TomAiello

Some thoughts to echo Nick: 1) Times change, and so do our best guesses. Anything written down was written down at a particular time, so what you're getting is a slice of one (or a group of) jumper's thinking at one specific time. 2) Any chart, handbook, guidelines, or internet advice is just someone trying to help. It's not a comprehensive guide to what you ought to be doing out in the real BASE world. You get to decide that for yourself, and if you're in the habit of strictly following charts to make gear selection (or any other jumping) decisions, I'd recommend you stop that at once, and start thinking for yourself. Tony, on that 42/46/48 question: 1) Remember that manufacturers rate the sizes of their PC's differently (so, for example one "42" might be unsewn, and one might be sewn, one might be the measurement of the fabric, one might be the dimensions of the shaped PC), so a "42" isn't always a 42. The people who best know the actual performance of any specific PC are the manufacturers of that specific PC, so whenever possible refer to their chart, which was constructed with the performance envelope of their PC in mind. 2) In general, in the last 10 years, I think we've discovered that smaller PC's actually work significantly better than we thought, especially in that they hesitate noticeably less than larger PC's. The general trend appears to be away from gigantic PC's (anyone else still have an old Dennis McGlynn 52"?), and also toward PC's that are better engineered to inflate and pull well (rather than just throwing a bunch of fabric out there). 3) My experience has been that the difference between a 220 canopy and a 280 canopy only amounts to about a maximum of perhaps 20-30 feet on an ultra low style go and throw deployment. In general I think this isn't a good trade off for making the (usually immediate, and often without a good set-up for flare) landing on the smaller canopy. 4) In the ultra low realm, my opinion is that the technique you use to fold and deploy the pilot chute is significantly more important than the size of the PC (for example, from 200', I'd rather have a well thrown, handheld 42 than a stowed 48, all else, equal, and regardless of canopy size). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Ok, before this thread runs away into a PA fest, I'm going to lock it. It looks like John is back in Northern California. It also looks like he's chosen to attack the one guy who stood by him and defended him the last time everyone was tearing into him. That's pretty sad. If you really want more information on this, I recommend taking it to PM's. If you just want to gripe about John, I'm sure there are other places to do that. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Try these guys. They've organized a legal event near you, and in all likelihood will do so again. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

More food for thought. YouTube/Google apparently has zero qualms about handing you over to the authorities if you upload something "questionable." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There are several charts floating around (example). My favorite is the one Nick DG made when he was working at Basic Research (the one with the little skull and bones for "bad idea"). Anyone have a copy they want to post to this thread? Remember that any chart is just a guideline. Proper training and experience are necessary to truly foul things up. Short answer: You can create problems by using too large a PC, just as you can by using too small. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The line length of the canopy. If the canopy has reached line stretch, the canopy will hit the surface of the water and transfer the impact to the jumper via the harness. This is much better for the jumper than impacting the bottom and having the impact spread over a much smaller portion of their body. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've had the "finger through the handle" malfunction. It happened to me pitching at 3 seconds from about 700'. It took me approximately one eternity and a lifetime to get my finger out of the handle and the PC deployed. I used the "tape it up" remedy for a while. Thoughts on tape: 1) Use first aid tape (the cloth kind). It's grippy, and designed to be low-residue. 2) If the tape starts peeling off and leaving sticky residue, buy a new PC (preferably one with a different handle style). Dealing with the gunk on the handle (which can stick the fabric of the PC together) isn't worth the cost of a new PC (or your life). At this point all of my PC's have either no handles or floating handles. I also see no compelling reason to use any kind of handle on a subterminal BASE jump. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Did anyone else have a chance to watch the video before they pulled it down? The video featured close up face shots of 2 "ground crew" (it looked like their primary purpose was to give high 5's, shout yahoo, direct the attention of on-lookers up to the jumpers, and give commentary for the video), nice video of the (dozens) of cars driving by, and, of course, the memorable lines "these are the baddest dudes you'll ever meet" and "you're gonna know these guys by name." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Let's keep the discussion in one of the already existing threads. Original thread here. Product announcement and trailer thread here. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've got much bigger hips than that. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It'll be fine. 2004 isn't exactly early in the life cycle of the Troll, and being in Slovenia, it's sure to have the latest modifications (since Stane is in Slovenia, too). Yes, it'll work fine. I'd guess you'll get a touch more canopy time with the Troll than the Mojo. It is bigger, so a touch slower there, but also vented (faster) and will glide better (more canopy time). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Have a look here. That'll answer most of your questions. Which suit? That's a matter of some debate. I'd say start BASE with whichever suit you are most comfortable flying in the skydiving environment. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Um, isn't Brooklyn his home turf? I'm pretty sure that he represents Brooklyn in Albany (which is the state capitol). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

