Bluhdow

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Everything posted by Bluhdow

  1. Bluhdow
    Skill and suit size aren't perfectly correlated to one another. It's very possible to be a good pilot in a small suit and a bad pilot in a big suit. That said, a ban on big suits will disproportionately impact pilots with higher jump numbers and more experience. No matter how you shake it, you're limiting people's options. And the more experience you have the more likely it is that your suit is on the banned list. People will have two options: 1. Go your route and say "Hey, this is an opportunity for me to get even better on my small suit!" or, 2. Say "F*ck this place, I'm going somewhere else." My hallucination is that the second option will appeal to more people. But I don't jump at Lodi and I have no dog in this fight, so whatever. Apex BASE #1816
  2. Bluhdow
    I love it. Classic example of how legislation leads to unintended consequences and very frequently the opposite of the desired result: No big suits will deter skilled pilots. So only new and intermediate pilots will go there. Who's more likely to land off? You guessed it. Not the guys in X-Birds with 500 WS jumps, but the newer guys in Phantoms. My hypothesis is that this rule will increase the percentage of off-landings relative to the number of WS jumps made. Apex BASE #1816
  3. Bluhdow
    Can anyone please tell me how I can get my Flik 242 to swoop better? I'm not interested in changing canopies. Maybe if I cut it in half spanwise? Put tape over the vents? Maybe I should rub butter on the lines so it moves through the air more smoothly? By the time you're done messing with this thing you'll have spent more time/energy/money then it would have taken to grab a used Spectre off of the classifieds. Apex BASE #1816
  4. Bluhdow
    This may be of interest to you. I'm sure there are some deals to be had: http://www.dropzone.com/classifieds/Detailed/Wingsuits/Nitro_Rigging_Wingsuits_Liquidation_153262.html I don't know anything about these suits, but I'm sure someone here does. Apex BASE #1816
  5. Bluhdow
    Redline suits? Are these suits really really new, or really really old? Apex BASE #1816
  6. Bluhdow
    Man...that seems pretty low. Maybe it's just my being in SoCal and at the DZ(s) every weekend, but I feel like I could go on Facebook and pull up 50-60 pretty easily...just from my personal network. If I had to take a wild guess I'd say 3000 globally, between BASE and SKY, active jumpers. Active being WS at least once a month. Total guess. I have no idea. Apex BASE #1816
  7. Bluhdow
    Good luck with that. Edited to add that you can put me down for one. Apex BASE #1816
  8. Bluhdow
    Whatever you do, don't read the comments section. Apex BASE #1816
  9. Bluhdow
    I believe his rig was "confiscated" by local jumpers. Also, it's a rare enough example that it made ILS.com. That said, it's a valid retort. A retort which begs the question, "Would he have acted any differently if he read a thread about a fatality at a WWL event?" I don't know for sure. But I doubt it. Apex BASE #1816
  10. Bluhdow
    This has been discussed. A lot. I mean, like once a week. 1. Everyone here, and at the DZ will tell you not to buy gear yet. 2. You still want to, obviously. My advice? Just go buy gear and learn the hard way why it's a bad plan. Apex BASE #1816
  11. Bluhdow
    My point is that there are no people on the BFL who have gone in because they bought a suit and went proximity flying withought first becoming at least an experienced skydiver. People lacking BASE experience? Sure. But none of them were freshly stamped A license holders. Again, I just think your message (while theoretically valid) is intended for straw men. WS BASE is dangerous. Proximity is ultra dangerous. Nobody who has gone in was unaware of these risks. Apex BASE #1816
  12. Bluhdow
    I guess my bottom line is this: the idea to publicize and discuss BASE fatalities here is a solution in search of a problem. No matter how much everyone hates youtube, there just aren't kids buying suits and climbing local antennas without going through the proper channels. Either that, or there are lots of kids like this and they have much better saftey records than experienced pilots. There already exists a forum (on basejumper) to discuss these incidents. I don't think being especially vocal about the dark side of the sport will do us any good here. It's at best neutral, and at worst damaging to skydiving. Apex BASE #1816
