mnskydiver688

For those who are using the CX100 without a box, could you post pics of how you are securing the camera and LCD screen? I am getting a Flatlock and what to see different ways of securing the camera and LCD so it doesn't fly open when you decide to do some back flying. Thanks in advance! Malcolm Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Anyone, Anyone? Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Mark Baur is up at Parachute Magic in Baldwin, WI. It is about 30 miles east of the Twin Cities. Also I think there are a few riggers at the Waseca Club, Minnesota Skydivers. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I understand that these are not certified and do not imply any serious protection. I was asking because if there was a way to mount it in such a way that it is flush with the outside of the helmet, but doesn't affect the structural integrity much. I guess I am interested in the longevity of the helmet. Issues with cracking under normal usage and such. I have a fiberglass hurricane and it is cracking around the chip strap mounts. So I just want to make sure I get the most life out of the helmet. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I flew the Firebird for my first 15 or so flights. I tried a Phantom 2 down in FL this winter and I must say the Phantom 2 blows the Firebird out of the water when it comes to performance in my opinion. The inflation is vastly superior in the phantom 2 and the ease of flying was phenomenal. I fly an S-6 and the Phantom 2 had better inflation. If I was getting a new suit for fun flying I would throw down on a Phantom 2. Just my 2.5 cents. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

It is all about a life long motto... Go with the flow and just ROLL with it... Alright back to the serious discussions. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I am transferring the .mts files to an external hard drive and running the files via Firewire off of it. So I am probably just out of luck with the speed of my machine. Looks like I will have to transcode it to something easier to work with on a Mac. Sucks because I really like everything else about my Mac. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Does it effect the integrity of the helmet to have that large of a hole in the side? Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I saw a photo on here of a Hypeye mounted in an MXV and was a bit taken a back. The hole for the switch had been drilled out to the size of the base of the switch. This seemed a bit drastic considering the diameter of the button portion itself is much smaller. Is it ok to have that large hole drilled in the helmet and if not is it possible to mount it so a hole the size of the button is all thats needed? Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Ok, I am going to be getting a MXV with a Flatlock on top and have some possibly stupid easy questions. I am going to forgo the box for now and I want to make a neoprene sleeve for the camera. Does it matter if the neoprene is also on the bottom where the mounting screw is? Does having the neoprene in between the camera and the flatlock throw off the rigidity of the mount and does it compromise the security of the mount? So how do would you video guys use a neoprene boot to protect the camera, while using a Flatlock? Thanks for any tips. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Yeah I am thinking if I am going to really get into this editing stuff I am going to have to get a faster Mac and run Bootcamp. I have tried running the quality at draft and 10% size and it won't do it. Soooo... Wish I would've known before throwing down on the whole adobe collection for mac. Oh well I am not doing tandem videos so being in a hurry isn't totally necessary. Who knows maybe Snow Leopard will break the cycle. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Alright DSE (or other video whiz for that matter). I finally got the camera. I recorded some random footage and imported into Premier CS4 for Mac. First the import process took literally seconds. However, the playback of the footage in the preview window is very jumpy and will all together stop after a while. Is this a problem with how processor intensive the format is and my computer just won't handle it? (MacBook with 2.4 Ghz dual core, 4gb ram, 667mhz fsb) Also, when I export it with Premier what is the best format for viewing at full resolution? I have tried a couple different ones and they are so far very poor. I am going to keep putzing with it, but maybe you could shed some light. Thanks! Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

SKYDIVE FARGO! Flat as far as the eye can see! And you can see next weeks weather! Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

The impression that I have gotten is that it transcodes it to it's own codec. However, it has been stated that Premier is the fastest option in OSX. I will definitely have to use Dynamic Link to jump between premier and encore without any intermediate rendering. I should be picking up a CX-100 very soon. Flock and Dock will be the test footage. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

That means staying in Mac OSX, I already splurged on the Adobe Master Collection for Mac so I will just have to hope Premier imports quickly enough. Luckily I won't be burning to DVD too much. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I decide to not break out my TI-200 calculator when I decide to jump or not. What I do, is go stand out in the middle of the landing area, (not when people are landing) and just feel the wind. Seems dumb, but that is how I really get a feel for what the wind is doing. How it is varying by direction, strength, turbulence, etc. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

