NickDG

Dave, I thought you were just going to SLC. If your final destination is TF and you are staying in one of the hotels there, I can ship the items directly and they'll be waiting for you. Any hotel, where you are staying, will work, but we know the manager at the Super Eight Twin Falls Hotel pretty well and she looks after the stuff we send her and holds it for visiting BASE jumpers. Here's the address: Super 8 Twin Falls 1260 Blue Lake Boulevard Twin Falls, ID 83301 If you've already booked another hotel send me the address & phone and I'll contact them and fix it up for you . . . NickD

They used to be called ASOs, but it was too hard to say without giggling . . . NickD

I've never purchased anything from one, but I helped make an infomercial for Guthy-Renker once. They had a product that would put waves into a woman's hair and they wanted to prove the waves would stay in no matter what. They hired an out-of-town female skydiver because she had the right hair type, but she wasn't very experienced. We shot it in California City and it was windy enough that I was concerned for her. I tried to talk the director into making it a tandem instead, because of the winds, but he wouldn't even think about it. "They give me a list of shots to get, "he told me, "and if I don't come back with them all, it's my ass." I basically looked after her gear and jump mastered her in plane. But she did better than the product did and they shot two endings. One was the real one, and I must say after landing her hair didn’t look too bad. But then they touched it up and shot it again. I had to sign something so I can't tell you which ending they used. The infomercial ran for a few months and it actually generated some student starts around the country where it aired. To answer the original question, someone must be buying this stuff; Guthy-Renker alone does $1.3 Billion in annual sales . . . I've always wondered, with the dwindling number in jumpers, why USPA doesn't make their own infomercial. Maybe not so much a hard sell aimed at students, but an overall 30-minute look at the sport. A little narration – to dispel a few myths – and some music and we'd be beaten them off with sticks at the DZ. It would cost a bundle to produce and air, but it would be the best money USPA ever spent . . . NickD

Want to know what country on earth enters the phrase "BASE jumping" into Google's search engine the most? http://www.google.com/trends?q=base+jumping There's also an interesting "Trend History" near the top . . . NickD

Well, I guess we at Apex BASE just found our next print advertisement for SKYDIVING . . . Thanks! NickD

>>Can anybody tell me what A,I,R means??

Two Carbone Stories: Are you ready for . . . "Scotty Carbone Goes to Bridge Day!" It was '91 or '92 - and while I may not recall the year exactly I'll never forget Scotty being there. Here's an event (Bridge Day) where outlandish characters are a dime a dozen and then there's Scotty . . . About 11:30 I'm nearing the end of my Jump Master shift when I hear this huge tractor trailer rig coming down the opposite side of the bridge with its air horn blasting away. As it got closer there he was. Scotty is standing on the trucks running board in a loud orange jumpsuit, waving his pilot chute in one hand, and still blowing the horn with the other. At this point there is still a very long line of jumpers. The truck stops and Scotty jumps down. I got a quick glance at the driver, and he looked a bit befuddled - I'm sure Scotty just jumped on board back at the traffic light and ordered him to drive. Scotty jumps the wall that divides the roadbed and now he's in a sea of wuffos but I can hear him. In that lovable way Scotty has, "Move outta my way," and " look out there, partner!" He parts the crowd and then he did something I've never seen before and something that even for BASE is out there . . . Cool, I think, this will liven things up a bit. But, without so much as a how do you do, or by your leave, he walks up to a small opening in the rail (between jumpers in line) and without looking over or anything else he just leans over and he's gone. Later at the after-jump meeting in the park someone got up and mentioned he didn't appreciate, "That asshole Carbone cutting the line." And there were a few nods of agreement from other jumpers. Then this voice from the back, and unmistakably it's Scotty, says, "Well, you're fucking wife liked it!" So the guy charges into Scotty and for a few moments it's like a Popeye cartoon and the fists, legs, and dust are flying. Scotty had been drinking a little but as we moved in to break it up he was starting to get the better of the other guy. All's well that ends well as they were both hoisting beers together back at the hotel . . . "Scotty Carbone Goes to the PIA Covention!" A few years later I'm at a PIA Convention in Orlando, Florida and the Knights had just done a sunset demo into the hotel parking lot. Meanwhile we (BASE jumpers) were planning a night demo into the pool off the 9-story roof. It was too early yet so we agreed to meet later – but by that time I was drinking too much corporate alcohol to find my rig or the staircase. But I bumped into Scotty in the hallway and he says, "You ate yet? Come on, I'll buy ya dinner . . ." So off we go but the hotel restaurant is already closed. The manager was there as they were cleaning still and Scotty pulls him aside and says, "Hey, what about rustling us up some sandwiches, or something." Here's a classic case of not the way to handle people. The manager got all indignant and starts going on about when the place is closed its closed, period! He wasn't a pleasant fellow to say the least. So Scotty says to me, "Come on – this guy has got his schedule and I got mine." I lost him in the lobby for a moment but then he re-appeared and now he had two clip boards and two pens. "Here," he said handing me one of each. "just do what I do." I followed him around to the back side of the hotel, through a couple of doors, and all of a sudden we were in the kitchen. There were about a dozen of the staff in there but I tried not to look anyone in the eye. Scotty started looking under the counters and behind things. Oh, I thought, I get it; we are Inspectors of some sort. I pretended to write something down on my clip board when Scotty struck gold. In a reefer he opened there was what must have been a 60 pound Mackerel. "You like Sushi?" he asks, "Sure do." I reply, "Well, grab an end," he says . . . We walked out of there clean as a whistle and no one said anything to us. I guess they thought we were confiscating it. But we didn't get too far. About half way across the parking lot I hear Mr. Manager yelling at us to stop. It's been my experience that when someone yells stop - it's best to go. So we took off running and of course we dropped the fish. Scotty reaches down and starts dragging it while yelling at me, "Run Nick, save yourself!" But before I could do anything two police cars rolled up on us. We were caught between their spot lights and a by now, hysterical Mr. Manager. The next thing is two boys on the hood. Okay, I know when to quit and become Mr. Perfect Prisoner, but not Scotty. "So come on," he's telling the cops, "we're just a couple of drunks at a convention, let’s not roll this up into a big fucking ball." And just as I'm thinking of making a break for it Scotty says, "What the fuck you gonna charge us with – grand fish?" It was then, before it got worse, I chimed in with, "Come on, he can have his fish back." Then Mr. Manager put the nail in it, "It's not my fish anymore, it’s your fish. And here's the bill." My credit card took a real beating that night as that was an $800 fish, when it's all cut up. But it's a $1000 story - so it all pencils out . . . NickD

