TomAiello

One interesting side effect of an "instructors" forum would be the need to verify identities and credentials for the posters. Perhaps that would work together with the discussion in the "identities" thread? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I like that idea, but I wonder if it would create too much work in verifying. It's definitely a way to create a "small transactions => big trust" interaction in the verification process, though, by breaking verification up into multiple smaller transactions. And I really like that. If someone is verified to have a paypal account and email address, that doesn't tell us they know anything about skydiving. But if someone is verified to have D-14, and 20,0000 skydives, that's a different story. I wonder if there might also be some way to "verify" jumpers primary areas of skill, so that a 5000 jump freeflyer would be identified as less expert on CRW than a 3000 CRW jumper? Only allowing 100% verified users to rate posts would probably solve this--especially if post ratings were kept in a database accessible to all (or perhaps just to verified users, or post raters, or moderators). If a mod saw that a post rater had gone on a crusade against a particular poster, they could remove the negative ratings, and potentially also revoke the post rating privileges of the crusader. I think that most of these issues can be addressed by creating a smallish pool of "trusted" users who provide all of the ratings. Another idea would be to allow only a certain number of rating points to be given by each rater, or some other mechanism in which the act of rating fed back and effected the rater, as well as the ratee. In the real world, if you go around constantly telling people that Mr. X sucks, eventually they wise up and realize that it's really just you. Perhaps we might create a system that mimicked this in the virtual world? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've got some of that in the next edition of my "getting into BASE" article. I have course lengths, a description (provided by the instructors) and costs. I don't have any first hand reviews, but if you check out the BLiNC reviews section, there are several there. As far as teaching methods? Hmmm. Maybe I'll try to add something like that in. What kinds of things are you wanting to compare? First jump deployment method (PCA or hand held) would be good, but I think almost everyone is doing a first jump PCA. Pendulator use? Since as far as I know, I'm the only one to teach a course in Idaho using a pendulator that might look a bit self serving. What other data are you looking for? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There are many good reasons for using an F-111 (non ZP) pilot chute for BASE. The primary reason is pilot chute orbiting (or oscillation). All pilot chutes will pass some amount of air through (otherwise, they'd be stuck in mid-air, and not descending). A ZP pilot chute will pass this air by spilling it sideways, from the edge of the skirt. This means that the ZP PC will develop some sideways drive, possibly resulting in an orbiting pilot chute. PC orbiting is a leading cause of off heading openings. In short: ZP PC => Greater Chance for Orbiting => More Likelihood of Off-Heading Openings. An F-111 PC, by comparison, spills the air evenly through the fabric of the pilot chute. This tends to dampen the oscillation (even if you induce oscillation by a vigorous sideways throw). In short: F-111 PC => Less Chance of Orbiting => Generally Better Opening Heading. The trade off is that ZP PC's tend to inflate faster/hesitate less. In general, if I am doing a lowish jump (sub 400') I'll go with ZP, usually vented. I begin to consider removing the vent when I drop below 200' exit altitude on a freefall deployment. For slider up jumps, unless I am planning on a low pull (i.e. more time in free fall than under canopy) I almost always opt for an F-111 PC. Another disadvantage of F-111 is that it will wear out faster than ZP. Obviously, this is an over simplification. There are some other options (such as vented ZP pilot chutes) that combine some of the better facets of each option. And not all vented PC's are equal, either, as the vent size, shape and location can vary depending on the manufacturer. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Student jumps definitely ought to be done off a span. That said, I believe that _all_ the major FJC's in the U.S. are held off the same bridge. So, the choice of object is not a reason to choose BR over Vertigo, Morpheus, CR, or the Johnny Utah course--they are all held at the same place. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

PM Zennie and ask him that question. I believe he has downloaded most of them. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I believe there is a certain component of "unavoidable" risk in any activity. A rock climber cannot always avoid rockfall, a skydiver cannot always avoid airplane crashes, a BASE jumper cannot always avoid 180's. Some things are simply inherent dangers of the sport, which all participants, even the most cautious, will inevitably face. In my opinion, the "unavoidable" risks of BASE (i.e. the risks you must take to participate in BASE jumping) are significantly greater than the "unavoidable" risks of skydiving. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In general, I try to PM the person who's post I deleted. I've found that putting up a "replacement" post just starts an endless cycle of questions and complaints about the moderation. Sometimes I fail to send a PM, and sometimes I don't bother (when it's obvious that the post was a personal attack, or I've removed a bunch of posts from that person already, or I just don't have the time). If you have a question about a particular post that get's removed, I encourage you to send me a PM or email. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Moderating is hard work. Let's try to go easy on our friends. I think that BLiNC is getting more organized, and things should improve there with the migration to the new forum app. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Here's the screen shot. Let's see how many one's you've got. You'll never make it to a strip bar again. Quick! Everybody download it and send it to him, before those nasty moderators delete it! edit to add: wouldn't it be funny if I edited Skin's signature to be a quote of his offer, and an attachment of the screenshot? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

\ Every tower I've ever seen in the U.S. has been one or the other. But I don't think the technical hurdles to creating a "both" AM/FM tower would be insurmountable. So, yes. It may be possible. I've never seen or heard of it, though. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have. PM me. I also know a Southern Oregon jumper. I'll see if I can dig up a phone number for you. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I strongly recommend you look up some UK BASE jumpers to chat with in person. Try looking at the UK BASE Board. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