What if I installed a copy of windows on my mac and strictly used it for importing video. Could I import the AVCHD footage, convert it to AVI or something and then go back to OSX and edit in Premier? Without losing a lot of time? The reason why I ask is I can't afford to buy another piece of editing software. If I did do that, what is the way to import and convert in Windows these days, using cheap or free software? Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I think it has to also do with your frame of reference. If you have rarely had to deal with winds higher than 10-15mph then taking on 20-25 would not be a good idea. My first 350 or so jumps were in North Dakota. Jumping there you became very comfortable landing in winds of all kinds. I am comfortable jumping in ~25mph. That is my personal choice and by no means is right everyone at my experience level. I am having to learn how to work with no wind landings however. When it comes to gusts I don't like when it gets over 5mph from the sustained wind speed. Another thing to consider is change in wind direction. When winds are changing direction you have to consider changes in turbulence caused by different obstacles and such. As it has been said countless times here and everywhere else, "Rather be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground." Malcolm Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I am currently trying to figure out sleeping and transportation arrangements. I left a message with Pip and Judy about a trailer. Also I need to figure out how I am getting from Tampa to the DZ. I am hopefully getting into Tampa on the 15th and would be leaving on the 20th. Both renting a car and getting a hotel room by myself is out of my price range. If anyone is looking for someone to split a room with or have another idea for me, throw it out there. If I can't figure something out I will have to forgo the trip! Boo! Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Thats all I needed to hear. Plus you helped remind me that I should get some video jumps in before jumping on the photo bandwagon. Plus I think initially my neck will appreciate a CX-100 on the top of my head and not a D-SLR. Probably won't even notice there is a camera up there. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Well what should I do now? I am looking at getting the CX-100, but I would like to get a still camera also this summer. Is this the camera to combine the two well and save me some money or is it not quite that time yet? Waiting for DSE to chime in. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

After flying a Firebird for the first 15 or so flights I got a used S-6, (thanks Steve Such). Initially when I tried to max it out it felt somewhat washy with the leg wing. Made it look like I was doing a fishtail burn out. The leg wing is a little wider with the s-6 than with the s-3, but it just takes a little bit to figure out the balance. Now, I really love the s-6. I am able to keep up with a lot of different suits and it is a easy suit to move around and manipulate. I think you will like it your s-3. Guess what? You won't have to deal with the crappy plastic in the wings either! Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I think I might explore idea when i begin offering video with my coaching. I am thinking of also including a stand alone program on the drive that acts as a simple logbook. The student could enter basic information and a description of the jump and then save it as either a .txt file or integrate it with a database. The txt files could be uploaded to a blog or something like that. This would provide an alternative if the student didn't or couldn't invest in a digital altimeter and a more thorough program such as Paralog. I really like the idea of integrating instructional information in with the drive. Canopy information, rigging information, information on different disciplines, links to online resources, etc. I think in order for the idea of introducing flash drives to get any sort of support it needs to support more than just video. With first jumps the student has to wait for their first issue of parachutist, why not give them a tool that they can learn from the first day they jump? They get home from their first jump, still amped up, they plug in the drive and can watch their jump, fill out their own personal log book, upload it to their facebook, myspace, wordpress, etc. or just keep it in their own records, and then they can check out the instructional information. They can read about what they need to think about for their next jump, start learning about gear. If they aren't quite satisfied they can go to the links and search the huge volume of online resources. The dropzone or manufacturers could include coupons for the students. Edit: Sorry Spot if I have wandered a bit... Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I don't know it just seems like a waste for an AFF jumper or FFC student getting back from a coach jump with video to get a DVD with a 5-6 minute video on it. You ask them we can keep the disc un-finalized so you can add more video later, but that means you won't be able to play it most DVD players. Student: Oh might as well finalize it so I can watch it. Next day they have get another coach jump with video. Can I get it on DVD? Ok, so another DVD burned with 20% of the space used on it. Do you want it finalized or open so more footage can be added? Might as well finalize it so I can watch it. There must be a better way. Also you could include written lessons, instructional information, product information, etc. on the Flash Drive. Tell the student at the beginning that you have this package available. Give it as an option. Also it is an incentive to get more video if you then reduce future video costs for a period of time if they got this package. Again I am just thinking out loud. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I decided to resurrect this thread as I have some new questions. As flash drive prices have dropped substantially and more media is getting viewed online, would it be reasonable to use a Flash drive for video distribution? Maybe not for tandems due to the sheer volume, but how about AFF or FFC's? For AFF you could put the first jump video and then add more jumps later. Also, if you already charging for video why not just include the cost of the drive in the cost of doing video? Then you get faster output times and they get a flash drive out of the deal. Then they can decide what to do with the video files. Burn them, post them to social networking sites etc. At this point you are not avoiding seeing your tandem videos on YouTube just because they are on DVD. This approach could also be used for FFC's. Since much of video is moving to NLE seems this would cut down the time to create videos. Just a thought and I am open to the idea that it can't be financially viable or even make good sense. Malcolm Sky Canyon Wingsuiters