whatever

probably while tracking on his back too! I've met Tim, I've been on a tracking dive with him and I think I have some idea of his tracking abilities. tell me about the other guy soon to be gone

sorry t I have to disagree with that pretty strongly. I've never flown Birdman Pantz, but I've spent some jumps tracking in RW suits, streetclothes and combinations thereof. I consider myself an average tracker and maybe a slightly-better-than-average wingsuit pilot on a S3. there is no way that any form of bootie RW suit can match the PF tracking pants and jacket for forward speed on the jump we did on Sunday three wingsuits exited the Otter with me in the PF pants and jacket and the forward speed was so good that it took the S3 and one GTi half the jump to catch up, since my exit was good the other GTi, flown by a BMI who snoozed on the exit, never caught up - he couldn't believe the forward speed on the PF pants and jacket! the jacket makes a gigantic difference, as it allowed me to be able to fly the huge XL pants in a controlled manner sorry to have to disagree with you man, but this is a world away even from my jumps on the PF suits in Eloy... cya sam soon to be gone

yeah, I know, being one of those dudes was fun! that time I was flying the Large size though this time I flew the Extra Large and I think I might be starting to get some idea how to fly the pants and jacket, as time it flew better than some wingsuit flocks I've been in.... just have a close look at how much of the S3's (my red and white one with my buddy in it) wings are not collapsed see you around sam soon to be gone

if I were to make a wild probability calculation from Jaap's suggested numbers, since I'm fairly active and I've done 116 jumps in the last 10 months, which works out to 139 per year: the wild part is assuming I could survive 5000 jumps before it's 'the one'; at my present rate that would take 36 years and I'd be 68 when I smack in - I like those odds and I'd be perfectly content giving up a decade or two in a retirement home for the experiences that 5000 jump would hold ! using Mikki's numbers: 2294 jumps, 16.5 years and 48.5 years when I get my place on the list.... looking at those calculations and comparing to my short experience in this sport, I would say Jaap's numbers are far too optimistic and Mikki's numbers look closer to reality for time in the sport, but still vey optimistic for jump numbers and age at death injury, of course, lies much closer down the road that is quickly becoming more travelled why do we still do it? -some are too young or just too stupid to really understand the risks and price of participation -some are really good at denial -some would rather not live if they didn't feel alive -some are addicted to the experience my targets are to jump as much as I'd like until I'm 65 or so, I have never made peace with the idea of getting old and I've never been really excited about dying in my sleep either, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so you might as well make it interesting... that makes me sound like someone who've never even skinned their knee, but the truth is that I've seen the inside of a life-flight helicopter and it's made me as appreciative of the value of life as it has of it's fleeting nature I do not take unneccesary risks as life is too precious to lose that way, but I do consider some risks as neccesary to make life worthwhile. soon to be gone

We did 3 flocking jumps this weekend with GTi's, an S3 and a Phoenix Fly tracking pants and jacket combo, making turns flying the PF stuff. I have just over 100 jumps on my S3 now (I have 15 also on Classics and GTi's), I'm 6'0" and around 168 lbs, the PF pants and jacket were both XL, which is about right for my limb length but very baggy. It's about my 8th jump on a PF pants & jacket combo. on the jump with the longest delay (which I'm pretty sure we covered the most ground on too) I was flying the PF pants & jacket and got these numbers from my Suunto X6 HRM: exit: 14239 ft deployment: 4026 ft delay: 92 seconds my Protrack read something like exit: 14200 ft deployment: 3100 ft avg: 77 mph delay: 108 sec but after downloading the data to Jumptrack it's obvious that there's a large error at the deployment side and I find the Suunto numbers more accurately reflect my experience of the jump. now that the stats are done with, the point is, these suits KICK ASS!!! check out the video if you wanna see: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=2336 cheers sam soon to be gone

not really it's on there with rather big tandem linestow rubber band and then covered in gaffers tape I have used it handmounted a number of times, but I have had it taped to the top of the TSG helmet like that for a while now, I do mainly night jumps now and I like the top facing forward better for that. It's only about 15 minutes to change it over and aim is not critical as I have a very wide lens in the bulletcam. I certainly do, I always wear clothing that will cover the cables too (Cameye Sport cable running to my wrist etc.) Minimising snag potential is where it's at, as I mainly do slider off jumps and if you snag a line on your camera helmet or setup on one of those, I'm pretty sure you will be landing whatever you have happening above you or be flown into the object by it. Snag your bridle on a camera setup at slider off altitudes though and I'm pretty sure that's a guaranteed place on Nick's list.... video is cool but safety is cooler cya sam soon to be gone

