TomAiello

I know a guy who claims to have done the same thing. He walked up, turned around, and pretended to fall off. The kicker is, he did it off Half Dome (a 2000' cliff in a famous National Park), back in the 80's, when people jumped there. Apparently, he got a cheap camera, and asked a tourist to take his picture right at the edge. Then he kept saying "no, wait, let me get a bit closer to the edge..." Don't know if it's true, but I'd give it at least even money. I'd love to have been standing around watching that day. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Um, very different sports. But the relation isn't quite as simple as football and hockey. You certainly don't have to play football in order to be adequately prepared for hockey. You DO have to skydive to learn the canopy skills that will keep you alive in the BASE environment. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

My name's Tom. I used to have a job avoiding work at the University of California. I got tired of it, and quit. Now, I am an itinerant BASE jumper. I'll probably go get another degree next year, but for the next year or so, I'm pretty much just jumping. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I went to UGA with a guy named Mike Womack (red hair, rock climber). You don't know him, do you? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I get scared pretty much every time I jump. It gets a lot more manageable after about 20 or 30 jumps, though. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

One of my friends, at his first AFF classroom session, asked, straight away, "when do we get to BASE jump?" His instructor reportedly just rolled his eyes. Funny thing is, my friend now has something like 1050 BASE jumps. Don't disregard the newbies and whuffos. Sometimes they don't have the mental blocks we've all built for ourselves. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

BANG! That was me shooting myself. I started watching Buffy two and a half years ago during a long (8 months) convalescence after a low pull induced spinal injury. Now, if I watch TV (about three hours a month or so) there's a better than 50% chance that I'm watching Buffy. Of all the thing I've gotten from parachuting, Buffy is the strangest. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I own both a Gargoyle with Dynamic Corners, and a a Javelin with the same Dynamic Corner modification. I have been very happy with both of them. As far as I can see, there is no down side to the mod, and it really does create cleaner deployments. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Rain? Isn't that the funny wet stuff that falls out of the sky? But, that only happens between October and April! It doesn't rain during the summer! Ah, you have to love California... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'll give you mine. Mostly, they're not skydiving sites, though. My favorite skydiving site is this one. But other cool sites I like include: http://www.headdown.net/ General skydiving stuff, with some cool pictures and videos http://www.linetwist.net/ One man's adventure through life, well presented on the web. http://www.blincmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forum/dcboard.cgi?az=list&forum=board&conf=blinc The place where I am the biggest post whore (as well as a topic of debate). http://www.basejump.org/discus/ Australian BASE Association--now those guys are nuts. http://www.yosemite.org/vryos/ You figure out why this is one of my favorites. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Negative. I've had three of the above (two airlifts and one air ambulance transfer), and my insurance has paid for all of them. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Great tag line! The guy who taught me to BASE jump had that on a T-shirt, and I've always wanted to find one of those shirts. Anybody know where I can get one? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd pull about a quarter second earlier on that two way in September 2001. Turn my scars into just a cool story. Other than that...well, there was that one girl... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (already discussed this one) Time Enough for Love - Robert Heinlein (the "Libertarian Manifesto") Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay (if you like Tolkien, try Kay, he was Tolkiens posthumous editor, and I like him even better than Tolkien) Surely You Must be Joking - Richard Feynman (my personal hero in childhood) -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

iTunes is way the best free mp3 ripping software. My friend at Apple tells me that the PC version is scheduled for release sometime in the fall, and will likely also be free (it's a marketing ploy for the iPod--which I also happen to love). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I just heard from the Skyray guys... >In germany they are available from now on. I will keep you informed about availability and costs in the US! The Costs here are 2850€ Taxes included. So, it looks like something around $3000 would get you a Skyray, but it might be some trouble to get one here until they get a dealer set up. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Um. You're kidding, right? Ender's Game was practically the bible of adolescent boys when I was in high school. It's every boys wargame dream come alive. Almost everyone I know has read it, loved it, still has a copy, and read Ender's Shadow in hardback the day it came out. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Last summer in Switzerland, one of my friends took it a bit too low and ended up landing in a freshly fertilized field. In Switzerland, they use raw cow manure to fertilize--and they use a lot of it. He did not stand up the landing. It's some of the gnarliest video I've ever seen. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Amen. I've been to DZ's where the RW folks were the up-tight cliquey ones, and I was shocked, because where I learned it was the Freeflyers who wouldn't let you on to their jumps. Go with whichever discipline at your DZ is friendliest and most interested in teaching when you start, then branch out later on. Maybe it's young students who write off RW because they feel more comfortable with the (usually younger) freeflyers at their DZ's. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd agree with Aggie on the Triathlon. I haven't been very impressed with the Triathlons I've jumped. Be sure you demo the Triathlon before you make a decision. There may be other options. I don't really have the experience to recommend other options, but I'm sure someone here does. Anybody else have any suggestions? I'm very impressed. It takes way more courage to back out of a dangerous situation that you're uncertain in, than merely to charge ahead until you get hurt. Nice job! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Do you realize you've just stated the agenda of the National Rifle Association (the biggest U.S. pro-gun group)? The primary mission of the NRA is to promote safe and responsible gun ownership through education. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It's just occured to me (duh, I feel stupid) that your best resource for help with BASE gear/setup in Dallas is obviously the local BASE gear manufacturer. Web Page (check it out if only for the pictures--of the cliffs, of course): http://www.leadingedgebase.com/ Contact info: 1425 Century, Suite 100 Carrollton, TX 75006 Ph: 972.245.5300 Fax: 972.2450598 Email: info@leadingedgebase.com Lee Hardesty at Leading Edge is an extremely knowledgable and experienced BASE jumper and rigger. Give him a call. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have a friend in Dallas who has around 100 jumps. If you're interested, and it's ok with him (no guarantees--BASE jumpers are shy), I can try to put you in touch. Let me know. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Short answer: Yes. My answer: I wouldn't. And if you do, I'd definitely recommend landing in the water. BASE canopies are typically loaded at .65-.75 (higher for beginners, lower for more advanced jumpers). If your "out of the shower" weight is 155, you add 10 pounds of clothes and pads and 10 of gear for a total exit weight of 175, then your wingloading is 175/181 = .97. I wouldn't recommend trying to land a canopy at this loading in the regular BD landing area, especially not on your first jump. For comparison, your ideal BASE canopy should be sized from 240 (175/.75=233.3) up to 280 (175/.65=260.2). If you do decide to use your Raven, you'll need to make sure you have a reinforced bridle attachment and a tail pocket. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Warning: I'm about to go on at great length. I know you said you've read all the material on the web. I'm just going to post a couple specific archived responses in this post. If you've already seen them (which you probably have), ignore them and go on to the next post. Have you read these archived threads from the BASE board? They are all BASE jumpers responding to the "first rig" question. http://www.blincmagazine.com/forum/board/3822.html http://www.blincmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2575&forum=board http://www.blincmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=3145&forum=board http://www.blincmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=3363&forum=board http://www.blincmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=3711&forum=board And this one is an "advice to new jumpers" thread. http://www.blincmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2625&forum=board -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com