TomAiello

That's a Sorcerer. The reserve is essentially direct bagged off the main risers. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Definitely find your local jumpers and ask them for advice in person. Knowing them will make the process both easier and safer. Have you tried posting on the UK board? I'd definitely suggest more skydiving first. Be sure to pay attention to what you are doing with the skydives. Training accuracy and canopy skills (CRW is great for that) will be very helpful. If you're planning a trip to Norway, you'll also want to spend some time dialing in your track. Other than that, you've probably already read everything I have to offer on the subject, since it's all in that link at the top of the page. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Did you have to special order that? How much did they cost? My Gargoyle doesn't have them, and I don't see them on the options list on the Morpheus web site. Rickjumps, what kind of rig do you have? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Dude, take the riverwalk boat tour and ask about "them crazy guys who parachuted off that tower once." It's worth it just to hear what they tell the tourists about BASE. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I hope so. But I don't have specific information on that right now. I'll try to check ASAP and post back whatever I find out. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

A couple thoughts: (1) It greatly impedes your track. The belly mount is right where you need clean airflow. (2) Your likely to be too short on altitude or time to use it. (3) The major problems in BASE all have to do with object strike--not the lack of a reserve. Adding a reserve to the system is fairly unnecessary (look up the sorcerer BASE rig, which had a reserve, and you'll see that it has never gained in popularity, mostly for this reason). (4) 99% of us have never trained in how to use a belly mount reserve, and haven't built it into our reflexes. BTW, I've got an old belly mount that belongs to Randy Harrison, and once belonged to Carl Boenish. I've played with it a few times, and it still freaks me out. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Post 9/11, several companies sprang up to market such building escape paracutes. The best implementation I am aware of was the HOPE system. I believe it was manufactured by Basic Research under contract, and I also seem to remember that the company selling them was called Aerial Egress, and was a separate entity owned by some of the same people who owned Basic Research. I was never clear on what the actual ownership pattern was. At any rate, I saw the HOPE system, I know that it was test jumped and appeared effective when used within certain parameters. You can find more information about it here, but I am not clear on whether or not such an item is still commercially available. If you are desparate to have one, I'd bet that Apex BASE could make you one, as they undoubtedly still have the resources and expertise to do so. Personally, I think your coworkers are right, and it's pretty much a crazy idea. In 99.9% of cases, I'd say you are going to be safer just running down the emergency exit stairs, with a sharp pair of scissors in each hand. The only way you'd catch me using one of those things to exit a burning building would be if someone had a gun to my head. You'd be far better off, in my opinion, with a good length of static line and a rappel device. I've also seen various "idiot proof" cable-based descent devices that I'd say give a higher chance of survival than a parachute. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I dunno. Because you didn't order them? Asylum lists them as a $20 option on their Price List. In the U.S., the entire system has to be TSO'd to be legal. As far as I know, no BASE manufacturer has yet gone to the (considerable) expense and effort to get the harness/container system TSO'd. If you search this forum, you can find a bunch of discussion about that, including, if memory serves, some discussion about the Perigee containers going through that process in Germany. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

1 BASE jumper = solo 2 BASE jumpers = 2 way 3 BASE jumpers = drama -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Knowing you, I assume you're driving to a safe and sane location. Knowing Rick, well...he's not trying to convince you to take a sailboat out into the Gulf, is he? Stay safe! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Ok. Promise? To develop necessary, but not sufficient skills. This is roughly the same as making someone learn to swim before they try to play water polo. I'm curious if you've ever swum competitively or played water polo? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Sometimes it tarnishes BASE to be associated with particular skydivers--usually the ones who think that their knowledge of skydiving automatically makes them experts at BASE. Oddly, those are usually people with between 50 and 500 skydives. It's very rare for a very experienced skydiver to make that mistake. So, um, what did you say your level of BASE and skydiving experience was? edit: typo -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Here's a better analogy. It's like Swimming and Water Polo. Being a competent swimmer is necessary to play water polo. But being a world champion butterflyer isn't going to make you a better water polo player. And being a great polo player isn't going to make you better at butterfly. Eggbeater kick is critical to playing polo--and irrelevant to swimming. The major challenges of polo are unrelated to competitive swimming (they are things like passing the ball, shooting goals, getting out of the water, etc). You can be a mediocre swimmer and an all-american polo player, and you can also be an all american swimmer and a mediocre polo player. Being an authority on water polo does not make you an authority on swimming, and vice versa. Now let's reword that as BASE and Skydiving. Being a competent skydiver is necessary to BASE jump. But being a world champion freeflyer isn't going to make you a better BASE jumper. And being a great BASE jumper doesn't make you any better at 4 way. Object avoidance is critical to BASE--and irrelevant to skydiving. The major challenges of BASE are unrelated to skydiving (they are things like object evaluation, object avoidance, and re-rigging in the field). You can be a mediocre skydiver and a world class BASE jumper, and you can also be a world class skydiver and a mediocre BASE jumper. Being an authority on BASE jumping does not make you an authority on skydiving, and vice versa. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

