CanuckInUSA

You should have stayed in school. But since you're not, I hope to be on your 100th. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I use different rigs for wingsuit jumps and all my other skydives with no bungee attached to my wingsuit rig. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

and talented ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Note to self ... it looks like JeNnEjEnN needs a little TLC. Back on topic ... Moab was fun and I just may find myself back there again this weekend if Mother Nature cooperates. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If they're lucky they walk away without a scratch. But some have been known to die (I forget her name but one of the top female Swiss or German skiers died in a race in the mid 90s) and then there was the infamous raggity-anne-doll impression crash by Todd Brooker from Kitzbuel in the 80s to name just a few. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I plan on doing some wingsuit flocks while I'm in Eloy. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Once I hit the 500 jump mark, I stopped having people sign my skydiving log book(s). I figured that 500 jumps was what I needed for any instructional rating. In fact I don't have any signatures in my BASE jumping and Ground Launching logbooks (yes I've already started a Ground Launching logbook). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

But then Rev why do you show only 2 jumps in your profile? I know you've got more skydives than that. I do know some people who only hang out in the BASE forum that only show their BASE jumps. Are your 2 jumps related to something else? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Nope not at all. Oh Kalyne, I got a job offer with a local company. So as long as the INS doesn't mess with me, I should be good to go and I won't start until January 3rd, 2005. Hmmm ... I see a 2nd BASE rig and a Ground Launching rig coming to me in my near term future. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hmmm ... 1) I've absolutely changed as a person. In many respects I'm better off now than I was in the past (not materialistic anymore, know to live life to it's fullest each day, etc, etc, etc.). But in some respects I am worse off as I have a hard time relating to the corporate America working world despite the fact that I'm still in the corporate America working world. 2) I've made 800+ skydives in the 2 1/2 years I've been in the sport. 3) I've made 50+ BASE jumps since Memorial Day 2004. 4) I'm getting into Ground Launching and plan on competing in the blade running event (I've already qualified for the event through Jim Slaton's GLC) during next year's Ground Launching boogie in California. 5) I still play hockey and volleyball despite being consumed with Skydiving, BASE jumping and Ground Launching. 6) I haven't flown as Pilot in Command (I'm an uncurrent lisenced private pilot) since April or May of 2003 as I'd rather spend my money on gear, jump tickets and travelling than to spend it on renting expensive airplanes. I think that's about it. 7) Oh and I'm still single as whuffo women don't understand my skydiving, BASE jumping and Ground Launching needs and the ratio of men to women in the jumping world is not in my favor. But at least I get to do what I want, when I want by being single. So it's not all bad. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I met QuickDraw at Eloy last Christmas and he is quite the character. Cheers Adrian and I hope to meet up with him again this year. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Likely somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. But unfortunately due to certain BASE ethics here on DZ.COM, he's not at liberty of telling us. It looks cool and one day I hope to exit from this location. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I won't go into the nitty gritty of how to reverse or forward launch as I fear that either I will say something which is interpreted wrong. But outside of learning how to kite your canopy, learning how to reverse and forward launch is the first skill needed in Ground Launching. But I would like to expand upon a couple of things which Brian said. He wasn't wrong with most of what he said, but I feel he didn't tell the whole story. Yes you can use most skydiving canopies while Ground Launching but some work better than others and this is dependent on weather conditions as well as experience of the launcher. An open nosed canopy will work better in low to no winds while a closed nose canopy will work better in high winds. But yes he is absolutely correct in that people learning Ground Launching shouldn't be using canopies loaded higher than 1.3:1. This is not the dropzone in which you are jumping at and in most cases you are dealing with a back-country environment. And with that, people wanting to get into Ground Launching really need to be honest with themselves as to whether or not they do possess the appropriate canopy control skills. Being able to launch off of something is very much dependent on the slope angle, the up slope winds (you can launch in no winds, just be prepared to run further) and your wing loading (the higher the wing loading, the steeper slope you'll want or higher winds). Yes finding a smooth steep slope without obstacles is the goal. But the perfect slope free of any obstacles is few and far between. In many cases, you just want to find a slope void of most trees and most large bolders. But we're not always that lucky and it's the risks we choose to take which determine which slopes we will launch down. You don't need wind to launch, but you are asking for trouble if you do indeed launch with downslope winds. Not only are you setting yourself up for a downwind landing, but you're also going to be flying in turbulant air. But we weren't taught NOT to launch in winds greater than 10 mph. I mean how many people can accurately read the winds and say the winds speed is this or that. We were taught that before we launch ourselves in high winds that we needed to kite our canopies outside of the harness (not wearing the harness). If we were unable to kite outside of the harness, then the conditions were too windy for the canopies we were flying. Jim also spoke of reading the winds above the hills we were launching from and to avoid launching ourselves to high up the mountain when dealing with ridges and bowls which could compound the turbulence. There are a few other things that Brian said which didn't mesh with what Jim taught us (such as stow the slider all the way down where as we were told to take our sliders off the risers), but they aren't big things to worry about. Most of what he said was correct. Now, I did mention earlier in this post about reverse launches and forward launches. But I mentioned that I didn't want to explain them in detail as I could covey the wrong message and more importantly, one of your guys could interpret what I say in an incorrect manner. But lets just say that forward launches (where you face forward with your canopy lying behind you nose exposed up and then you start running) are use in low to no wind situations (a good Ground Launcher can do a reverse launch in low to no winds) and the big negative aspect to forward launches is that you can not see your canopy during the inflation stages. And the reverse launch technique is used whenever you have wind (or if you're good enough to do it all the time) and basically you've laid out your canopy with the nose exposed and you're facing the canopy looking up hill, your risers are crossed with toggles in hand. You then initially pull up a little on the front risers (how much you pull will depend on the winds and the canopy you are using) exposing the nose and transition to rears, possibly kite the canopy for however long you want to, turn around and run down the hill. But one of the negative aspects of reverse launches (not counting that it not an easy skill to do in low winds) is that you may need to run a little backwards down the slope in low winds before you can turn around. So you'll need to ensure that you don't trip over something. Finally, this is not a safe sport. Wear whatever protective gear you think you'll need without constricting your body movements. Watch the weather and be careful choosing the slopes you launch off of and know your limits. When you're first getting into this sport or are on a new hill, before you hike to the top of the hill and start launching, climb only part way up (or better yet find a good training hill) and practice getting your canopy above your head using forward and reverse launch techniques (but don't launch off of the ground yet). Do this a number of times until you get the hang of it. Then when you are ready, climb up your hill of choice, launch and if possible get on your rear risers ASAP (I personally found I did much better flying my rears than my toggles as flying in brakes you are flying slow, flying close to the stall point and may not be able to make it down all slopes). But be warned that you will lose a few feet of altitude when you do do this toggles to rears transition. So chose your moments carefully. Ground Launching rocks!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Just don't tell Jeb. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

