TomAiello

"Fistfull of F-111", produced by the Australian BASE Association. Buy it here The original raw footage, from a few more camera angles, and including the humiliating after landing footage of the Little Aussie with his head stuck in a cactus, is available for a reasonable fee from the ground cameraman, who moonlights as the BASE moderator on DZ.com. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm going to have to agree with Thomas here. It may sound morbid, but there are many experienced BASE jumpers who feel that there are two possible ends to a BASE career: Quit or Die. I don't quite believe that myself, but I certainly once did. There are very few people who I feel have the skill to make BASE as safe as, say, skydiving. Even fewer of them choose to do so. One of the highest compliments I can pay to a BASE jumper is to say "he's not going to die BASE jumping." So far, I've said that about four people (tragically, one of them has since died BASE jumping--Blue Skies, Cold Steel). I know several people who gave up BASE when they reached a certain level of experience, and suddenly realized "oh crap, this really is going to kill me sooner or later." Personally, I think this may be the best decision for all of us, in the end. Statistically, if you jump long enough, it will put you in the hospital. And equally, if you jump long enough (probably much longer than anyone has, to date), it probably will kill you. You may not want to hear this, but that exact thought is in my mind (often at the very forefront) on virtually every jump. When I finished McConkey BASE, the last thing I said before exiting was "everybody's got to die sometime." Sorry to be so morbid. But I sometimes feel that Thomas' very valid points on the level of risk involved are too quickly overlooked. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

These are just my personal views. I may be in the minority on some of these, and there is no consensus on any of them among experienced jumpers. I’m basing my thoughts on approximately 200 jumps on an unvented FOX (with multi), 150 on a Vtec FOX (with multi), 100 on a Mojo and 100 on a Blackjack. Vents: I pretty much only jump vented canopies. There are lots of reasons for this, which I will not go into here. I would not recommend a vented (or valved) canopy for a beginner. Deep brakes can cause a canopy with bottomskin inlets to backsurge on opening. Shallow brakes can cause any canopy to surge forward on opening. The opening backsurge phenomenon is poorly understood (and unresearched). Most BASE gear manufacturers have taken to covering up that problem (rather than addressing it) by simply lightening the standard brake settings, removing deep brake settings, and not telling anyone about the problem. This means that most new vented canopies will surge forward on opening. Most inexperienced BASE jumpers will not realize this, and will not know (because the manufacturers, by and large, are not telling them) that they need to customize their brake settings. Kudoz to Morpheus/Atair, the only manufacturer I know of that is trying to address, rather than hide, this issue. Uncovered secondary inlets (vents) also degrade glide angle and flare power. Valved inlets preserve these characteristics. In my opinion, secondary (bottom skin) inlets are suitable only for experienced jumpers. I love my Blackjack, and I’m very happy with my Vtec FOX, but I wouldn’t put someone off for their first jumps on either canopy. Multi: I am not convinced that the multi has any real effect on deployment. Roughly half my jumps have been on multi-equipped canopies, and I honestly can’t tell the difference. Since the multi adds both cost and complexity to the BASE system, I wouldn’t bother with it, for either beginner or advanced jumpers. FOX The FOX is a proven performer. It is solid, easy to pack and can take tons of abuse (mine has 14 patches, and around 50 water landings—and I still jump it). However, the slider down openings of an unvented FOX are somewhat inconsistent. I have found that the canopy reaches bottom skin expansion (initial pressurization) at about the same rate as other canopies, but then lags behind in cell inflation (full pressurization). This makes it slower to initial riser response than either the Mojo or Ace. The same design characteristic (shallow angle of attack) that creates this pressurization issue (and gives it a very good glide angle), makes the FOX “mushy” in deep brakes. The stall point is earlier in the riser stroke than a Mojo, Troll, or Ace, and the canopy has difficulty with steep, braked approaches. Note that the FOX’s issues are very well addressed by adding secondary inlets (vents or valves), but that (see above) I do not recommend secondary inlets for a beginner. I think the standard FOX is pretty much done. I think the Vtec FOX is a good canopy for an experienced, conservative jumper. I wouldn’t recommend either for a beginner. Mojo The Mojo is also a well proven canopy. It has a steeper angle of attack than the FOX, and hence shorter time to full pressurization. This also means that it has superior deep braked approaches, but less glide angle and a weaker flare than the standard FOX (but better than the Vtec FOX). I wouldn’t be doing any cutting edge BASE on a Mojo (I’m old already—I can hear a lisping Aussie saying “back in the day, we use to do 175 foot freefalls on standard Mojos!”). But, I think it’s a great canopy for a beginner to bang out their first 100 or so jumps on. And, they’re pretty easy to find used (and cheap). Ace The Ace is hands down better than the Mojo. It has a wider control range, flying both faster (and with much better glide) and slower (and steeper) than either the FOX or Mojo. This added flight range is a great help in hitting landing areas. Additionally, it pressurizes cleaner and more consistently than either of the earlier canopies. This is partly due to