BASE841

Oh, this gets better. On CNN-Netscape news, it has a couple of handy clickies. One, labeled "Skydiving FAQ," sends you to the infamous Skyride people. http://www.skydiving.com/faq.html

Geez, Rich. Looking at the posts about all those Senior TIs makes me think you should be around for a long time.

Oh ouch, got stung by a NSFW link. Of course, if I had actually LOOKED at the address ,that would have been a clue.

Please PM me fast, deadline approaches.

Amen here. Dude and Lee absolutely rock (pun intended.) I got to witness some world-class rescue from those two that day. A tip of the helmet to Dude and Lee!

About those drones, they're already in the skies of New Mexico and have been patrolling the international border for at least half a year now. They've been there on a test basis but they have been fully operational. I was told they're Predators, but I don't know that for sure, having only seen one from a distance.

Got your PM. Hey, I was on that load! I was the last one off the rock.

Here are some more shots of two of the people I'm trying to identify. Any help? Thanks for those who PM'ed me with clues so far.

I'm trying to accurately identify these three jumpers for photo captions from the Turkey Boogie on Friday. All were taken late morning at the Monkey Lips exit. I'll contact them and use only what identification they wouldn't mind for publication. I usually take care of such things when I take the picture, but I was a little distracted by nearby events a short time later. The only clue I have is I think the guy doing a backflip is from Calgary. Remember, I will keep all info confidential and will release only what the subjects agree to release. Please PM me if you know. Thanks.

A few weeks ago, i had the pleasure of working with the people who made the commercial. Director Klaus Obermeyer of Aero Film has made some memorable spots, including the Tony Hawk/Doritos commercial. For Suzuki, Klaus and crew went to Mari's Gash to shoot three jumps. The jump is real, shot from different angles, including the stunning crane shot that follows him from the door to opening. As someone said in a previous post, most of the house and yard are also real, build right on the edge of the cliff. They digitally inserted the rest from an actual house and neighborhood in southern California (that's not site naming, is it?) Klaus didn't want the skydiving footage, but the customer wanted more freefall. So they shot a skydive over the canyons and recut the spot to Suzuki's pleasure. The jumper/actor (same guy that plays the yuppie makes the jump) also landed right next to the SUV, having his canopy fall exactly as the script demanded. When I told Klaus that my last jump was from the same site, he asked if there was any sign of the shoot. I told him there wasn't and he looked pleased. Klaus respects the "take only pictures, leave only footprints" minimum impact philosophy of many back-country parachutists. And he is no stranger to BASE jumping, or the dangers involved. One of Klaus's close friends died, not from jumping a famous big wall but from being chased into a river after the jump.

Mine was at PVP, CA, the summer of 1980. A young man, just getting started in the skydive photo biz, immortalized it for my parents. The shot is hanging in their living room. The photographer? Norm Kent. How cool is that? Oh, and the jump was otherwise uneventful, except that I was jumping out of an airplane and lived.

Not were, am. I'm still in Plaquemines Parish, activated Army National Guard public affairs (photography and journalism) plus hauling hay, filling sand bags and whatever else needs to be done. Flew a Blackhawk and Chinook, both from Michigan Army Guard, no medevac yet. Attached is a photo of the CH-47 trying to recover a cattle barge stuck on a pier in Venice, LA after Katrina but before Rita.

Our DZ has an unofficial policy to give free jumps to naked women, not just tandems. One hardy young lass did her static line FJC in the chilly months! Since we've recently added AFF, I suppose that'll be offered, too. Just hasn't happened yet. Somehow, I don't think my wife would approve of my involvement.

Not to minimize the suffering here, but while on a flyover mission in Plaquemines Parish, I spotted this. Not to worry, there are at least a half dozen jumpable ones still standing (while passing them, I was checking their altitude with my Suunto watch and making mental notes.) Of course, I didn't bring my rig since I didn't trust myself to avoid temptation once our rescue & recovery mission slows down. And since most of this area is still under mandatory evacuation and curfew, the bust factor is pretty high. But all of us soldiers and airmen have been invited back to enjoy Cajun hospitality when things calm down. And I'm definitely bringing my Flik/Gargoyle!

Clarification: audible altimeter on S/L progression, during longer freefalls.