  13. Bluhdow
    The risks of BASE and WS BASE are very well documented here: http://www.blincmagazine.com/forum/wiki/BASE_Fatality_List Any adult who has spent 3 minutes researching BASE will see this list and begin to understand the risks involved. Best I can tell, all of these "youtube kids" are straw men. How many fatalities do you see on there involving people with under 100 skydives trying to fly WS proximity? I've read through the list several times and can't recall a single example (doesn't mean there isn't one). If anything, low jump number fatalities were more present before YouTube...when BASE was more experimental than a repeatable sport. Again, I think experienced jumpers have a tendency to blame accidents and ugly stats on new jumpers who are all about youtube, don't know anything, feel entitled, and think they are bulletproof. Okay...I understand that logic, but where's the proof? Everyone who has gone in recently was an experienced skydiver before entering BASE. Apex BASE #1816
  14. Bluhdow
    Really? You really think that skydivers in the sport for a year don't understand the difference between proximity WS BASE and a 4 way belly jump? Where do you jump and what are they teaching you guys? Experienced jumpers have a tendency to talk about new skydivers like they are toddlers. All skydivers, students or otherwise, are adults. If an adult can't understand that WS BASE is more dangerous than a skydive, they'll die long before they ever to the exit point. Probably by forgetting to feed themselves. The purpose of this forum isn't to protect people from WS BASE. It's to provide useful information about skydiving incidents. If you feel compelled to post about an incident that you don't know anything about and a person you didn't know, then I suggest you do it on basejumper.com. They'll be happy to hear your informed opinions over there. Apex BASE #1816
  15. Bluhdow
    Joe's legit. I'm happy to vouch for him (whatever that's worth in internetland). I'd buy a few of those suits if only I was taller. Apex BASE #1816
  16. Bluhdow
    Have him take it to a rigger for inspection: 1. If the rigger finds something wrong refund him and pay for the rigger/return shipping. 2. If the rigger says it looks good then it's not your problem anymore. Apex BASE #1816
  17. Bluhdow
    Yes. Apex BASE #1816
  18. Bluhdow
    I've done it a handful of times. Stiletto 135. It's way easier in a slight headwind (enough to kite). Launching that thing off the ground requires a lot of space to run and the option to bail if needed. I'd only launch it at forgiving sites. If you need to get up and flying fast...get a GLX or a proper speedwing. Apex BASE #1816
  19. Bluhdow
    Plus the weight of the "shoot." Which is, of course, just shorthand slang for parashoot. Apex BASE #1816
  20. Bluhdow
    We just say "splitting hairs." I think splitting hairs is unnessecary, no matter how many parts you divide them into. Apex BASE #1816
  21. Bluhdow
    Be cool to people and people will be cool to you. Apex BASE #1816
  22. Bluhdow
    Good God. As someone who hasn't strayed far from the PF lineup I've always been very interested in the TS style and technology. It's definitely a different approach where suits are constantly changing and evolving. Seemingly on a daily basis. That said, from a customer standpoint, there's a strong case to be made for the PF and Squirrel strategies. R&D followed by a product release in an orderly and understandable fashion. This isn't meant to slam any company. Different styles of suit, different styles of flight, different styles of production. I would think it prudent though to keep the website updated and accurate for your customer base. Apex BASE #1816
  23. Bluhdow
    I'll back any charity you want if you're willing to pay for my gear/travel/expenses/fun. Any takers? This isn't about me. It's about the greater good. Apex BASE #1816
  24. Bluhdow
    Even in a larger wingsuit? I think the bag, especially if locked within the first couple stows, may stay inside the burble enough to prevent it from standing you up. I don't know that, just my hypothesis. Apex BASE #1816
  25. Bluhdow
    I'm not sure I'd be able to differentiate a PCIT from a bag lock without looking. I'm also not too sure trying to look behind be would make things much better (time, stability)...especially in a WS. If you had a bag lock, and not a PCIT, it seems to me that main/reserve entanglement becomes much more likely. Correct, or am I missing something? Apex BASE #1816