TomAiello
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Everything posted by TomAiello
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Worse: Imagine fellow jumper in freefall with his bottom flap laying flat on his butt, covering up his PC... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I bet these guys could tell you. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I haven't tried Douggs disk, but I know we had some problems with Superterminal. The problems mostly revolved around region encoding, and could be fixed by buying an ultra cheap DVD player at Walmart, because the super low end players didn't have the region screening. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Holland? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I've removed your pedophilia joke. Please review the Forum Rules. I'm not kidding when I say that pedophilia is the one and only hard and fast zero tolerance area on DZ.com. Most things here have a sliding scale, allowing moderator discretion, etc. Pedophilia isn't one of those things. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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My general advice on a first rig is all in the article here. More specifically to your question, I own and jump both a Gargoyle and a Perigee Pro. I think they are both great rigs. i personally have a slight preference for the Gargoyle because of the pin cover flap design (I like the crossover better than the wrap around) and the dynamic corners. Everyone will have their own preferences. As others have noted, whatever you buy will likely be your first choice in another 20 jumps, and 50 jumps after that you'll likely find yourself recommending it to others, whether or not you've ever jumped anything else. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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A user search for Primary Discipline: BASE Jumping, and Location: North America/United States/Kansas returns 5 hits. I can think of several more Kansas jumpers right off the top of my head. Here's some help to get you started: bps Donk (web site with contact info (in Kansas)) BASE864 Zoomee (also has a Kansas BASE web site, reading, in large, flaming letters "BASE Hot Line") I recommend doing a little more searching before giving up. If a 2 hour drive seems like too much commitment to you, I'd seriously reconsider your desire to BASE jump. Literally hundreds of active jumpers drive more than that distance for the their regular fix. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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It's actually fairly common. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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What size range are you looking for? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Has there been a case of Ross being applied to items that are not contraband? In other words, does Ross apply to something like a BASE rig, that is legal to possess (clearly not "contraband" under the general defintion of contraband as "an item that is illegal to possess, produce or distribute.")? I'll try to take the time to read the whole thing, but it sounds like you've got a good handle on it, so I figured I'd ask you first. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Leave a case of beer there, with a note that says "please leave unlocked." If it works, you've got the trust. If not, then you're only out a case of beer. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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There's usually not a walkway to the front of the boom, the way there is to the ballast arm. You pretty much have to walk on the boom itself. It's not too hard to sort out some kind of sling arrangement as a safety anchor to connect to the boom, though. The 'T' shaped cranes can have the cab either to one side (in which case you can usually just climb past) or right in the middle of the T (in which case you usually have to get through the generally locked hatch of the cab). It is sometimes possible to climb around the outside of the cab, but it's super sketchy, and I personally wouldn't recommend it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Carl and Jean Boenish tested their original BASE setups with 42" PC's out of airplanes. I believe it was at Elsinore. Maybe Nick DG knows the whole story... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Do you know the make of the PC? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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In my opinion, they don't do anything for the opening. Our parachutes have two different functional modes. At first they act as aerodynamic decelerators (basically giant air brakes, like round parachutes) to stop us falling toward the ground. Then, they transition to acting as wings (like paragliders) to fly us to our landing area (and land us softly). My understanding is that the stabilizer is supposed to prevent air from "slipping" around the side of the parachute when it is flying as a wing. This ought to make it fly more efficiently, and yield "crisper" toggle response when turning. I dunno. I've got a couple really old canopies around. maybe I'll try slicing the stabilizers off one and seeing if it changes the way it flies. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Happy Birthday! How old are you, anyway? 30? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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PM sent. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Do you have soft housings? I've seen some rigs with only partial housings, where the cable can get "lost" up in the yoke. It can sometimes help to take another cable and backfeed it from the other side, but how helpful that is depends on the construction of your particular rig. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Anyone using tube stows? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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The canopy begins expanding as it moves to line stretch noticeably more. I worry that this could throw slack lines around, potentially resulting in a tension knot. I think it will also yield a harder (but not necessarily faster) opening, because the jumper will be stopped much more abruptly when he smacks the end of the lines with the canopy already expanding over him. The primary stow appears to work very well to stage the opening, giving you "line stretch => bottom skin expansion" rather than "bottom skin expansion => or = line stretch."' -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I have line release toggles ("cut away toggles") on 2 of my rigs. I've never had to fire them in anger, but I have tested them a few times. I like the cloth stub style (Morpheus HPGB, latest version of Apex WLO) much better than the previous (pin style stub) versions. I have seen a couple of premature (unintentional) toggle releases, as well as one case in which the toggle failed to release when activated (that wasn't on the Morpheus or Apex versions). I've also had some difficulties with the pin channel closing up, making it difficult to reset the toggle without an awl or similar piercing tool (that was on the Apex version). I haven't found the line release toggle particularly harder or easier to use than the hook knife, but I suspect that in a fast spin, they would be (I haven't been in a fast spin to experiment). On balance? Hard to say, but I'm not in a particular hurry to equip the rest of my gear with them. I think they're a great idea, but I also think that they continue to evolve in better (and more user friendly) directions, which is good. I'll probably wait for another generation or two before I buy some more. One piece of advice: If you do install line release toggles, be sure you are well practiced at riser landings. If they fire accidentally (either by malfunction or user error), you will need to be able to land. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Yes. You may want to make fewer wraps, but it works just fine. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com