blair700

Congrats D!!!! Blair

Thanks Bolas for making this thread, I went to the hospital last night and spent some time with Eric's family and friends, I was also able to see Eric for about 30 minutes. After visistation Agusto mentioned to Brandy's mom and dad that there were alot of folks on DZ.com pulling for him, they would LOVE to read all these posts, I believe TJ was going to print and take them in around lunch time today for the family to read. Thank you everyone, Eric is fighting hard, let's keep all the prayers and positive vibes giong, I believe it is helping. BSBD Blair

Not much in the way of lighting, but definitely my best side. I think this was my first S jump too. ME

Stowed or handheld??

???? All I'm seeing is the logo, hearing some cool tunes??? Please help edited: Thanks dude!!!!

Anyone want to buy a 250' freestander?? It comes complete with accommodations for 89 of your closest friends. HomeBASE

Hello, I've never jumped a heatwave so I won't comment on that. I have just under 400 jumps on a saffire 189 loaded at 1.4. I LOVED that canopy, I could get just as long of a swoop as the crossfire pilots were getting on canopies a third of the size of mine. I also heard alot of folks say the saffire is tough to land, I found this not to be true at all. Its a wing, fly it like one and you'll land fine. I got rid of the saffire once I had ragged it out totally. I was comfortable turning 360+ degrees on front risers and getting nice surfs. At some point, I think, it becomes a little more dangerous, as you master THAT canopy, you will find it recovers very quickly from a dive, so I found myself hooking it harder, then lower, to get more power because I couldn't keep it in a dive. I got a smoking deal on a vengence 150, which is REALLY nice, but I'd trade it for a saffire2 or sabre2 170 in a second. But that's another thread. My .02$ is that the saffire is a great canopy to begin to learn swooping on. But I don't know shit C-ya Blair

The following was shared with me via email, and I felt it had relavence to this thread, it comes from a BASE jumpers wife, to a skydiver wanting to start BASE jumping, and working through the issues with the spouse. I removed the names, but I think all involved would love to share this if they thought it would help ANYONE. I think its a nice look at what types of folks this sport has to offer, and the relationships that support our brothers and sisters. Anyways hope this helps, and Faber, you ROCK. Later Blair "Perspective Jumper. XXX wanted me to let you know how I feel about his base jumping. I met XXX when I was 16 and he was 18. He was already skydiving at that time. We got married 3 years later. So his "need for speed" or craving for the adrenlin rush has always been a part of our life. I usually don't worry about him when he is out base jumping. I go on to bed and fall asleep with no problem. Here is why: 1. We are both Christians. I know he's going to heaven if something happens. He is in God's hands. If he wants to jump out of them, that is his decision. 2. XXX is very safety concious. He doesn't try anything too crazy unless it has been tested again and again by someone more crazy. 3. He does not call me in the middle of the night to rescue him from jail or the side of the road. He did once, that was the last time. Lot's of base buddy connections come in handy. Never base alone. 4. XXX is a big jokester, but he knows not to ever have his base buddies play a joke on me about something happening to him. Big mistake! 5. A happy man is much easier to live with - at least he is not out drinking and carousing. I'm going to love XXX as long as I have him here with me. I look at it this way, it's easier than living with a policeman, fireman, racecar driver or golfer (he tried golf for awhile, and he was not a nice person to live with). Our children, boy(15) and girl (12) just think we are normal. They don't seem to worry either. I hope this is helpfull! XXX's wife, Hottie Wife"

Yo Pyke!!! I saw the same video I believe AggieDave is speaking of, can't remember where, but I do remember some comments about it regarding the beating your wings take. The flyer appeared stable with no problem, but the suit looked like it was going to shred. The wings were'nt really inflated, they were flapping like a mofo. Hope this helps, if you want to freefly in the GTI, just overamp a barrel roll...or 2 Later Blair

I'm drooling

hhhmmmm, I see, are the 'flaps' velcro closed?? Sounds just like a tail pocket on the dbag. Maybe this is a trend of the future, or just history repeating itself, either way I like the idea, dbags scare me

Hey Steve, Tell me more about this stowless dbag, is it like a tail pocket on the dbag, or are the lines freepacked in the container?? Just curious, sounds interesting and no-one comes to visit my DZ with cool chit Thanks Blair

