riggersam

I'm arriving late Wednesday night.. Mark BASE 346

He posted his information in this recent thread... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=731190

First off, unequal tension side-to-side is bad (m'kay..). That could result in the bag spinning as it deploys. Personally, I use the larger bands on my locking stows and the smaller ones on the rest. The longer bands on the lockings stows seem to deal with the grommets better (ie. not too tight) and the lines are bulkier at that point due to the cascades. The smaller bands grip the lower stows better. I would ask a rigger in your area to actually take a look at your system to evaluate which bands were best for your canopy/bag/container combination. But, in general, smaller bands are best for microline. Mark

And I had my sights set on a circus cannon for 2005...

I thought it was you that brought that up! I have some ideas on how to do this a bit simplier and cleaner than the design pictured... Know any good engineers? BASE428?

Somebody at the post-Bridge Day party on Saturday night jokingly said they'd like to use a Trebuchet to exit the bridge. I honestly didn't think much of it until I saw one used on a TLC program the other day. A quick internet search turned up a version that keeps a person in a sitting position until "departure" and I thought something like this would be really cool for experienced jumpers: http://www.trebuchet.com/articles/ron/trebuchet.html What do you think?

Could you put a copy on SkydivingMovies.com for all to see? Mark

Cool. Thanks for the info. I'll look into them. Mark

What hotel are you using? Any recommendations?

Hey, Freakboy.. Good luck on a speedy recovery! Mark

That appears to be the case.

As I recall, this type of question came up when Greg Gasson was doing his "chuteless" jumps that were filmed by Jennings and McGowan. There was an article in Parachutist that was devoted to how it was done... It seems to me Greg contacted his local FSDO and was basically told that, since he was a Master Rigger, he had the latitude to build his own harness provided that he was the only one jumping with the equipment. No, I don't have the article in front of me, so I'm not quoting. I'll have to dig up that issue.. Anyone else remember this? Mark

The article itself is a bit off topic... It's about the pursuit of the X Prize. But, some of the comments made by the CEO of the X Prize Foundation struck me as being similar to those made by jumpers regarding access issues in NPS lands. I think its interesting you can get federal approval to launch a 3-person home-made rocket, but you're not allowed to jump off a cliff. http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/xprize_ap_030927.html Asked about the risk involved, Diamandis didn't pull punches in his talk to FAA officials. ``People may die,'' he said. ``This is dangerous stuff.'' But Diamandis argues that taking such risks is a basic human right that the government should honor. ``They should have the right to risk their own lives for something they believe in,'' he told government executives whose jobs include aviation safety. America was settled by pioneers who chose to risk all for new land or to explore the unknown, he said, and without such a spirit humans will always be Earthbound.

He finally did that "B", huh? Congratulations, Ted! It's about frickin' time... Video?? Talk to you soon. Mark

It is rather difficult to tell from the photo. I'm certainly no hardware expert, but IMHO, it appears to me that imperfection existed before the plating went on. The photo appears to show a similar, but more shallow, imperfection on the other side. The wear makes it look like it has been there a while, too. Mark

Most of the jumps I've seen with Sorcerors were for intentional cutaways. So, they work great if you're under a properly functioning parachute. Does anyone know of an occasion where a Sorceror was used in an actual emergency - successfully? As NickD pointed out in a thread some time ago, fatality #29 is related to the use of this system.

I agree. That makes sense. I think it is interesting to note that while aircraft have separate log books for the engine and airframe that parachutes do not have separate log books for different components. Also, you don't have to keep your engine and airframe log books in the airplane. I think you're actually encouraged not to as long as they are "reasonably available". Only the airworthiness certificate needs to be kept in the aircraft. Just pointing out areas where the FAA differs. Sorry to digress.

You might consider posting to www.diverdriver.com. It seems to be more pilot and aircraft related. Mark

I really don't see why anyone would consider BD a bad place for a beginner (already an experienced skydiver) to start BASE jumping. 1) It's a bridge - arguably the safest category of object 2) It's legal 3) It's during the day 4) The water is an option on BD with several boats and shore-based rescuers present 5) LOTS of experienced jumpers around to help 6) BASE Seminars the day before 7) If you are injured, there are 4-5 ambulances on stand-by 50 ft from the main landing area What reason did these people give? Does their reason outweigh the benefits listed above?

Now that you mention it, I do recall there was some TSO-like testing done in Germany with different pieces of BASE specific gear. I think TW (aka Space) was involved while he was living there. I'm not sure if he browses this site, but you see him on Blinc once and a while... Mark

I was using Specialty Risk for my visits to lands where BASE jumping is accepted. I figured having a $1 million policy might smooth things over if I needed the assistance of a helicopter - especially in a really sensitive area like LB. Exclusion #4 in their brochure (http://www.specialtyrisk.com/brochure/Li-onln.htm) only mentions that a felony offense is excluded. Interesting...

How much do you weigh and when/where do you intend to use this for BASE? I used a 1982 Wonderhog Vector/Cruislite for BASE before (early/mid-90s) - when I weighed less (around 170 lbs). I tip the scale around 190 now. I currently use a Vertex and a FOX 265 for BASE. Personally, If I bought another canopy now, I would strongly consider going larger yet. PM me if you have questions or need help with anything. Mark

I've purchased insurance through Speciality Risk International (www.specialtyrisk.com) before. Their Liaison International plan has a Hazardous Sports Coverage option that includes parachuting. Concerned about whether BASE was excluded in some fine print, I shot them an email a while back and asked. I specifically asked if BASE jumping was included and the reply was a fairly simple "All parachuting activities are included if the Hazardous Sport Coverage option is purchased". Anyway, it is supposed to be available for U.S. residents traveling abroad, as well as non-U.S. citizens visiting the U.S. So, it might be worth looking into if you're headed this direction... If anyone inquires with them and gets and answer that BASE jumping is not covered, please let me know! C-ya! Mark

I opened a Javelin earlier this week that was similar in that the bridle was under the side flaps. It didn't go quite as far into the corners as the one you pictured, but it was wrong enough.. Be safe out there.

1.5 - 2 inches from stall sounds awful close. Since you had the canopy bagged and jumped it at a DZ, I assume that you had it in a skydiving rig. Remember that when you jump the canopy with your BASE rig, you will be lighter without the reserve. This changes the stall point a bit. Simply installing the brake setting will cause the lower control line to shrink a little, deepening the setting a bit. I definitely recommend testing your setting on another skydive and see how much further you have to pull it down to make it stall afterwards. Don't use DBS for slider up BASE jumps. DBS is for slider down/off only. Now that I've said that, you might consider jumping your DBS on a skydive (where you have plenty of altitude) to see how it reacts. Since your setting is so close to stall, it might do something "funny". Mark