TomAiello

Knowing Dwain's... I had read "dw into talus..." as "downwind landing into talus/sidewalk/river." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I own 2 Prisms, a standard original Prism and a Prism "1.5" or "JJ Mod." It is my personal opinion that the JJ Mod Prism is the best BASE rig ever built. I love that rig. That said, I am not a fan of the Prism 2. I'm really hoping the Apex SP is more like the original than the later generation. Pros: Easier to keep from twisting the pack job than any of the 2 pin rigs I've packed (because of the shape and order of the flaps). Pin protection is good, and is in the right orientation for high speed airflow in wingsuit flights. 1 pin makes bridle routing a little simpler, in my opinion. The pin tension varies less with body position than the bottom pin on a 2 pin rig (which makes the Prism marginally better for aerials, in my opinion, in case you pitch in a tuck). Cons: Dynamic corners don't work all that well, because of the shape/direction of pull of the flaps. Some Prisms were manufactured with a velcro bridle keeper on the bottom flap. I don't like it because it doesn't shrivel, and think the later tuck-flap style keeper was a big improvement. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Windstopper fleece gloves are pretty nice. They keep your hands reasonably warm if you are moving, and they compress well if you don't want to jump with gloves. I've never needed more than that, because if it's that cold outside, I'm staying inside. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Very few, in my experience. I've got one, and have used it, but it's usually pretty rare to see them. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The 2" Pony Spring clamp (picture and description here) is so ubiquitous as to be almost standard. 95% of the people I see packing with clamps use clamps of this style. In fact, this exact clamp (in orange, made by Pony) is probably what I see 80% of the time. Home Depot stocks their house brand of this tool right next to the name brand, for about 1/3rd the price. You may want to pull the rubber tips off and put a dab of epoxy inside them to keep them from coming off inside your pack job (which seems to happen quite a bit), not so much because they're a problem as because the unprotected metal end of the clamps can be harsh on the canopy fabric. Hope that helps. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You could let people select "characters" with different skill sets. So be "Dwain Weston" and have amazing aerobatic skills, or be "Lukas Knutsson" and have outrageous forward speed on a wingsuit. And (this is the part I'd like best) only have jumpers who've gone in be named in the game. It'd be a tribute to the fallen, and teach some of the history, but never be used as a marketing tool by any specific jumper who might want to use it that way. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You realize that Pete S., to whom you replied, is a longtime BASE jumper and rigger with a shop that's virtually walking distance from that tower, and that he _does_ know the guy, and in fact was on the load for the guy's first jump, right? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

John, I've sent you a private message. I've also just reviewed every post I've made on this topic. I am clearly missing something, because I'm not seeing where I was "trying to smear" you. Can you please point out the specific post(s) you are referring to? Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

??? I most definitely did not start this discussion. Can you tell me how you formed your opinion that I had done so? This particular thread was split off a thread I started more than two years ago, which had absolutely nothing to do with you, or this accident. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It can help, but what is more crucial is a solid understanding of physics and engineering. I disagree. While both are going to be useful, I think that a practical knowledge of parachute rigging and BASE is going to be far more critical than any amount of physics and engineering background. I would, in other words, rather have my BASE gear designed by Martin Tilley than Jean Potvin. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

They were apparently fairly good. I think he just took a short delay (so he was close in), had an off heading, and didn't get onto it fast enough. It's discussed a little more in one of the half dozen John Agnos threads in this forum. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There was a bungee guy who specialized in that sort of thing. I've got some insane footage of him jumping (bungee) the interior of a high rise building (it's open pretty much all the way up inside). High speed bandit rigging sounds pretty frightening to me. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Per jump, I'm certain my BASE jumps have cost more than my skydives--and that's even before medical expenses. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There are definitely things that you just can't learn from theory. But there are also things that you don't pick up from any amount of practice. I think that both (theory and practice) are pretty necessary. 87SupraT, just be sure that you get some practice in before you try to implement the theory. An internet forum is not a good place to actually learn to BASE jump. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The 9th circuit may let that go, but I doubt the Supremes will be having much of it. Things like this make me pretty glad I moved out of Commifornia. Well, that and the house prices. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't have any specific knowledge about the Spectre. Skydiving canopies are usually trimmed flatter than BASE canopies. BASE canopies tend toward a steeper down-angle to help with inflation at low airspeeds. The DBS pretty much just effects the tail. If you change the brake setting on a BASE canopy, the rest of the canopy still falls in the same places when you pack it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In my case it's either canopy stuff (either looking at flight characteristics or practicing some kind of maneuvers), or wingsuit flights. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Any effect on the flight performance? I've scotchgarded old F-111 canopies and had them dramatically improve their flare as a result. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Where can I get a copy of that? I'd guess you can get them from the Australian BASE Association. But Liv sent me an extra NTSC VHS copy with a note saying "do what you want with it." I'll give it to you, if you like. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That's what you do when you pack rounds. Didn't you pack my round, that one time? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The longer segment is on the 2003 ABA Compilation, the one with "No Morals, No Ethics..." printed on the cover. There is an even longer raw version that I've seen, but the one on the ABA compilation has pretty much all the best stuff. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