After reading Faber's response, I want to reiterate for people reading this discussion: The Line Release Mod is the industry standard for slider down BASE. You should always use it unless you are absolutely certain that you know better. I have talked to three or four respected, experienced jumpers who don't use it. All of them stopped using it after they had many, many (think, 500+) jumps. Unless you are in this experience category, please use the line mod. I received an email from a very experienced jumper shortly after this thread began which read: This pretty much sums up the feelings of the vast majority of experienced jumpers. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The Line Release Modification (LRM) , or Line Mod, is a technique developed by Mark Hewitt to allow the clearing of a line over on a slider down BASE jump. I understand that it was originally conceived while in the hospital, after having spun in under a line over. Basically, the Line Mod is just routing the control lines outside both the slider grommets and the keeper rings (the metal rings on the risers). So, if you drop (or toss) a toggle, it just flies away behind you (or wherever), releasing the tension on a line over. It should be noted that this technique is not for use on a slider up jump because a premature brake fire could result in a toggle/slider entanglement, followed quickly by high speed impact under a snivelling canopy, usually resulting in a ride in the white bus with the flashing lights (or worse, the long black station wagon). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Or just post here. I'd love to hear the reasoning behind this. -> Cue Outrager with a long discourse on time spent switching toggles vs. time spent in hospital, and why there is a lifetime time savings from just taking the injuries. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

My short answer: Go for the 9 cell. Do your BASE drills on a big F-111 7 cell, preferably the BASE canopy you will actually use for BASE. You will gain some marginal benefit from using a ZP 7 cell, but you're better off realizing that it's not that much, and just doing specific drill dives on a BASE canopy. That way, you can skydive the canopy you really want to skydive with. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I believe that some CR gear was TSO'd in Germany a few years ago, as part of their legal BASE events (their parachute association required that TSO'd [or the german equivalent] gear be used). Edit: Also, since CR canopies (made by PD) and Vertigo canopies (made by Precision) are made in the same shops that manufacture TSO'd reserves, I'd probably consider those shops "opened up to the FAA". -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm not sure the absolute number of jumps is that relevant. Someone with 300 skydives, 50 of which have been intensive high performance canopy training, is going to be safer at a 1.5 w/l than someone like me, who has 300 skydives learning to fly higher performance ZP wings, but vastly greater currency and experience on something that just isn't that relevant (in my case BASE jumps on 280 square foot F-111 7 cells). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Sorry, the link requires you to login to the NY Times server. I figured most people wouldn't want to go to the trouble. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Can you explain why you prefer Edwards? His ambulance chasing career makes me want to vomit. He's proud of the fact that he's successfully sued the freakin' American Red Cross three times? Talk about a sleaze... Apologies for posting such a long article, but you might give a read to this New York Times piece: -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Apologies if I seemed to be jumping down your throat. It seemed to me that you were getting on Leroy's case for the manner of his instruction, when he had done exactly what is generally recommended (found a qualified instructor, gotten references on the instructor, and then trusted his instructor). You don't. However, it seemed to me that your tone was more critical than just "asking". If you want to criticize someone's teaching, then, yes, I do think you ought to qualify yourself a little. Then again, my apologies. I definitely misread the tone of your inquiries. But, that's a danger of the medium when you're having a discussion on line like this. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I think there might be multiple separate (but not necessarily unrelated) issues here: 1) Finding a way to "filter" some of the discussions on line for the useful information. Obviously, a precondition to such filtering would be establishing which posters actually knew what they were talking about. 2) Linking the real world community of DZ.com users with the virtual community on line. Ideas like requiring scans of log books, ratings, etc, verifying email are probably good (if a little over the top) for issue #1 (filtering for useful information). Asking for "vouching" for people is probably more related to #2 (linking the IRL and virtual communities). The reason I don't see it as very relevant to #1 is that there are going to be people who are posting good, useful information who simply haven't been able to travel and physically meet enough (or any) other posters to vouch for them. A few other random thoughts: What if you allowed people to rate posts individually (small transactions) and had the ratings of someones posts reflect back into some kind of "overall" user rating (larger trust)? That way, if someone regularly posted good information, their user rating would climb, and vice versa. It's probably a programming nightmare, but hey, I'm sure you haven't got anything else to do with your time. If a good, workable rating system can be instituted, perhaps allow filtering when viewing the forums, based on ratings. So you could set a filter to "only view posts that have 10 points or more" (considering any post made by a person to start at their "user" rating, until/unless that specific post had been rated by other users), or perhaps only allow filtering out of negative posts (a simple check box, say that read "don't view posts with negative scores"). As far as scans of ratings/logbooks, what about BASE jumpers who have no ratings? Since there is no standardized rating issuing authority in BASE, it's going to be hard to "validate" people based on issued ratings. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The only formal research I've seen on this is an old army study on rounds that isn't really applicable. It is my opinion, based on observation, that a recently packed BASE canopy will open slightly faster and cleaner than one that has been left packed for longer than about a week or so. I theorize that this is because leaving some very small amount of air space in the folds of the canopy allows inflation to take place slightly faster. The difference is of such small scale that I think it is irrelevant except on ultra low objects. That said, I will always pack for a sub 200' freefall within the 24 hours prior to the jump. I was really more talking about my personal feelings of confidence in my equipment at the exit. The more recently I have used the gear, without reconfiguring it, the more recently I packed it, and the more it has been under my direct supervision the entire time, the more "warm and fuzzy" I feel about it at the exit. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hey Jay, It's good to see that you guys are having a great time south of the border. You've got a class act, and I hope you keep running those trips for a long time to come. I know we all felt for you after the rappel tragedy. Nice job keeping your chin up. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com