Zoter

Maybe thats why they prefer to jump at 6am or earlier....or is it they like getting up early just for the hell of it I'd like to jump this site at somepoint in the near futue so could I urge all local jumpers to keep their clothes on....and not to land on anyone All though...the only local jumper I know there.....I too would have very serious concerns seeing him jump 'naked'...

Looks like a very nice suit......so does the Blade. With comparable lead times/construction......but a cheaper price...looks like PF nips back out in front... (unless of course there is some super performance gain/loss by either suit....but the recent history of suit comparisons suggests thats unlikely) I think I'll be getting a Ghost or Blade as a next 'upgrade'.....probably the Ghost, but I'd be super happy with either ! I got some work to do before that though...

Nice movie JDam!

Based on what reasoning..? It inflates quicker? Less time to line stretch..? More comfortable opening? or rather...why wouldnt you use a 46? At my experience level...I just wouldnt consider not using a 46+ at 210ft I'm interested..not criticising

I dont see the List as a 'memorial' to fallen jumpers...although you can see how thats how it could be interpreted. As already said....all of these people I'm sure were much more than 'BASE' and the List should not necessarily be the place defined as the 'memorial' to them.....but rather that should be somewhere else, in a place their family and close friends want it to be ( public/private ) The List , in my opinion, is a chronological record, a description of what went wrong and perhaps what could be avoided as well as a warning to us newbies coming along... I think we are all told to read the list, before contemplating BASE....I did....I printed it out and read/analysed the entries over several weeks...and it does have a sobering effect on you if you do it this way..As my experience level increases I still go back and read through things I already analysed...and see things sometimes in a different light. Its something , I think, that needs to be there in one form or another. Personally I'd like to see more information on what might have gone wrong/what lead the event to happen...more than the List being a place to honour those who have died....I dont feel its accomplishing both (to their relative justices) at the moment.. But personally ...I'm glad its around, it serves a purpose....but sad to see the entries Gizzoogling it or whatever its called.....IMHO...took a stab at degrading something I considered 'sacred' Some things just shouldnt be turned into a joke as I see it.. ....but the man who did it was the man who started the list...I still dont know what to think about that.

Thanks I think I'll take advice on how I'm tieing off the breakcord ....as its not the tie off point thats the issue I think.. getting back to my original reply...what are your thoughts on having a primary and secondary breakcord tie...that dont vary in length/redundancy...?

Actually my S/L experience has mostly been using breakcord tied on a flat climbing sling. Please dont quote on my 'experience' when you have no knowledge of it....ta I'm intrigued then how my breakcord is shearing usually about 2cm from the knot....consistantly I'll get some pics the next time I can

Could you explain that some more..? Woudlnt a piece of 80Lb breakcord break at its weakest point....where it is single strand and not where it has been knotted and looped aroudn itself for the knot. On the limited number of S/L's I have done where I can observe the breakcord post jump.. the shear point has never been at the knot...but on the portion looped around the anchor point Thanks

Getting in BASE in a less than ideal way and then expecting more experinced jumpers to guide him (your words , not his) sets a very dangerous precedent and terrible example for future people wanting to BASE jump. ie .. " hey look at this guy....he got looked after , all he had to do was do the first jump any old way and then the BASE community felt an obligation to take him into the fold.....so all I have to do is the same." This has been debated plenty...logically and passionately on the UK boards plenty of times...with the conclusion that you pretty much had better have a mentor ( of some description) if you expect the UK community to 'welcome' you with 'open arms'...and that mentor (if they were half decent)certainly would not have approved of how Andy went about his first jump. I didnt/dont have a 'mentor' on return from my FJC....but had a reasonable amount of time in BASE preparation ( about 2 years), my own gear and a 10 day FJC with a very reputable English jumper......and still had trouble initially on my return to the UK getting help....The help is there, but the further away you are off the accepted route into BASE....the harder/longer it atkes to get some. Andy doesnt seem to have done any of the above.....and I think the more experienced jumpers here are just getting a little tired of people not preparing for a healthy BASE career but rather a 'hasty' BASE career. One of the experinced UK guys said in a post... "we owe you nothing......but its all there for you for the taking, if you enter it the right way" At the time I thought that was a little arrogant.....but it isnt. All Andy has done is one jump....his first....whilst it is a milestone.....its also nothing.....nothing magical happens to you on your first jump where experience and wisdom gets infused as soon as you step off, if you are lucky you remember how you felt before hand and how sweaty your hands were when you landed. its Andy who decides his own fate here....sure he can come back to the UK...stick two fingers up and go jump things on his own and tell us all if things get burned ,its the fault of the experinced UK guys for not helping him whne he got back home ( despite them trying to help him when he was just interested)......but I think they have seen this quite a few times now, and wont be too bothered about it. Or He can go back to basics...maybe get on a reputable FJC if he still wants to get into it now...get his own gear....make some contacts back in the UK and go GC and go learn. The next move isnt for the more 'experienced jumpers to help out'...thats been done to death here....no the next move is Andy's to make, no one elses. (I'm not one of the experienced UK jumpers, but I annoyed a few on my return to the UK , so feel experienced enough in that area to reply to your post)

JDam What the fuck is that piece of fluff on your chin ?? it looks like the pelt of an incredibly small mouse.... Grow a beard and shave in the words... "I am a big gay dutchie..."