And we all know that the best adventure to do in Moab is BASE jumping. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

So did I and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I think some BASE jumping friends who didn't see due to whatever it was they were doing will enjoy it once I show it to them. Good work Jeb!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I've got OLN on right now (some motorcycle show) and a foot note at the bottom of the screen mentioned that Jeb's BASE show would be on next. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm sorry, I do not wish to slam Brian as I know he is knowledgeable. But what he has written above is far from cutting edge. Much of what he wrote was correct when compared to what Jim taught us in his Ground Launching camp. But Brian neglected to talk about how one actually gets the canopy in the air using the different launching techniques and he neglected to mention when to use one technique over the other (to name just a few). Maybe this information was left out to avoid confusion by those reading it here on the internet or maybe it was left out for another reason. But if you think that all that there is to Ground Launching is the cutting edge steps that Brian spoke of from above, then you (and maybe even Brian) should speak more to people like Jim Slaton and better yet attend his Ground Launching camp. Because I can tell you that the information I was taught was far more extensive than the information which was provided above and we were also given the opportunity to practice these skills on different types of slopes so that we knew what would be a good slope and a not so good a slope to launch off of once we got back to our respective homes. Once again, all I am saying is that the internet is not the best place to be teaching this type of topic. Someone could easily misunderstand what is being said and really mess themselves up. Ground Launching is some serious fun, but it can also seriously fuck you up if you find yourself behind the curve (made worse if you are trying to teach yourself Ground Launching from words written by others on the internet). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Or better yet, how about advising people to attend Jim Slaton's Ground Launching camp (like myself and others recently have done). This way people can obtain first hand instruction and guidance on the ever so fun yet dangerous sport of Ground Launching from someone who is knowledgeable and passionate about the sport. This way people will be taught how to walk in the Ground Launching world before they run and they won't need to worry about misunderstanding something which is written on the internet. Ground Launching Rocks!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Jump more and post less. It's been said before, but obviously it needs to be said again. Arguing on the internet is like being in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

0:5:0 But my weekend isn't over yet. I'm still in Twin Falls (waiting a certain sleepy jumper to get up) so that we can get more jumps in off of the bridge here in potato land before we head back to Denver. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

To have fun exploring the world (I need to do a better job of this) and have fun pushing my limits. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Good news!!! It looks like I'll be offered a job. A former boss of mine went to bat for me and got me in the door at his new company. I guess I'll have to work more and post less. But this is good news!!! I can skydive again ... or more impotantly have health insurance to Ground Launch and BASE jump. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Paragliders are going to better at dealing with an off heading opening? Huh? Where did you get that nugget? Paragliders are going to be better at avoiding objects? Huh? When was the last time you witnessed a slew of paragliders landing together in a tight area? I seem to recall seeing this all the time with skydivers at a large boogie or a large DZ (of course not all skydivers have good canopy control). Paragliders are better at landing in tight areas than a skydiver is? Wow it's nice to know that someone with only 3 skydives knows more about canopy flight than some skydivers who have dedicated jump after jump after jump towards their canopy control skills. It's also nice to know that someone with only 3 skydives assumes that skydivers have never had to land off in tight confined areas, not to mention Ground Launchers which not only land in tight areas but are definitely landing in the back-country environment. Think you're ready to be a Ground Launcher with your 3 skydives and 5 BASE jumps? I'll get video of it. But I'm guessing it's not the sort of video we'd want to show to your loved ones. Hey I've got no problem with anyone regardless of their background wanting to get into BASE jumping (shit I'm only a newbie BASE jumper and have only begun to scratch the surface as to what this really means). But BASE jumping is BASE jumping. It is not skydiving, nor is it paragliding, climbing and/or gymnastics or any of the other sports you likened to BASE jumping. Kudos for you for wanting to be a BASE jumper with only 3 skydives. But to suggest that skydiving is only useful for tracking is showing us how much you really don't understand what it is you're getting into. To quote Johnny Utah right now "Have fun, don't die". Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Looks like the Brazilian guys. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over