pretty much the same place skreamer did I did. indeed you did which won't achieve your goal of providing significant impact protection, unless your Bonehead was WAY too big to start with and you manage to get hold of some expanded polystyrene foam too and go through the trouble of shaping and fitting it without damaging it I did read the whole thread before I posted, I usually do. just trying to help you see that whereas Bonehead make very good skydiving camera helmets, they are not any good at impact protection and cannot practically be modified to provide the same level of protection that a downhill mountainbike helmet can provide at half the cost, or a BMX dirtjumping helmet at about a sixth of the cost it seems you have made up your mind that your Bonehead will provide you reasonable impact protection, even though several others have given valid reasons why it would not, even if modified. I've attached some pics. They are of 3 of my helmets, my 2KC ff2 that I use for skydiving, my TSG dirtjumping helmet that I use for skydiving, rockclimbing and basejumping and my 661 Full Bravo Carbon downhill mountainbike helmet that I use for basejumping. the TSG I bought in England for £25 and it provides better protection than a ProTec due to the expanded foam construction. I wear that on some skydives and basejumps where object strike is not an issue and the landing area is fairly friendly. The 661 I bought off the internet for $133 US. I wear that downhill mountainbiking and on basejumps where object strike is a concern and/or the landing area isn't too friendly. The 2KC I only skydive with. I have a bulletcam mounted on the TSG in the pic and I have used that on many basejumps and some skydives, with good results. It's far easier on your neck, presents no real snag hazard and if you choose the bulletcam well, will provide much better lowlight footage than a Sony on nightshot and since I mostly base at night... if you have any questions about any of the helmets or my bulletcam setup and my experiences with them, I'll gladly answer them cya sam Tom - thanks for making the warning nice. is this more helpful? at least give me some credit for having resisted the urge to work his username into my reply... soon to be gone

I would say you already do.... but, let's talk about helmets: - I'm astounded that someone with the amount of basejumps and skydives stated in your profile would have such ignorant views on helmets. - several people have contributed a lot of valid information here and even the manufacturer of your most beloved camera mounting platform a.k.a. Bonehead Composites Helmet have pointed out they do not make DOT rated helmets. - if impact protection is important, buy for that and modify to accomodate a camera, being careful not to compromise the protection by adding the camera - if camera mounting is your only priority get a camera helmet cya sam PS - 2k Composites make far better carbon shells than Bonehead. soon to be gone

I took an elastic band, the small/medium size used for skydiving linestows, and just poked my left thumb through it, and slid the bulletcam under the elastic, pointing along my thumb, so I can point the camera where I like. then I ran the bulletcam cable under my watchstrap and under a longsleeve t-shirt, which also covers the hipbag that houses my camcorder and batteries. I put my Cameye Sport under the watchstrap too, so it's accessible without messing with my clothes, especially if I'm wearing a winter jacket and I have to be geared up before the climb. I posted a video shot like this on skydivingmovies.com cya sam soon to be gone

*bump* thanks to everyone who has responded by contacting me, if I haven't done so yet, I will be in contact soon soon to be gone

Hey there. This is for all basejumpers, new basejumpers, people with base gear who are going to start jumping and those who are very interested in starting basejumping soon in the Southern Ontario area: if you haven't already done so, contact me soon - you'll be glad you did! email me at [email protected] cya sam soon to be gone

so that's why call it a stash bag! soon to be gone

yup. noticed that. I personally start getting edgy if I don't get at least two a week in. happiness was living at the TBPB during late July and doing 5-8 a day for 10 days running... edited because I typed TPBP instead of TBPB.... soon to be gone

whenever you see something cool in a post that you'd like to know how to do.... just click the 'quote' option, it will open a reply window and in it will be revealed the information you want

I edited my post to include a riggers rating, as I totally agree that rigging knowledge is absolutley vital. I have completed my observed reserve packs and will be doing my rigger A this year. I did mean to have it in there the first time around. soon to be gone

Michael I find your expressed points of view on this quite incongruous with the experience implied in your profile. Maybe because you have 1200 skydives, you have forgotten what your skills and awareness were like when you had none, when you had 50 and when you had a few hundred more skydives. I find it very surprising that no-one has pointed out in the paraglider vs. skydiver experience/skill/preparedness debate that one glaring difference between the two actvities is that skydivers deploy a packed parachute, much like basejumpers do. How do you develop the awareness, familiarity and ability to react during deployment that a switched-on skydiver with a few hundred jumps should have, by paragliding? The simple answer is you can not. Those who have a few hundred (and I do not mean 150 or 200, I mean 500 or more) skydives are going to be worlds better prepared during deployment and opening than a paraglider with a few thousand hours paragliding and only minimal, if any skydiving experience. Being a paraglider with vast amounts of canopy time and far superior (to us lowly skydivers) canopy flying skills, does not help you much if you never get the chance to fly your canopy because something happened during deployment and you had insufficient awareness and skills during that phase of a BASE jump to deal with it. As you well know deployment is one of the most important parts of a BASE jump, especially with a solid object behind you, why would someone want to enter the world of BASE with this glaring deficiency in their skillset? I'm not saying that's what happened with this incident - I was not there, so I can not say what happened. I'm saying this is an area where paragliders are at a great disadvantage to experienced skydivers. IMHO the proper way to prepare oneself for BASE is something like this: - the highest skydiving licence your national association issues (except maybe in the UK, where you need 1000 jumps for a D, a C at 500 will do) - PRO, EJR, demo rating (whatever your association calls theirs) and 50 demo jumps that require the rating, using your BASE canopy - compete at nationals in accuracy, once again, on your BASE canopy - 10 or more CRW jumps, on your BASE canopy - riggers rating and a number of reserve repacks for others anything less than this and you are taking shortcuts around valuable learning experience I was stupid enough to start BASE with less than this experience and I have been lucky enough to have gotten away with it so far. I am actively working on gaining this experience and I know that when I do I will be significantly better prepared than I am now at 470 skydives and 106 BASE jumps. I think you have likely forgotten how low your level of awareness during deployment was 10 years ago, when you had only 50 skydives. For me that's only 3 and a half years ago and I think I remember how oblivious I was then. I do not regard myself as experienced yet and I seriously suggest to anyone with less experience than I suggested above to gain some more before taking up BASE. The list of people who were glad they waited and gotten more experience is as long as the list of those who did not wait and now regret it. cheers sam soon to be gone

