460

what gives Canada? I went to Toronto a few ago and no one was willing to help me out. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

Tom, I can scan Boenish's BASE magazine in about a month or so if you want to make a dropzone.com link to them. -Chris Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

I have all of them in mint condition. Avery and Mick also have them I believe. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

Dwain's points are right on the money. Playing devil's advocate, Dwain is not always 100% accurate though, so if there are open questions, they should be openly discussed. The data that is so relevant in his analysis quoted is really somewhat inaccurate. What we need is 3-dimensional accelerometer data from exit all the way through opening to really quantify the distance and speed versus delay, because I do not believe the results quoted for the time-versus-speed-versus delay, especially as a function of pilot chute, canopy size, wingloading, and other relevant variables in this problem. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

I've always thought there was a correlation between opening speed and on-heading accuracy. The correlation being, the faster the opening the more on heading the canopy opens, limited of course by the shoulder levelness of the jumper. There is some limited data by Tim Harris of a frame by frame analysis of bridge day jumps that clearly demonstrate this phenomenon, and interestingly, highly independent of all other variables. Smaller canopies - less fill volume - quicker opening. Larger canopies - large fill volume - slower opening. Therefore, if the logic holds, smaller canopies should open more on heading than larger canopies. But this only my 2 cents. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

5 cells suck. Absolutely no drive & a poor flare. This was learned years ago when such canopies were around. The husband of the keeper of the BASE #'s, Rick Harrison, knows this rule well, especially after encountering a head wind on a big wall while jumping a docile 5 cell. He smashed his leg badly and had to crawl for 12 hours to get out, followed by 6 months in a wheelchair. In short, the canopy has a low aspect ratio and will open on heading. However, the cells are so large, the amount of drag from the leading edge is too large for all around BASE use. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

I remember being in freefall after jumping a 1000' naked from a tower. I remember thinking "I'm at one with nature!" Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

You just need to spend a small fortune on proper anchor points at a proper land site, replace all the nuts and bolts, hire a large crew who can do it and erect a gin pole, and go through FAA approval. It's possible to self fund through cell phone rental space on your tower. however, you'll need to get FCC approval, which can done without an extensive hassle. When I looked into this with a tower engineer, we could get an existing tower site with anchors, the total cost for a 1000' tower was in the neighborhood of $100-$125K. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

1000 base jumps or 1000 parachute jumps? your bio says 85 base jumps. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

God no. Maybe instead the mass advertising of such instruction in Skydiving magazine should be scrutinized by their publisher. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

There are some good nuggets in here. Not being sarcastic, maybe I should take up paragliding to better learn canopy control. My only concern is that your satisfaction in the course may be unfounded and once you have a few hundred jumps under your belt you may realize the true danger you were placed in. It seems there really are many disciplines that could hone you for base jumping, but I cannot think of doing it without learning to skydive. I personally think I could become much better by taking up gymnastics and paragliding. However, learning BASE through gymnastics and paragliding is like learning to fly a jet plane by learning to fly a canopy or a radio controlled plane. To the DZ.com and Blinc Magazine and internet community, is it possible to have advertising for such courses banned from Skydiving Magazine until the quality of such learning techniques become acceptable or otherwise? Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

After about 35 skydives, I was foolish enough to proceed: E (600') A(600') B(280') (airport control tower!!) S(876') (on the 100th BASE jump) Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

Perhaps, but a highly experienced jumper is fairly different than an uneducated wuffo sold on the idea of making a nearly risk free base jump - a realm where a lack of skill can easily result in a disaster. I certainly don't care a bit about the so-called arrogance of any jumper. Jumpers seem to have very large but fragile egos, myself included. Arrogance doesn't bother me a bit though. The lack of skill issue is critical. It was a lack of skill on my part in 1996 when I shattered my femur and landed on an ant bed. I repeat, the skill issue is critical and I think it is wrong to sell the idea of base to the wuffo public. But hey, maybe there are actually some criteria he uses for screening potential jumpers. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

I wonder how Red Bull would feel if this guy took some wuffo on a BASE jump that resulted in his or her highly publicized death or paralysis. -Chris Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

Hey I don't have a tattoo of 727 on my back! Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

By definition, there is no safe BASE jump. To be safe, you wouldn't BASE jump. By definition, you must BASE jump to be a BASE jumper. The rule for accidents is the rule of threes. Bad conditions multiply. Let's say you go to a jump and something's not right and you say "no biggie, it probably won't matter." Well, by the time you do this three times in a row, you've set yourself up for an accident. Also, sometimes when things are going really bad, frequently the best thing to do is to accept it and go with it. People get killed or badly hurt trying to avoid the inevitable. For example, flipping your car trying to avoid a moderate crash. Our skills come through when things go the crap. This is where mental preparation is essential. Think of all the worst cases and come up with as simple a plan as possible for dealing with these situations. However, I have noticed that the best BASE jumpers have something physiologically superior to the average BASE jumper. And that may either be the luck of the draw, a tolerance for adrenaline, or the mental ability to harness fear into something useful. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

