DSE

Older Vigil units didn't shut off after 14 hours; some users prefer it this way and power them down manually. Vigil offers a free software upgrade that forces the unit to power down after 14 hours. Why does this matter? One recent example is that a skydiver owned an older model and chose to not have it upgraded (it is believed he knew of the option) He turned on his unit at one dropzone, went to another DZ with a lower altitude. He jumped, and because of the 1100' difference, his AAD fired when he deployed lower than 2500'. The AAD armed and fired at what it thought was 1100'. he had a two out. turning off your unit at the end of the day is a good practice. If the rig will never leave the DZ, it's equally a viable option to never have it turn off (unless manually instructed to).

I don't know if the logic is more sophisticated or not, and don't really care. I saw both units torn apart, both are quite well built. The difference I saw in customer approach from the two companies is what impressed me, and the customer service from Vigil has blown away what SSK offers (by leaps and bounds). Getting info from a Vigil is ridiculously easy, I like that. it's played a role in two incidents I've been a part of investigating. Vigil II will turn off after 14 hours (assuming you WANT it to). My personal units turn off. My student Vigils don't (they are not permitted to leave the DZ). Both are good products, can't say anything bad about Cypres either. But when I did send in my personal Vigils for upgrades, I was fortunate enough that they had free of charge loaner units available. SSK charges rental. Cutters are field replaceable too, and that's a nice bennie from Vigil. At the end of the day, I was impressed and continue to be impressed by the dedication to customer service that Vigil showed me 6 years ago. [edit] just saw Terry's comment, and it's a valid point. Vigil doesn't REQUIRE you to send in your units for an expensive upgrade and battery check, they offer you the opportunity to do so on your own time, their dime. If one chooses to not upgrade, that's a choice, as I mentioned before, I chose to not have my student units shut off. YMMV.

Having 7 rigs, it was an easy decision for me (Student rigs, personal rigs, and demo rig). I chose Vigil. A-It's less hassle, easy to use. B-No need to send it in, which reduces the overall cost. C-Company support was great. All that said, I have two Cypres II units, and five Vigil II. I bought Cypres in the beginning, because my DZO told me it was the only way to go. After attending my first PIA, I realized there were better alternatives after seeing both products side by side.

Skydive Utah has two of the greatest AFF instructors that ever were...They also have a large BASE community there.

Scott's question is the right one. I have an AeroSports NoSto with a wingsuit student 170 in it, it's great. I believe that's as large as they go. Jerry?

This is so, your body position has zero effect on the relative wind. It is constant (it's actually prop wash as well). However, the relative wind can have greater or lesser impact on your body based on your body position. The body position you're increases risk (not to mention that it's simply not an efficient exit position). You invited criticism when you posted this, no one is beating you up. Consider that others are trying to help you increase your knowledge vs biting back (specifically at Zee, he's a pretty experienced WS and coach). In a botched exit, all it takes is just a small amount of "X" additional fabric to put you into the aircraft, a spin, or another person. People can increase or decrease their hurt based on their skill set with "X" amount of fabric on their body. Back in the "old days" most folks were smart enough to recognize that being hyper efficient in a small suit was the first of a few indicators that they were ready for mattresses. Nowadays, everyone learns basics in a small suit and then flies like shit in a mattress, with zero fine skill ability. Most fly with brute force, zero finesse. You might be an exception.

If you don't like the Sony tape (which does hold well), then buy a sheet of VHB (same as what GoPro uses). IMO, the side mount is preferable.

Thank you for sharing your experience! FWIW, the type of plane shouldn't matter (not if it's a turbine). No flaps isn't why you went out sideways, that was your body position on exit, and momentum/force in leaving. In a King (big suit or not), this "side" exit can easily toss your feet up into the horizontal stab. Probably a good idea to get more current in a WS before taking on a mattress? Again, FWIW...if you continue to exit like that from a King, Cara, or PAC, you may not get to fly that wingsuit for a couple more years. That would really suck (for all of us). Be safe out there! Again, thanks for sharing. It provides a learning opportunity for others.

