base428

That particular photo is owned by Vertical Visions. Josh was my hired photographer for Bday 2003 and he did a great job. You can only order enlargements through Vertical Visions at THIS WEBSITE (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Harassment? You mean them harassing me with repeated phone calls and mailings each week, right? I've been doing this for many years.....there's no harassment in mailing back the junk they litter my mailbox with. I would welcome the opportunity to fight MCI or AMEX in a harassment lawsuit. Please enlighten us to how these mailings would be considered harassment, or details of the naughty list you spoke of. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Did you know you can use postage paid envelopes to mail up to 70 lbs of household junk back to the sender? Tired of receiving unsolicited credit card offers in the mail? Attach their postage paid envelope to a brick (or similar heavy object) and mail their junk back to them at their expense. It's completely legal... Postage Paid Envelope Revenge PDF Version AMEX just screwed me out of $100 on a cash rebate award last month......so I mailed them a 17 lb concrete block last week, along with the full name of the customer service manager who wouldn't help me. More packages are on the way. MCI banned me from mailing them anything a few years ago. I mailed them tires, rims, and boxes of shingles a few years ago because they were mailing and calling me many times each week. If you're too scared to plop down a 56 lb postage paid rock on the US Postal Service countertop, then at least stuff the postage paid envelope and mail it back at their expense. Join the fight against unsolicted trash in our mailboxes. Support the USPS. Get rid of that old nasty tire in your garage that the garbage man won't take! (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

A good friend of mine made a jump with a handgun after he forgot to take it out of his stash bag. Since then, he gets a lot of "did you bring your gun" type of questions at the exit point. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Contact Cajones using his email address listed in his profile for further info. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

As for your zippers, I found it helpful to add a larger piece of webbing at the end of the zipper to grab onto after deployment. I used a thin piece (3/8" wide) of yellow webbing or binding tape and then tied several knots in it. It's about 4" long and makes it easier to grab onto. Many jumpers go for the zippers as the canopy is opening... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Good Lord.....modifying a Sabre 150 for use off a 380' cliff? It's great that you emailed CR and Adam told you not to jump, but did you ever do any "research" before you contemplated this jump? Maybe your attitude towards our dangerous sport is why you were forced to go solo? No offense dude, but you are lucky to be alive. You cannot limit the number of jumpers attending FJC's. Gear manufacturers and experienced jumpers are making money from FJC's, so don't expect anything to change. Jumpers have been talking about site preservation for years. Nobody is going to guard Moab, or your local antenna for that matter, in order to keep inexperienced newbies away. Nothing is going to change in our sport, as far as "illegal" objects are concerned. I'll offer a bit of advice to anyone upset over the inexperienced, ungrateful, unstealthy a-holes who are ruining your cool local antenna: a) Have a long talk with them, warn them about items B and C listed below. b) Kick their ass c) Tar and feather them (although nobody has had the balls to do this since Garner and Earl) If you really want to keep your object, then forget the pleasantries and get right to the point. BASE is never going to be easy to get into because we purposely need to filter out the potential victims. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Cruiselite....Crashlite.....Bruiselite.....there are many names for these evil canopies. Some of my worst landings, openings, and pack jobs occurred while using a Cruiselite. I agree with Tom on this one.....Cruiselite's suck. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Peg climbs separate the men from the boys. It's even more fun when there's a missing peg or two. Have fun, stay safe..... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

