DexterBase

Excellent, thanks those are great shots. I know someone has looked up and seen line twists while they were jumping a camera. Johnny, there were quite a few shots of jumpers blowing brake lines. One of those would be cool. Thanks for all your help guys!

I have that video. I got a copy from Johnny in TF. I have it on VHS but I was hoping for some JPEGs. I'm writing an article on the subject and I need good reference photos.

Hello, I need pictures of the following malfunctions on BASE jumps; *tension knot *slider hangup *wall strike *Lost/broken control line *PC in tow *line twist Fortunately I have not yet had the opportunity to film one of these close-up. If you have any grabs or stills I can use for my own reference I'd appreciate it.

I think that's a very good idea. I plan on jumping a couple variations of this and getting video of just the release system. I'm curious to watch the break/release frame by frame to see just how the sling reacts.

The setup is really quite simple. I think you're being distracted by the coil and multi-colored rope. The setup is similar to something I posted a while back. click me

Anybody know what this is?

I have been talking for a long time about making some freefly pants and other stuff like that. I'm also about to start working on my riggers rating (something I've been wanting/needing to do for some time but have been putting it off...) So my girlfriend bought me a household-type sewing machine for christmas. What a cool chick. Today, I wandered around the sewing store like a child lost in the woods. I looked around and I was the only guy in the store. I was standing in line between two nice older ladies. They thought that it was nice to see a guy that sews. I felt like any second I would blow my cover and give away the fact that I know nothing about sewing. Getting fabric cut was the most interesting part. Tonight, I have been wandering around online in various sewing forums and sites. I'm going to learn to sew. Oh man.

Wow, well written Tom.

Here

Excellent! Quite a different game when there's nobody there to back your play. What an incredible feeling huh? Come out here and make a jump with us sometime soon!

I woke up after getting maybe an hour and a half of sleep. I worked a 12 hour shift the night before and I was pretty exhausted. As my eyes opened, I reached for the blinds above my head to do my usual "weather check". I found myself hoping that it would be cloudy or raining so I wouldn't have to get out of bed. This was about a year ago. That was the first time I ever wanted to do anything other than skydive. It may have simply been because I was tired and needed sleep. Since then, I have passed up chances to go skydiving when the weather was good and there weren't really any reasons not to go. Skydiving and BASE jumping can't be everything. If you allow skydiving to completely take over your life, you will have nothing left if you were to lose it (like an injury). You'll still have friends that you made in the sport and you'll always enjoy the memories of the jumps you made, but your true passion in life will remain just out of reach. Someone who has lost something that they loved so deeply for so long, is in a vulnerable and dangerous position. You need to be well rounded. Experience other things. Find other activities that make you happy. What would you do tomorrow if you found out today that you couldn't jump anymore? Something to think about... Right now, I'm really into BASE. I have been neglecting my friendships at the DZ and I feel bad about it. I was actually talking to my girlfriend about this. We were talking about getting gear confiscated on a BASE jump. Since I'm on a fairly tight budget at the time, it's questionable if I'd be able to buy another rig immediately. I told her that if it came down to it, I would sell my skydiving rig to buy another BASE rig. I'm not sure what that really means. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that. Do what makes you happy. Just keep your gear. We, and the sky, will be here when you return.

Yeah, but check out www.basedudes.com anyway.

I did use a tailgate on that jump. My heading was right on. If you look closely, you will notice that the upper control lines are all together in a little "bundle". I have been using the tailgate to trap all the tailgate friendly lines. I then pull the tailpocket up and use the primary stow band to close the tailgate(two wraps of a medium rubberband). I have had pretty good heading performance using this method. I did have a 90 right on a later jump and watched another jumper have a 90 left. It seems the tailgate can adversely affect heading on these jumps. I don't think it's the tailgate specifically that causes the offheading openings, but since the canopy is contained in a neat little package it can be turned easily by small inputs on the risers. If the canopy is straight when you launch, it can still rotate while you're moving over it. I think that having the canopy spread out more will make it less susceptible to this problem, therefore I have decided to stop using the tailgate on McConkeys, at least for the next twenty or so. Then I'll decide. (It's unlikely that I'll do another twenty anytime soon. I'm finding them less fun as I do more. I'd kinda rather freefall but it's nice way to bang out a jump if you're not feeling up to packing.) I really don't think the slider will affect anything. I always leave my slider on and secured in front. The slider down vs. slider off argument is an old one and you'll hear strong arguments for either side. I choose to leave it on and I'm confident it doesn't matter for these jumps.