The Replay Mini 1080 has the smallest/lowest profile of all. Square 1 sells them, I believe they're around 179.00. You'd likely side mount it, but it's very low profile on the top. Following that, all the usual caveats about full face not being good for camera, why are they getting knocked off, snag hazard, and the other stuff that should probably be a copy/paste or signature line.

if you're on a Mac, then Premiere, iMovie, or Final Cut X are the common tools. If you're on a PC, Premiere, Vegas, Edius, Scratch, Movie Maker, Movie Studio, Video Studio are all very common. Vegas is common in skydiving, simply because it's entirely automatable, easy to learn, and runs well on any PC.

First off, it's a "bridle" and not a "brindle" (nor a bridal). Next, the concern has never been about snapping ones neck. Nor is it logical nor safe to assume the plastic on a mount will break with the pull forces generated by a pilot chute. Breaking one off with no leverage in an enganglement isn't something you'd want to gamble on either. Jumping a helmet system with a camera on it, without a means of cutting the helmet away is foolish in my view. BTW, if you think VHB tape is easy to rip off, please by all means, hang yourself from a hanging harness and rip it off. Get video.

Yeah. Jeb's used it. I pray your understanding and acceptance of GPS in goggles isn't based on "Jeb's used it." There is a reason these goggles aren't commonly used in BASE or skydiving. A bit more research might help you understand why. Please don't decide you won't jump them because "DSE said you shouldn't" any more than you should use them because "Jeb did." We'll never know what Dan, Ludo, or Brian were thinking when they made this last flight. We can surmise all day long about winds, wrong line, sponsors, whatever, and still not know the truth. The one truth that everyone who knew Brian, Ludo, or Dan can put as gospel; this was their passion, their love, their chase. They all knew the risks, I'd had several conversations with Brian on this topic. They didn't push closer because the camera was there. They'd have done this with or without cameras, with or without Epic TV, with or without fame. True passion works like that.

no neck brace required. On deployment, hands on the chin keep things in place. A neckbrace would get in the way of flying. It's not heavy, it's just torque. Yes, a hard opening would be devastating, and this helmet setup is now done, no more jumps with it. It accomplished what it needed to accomplish. It was a great experience(s) but we're parting ways now.

First thing to learn is to close the leg wing prior to initiating the barrel roll. If you're going head down on completion of the barrel roll or transition, it's likely you're opening up your tail wing before completing the roll. Are you forcing the transition with shoulder or hips? Or are you allowing the wind to manage the transition for you?

Nice!!! Looks almost the same as my own (my DSLR is vertical vs horizontal) (decided to edit and post the most recent incarnation of my helmet).

http://www.tacairops.com/Home.html

Paul ROCKED it. Wish you'd been able to stick around too!

NAB is delaying it, but yes...it's coming. Several cameras are vying for first place.

Wanted to share with y'all that if you have the opportunity to attend one of the carving camps, do so. We had a terrific turnout both for the carving camp and one/one coaching this past weekend and in addition to seeing the proper way to learn this method of flying, we also got to see first-hand the potential dangers when not properly implemented. Perhaps Andreea or Jarno can show you the new handshake. Thanks to those who participated and braved the (inaccurate) weather forecasts. A very fun, safe event filled with bad pizza, decent beer, and new friendships.

in-camera is _always_ preferable due to loss of resolution and recompression. All of the new Sony's do pretty well. on the super small front, I'm particularly impressed with the AS30 and AS100 cameras.

This is how we/I teach here as well, except that the mental videotape of the skydive starts after opening, once heading towards the DZ has been established. I am/was under the impression that this is how all Coach Examiners teach their debrief processes?

Man, that event at Sebastian seems long, long ago. If more people would take the time to understand the challenges and dial in the practices, I'm confident the resistance to cameras early in a skydiving career would diminish. I know I feel better teaching coaches to use cameras.

Brought to you by the same folks that don't like their suits criticized.

it's a reasonable amount of chin protection, and with or without camera, I like having one. It also helps keep the helmet chinstrap not chafe my lower neck on those days when I'm doing 7-8 jumps. And, you may eventually want a camera. A chincup makes a huge difference.

Are you joking? A surprising number of "coaches" use a camera as a substitute for the ability to observe and remember what happened on the skydive. The camera is a great tool, but if the coach can't remember what happened on the jump without watching the video they just shot, then they aren't qualified to be a coach. Indeed. Like an AAD or RSL, the camera is merely an add-on tool that is no substitute for knowing how to properly perform all basic tasks required of a skydiver. Cameras fail like anything else. In that event, would it be right diminish the value of the debrief?