A quick user search for jumpers listing location as North Carolina and primary discipline as BASE turns up 8 people registered on DZ.com. It's pretty cool the stuff you can dig up with the premiere features. Here's four of them. eb66to77 BASE515 ncjumpjunkie BASE570 Be aware that NC is a high drama zone, so be careful to make contact with multiple jumpers so you don't get caught up in the local turf wars. I'd recommend searching the forums for the threads on that stuff so you have an idea where the firing lines are drawn, although my general impression is that mostly people there are getting along better now than they did at one point. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't really think they look very similar. The different number of parachutes, lack of a reserve, missing handles, in some cases lack of cutaway system--all these things make the gear look very different, even to a casual inspection. Can you tell us how many relative work BASE jumps you have? The critical differences between skydiving and BASE are in (a) the major hazards (the major hazard of BASE does not exist in the skydiving environment), (b) the possible problems (again, the major problems of BASE do not exist in the skydiving environment, and the major hazards of skydiving are usually absent in the BASE environment), and (c) the life saving equipment necessary to participate in the activity (which is different in several very fundamental ways). Can you give us a quick rundown on your skydiving and BASE experience, so that we can understand the basis for your opinion? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Just to echo what's already been said. BASE is in no way, shape or form, skydiving. Pinball and baseball is a pretty good analogy. In all seriousness, what's your level of BASE experience? Statistically, the biggest danger in BASE is not related to either altitude or the number of parachutes. It's object strike, which is independent of a reserve parachute, or the altitude to use it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hey, that's no fair. We want close up pics. And with less clothes, and preferably boobies. I know you were a favorite of the guys at the bars over Labor Day, so I'm sure you can do better. I bet lots of people would love to see some hot Clair-on-Melissa tandem video. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It's a local charity founded by Miles wife. All the money is administered through the Magic Valley Regional Medical Center foundation. The other co-founder (along with Nikki Daisher) is a local pediatrician. My wife is also a doctor who sees a lot of disabled patients (including children) in Twin Falls, and I can say with certainty that the charity is totally legitimate. I personally think this is a great way to give to charity here because; (a) It's targeted very efficiently, (b) The money stays local, (c) The charity gives notice by it's name that this is a way that BASE jumpers (mostly Miles, but maybe in future that can be expanded) are giving back to the local community. That's great PR for BASE in Twin Falls. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Sure. But it'll be my hand holding your PC. And I think you're going to need at least 3 canopies. And a wingsuit. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Make it a 3-way. But I get to plan the jump, okay? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

How close are you talking? Actual contact with the airplane? If that's what your planning, then you're pretty far beyond me, so have fun. Do Not hit the airplane. Staying out of the propwash is probably a good idea, too. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Could you put heat shielding tiles on your chest and arms? Oooh, and then landing gear, and land the wingsuit? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I bring the slider up after flaking the top and bottom skins, just before making the narrowing folds. Basically, I do it right when I would close the tailgate on a slider down pack job. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Please don't. Last time it was linked on DZ.com, I removed the links by request of the guy who made the video. He then took it down off his web site. Reposting it, or rehosting it, without permission, would be pretty impolite. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The amazing thing isn't really the altitude of the pulls, it's the proximity with which Espen clears the lowest ledgy bit. It really looks like it's going to clip his legs off for a moment there. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com