sabre210

Hey Tom the idea of taking the longer delay whilst stowed makes perfect sense (up to a point). Of course it's a different story when you're in freefall in the pitch black and the blood is pumping. I don't intend to under delay on these lowish stowed jumps. I just always feel i need to give myself more time for the location, extraction and pitching of the pc than i probably actually need. That's just me....paranoid. On a specific UK cliff jump from the same height i always find myself opting to go handheld. Consequently i believe i take a solid delay and get a snappier opening with a better chance of being on-heading. I'll try to re-learn my instinct to go in too early on the stowed jumps though. Could be fun.

If i go handheld from around the 350ft mark i ususally take a good delay, if i go stowed i usually under delay by half a second. That's the confidence difference in having it in your hand i suppose. I don't have any hard and fast rules, i just go with how i feel on the day. I do know i have yet to go stowed below 300ft though. I've had a pilot chute inflation hesitation from a stowed 350ft bridge jump which although it didn't put me right down there gave me pause for thought. I'm comfortable where i am at the moment and haven't got plans to change anything soon...but i'll never say never.

I've crossed the road in the valley in just my Starksy and hutch pants......oh wait.....sorry i seem to have misunderstood......scratch that. ian

Nigel Huge thanks for making your work available for download. As a UK basejumper this is pure gold. I'm sure there are quite a few jumpers out there who would love the chance to purchase a reprint. If you are interested. i would be honoured to arrange and fund that (profit free for me). Email me if you are interested. Genuine offer cos i love this fu(king sport and it's history. ian BASE 843

Hello Ray I'm confused about this thread and was hoping you'd clarify for me. The TARD jump of Spence's (which i watched) is by any standard a sickningly low BASE jump. Is this viewed in general as a freefall jump or does it fall into that grey area like the rollover (mcconkey) or the Utah drop (whatever it's called). The reason i ask is that i would imagine a D-bag or even a bridle removed (inside container static line) would provide a flying canopy faster or am i totally wrong here. That's a genuine question, not one of those smart assed "correct me if i'm wrong though i know i'm not" type questions. Would Spence (or has spence) DB'd, McConkey'd , static lined or PCA'd that height or would he consider that a definite no no jump. IS the TARD method viewed by you guys as the fastest effective way of getting a canopy above your head? Huge respect to Spence. Spence i love your work and owe you a drink or two for looking after me in TF after my FJC a few years ago. Fond memories of hotrocks. ian #843

[ I posted that video not to seek attention but to share knowledge. It could save someones life, but whatever, you don’t care about things like that. ] Doesn't wash. There's very little to be learnt from that video (other than what your antenna looks like in broad daylight.) If anything all it tells us is landings can be hard if you fail to land your canopy correctly, and guess what.....if you'd typed "did a 2way other day, got spooked at the close proximity of other canopy, didn't turn into wind and landed hard", that would have done the trick. This whole "i'm trying hard to help people not make the same mistakes as me" so i'll post this highly controversial day blazing video of a 2 way i did where i biffed in on landing" story is a smokescreen.You thought there was Kudos to be had ,so you ploughed in on a WORLDWIDE forum and posted regardless of the sensitivity. You quite clearly make the point that your only mistake was to go public with your video, failing to see that day blazing the object was bad form. Someone made the point about worldwide credibility. If you ever want to travel and jump other people's objects you will probably need their help. At the moment if you posted looking for jumpers to help you out in other areas you may well come up short. Fortunately you strike me as the kind of person who will never venture beyond your own back yard, so i sympathise with jumpers (both NC and SC) who are stuck with you. Wake up. ian richardson #843 from the UK

Ok, i suppose. J, was nice seeing you last week. Enjoyed spooning up to you in the middle of the night too. You got a comfy butt for skinny fellow

That makes interesting reading Ray. I've sometimes wondered whether he did that jump knowing how close he was to seriously hurting himself. His note to you does throw up an interesting point though. He indicates he mistakenly over-delayed. You have to wonder if that was such a bad thing. How much more likely would he have had an off heading if his delay (slider up) had been shorter as planned. Anyway, that jump for me falls into that very grey area. If you pull it off you're a hardcore gnarly jumper, if it goes wrong you're a dumb ass. I'm glad he pulled it off and landed without incident. Was that the wisest thing he ever did? I would think probably not but it makes for an interesting video anyway. Like i said, that's taking nothing away from Jeb's remarkable accomplishments. Got to admire the man. Respect to them both. Ian

Taking absolutely nothing away from Jeb (his work is amazing) , the thing about that video which never ceases to amaze me is Fumio's camera jump in Japan. To take a side floater off a Building slider up with the landing area as congested as it was, well that's just plain incredible. RIP

Michael Would i use a flippant remark like 'don't die' or 'don't forget to pull' on the edge. No. My mouth's too dry ususally and I tend to go pretty quiet and get 'in the zone' on the edge. Would it bother me if someone i know said that to me as i climbed over. No, not at all, cos i know for a fact they don't mean me any ill will, and they would be saying it because actually 'they gave a shit'. You know, like when you tell friend to 'drop dead' or 'go to hell', you don't mean it literally. I also recognise that different people cope with fear, nerves, stress in different ways. My way isn't right, it's just different from others. Some people become quiet (me) some become gob shites, some become the king of comedy. All know the ramifications of a jump going wrong, all care a lot about human life, all fully understand their personal and group responsibilities, they just deal with the situation differently. Yeah BASE should be taken seriously but not to the point where you lose all of your sense of humour and fun and irony. I am sorry you have a lost a friend jumping. It is no laughing matter for sure and i think that is what motivates people to post saying "please be safe out there". They simply care about their buddies and would hate to see another die or get hurt through complacency, stupity or bad judgement, when the sport is dangerous enough when approached cautiously. In this game, i'll take all the well wishes i can get. ian

