TomAiello

Did he explain how that's different from the Sorcerer? I'm pretty sure the Sorcerer reserve can also be deployed independently, in the event of a total main malfunction. Jimmy wrote: -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There is still a pretty significant difference between "I used it and the other guys who saw it and I thought it was roughly 100 feet" and "I'm the factory rep and we tested it to definitely open in less than 100 feet ever time." Put it this way. No matter what RWS says, I'm not going to use the skyhook system at any altitude that I wouldn't direct bag a similarly packed (i.e. slider up) BASE canopy from. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd say that he was yanking your chain (or overselling the product). The only way to get an open canopy under 100 feet is to deploy it slider down (or off). Packing a skydiving reserve slider down is a death sentence in the event of a high speed malfunction. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

This video link just got posted to a thread in the BASE forum. Cpoxon also mirrored it onto the SkydivingMovies.com server. It was supposed to illustrate the discussion. But never mind that--the video is hecka' cool. Check it out. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The smoking man has posted a video of his tracking at the end of the thread. Anyone else impressed? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It might also have to do with putting manufacturing somewhere that the chief designer can oversee it. Since he lives in Europe, it does make a certain amount of sense to do the sewing there. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Do you know if any additional research and development has been done on the Sorcerer since 1990? I've always thought of it as an old school design that hasn't been updated in quite a while. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've put around 300 jumps on a Mojo. Flys: I don't really know what you are comparing too. It pretty much flies like a Mojo, as far as I can tell. It has forward speed around 18mph in full drive, and is quite solid in turbulence. It also recovers from turbulence and stalls quite quickly. Sinks: In my opinion, the Mojo is one of the best sinking unvented canopies ever made. It stays very solid way down in the control range. It's not too hard to back one up with light winds. Lands and Flares: Most skydivers have trouble getting the Mojo to flare well for them, because it has a very long control stroke. If you're not going to spend a lot of time on it, you'll probably want to take wraps of the steering line for a strong flare. With the factory toggle settings, I have trouble getting good flare (I shortened my toggles several inches), but that may be because I have stubby arms. I'd definitely practice the flare quite a bit before doing a demo onto pavement or concrete. It takes a while to master. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I believe the web site is out of date. I know of at least two relatively experienced jumpers who were unable to convince CR to manufacture Mojos for them within the past three months (they were both jumping them and wanted new Mojos, rather than Aces or Blackjacks, primarily because the Mojo has the lowest pack volume of any BASE canopy). There are still plenty of used Mojos for sale secondhand, though, so you ought to be able to pick one up relatively cheaply. The ZP topskin will make it much harder to find a used canopy to meet your requirements. ZP topskins are fairly rare. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Indeed, it may. 13 years is a very long time in the development of modern BASE gear. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd worry more about the rig's history. I'm pretty sure that's the infamous "riser release" rig, that saw two consecutive riser releases in Idaho, and spun into the water both times (with one riser and a slider cross-connecting). Vertigo inspected it on site, and couldn't find anything wrong (and connected it for the second jump, which also ended with malfunction). BR inspected it, too, but as I recall, they couldn't find anything wrong with it, either. Call me superstitious, but there's no freakin' way I'd jump that thing. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yep. Another jumper emailed me and reminded me of a 63 ft d-bag I'd already seen on video. I guess I'm just behind the times. Either that or I'm getting old and senile--but I'll never be as old as you, my friend. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Probably around 200 feet. The lowest freefall deployment I know of was 156 ft, but that was (a) well below pretty much everyone's limit, and (b) done by one of the world's very best jumpers. Jumps can be done a number of different ways that allow for lower altitude (static line, direct bag, TARD, etc). The lowest non-freefall deployment I know of was 111 ft. As you get lower and lower, people start to question whether what you are doing is actually a BASE jump, due to the often absurd rigging you have to do to make a parachute open from those altitudes. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In your neck of the woods, 330 feet is actually considered to be quite high. You can probably find some (reasonably) local jumpers here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Pictures of most legal sites are fine. As long as they're not pictures of maps, or street signs, or such. Please don't post pictures of the sub-terminal wall by the lake, though. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I jump my wingsuit modified rig on every jump. Admittedly, that's about five non-wingsuit jumps since I modified it, but I haven't had any problems, and can't think of any that might occur. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Quote...how much will i notice this in my opening if/when i get my valves done to my Fox 265 vtec? will it open slightly slower or do i get it wrong?Quote The difference is mostly noticeable in video--rather than in person under canopy. I'd bet that you won't notice at all, except perhaps on go and throws. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