Not dependent on devices? I have yet to hear of someone who didn't jump without depending on a device (their parachute.) Seriously, the audible altimeter helps our students keep altitude aware. Even when the few who almost completely freak in freefall hear the BEEP BEEP BEEP, they realize it's time to pull and (usually) pull. I think it's a great way to overcome sensory overload. Personally, I use an audible when I do a busy jump (AFF, tandem, photo.) Do I rely on it? No. Is it helpful? Absolutely. I would encourage my AFF and S/L students to wear an audible. But I would also watch to see if they are depending on it and not checking their altimeter often enough. It hasn't been an issue yet, since our student helmets aren't set up for an audible (only the tandem frap hats.) But I've had one student ask for one, just last week.

We don't lose any ripcords when our tandem students pull. Our Strong rigs have a bungy attached to the primary (student accessable) ripcord.

I've spoken to tandem instructors from other DZs and based on my small sample, found few who even let their students attempt to pull. Why? They usually tell me that their students won't pull, so why bother? Last week, I was hiking with another TI and he told me only 1 out of 20 of his students would pull. By an interesting coincidence, that's the same ratio of how many of our students DO pull! Yes, about 19 out of 20 of our tandem students pull their own ripcord. What's our secret at Skydive NM? We use audible altimeters in the student's frap hat. Other than that, our training is about the same at other DZs. We take about 30 minutes to train: overview of a typical tandem, emergency procedures, practice exit position and freefall position, practice checking their altimeter, practice pull, then full-gear exit practice and away we go. So, does anybody else get such a high percentage of their students to pull? How do you get your results? Do the rest of you TIs think it's a good idea? Looking forward to your responses.

"There is nothing at all to stop me from going. But, I just couldn't do it . . . Ever feel like that . . . ?" Weird, but I did, just a week ago. I was on top of the Pizza Rock, hours after my last jump. No one was around, but for the longest time (about 10 minutes by my watch but it felt way longer) I couldn't jump. I was geared up, completely confident in my equipment and pack job. But each time I started toward the edge, a LOUD voice rang in my head... "What if it doesn't open?" Won't open? This ALWAYS opens! parachutes want to open. Again to the edge, and again, "Those are awfully sharp, pointy rocks down there. Look hungry to me." No, they're just rocks, and I'm not hitting them because this rig always opens. Now shut up and let me jump. I looked both of my hands and thought of Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles. "Look at that hand. Steady as a rock. Yeah, but I shoot with this one" (shaking like a sewing machine.) My left hand was steady as a rock, but my right, holding my pilot chute, quavered a good half inch up and down. Deep breath, two steps toward the lip of the cliff and "How about an off-heading opening? You know that happens. You got bit less than a year ago on that tower." OK, it can happen, but that's the risk I take and accept. Besides, I'm armored up, I'm fast on the risers and this is one of the cleanest pack jobs I've ever done. I eventually got off that damned rock with a perfect, on-heading opening and a landing a couple of feet from my target. No problems on the next jump, either. I dunno, maybe I had indigestion?

Check your PMs. Welcome.

I'll arrive Saturday evening after doing my time in uniform (it's drill weekend.) Sunday morning, Adam and I will take the son of a long-time jumper for his first jump, going tandem.

I have no brand loyalty, and the while lens I'm using on my film Rebel is good, that's not a big issue. Anyone know if the D50 takes the remote?

I'm getting ready to make the switch from film to digital. Any opinions on the following still cameras? I'm trying to balance performance (MPs, shots per second) cost (from $479 to $949) and weight. I know the XT will work just fine, cuz that's what our senior camera flyer on our DZ uses, but it is a little large and pricey. I'm not sure if the others will even work. In decending order of price and (I think) weight: -Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT -Nikon D50 -Nikon Coolpix 8400 -Canon Powershot Pro1 -Sony DSC-V3 -Canon Powershot S2 IS -Sony DSC-H1 Thanks for your collective wisdom!

40? Only 40? Why you young whippersnapper, you get yourself off an object now, while you still heal fast. Funny thing about getting old. "Old" seems to be mostly a state of mind, defined more by actions than chronology. Except for motorcycle insurance. I want those f*ckers to think I'm as old as the hills ($110/ year for my ZX-10, hee hee!)

: 7 : 3 Completed the AFF-I course with Jay Stokes, first emergency cutaway (with a grandmother as my student, just took her husband, her son was waiting, her family of about a dozen watching, landing was fine) and the first AFF jump on the dropzone with a real student. Yeah, it was a busy time. AFF-I and SL-I graduates pictured here.