a steep angle of attack, but mostly due to changes in the actual wing profile (kudos to Consolidated Rigging and Atair, for realizing that the first step in designing a new wing ought to be to look at the actual airfoil). While the Ace’s pressurization is not as clean as a canopy with secondary inlets, it is far better than any un-vented canopy I’ve seen. The Ace is the highest performance BASE airfoil I’ve jumped. This has big advantages if you take the time to learn to fly it. It can sink extremely well (perhaps a touch worse than the Troll, but better than anything else), and is super-responsive to control (either riser or toggle) input. This can be dangerous if you don’t learn to fly it (or are uncurrent on it). I believe that appropriate riser pressure is more important on the Ace than previous canopies. If you yard on a riser, you spin around [I]fast[/I]. This means that you also lose altitude fast. If you are not aware of this, you can sink yourself into real trouble in a hurry. But if you know the canopy, and fly it well, this responsiveness is a tremendous asset. My vote would be for a used Mojo over that vented FOX. If you’re feeling rich enough for new, I’d go for the Ace. All right, enough rambling. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The full flight flare of my FOX got noticeable worse when I had the vents retrofitted onto it. Still, since full flight flare is about tenth down my list of priorities for a BASE canopy (which I almost never land from full flight anyway), this doesn't worry me much. I've also noticed that toggle response in full flight turns feels odd--it's as if the canopy "slides" sideways. Full flight toggle turns are something I never do on BASE approaches, though. Getting valves to cover the inlets (now available from BR, as well as CR and Morpheus/Atair) solves this problem nicely. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I removed it from the BASE forum. Thomas, thanks for putting it here. Lisa, it's all yours... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Thanks. I'm not very current on Vertigo gear. Discussions like this are very helpful to me. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You have pretty much hit the nail on the head there. Be careful, or you'll trigger rant number 2. There's an old saying, started by Pete Fielding (godfather of Australian BASE) that I'm quite fond of: "You're not a real BASE jumper until you've gone out and made a BASE jump, totally alone, and never bothered to mention it to anyone." Maybe not the safest practice, but it does capture the spirit of jumping for yourself quite nicely. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Do you think that we should show students carnage video to "put the fear of God" into them, as it were? Or only to show malfunctions that can be fixed, and discuss how to do it? I've got a super-gnarly carnage tape that I sometimes trot out to show to (IMO) over-eager young BASE jumpers. It's not real educational, mostly on the order of "here's someone with ten times as much experience as you--watch as they get dealt a horrible circumstance and go in." Do you think that kind of thing is a good idea? I can never decide, so I rarely share the footage. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

How long have they offered this option? I can't find it on their web page, or their order forms. Do you have any more info about this? Cost? Valves or vents? This is the first I've heard about it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The fastest I've ever driven between between Sacramento and Vegas was just over 8 hours. The average speed on that trip was probably over 100 mph. Plus, the Sierra passes are closed right now, so you'll (a) probably need chains, and (b) tack an extra hour or so onto the trip. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The closest DZ's to Sacramento are Davis and Lodi. They are equally close, depending on which part of Sacramento you are in. Davis is closer to the Sacramento airport, though. I-5 North of Sac pretty much runs from the airport up to Woodland, from whence it's only 10 minutes to the DZ (or my house). If you are driving from LA up to Sacramento, you'll pass pretty close to the Lodi DZ (between Stockton and Sacramento, off 99, maybe 15 miles from I-5). If you're driving from LA to Sacramento, don't forget to visit my favorite place to jump. Even if you're not jumping there, it's a natural wonder not to be missed. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I thought it was a great deal of fun as well. Yep. I can't say enough good things about Stein, Vibeke and Ronny (the Norgie organizers). I've been trying to write up a little article about the trip for some time now, but my writing skills are failing me. Hopefully I'll get it finished up soon. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Indeed they do. That's why my rant is directed toward the women in the scenario--because they are the ones who are most at risk of being hurt. I am not trying to say that blame lies fully on either party. My personal belief is that it is the responsibility of each jumper, each and every time they step off an object. I'm not pointing fingers, or trying to lay blame. Not for past accidents, nor for future events. I don't care who is blamed by whom. Assigning blame for past events is futile. Averting future tragedies is my only goal. I am hoping that somewhere, one single woman will read this rant and re-consider the manner in which she will approach BASE, and avoid injury or death in so doing. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Jay, Can you tell me where your information is from? I got mine from Italian jumpers present at the accident. Can you email or PM me with your understanding of his experience level? Thanks. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Savings. Working only makes sense if your saving money to stop working. Otherwise, what's the point? