intend to do HP landings. So, for an objective trend analysis - given that the #'s are too low to use basic statistical methods...we need to segment and refine the analysis using pragmatic segmentation. (eg swoops or non swoops).

When someone is landing can you tell they were backsliding while doing a bad sitfly? When someone is landing can you tell they were swooping/attempting to swoop? Jeff

Sure - I mean that after you have a canopy over your head you're faced with a range of scenarios: 1) HP landing - this is typically higher speed and the rate of change between [altitude - ground] accelerates rapidly near the end of the jump. 2) 'Normal landing' - straight in landing most people fly from student to experienced who don't practice HP landings In the case of the 'normal landing' the rate of change between the pilot and the ground stays constant during the parachute ride. Given that BOTH scenarios involve uncontrolled risk (swooping or not), the addition of vertical speed near the end of the dive necessarily creates uncontrolled risk above and beyond the risk presented by a straight in approach. Now I do agree that an experienced HP canopy pilot probably has better odds of landing safely than a novice jumper with no wind or a canopy that's slightly too small but I think this is an edge case. More often than not, comparing a D licensed jumper doing a normal landing vs a D licensed jumper with swoop experience, swooping...in the long run which we'll never live to see I do believe the swoop adds uncontrolled risk. Another edge case could be a dust devil...if you're going crazy fast you might be less affected by it? My 2 cents, having never swooped just looking at it rationally.