Michael, you have issues. ["Be safe/careful" No shit!! Isn't that obvious!?!] Do you feel the same when a buddy says "have a good one" , "see you down there". God forbid anyone tries to crack a joke like "don't forget to pull" or "hope you don't die" Don't be so harsh. Yes a lot of factors in BASE are beyond our control, but not all are. Taking a fat delay, planning on trying to out track a ledge, going for that third back loop, landing amongst obstacles or traffic, these are all factors we CAN control and so when a mate says "be safe" maybe you could see that as sound advice and not the patronising platitude you currently view it as. I do agree with you on one point though. Avery's post was intelligent and moving. ian

Let's just hope that it will be a case of Do as I say not as i do, cos the Bush Government has lowered the bar when it comes to the treatment of people suspected as terrorists...and that is exactly why Felix and co are being held. I really do hope everyone being held is treated with respect and dignity.....a luxury not offered to the hundreds of people held without charge or counsel by the US in cuba. This war on terrorism is being used as panacea for many things, and Felix' arrest is just the thin end of the wedge. Felix is a controversial character in the BASE community, and it would be easy to gloat at his misfortune, but at the end of the day, he's a jumper who means no harm to anyone. He may well need the BASE communities support if things don't go well at his hearing. I wish him well and keep my fingers crossed that the authorities see he is of harm to no one but himself and release him without charge. One day it could be me or you.

I'm with tom. You're literally one step from getting busted up at best or killed at worst. Having said that, if you watch that awesome film "terminal velocity" , Charlie Sheen's bad ass character Ditch pulls off a ground launch with his reserve from a factory tower which would be about that height so it MUST be possible. Like Phil Nike said. Just do it. ps. if you're quick you might make the next Darwin Awards book.

A Doublehanded PCA McSandwich with extra cheese.

AVery. That photo is duane in a nutshell. It sums him up perfectly. I will miss him and his "drink milk" hat dearly. One of the good guys is an understatement of epic proportions. Missing him already. deepest sympathy to his family, wife and close friends.

Are you saying you don't know what your canopy, container and pilot chute were on this jump? That's a little disturbing.

aW MAN, I AM SORRY. It would be great site though. LOL ian

Your post cracks me up. I know the things your talking about, they have them at Headcorn parachute club in the UK to train students to PLF. They are pretty shite . When it was rained out the last time i was down there, a friend and i practiced 2way exits. In all fairness i think this is a bit different, although i may be wrong. I saw a programme on stunts a few months ago and they used a cable controlled device for a tall building fall stunt. The fall is pretty fast and you would feel like you were plummetting. At the last moment (well not quite the last moment) the brakes kick in and you get stopped quite abruptly. Like i said, this may not be what they are using here but if it is, it wouldn't be quite as gay as the PLF training fans you refer to. Sliding down banisters is pretty hardcore dude. You get it wrong and you're in a world of pain. Common banister injuries include upper thigh friction burns, chaffing of the knees, banister scrotum dismount syndrome and gooch rip. If you think your ready for it, check out www.extremebanistersliding.com BANISTER#79

Hey Daniel funny post dude, nice one On a more serious note though, i recommend you read the articles at the top of this page entitled getting into BASE. This contains a lot of useful information which you will need should you one day decide to take that step and do the dog jump. I personally would recommend you enrol on one of the really good First Jump courses available once you have the pre requisite number of skydives. I hope this has been helpful. See you at an exit point some day....

its funny this should now be a thought with you. Funny peculiar , or funny ha ha??? I've always carried a basic kit including painkillers and bandages etc but my accident made me realise that stuff would be woefuly inadequate if i had to get someone out of a compound and half a mile back to the car with a shattered leg and every move was agony. The splints i have bought will make a big difference in such an emergency as would a stretcher. I too have decided to do a thorough first aid course. Also on the list are ropes and slings and a harness. ANy more suggestions.???

Nice!!!!!!! Mental note .... don't biff in whilst jumping with Gardner ...... one day it might happen ( the jumping not the biffing). On a serious note, if i could lay my hands on Morphine that would definitely go in my kit.

After my little accident in Norway, I have come to appreciate how lucky I was to have hurt myself at a relatively accessible object with people who were ready and equipped to deal with me. A simple thing like the leg splint they used made a huge amount of difference to both the physical and pyshcological discomfort. Consequently i have decided to put together a more comprehensive emergency kit should one be required in the event of non-critical injuries which could be dealt with by us without having to call in emergency services and bring unwanted attention to the site. The first thing i have purchased is a box of said splints for various body parts. These can remain in the car, except a leg one which i will keep in my stash bag pouch for instant use on site. I also figure a survival blanket would be useful to keep the injured party warm. Do many of you have such a kit and if so, what essentials would you recommend i purchase for mine?

Hi Jason Hope all is well. Leg is healing well since Norway but still not jumping yet. Maybe another few weeks. Interesting thread. Incidentally, when you static line, where do you tie the breakcord to, the bridle attachment loop of the PC or the bridle itself, as the issues you raise regarding loading forces during PCA apply here too. ian

I suppose it depends on how confident and experienced a BASE jumper you are without a dog tied to your chest? Personally I have too much to deal with whilst preparing to jump to worry about a pet secured to me. A bit cheeky but I'm down HPC in a few weeks. Maybe if it's okay, I could hook up and you could take me to some local sites. I'll video the dog jump!!!!

yeah. I'd say it was down.