http://www.vertical-visions.com/09switch.html will show you a hand switch that I occasionally use. Note the connector to remove the switch from the helmet.... I'm torn between which one is better (hand versus mouth switches). Each have their place in freefall photography. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Hey Lonnie.....I did the same thing with my PC100 a few years ago. The epoxy thing worked OK for awhile, until the camera took another minor stress on the lense and it fell off again. My solution was to purchase a roll cage and it has be stable since.... Good luck bro. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Why doesn't someone just test the various PC packing methods and analyze with video? Extract PC's from a moving vehicle and film their opening characteristics. Especially when you're dealing with something that you can't clearly see as it comes off your back. Just a thought. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Squirrel's reply is 100% authentic....I know this because I was with him when that situation went down. It's a long story, but we were not arrested simply "because" we had security clearances. On the other hand, telling DSS about my prior BASE jumping opened up a HUGE can of worms. I eventually got my TS clearance, but it wasn't without having to explain our sport in great detail and protect the objects and fellow jumpers from being disclosed (despite DSS-Gov't requests). BASE Jumping is not a crime! PS. I would suggest you NOT tell your security people about BASE. It's none of their business and it doesn't affect your ability to keep gov't secrets. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Don't undersell that canopy Spence.....5/7ths of 240 is 171.43 square feet. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I've talked one of the arrestees and now the NPS. NPS says they didn't pull guns, arrestees say they did. I heard of guns being pulled in at least two separate BASE busts in that area over the years. Rangers admit they were staking out the Gla** Cr**k LZ for BDay 2003 about the same time as a traditional ranger briefing that takes place the day before Bridge Day. Rangers say that in 2000, someone jumped the NRGB during this ranger meeting and the jumpers "might" have used the meeting to their advantage. Rangers think the jumpers timed the jump to coincide with the ranger meeting, although I told them it's probably a coincidence. Rangers were dressed in plain clothes also. Anyway, the bottom line is that the NPS is apparently wasting your tax dollars on staking out various bridges in hopes that someone jumps. I told NPS this is wrong. Maybe when I go on TV and radio this fall to promote BDay 2004, I should tell the public about this waste of tax money? Hmmmmm. I don't think the jumpers have gone to court yet, but I'll letcha know what happens. They were charged with "illegal BASE jumping". I'm very upset here in WV!! (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Speaking of objects local to me, did you know that the NPS allegedly staked out the 700'er shortly before Bridge Day 2003? They dressed as fishermen and had video cameras to document the jumps. Then, when the jumpers landed, they pulled out their guns on several jumpers. If this is true, then it's really messed up when the NPS points a gun at you and arrests you at one bridge, then tells you to "have a nice jump" at Bridge Day a few days later. What a waste of tax dollars!! Some of the rangers in that area are OK, others apparently may still have issues with us. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Just curious where people are making their first BASE jumps.... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Actually, most FJC's recommend between 100-150 skydives. Bridge Day had no minimum rule until last year, when a 50 jump minimum was established by me. Bridge Day is different than any other FJC or BASE event. It has a long history that doesn't always fit into the standard BASE mold. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I'm definately going to both. My wife and I will be in Norway from 15-27 June. Donk and Cali are also supposed to go, along with Mark and Nicole from Wales (#539?). Anybody have any info on Extreme Week? Hotels, jump site info, etc? Cya there. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

McMaster-Carr (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

A jumper who hits the lottery should also investigate a smokestack. I've jumped a 1300' stack several times and it's a warm, protected ride to the top. Plus, object strikes would be pretty rare and you wouldn't get caught on the structure. WDI's thrown off the top of our stack will not hit the object, as the wind velocity increases around the circular structure in the same manner as the wind going over the top of an airplane wing. An 1800' stack with no guy wires would be sweet. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

When is a BASE jumper FINALLY going just bite the bullet and build a friggin' 1500' antenna for us all to jump? Dig deep, Mr. Deep Pockets BASE Jumper. You know you're out there....!!! Rob a bank, play the lottery, sell your sperm to the sperm bank...just do what it takes to get me that legal ride to the top. I'll even PAY for it! (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

No review was written other than what was posted here. I think everyone learned a little from this situation and QC procedures were modified as a result......OK, back to dynamic corners!!! (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I really don't want to deviate from this dynamic corner thread, nor do I want to get into great detail about the two flaws discovered on my rig, so if you want the full story, email me. Let's just say there was a serious grommet mis-strike that snuck past QC, along with some missing backpad stitching that was very visible. The grommet mis-strike would have produced a mal in less than 25 jumps IMHO. I like my Wings rig, and might even consider buying another one in the future.....maybe. Either way, Sunrise fixed it and all is well. I sometimes hate to say I found a problem with Company X's products, but in our sport, if something is not built properly then it can be deadly. This is the first time I've mentioned this situation online. I mainly brought this point up in conversation because many flockers use this type of harness/container and not everyone will thoroughly inspect a new system. We sometimes assume a new rig is built perfectly..... PS. About 4 months ago, Moe Viletto discovered a B-12 that was installed backwards on my Wingsuit BASE harness/container. It was not the "hook/latch" part of the B-12, but the other mating part. Backwards loading of the B-12 allowed all the stresses to be forced upon a weaker part of the system. The bottom line is that new gear needs to be fully inspected by the owner! (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Word to the wise....check your new Wings rig over before you jump it. They make a nice rig, and they are good people, but the QC process was seriously lacking on my rig....to the point of guaranteed mals. On dynamic corners, Rob from Morpheus does a great job with them. My base rig has their dynamic corners. It's a little harder to pack, but do-able. Kevin from Bombproof Rigging probably has the best dynamic corners on the market today....his design is the most advanced so far. However, Morpheus' design works just fine. Just make sure the corners are folded inward against the side of the container rather than the bottom of the container. Cya. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.