
TomAiello
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Everything posted by TomAiello
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'89? Damn, I feel old. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Don't you mean Poly Riot? I was there the year they had to call in the national guard because the party got out of control. I'll never forget the clashes between the beer-armed partiers (the mob had broken into the liquor store in front of Poly, down by the railroad tracks), and the riot police. Have they started it up again? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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So long as everyone from LA and the Bay Area just keep driving on through, it'll pretty much stay the nicest place on earth. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Well, I was born in San Luis, and I lived in Los Osos until I was four or so. But, basically, yeah, I'm from Atascadero. And quite a splendid place it is. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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That's 'cause your not from this tiny little bit of California, which is actually the center of the universe. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Hey Tom, I heard you're closing in on a thousand jumps. Retirement must be treating you well? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Atascadero's waaaaaay better. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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They definitely can be. I once stood on the exit point of a 500' building, with a totally clear, huge parking lot for a landing area, and watched the (IMO) world's best jumper as turbulence collapsed half his canopy and rolled it under as he came in on final. Turbulence is pretty random stuff. It can happen when you least want (or expect it), even in totally open areas. Go to Idaho (as soon as possible). Make 50 span jumps. Then go to Utah (the Turkey Day Boogie would be a good start) and make 50 slider down cliff jumps. Then go home and do your building. It'll still be there, and you'll be far better prepared to jump (and enjoy) it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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You ought to be able to use a bridle from any non-collapsible skydiving PC, or the entire (collapsible) PC and bridle system. Jumping the larger BASE PC (how big is it) with your skydiving rig isn't really recommended (there was a thread in gear and rigging a while back about why it probably doesn't matter, much, though. Check the thread from about the 6th or 8th post down.). If you are putting a BASE canopy into a skydiving rig, the rig ought to have a bridle and PC. I'd recommend just using that. The difference that the PC makes to the canopies flight is pretty minimal (i.e. I can tell the difference between no PC and a 48, but just barely). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Pretty much all the FJC's take place at the same bridge, so they're all going to be the same distance. Consolidated Rigging is about two hours from San Francisco, and Basic Research is about one hour from LA. I'm not sure if it would matter that the shop is closer to your destination airport. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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You ought to post this message to the Aussie BASE Board as well. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Yep, it's totally ridiculous. Still, it was the compromise they had to work to get their parachuting federation to sponsor the events. It's amazing the things that happen in the name of legality. I believe that some CR gear was TSO'd in Germany, as a part of that whole effort. You could probably check with Adam at CR to find out for sure. While your at it, you could ask Adam to put you in touch with his German dealer, to ask questions about the legal events. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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"The AP reported today that the WTO has classified all Finn-Croat partnerships as producing American products. A spokesman verified that this classification rule will be used even in cases where production takes place in Europe..." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Definitely. Penalties range from fines all the way up to jail time and gear confiscation. I'll PM you with a bit more detail, but please don't attempt this. Reading your profile, I'd guess that your chance of being seriously injured or killed is far higher than your chance of getting arrested. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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US law also makes the civil-criminal distinction. Trespass can be either (I believe this is also the case in English law) civil or criminal. In other words, the property owner can take legal action to remove you (or prevent you from entering) his property or the government can begin criminal proceedings. Either one (and sometimes both)--but for BASE the more common is the criminal trespass (as a misdemeanor) case. Criminal trespass commonly results in fines (I know of one case in which a jumper plea bargained down to a $50 criminal trespass ticket). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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The holes are on the front of the pants. (i.e. the side of the jumper that faces the ground). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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In U.S. law, there are two big divisions in the classification of crimes (and several smaller divisions, which vary from state to state). The legal dictionary at law.com defines felony: and misdemeanor: Most BASE busts have been prosecuted as either trespass or disturbing the peace, both of which are misdemeanors. Edit to add: The fact that Specialty Risk is in Indianapolis (USA) makes me think they are conversant with the difference, and are using the term "felony" precisely in their correspondence with you. It's often possible in U.S. jurisdictions to plea bargain (admit guilt to a lesser charge) if you hire an attorney (to show the prosecutors that you are serious about fighting the charges), which might drop any felony charges to a misdemeanor--obviously this would be something to consider of your insurance would pay out for misdemeanors but not felonies. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Check out the ring guide at Blue Nile. I don't think I'd buy a ring from them, but their informational material is a pretty good starting education. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Would you be willing to ask them if a misdemeanor jump would be covered? There are actually quite a few jumps that can be done with misdemeanor trespass, but not felony (or is that distinction not made in UK law?). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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You might have a look at the BASE Jumping in Deutscheland page, or the associated contact list. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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The German parachute federation sponsors legal BASE events (they're a bit more enlightened than, say, the USPA). Illegal jumps are just as illegal as they are anywhere else in the world. I strongly recommend contacting the locals before you attempt a jump there. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Huh? Who? Are they relative workers, or something? Never heard of them. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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Definitely. Tracking with some kind of inflatable pants tends to throw you into a head down position. Most people are tracking with their arms out in a delta position, to balance the body position. You can see the body position in photo #5 in cpoxon's post above. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com
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I believe so. In fact, both of the jumpers opening up behind were wearing them. Although I think they had only just received them so they hadn't done many jumps on them. You can also see that the leg straps are over the top, which inhibits inflation. On the other hand, in August I saw him tracking almost to the landing area (!), which is pretty much mind blowing. The best advertisement for the Smoking Pants is probably the Trak Pantz for sale in the BASE office in Lysebotn. They belonged to the instructor there this year (who isn't a half bad tracker himself--he was the first to out-track Smell, I believe), but he had no use for them since he had gotten a pair of Smoking Pants. I don't think anyone else bought them, though. A disclaimer for anyone reading this discussion: the Smoking Man was probably one of the world's best trackers before he made the pants--don't expect to rival his performance unless you are willing to put in the many jumps that he has dedicated solely to tracking skills. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com