GreenMachine

Congrats man, it must have been awesome. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

I *think* the only 9 cell reserve is/was a Falcon, because it is the only 9 cell canopy that has been thoroughly drop tested and TSO'd....but I am not sure if it is true. FYI: the source --- I read this information on their website when researching the canopy before buying one used. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Good thread AggieDave, thanks. When I teach the section of ground school dealing with malfunctions I also find they retain the data more if it is in simple wording. My usual example is I will point to one of the students and ask them in a quick loud voice: "What do you do if you catch on fire?!" 9 times out 10 I hear a quick reply of "Stop Drop & Roll". I then use that example to emphasize the idea that each action should have one word associated with it and said out loud each time you practice, kind of like the 'Arch, Reach, Pull' sequence. As for the breathing response to adrenaline, I had always thought the shallowness came from involuntary muscle constriction in the chest. Because honestly shallow, quick breathing is inefficient. During my first 100 skydives I used slow, deep breathing to calm down enough to get out of the plane. I later noticed our senior tandem master do it with passengers and I now do it with mine. Not only does it provide extra oxygen and calm the mind, but it also helps to set the stage for the experience. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Insane in the membrane!!! ..and to Cesslon, many parachutists choose to not include the sound of wind on videos cause we all know first hand what it sounds like Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Hey Kurt, Can you please send me a link to the website where you did that search? Thanks bro. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Yo Magot, ease up on the Sunshine State....not everyone here are rednecks! Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Hey CrazyL, Just so you know, since I spoke with PsychoSwooper on the phone last and she already knows.... Dontiego is the guy with an A license and 98 jumps who mistakenly thought the risers could go completely through the grommets of the slider. Obviously this can NOT happen because they are attached on the base, which is why one 3 ring per riser works both front and back... PsychoSwooper mistakenly thought I had posted it because the text was in green. Okay, the record is clear, now I can quit typing and go jumping. Hope everyone has a great Saturday, the weather looks nice here in Tallahassee so if any one is reading this at 8:30ish AM come on out and jump with us!

Fellas, those are some great passages, thanks!! Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Que Pasa Dontiego, Nah, you aren't being stupid, you are thinking about the possible consequences of certain choices, which is great. Only problem is you are not thinking it through. Coefficient of drag describes the concept that objects moving in a non-vacuum environment are acted upon by the media they are flowing through. Think of dragging a body behind a boat. There is a lot of drag. Now more related to this matter, think of dragging a pilot chute through air.... OKAY, now compare the estimated drag from a pilot chute versus a whole canopy. The PC has enough drag to open your container and unstow your lines and often break rubber bands. Hence I think an entire inflated canopy has enough drag to break one rubber band. Of course there is more kinetic energy when traveling at terminal then at canopy speed but.... Well you get the idea. I think a departing main would probably remove most slider stowage methods I have seen BUT honestly I feel my method is simpler, easier, and avoids one more potential hazard. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

DUDE, those were great little flicks, thanks for sharing. The scene at the end of the 2nd one where you kick the dog a half dozen times had me cracking up!! Yeah, when I had 20 jumps I said I would never, ever swoop....now I am waiting for my 120 to arrive. I've also taken things in freefall with me, but I usually try to test them first. For example, I built a tube out of material intended for kid's bed sheets. Once complete I had my wife drive her convertable at 50 MPH to see how it reacted to the wind. You are right, we need to be careful and think of the problems but having fun is all part of the ride for us jumpers. Thanks again for sharing -- great stuff. Can't wait to do the TP thing... Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Dontiego, I have never seen any of my friends cutaway and fire their reserve on the ground to test their slider stowing method. After packing some reserves myself, I think the spring would be strong enough to get past it, but I'd rather not chance it myself. I have heard them argue that they would not stow their slider until they KNOW they are going to keep the wing they got. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Hey Calvin, maybe you mean "Acceptance" by your use of the word 'hopelessness'... Tom A. -- great list man, it really offers a glimpse into the wild ride BASE has been for you. Thanks for sharing. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Hey Towerrat, Before you go the velcro route, let me share with you what I do with my slider. I have slinks so I can pull the slider down. My risers have an RSL ring but my rig does not (because I fly camera). So once I collapse the slider I pull a piece of the cord through the RSL ring and make a small knot. Not sure the name of the knot but it is simple to do with one hand in about a second and easy to undo when packing. This way my slider stays down and out of the way, without the damage that velcro can do to threads/fabric. Best part, God forbid I have a low altitude problem and need to cutaway, my slider is connect to the risers so it would go away. All of my friends who use the shock cord and ball attached to the reserve flap say that it would yank right off but still I find this simpler and easier. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Hey Calvin, For what it is worth: I have been reading a series of articles on building your own hot air balloon In there the idea of using glue/expoxy to bind nylon together was mentioned. The author then cited Dan Poynter's Parachute Manual and said that type of seam binding had been tried and tested. The results were that it reduced the strength of the nylon. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

