NickDG

>>chriswelker, Makethappen, diablopilot, and hooknswoop, FYI, you are mentioned on their countercomplaint.

Flight levels are always expressed as three digits so FL 245 is 24,500-feet. Where flight levels begin vary by country and topography. Since flight levels are based on an agreed barometric pressure, and not the actual barometric pressure, flight levels can only be used above the highest terrain. I'm not entirely sure, but I think in the U.S. flight levels begin with FL 240, (twenty four thousand). Anything below whatever the starting point of the flight levels are is expressed in feet like fourteen thousand five hundred. >>FL 140 210/20 kts FL 100 210/20 kts FL 50 200/30 kts 3000 190/30 kts 1000 190/25 kts 500 180/20 kts

>>PLEASE TAKE 2 SECONDS TO RESPOND . . .

"No Man is a Failure who has Friends." It is indeed, "A Wonderful Life . . ." NickD

>>Local law enforcement, Coroner, FAA, Airport management agency......etc...

While that is "absurd" the first real pilot chute was indeed a hat like affair and was invented by an Italian named Pino in 1910 . . . NickD

There is an urban angle to boots. Some buildings have steel staircases and in the dead of night even a single jumper can sound like Frankenstein clanking and banging up the stairs. In the old days, when no one used boots, our aptly named sneakers, or tennis shoes, made it a non-issue. The answer of course is by all means wear your boots, but always have a cheap pair of slip on rubbers (galoshes?) in your kitbag to deaden your footfalls . . . NickD

Anyone, especially in jumping, can buy a camera and call themselves a photographer. However, you'll never get far with a "real" pro without signing a model release. In any event there's not much you can about it that would pencil out in the end. Look at Steve Clark, a photo of him doing a tandem over Perris, is plastered all over how many SKYRIDE web sites . . . NickD

Since the publicity we BASE jumpers receive sometimes stems from rather spectacular accidents I've always thought it a good idea to go out of our way to generate positive buzz on our own. It's an uphill endeavor, however, as the mainstream media will always focus more on our missteps. There have been some noteworthy exceptions here in the U.S. this year like Miles' record number of jumps in one day, a sweet Go Fast Games and another great Bridge Day. But, then a single jumper caught in the tower wires cancels it out by getting more publicity and airtime than all the rest. So when a college magazine reporter called me a week ago and asked for some help with writing about BASE jumping I agreed. I've always had good luck with college students. A similar call in the past from students wound up becoming the film "Stealing Altitude" which may sound negative but put the sport in a good light for the many thousands that saw it. I've also written several articles for college periodicals over the years that were about us, but more importantly written by us. One thing I always insist on with any reporter is a hard mention of our history. Nothing gags me more than a BASE jumper who's granted some coverage but acts like it's all about them with no homage paid to where we came from. I was delighted when this college reporter mentioned Carl Boenish before I did. It showed he did at least some research before calling me. So the other night we took him on an urban adventure and this afternoon I'm taking him to visit Jean Boenish, who still lives in the home Carl grew up in. There he can sit in the same chair Carl did, hold his old cameras, see his studio, and in general soak up some BASE history. The people who write for college newspapers and magazines are the "mainstream press" of tomorrow, the people who read college newspapers and magazines are the leaders of tomorrow, and we can influence these people one mind at a time . . . NickD

