caerdydd

the crane on top of the building is a great example. if you're so far out on the boom that you wouldn't have to worry about the B with a 180, then it's an entirely different object, isn't it? but say you went from one of those external "construction elevator" type thingies, attached to the building... well, you're gonna be looking at the B if you have a 180. i agree with the B...A...S...E...O thing. the three most obvious "O"s being smokestacks, cranes, and dams. a tree? sure, why not? but a tree on top of a cliff? well, isn't that like the banana on the cliff? you'd still be dealing with the cliff if you had a 180. that's why i think the "180 rule" is a good way of figuring out whether you're REALLY hucking a "different" object or not. you jump off a banana on top of a cliff, the banana won't be staring you in the face if you open 180, the CLIFF will. i'll bet there are people out there who logged "bus" as a new object after BD 2002... not that there's anything wrong with that at all, more power to 'em! i don't mean to say "it should be this, or it should be that". i mean, really, who cares? as long as we're jumping something, safely, then all this stuff is just silly-bored-BASE-jumper-sitting-around-a-campfire-with-a-beer chitchat... (except i'm on a computer, with no fire, and no beer)

just cos you're bored: what constitutes a "new object" for example, you jump a bridge from the road, then you jump it from the catwalk. two different objects? you jump a building from the parapet wall, then the same building from a window-washing cradle. two different objects? you jump an antenna from 500', then from 700'. two different objects? you jump a large scandinavian cliff band from exit point A, then from exit point C. two different objects? or a small US cliff from the edge, and then from a truck... two different objects? you see what i'm getting at? it's a complicated, "grey-area" sort of thing at times, i know. and there are people out there who would say that if you're two feet to the left of where you jumped from last time, it's a new object. my thought is this: IF YOU HAVE A 180 OFF-HEADING, WHAT OBJECT WILL YOU BE DEALING WITH? for example: bridge from road, or from catwalk, with a 180, you're still dealing with the same object (or not, cos it's a bridge). building from wall, then from window-washing cradle? with a 180, you're still looking at the SAME OBJECT. antenna from 500', then from 700'? same object facing you if you whip a 180. cliff from edge, or from truck? same object. cliff from exit A, then from exit C? DIFFERENT objects. related? yes. but completely different in terms of what you're dealing with after a 180. anyway, i just wanted to post something, to see how the icon of my naughty dog came out.

Got one word for ya: Naprapath What's that? Well, a naprapath is kinda like a cross between a chiropractor and a deep-tissue masseuse. They are "doctors", in the same way that chiropractors are, but they work with connective tissue and muscle and strectching and on and on. When they make a neck correction, it holds! I agree that these things will often take at least 4 or 5 treatments, but they work. I've been in despair with neck pain several times, but a few visits to my naprapath each time it flairs up, and all is right with the world. Good luck!

when my Mojo arrived, the tailgate fingertrap had not been installed. CR told me to just put the tailgate through the C-line attachment. it seemed a bit scary at first, but right away i realized it was an awesome place for it. it constrains the brake lines perfectly. many jumps with this configuration with no problems. just my couple o'pennies...

"BASE seems to have many more unknown variables to each jump that swooping doesn't have." Really? Jumping out of a Twin Otter, you've got maybe 23 other "unknown variables" flying around you doing their own thing, while you're trying to do your swoop. A well-known DZO recently died that way. Swooping is not isolated, BASE (usually) is, and in BASE, most of our variables ARE known, not UNKNOWN. Sure, stuff can go wrong, but I'm more worried about the "variables" that can affect a swoop... other canopies, dust-devils, rotors, not to mention lack of ability and poor judgement, lost toggles, etc etc. Every month femurs snap, people die or become paralyzed. Like a very good friend of mine recently. (And yet, "Parachutist" magazine actively encourages people to swoop, by promoting the swoop competitions around the globe. And they censor BASE!!?? Whatup with that sh-t?) I'm not saying people shouldn't swoop, but I do think it's WAY more dangerous than BASE.

that... was... AWESOME!! (sorry about the shoot-out, dude...)

D-dog, is that you riding Capone? Is Capone yours? Beautiful horse, awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing. Never tried it, but imagine it must be wonderful and terrifying both to be sailing over a jump on the back of a horse... Kudos...

