TomAiello

According to jumpers on the boat, she didn't actually hit the wall. She missed the outcropping and landed on steep, loose talus below it. I'm unclear on if this was by chance or as a result of steering input just after clearing the twists. I do know that the blood stains on the talus began about 15 feet above the point where I collected the gear, which was about 35 feet below the wall. This is circumstantial evidence that her slide started on the talus slope, rather than on the wall above. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

A TARD-over is an unpacked jump. You hold the canopy (pretty much propacked) in your hand(s), not in any kind of container. Then you perform a front flip over the canopy. As you fall away (past the canopy), you reach line stretch and the canopy inflates. This is a variation on the TARD (a similar jump, but without the front flip--you loft the canopy up and drop off underneath it). I've seen TARDs and TARD-overs done with the canopy and lines in the same hand, as well as with the canopy in one hand and the lines in the other. I personally prefer using both hands when possible (which is the style the jumper used in this case), but it is much easier to do this with some kind of stable launch platform (which was also present in this case), so when people are doing them from outside the handrail with no exit platform, they sometimes opt for the "canopy and lines in one hand" style TARD. TARD is an acronym for "Totally Awesome Rapid Deployment". The TARD varies from the WAD ("Wild Ass Deployment") in that the TARD canopy is loose and hanging, where the WAD canopy is essentially packed into the jumpers hand(s). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There's a nice step by step guide here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yeah. The TV reporter called me and started in with "I heard there was a major accident out there this weekend, and..." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Great. Now, based on this story, we've got a local TV station wanting to run a story on BASE "safety precautions and injuries." Joy, joy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Oh, no... Four Dutchmen all in one place? Lock up the women and children...and the household pets... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I think we have fairly wide latitude for the moderators. So, if someone just seems to be stirring things up, the mods really do have the option to just imposing increasingly longer sentences. Obviously, at some point they'll either go away, or start posting in forums that don't allow non-topical discussions, in which case they'll go away soon anyway. I am also concerned that there are many members of our community who have very good things to day in the topical forums, but who really do seem to be swaggering into Speaker's Corner looking for a good brawl. I don't think there's much that can be done about that, though, aside from keeping the broken china in SC, so it doesn't annoy the good citizens. I surely would not want to lose their good thoughts in the topical forums, just because they're the kind who like to get rowdy in an off topic forum. But on the topic of folks who obviously are just here to raise a ruckus? Do you really think that something faster than the current system is going to be much more effective? And will it give us a sufficient return in speediness to overcome any possible defects in too-quick decision making? Hey, I've got an idea--you want to be a SC moderator? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Personal attacks are not allowed here. Neither are ethnic slurs. Go troll somewhere else for a month. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I recommend asking DexterBASE. I think he'll be back home tonight, so maybe online tomorrow or the next day. He used to rope jump with Dan Osman. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I now have 3 confirmed students for this course, and have sent out the last 2 invitations. As soon as I get confirmation from those students, I will declare this course closed. Should one of those decline the invitation, I will move down the list to the next applicants. I had a large number of qualified applicants for this course. So, I will hold a 3 day FJC in late September. I will give preference to folks who were high on the waiting list for this class. I'll make a separate post (and send emails to those people) as soon as I have confirmed the last students for the labor day course. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In BASE, I think I've taken to regarding "injury" as meaning "had to stay in the hospital over night." Unless I am mistaken, Kevin is one of the current world leaders in most jumps without injury (by my definition), along with perhaps 2 other people in his experience range. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I did call them, but I suspect the second story was not because of that. I'd say they probably realized themselves that they had exaggerated things a bit. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

She was slider down. I believe the canopy was tailgated, both from the inflation video, and because I collected the gear after the accident and there was a tailgate in place (although, of course not closed) at that time. I didn't see the landing (she had passed under the bridge and landed on the other side, so no one at the exit point saw the landing). Jumpers in the boat reported that she had very little time to flare (she finished clearing the twists just prior to landing). She had also lost one toggle. This jumper was wearing light running shoes and shorts. I suspect that boots and knee/shinguards would have pretty much turned this into a "land hard and walk away" situation. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2005/08/01/news_localstate/news_local_state.6.txt -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Why? I'm not sure we can ever definitely say what the cause was. On the video, the canopy twists 180 while the jumper and canopy are still in free fall, prior to inflation. It also appears that the right toggle fires immediately upon inflation (so it might have been dislodged earlier). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If you can't find him, send me a PM and I'll drop you Sport Chad's email addy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

This is pretty bad journalism. The total extent of the jumpers injuries was one small chip in one leg bone, plus a laceration on the other leg. The jumper was stitched up, the bone was stable, and the jumper was held overnight at Magic Valley for observation. I'm a little stunned at the poor quality of the reporting. Technical details of the jump: The jump was a tard-over in exit headwind of approximately 7 mph. There were around 12 other jumpers on the load, around half of them had already exited and were at the bottom when this accident occured. The jumper experienced a 180 off heading, and some line twists. She was able to kick out of the line twists, but at that point was very low and had to land out (across the river). She was retrieved by the boat, brought into the dock, and removed by ambulance to MVRMC. My report is mostly first hand (I was approximately 4 feet behind the jumper when she exited, and arrived at the dock shortly after the boat). I think I may call the paper today, and see what they have to say for themselves. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I didn't hear about it. But I was there. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It looks like the Firebird also has Ed's performance wing extensions built in at the factory. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

No need to roll over. Just wait for it to fire the canopy, and then you're doing the Higgly Wiggly. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

PAL. But I think that Douggs videos are available in NTSC, too. You might just email Cookie and ask if he has NTSC. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Super cool.

I think you can get the BASE segments from Cookie Composites. Not sure which stuff you're looking for in particular, though. If not there, you'll need to find Douggs in Norway (try contact through the SBK here. I bought my copy from him, when it was first put out. Not sure if you can still buy the original Shovels, though. Edit to add: Direct Link to Videos. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd love to see a thread with people's impressions of that suit, and maybe some pictures and video? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

This is probably the bottom line on this topic. Go out to a friendly span, and try each way (and variations) a dozen times. Then make a decision for yourself. Video and GPS are also useful in making this call, but in the end it's _your_ call, because it's your life, and the best way to make your call is to try things out for yourself. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com