TomAiello

Is anyone going to be flying wingsuits at Eloy (more than just occasionally)? I'm looking to get some wingsuiting in, so the number of folks flying will greatly impact my decision on whether or not to show up (especially given my rather attractive alternative). Who's going to be flying there? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

This may be a difference in location. I occasionally pack both slider up and slider down rigs with a 42" PC, which has a cordura patch on the crown. I use this PC for slider up 4 second delays from a 700' S, as well as for slider down 2 second delays from a 480' A. I rarely let a pack job sit long enough that I forget what's in it, but just looking at my PC is not enough to remind me if I have forgotten. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Actually, you are free to say that. Saying that won't get you put in jail...unless you're saying it while whopping on someone who is gay. Saying it will get you expelled from a public university in California. Now there's an example of direct government action with an immediate negative impact on an individual citizen. I submit that any kind of government action in response to freely exercised speech is, in fact, a violation of the first amendment rights of the citizenry. First Amendment debate, anyone? I'm a bit of a free speech nazi... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Gusts of more than 10 mph can collapse your canopy. With wind ranging from 15 to 45 (possible 30 mph gusts) you're hosed. There will be no way to pick a lull from 1200'. With wind this inconsistent, you will have no way of knowing what the wind is doing at opening altitude when you are standing at the exit. Even if you could know, the inconsistencies of ground wind varying by as much as 30 mph will have a high chance of collapsing your canopy on final, dropping you to the ground and seriously injuring or killing you. Stay home and drink. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The best method I've seen for keeping the slider down... 1) Pop the rubber covers off your links. 2) Slide the slider grommets down over the links, onto the risers. 3) Replace the covers. Presto! The slider is trapped below the links, with no extraneous cords or tie downs that might complicate things. Many thanks to Mrs. Jarvis' handsome son for sharing this technique with me. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

How about Felix "God of the Skies" Baumgartner? Whatever else you may think of him, the man is a marketing genius. I'd bet that outside the US, he's the best known (to non-jumpers) skydiver around at the moment. I bet Troy has him inside the U.S., though. All time? I think I'm going with DB Cooper. Or maybe Paul Quade. Now that guy is famous. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

A thought: My judgment on the risks of BASE jumping may, in fact, be more informed (so, in one way, better) than your judgment about it. Your point is very valid for skydiving. However, I, as an experienced BASE jumper, feel that BASE is not worth the risk for something like 80% of the people who try it. The problem is that they either (a) over-estimate the return they will get from it, or (b) under-estimate the risk involved. As a generalization, for the average skydiver, I think the costs of BASE outweigh the benefits. Usually, this is a combination of (a) and (b). However, there is usually more of (b) (under-estimation of the risks) in their decision. Unfortunately, because the person in question has not participated in BASE, they cannot accurately assess their personal return from the activity. Further, because they are generally uneducated, they cannot assess their personal risk. While experienced BASE jumpers might not (or might) be able to assess the return, they are certainly better equipped than the newbie to assess the risk. In my estimation, based on the limited information I have about Emmie's friend, she will fall into the vast majority of BASE newbies who are making a poor decision based on mis-estimation of the risk/reward ratio. This is especially true given her (high) risk at her current level of experience, and her (lowish) reward (which could be as low as pleasing her boyfriend). I guess what I'm saying is that the Pilot-Skydiver:Skydiver-BASE Jumper analogy is flawed because the average experienced skydiver feels that the benefits of skydiving outweigh the risks. I do not believe this is the case for most BASE jumpers. My personal belief (in case you are wondering) is that no one, ever, ought to get into BASE. Heroine addiction is probably safer, easier and less disruptive to your life. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ Limited, ever-changing selection, great prices. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Link to column on Dropzone.com. I have attached a (slightly) updated copy of the article to this posting. I'm glad you liked it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com BASE.pdf

