Tornolf

I've found the Prodigy to be very intuitive to fly. It may be that I had about 150 jumps on a Skyflyer 1 before I switched to it, but it seems super stable to me. I just make sure I have the leg wing in tension and have a slight de-arch and I've yet to encounter any issues at all. If you're head down, the leg wing is going to make it harder to get back flat if you keep it open. Usually, I just close the leg a bit and de arch a little more, seemed to work fine for me in the SF1, and should do fine in the Prodigy. As for the exit, don't dive until you know the suit better. Just kinda hop out presenting your chest to the relative wind, transition should be easy. I've run into the head down on deployment once, but that's because I got lazy and didn't really arch... or close the leg wind that much. As long as you've got your legs together and a little arch going on, it should be ok. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

42 is a soft hat, 38 is a handle, both vented. I don't really have a preference, but I use my 38 for my more complicated jumps, simply because the delay is longer. Seeing as how I usually have had a hold of the PC for a good 1 or 2 seconds before I pull (I tend to reach once I'm done twisting and start tucks), I've never run into problems. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Staff prices are also usually cheaper than regular tickets as well. That saved me a good $1k over the summer. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I did ~400 in my first year (basically quit last summer in favor of BASE). Mostly a combination of wealthy parents, and income from packing. Right now I'm spending my scholarship money (I'm getting several $k/yr over my tuition/rent/utils to go to college now thanks to doing very well in HS and on those bullshit standardized tests). I'm almost 19, btw. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/video/7396413/index.html A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Rauk, have you done anything with front pikes? I've been attempting to allow myself 270 degrees of pitching rotation as opposed to 90 through a certain technique. Basically, it's this: When fully piked (chest on your knees), rotate as usual. When vertically head high (when you pitch), I basically attempt to go into a back tuck only using my arms and torso - obviously it doesn't work, but slows the rotation. While maintaining a head high position, I attempt to transfer the rotational energy almost fully into my legs until I enter a full layout. This is where the extra 180 degrees of rotation comes into play. Assuming the canopy has not begun to support weight yet, you merely continue to rotate forward due to the rotation of your legs into a horizontal position in a layout. I've tried it a couple of times in the gym and it's worked out very well, I'm going to try it this weekend doing some fast maneuvers (triple/quad fronts with about .8-.9 seconds per rotation) and see if I can transfer the skill. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I agree. After doing months of pit training, I can't emphasize enough how much it helps in maneuvers. I personally practice every thing I plan to do many times before I attempt it in the BASE environment. However, remember that if you're doing tucks into a pool/pit/off a trampoline, they're much faster in rotation than if you were to do one for a planned 3 second delay. I actually ran into this problem several months ago, when I got so used to very fast rotations and twists that I tried a simple back layout (4 second planned delay) and grossly overrated. I believe that doing so many gainers on the floor, I became so accustomed to the speed of rotation and use of various body parts to increase rotational speed, that I did it out of habit. Obviously with the planned delay, the over rotation was not an issue as I just did a double and pitched coming out of the 2nd tuck. However, it did teach me an important lesson of how careful you should be transitioning moves from a practice environment to a BASE one if they're going to be majorly different in speed. So far it hasn't happened again, but I haven't done a ton slow maneuvers recently, as I enjoy the quicker rotations. Be careful out there. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Don't pike, it will cause you to rotate faster than if you were to do a tuck. Be aware that you can greatly slow down/stop your rotation by opening (un-tucking, essentially). And remember to not pike! I have seen people intend to do a front loop, and instead do a pike and greatly over rotate. A tuck will be slower and more easily controlled. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

DVD copies only for now. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

If Han_solo ok's it, I'll upload the main version and host a torrent of the full DVD rip. I'm waiting on his response for now. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Could that possibly be the cause of a 180 I had recently? I had to stop climbing a tower due to ice on the ladder and exited around 750 or so. I took around a 4 second delay and opened with my body in the harness onheading, the slider still up, and a 1/2 twist in the lines below the slider. I had little forward movement due to a decent wind (I'd estimate about 10-15mph direct tail wind from 200-450ft) and turned it around without incident. I had considered something similar to this as the cause, but neither myself nor two more experienced jumpers I talked to could come to a definitive answer. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Well 3/4 of the crew are asleep and missing jumps, apparently old people can't stay up too late A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I cannot think of a reason to ever jump that shit covered tower ever again, especially after someone already beat me to the punch on the leg A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

That's what I meant

Do you mean the towers that support the power lines? If so, I've jumped 3 different ones. In one case, the exit point was live and once you approached (directly above a live wire), you start to feel a tingling force field feeling. On the other two, the sides jumped were dead and there was no feeling at all. One of the guys I jump with said he talked to a power technician, who recalled a rule which basically said don't get within 7 feet or so of a live wire. I, nor the others I jump with, have ever felt any ill effects directly following a power tower jump, most of which have been over the live wire. However, the rule for towers should still apply: get on, get up, and get off as fast as possible. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Thanks, I'll relay the info to my coaches. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I'm currently training in gymnastics and my instructors are trying to find others who have coached BASE jumpers so that we have more of a base to go off of. I've already spoken with Dwain and Slim's old coach who has been a massive help, but I've been unable to locate anyone else. So if anyone has done any training or knows of anyone, any help would be appreciated. Thanks A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

And in case anyone wants to research the placement of towers in the US... http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/AsrSearch/asrRegistrationSearch.jsp A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Thanks! A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I seem to remember someone posting a while ago about their project to sew their own suit. If memory serves it was mostly or all white and the guy swore never to do it again due to all the work involved. I tried searching for it but came up dry. Anyone know who it was and how I can contact him? Thanks A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I'm looking to start BASE in the area, so if someone from the Cincinnati area wouldn't mine letting me tag along and ground crew and learn some things, it'd be great. Drop me a line

If all goes well I'll have 50 by the next 3 weeks, and well over 200 by end of the year. I love it :) A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

It was definitely a ton of fun. Thanks for helping me join the flock, Phreezone! A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Hey, I'm legal - barely as it may be! TJ A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Not so much specifically fluid dynamics, but if you can understand it MIT's OpenCourseWare is an amazing resource. It's essentially all of MIT's textbooks and courses online and free to use. You should be able to find a wealth of information on almost anything that you'd learn in a college environment. http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Aeronautics-and-Astronautics/16-13Fall2003/CourseHome/index.htm - Aerodynamics of Viscous Fluids A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