TomAiello

Did you see Sangiro's response to that idea? Adding a few lines might be easier than the source code changes he'd have to make for an automatic spacer or delineator. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Perhaps you ought to post to Suggestions, and ask for an increase in the sig allotment? I know that many people have trouble getting their sig into four lines, and still leave room for spacers. I had to delete the quote from the end of mine to get my email address and spacing in. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've detached this discussion into a separate thread, as it looks (a) valuable, (b) interesting and (c) reasonably unrelated to the original "First Jump" thread. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've started a thread on this topic on BLiNC. Hopefully we'll see some good thoughts. I've saved my personal thoughts, to help bump the topic back up when it drops toward the bottom of the page. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You're not totally screwed, but you will need to understand the limitations imposed by your weight and wingloading. I know a very good, active BASE jumper who weighs 265 pounds. I've heard several people ask about this. If someone wants to start a thread on Fat Boy BASE (either here or on BLiNC), I think it might make an interesting discussion. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Try the Gravity Sports Limited web site. Try the CJAA web page. You can also try posting to the BASE Board since the head honcho over there is also the president of the CJAA. Another place to look for info is Vertical Visions, since BASE 428 was pretty involved with the last Rock Hopper. Yep. It's the thing that gets him closest to a .75 wingloading. They were specific to his situation, based on my knowledge of his local objects and jumpers. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hardly fair to mock Hookitt's grammar, when I was the one mocking your expensive schooling. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Try PMing Pilotdave. He ought to be able to help you. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Check out the skydivingmovies.com ftp server. Have you seen the video of Robert on the Bird-man page? There's also a great video called FastestMotherFuckerintheValley, but the copy on skydivingmovies.com appears to be corrupted. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Woudln't it be easier to just build SkymonkeyONE's Junkyard Wars Birdman Simulator? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Does that mean you actually have to pack the parachute? Sounds like an awful lot of work to me. Plus, I heard them airplane thingies crash and stuff. And then there's the high performance landings, and I've heard that if you have two parachutes they can get tangled together. I'm sticking to nice, safe parachuting. If sitting in a plane is flying, then jumping from a building is...err...falling. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Your expensive private education is showing. Good thing I'm just a dumb kid from public school. All other things being equal, I'm sure my avitar would be as cool as yours. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In the interests of not typing too much, I've attached my stock "lecture" response to this (very common) question. The file is a standard .txt file. If you want another format, let me know and I'll email it to you (.pdf and .doc were both too large for the forum attachment quota). For a standard 220 lb beginner, I'd recommend: Vision: Good no frills velcro rig. If you can't find a used one, and aren't willing to wait for a new one (it can sometimes take quite a while), I'd go with a Reactor 4. Flik 322: Assuming an exit weight around 245, we have a wingloading of (245 / 322 = ) .76. This is a bit high, but since the Flik 322 is pretty much the biggest canopy on the market, you're not going to be able to do any better. I'd skip the Vtec (valved or not), and just get the canopy. I'd definitely skip ZP on the topskin. You'll have to make up your own mind on the multi. I had a lot of thoughts on your specific situation, so I've PM'd those to you. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com rig.txt

Read Dwain's comments, as transcribed by D-Dog, in this thread. Both time and distance required for inflation depend greatly on the delay taken. However, to take a stab at your question. Given appropriate delays for the gear configuration, distance from PC throw to canopy inflation might be approximately Slider off: 150 feet Large Hole Mesh Slider Up: 250 feet Small Hole Mesh Slider Up: I have no idea--I never use Small Hole Mesh Sliders Real numbers may vary widely. If you use a camera, and appropriate test jumps, you ought to be able to just get lower and lower until you find your personal limit. 4.5 seconds from 600 feet is pushing it--I hope you've got a friendly landing area. 4.5 seconds from 900 feet is a good delay. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The best guess I've heard from experienced jumpers is 75 jumps per year. This means one or two jumps per week, or three or four fairly good trips (or, more likely, some combination). There are definitely major benefits to currency. And while I'd say that 75 is "current" I've seen major improvement up to the 300 jumps/year level, personally. I've never made more than 300 jumps in a year, but I suspect that the benefits of currency continue to increase up to some impossible to achieve level (some theoretical thousands of jumps per year). I guess what I'm saying is that it's not enough to "stay current" and that some "current" jumpers are more current than others. Personally, my favorite BASE currency is the Swiss Franc, although the Malaysian Ringitt is pretty good, and I've heard the Norwegian Krone is also excellent (although if it continues gaining strength against the dollar, I may not be able to afford enough to stay current). Sorry, I couldn't resist. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have heard several people express the opinion that this forum is drawing readership off the BASE Board at BLiNC. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Line length is a function of the canopy's trim, mostly. The designers can vary line length to effect various characteristics. In this case, BR decided the Flik should have shorter lines than the FOX. (Just as an example, the Ace has significantly longer lines, even in roughly equal sizes). The Little Aussie put a good, detailed post on BLiNC a while back, explaining how to do the mod. Let me see if I can dig it up. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yes. The mod isn't very hard. Any good rigger ought to be able to do it. No. The Flik has shorter lines, and different trim from the FOX. If you tried to mix and match lines, it would likely be an unqualified disaster. Definitely don't try this. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That kind of depends on what options you select. I'm not sure how many non-Vtec Fliks they'll sell. And adding Vtec, and then valves, (and possibly a multi) will increase the cost significantly. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Did that today (import from PAL camera). It all looks good. Thanks for the tip on that slick little utility. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Here is another one of those stupid web games that eats up all your time... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Bumpity, bump. I think I may bump this topic up top, from time to time. Thanks for reading it! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It might be better if we stopped discussing actual objects, and their locations. See my Naming Names post for my reasoning on this. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Isn't there a trade off between deep enough to allow the water to bring you to rest without hitting the bottom and deep enough to drown you in? Wouldn't jumping over water but shallower and nearer the edge/ rescue be better? I don't think so. You're never going to far enough from shore that you can't swim to it. I'd rather be in really, really deep water, if possible. I've had pretty much the worse case (but one) scenario on this object, and I'm definitely glad that I impacted water deeper than the lines of my canopy (the thing that actually stopped my downward progress was the canopy catching the surface of the water). On this object--deeper is better. You'll never be far enough from shore to make drowining from exhaustion a real hazard. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

My best guesses: 30. 27. The range is fairly large, though. I know a few old guys (one in Texas, one in Arizona, one in Ohio, one in Alabama) who made their first jumps more than 20 years ago. And I've met BASE jumpers as young as 19 (my instructor was actually 19 when I met him). But on average? Yeah, I'd say starting around 27, with a five year BASE career, average age around 30. That's just a wild guess, though. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com