TomAiello
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Everything posted by TomAiello
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Yes. The Flik has a full ZP topskin option. The Blackjack has a composite topskin (ZP front third) option. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Maybe it's cultural, kind of like popping up, but doesn't that look like Charlie Brown's favorite shirt? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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You're very likely to get a bunch of folks extolling the virtues of the canopy they own, without much experience on the other one. I'd recommend really only paying attention to the replies from people who have a good bit of actual experience under both canopies. One thought: you might want to err on the side of whichever canopy folks in your area are using. That way, you have easier access to help/guidance with issues specific to your canopy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I heard a rumor that Phoenix Fly is coming out with a new suit designed for flocking. Does anyone know anything more about this? Is it based on the Phacro (a popular suit for many flockers), or is it all new? Any truth to the rumor that we'll see a prototype at Z-Flock? Any chance that someone like Chuck, with lots of experience on all suits, could take it for a spin and give us some thoughts? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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It may be a tangent, but I think this is a very interesting point. Do we (the collective "we") want to have more positive spokesmen? Or would we rather have no spokesmen at all? In fact, given the reality of the situation (there will always be people proclaiming themselves our spokesmen as they angle for their 10 minutes), would we prefer that the potential "good" spokesmen stay in the shadows, or do we want them to stand up and claim the role of spokesmen for themselves? Is BASE jumping going to find it's "Tony Hawke" (for those who don't recognize the reference he's the public face of skateboarding to millions, with video games, stadium tours, etc)? Do we want that? And is that going to happen regardless of what we want? And, if so, should we each be lining up to support our favorite candidate for that position? I do think that we're headed toward greater commercialization, greater publcity, and greater exposure. I personally don't think this is a good thing, but I also don't think there is anything I can do to stop the rushing tide of our history. Can I push the direction a little, though? Can you? Can any of us, or all of us together? Or are we simply going to be swept away on a tide of sponsorship and television appearances? There are very limited choices out there to be the Tony Hawke of BASE jumping. Frankly, I don't like the options all that much, but I don't think I can change that, because you can never recruit someone with all the appropriate attributes, including a desire to be that guy. Some of the choices I am fairly okay with because I really think those guys are jumping for themselves--not for the publicity, the sponsorships, or the money. Some of the candidates I really don't like, because my feeling is that they're all about the publicity, or the money, or both. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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"Nope" as "can not tell" -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Nope. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Yes. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I think it depends on your definition of "low pull." I'd go with slider up, short delay, over deep water. This gives you the most margin for error (since the water helps if you pull too late), the most "survivable impact" time (since almost any time after the slider begins coming down is surivable, but will still impress your buddies as a "low pull"), and the easiest reactions/judgment on when to pull (because you are moving the slowest). It's also likely to give you the best groundrush, because your impact speed can be the fastest (while still survivable), yielding the best visuals if you can impact while the slider is still only part way down the lines. Again it depends on how you define "low pull" though. If you go with "full flight before reaching the ground" or "lowest pull with a stand up landing" or even "most freefall time per canopy time" your answers may vary. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Aside from the movie 'cherrie poppins' I once downloaded, I also never really heard anyone use this term.. It may be a difference in slang terms used on either side of the Atlantic. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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All, I've removed the discussion of the term "pop" and it's various meanings from this thread, and given that discussion it's own thread here. Please keep the poppen over in the new thread. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Although it's not a precise technical term, it has the value that it "feels" right, at least in the American vernacular. The term "pop" or "pop up" very clearly captures the feeling of that quick acceleration, for the average american hearing the word(s). Besides, imagine how much fun you could have using the term in videos that were watched by germans. "And here, Chuck is poppen up on Jeffro--those wacky Americans..." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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How about this? Popping up: Effecting a relatively instantaneous transition in flight modes from "dirty" flight (air separating over the back to a greater extent) to "clean" flight (airflow staying connected to a greater extent). A suit with more "pop" is able to transition more quickly between these states, and also has a greater flight range between the two states (i.e. the "dirty" flight is further from the "clean" flight). The ability to "pop up" is a desirable characteristic in an instructors suit, or in flocking, because it gives the ability to quickly match a wide range of flight profiles, when a flock or student may be altering flight profile dramatically in a short time. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I was asking for information. I didn't have any kind of direction I wanted the answer to go. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I think that what I object to on a visceral level is the people who's primary motivations are either attention seeking or financial gain. The thing that really gets me, though, is when people, especially those motivated primarily by attention seeking or financial gain, know that they are hurting others, and openly declare that they don't care. Even worse is when people do things just because they know it hurts other people. Here are some examples: People who will throw anyone off an object for a certain amount of money. This, frankly, turns my stomach. No screening, no thought for student safety, no warnings of the danger. It's not so bad when someone throws their friend, who's general temperment and athletic abilities they are familiar with, off. But when you're willing to take all comers off the street for 50 bucks? This is the guy who says "hey, I don't care, it was a good payday for me." People who actively downplay the risks involved, especially in an attempt to recruit their friends into BASE jumping, either (a) to score social points, or (b) for the financial reasons given above. These are the guys who say "it's so easy a bag of dogfood could do it" or "it's just as safe as doing a tandem skydive" or "there's no way you could possibly get hurt." People who actively publicize sites just because they know other jumpers don't want them to (because it can hurt the site's access). These are the guys who post directions to sites on the internet. People who play up their own skills, experience, etc, regularly in conversation or publications. Usually, this feeds back into the financial gain motivations (although sometimes it's purely attention seeking). These are the guys who give interviews in which they tell the press that they are called "the king of extreme skydiving" or the ones who buy advertisements in magazines with pictures of themselves and the caption "the world's greatest BASE jumper." Yes, those are all people I've talked to, and they're all people who I've known for some time, and even jumped with, and everything in quotes is something I've either read or heard someone say (in all seriousness) in spoken conversation. Remember that I'm talking about peoples primary motivations here. Everyone wants to make a couple dollars for their time, and likes people to know their name. But when those desires take over and become the main reason for your participation in BASE jumping, it's time to walk away and find some other venue where real financial rewards, or real fame, are more readily available. Trying to make your millions, or become a regular on television, by BASE jumping is likely to leave you frustrated, but regardless I don't think that people who are primarily motivated by fame and fortune are a good face for us to show to the world, and I prefer that they not be the spokesmen for BASE. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Ease down. You can make your points without resorting to insulting people. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Is there any reaction to that from the general skiing world? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I thought that went without saying (or at least had already been said earlier in this thread). The construction methods are noticeably different in the Toxic PC's (and, in my opinion, better), and there are several other differences, as well. Are we reading the same thread? I only pointed it out because it had not been previously mentioned. The truth is that I didn't review the whole thread before posting that. I know we've talked about that stuff before somewhere, but since I have to read every damn thing posted on this board, it sometimes blurs together. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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There's also the cost of buying helicopters, creating landing pads for them and stations for them to sit at, and paying the flight crew even when they are not flying. Honestly, I think Life Flight is a bargain at 50 bucks a year. I can pay that for the rest of my life and they still won't make back what they'd spend ferrying me out of the canyon once. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Do you know if it can be deployed in freefall? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Hey, that's my PC. It's Tom Manship's old Dagger 313, too. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Isn't that the same issue? Lots of publicity wouldn't matter so much if there was no risk involved in the activity. This goes back to the same old argument. Are we trying to preserve "our" sites, or are we trying to keep people from getting hurt or killed (by trying things they aren't properly prepared for)? Perhaps both, but which do you think is more important? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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That BASE is not skiing. The risks involved are different, and are also of different orders of magnitude. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com