Skinflicka

You're more likely to need skis (strapped to your ass to prevent excessive freefall).

It's normally considered quite rude to knock teachers down with explosives.

Trust this helps.

S.

Could BASE 666 please stop being responsible for evil doing on God's fair planet.

Every time there is an antichrist alert, the guy (or girl - must be PC aware) has already been there and tattooed his BASE number on the sprogs head.

This is very irresponsible...or am I just stoned?

Seriously yours,

Skinlicker

Quote

Again, I've never jumped, but I am simply blown away how people like Tom and DDog and Skinflicka and so on and so forth are very forthcoming with information for someone to help them live the next jump.

I'd like to hightlight a couple of things. Firstly, Skypuppy, the guinea pig is not my favorite animal. I only use them for sex.

Secondly, I'd like point out that I am indeed forthcoming with info if it'll save some pain but I will not encourage anyone to BASE jump for the first time. I hope my attitude towards newbies is well understood. You're all fuckin' mental. Why would you want to do this to yourselves?


Think it through. It could all go to hell on your first jump. Oops!

Skinfull.

Dear Mr Aiello's son Tom,

Thank you for the intro. I'd like to point out in my defence that I have indeed quit the one-liners and I'm currently playing by the rules. I can't help the bodily function / fluid thing though.

Yoshi, Email me and we'll squawk.

[email protected]

As I recall the SPC jump was a s/l. I think they broke their legs too. Maybe only one of them. I certainly recall the rather surreal detail that they were busted by a nun with a two-way radio.

Not enough nuns in BASE jumping these days. That's the problem with the MTV generation.

S.

It's very low but hardly qualifies as very, very low.


Trust this clarifies.

Skin

I have some pretty good experience with zip ties. We use 50-70lb ties. Why? Well, the rating has no tolerance. It could be +/- 50 lb.

I've seen a zip tie fail and the jump essentially became a 200 foot head down freefall. Hilarious on video but not good for laundry.

Be aware that placing a zip directly onto an object may weaken the zip considerably. For example, take a 50 lb zip and attach it to some angle iron. Now measure the force required to break it at different angles. My experience shows that this varies considerably.

For sub 160 foot s/ls I use two zips. One is a smaller loop than the other ensuring that it is broken before the backup and not simultaneously which would cause a large force on the bridle attachment point.

Never use zip ties in extremely cold weather. The material properties can be very different and they become brittle and break with reduced force. This depends on the material of the zip tie but the material spec isn't always apparent.

Always s/l with a correctly sized pilot chute in case the zip breaks before extraction.

Always get it on video. If not, it didn't happen.

S.

Having a fight and saying "semper fi" doesn't make you a marine. Likewise, jumping cliffs in Norway or pitching from a legal bridge in western USA in isolation doesn't make you a BASE jumper. BASE has already been defined. To be a BASE jumper you must have jumped the 4 qualifying objects. I feel sure Carl would see this as a non-negotiable point.

The number puts you in an elite club. It identifies your membership and signifies your commitment to the sport by showing a respect for the jumpers who have achieved the same goal before you. It carries on a tradition that is still in it's infancy but will have increased significance among it's members with time.

Just because you accept your number with pride doesn't mean you were jumping just for that one purpose. If that's the case, so what? You got where you wanted to be.

Athletes don't compete in the Olympics for a piece of metal on a ribbon. That medal signifies the achievement of being the best, fastest, strongest etc.

For those who don't want a number, that's fine. I understand some of their reasons. To each his own.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You done good.

Welcome to the hallowed halls, brother 802.

Skin, proudly BASE 727

Sounds good. I'll bring the chainsaw.

Early august my man. Let's tear it up.

Don't understand this one either. 2 Stars.



Your profile says you're primarily a BASE jumper with USPA student status, 37 jumps and fly a Stiletto.
Or is that a 37 year old student who wears stilettos?

I'm thinking bigger than a gnome but shorter than an ogre...

Mac does many things solo. Particularly having sex.

Didn't get it. 3 stars.

Mick hit the nail on the head.

You don't know what you're getting into. You don't. You don't know what it feels like to see a friend splat. You don't know how it feels to be that scared. You don't know. If you did you wouldn't do it. Mentoring is like inviting someone to get hooked on heroin (not the pink stuff). You really have no idea.

Picture the 18 year old kid joining the marines. His preconceptions don't include watching his friends die, losing his hearing to artillary, getting STDs while in port. Not seeing his family for extended periods, lack of sleep...do I need to go on?

BASE is warts and all. There is no half way unless you live in Twin Falls. It hurts, it's uncomfortable, it uncovers flaws you're embarrassed to confront.

Ask yourself a question..."Why do I want to BASE jump?"

