TomAiello

The lowest jump I am aware of was a 63 ft direct bag into knee deep water. The lowest freefall over solid earth that I am aware of was a 156 ft span over grass. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

One reason to leave the slider on is that it can act as a cross connector between the risers. This saved one jumper last year when he had an accidental riser release, on one side, but the canopy remained inflated enough to land him (in water). If you're doing fast slider down aerials, the slider might also help keep your body from flipping between the risers and creating a step through. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm not Jason, and this isn't the official word, but let me take a stab at a few of those, since Jason isn't on this forum all that much. You might try emailing him directly. Tons of people have made their first jump at Bridge Day. While the carnival like atmosphere can be distracting, Bridge Day has quite a few positives as a first jump (First Jump Seminars at the Holiday Inn, on hand rescue personnel, lots of experienced jumpers around to keep an eye on you). Historically, Bridge Day has quite a bit of "anything goes" feel. For BASE, most gear manufacturers recommend 200 skydives. The requirements are a bit lower for Bridge Day, partly for historical reasons, I'd imagine, and partly because a huge bridge over water is just about the safest first jump you could contrive. If you just want to do _a_ BASE jump, you're probably ok with a handful of skydives. If you're looking to use Bridge Day as a first step to more BASE, you may as well wait until you're ready to start the rest of your BASE career. If it's a year or two before you're ready to jump again, then Bridge Day, while fun and exciting, won't really have helped you to launch a BASE career. I guess it really depends on what you're looking for--a first BASE jump, or an only BASE jump. Gear rentals have historically been very hard to come by. If you need to rent gear, you'll need to arrange it before hand, and confirm that it will really turn up for you, before you commit to all the travel costs. Not if you've only flown it once. For a first jump, I'd wait until you're ready to make some more and stay current. Currency is very important when you are learning. For an only jump, my advice would be to be absolutely certain that a rig with your name on it is showing up. Good luck with that. You might try emailing Jason directly with questions. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

And again... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Believe what you want. He was in intensive care and required major reconstructive neurosurgery. But he lived, and he's jumping again. Since he travels almost everywhere with camera, I'd bet there is video. I'd also bet he's not letting it out without getting paid handsomely--he's no one's fool. The cliff height is approximately 1150'. I've jumped it numerous times. Based on (pun intended) my knowledge of (a) the site, (b) the landing area (c) the jumper in questions, (d) his flight skills, (e) his personal fortitude, and (f) his honesty, I'd say it's a 100% certainty that this really happened. If he was just making the story up, he'd be be out publicizing it. He's actually kind of embarrassed to talk about the whole incident (he did, after all, basically lose altitude awareness trying to get over the landing area). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

oh that's bullshit (sorry i had to) It's really not bullshit. I know the guy. I've seen his scars. His slider was still stowed in the pack job, meaning that he had pretty much zero deceleration from the canopy. Seriously, it's not bullshit. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Start eating. A Russian jumper landed a wingsuit and survived last year in France (it was an accidental landing). He required spinal surgery, but walked out of the hospital about a week later. He's probably the toughtest sonuvabitch I've ever met, though. I think he's descended directly from Rasputin. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