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I quit my job in May. I feel 10 years younger! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I originally wrote this in response to a posting on the “BASE Zone” forum. In the interests of not offending people, I removed it. On further reflection, I have decided that I feel strongly enough about this issue to risk giving offense. It may not be tactful, but I think this needs to be said. If I offend people with it, so be it. I would rather offend a hundred people, and save one life, than have 99 live friends, and one dead one. There is a saying among BASE jumpers: “Girlfriends Die.” This is not a joke. Why? Women have a disproportionately high rate of injury and death as student (sub-50 jumps) BASE jumpers. Although there are no definite statistics, I would estimate that while 10-15% of BASE students are women, something like 35% of student accidents happen to women. This is a terrible trend, and the key to changing it lies with the women who are prospective BASE jumpers. Careful examination of motives (of both the instructor and student) is important for anyone getting into BASE. For a woman being taught by a man, it is absolutely essential. Because of the issues surrounding women in a heavily male pastime, you need to be extra-careful in screening potential BASE mentors. Be certain that you want to BASE jump for you, not him, and that his foremost concern is your safety, not getting into your pants. From the beginning, you must be strong enough, and smart enough to back out of a potentially dangerous situation. Don’t count on the guys at the DZ to be looking out for you—they may be too busy checking you out. Things for a woman to look for in a BASE mentor: 1) a qualified woman (since the number of these in the world can be counted on my fingers, you may have difficulty finding one) 2) someone who has no romantic interest in you, and in whom you have no romantic interest 3) someone who treats you exactly as they treat any other prospective student Things to immediately disqualify a prospective mentor: 1) any degree of sexual tension between you 2) any romantic relationship between you 3) a mentor who is not qualified to teach 4) someone who helps or wants you to shortcut the normal learning progression I can think of only one case in which a romantic relationship actually helped a woman advance her BASE skills and career, and that was a truly exceptional situation which involved a woman who had already begun jumping, was a very qualified skydiver (more than two thousand jumps), and had rock solid judgment, and a man who was an experienced BASE instructor, as well as one of the worlds most accomplished BASE jumpers. In every other instance that I know of, attempts to combine a romantic relationship with BASE mentoring or instruction have been unqualified failures, usually for the jumping, sometimes for the romance, and often for both. Some men try to use the mystique of BASE jumping to attract women. There are few seduction tactics as tried and true as “being the teacher” (just ask a Tandem Master). Many women are attracted to the knowledge, confidence, and (supposed) power of a guy who can “teach” them to BASE jump. This is not a secret to the boys. Worse, men are tempted to overstate their qualifications as a teacher when they are interested in a woman. What guy will admit to an attractive BASE-curious skydiver that he isn’t qualified to teach? He will try to impress her with his “expert” credentials, saying “of course I can take you BASE jumping—just stick with me and you’ll go a long way, baby.” If his goal is to get laid, he isn’t an appropriate teacher. Hang out with him, date him, have fun with him, skydive with him, sleep with him—but learn BASE from someone else. Example: BASE Fatality #43 #43 Erin Engle, July 22, 2001 Cliff Jump XXX, Italy Cliff Strike "Erin is making only her second or third BASE jump. Reports indicate an unstable short delay and a wall strike under canopy." Erin, who had only two prior jumps, was receiving instruction from her boyfriend. Some women skydivers are drawn into BASE by boyfriends. This may be a result of the boyfriend’s desire to have a “BASE girl,” or it may simply be because, being exposed to BASE, the woman begins to develop an interest in it. BASE jumping is deeply personal, and there are many reasons to do it. But impressing your boyfriend is not a good one. If he really cares for you, he will let you approach BASE at your own pace, if at all. He may even try to discourage you from BASE jumping (since, as he truly cares for you, he won’t want you to get hurt). In any case, BASE jumping for anyone else (boyfriend or otherwise) is a major mistake, and one an intelligent, independent, strong woman need not make. Example: Cliff Strike X has around 100 BASE jumps. His girlfriend Y has less than 20 BASE jumps. X goes on a BASE vacation, and visits (among others) a moderately advanced, but legal, site. Y jumps. Y smacks the cliff. Y needs to be rescued. Y has surgery, and is on crutches for months. Some women use their feminine charms to get BASE “instruction.” This tactic, which is widely accepted in skydiving, presents a serious danger when transplanted to BASE. In skydiving, if you pick a mentor more for his charms than his skydiving skills, you still have fun, and it’s no big deal. In BASE, this can easily hurt or kill you. Further, this technique rarely works on really qualified BASE instructors, because they are well aware of the “girlfriend problem.” As a rule, if a guy takes you for a BASE jump because he is interested in you, he is probably not giving good instruction to you, and may not be qualified to give it to anyone. Example: Landing Injury X is an experienced skydiver with less than 100 BASE jumps. Y is a relatively inexperienced skydiver (around 100 