Its up.. http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=5692 What are your thoughts to the following in the Clip..? It looked like the excess bridal was 'held' or even left ,rather than S-folded and held in place by a loose bungee stow...could that have contributed to it wrapping around one of the many snag hazards there....(I've not seen the jumper holding the excess bridal on a S/L jump yet) and probably not related the the PC breaking at all..just another observation... The back up static line didnt seem to have any more length/redundancy than the primary static line..... Doesnt having two S/Ls the same length effectively double the overal S/L breaking strength ( 160lbs if it was standard breakcord)? Just observations, not criticism...I think maybe alot can be learned by looking at these types of incidents in detail...

Thats a lovely picture ! Guy on the left.......didnt he trust the other 6 or something?

You didnt die.....but by the sounds of it ( and I'm still trying to interpret what exactly went wrong for the 'bridal to snap' you mention PCA but it sounds like a S/L..???) it was far from an ideal first jump. Have to say Andy I'm a little dissapointed you dont seem to have listened very carefully to the points that a few UK BASEr's took time to talk to you about... Not saying that because you have done your first jump...not at all, but rather the thinking gone into the way you have done your first jump ( ie people/equipment and knowledge of equipment).....I could be way of the mark here...and if I am please accept my apologies Anyway....congrats on the first jump, I know you wanted it....and I know that feeling of wanting it bad...Getting yourself on a recognised FJC would be a really smart move now.

I'd love to see some video of those deployments on a big BASE canopy.....is there any?

What he was doing has very little to do with flying in a 'flock'.....so why would he particulary want to train/practice in that way..? Are you having a go at someone who chooses to fly their suit in a way/mode thats different to your personal preference? Wow...with that kinda attitude ....is it a wonder that he kind prefers to stay away from the 'real' wingsuiters. What is a 'real' wingsuiter anyway? I fly a wingsuit....I'm not very good...but I'm safe, enjoy what I'm doing and have fun....am I a 'real' wingsuiter? Who ever said it did...? Although it doesnt take a lot of research to find that there are considerations/skills required for low pulls in wingsuits that you dont need necessarily to think about when pulling at 3K.... that , maybe, might have prompted Jebs question to you..."do you BASE jump...?" You ( as I have heard and as you tell us) are a great wingsuit pilot....but if you are not a BASE jumper or BASE wingsuit pilot...I'm afraid you dont have much credit in criticising someone who is a 'good' wingsuit pilot and 'great' BASE jumper... And note that Jeb responded to you via pm....I think your rant here was rude and uncalled for.

once again...well said !

Thats an admirable statement...but Calling a person who thought the only way to finally figure the problems they had by throwing themselves off a high bridge to their death...a 'stupid bitch' is disrespectful.....especially when you dont have the details of what lead them to that exit point. We have a good leveller question in the medical profession that helps you reevalute the 'routine' decisions you get used to making , that helps restore some balance. "that person .... imagine that was my sister/mother/relative etc....would I do the same thing..?" How would you feel about a stranger , with no knowledge of her circumstances and pain calling your mother/sister/close relative a 'stupid bitch' in these circumstances......? ......thought so

well said

That video was great....enjoyed that alot, he seemed like a right laugh. Although that canopy/bike entanglement... Tree jump looked good as well... But how would you get a Horse up there Meekerboy??

Hows' about going to the exact same spot and height.... and dropping it again..... who knows...

So is this a career step or just another string to your bow?

Good for you. I work in Healthcare (Cardiology) and I've always said that when I leave this job....I'm looking for something /anything other than a job in Healthcare.....but....I think an EMT /Paramedic Job is the one thing in Medicine that I could be tempted to stay in to do. Congratulations....it couldnt have been easy ( unless you did get someone else to take the EMT-B test for you... )

I really messed up an ankle last summer running ,tripping and bending it 90degreeswhilst running/jumping a fence to get on a load... The next two jumps I was in quite a bit of pain but was filming and didnt want to let the team down...stupid...but I felt it was OK to do. All's I can say is I did some 'awesome' one footed landings that day.....approaching slower than usual...but with some speed to bleed....before a few hops to a graceful 'one footed stop' I'm not saying thats the right thing to do....but when you really dont wont to bear any weight on one leg...you can adapt your landing without 'spanish landing' it....thats my experience.

A few favourites from the recent UK Pro BASE event...

I was hoping to come...... But JDam was sending me sloppy mankiss emails....and we havent seen each other for a year or so.....I'd have to question his intentions Nah...work schedule beat me to this one....but isnt there another one in August..??