Tom, I know you (and many others) recommend mesh sliders for terminal BASE. However, I came across an old Blinc thread where JJ was suggesting you use a sail slider with a "coffee-can-sized hole" cut in the center of it, due to your spinal injury. I have kind of a dodgy neck, and was wondering how you liked that set-up? (if you tried it). Cheers.

yeah, good point. i guess i was just worried about that... don't know how they monitor those sorts of things. plus, if you were to be nabbed, wouldn't it be a federal offence? probably no chance of it, but i'll still stick with the FRS channels.

okay... went to Best Buy yesterday, to replace my tits-up motorolas. it seems that good old fashioned 14-38 FRS radios are passe, and now it's all new-fangled 22-38 FRS/GMRS nonsense. it says right on the box "FCC licence required", so i figured it'd just be a simple form and a nominal fee. but no! went blind on the FCC website, and then figured that it's $75.00 per "callsign". two radios=two callsigns?? so $150 in federal licencing fees just so that my wife and i can chat over a couple hundred yards? here's the real kicker: to get the licence, you HAVE to register your SS# first! and then to use the radio, you have to abide by all sorts of regulations, or face the risk of prosecution. the upside to the radios? well, if you've done all that s__t, you can maybe get 5 miles out of the GMRS channels (1-7, and 15-22). however, channels 8-14 (the FRS channels) are still just your 0.5 watt, 2-mile range channels. bottom line? you end up with only 7-38 channels of the same power as the old FRS radios, and a major headache. oh, and once you've registered your SS# and details, you CANNOT cancel the registration, only "deactivate" it... hmmmm... so, there you go... avoid the GMRS radios, and order some 14-38 FRS radios from whoever still sells 'em (ie. Cabela's). and of course, be careful what you say. if all this is old news, or wrong, sorry, and i'd be happy to stand corrected. opinions, anyone? C.

thought the same thing when i saw it... pc in tow comin' right up? tension on the bridle won't allow the pins to be pulled, i reckon...

I don't think anyone mentioned putting bumpers OVER slinks... it's definitely one or the other... either steel links and bumpers, or slinks. So, okay, let's say all things being equal, and stuff hooked up correctly, slinks seem to make sense, don't they? Anything hooked-up wrong could kill you. So that aside, they seem pretty cool. With regard to re-configuring gear: I have a decent number of jumps, mostly slider down, and personally don't like to take my slider off, for the same reasons mentioned (ie. mess with your gear less, hook something up wrong less). So, for someone like me, if I could find a decent way to attach the slider to the front risers WITHOUT bumpers, then slinks would be better all round. I never take my slider off... just move it up and down as necessary. So, pilot error aside, does anyone know of any valid reason not to use slinks?

Saw this on the PD website. I use slinks on my skydiving main (who doesn't?) I know that the accepted wisdom is NOT to use these in BASE, but... why not? To me, it seems like they'd make a lot of sense (stronger than SS #5's?)... True, I wouldn't be able to secure my slider to my front risers using my rubber bumpers (the slider would have to come off), but apart from that, they seem pretty cool... Thoughts? "In our tests, the Performance Design's SlinkÆ survived at loadings beyond the suspension lines and/or riser! In our testing, the failure point of the system was repeatedly the suspension lines or the webbing attaching the three rings to the riser. In comparison tests, the PD reserve soft link survived tests that caused failures and/or severe damage to #4 and #5 stainless steel links! The PD Soft links not only survived these tests, but showed no signs of damage. Based upon the results of these extensive tests, Performance Designs is the first manufacturer ever to receive FAA 'TSO' approval for a soft link for use on reserve parachutes!"

doesn't anyone know the site i'm talking about? should i name it? give more clues? it's legal... i just want to know whether it's an overhung cliff with a full-on six seconds of frefall right above a sweet landing area, or whther there's a 50' ledge 400' below the exit point and the LZ is a mile away... either way, i'll be jumping it, but forewarned is forearmed (well, two arms, two legs...)

There's a cliff in Scandinavia. It's 350m tall (1148'). It will be hosting a heli boogie in June, as part of a week of other festivities, right in the same neighborhood. You know what I'm talking about... uh-huh... yeah... Questions: what do we know about the site? Is it real gnarly? Those sub-terminal slider-up cliffs can be testy... What kind of delays are being taken (no wing-suit)? What kind of pc are people using? Etc, etc... Thanks