TomAiello

Climbing 1250 feet of transmitting antenna is going to fry you. I'd be sure I knew what the radiation level was, and what the safe exposure time is for that level. I swore off AM towers after landing, retching, and laying in the landing area vomiting for 20 minutes under an AM tower I thought would be in the "safe" range. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm hoping you mistyped that. B is for Building: probably the worst first jump object. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Two willing test jumpers if you send me a set. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Be aware that I have banned SBCMac for 7 days, so he will not be able to respond to this thread. His failure to continue responding to your points is my fault, not his. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

When jumping slider down (or off), you should route the control lines outside the grommets (if slider down) and the keeper rings. When slider up, you must route the control lines through the slider grommets (in order to drive the slider during deployment) and the keeper rings (in order to prevent a blown toggle from entangling the slider and ruining the rest of your life). Some jumpers have lately begun routing the lines through the rings on slider down jumps. I believe this is bad practice, as I have seen a slider down, tailgated line over. Essentially, yes. Yes. But be sure you practice this before you need it in an emergency. I know many jumpers who have never practiced rear riser landings. Don't have one? In all seriousness, I'd carry a hook knife (I always do). In my opinion, the potential for a line over is small enough that a beginner shouldn't add the extra complexity to the system. I'm not sure that anyone really knows what causes line overs. Some can be explained, but some cannot. Slider down, an untailgated canopy will have a much greater tendency to line over, and I think we understand why that is to a fair degree, but speculation as to the causes of line overs in general on tailgated and slider up canopies is probably beyond the scope of this thread. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Once Vertigo toggles, three times Gravity Sports toggles. I did not see the Vertigo toggle packed, so I can't vouch for how it was set. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Conversely, attitude, passion and mindset can only get you so far without time in sport. I'm only just starting to learn that. Wow. Really? We must be meeting totally different old timers, and they're just aren't that many of them out there. I think about the old timers I've met--Rick and Randy, Rick, Nick...I really can't think of any of them with attitudes. Perhaps the people you think of as old timers really aren't all that old (in the sport, I mean)? When I think "old timer", I think 15+ years in the sport. The guys with 5 years and a ton of jumps (nothing against them, I'm one of them) don't really qualify, in my book. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The thing I don't like is the pin. I prefer cloth stubs on the toggle, because (a) they've been kinder to my lines over time, and (b) I've seen pin toggles have premature releases (i.e. toggle fires during opening) 4 times, but I've never seen it happen with a cloth stub. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Certainly for beginners, I definitely agree with you that a line release toggle is not worth the extra complexity. Does that mean you have to pop the brakes before releasing the line? Or does the release free both the line end (from the toggle) and the brake setting (from the stub)? Can you share any of your thoughts on them, and what factors made you decide against using them? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Do you know if they are a 1 or 2 handed operation? And if they use a pin or a cloth stub through the brake setting? Thanks for any info you can share. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm afraid so. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't know them specifically. I do know Morpheus gear, and it's very good, so I'd imagine their line release toggles would be quite good as well. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Perhaps you view BASE as more important than Bridge Day. There are many thousands of people who disagree. In fact, some probably wish all the BASE sites on earth were shut down, so more people would show up at Bridge Day, and Bridge Day wouldn't have to suffer from association with folks dying in Norway, China or wherever. Bridge Day is much, much more than a BASE event. It's a huge yearly happening that happens to have some parachuting involved. I like it a lot. I think it has independent value, which is unrelated to the greater world of BASE jumping. How many times have you been to Bridge Day? How would you feel if the Bridge Day Commission (non-jumpers, pretty much one and all) started telling folks in Norway how they ought to manage their legal walls? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

SBCMac, Skypuppy Calm down there. I think you may be taking this a little too personally. Let's try to keep this thread moving as a useful discussion, instead of flame fest. Consider yourselves both warned. This is a good discussion, so I won't lock the thread. Instead, I'll throw you out of the forum for a week or so, so the discussion can continue. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The best I've seen are the WLO ("What Line Over?") toggles from Vertigo. I assume that they are still offered by Apex, now. The real issue on the ones I've seen is 1 handed operation v. 2 handed operation. The Gravity Sports SuperToggles have a 2 handed operation. You must release the brake, pulling the toggle off the riser, with one hand, and pull the "release" tab with the other. This will ostensibly make it harder to accidentally fire the release, and also allows the toggle to use a cloth stub (not a pin). In general, I far prefer cloth stubs to pins on my toggles. The Vertigo WLO has a 1 handed operation. You pull just the tab, and it both fires the release and clears the brake setting. This means that the toggle stays on the riser. Overall, I personally prefer the 1 handed operation--and the WLO toggle. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Mine was given to me at the exit point by one of the nice Scots who was too smart to jump in those conditions. He said they were standard issue for students at his DZ. Let me see if I can find some more info. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Just my two cents, based on three wingsuit ocean landings, one with flotation and two without... I found that a little float buoy mounted on my wrist was more than sufficient the first time I landed a wingsuit in the ocean. I'm not sure how long you'd have to stay afloat, but you don't really need much flotation--just something to hang onto. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Short answer: Yes. Long Answer: It's cold, sometimes windy and potentially stormy here by that time of year. It snowed a little this weekend, but nothing is sticking yet. I'd bet that if you are willing to take a little cold, you can make some jumps that weekend. Be aware, though, that almost all the locals will be out of town, so there is a good chance you'll be jumping alone much of the time. Also, I live in Twin Falls. If you want a spot check, drop me an email or PM. If you want my phone number, you can PM me, so that when the time comes you can just call and ask. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What he said. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I thought the whole thing was pretty slick, actually. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That is a very sad thought. We all appreciate all the work you put in on that bleak task. And I'm certain that no one is eager to pick up that burden when you lay it down. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I guess that depends on whether you are more concerned with the spirit of the thing, or the perception the public holds of the thing (in either case--Bridge Day or BASE in general). Do you feel like the BASE community as a whole is not currently interested in that? I'd actually hazard a guess to the contrary. I've met jumpers who've never even been to North America but have opinions about Bridge Day. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The only way you could get people to sign onto a first jump course with such stringent screening requirements would be to offer the course for free. Otherwise they'd just pay the cash to someone who didn't make them do any homework. So, I'll put my money where my mouth is. Anyone else? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

First, have you seen 689's spreadsheet which can be downloaded from BLiNC? You ought to be able to tweak it for various porosity figures and model whatever you like. Some thoughts: In either case, the air must spill past the PC somehow. Either it spills through the F-111, or it spills around the ZP. In either case, the drag ought to be roughly the same. In practice, I've noticed very little actual difference between the pull forces of F-111 and ZP PC's. In fact, I think the major difference is in inflation time, not pull force. That said, I do believe there is a major difference in inflation speed between ZP and F-111. ZP appears to be _much_ less prone to hesitation. Also, ZP is much lower maintenance, with F-111 requiring replacement perhaps 3 times as often. Hope this helps. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I do not really think of Bridge Day as BASE, in the strictest sense. Bridge Day is Bridge Day, and BASE is BASE. There is some overlap, but there is also a surprising amount of divergence. Bridge Day predates the development of much of what we think of as "modern" BASE jumping. It is an institution of its very own, with its own culture, its own ethics and its own value. I guess what I'm saying is that Bridge Day doesn't exist to serve the BASE community, any more than the BASE community exists to serve Bridge Day. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com