motherhucker

In the US, the images captured by the camera flyer are the Cameraflyer's own intellectual property, and legally, they can do with them what they choose. Morally, though, It's common practice for a camera person to make a reasonable effort to contact the subject in the video/picture to ask if they would mind if that image is used in "xxxx" manner.

dude! 37 jumps? your canopy skills are far from adequate. can someone from the PNW crew step in and save a life here please? Be patient. Ask questions. Read everything you can. Take a real BASE course. And get some serious time under BASE canopies from an airplane!! And if you do decide to not heed this sound advice and go make a jump anyway, PLEASE at least find a bridge over water...A cliff is no place for a beginner--PERIOD. Good luck in your search for a mentor--there's plenty qualified in the PNW.

be smarter than the cops. know your rights. and it does look suspicious if your standing on the middle of a bridge waiting for traffic to mellow. In short, be a stealthy motherfucker.

what's your experience level in canopy flight? What's your experience level in BASE? Assuming you have no BASE experience, I'd say to begin in the 220sf range. This wingloading is less than .75, but will suit you well for a beginner canopy. Depending on the type of BASE jumps you will be doing, you may want to downsize when you get more experience--but you can jump that bridge when you get to it...

The wind in your ears is usually a good sign that there is a planet moving towards you at a rapid rate. When you see the planet, don't worry, you'll pull. With few exceptions, IMHO, a BASE jumper needs to have decided on silly things like what's going to happen on thier jump BEFORE his/her body leaves the object. Generally speaking, the people who "just go for it" are on the short list of those about to go in.

I pretty much agree, Tom. Lower speed deployments seem like they have a much higher chance of a tailgate hangup--the hangup I saw was a PCA, as well. I also agree with the reason lark's heads will lock up being wrapping below the knot--but I don't think it's a problem otherwise. I have yet to hear about a TG hangup on a freefall--even a go & throw. Anyone?

think of the local..DONT burn objects you mean oil fields??

Lately I've been using the 'new' black rubberbands I got from JJ on my tail gate. I tend to keep it wrapped at the top (the ends of the dacron), because for some reason the black rubber bands seem a bit grippier than the standard natual colored rubber. After seeing a pretty scary tailgate hangup from above, It makes me pretty wary of how neat my packjobs are. It reminded me to never depend on a tailgate...A tailgate is tertiary to good packing and good body position in preventing lineovers. I also lark's head the tailgate rubber band to one side of the tailgate, (especially having walked the talus under an [in]famous 'E' in UT. [ooooo...black death]

please edit last post and take to PM if ya gotta mention sites. thanks.

Tom's information is more or less correct (although he's wrong about the stiffest penalty handed out for BASE jumping busts) They obvious key though, is don't get caught. Sounds stupid, I know, but the reason I bring it up is because as the number of active BASE jumpers grows exponentially, the number of objects pretty much stays the same. If we are not WAY more stealthy (and dare I say, paranoid) about the way we BASE jump, Objects will be forever burned, and our sport will incur an additional expense; bail money and legal fees. In a city relatively close to me, in the last couple of years someone decided to do an afternoon load from a downtown building. Good for them. The price that is left in their wake for locals to pay is Anti-BASE legislation. This is not trespassing, folks, this is making BASE jumping illegal! There are few things I can think of that are more deserving of a good T&F than that. For what? to get some good video? Try planning your jump better! BE SMARTER THAN THE MAN! Plan ahead, give yourself outs, and just in case, have a good lawyer on standby. check these links to know your rights: [THANKS T.M.] http://www.refuseandresist.org/big_brother/100401knowrights.html http://www.acluozarks.org/know.html http://archive.aclu.org/issues/criminal/bustcardtext.html hope this helps.

The only reason I don't use soft links on my BASE gear is that I need to switch my gear config. too often--it takes too long already using standard metal links. I wonder though, would using slinks on a brisk slider up opening risk dislodging a pinned toggle when there is no bumper to stop it? My main reason for wanting soft links is to pull the slider down all the way to help improve canopy flight/landing, so putting bumpers over slinks seems retarded to me. I think I'll stick with metal until I own enough rigs to designate them as full-time up or off rigz.

Good post. with all due respect though, I disagree with the quote above. DON'T resist the temptation to learn everything there is to know about parachutes. This includes swooping. The more time under a parachute you have, the longer you will likely survive in BASE (and skydiving). If you're a poor college student (which I was when I started--and am...STILL) I hate to say it, but tough shit...If you want to be a poor BROKEN college student, fine. Otherwise I suggest you make your education pay for those expensive [parachute] habits you have. BE COOL--STAY IN SCHOOL. but I digress... Although BASE-specific canopies fly differently than a VX, or spectre, or whatever skydiving canopy you use, they still function based on the same principles of flight. Speed still equals lift, and your thousands of jumps will gain you the experience you need to know when and how to tell your canopy what to do when, in order to get you safely where you need to land. Yes...I'm a canopy Nazi-- but I also hate seeing people bounce and/or break themselves whilst particioating in my favorite sport. Remember that every time someone goes in, we're one step closer to losing objects and being marginalized that much further. OK, I'm a selfish Canopy Nazi. Sig Fuckin' Heil--Hook it.

Bad Idea dude. Learn from REAL PEOPLE...everything you read on this board should be confirmed/denied in real time by a person you TRUST...including what I just said. Slow down.