No, it's not. I've had memberships to both. Costco is about a thousand times better than Sam's club. Better products, better prices, better additional services. No comparison. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I believe you can find him here. I'm not 100% on that, though, since I think there was more than one jumper from Moscow at Bridge Day. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You can free stow the lines (just S fold them into the container). Although I've done this a couple times, I don't recommend it, because it creates a much higher chance of weird malfunctions (like tension knots). You can also put rubber bands around the ends of the S folds (sort of a detached stow), which is a little better, but also costs you a bunch of rubber bands. However, in my initial post, I was actually not considering the canopy (just the container). For canopy modification: 1) Add a tailgate (installation instructions) 2) Add a tailpocket (best is to have one with an anti-slump flap, easiest way to get this is to buy it from a BASE manufacturer) Again, I don't recommend this. Purpose built BASE gear is going to serve you better, and what's the point in saving a few bucks if it puts you in the hospital or kills you? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd generally recommend modifying your skydiving rig by calling a BASE manufacturer and ordering a BASE rig. BASE rigs are much, much cheaper than skydiving rigs (on account of having no reserve system), and are also designed for the specific task at hand. There's pretty much no excuse for using the wrong gear. If you are one of those foolish (my opinion) folks who want to use a skydiving rig because "it's only one jump, and it's at this really safe site, where lots of people have used skydiving gear before, and besides I don't really care if it kills me" then; 1) Remove the deployment bag. 2) Switch to a mesh slider 3) Use BASE specific risers (especially if you will be slider down) 4) Get a 9' bridle (9 feet/3 meters from pin to PC) 5) Get a BASE specific pilot chute -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

High speed airflow over your back could peel the shrivel flap, causing a premature deployment, or worse, a horseshoe. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Fucked up things are all over the news today. Have a look at this one. It's things like this that make me support the death penalty. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Get a Sears (Kenmore) one. They're the same as the name brands (made in the same factories, under contract) but typically around $100 cheaper. The helpful Sears salesman will even tell you which name brand factory builds which of the Sears machines, and which model it corresponds to. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Mostly. I'll never recover 100%, but I'll take the 90% I got. I did get to be on a medical show on the discovery channel, though. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What's the MSRP on it? My local Target had some on the shelves the last time I was there. I think they're priced at $250. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

My worst ever pain was from high speed impact. I hit water at about 85 mph with a not-yet-inflated canopy. I broke my T12 and L2 vertebrae, and exploded the L1. I also severely bruised the entire lower half of my body, and (worst of all) effectively got an enema at 85 mph from dirty river water. The river water enema severely lacerated my rectum and exploded my colon, spraying it's contents (and a good dose of the river water) into my abdominal cavity. Whenever I see a doctor who asks me "on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst pain you've ever felt..." I have to explain that whole story, so that they understand where my personal scale is calibrated, so that they don't dismiss my "4" as "no big deal." My doctor straight up told me that childbirth would be less painful. And yeah, I think that anal rape would hurt less. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I tell students to look out at the horizon. This works for about 70%. The rest have to look even higher up (maybe 40 degrees above the horizon). There have been a couple good threads about this, if you search this forum. Here's some advice, for example. There are more, though. There is no magic recipe for doing this. You have to find a technique that works for you. The best way to do this is practice. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Ease down there, cowboy. The first time that anyone does anything (and landing on rear risers is a "thing" in this context) they can't be expected to get it perfect. That's why we have that thing we call "practice." Plenty of folks have screwed up rear riser landings because they forgot to practice them somewhere like this span. You calling them a "fucking tool" isn't going to encourage them to practice where other people can see them. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com