So cool. So scary... so many things. Thanks Spence!

I don't know... I mean, my gut is telling me that if you go below 300 feet you should have a 48" PC on. I think a non vented 48 with no cap or handle is the way to go. 300 feet is the lowest I have gone with a 46, and I went stowed at that height. If it's lower than 300, I think it's wise to put on the 48 and go hand-held. Realistically, below 300 feet is getting down there. Put a 48 on, why not?

It is a big difference, and yes it's that bridge, but I wanted to see what the difference was in openings (vertical feet consumed) between the two PC's on identical delays. The 38 still yielded openings with a good margin. None of the openings were anything concerning to me and most people watching didn't notice it at all. I didn't really notice much difference between the two PC's but that could be because of my relative inexperience. In terms of vertical feet, the 38 isn't unsafe there and as long as you don't over delay it will do a more than adequate job of getting your canopy to linestretch in a timely manner. I just prefer the 42 because I think it covers everything from a go-n-throw to the deepest delay you can safely take there. At the deeper end of the delay range there, I imagine a 38 would provide slightly cleaner openings (less center cell strip) but I think the benefits at that site aren't enough to convince me to use anything smaller than a 42. Edit: For clarity, in the second paragraph I am talking about comparing the 38 and 42 inch AV series pc's by CR. The difference between a 38" AV pc and a 48" non-AV is quite noticeable.

Why would you use a 38 on that object? It is my opinion that a 42 is a better selection. Are you trying to reduce the frequency of PC hesitations? What size PC would you recommend to other jumpers going to this site? Personally I have taken everything from a 38 to a 48 off of this site. I definitely prefer the 42 though. Just curious.

Kmonster is without a doubt, the hottest Sky/BASE chick I have ever met.

Hmmm. Ordinary BASE gear, with no defects, can and will "fail" if deployed in a less than optimal way. For example, if I misroute my bridle I can achieve a full-blown PC in tow that cannot be cleared before impact. There is nothing wrong with the equipment, but I didn't give it a chance to do its job. Another example. If I deploy my PC while I'm freefalling on my back at low airspeed, I will likely have to accelerate more before the drag of the PC will overcome the additional force required to peel the shrivel flap in this "less than perfect" position. So while I may impact before the canopy can make it to linestretch, the gear did not fail. It did fail to stop me before I impacted, but since I did not deploy the system as designed I can't really blame the equipment. There is only so much slack the manufacturers can take up for us. It's up to us to use the gear as designed. When properly constructed, assembled, and used, BASE specific equipment has a nearly perfect success rate. But when it really comes down to it, Read the warning label.

Do you have one swooping the unimog? That would be cool. I also have some video from up top later that evening if you're interested email me.

From what I heard discussing the incident with those who were there, everyone involved handled the situation extremely well. My hat is off to 587 for his cool head at a stressful time. Unfortunately I was jumping in another location but luckily 587 was there. His actions were certainly instrumental in preventing further injury and stabilizing Jim. Jim, I'm glad we got to meet at the Party. Get well so we can hang out again. Edit: [url "http://www.dropzone.com/news/BASEjumpinginjuriesandtr.shtml"] Good reading for those interested

Hehe... I will.

DexterBASE will be leaving the Seattle area either Sunday the 23rd or Monday the 24th. Anyone wanting a ride let me know.

Hmmm..... Which one?

hehe... When I pack my BASE rig I'll sometimes use up to 12 clamps.