Maybe strapped down (slider down, not up!) turned up as high as she'd turn while wearing a balloon suit. Then pull the trigger. The poor man's catapult . . . NickD

Keep it in the family - screwing other jumpers is permissible in a doctors and nurses sort of way. And it makes for more doctors, nurses, and jumpers too. NickD

I've done my own study and there are three kinds of jumpers. Some are high octane risk takers and some are timid followers. And then there is everyone else in between . . . There was a study done in skydiving, albeit a little differently, and given at a PIA convention. The presenter spent 45 minutes explaining how people can fail to cutaway, or mis-react to high speed and stress. He went on about various nerve endings and synapses with charts and slides but you could hear the Instructors in the audience snickering. We just called it brain-lock. It's like that other thread going on about terminal velocity, with the physics and everything . Terminal velocity is like porn, you know it when you feel it . . . NickD

Good Video! Two things if I may . . . In the slow-mo bit - it appears the excess brake line isn't stowed. That can be cool most of the time but you can clearly see the entanglement factor there. (Forgive me if they were stowed and just came out). Also on the slow-mo bit - pull initially harder when you release the brakes on the reserve. It looks as if the right was coming out first and you had to tug again on the left. You don't want to get into another spin. Riggers stow that control line and the excess brake line to stay put should it hit, or brush against, anything on its way out of the container. NickD

Please stop calling us BJs . . . NickD

>>yo, just looking for some info on maybe getting some instruction on BASE. i live in Omaha, Ne. and it doesnt seem like anyone are base'ers here. i dont even have gear yet, but i am ready to learn. what to expect? wheres the best place to get gear? wing loading? best base canopy? rig? i'll take all the info u can give. Peace- Rob

Yes, BASE Jumping is 28 years old today! And Joy was born on the same day - August 8 - and the same year too -1978- isn't that correct, Joy? NickD

http://www.basefatalities.info/ NickD BASE 194

>>and my El Cap number is 600 and something.>>And my El Cap number is 270 but what does that prove?

>>Back in the 80’s there were hundreds if not thousands of jumps made off El Cap. using regular skydiving gear. At least 3 that I know of were able to use their reserves, all 3 round reserves, and all survived.

>>No doubt I shall attract some disapproving comments.

Jimmy seemed to indicate there were issues with the "insurance." NickD

>>The re-writing of FAR 103 to bring it in compliance with the Light Sport licence changes that. Basically if its a 2 seater plane of any sort its now brought back into the FAA's hands for regulation

I watch drag races just to critique the parachute deployments. NickD

There's an interesting history to "Stunt Junkies" and those type shows. There is also a connection with the parachuting community as these shows have cost a number of jumpers their lives over the years. The shows today are a bit more controlled but in the years of "That's Incredible" and before – you'd basically gaff up some stunt and call them to come and film you. In the eighties guys like Jimmy Tyler, BASE 13, were trying to make a living off doing that. "You asked For It" was the granddaddy of all these shows and aired in the fifties. People would write it with things like this: Dear YAFI, I heard there was a guy in Milwaukee doing parachute jumps inside an airplane hangar. I'd sure love to see that. Bob Iowa The above is a true case. When the cameras and crew arrived and found the guy it turned out he was an airplane mechanic who practiced the stunt inside an old blimp hangar. He first dropped the parachute using weights until he was sure it would work and then he did it for real as part of air show/exhibition. The year was 1949. The best part is when the film crew asked, even offering him money, to do it again for their cameras he basically told them to go F themselves. You gotta love a guy with ethics . . . NickD

Prior to BASE being BASE some early tower "stunt" jumps were done in "pull off" fashion, and yes rounds were used. Pull offs were popular at one time at air shows from slow moving aircraft flying around 80 mph. Wind speeds on high towers can easily meet or exceed that level. I suppose the modern equivalent would be a floater launch. We'd probably see tower pull offs on "Stunt Junkies" but none of the old guys have the legs for it, and the new guys wouldn't even think about landing a round on solid ground. Break out the T-10s . . . NickD

Have you never heard of the Collegians? They used to have a meet every year that wasn't quite the Nationals, but it wasn't a dinky little meet either . . . NickD

What's going on over here . . . http://answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result;_ylt=Aq7p43IDDrR9xCvrNYWPhhYjzKIX?p=base jumping&t=n-4181094401_q-abELHp.XJYMLJ6UmGczqpQABAA@@ I especially liked the last one. NickD