TomAiello
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Everything posted by TomAiello
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Actually, when I laid a similar sized V-1 and S3 on top of each other, it looked to me like the V-1 had less wing area in the arm wing, and more in the leg wing. It was certainly not a case of "more is better," as if that had been the philosophy it would have ended up looking more like the Sugar Glider prototypes, which pushed the "more wing is better" philosophy up until it became clear that no one with normal human musculature could possibly control the suit for more than a few seconds. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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When I called the American Alpine Club to ask, they said that their rescue insurance would cover a BASE accident. The coverage isn't all that great, but it's better than nothing by a fair bit. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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All, Consider this your last collective warning before I purge this thread back down to just a few posts. This need not be a pissing contest. Comments on your opinions about the suits are fine (although perhaps a bit early in the game). Comments about each other are not. Personally, I think this is a very good thing. Mostly because I want Robert to release the V-2, so I can buy one, and I think this may push him in that direction. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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This is not a joke, and it's no longer funny. You folks made it very unfunny when you started in with the death threats. Stop now. I've banned you from this forum for 30 days. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Incidents thread is here. There's a condolences sticky in the Bonfire here, and a memorial page here. I don't think any new information about the accident has been posted. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Swdish beer is so bad that this is your preference? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Try these guys. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Now this sounds interesting! Will we get to see any of it? I hope not. Micke and I were trying very hard to pretend we didn't know Martin and Per. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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What, no footage of the demolition derby with the handicapped carts in Winco? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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You're out of line. Please review the forum rules. I've banned you from this forum for 14 days. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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??? Can you tell us what you base this statement on? I'm pretty sure that there are production wingsuit models on which this is not true. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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There are many more that are not on public servers. Many experienced BASE jumpers have "carnage reels" that they can show you if you need motivation to proceed cautiously. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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For years, the official Bridge Day video was called "Lemmings," so many of us have been referred to as a lemming. Start by reading through everything you can find. Personally, most of my advice is in the article entitled "Getting into BASE" which is linked at the top of this forum. You've already started finding experienced jumpers. Check in with the people who contacted you, because they have already demonstrated (perhaps tactfully or perhaps not) that they are concerned for your safety. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Freefall skills. If you fall straight down, but have a good launch, you'll get enough separation that they won't ground you. It's being unable to maintain stability and heading in freefall (at terminal) that get you grounded. Freefall skills (meaning ability to maintain/regain stability and maintain/regain heading) are a necessary pre-requisite to tracking skills. You have to say "freefall skills" first, because without them it's impossible to have "tracking skills." If you can't hold heading, you aren't going to be able to track effectively. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Do you not have keeper rings on your skydiving risers? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Yes, there is... But remember, PeteS designed this for use in SKYDIVING as a training aid for learning to fly a canopy w/ the line-release mod. You wouldn't use this on a BASE jump... You'd use this in preparing yourself for BASE and you'd have a reserve at the time. -C. If you used it in conjunction with Russel's ring-release risers, you'd minimize the chance of premature toggle fire resulting in a stuck slider. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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In general, I agree with you, but don't overlook the importance of freefall skills for terminal jumps, which are very popular with many jumpers. I met a guy who had made less than 100 skydives and then started BASE, and had made a fair number of jumps from our little bridge here. But, he was grounded and asked to leave by the instructors in Norway, due to poor freefall control. Which was funny, because he lives in Norway, and was in the position of having to travel to the US to make BASE jumps. Oh, did I mention that the very first thing he said when he met me was "I've read your articles, and I have to say I disagree with needing 200 skydives before BASE jumping." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Yes. If you read the post that Sean linked, you can see that I explain it this way: The reason, in short, is because there is easily available instruction and supervision at the site, which is pretty much continuously available. It's very difficult to show up at the span here without encountering one or more locals who can help you with equipment, exits, landing area and trails. The availablilty of experienced locals means that the chance for a mishap due to a total lack of knowledge or guidance is much lower than it would be in most other places. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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That's at least partly because it's less local to me, and I am less familiar with it. I am more comfortable making closer judgments on sites that are closer to me, or that I am more familiar with. When they are "some one elses" sites, I tend to be much more conservative in what I allow, largely out of respect for the locals there. In some cases where sites have been discussed that I was totally unaware of, I've gone so far as to remove the names of entire geographic regions, simply because I was not familiar with how closely the place name narrowed down the area until after I had removed it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Please do me a favor. Seriously. Read the link Sean posted, which is also linked at the top of this forum. It specifically addresses both (a) your original question, and (b) that particular site. After you've finished reading that thread, I'll be happy to address any additional questions that come up. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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[replyIn general, how high are you usually open when doing a rollover? are you at PCA hight? or Freefall hight? or somewhere inbetween? PCA height, or higher, for me. But be aware that the technique you use will greatly effect the opening altitude. If you keep the canopy in a tight bundle underneath you, for example, it'll be open much lower than if you fully spread and pre-inflate it before rolling over. I've seen a huge range in folks techniques for unpacked jumps, with a resultant huge range in results. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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"Moab" is not a site. It's a geographic area. That's like saying "Seach for South of France gives XXX results in this forum." As far as consistency: The simple fact of the matter is that I have only so much time and energy to police this forum. That means that I often let things slip through, because I occasionally have other things to do, or want to run out and do something other than sit here and watch y'all with all my time. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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The short answer: People read these (or similar) boards. People find out where a site is on these boards. People go there without any training, and possibly with totally inappropriate gear. People are seriously injured or killed. This has already happened several times. I'd prefer to avoid having it happen again. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com