dude check here for the real dope soon to be gone

Sometime this past fall. Maybe October or November? I can't remember precisely. If you want I can dig through my calendar and see if I can place it. Since it wasn't my gear, it's not going to be in my log book or anything. Hey Tom (A) are you talking about the one Tom (D) had, he was the guy there with Tommy and I don't mean Tom (M), while I was in TF - which was late July 04 ? damn, there was a lot of Tom's there that week! cya sam soon to be gone

Hey K the coolest dz.com trick I know, is to hit 'quote' rather than the 'reply' button for a post when you see something that you'd like to know how to do. the post window that gets opened will reveal all that post's dirty little secrets have fun sam soon to be gone

80lb break cord breaks is 'calibrated' and tested to break at 80lbs of force, that is a single strand of the cord when you tie that single strand into a loop, you have distributed the force applied evenly to two strands of break cord, assuming it can slide a bit around the tie-in points to equalise the load therefore, 2 x 80 lb = 160 lb until about a minute ago I never checked for myself what the break cord I have tests at and as I could not find a scale nearby, I just rigged up something like my standard staticline setup, a girth-hitched (around the anchor point) loop of 5mm static cord with a rapide-link connecting to loop of break cord (which I knot with a surgeon's knot), I used another rapide-link and 5mm static cord loop, but doubled to be easy on my hands, on the bottom side of the break cord loop I then pulled with all my might and managed to just lift myself of the ground before the break cord did it's job and broke. I weigh 169lb. It's a fun little experiment to try at home, just be selective when choosing an anchor point and don't get hit in the head by a rapide-link! further to this discussion, be aware that there are several other factors that will affect exactly how much force it will take to break the break cord. here are the main players: -the size, shape and surface finish of the load points that contact the break cord -the knot used to tie the break cord -the amount of stretch in the anchor side of the system and the amount of stretch in the other side of the system -the speed with which the load is applied for the most part, if you keep it sensible (i.e. not using razor as contact points) these factors will not have a big influence on the force required to break the cord caveat: all the numbers used here are approximate, do not be suprised by a variance of a few pounds either way have fun! sam soon to be gone

I hate to be the one to 'break' this to you, but: this setup will only add the force generated by the friction of pulling around the anchor point to the force required to break the cord even with a stock standard textbook SL setup, you will need 160lb of force on the bridle to break the 80lb break-cord if you are sensible about picking a suitable anchor point for nicknitro's setup, I couldn't see it adding too much to the 160lb force required but what do I know? I only had two physics courses in my engineering degree.... cheers sam soon to be gone

*** I spent 45 minutes at the top of an A, freezing my nuts off in the British winter, waiting for a couple to finish shagging in their Transit van*** nice one! kinda reminds me of the time my buddy and I spent over an hour at about 400ft on an A with the temperature at -13 degrees C and some wicked windchill, while some maniacs were tobogganing on a closeby hill at 03:45 in the AM! except, we were cold and you're just indulging in the British national pastime of whining! Jaap - nice story, nice pics, wish it was on BLiNC... soon to be gone

dude, you said 'leg pouch', huh-huh, huh-huh, huh-huh... leg pouch must be WAY scary in (pun intended) a wingsuit! I'm guessing you meant BASE pouch, or I'm to stoopid to get the leg pouch bit... cheers sam soon to be gone

Tom I might be nit-picking here, but what I understood from talking to Adam about the mods to the Blackjack is that they only moved the inboard brake-line attachment locations and now ship the small hole mesh as standard. I do not think that can be called a re-trim. But then, he might just have been talking about the mods made between the time my 1st Blackjack was made and my 2nd one ordered. cya sam soon to be gone

hey, how's it goin'? I'll take one of those, eh! double, double, preferably how about this rephrase of Skreamer's contribution: Bad Exits Suck Enemas soon to be gone