Some of you may remember this incident from three years ago . . . NickD BASE 194 Student Stunt Death Avoidable Friday 4 November 2005 by Emily Gosden http://www.cherwell.org/show_article.php?id=3726 The death of an Oxford student flung to the ground by a stunt catapult in 2002 could have been prevented if further safety tests had been carried out, a coroner's inquest concluded on Wednesday. Kostydin Yankov, a first year biochemist at Wadham, died after sustaining horrific injuries almost three years ago when he was hurled thirty metres towards a safety net but missed it, hitting the ground. Yankov, known as dino, was one of a group of students who were members of the Oxford Stunt Factory and had travelled to Middlemoor Water Park in Somerset to take part in the jump. However the event itself was not organised by the Stunt Factory which is described on its website as a "dangerous and extreme sports club", organising the "co-ordination and performance of stunts - particularly those involving extreme sports - including bungee jumping, street luging, BaSe jumping, firebreathing and skydiving." The club is not directly linked to the University, and is not a society registered with the proctors. David Boston, spokesperson for Oxford Stunt Factory, confirmed that the event dino had taken part in was “organised by an uninsured third-party who was not affiliated with the Oxford Stunt Factory". He added that the Stunt Factory always conformed to "the high­est possible standard of safety possible". “Dino’s friends, family and all of the club’s current members are relieved that the affair is now closed”, he added. Reports in 2002 said that onlookers had voiced concern that previous jump­ers had only just reached the net and four students successfully completed the leap from the medieval-style cata­pult prior to Yankov’s fatal jump. Oliver nelkin, who would have been next to be catapulted, said he became alarmed that the jumpers were landing at the very front of the 10 metre by 20 metre safety net rather than in the mid­dle as intended. In a statement he told the inquest that the first jumper, Paul Capsey, "landed on the net, but more to the front edge than I had seen before. For a split second I thought he was not going to make it and I felt relieved when he did." Nelkin described Yankov's jump, saying, "at some stage I saw dino as a ball in the air. He then missed the safety net, but I couldn't say by how much. as he hit the ground I heard a thud and then a second thud." Yankov broke his legs and spine on impact, sustaining multiple abdominal and chest injuries. He was rushed to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol but died later that evening. Jurors at the inquest were told that a rope used to help fire the mecha­nism, known as a strop, had been changed on the day of the incident but had not been tested. The coroner's verdict stated, "The accident would probably have been prevented if a further set of tests had been performed after changing the strop." Aprivate paramedic who was employed for the day had become concerned about the landing posi­tions of the first jumpers and raised the matter with richard Wicks and david aitkenhead, who designed and operated the catapult. Prior to Yank­ov's jump the weights on the catapult mechanism that control the length of the jump were altered. Capsey, who helped with the op­eration of the catapult following his own jump, told the inquest that each jumper was weighed, weights on the catapult adjusted accordingly and a test weight the same as the jumper fired to check for any problems. Cap­sey said that all safety checks were completed before Yankov's jump. Wicks' partner, Stella Young, was seriously injured in a jump on a pro­totype of the catapult in May 2000, breaking her pelvis in three places after bouncing out of the catch net. Young was responsible for weigh­ing Mr Yankov before the jump and warning him of its dangers. She described the stunt as "a very, very dangerous thing to do." Wicks and aitkenhead were cleared of man­slaughter over the death last year

This doesn't work for everyone, as you don’t want to pressure them, but if you know someone well enough, and think they'd go for it, I've seen more than a few first time tandems show up at the DZ blindfolded and not know what the "surprise" is until the last moment. NickD

>>Why!?!

We went to a building last night but it wasn't where I live and I'd never been to it before. I walked around it then moved to where I could look up at the most jumpable corner. What I do is picture someone standing there, jumping, getting line stretch, and then making whatever turns are needed to head home. It's not very scientific but it gives me a basic go, no-go notion right off the bat without knowing exactly how high something is. My friend went up and jumped while I passed on it as the approach and street landing were downwind (not on these legs) and there is too much vehicle traffic in the street for my taste. There sure were a lot of people out driving at 3:00 AM. I'm not totally anti-gizmo or gadget, I know they can be fun and interesting to fool around with, and besides I'm the moron who thought packing clamps were lame so many years ago. However, I really trust my eyeballs and the wind on my face, and that's a skill you aren’t born with it has to be developed. Might using these devices inhibit that ability? NickD

Toggles = death. Risers = Live to die another day. I can't believe we are still arguing this . . . NickD

A parachute jump is a parachute jump. They all count toward your total jump number. Like the fellow in the "Tipping TI's" thread who said his first five jumps were tandems, they all count too. The fact he was royally ripped off is another question. NickD

I packed a BASE canopy in the phone booth at Perris (back when there was a phone booth at Perris) and jumped it off a tower that night . . . I'll never do that again. NickD

I believe that's a microwave array . . . from what I've gathered those beams are fairly narrow, so as long as you don't pass in front of them . . . but still who knows, even the experts argue about ill effects. NickD

Isn't that one of those Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) things: "Professor, listen to these tapes from last night! We've found definite proof of life out there! We've even decoded their language which seems based on some kind of binary and vegetable system." "One potato, two potato, three potato, Go! One potato, two potato, three potato, throw! NickD

I've never see a Next system, it's a British or German system isn't it? I'd say hang it in a suspended harness with an experienced jumper up front and see if he can come out the hole. Having one's legs come up seems to be part of the chain of events so a pax harness that facilitates this might be a problem. Some are saying, and I even said it myself, not to worry too much as this is a rare occurrence. However, since I've been thinking about it I can now see almost every trend in accidents started out as rare. A good friend of mine was one of the first to spin in under a Stiletto and we thought it was rare. Someone first botched a low turn under a highly loaded canopy and we thought it was rare. When the Green Star reserve risers separated from the rig the first time we thought it was rare. When plastic reserve ripcord handles first broke we thought it was rare. When someone first twisted a belly band or leg strap with a pilot chute pouch attached we thought it was rare. When the first mini-riser broke we thought it was rare. And we could go on and on . . . You've now heard of several jumpers who've almost come out of their rigs in the sky including Airtwardo who posts here. Now someone had come all the way out. But it's rare . . . NickD