Hi Mike! I started jumping in Lodi, too. Unfortunately, Bill wasn't too happy with some of my antics, so I'm not welcome back there. Does Bill still run around saying "quickly, quickly" and fluttering his hands? Maybe I'll catch you in California some time. Welcome to the forums! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Thanks to everyone who responded to this. I made two nice flights from 1700' last night, holding the wingtips. It definitely helped make my flights smoother. It also eliminated that crazy "flutter" noise, which was both quite loud (always bad, considering the cirumstances) and rather disconcerting. Now, if only I could get flying sooner. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hi Omar, You might want to post this on the BASE board at BLiNC. You are far more likely to find a local BASE jumper reading that board. Also, you might want to be a little less specific on site locations. I suspect that some people are jumping in that area, and they probably don't want anything even close to a site location given out in public. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

A BASE pack job should take as long as is necessary to make you feel comfortable with it on your back. If that means you take three days, tear it apart six times, and re-pack it repeatedly, then that is what you should do. There is never a good reason to take a substandard pack job off an object. Anyone who tells you differently is wrong. Never let anyone push you into packing faster, or fool you into thinking that better jumpers pack faster. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Thomas and Zennie, I have edited your posts to remove site names. Please remember that it is bad BASE etiquette to name sites (legal or otherwise, commonly jumped or otherwise) in this, or any other public forum. I will continue to edit any posts I see that name sites aside from a few very well known ones. Even then, I would ask everyone to refrain from naming sites at all. Referring to a site such as "the legal span in the Western US" or "the popular legal big wall in Southern Norway" ought to be sufficient for the purposes of any public discussions. If for some reason you really need to discuss a particular site, please PM or email me first, and we'll discuss whether or not that is a good idea, and how to go about it. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Well, since I don't wear an alti anyway, I guess that should be ok. I've definitely noticed that you can hear a wingtip fluttering (flapping) noise when a skyflyer isn't holding the tips. Several people have commented on hearing that kind of noise during my flights when I am not holding the tips. I really need to get some airplane time to iron out my technique. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You almost always pack for a particular jump. I have, occasionally, jumped a pack job I intended for something else (for example, been weathered off a terminal cliff, and taken the pack job to a terminal antenna a few days later. Just as often, though, I end up tearing apart my pack job and switching it around when I go out to do something completely different. Often, people pack for a possible set of jumps, then pick their jump based on how they are packed. On the other hand, many people prefer not to pack until they know what they are going to jump. So, for example, I might pack slider down, not knowing which of the local slider down jumps I will do, then put on an appropriate PC once I have an object in mind. Or, I might just wait until I know what I am going to jump tonight, then pack in the afternoon, before leaving for the jump. Many jumpers are in the habit of packing one rig slider up and one rig slider down, so that they are prepared for whatever opportunity presents itself, with merely a PC switch (of course, if you are in the habit of tucking your nose or using a sail slider, this is more difficult to manage). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Funny, funny, funny. Your pierced-tattooed-mohawked friend is sitting on my couch right now... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm flying a Skyflyer, and I was wondering: Do you hold the tips of the wings with your hands while flying? I have seen several people using this technqiue. Good idea? Bad idea? Any thoughts? Thanks, -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Emmie, I just wrote, then removed a rather long rant on this subject. The basic premise was that often, unqualified guys "teach" girls they are interested in to BASE jump, and the result is often (I can think of four cases in the last three years) serious injury or fatality. PM me if you want the actual text of the original posting. It was politically incorrect enough that I decided to remove it to avoid creating a flame war on this forum. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I think that was actually their multi bridle attachment project. As I recall, they concluded that the weight of the lines in the tail pocket was causing the tail to slump and invert during deployment. The fourth multi line (the rear one on the center cell) was intended to support the tail pocket and address this problem. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Best Adrenaline Sport Ever. - Tim Hutchings -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The Little Aussie. Not kidding. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Legal action is still pending in this case. We should probably hold off public discussion of it until after all legal action is resolved. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

248. I don't think that bit about being arrested is fair, given where I live and what kind of parachuting I do. Come to think of it, the bit about hallucinogens isn't fair either... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I actually met a guy who had dated her semi-seriously. He had photos to prove it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com