15-30 is a pretty big range. So is 1-2. I'd say that a 2 second delay with 15 mph wind is a whole lot better than a 1 second delay with 30. 1 second delay with 30 mph wind, I'd guess you're going to get an offheading into the wind. If you know, for certain, that the wind speed exceeds your canopy's forward speed, I don't think you need to stop at 90. Maximum separation from the obstacle you might strike (the tower or the downwind wire) is the goal. If the wind guarantees that you will not strike the upwind wire, you can pretty much exit as close to it as you want. Can you explain your reasoning on the 90 degrees? I'm thinking it through, and it looks like maximum separation is achieved by exiting as close to the upwind wire (120 degrees) as possible, but I might be missing something. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't think he's using a collapsible. Bridge Day requires a minimum 42" PC, and although some collapsible PC's that size have been made, they are very rare. At this point, I doubt you'd make it through the gear check with a collapsible PC. It looks to me like he's holding it in a mushroom. I personally think that handheld mushroom packs are prone to hesitation, but opinions vary. It's also very possible that the PC was wet, and that had something to do with it. The weather was not so nice that year. Neither. He does toss very early, and he does experience some hesitation, but I don't think you could say he pitched "too early" or that the hesitation was clearly a result of the short delay. The toss is plenty strong enough--it gets the PC out to bridle extension. A too strong pitch is more likely to cause orbiting than too weak. But in this case, I don't think his pitch is causing that orbiting, because you can see the orbiting damp out briefly, and then return. The bridle has to be 9', and the PC has to be at least 42", or he wouldn't make it through the gear checks. But he's definitely using sucky gear. He's got a bag on that thing. The interesting questions is "why is his PC orbiting so violently?" My best theories on that are; (a) that it's very wet in one particular spot, causing radical differences in inflation and weight, or; (b) it's got a tear somewhere on the bottom skin that's allowing the top skin be uneven (it's hard to tell from the video, but it kind of looks like one sector of the PC is riding up higher than the others), or; (c) the PC was attached asymmetrically, or; (d) the PC was manufactured asymmetrically (in other word's it's defective, or sucky, gear). Of those theories, I think the most likely is (c) Asymmetric attachment, followed by (a) wet PC. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm pretty sure the BASE Wiki article you are referring him to has no information about his specific questions, at this point. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't think that 18-20 is enough to do this, but; I've had strong tailwinds at exit (30+) blow a stowed PC in front of me, under my arm, resulting in a bridle wrapped around my arm. Under these conditions, you might want to go hand held, and pitch in an upward direction, to reduce this concern. With very low airspeed, it's likely that the wind will govern your opening heading. I've been on loads in 35+ tailwinds where every jumper had exactly the same offheading opening--directly into the wind. If you have a strong tailwind, and a short delay, be prepared for a 180 (or whatever opening is directly into the wind). A longer delay will generally help avoid this. As a rule of thumb, if your fall rate (relative wind) is less than the absolute tailwind, expect the absolute wind to be the governing factor on your opening. Of course, with a tailwind that strong, a 180 isn't usually a big deal, because you are being blown away from the object quite quickly. That's a big point that many people miss out on. Good on you for thinking about it. Any time the wind changes, there is turbulence. The greater the magnitude of the change, the greater the turbulence. If there is a sharp boundary (as in your case) expect greater turbulence. One strategy for dealing with this is to take a deeper delay (and hence open below the turbulence). That's psychologically easier, but in reality, I don't think it matters much. BASE canopies recover from turbulence so fast that the only turbulence that's really dangerous is too low to open underneath anyway. In this case, my guess is that you would have passed through the turbulence and had time to recover before landing. 18 mph probably isn't too much of a concern on a site like that. I can't say for sure without actually seeing it, though. I think you made the right choice. You're both still walking around without crutches, and the 'A' will still be there the next time you go. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com