After writing to the GoPro Company, they responded quickly to assist me. It wasn’t the resolution I was hoping for, but surely one that more than fair! Since, it could be argued that I did land on my head and broke the case myself.. so I have to buy a new one. But since, as many people will tell you, if it has been properly adhered, the 3M VHB two-sided tape should securely hold the mount and camera to nearly any mounting surface. Since the tape also failed, and the mount itself was also removed entirely, the company has graciously offered to supply me with a few extra mounts!
With the help few online calculators, I’ve estimated a force of the impact required to remove the 3M VHB tape was approximately 250psi – 15 times the amount required to crack a skull! So in general — don’t do anything to your GoPro camera, that you wouldn’t want to do to your neck!
In any case, since I first got my GoPro, I’ve been a huge fan. It’s a (relatively) cheap, well made, easy to use, small, point of view camera. It can handle the rigors of practically any extreme sport, in or out of the water! If you don’t have one yet, check them out and get yourself one (after consulting your local Instructors to see if you’re ready to fly with a camera). Word to the wise though, if you jump out of a plane and land on your head – it’s not covered under the warranty!
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Hi Jeromy
Sorry to hear about your crash, it definitely does not sound like fun.
Unfortunately, an extreme crash such as this is not something that we can cover under warranty, so you will have to purchase the housing from our website. I will, however, send you out a couple of stick on mounts. Just specify which stick-on mount you want (flat or curved) and I will send you out three of them.
Let me know.
Many thanks,
GoPro Support
http://www.gopro.com/support
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I’m still loving my GoPro and each day I’m amazed at some of the videos I’ve been able to take with it as a skydiver. Anyhow, after using it for about ten months now, I had a bit of a rough landing the other day. And by rough, I mean I impacted the ground under parachute at about 50 mph in a steep dive while attempting a new swooping maneuver!
Anyhow, after initially landing on my feet/knees and leaving a 12 inch divot in the ground, I continued to fly forward another 20 feet where I landing on my head, removing the 3M mounting tape cleanly from the top of my helmet, breaking the mounting mechanism off the bottom of the clear case, and embedding the camera about 6 inches into the ground. I rolled through on my my neck and bounced another 20 feet where I touched down again and finally rolled to a stop.
Amazingly, my camera itself is still functioning perfectly (although, quite sadly, I had forgotten to turn it on for that jump). However, the mount on my helmet that was lost due to the 3M tape losing it’s grip (granted, due to a high speed impact with the ground!), was my last curved mount. Also, although the case itself is still intact, the clip that snaps into the mounting bracket was broken off completely and could not be found. Truthfully, I consider myself very lucky that I was not seriously injured.
My question to you is this: Is this the type of average “wear and tear” that might be covered under warranty for a camera that is designed for extreme sports? Whether covered by warranty or available for a moderate fee, please send me a replacement case and mount immediately, I plan on jumping this weekend, and after this experience, I’ll make sure I always have my GoPro turned on!
Jeromy Alexander
Close your eyes.. and think skydiving.. What is in your mind?
The airplane, often seen from a distance, but now so up close and personal. The ride up, in the beginning seemed to be that last slow walk down the green mile, but later becomes an unbearable delay from your own sweet release. The open door at altitude, the doorway into another world. Freefall, where you finally spread your wings and fly. Pull time, when it all gets serious. The canopy, is it there and is it square. The ride down, can this thing do a cart wheel? The landing pattern, downwind, base, final.. then.. wait for it… wait for it… FLARE!
Yeah, thats how a skydive works in my mind. But “skydiving” transcends the “skydive”. After all, every tandem student has done a “skydive”, but do they understand “skydiving”? So if not just the skydive, what else is there? Well, a lot! Not the least of which is the dropzone’s atmosphere itself!
The friends, the students, the Coaches and Instructors. It’s a beautiful spring day spent waiting in the shade, casual chatter all about. Idle time spent learning about aviation from the pilot and teaching new students about the skydive, explaining the difference along the way between fact and and your own opinion. Enjoying the day at the dropzone, not skydiving, just relaxing.. and waiting for the skydive.
It’s not easy. It’s took me three years to get used to it and another year to learn to enjoy it. It’s hard to understand, much less appreciate this part of skydiving in the beginning -- when it’s all about the skydive -- but now, a fine spring day, spent outside with friends.. that’s enough to make me smile any day of the week -- of course, getting some altitude at the end of that wait is great too!
Tags: coach, dropzone, Instructor, skydiving, student