So Abbie/Francis is not posting on the forums or drinking....hmm, any word on his up coming self-performed surgery? Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Blue Skies Michael, I appreciate your reply and respect that you have much more BASE experience than me. However, I believe my opinions are still valid because they are based on my own life & death experiences and we are not discussing technical BASE knowledge. Let me say right up front that my earlier post was NOT supportive of young people BASE jumping. I think 16 is too young!! Hell I think 200 skydives is too few. The more skydiving experience and the later in life the better, if ever. The "willing to die" thing refers to what I learned during the 6+ months of BASE research prior to my FJC, which was that a likely outcome of enough BASE jumping is death. Hence the instructor of my FJC requires his/her students to have their affairs in order (will, letter to family, advanced directives, etc.). This is meant to drive home the risks one is accepting. As for being comfortable with one's own death....hey man, everyone is different. I do not want to die today, but part of me will be relieved when the day does come. Philosophically this may come from reading and meditating. 'The Way of the Samurai' stresses a warrior should envision his head being cut off and his body being impaled with blades when he is sitting in peace so he will not fear death. Experientially this may come from having a near death experience, attending funerals of friends, watching people die skydiving, watching a women die BASE jumping, and watching my beloved grandmothers die slowly over time. Or perhaps it is because I am not right in the head

Good Morning Gang, This discussion has made for some interesting reading......here is my input: 1. Acceptance of one's own mortality is not necessarily connected to participation in risky behavior. There are people who meditate, are genuinely religious, and/or have had extreme life experiences that are truly comfortable with their own death. However, simply being willing to die does NOT make one a skillful parachutist. 2. Teaching is not always easy and having an emotional connection with the student can sometimes makes things more difficult. 3. Assume for a moment that in the future I would be qualified to teach BASE, I would never teach my Dad to BASE jump because: he has only 155 skydives, lacks the skills, and most importantly, I love him and do not want to contribute to his death. 4. Why do some jumpers want to skip skydiving?!? It is fun, much more safe than BASE, and a great environment to learn about canopy flight. Plus it allows you to learn and experience how your mind & body communicate while jacked up on adrenaline. 5. If you are not smarter and more mature at 30 than you were at 16 then you have ceased to learn and grow. 6. What can be 'Correct' for one is usually 'Wrong' for most. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

How about a PCA? ~Tom

Good music, nice editing, great flick, thanks for sharing man. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Blue Skies Sinister, Cool video, I recognized a few people, and one object

FYI Guys, I sent Gail/AdventureChick a brief explanation of what a 'Pendulator' is along with my version of the 'Slow Down' speech. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Dude, I definitely want to see the in air "Blue Monkey Butt Blow Job" scene but the download time is way too long..... ....and before you pull the old dial-up card, let me tell you I work at software design company and have a T-1 connection. Of course it could be that the skydivingmovies site is running slow right now for some reason. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Hey Fozchek, Did you ever get the mini-DV and DVD I sent you? Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

Yep, and I had the bruises to show. Thanks again Tom for the numerous belays. It definitely helped. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM

This morning a friend of mine sent me a link to a foreign website, Russian maybe, and I saw 8 photos of a guy in a wing suit pulling real low. Don't know the location, jumper or photographer so can't provide any credits. Nonetheless, I thought some of you guys and gals would dig the shots, which pasted into one file for faster viewing. Rigger, Skydiver, BASE Jumper, Retired TM