rsibbald

I got my entire right arm caught in between twisted risers on my Safire after trying something stupid. Apart from not doing silly things anymore, I changed two things about my jumps as a result of this: 1.) Previously, I only carried a leg mounted hook knife. This experience made me realise that if my arm on that side was incapacitated or entangled, that I couldn't reach my knife with my other hand. I now always carry a chest-mounted knife as well. 2.) I have also started practicing one-handed reserve drills.

15000ft antenna? That'd better have a lift (elevator)....

The majority of places in the UK are RW before FF. I don't jump at the places that do the opposite.

Hey congrats Tom and Cheri

It's a matter of statistics. I'd say your chances start at around 99.99% at 1000ft, and decrease exponentially to about 0% at 100ft.

When is the snow normally gone by?

>> Starts collecting the pennies

This picture is only an example, but the type/height of the crane is roughly the same to my untrained eye. It is ground mounted. Edit to change link to better example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TowerCrane.jpg

Thanks Tom, that's what I was afraid of

Is that likely to be a walkway or a ladder on this type of boom though? Basically, the ones I'm looking at are at too steep an angle to climb if it's just flat walkway....

Something festive this way comes.... Plus there's lots around my end of the UK...

I've been seeing a lot of a particular type of crane recently, and I'm wondering what access along the boom of these to a potential exit point is like. I'm talking about the ones that have the boom at only 20 degrees or so from vertical, not the classic variety with a horizontal boom that you could walk out along easily. Please could anyone who's been on one of these, or works with them, let me know if there is generally ladder access along the boom to the tip, whilst it is still near vertical? Or do they have to lower it back to horizontal before maintenance access is available? Cheers for any info, R.

Nice work Dan. Do you get bored with same object once you've worked out how to jump it already?

I'm just playing devil's advocate here.... I still firmly believe that DZs should cover student chops.... However, most student malfunctions (when you include S/L) are caused by the students' body position, not bad packing.

Ethically, the DZ should always cover the cost if it is a student. The thought, "I can't afford to chop this", should never even enter the students head.

Two popular brands amoungst BASE jumpers are Hanwag SuperFly or Crispi Airborne boots. Both offer excellent ankle support, try a search for either of these to find out more info.

I've searched around on the forums and found a lot of general advice about antenna radiation safety. I was hoping one of the tower workers on here could give me some more detailed information about their minimum safe distances for a >500kW FM stinger. Would you want this shut off before working near it? Would you stay a minimum of 50ft/100ft below it when exiting etc? It just seems like quite a powerful beast compared with some of the other stats I've seen. I didn't find any quantitative information on the other posts I found. Thanks for any info.

The fun is in the chase.....

It was cancelled on Sunday because of the cloud cover too.

Flat packing has no bearing on the opening speed compared with a pro pack. Ask some of the experienced packers/riggers to show you some tricks with the slider and/or the nose and/or the tail of the canopy and/or the line stows which may help reduce the opening shock.

I'm afraid there is no "right" answer to your question. There will be a large number of factors to be taken into consideration. The jumper, their doctor and the local chief instructor should all talk to one another to find the safest route to follow.

-30C isn't unheard of in the winter at 10k... Then add the wind chill if you're in a plane without a door!

I'll be there, looking forward to jumping with you again mate

If you're away over the winter, try and keep it somewhere that will be above freezing and prevent any moisture from getting to it. I would suggest leaving it unpacked as well, just to keep the ZP in good condition. ...and it goes without saying to keep it out of the light

Nice one Lee, we can now get the first ever flock to fly at Peterlee!