TomAiello
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Everything posted by TomAiello
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Now that is a nice car. I've been shopping around for one, but they're so damn hard to find in the States. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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It's when it doesn't work that things get interesting, and that's where the real difficulty of any jump really lies. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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It's a good habit to plan for the worst on every jump. Personally I think the worst can be a lot scarier on the low jumps (#1) than on the terminal jumps (#3). I agree that the sub-terminal slider jumps are the sketchiest (less distance from object than the terminal ones, but a slider on a low airspeed opening yielding inconsistencies). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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It's routine for 90% of the jumps. When something goes wrong, it goes wrong in a hurry, though. You don't get to find out how your skills are (or how demanding the jump is) until something goes wrong. I think this is a pretty typical misconception in BASE. If everything goes right, it's easy. That doesn't mean it _is_ easy, because it's when everything goes wrong that you get to the hard part. Routine? Perhaps. But easy or safe? I don't think so. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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What about jumping from a car in flight? It's an aircraft, at least temporarily... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I must have missed that. I did however, see this post in which Yuri urges people to pull higher, and this one in which Yuri says that his low pull was unintentional. JB is fairly well known and experienced. I don't think this is a case of people having different reactions based on the skill (or connections) of the jumper. We all know that he's got the skills. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Are you really more "free" if you live in the US?
TomAiello replied to Newbie's topic in Speakers Corner
Dude, I'm a pro-gun person who lives in the US, and I've got no idea where you're getting that. I will say that on an economic level (i.e. overall taxes) I think the States average a bit "freer" (i.e. lower taxes) than the E.U. This is also true, on average, for private right to own firearms. But for me, anyway, the E.U. scores higher (i.e. "freer") on average in drug laws, sex laws and most other "victimless crime" type things (notably, for me, including BASE jumping). Now if we could just get y'all to speak English properly. I dunno why you call it England when you can't even speak English... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com -
I usually think of it as being "grown up." Many of us go through our "teen age" BASE jumping years, doing some pretty foolish stuff. Some of us are fortunate enough to go through that phase skydiving (where there is less potential for injury). I know I went through it, because I've got the scars to prove it. I like to think I'm over it now. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Who is the "Warren Miller" of Skydiving?
TomAiello replied to JoeG's topic in General Skydiving Discussions
Tom Sanders. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com -
French and Americans are all good. But those damn Kiwis with their sheep... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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What about a McCutaway? I was firmly informed (only partly tongue in cheek) that a McCutaway is neither a skydive (no aircraft) nor a BASE jump (no packed rig when leaving the object). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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The question then is really: "What is the best progression for teaching BASE?" And further; "What is the best first step in this progression?" And; "Is a better first step to jump from a bridge, or to go paragliding, or to go skydiving, or what?" Personally, I think that skydiving is a better first step than bridge jumping. Honestly, I think that paragliding is also a better first step than bridge jumping. The point is that I think you ought to do the first step first, and I don't, at this point, think that a span jump is the appropriate first step. I think this is a very interesting discussion. Can anyone (seriously, I'm interested) give me an argument as to why a span jump is a better first step in BASE training than a skydive, or a paraglider flight? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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He also conned a 19 year old who was thousands of miles from home into maxing his credit cards and handing over the cash, then never repayed it. Alderman's ethics, both personal and BASE-related, never seemed, to me, to be particularly good. In that way, he's certainly light years from Slim or Dwain. I think Nick was talking about his jumping skills though. That, I can't comment on. Bottom line: Never confuse being a good jumper with being a worthwhile human being. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I think the problem is that people thing the first step in this progression could be "go jump off a bridge." I think the first steps are all pre-BASE, and ought to involve developing transferable skills in other areas. Unfortunately, everyone seems to be in such a hurry to be a BASE jumper that they neglect the development of those skills. Even more rare is someone who steps back and tries to develop them once they are already jumping off cliffs and buildings. The mentality is often "hey, I lived through a building jump, I don't need to learn anything else, I'm already an expert." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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In my opinion, paragliding teaches a set of skills that BASE jumpers really need (like micrometeorology), but that skydiving doesn't use. On the other hand, CRW teaches a set of skills (close quarters canopy maneuvers) that are hard to get elsewhere. I wonder if the future isn't folks who decide to get into BASE from the beginning, and then go do a "training program" that includes specific preparation in CRW, paragliding, tracking, and some other stuff. Wouldn't it be revolutionary if the source of BASE jumpers was BASE jumpers--instead of them coming from some other sport, they just started out here, doing a training regimen? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I recommend searching the BASE forum for "smoke pants" and "phoenix pants". Fashion aside, smoke pants can be made for less than 20 bucks, and perform better than the Birdman version. PF pants are pricey, but perform better than smoke pants (and much better than the Birdman version). If you're looking for fashion, the Birdman pants may be the ones to go with. For performance, there are probably better options. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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[url "http://www.airwave-gliders.com/en/downloadsen/videos/index.html"]Clicky -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I'm going to look silly when someone tells me "hey, that's already here..." but; I'd love to see a database of Riggers that mirrors the Dropzone database. You could use almost the same format, and just adapt the template to have things like "harness work, canopy work, reserve repacks" instead of "hook turns, showers, aircraft". I've just noticed that I relatively often use the DZ database and call the DZ looking for a local rigger (because I'm often travelling and looking for the nearest rigger to do something or other, but generally not skydiving). Anyway, just a thought. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Jason, Would it be helpful to have people write in to the newspaper with positive feedback? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Try BASE 66 by Jevto Dedijer. Anyone interested in BASE jumping ought to read it, but even if you're not, it's a very easy read, and it's also quite entertaining and interesting. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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That depends on the size of the PC. Very roughly, no handle is standard for very large PC's (48 or so) that are meant solely for hand held use. Flat cordura caps are standard for (standard, workhorse) PC's meant for slider down stowed jumps (42 or so), internal, cordura patch, floating and external handles are all seen on PC's meant for stowed, slider up use. The floating handle is the latest thing on the scene, and probably the best option from a technical standpoint (no snag points and no apex-weight deformation of the PC during inflation). Two reasons I can think of: 1) If it falls out and you lose the handle, film cannisters are cheap. 2) It's the same shape as the standard PVC handle that BASE jumpers were used to. For a full blown discussion of floating handles, I'd recommend posting on the BASE forum. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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WMV sucks so bad that I've given up on watching video in that format. I vote for DIVX. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Guys, The Trollpolice login has been disabled. Let's please drop this. There's little point in yelling about it when we've got folks around here who spend time tracking those things down and sorting them out. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Jumping a PF Track Suit until I am current enough for a Wingsuit....
TomAiello replied to Viking's topic in Wing Suit Flying
If the thing you want to do is fly wingsuits, I'd say the PF track suit is a good way to get some of the fun before you get up to a wingsuit. If you don't want to drop the cash, you can also just manufacture your own "smoke suit" tracking suit for 20 bucks or so. PF suit will fly better, but a smoke suit will be fun to fly, and cheap. In terms of training, I dunno. Probably not so useful. But in terms of getting some of the fun without actually getting into the suit, it might get you motivated and flying. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com -
Hannes is one of the world's longest term and most experienced BASE jumpers. He's known, liked, and respected by BASE jumpers the world over. You can see him in the "low pull in Slovenia" video, jumping just before Robi. Honestly, it hadn't occured to me that he'd need introduction in this crowd. In my little BASE world, saying "Hannes" is a bit like saying "Dwain" or "Vrank" or "Yuri". -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com