TomAiello

Are you assuming the PC scales precisely? I think that's a bad assumption. You're essentially moving the spill points around to various different points of trim, which is going to have fairly complex effects, in my opinion. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I just watched the video... Please don't assume that's representative. We're not all like that. I really thought the Aussie jumpers did a fairly good job presenting themselves. I thought the TV folks worked pretty hard to twist things around on them. But then again, I think they knew that was going to happen. Still, a valiant effort from all the Aussies involved, in my opinion. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In my opinion (lots of others have different opinions), no. I don't think my Troll 290 is really that much bigger than a BJ 280. I certainly don't think it's an equivalent size to an Ace 310. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd check with Morpheus. I'm not sure you can get a WS-Xtreme sized that large. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Probably. There's a bunch of US government tests that bear this out reprinted in the Knacke book. Unfortunately, they found that only very small parachutes could be made to do this without insurmountable deployment issues (by small, they were talking around 6 feet, so a PC might be doable). Even the smaller ones had some problems, though, and they didn't really put in much more effort to work it out. As a side note, they actually found that the spinning parachutes were the most stable and had the most drag per size. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've split this off of the "tracking position" thread. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

1) BASE gear is more reliable. The system is (a) less complex, (b) designed for BASE, and (c) engineered with several years more experience thrown in. 2) A beginner requires instruction. More experienced jumpers hanging around there, even the majority of the qualified instructors, won't be able to provide nearly as much help with the converted skydiving gear as they will with real BASE gear. This is simply because their experience is more focused on the BASE gear (since with a couple exceptions, the vast majority of their jumps have been made on relatively modern BASE gear). 3) Having a reserve can lull a beginner into a false sense of security. This means that they are less likely to treat the BASE jump as a separate exercise, and more likely to treat it as just another skydive. I mean, it's the same gear, so it's got to be a pretty similar jump, right? 4) Having a reserve can encourage people to pull way too high. If the canopy is packed for terminal, and people are pulling 3 seconds down (so they will "have enough time to use the reserve") they are going to see some pretty squirrely openings, and they are going to be pretty close to the wall for those openings. It's actually far safer to take a reasonable delay (and actually reach terminal) than it is to open high to "save altitude for the reserve." 5) Using their skydiving rigs will encourage people to use undersized canopies. If they are trying to stuff a canopy into their skydiving container, people are not going to be able to get a full size BASE canopy in, and we'd see people putting in whatever canopy they could fit--even old skydiving canopies with less than desirable opening characteristics. If they are going to buy a second rig to make the jump, they're better off buying a (cheaper, even) real BASE rig than a (more expensive) larger skydiving rig, for all these reasons. You have vastly more experience on that gear than pretty much any of the rest of us. In addition, you have far more experience with the jumping than any beginner who might be headed out there. These two things combine to make something acceptable for you that would be completely unacceptable for a beginner. I'd write more, but I'm out of time. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I believe it improves the aerodynamics of the container for wingsuit flight (or tracking). For a complete answer, I'd recommend contacting the manufacturer directly. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I didn't realise you were a BASE jumper also Ed. You don't have to be a BASE jumper to understand that basic truth. And it's to all of our advantage if experienced skydivers understand it as well, because when the young jumper at the DZ is wanting to take a trip there, he's way more likely to ask Ed about it than, say, me, because he knows Ed and sees him at the DZ all the time. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Not really. I've done 200 jumps at Kjerag, 150 using booties. When I bought the Pantz What kind of pantz are you referring to? I'm guessing by the spelling that you've got the Birdman ones? Truthfully, I'd say booties are probably better than those things. But a real pair of tracking pants (even home made) works way better for me than booties. I wonder if anyone has tried just the bottom of a prodigy yet? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What size canopy do you jump? How much do you weigh? As UncleCharlie said, the WS-Xtreme can be converted to a non-wingsuit configuration that is pretty much like a regular gargoyle. The only issue is going to be canopy sizing. If you are jumping larger sized canopies, you'll not have room for them in a WS-Xtreme. If this is the case, I'd strongly recommend getting a second (larger) container for low jumps, as well (of course) as a second (larger) canopy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Having few BASE jumps does not necessarily mean that you are not qualified to formulate an opinion. Lots of things go into intelligent discussion of a topic--knowledge of the topic is one of them, but there's a lot more. Ability to maintain a civil discourse is also important. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Today we've got some pretty strong wind and a lot of turbulence in the canyon. We've pretty much been grounded since about 10am. Hopefully it'll calm down later this evening. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Um, everyone knows that Kris is Indian, right? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've split this off from the "TF Memorial Day" thread. I wanted to give it a separate title, because there is some good information here that is unrelated to TF or Memorial Day. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Weather yesterday was beautiful. Clear and sunny, warm temperatures, very calm all day. First load went around 6am, we didn't leave the bridge until around 10pm. Keeping my fingers crossed for this to hold out. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have cleaned this thread up. Sangiro had to step in here and lock the thread and do some banning as well. People, it's not so difficult to discuss this in a civil manner, even if you disagree with each other. There are several important topics here (footage being used without permission, jumpers disagreeing on what is or is not appropriate for television, jumpers giving interviews that push other jumpers into situations they don't want to be in, etc), so I am going to unlock the thread. If this one degenerates again, it'll just be done for good, so everyone please try to behave in a reasonably adult manner. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have removed multiple posts naming the site and edited several others, at request of several different jumpers from nearby areas. Everyone please read the "Before You Post" guidelines linked at the top of the page. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Terry Forestall's sister has tried to bring suit against a bunch of Norwegians in Euro-court. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I strongly recommend you wait until you have the pre-requisite experience. 1) The site is technically challenging. 2) Jay and Damien put in a lot of work ensuring legal access. 3) Helicopter support (which they provide) is really mandatory for emergency evacuation in case of accident. Please don't try to go this one without guidance from the folks who've got it all set up already. It's not worth it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Guys, Could you please take your personal differences somewhere other than this forum? Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Damn it. I'm never going to be human... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You might also ping Russel Metlitzky (contact via web page here). He's a T3 complete para who is BASE jumping, and would undoubtedly have some good suggestions for you. If you can come up with a good way to do a solo landing, he'd also probably be very interested in that. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Modern wireless is approaching plug and play. If you're willing to throw down a hundred bucks and have a friend who knows what to do and can sneak into work with you for an hour, it'd be no problem. The key is probably finding a friend with the knowledge who can set it up for you. If you do it yourself, it could be several hours of frustration, but for someone knowledgeable it'd be like 20 minutes of work, if it all went smoothly. That might not get you past the work-restriction though. That depends on how they've restricted it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I think this might be avoidable just by changing the lighting. I actually find that I have trouble landing on night skydives because they turn on so many lights. Is there a "standard" way to light the landing area for a night jump? The best lighting I've had for night jumps is just a good ambient light (full moon, for example), followed by a bunch of glow sticks just scattered around the landing area. Some spot of light on the ground (but not too bright--something like a glow stick is good) at the edge of the peripheral vision is really useful in judging when to flare. Also some kind of contrasting visual just above ground level (light colored buildings on a dark colored ground are great for this) can be helpful in judging the flare. Big lights of the variety I've seen on most DZ night jumps tend to just blind and annoy me. Your mileage may vary, though. I'm over 500 night jumps at this point, so I may be more comfortable with them than some skydivers. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com