Cacophony

I don't need weights for anything. There are only a few special tandem situations that I have found I need more speed for. In those circumstances I just dont wear my wings. If the tandem is just that fast, you probably can get a steep enough angle without your wings. If you just can't get around having wings, then you will probably need weights in that situation. For RW video I don't use weights at all. My wings simply keep me from falling into the formation. When shooting straight down, as in shooting 4 way, I can keep my speed high enough to match theirs by collapsing my wings.

On my vector 3 I would open my chest strap out to the stop. I just used my left hand to pull outward on the friction adaptor. It would slide out until the stop. You shouldn't loosen your chest strap until you know you don't have a malfunction and you plan on landing with the canopy you have overhead.

Well, obviously you weren't looking close enough. The jumprun (as previously stated) was not inland. I was on the first pass shooting a tandem video and landed on the beach. There was only 1 tandem with video on the first pass. The second pass was the exact same direction. The first group simply got out a little too early. They called the spot, not that pilot. Erin was the rear diver of a 6 way (1 person shooting stills) and had no chance to see the spot. It was purely a mistake. The person who spotted it landed off as well. Don't make accusations unless you are absolutely sure, because I know for a fact that is a false statement. I spoke with the pilot many times afterwards seeing as how we bunked it the same room for several nights afterward. Bob had everything the city asked for and made a very solid attempt at bringing a lot of skydivers together for a good time. He covered all his bases. It was just an unfortunate string of luck. Most of the city didn't want us there in the first place. We didn't help the situation. I guess we all learned many lessons in so many different ways. If you had any idea exactly what went into this event, and how much effort was put into it to run smoothly, you would just understand.

No doubt. But for the sake of maybe helping someone learn as well... Step1: Cut out only what you want seen in the image. Step2: Create a new image, past that image Step3: Resize the image to the appropiate size Step4: Flatten image (layers) Step5: Save as Jpg and set it as progressive with 3 scans, also set the image quality at 3 or 4, keep it around there. That'll give you decent detail but keep the file size down. Feel free to post it and myself or someone else will fix it right up and I promise not to "photoshop" the picture into something funny. Just go to "Save for web". Make sure its the correct dimensions and set the quality to about 20 or 30 as a jpeg. That should make the image super small and still keep some good quality.

www.tutorialfind.com Has some good links for tutorials for a lot of programs; Photoshop included.

Adobe Encore DVD 1.5 is what I use for menus and DVD authoring. Its seemlessly integrated with Premiere Pro, Photoshop and After Effects. You can even create menus for Encore DVD in After Effects simply by pressing a button. Its a very powerful program especially when used with other Adobe products, and who doesn't use some sort of Adobe product? Especially those that operate on a very professional level. I don't think there are many. There are programs that I know of that are simply "push a button and its done." They are all pretty lame but do get the job done. Sorry but I can't think of any names at the moment. I'll throw some out there when I think of some.

An earlier picture of me. This picture was taken 400 videos ago. I fly a lot lower now!

I shattered my femur into a bunch of tiny sharp pieces and cracked my pelvis in 2 places. That was in August of 2003. I still can't run without limping. Not something I do often so I'm sure I could work it out. I would have jumped 3 months after but had to wait 7 because of the winter. My first few jumps still hurt. To regain flexability and muscle tone it took about 3 to 4 months.

I work very hard not to be accustomed to one pattern over the other. If I land to the South at my dropzone and I do a 270, I always do a left hand turn. If I go to the North I always do a right hand turn. This provides me the most outs. Obviously, if I don't have enough altitude to complete the turn going that direction then I either don't make the full turn, or I don't do a front riser turn at all. If I'm doing a 180, my turns are the same still due to my obstacles. I think that being comfortable making different turns in similar situations provides you with more options and also keeps you from doing bad habits in dangerous situations.

Just happened to me too. It was its first 4 year. Its on its way back to me right now after 4 weeks in Germany. The whole process has taken about 6 weeks. Could be worse. At least it still costs the same!

I've got a few hundred Stiletto jumps and haven't been slammed yet. The closest I've come was with my new Stiletto I bought the other weekend. Its got a few patches and needs new lines bad, but hey, it cost me $300! It still landed awesome!! Its hard to beat the cost of a used Stiletto over a XF2 or something like that. Learn to fly your canopy and don't let it fly you!!

Have both images open in photoshop. Highlight the image you want to move onto the other image by simply clicking on the image. Then select the move tool which is the top right tool in the tool bar. Simply click the picture and drag it onto the other picture. Once it is there, resize it by pressing CTRL + T . That will open the transform command. You can use the blocks along the boundary of the image to resize it and the move tool to place it where you want it to be.

The biggest arguement I have heard against a ZP pilot chute is that it is more likely to slip out of its pouch early. I haven't really found this to be the case but some people swear by F111 pilot chutes. I think that as long as you pack your pilot chute nice and tight it shouldn't be a problem and a ZP pilot chute will last you a lot longer than an F111 would.

Tearing it up!!

Try seaching the forums. This topic has been discussed before.

Because usually physical damage isn't covered. Plus, who wants the down time?

So what was the first canopy you owned then?

This is a picture from my 1st roll of film in freefall. It was just a practice jump but I thought I would show it off. Any tips or suggestions welcome. I have a Canon Gii. It was set on TV with a shutter speed of 250. A canon 28mm lense with a UV filter. It was taken in the morning. Uhhhhh, I think thats about it.

I like it when you video 4 way and you can see yourself on the formation.

Hello all. I just wanted to throw this out to the community to as for any feedback that you may have concerning the current video project that my friend and I are working on. I have uploaded a preview to skydivingmovies.com The link is http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1751 If anyone has a problem with the link it is located under the "Newest Videos" and in the "Trailers" section. Let me know what you think. The video is due to be released in the 1st quarter of 2005. Thank you!!

I used to dock on the tandem passenger on occasion. It all depended on the person and TI. A few people commented on how awesome it was, but most people seemed to prefer the clearer video. I usually stay pretty far back for my tandem videos. Cutting off limbs just doesn't look all that great to me. Showing the entire tandem gives it a greater sense of where you are in my opinion because it doesn't feel so closed off as if you were right in their face. Just a thought....

Wow. You should really read the whole thread before posting.......

I know that at my home DZ, lets just call it Skydive Greensbur, we all have a huge 17 way orgy on the way to altitude every load. If this is a serious post, I don't get it.......... You can't stop people from being and doing what they want. Its skydiving, not an afterschool special.

Even two identical canopies can flare differently depending on the size of the harness that its in as well as the length of the brake lines and risers. Most of that isn't very obvious until you start jumping smaller designs, but it does have at least a little effect on all designs and sizes of parachutes.

There is soooooo much to say about canopy stuff. Don't even think about swooping for a while!! The best thing you can do right now is to work on accuracy and to learn everything there is to know about canopy flight such as getting back from long spots, stalls, flat turns........ Good luck. DON'T GET HURT!!!! And take your time!!!!