Almost everyone in my generation saw the film "Red Asphalt" while in high school about the time we were first getting our driver permits. I guess I was about sixteen at the time. It was terribly graphic for that or any other time. To this day riding in a car still spooks me . . . Viewing blood and guts must have some intrinsic value. Prospective members of the bomb squad view EOD people getting blown to pieces, and police trainees watch their future brethren blown away during routine traffic stops. Carnage photos and videos seem to work in BASE jumping, but I'm not sure about skydiving since they are trying to sell something. From a DZO point of view it would be too much like welcoming a passenger aboard a modern airliner and then handing them a parachute. It's the Instructors who are caught in the middle. They have to get the point across that skydiving is dangerous without being all doom and gloom. The problem might be not all Instructors know how to do that. How many times does a student up and quit in the middle of a first jump course? This is the big disconnect. I've often thought if we were totally open about the dangers inherent to the sport students would indeed get up and walk out more often. But, how many times could that happen before the DZO showed you the door? Instead we have all those clever comebacks when a student does ask the hard questions. In some cases I don’t think we even realize we are doing that. Student – "Have you known anybody that died?" Instructor – "Yes, but they always made a mistake, now show me those emergency procedures again." Instead of: Student – "Have you known anybody that died? Instructor – "Yes, about thirty of my good friends are dead because of this stinking sport and I've been at it long enough to know while it’s a fun thing to do, it's not worth anyone's life." That's a bit over the top, but you can see my point. I'll always show a first jump class that photo of the Cessna ripped apart due to a premature opening to get the point across about protecting their handles, but there's no blood or bodies in it. . . NickD

No, you are right, I should have mentioned it, but there are such towers. We had some here in SD for a while before they helicoptered them out and dropped them in the ocean. Apparently dumping garbage in the ocean is alright as long as you are making a fish habitat . . . Also, throughout the southwest U.S. you can still find microwave towers that are now non-operational. NickD

Besides the "big brother" angle what gets me is they cloak these as preventing accidents. But most of those caught are the ones turning left or right into an intersection when it's the people going straight through and blowing the red light at high rates of speed that cause the accidents. These cameras are nothing more than a revenue source for city governments that are broke from years of fiscal mismanagement. If you really look into it, while they say these cameras are place in intersections with the most accidents, you'll find they are really placed at the busiest ones. Also, you can enter into the intersection legally and then for whatever reason the person in front of you stops and your trapped, smile! Also people are so paranoid of tripping the camera sometimes they slam on the brakes when you think they will proceed on through. Is anyone counting the rise in rear end collisions? NickD

Adam was as happy as a man can be Til he started messin with an old apple tree Thanks Keely, now I have the urge to bite off a chicken head . . . NickD

I came close to being arrested at a Target store. I walked in with a small backpack (a replica of a Velcro closed BASE rig about one third of life size) and an employee said it had to be left at the front counter. I ignored him and kept on walking and he grabbed me by the collar and a scuffle ensued. When the police showed up my argument is woman carry their pocket books in the store (my bag wasn't much bigger) so what's this all about? Their store SOP does say something about backpacks but the police said it was ambiguous at best and we dropped the whole thing on both sides. It's up to everyone to fight this sort of thing as restricting someone's freedom and considering someone a criminal before the fact is wrong on so many levels. Now, don’t get me started on red light cameras . . . NickD

Just in general I say stay away from AM towers altogether. Since AM towers are the radiator of the signal you are really getting dosed with electro magnetic radiation the whole time you are on, or even near it. The other towers, FM, TV, or microwave, serve only to raise smaller radiators up into the air and staying away from these radiators is important. For all towers the best advice is get on, get up, and get off as quickly as possible. I remember jumping a FM tower with Tom and Jan Sanders and while we were jumping they spent almost the entire day filming from the top. Both said they didn’t feel all that well later that night and Tom looked positively green . . . There was a reason the late Mike Allen titled one of his best videos, R.A.D.I.O.A.C.T.I.V.E. In any case the long term effects aren’t know yet but we know how much fun towers can be. I almost wish there was another way to complete the word without going near operational towers. The person, or persons, who invest in a non-radiating tower just for BASE jumping are going to get rich in the long run . . . NickD