Short answer: No. Quite a few BASE jumpers have skipped the skydiving step and came out just fine. Others have not. In all honesty, it depends on the person. For most people, yes. Every now and again though, you find someone who was born to BASE jump. They are Uber coordinated and naturally have the mechanics nailed. With the right mentoring, these people can be moulded into safe, talented BASE jumpers, without skydiving. On the other hand, there are MANY skydivers (and BASE jumpers, for that matter) who Aren't Uber coordinated, and Aren't natural BASE jumpers, and ARE bone-breakingly bad jumpers. BASE is gaining in popularity and exposure more and more every day. Until a few years ago there were barely over 400 BASE numbers given out. I wouldn't be surprised to see them break 1000 this year. With this kind of rapid growth, the idiots you speak of risk more than just their own life and limbs, they potentially compromise the future of BASE for EVERYBODY when their stupidity calls for outside intervention--ie: legal, medical, civil, or otherwise. So you could understand that BASE jumpers almost HAVE to be cautious about WHO gets into the sport--and try to TEACH the idiots who refuse to bowl how to do it the right way. I'm glad to see you are waiting until you feel comfortable before taking up BASE jumping--I wish more people did that. ...and to answer your question: Negative. BASE jumpers are the biggest group of egomanical, self-centered testosterone-pumped bastards the planet has ever seen. I strongly suggest not associating with ANY of these homos (especially the Australians). If you do decide you want to jump, and nobody in the BASE world (or any other world) wants to jump with you, there is a place for you...It's known as the "Mince Division." They'll take you in as one of their own...and braid your hair as you sit around the fireplace and sip wine coolers. (actually, they're right cool blokes--but they wouldn't give me a number)

Then what's the point of flying camera? I may as well get my tandem rating, then. I like the idea of simplicity. I like the idea of being able to control when my reserve deploys after a cutaway. My set of emergency proceedures for jumping a camera include pulling higher. They also include practicing getting my helmet off in a single motion. I don't like RSL's, and I ESPECIALLY don't like the idea of a skyhook for jumping camera. (Admittedly though, I'm not super familiar with the ins and outs of a skyhook, but I am with that of the cutaway sysem of a Sorcerer). A skyhook may prevent you from getting unstable after a cutaway, but what if you were unstable BEFORE/WHEN you cutaway?

That would be bad publicity then, wouldn't it?

Does this operation sell video for the DZ too? Or is the DZ able to sell video for full price to the Sky Ride customers?

It makes my palms hairy.

>how many sites have actually been closed/ruined by yahoo skydiver >bandit jumpers? #50 Christopher Kennedy, December 2,1997 Age: 35 Antenna Jump Tucson Arizona, USA Impact "Christopher is dead when his feet left the tower is what other jumpers said after this fatality. Using a skydiving rig not modified for BASE, and without any prior BASE training or experience, he climbed 364-feet up a 450-foot tower and jumped only to find his bungee controlled collapsible pilot chute didn't work well at slow airspeeds. A passer-by found Kennedy's body near the tower the next morning. He had pulled his reserve handle at some point prior to impact. Alcohol may have been a contributing factor in this fatality." Does it really matter if any sites have been closed/ruined or not? I'm all for thinning out the genepool, but not at the expense of a good BASE site.

ummm. I have a problem too. I was out at the DZ the other week and this guy got in front of me in the manifest line. I still got on the load, and I think he just didn't see me there, but that's not the point. Should I let him have it? I mean he CUT IF FRONT OF ME!!!! Can you believe that?? these damn skydivers have some nerve.

Can anyone recommend the best and/or smallest 3 Chip Mini DV camera? Dont need a ton of bells and whistles, just the clarity of 3CCD. Should be helmet mountable, of course, preferably without any gigantic mic appendages sticking off of it. Thanks!

QuoteWhat about FRENCH kiss? I like the sound of "freedom kiss".

In all honesty, my preference is to go with toggles, BUT... It really totally depends on the object, the canopy, DBS v. SBS, etc. Typically I pack for the object I'm jumping and won't exit until I've rehearsed the worst case scenarios with my particular configuration. There are scenarios where I would use the rear risers to stall, and reach accross with one hand to the opposite front riser to stuff air into the canopy and get the canopy turning faster. Some objects I would just practice jumping on a toggle and cranking it around. Take a day of skydiving your BASE canopy and practice different methods...you will learn a shitload and be really glad you did. I hope that made a little sense.

I prefer jumping a pull-out, but have modified my pull-out rig with a BOC pocket, as well, so I can jump a wingsuit with that rig (this of course requires a second bag/bridle/PC system). Big camera wings not a problem with the pull-out for me...1000+ camera jumps with no reserve rides. As for lessening the probability of a horseshoe, a pull-out will do this, but you also add a malfunction...the floating PUD. However, all things being equal, I'd take a floating PUD over a horseshoe any day of the week. I've had a couple floaties and they're pretty easy to deal with.

Risers v. Toggles is a personal choice. I have been a riser guy in the past, but switched over to being a toggle guy in the last six months or so. I found that it is definatly possible to over amp on your risers (front OR rear) and effectively cancel out the desired response from your canopy. Risers can be touchy motherfuckers. Whichever you decide (if you decide on only one) you should go with what you feel most comfortable with. Get the canopy under your control as soon as possible, HOWEVER you can without hitting the object. I'd also like to state the obvious; that there are two sets of risers, a pair of toggles, a harness and two groups of lines on a ram-air BASE system, and inputs to any of them can affect your canopy's flight. Too many people seem to fly as if their toggles are all that stands between life and death. Learn to fly a parachute using the WHOLE SYSTEM! If you think that front risers are taboo in BASE (or skydiving, for that matter), I hear the local bowling alley is giving a twofer on lessons, just for you. Don't confuse luck with skill. I pulled this off and made a separate thread, since we were getting away from the original topic, but the discussion looks both interesting and valuable. ~ Tom Aiello