To the casual circus attendee, the daredevil's job probably looks like it's all fun and games. But believe me, it's not nearly as easy as it seems. We daredevils put our lives on the line every day providing entertainment for the nation. Sure, we get to spend our days going over Niagara Falls in barrels and zooming around on motorcycles inside metal globes, but when the day is done, we're just like anyone else. We have families to raise, bills to pay, and looming fears that our jobs will be taken away by immigrants. Daredevils have walked real tightropes for more than a century. Now, we walk metaphorical tightropes, too, with the unemployment line always looming beneath us. Ten years ago, if you'd told me a daredevil from overseas could take away my job, I would've laughed in your face. I'd have told you all the greats were homegrown: Annie Taylor, Evel Knievel, that guy who climbed up the Golden Gate Bridge. All Americans, all classics. But our problem isn't a lack of talent: This country has plenty of men willing to put on a pair of roller skates and jump a row of 15 cars. The problem is that Ellis Island is crawling with Slovenians—each one more than willing to put on a pair of flaming roller skates and jump 20 cars for half the money. Our notoriously porous borders are particularly vulnerable to human cannonballs and speeding motorcyclists from Mexico. There's nothing in place to quell the tide of daredevils flying over the Rio Grande and landing safely on American soil to steal our livelihoods. This rhinestone-studded locust swarm is prying the food right out of our death-defying mouths. Worst of all, these foreigners have no regard for standards of conduct and safety. When you've been risking your life as long as I have, you learn how to better your odds with special nets and harnesses. We fought long and hard to make our ringmasters and fans see such precautions as necessities. All our years of hard work are shot to hell, though, the second some Indian agrees to be shot out of a cannon across a gorge with no net. Sure, a Kenyan will ride a unicycle across a 50-story-high steel beam without so much as a kneepad, and I grant you it's exciting. Gives me chills, and I'm a professional. But I guarantee you that the day something goes wrong, you'll wish you didn't have to explain to your kid why you took him out to see a man die. Hell, that's some show! Little Johnny'll never forget that one, that's for darn sure. Look, what riles me up is not that this new group of daredevils is foreign-born, but that they don't care a whit about the sacred traditions of the profession of dare-devilry. Their devil-may-care attitude is jeopardizing the profession and everyone who has ever broken his back in its name. My great-grandparents came to this country from Italy with nothing but matching outfits and a dream to be the greatest silks-and-tissue aerialists the world had ever known. They had to invent themselves, one step at a time, like pioneers. My brothers and I devoted our lives to the stewardship of their proud tradition. Now, in the twilight of our lives, when we should be passing our gold lamé parachutes onto our sons, a reckless new breed from the hinterlands is usurping their birthright. Take that French guy that calls himself Spider-Man. If he's French, shouldn't he call himself Spider-Homme? He's using an American daredevil name, but he's not even English! How about we let Americans climb American skyscrapers? You go climb the Eiffel Tower next time you're feeling frisky, Pepe. Leave the Sears Tower to us. A lot of people say these outsiders are doing jobs no American wants, anyway. I strongly disagree. Flying through a burning hoop at a county fair may not be everyone's vision of the American dream, but shoot, you have to work your way up to igniting yourself at the top of Devils Tower. You build a name for yourself while you learn the ropes. But with the flood of cheap labor streaming over our borders, the bar has been raised. To secure a basic carnival job, beginner daredevils are forced to perform stunts so crazy, you'd think only someone who's suffered repeated head trauma would be willing to chance them. When I think of the great opportunities I've had in this country, I am filled with pride. I've been wearing a star-spangled helmet for 20 years, risking life and limb to make people forget their problems, if only for a few minutes. I inspire people. They think, "If that man can remain in a tiger cage with a grizzly bear and four rattlesnakes for five minutes, what am I capable of?" But now, I must worry for my future. People no longer come to shows to see me cleverly cheat death with a bold display of showmanship—they want the possibility of death to be real and present. Face it: When I'm on the bill with some Angolan willing to bungee-jump 150 feet into a flaming barrel of gasoline while French-kissing a meth-stoked cobra, my stunt where I ride a tricycle across a tight-rope loses a little bit of its luster. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

this reminds of a story that BASE 37 told me. At the time he was the most experienced cliff jumper in the world. Anyway, his kid is at show and tell and he says "my daddy jumps off buildings and cliffs with a parachute." The teacher ends up calling him accusing his kid of being a lier, etc... Anyway, #37 goes to the class for the next show and tell and brings photos and a video of a grand canyon jump. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

I thought the number 460 was significant. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

luv it! Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

Get the FCC tower registration number and look it up on the FCC website. That will tell you some basics about the tower. I have been on some TV towers where each TV transmitter emits 5 megawatts. RF will cause tissue heating similar to a microwave, but I'm guessing a microwave is optimized to produce significant heating using a specific radiating frequency (band), in the region of the water resonance frequency around 22GHz - the K band. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

A sad day. BSBD. My condolances to the friends and family. take care, Chris Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

What we need are measurements with an accelerometer from launch to deployment. That would solve many of these unknowns. As far as I know, Adam F. from non-existant CR has used accelerometers quite a bit in his canopy development. There is indeed a lot we can do if have *some* actual data and not just speculations from some old chart and models of wind resistance. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

do you mean you calculated the speed given reasonable estimates of distances? and i assume you are using the standard k*v^2 drag formula? Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

The chart is not quite correct. This chart was promoted by Mark Hewitt via Vertigo many years ago and has been taken as correct ever since. The distances are not bad but the speeds are off. The speed is v=acceleration*time, where acceleration due to gravity is 32feet per second^2, which is equal to 21.8mph per second^2. This acceleration decreases around 4 seconds due to air resistance effects. To calculate speed at 1 second, it's approximately 21mph, at 2 seconds, its 40mph or so, at 3 seconds its 60mph or so, at 4 seconds, maybe 75mph or so. Chris, Ph.D. Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174