If you think it's kewl...It's not. Noone sees it.
If you think it's a buzz, snort some coke. It's cheaper and it lasts longer and it's better for you medically.
If you want it cos your friends do it...get some new friends cos if you BASE jump you'll have to do this anyway when they all die.
If you want to get laid...go to Vegas. It's cheaper and easier to photograph and sometimes it lasts almost as long ;-).

To wannabe's everywhere...don't do it.

It sucks. It takes too long to learn if you're gonna survive. It's too expensive. It's all bad.

Talk big, tell everyone you do it. Get laid, feel good.

But male or female...Don't roll the dice.



You have been so advised.

Very sincerely,

Uncle Skin

How do you BASE jumpers feel when you see BASE jumping on T.V.?

It makes my palms sweaty.

Nicely put Doug.

For anyone wanting to learn BASE. Lesson 1 is titled "Respect".

See Gardner after class if you flunk.

Psychological fix?

You're kidding right?

Once again I apologize for the direction of the thread towards animals. Chicago dwellers especially.

"You wouldn't let it lie would you? You just wouldn't let it lie" - Vic Reeves.

I apologize to any vegitarian BASE jumpers for the direction of any future thread which you may find offensive. I'm just trying to take some of the heat off the guinea pigs. Not that there was any heat on the guinea pigs. It's just a figure of speech. Honest.

In Tom's defense (after a minor berate)...

Perhaps it should be noted that if you want to know how good a car is you ask the race driver and not the hairy assed monkey who changes the tyres or the geek in the white lab coat who calculated the flows and stresses.

It's ultimatley the consumer who will decide whether you have a quality product or not...provided he doesn't die while using it. These are not microwave ovens we're wearing on our backs.

Disclaimer:
I haven't seen a Bombproof rig and can offer no opinion on it's fit, form or function either way.

Skin.

To what end?

To prevent lineovers? Carry a hook knife and use anti-lineover toggles.

To slow openings by inhibiting the slider? Bad idea. If a slider up opening is too harsh get out of BASE and buy a poodle.

To prevent inflation completely? Just don't put the rig on before you jump instead. Or place a gun barrel in your mouth and pull the trigger.

Tailgates are a device for slider off/down jumping (also useful for a McShlonkey).

Just because a thing has a use for one activity does not instantly give merit to other applications. A fly swat gets rid of critters in some cases but try using it to kill a rabbit. If you do try this, please take vid and send it over. That's the rabbit thing, not the tailgate.

Love n hugs,

Skin.

PS my new rig arrives soon. I'm excited. I just wanted you all to know that.

I just completed testing this rig. It's a myth.

The handgrenade which I packed into the rig (slider up) completely obliterated both rig and canopy and, incidentally but not inconsequentially, my sandwiches which I had forgotten to remove from the test site. I think that this demonstrates beyond doubt that the rig does not, in fact, live up to it's name.

I'm off to Subway. I'm peckish.



PS Tom, kinda harsh to include other peoples opinions, which are purely conjecture, about a guy's business ethics in a review. It looks like the technical details alone should give people pause.
Just my .02. Skin

Mark,

Given your land of birth I completely understand your sensitivity towards animals (fnarr, fnarr).

Please feel free to blame Doug for anything that's my fault.

Anyone who knows me (and my animals) knows that this kind of chit chat is just in fun. I do not condone the shooting of cats, the dropping of baskets containing dogs or anything that our antipodean bethren do for amusement. I apololgise with due humility to anyone who was offended by my posts. I'm currently taking a few months out from BASE and tapping away on the boards is my sole source of amusement ('cept the guinea pigs).

Mark, certainly no hard feelings. I fully intend to come your way for some fun this spring / summer.

For anyone who doesn't know me or my style of posting...It's never serious unless it's technical BASE and it's rare that I post tech stuff. Besides, who needs to with Mr Aiello's son Tom moderating?

This is a fun forum and for now is low on ego and high in enthusiasm. I like that so I'll keep posting. My posts are mostly for fun but I have a nasty habit of crossing the line. Feel free to (politely) berate me as Mark has. I won't take offence.

Keep having fun folks. That's why we do this (although you have to wonder sometimes when you're at the exit).

Best wishes all. I'm off to drink heavily.

S. Flicka Esq.

PS Taping up the guinea pig first will generally prevent catastophic failure.

Unfortunately I just split my last guinea pig last night. The "Base preceeding skydiving" post would suggest that we try it first by using a frenchman in a basket.

The theory is sound once you're on the wire. Getting onto it is the difficult part. Let's use a student skydiver. They seem to have a penchant for landing on high tension wires instead of hitting the LZ if at all possible. That's the safest approach. Teaching them to repack whilst dangling poses the greatest challenge.

Only a frenchman could claim to be the first user of a parachute by dropping a dog in a basket.

Semantics I guess. True nonetheless.

I'm also up for some antics. I intend to be the first user of the "mind shield" by summoning my psychic powers to protect my cat whilst attempting to blow it away with my 12 guage. Anyone take a wager on the outcome?