About four years ago. I did my Tandem in February (a little over four years ago), and finished my static line class four years ago this weekend. Then I spent the summer skydiving a lot (made around 350 jumps) at Lodi. I haven't really been back much--heck, I don't really jump out of planes anywhere, very much anymore. Probably Davis. They all have their good and bad points. Lodi, for example, is very cheap (great if you're on a budget and want cheap training--when I took the s/l class there it was only $500), but the "you must jump all the time" pressure from Bill and the cliquey freeflier attitudes there were definitely things I could do without. Davis is a bit more expensive (but worth it if you're taking AFF anyway, since the instruction is better), and it's harder to bang out massive jump numbers, but the attitude is a lot more relaxed, and you won't get thrown off the dropzone if you just want to chill on the couch instead of getting on the next load. I always like the feel of the Byron crowd, but I never quite made it down there to jump with them. I have run into a few of them in the middle of the night, at undisclosed locations, though. Nice, fun, people. I'd say you ought to go and sample them all. There's good times to be had everywhere. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It's a little known factoid that he also holds the distinguished title of BASE Strike 1 (first person to strike all four objects, B, A, S and E). That guy is a riot. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Congratulations! The first one is always something special. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Have you read the original CR warning labels? There's a whole paragraph of that kind of thing. Let me see if I can dig it up. It's quite humorous. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If you're bored some time, check out Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World. It really is all one giant Mickey-and-Minnie conspiracy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Welcome to the forums! I learned to skydive at Lodi, and spent a few weekends in Davis. Good people all around. Byron has a pretty cool vibe, as well. Have fun! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm pretty sure that he decided, personally, to be fully public. Perhaps he faces no job consequences, or feels that he's willing to take that risk. Some people do that. Most people don't. Many people strive to avoid any public name (or face) recognition. By and large, the "public" BASE community that you can see on-line, or in videos, or at the dropzone, is a very small subset (and not necessarily representative) of the whole group of BASE jumpers. Just because the "public" subset, that you can see, has chosen to behave in this manner does not mean that every jumper has chosen to do so. Less still does it give anyone a right to "out" a jumper in any way. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Probably because Sangiro has more things to do in his life than nursemaiding all of us. I'm sure he'll get around to it, but I'm also sure he's got plenty of stuff to do already, both related and un-related to Dropzone.com. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've edited the name of a specific student BASE jumper out of this thread by request. Even if folks are in magazines for other things, they still may not like having their name connected with BASE. Thanks. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You'd be surprised how fat and lazy most of us are. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I know a certain tattooed Australian who was doing six in a day, hiking out, last summer. I think he made 300 or so from that span in just over three months. That's what happens when you take a starving man to a feast. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm transcribing this from a PM I sent, with permission. I thought there might be a couple other people interested in this info. The discussion is regarding the use of static line and ascenders to get back to the exit on legal spans, specifically on a particular legal span in the western United States. *** There is a commercial shuttle service that runs a boat and car shuttle to the top. It costs around $7 and takes about ten minutes. Even if it seems too expensive, I'd hire them, because that puts a boat under the bridge for rescue in the event of an accident. I know that the boat saved my own life on one occasion, when I fractured several vertebrae on a low pull there. They have also saved two others. Six reasons: 1) CR (and BR, and Morpheus...) teaches BASE, not climbing, or rope ascension, or anything else. They do this intentionally, because adding yet another new skill (and scary experience) to a First Jump Course would be foolish. 2) The state engineer has requested that nothing be attached to the bridge. This is one of the very few hard and fast rules there. 3) The presence of the boat greatly increases safety for accident response. If a first jump student lands in the water, you want a boat to fish them out. More important, if you land in the water hurt (I know of two broken backs [including mine] and a fractured pelvis that have landed in the water), the boat can pull you out and call 911. That way, you get an ambulance at the dock in five minutes--instead of a life flight helicopter and a swiftwater rescue team in the river in an hour. 4) By hiring the boat, you contribute to the local economy, giving the residents a good financial reason to protect jumping on the bridge. The boat owners have shown up at more than one city council meeting arguing on our behalf. 5) A rope hanging from the bridge would present a strike hazard to an off-heading canopy. There are rappel lines under the bridge on Bridge Day, and they have been struck by canopies on several occasions, putting both the rappeller and the jumper in danger. 6) Purchasing the necessary static line and ascenders represents a significant additional expense. It would certainly take a lot longer than the boat ride, though, and it would be a lot more effort. If you don't want to pay for the boat, just hike out--that only takes 20 minutes or so. Not usually. And for good reason. What makes it seem that way? I'd guess that someone trying to ascend will make about half as many jumps as a boat rider, and will be far more tired (and hence likely to make mistakes) at the days end. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I know of two cases in which a jumper fell from an antenna while climbing. One resulted in only bumps and bruises, the other in minor injuries. I do know of at least one case in which a jumper died while hiking to a cliff exit (slipped and fell over the edge with the rig still in a stash bag) in winter conditions. I also know of one case of a jumper falling off the steel of a span, and fracturing vertebrae. More dangerous is probably the tendency among jumpers to make jumps under marginal conditions because of the difficulty or tediousness of the downclimb. I've seen several jumps made that way. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

An antenna in a good tailwind is pretty safe, as far as object strike considerations. Antennas with low or nil winds are significantly more dangerous. Antennas usually have pretty good landing areas (lots of them have wide open fields around them). Do you know what caused the hard landing? I'd be concerned about jumping an object with a regular "BASE" landing area until he's fully comfortable (and un-scraped) off that tower. 700 feet is fairly high. At that altitude, you could go slider up, although I'd probably put a first timer off that slider down. Taking a first jump off a tower is reasonable, but personally I would never do it. I feel pretty strongly that a jumper's first 20 or so jumps ought to be off a good open span over water. And with legal spans available, it seems silly to take extra risk in the learning process. I'd really be more concerned about who is taking him jumping. If he's got a good mentor, than he's probably doing all right. If you're interested in what I mean by good, start another thread and we'll go into that. Bottom line: who is his teacher, what are the teacher's qualifications, and do you trust the teacher (and, more importantly, does your boyfriend)? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Are you using direct control on your slider? I found that I got crisper (and hence, more on-heading) openings by leaving the direct control stow off my BJ (contrary to manufacturers instructions). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

And, we'll keep this on the first page for just a bit longer... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You might want to check out the book that Airtec published. Let me dig around and see if I can find that thing...hmmm, anyone else have it? If you crosspost this to the History and Trivia forum, I'll bet Skypuppy can come up with a complete list of the original Bird-men who landed their contraptions. I know I've seen him post a couple photos (including the infamous Eiffel Tower "landing"). Or, you could just go to Moscow, and look up Rasputin's Godson. I hear he landed his Skyflyer a while back... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

By making repeated jumps from the same object, taking progressively deeper delays. It's very easy to do this at several legal objects. Just try adding a half second on each jump until you're as low as your comfortable with. But, be warned: if you get to the point that you're slamming into the water with the slider above the links, stand down--you've reached D-Dog's "risk acclimation" point. Nope. There's really nothing much the same as learning to eyeball from freefall. Standing on things at various heights (i.e. stop when you're 500 feet up the tower, look down, and memorize "this is what it looks like when I pull") is the closest I've come to a dry run for altitude awareness. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com