No, that is correct. Vents improve inflation characteristics but degrade flight performance. Valves help to counteract the negative effects of vents (i.e. return flight characteristics to normal). I'm sure that 689 knows this, but you must realize that he is writing in a foreign language (still, I bet his English is quite a bit better than your Italian). On the subject of valves: I do not believe that all valves are created equal. Some of the valve systems, while doing very well in flight, still significantly inhibit airflow into the canopy, thereby reducing the positive effects of the vents. I believe the Mono Directional Valve (Atair/Morpheus Troll canopy) is clearly superior to either the BR (vtec "cover") or CR (PAC valve) valve systems. In fact, all valves will inhibit inflation to some extent. If you wanted to create the fastest, cleanest pressurization possible, you would remove the valves and simply jump a canopy with vents in the bottom skin (no covers). (You'd also want to monkey with vent size, placement and construction, but that's another issue.) In my opinion, pretty much all the valves on the market seal (with negligible outflow) in flight. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm not sure. The town side is all owned by the city, so I'd doubt you could camp there. The other side is all BLM land, though, so that's a possibility. If you check around you can probably find out. I know that I've camped 15 miles or so outside TF proper before. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You might consider looking around to see if anyone else is flying into SLC and renting a car. There are folks headed there all the time, and it's not too hard to catch a ride from either airport. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Textbook BASE wingloading is .75 lbs/sq.ft. For 190 lbs, that's: 190 body weight + 25 pounds equipment = 215 exit weight 215 / .75 = 286.67 So, a canopy around the 290 range. That includes the following canopies: Ace/Blackjack 280 or 310 FOX/FOX Vtec 285 Flik/ Flik Vtec 293 Troll/Troll MDV 290 Dagger 277 Any of these canopies would be fine. At this point, my personal recommendation would be a Troll MDV 290. My second choice would be the FOX Vtec (no covers). While my personal favorite canopy is still the Blackjack, I've heard reports of inflation trouble from experienced, reliable jumpers on both the Ace/Blackjack (on subterminal slider up) and the Flik Vtec (on go and throw slider down). If you want a more detailed discussion of my canopy preferences, start another thread and I'll dig deeper into the issue. I don't think so. I wrote that last fall, and at this point I think that secondary inlets have had enough field experience to recommend them for most jumps and jumpers (the rare exception being things like wingsuit only jumpers, where they would add to weight and cost without any real benefit). At the moment, of the four canopy manufacturers (Vertigo, CR, BR, Morpheus/Atair), two recommend secondary inlets for beginners (BR and Morpheus) and two do not (CR and Vertigo). The consensus among other experienced jumpers seems to be about 80% for secondary inlets for all jumpers (beginners and experienced jumpers alike). Certainly. The skydiving container manufacturer should be able to help, too. Remember that if you have valves in your canopy, it's going to be slightly larger than a similarly sized 7 cell skydiving canopy, so you'll want to estimate a bit on the high side (maybe do something like assume the canopy will be a 9 cell in pack volume). Roughly, you'll want something sized J7NK or J8K on the Javelin chart. For exact numbers pack volume, check with the canopy manufacturer, then call the container manufacturer and give them the numbers. Certainly. As far as BASE goes, you're best off to start getting as much practice on the BASE canopy as possible, right now. Definitely. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

My first choice for a first BASE jump would be a FJC offered by a U.S. manufacturer (because the U.S. teaching object is probably the safest). Bridge day would be a good second choice, for all the reasons given by Riggersam. I'd probably opt for Bridge Day over a course offered in Scandinavia or Australia, for example (although I'd likely choose a course in Croatia over Bridge Day). The biggest (really, the only) negative about Bridge Day is the distraction factor. It's a bit like trying to take a course in the midst of a huge party/carnival. Also, the Bridge Day instruction is geared totally toward that particular jump, and really doesn't (and isn't intended to) prepare you for jumping anything else. There are several active jumpers near you. I recommend looking them up for advice and guidance, especially on your early jumps after a course. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

First Jump Course offerings are listed in the Getting Into BASE link at the upper right of this page. They typically run about $1000, but the price usually includes some kind of discount if you are buying gear. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

From Before You Post. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

[inside joke gotten] just don't show it to DW... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com