Tornolf

Chill man. And yeah, the people I jump with pretty much make it up as we go along. I haven't logged in 100 jumps or so, so it doesn't really effect me anyways, which is why I voted that I don't care. My comment was mainly a dig on a buddy who just got his BASE number (and 'B') after hitting an abandoned B. Btw the hug I got from you at BD05 was A+ quality, would definitely hug again! Now let's see if you can remember me To everyone: Spend less time worrying about crap like this and more time looking at cute animal pictures! A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

And IMO it also has to be occupied on a regular basis to count as a true B. Technically there is a smokestack that fits this definition, since there was an office with all the amenities 1/2 way up the thing. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Come visit and I'll show you one. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Just over 200. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Re: "completely legal", do you mean a BASE exit, or an aircraft exit? I was under the impression that aircraft exits require a reserve parachute, which BASE rigs don't have. Am I misunderstanding your post? Aircraft. Loopholes exist in the FAA regulations. I know I was in the clear because the FAA rep who was at the event told me my jump was pretty cool. Also, the reason you can't jump a BASE rig out of a plane (normally) is that the harness isn't TSO'd. It's not hard to throw a belly reserve onto a BASE rig. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Ohio is full of creepy latent homosexuals. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

It depends how low you want to be pitching. For the skydive I used my BASE rig which I had tuned in for low openings. This was done completely legal in the US. For very low (pitching 300 and below) you need a system which will go from pitch to full pressurization in less than 200 feet at terminal. My setup averaged about 150', 200' if it snivelled at all. You also need to be very light and in good physical shape. I've PLF'd more than once after hitting the ground in the middle of a rear riser turn to avoid obstacles after low pulls. The speed on the openings will definitely injure you to a degree. I was going to a chiropractor if I did more than 2 or 3 low pulls in a short period. Weight is absolutely key. Just because I'm able to get away with dumping at 300' doesn't mean my friends who are 15 years older and 75 lbs heavier can do it. In this situation, physical attributes are just as important as gear selection if you want to be able to do it on a regular basis over hard land. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

~275' - Terminal wingsuit skydive. Open above 100' Terminal BASE jump 250', no wingsuit/trackpants, multiple times Terminal BASE jump 275' -wingsuit, multiple times. Over a dozen pitching just above 300' Subterminal freefall BASE jump, exit 215' pitch ~190' Static line BASE jump - 120' If you're going to go low then use the right tools for the job, otherwise it's foolish and very poor risk management. I never understand why people at a DZ will brag about going low and pitching below 1500' with a modern elliptical/semi elliptical ZP main which was poorly packed. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Engineering majors are great... but if I was an engineerging major and skipped the same amount of class that I did this year, there is no way I would have passed. It's doable... I've skipped probably 30-40% of all my classes so I can go jump off stuff, but you just have to maintain the balance Unfortunately this means reading in the hotel room, in the car on the way to wherever, and very little sleep. Finals week for me was Sat-Tues. Drove 10 hours, made 1 jump, 1 tree rescue, and slept about 15 hours from Thurs-Tues. It's doable, but it's fucking rough. Since 11am on Tuesday to now (45 hours), I've slept for 35. My body doesn't like me anymore A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Don't have much else to add other than my own experience. Jumped a ~120 bridge pylon over hard land. Not exactly sure on the height, but it was 105 rungs + twice my height to where the ladder begins. I was PCA'd first and the 2nd guy SL'ed himself. At the time I was around 145-150lbs and jumping a vented w/ covers Fox 245. Had shallow brake settings and unstowed immediately after pressurization. Canopy time was around the 5 second mark. There was no wind and I had a lot of forward speed on landing and had to run pretty hard out of the flare to stand it up. Flew ~100ft from the exit point. The 2nd guy landed a skydiving canopy without any center cell topskin. Being light and in shape is priceless in this sport. I'd do it again without any reservation, especially since I've lost some weight and dropped a canopy size. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Man...you got a great deal. The X210 was a cutting edge hi-po canopy back when it was built. If I remember they also built one called the Simoom. Security went one better and built the X210R reserve. It sure was a lot smaller and light then the Cirrus 5 cell I replaced it with. The comfortable reference wasn't directed at the rig The harness was definitely sized for someone much thicker than me, which I found surprising since the reserve was a 22' flat. Granted I am 6' and 135lbs, but going heavy on that round wouldn't be a ton of fun! I meant that wearing 2 rigs (i.e. 2 harnesses) was actually very comfortable even when under canopy in each harnesses. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

X210? I bought an old Racer a year or two ago for $125 complete with everything made around 1984... before I was born. Came with container, main (X210) and a 22' flat round reserve. Put about 35 or 40 jumps on the container/reserve with my BASE canopy inside. I had no idea how many jumps the main had, but there's no way I would have jumped it. I did jump the round and it was a fairly soft landing even without "flaring" on the rear risers. It definitely landed softer than a Paracommander I jumped. edit: And yeah I have chopped a good main, but it was a BASE jump with me wearing 2 rigs. It was surprisingly comfortable. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I've seen a canopy have the entire center cell topskin ripped out. It was a Lightning with a modified lineset on it, so non-reinforced BASE-style attachment point. Exit was a 120' bridge pylon. I had a solid 5 seconds under canopy with my vented Fox. The other guy had about the same amount of canopy time but flew 1/2 as far as I did and the canopy stalled and partially collapsed when he flared. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

All the tests I did with my breakcord showed it not breaking when 100lbs was suspended with it, but if you raised the weight about 2 inches and dropped it, it'd break on every attempt. It makes me believe that inertia is a nontrivial factor and I'm not worried since we have just a tiny bit of momentum on static lines. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

1. Parents had college fund for me. 2. Thanks to the wonder of standardized tests I actually net money by going to college due to scholarships and all that jazz. This renders college fund useless for college. 3. Packing. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

That makes me think back to when I trained with a diving coach who trained several very well known, experienced, and skilled jumpers. Every person he seriously trained is now dead. He even told me that I wasn't supposed to go off and get myself killed like everyone else he trained, but he didn't expect me to follow that advice since no one else had. It's the one situation where I really didn't like being compared to those who were much better than I am. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

NBC has it online on their site at 5AM EDT the next day. I usually download it as a torrent the next day and it takes less than an hour since there's so many peers (15k+). A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Wasn't me so I don't feel like sharing. I will show you the video once I have it. Let's just say gear maintenance is important. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

So has the bear popped yet? Or will you still not be able to jump until the new little one has finished stealing her milk makers from you? Going to down to the bridge in a couple weeks. Come so I can see if your biceps are as big as I remember! We need you to balance out the incredible feminity that is Fluffy. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

For posterity's sake! The drive wasn't that bad. We had 1 person drive straight through just like we did on the way to Moab. Sure was painful sitting around working in Premiere and sleeping the whole time! A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Looking to get in contact with Dave and Chad who were in Moab last week. Pretty sure they were from Illinois and Missouri. Dave had a black and blue rig/canopy if I remember right. I need that horseshoe video A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Ditto. Keep in mind a skydiving helmet is a whole lotta worthless when it comes to an actual damaging impact. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

19.5/1.5 A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Yeah, that's probably one of my fav. features (pics). And man... facebook poking is the "thing" today :-P. .. it's setup for stalkers. but meh, i still like it. :/ that doesn't make me a stalker though! A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Cinci crew set up camp near exit at the Gash. Same spot as last year. Come say hi and jump. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