Hey man, I'm pretty much exactly your height and weight, I put about 70 jumps on a Mojo 280, then bought an Ace 310. The extra square footage DEFINATELY makes a difference, especially down-wind without a slider. I also made a few jumps on a Fox 265, one of which I broke my knee on landing, my mistake wouldn't have had as severe consequences had I been under a larger canopy. Bigger is BETTER in BASE! I agree with 428, unless all of your 200 jumps are under a 7-cell F-111 220-240, I'd say go for the river too. Enjoy!!!! Blair

Yo, Hopefully you've seen this already, if not I'd encourage you to read it. http://dropzone.com/columns/GettingIntoBASE.shtml Later Blair edited to add: D'oh, I started after 200 skydives, I have 0 balloon jumps.

Exactly, our sticks are so fukin big they stretch all the way to TX Let's just say there is definatly more than one 'pooh', but you ought to try and decifer the code in these guys log books, its as if they'd posted them on American towers sight. Thanks for the words Dog, I was hoping Huck himself or McConkey BASE 1 would speak up. I'm sure the exit has alot to do with it, mine suck right now so I'd love some pointers on that too, but I feel 325' is plenty for a slider down one, just looking for info. o and actually the tower I'm thinking of is actually overhung, at least most of the way down, due to the platform at the top. I'm sure I can check it out on the way down with my packed rig Thanks in advance, especially for listening to my drivel. Blair

Plus we kan't evun spel mick-honkey Jist pikin' Blair

How much altitude do you think is used up in a Mckonkey before the canopy is inflated and flying. Say on an unvented BASE canopy with no slider. I've only made 2, both with the above setup, but it was off a 486' span, and we don't have one of those here. A nice 325' freestander looks real doable, any advice??? I'd imagine it varys on you skill level, but for the beginner, I 'think' I used somewhere around 100-125 feet????? Thanks Blair

Good on ya Yuri, proving once again, never say never and nothing is impossible. Thanks for the updates, Blair

Another 'crack head' Congrats and welcome to the flock bro! Later Blair

1 more than you....you fukin' WANKER!!!! Dude Idaho rocked, sorry you couldn't make it, hope you're healing fast, good luck in the Land of the Rising Sun. Call me to catch up sometime, o and seriously, I'm gonna order a 2nd rig in a few weeks. Later Blair

We're back, over 125 jumps were made in 5 days, we had a BLAST. My personal highlights include my first 4-way for my 100th jump as well as my first McKonkey. I made a total of 37 myself. Thanks to everyone especially BASE 516, 699, 719, and 652. And a HUGE thanks to Robert and Kathy at Morpheus Tech. for supplying my with a demo Troll MDV and Gargoyle. Actually, this was Robert's personal rig he lent me for a week. They're customer service and quality of workmanship is INCREDIBLE!!! Now I gotta go dump some shit stock to get me a new rig from 'em . Yea its that good. Lastly, thanks Twin Falls, especially Don and Bert. We'll be back again soon. Later Blair PS Kirin (sp) from Ozz, what happened to you, you never showed up at Chili's so I could buy you a beer, and I even wore my ABA shirt in your honor the next day in hopes to get a jump with you. Next time I guess, great to meet you and stay safe!

Yo, Myself and a few good friends will be in TF for the next week beginning the 1st. Anyone from 'here' gonna be there? Look for us on the object, as this is officially our 'Fuck Rantoul' Boogie! C-ya Blair

Uuummm, ok since you didn't ask, POS means Piece of Shit!! For what you pay for that Elph, you can get a nice used or maybe new SLR, and it will last alot longer. The Elph is plastic, and just a waste of money. I went through the whole thing myself, and am now very happy with my Cannon SLR from ebay. That's my .02 Blair

Per, I know some of the manufacturers are recommending a "marquis" mesh (small hole) slider for terminal jumps on vented canopies....but since your'e not really falling at terminal with a wingsuit on, do you still use a regular large hole mesh slider for Birdman BASE?? Given the choice, would you recommend vented or non-vented canopies for WS BASE?? Thanks in advance for your help, good topic Huck, thanks for bringing it up. Later Blair

http://www.bird-man.com/images/attachments/BirdMan%20Eiger_big.wmv Sick, absolutely brilliant!!! Thanks Robibird!!!! And thank you Steve for sharing