skydives), with no BASE jumps. Y has often used her “girlness” to her advantage skydiving, and decides it will help get her first BASE jump. Y convinces X to take her for her first jump. X takes Y to jump a good beginner object. Y has inadequate canopy control, and pounds in, breaking her leg. Boyfriends (or guys who are hoping to work up into that position) have a lot of trouble saying “no” to the woman they are involved with (or want to be involved with). When she asks if she can jump a site with him, he is virtually powerless to deny her. He likes to spend time with her, he is flattered that she is interested in his hobby, he wants to please her—of course he will take her. She has to be the one to know this is a bad idea. And as a beginner, she has no way of knowing that. There have been several cases of unqualified women receiving BASE instruction. They didn’t know better, and the guys who did know better were more concerned with finding a way to spend time with them than helping them learn safely. Example: BASE Fatality #27 #27 Susan Oatly, 1993 Cliff Jump XXX, XXX National Park, California, USA Cliff Strike "Susan is the first XXX fatality and XXX's third overall. She held a head high attitude for too long and backed into the wall in her 8th second of freefall. This jump began the process of insisting people who begin BASE jumping have at least 150 previous parachutes jumps. There is also a side issue involving pretty girls without much experience being handed BASE jumps beyond their abilities. The load organizer is arrested by the Park Service (after staying behind to lead rescue efforts) and charged with manslaughter. The charges are later reduced to aerial delivery." If you want to BASE jump, remember that your safety should be the primary concern of both yourself and your mentor. Mixing BASE and romance, flirtation, or sexual tension will only impair judgment, and often leads to disaster. Note: I have removed names of all currently living people from my examples. Edit: I have removed facts in question from the first example, while I attempt to verify them. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Parachutes kill...no parachutes=less dead people -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

No, the lineover was on my Troll. I do not believe the canopy design was at fault in the line over. That malfunction was probably caused by pure Black Death, poor packing or the pack job shifting around in transit after packing. I tend to think it was just bad luck--statistically it will happen eventually. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't understand. Can you elaborate on what you mean by "flap open"? I prefer rigs like the Gargoyle or Prism, where closure is the same regardless of altitude, and you don't have to open flaps for low jumps. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have reproduced D-dOg's comments from the ABA Forum thread entitled "Vtec v. Blackjack v. Ace". I couldn't figure out how to create a link directly to the thread, so I hope it's ok to cut and paste this bit... I don't agree with D-dOg, but I do have a great deal of respect for his opinions. I personally have found the Blackjack highly responsive. It does lose altitude very quickly in a hard riser turn, and I think that yanking a riser too hard in an emergency can be a bad response with this canopy. I believe that you can practice riser corrections, though, and actually get better response from the Blackjack than from any other canopy (with proper technique and practice). I believe this bit "...one jumper feels that very strong canopy pilots can master this twitchiness and turn it to an asset..." is a reference to my views. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Maybe we're thinking about two different things here. I added that you should add about 2 inches so you have some slack. Or are you talking about when you run your hand down the bridle to get the initial length? I'm pretty sure that Mick was trying to say that velcro rigs are better for going hand held. A little tension won't open your shrivel flap, but it might pop your pin. So, if you are just starting out (the kind of person going hand held and needing guidance in folding the PC), you're probably better off with a velcro rig. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Excellent points. Maybe we can split this canopy discussion off and move it into the BASE forum, and see if it develops into a technical discussion... Thanks for chiming in, Doug. Now if only you could figure out how the zipper thing works. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The Skokie demonstration that you are thinking of happened in 1977. I believe the ACLU of 1977 was a significantly different organization from the ACLU of today. My personal "Skokie" (that's ACLU insider slang for a critical event which tests a persons beliefs deeply and makes them re-consider their commitment to the ACLU) came during the 90's. I believe the ACLU should return to their (purely) free-speech ideals. By adulterating their commitment to free speech in favor of the other (non civil liberties related) planks of their political agenda, they have lost sight of their original vision. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

OK, can some people who had trouble viewing the photos try looking at this one? http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/gallery/imageFolio.cgi?action=view&link=Photo_Submissions/BASE&image=BackR.JPG&img=&tt= Also, I've attached it to this post, please look there as well. If you can let me know if you can see the attachment or the photo upload (or both), I'll try re-formatting the rest like that (or I'll try something else). OK, I just logged in on a windows machine (and it hurt me to do that!), and they seemed ok from there. Can anyone else see them? Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com