SullyFlyer

What are you new ? ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

This is my take on unpacked jumps: I let the wind conditions dictate the type of unpacked jump I do. I like doing rollovers and do them (or some variation

Hey, I'm in the "Good Tard" section of this post. It's nice to be recognized for something that goes rite for a change I missed the original post though so I have to add(to anyone thinking of doing unpacked jumps): Tards are very dangerous. Even experienced jumpers that are very comfortable in BASE have problems with them. The heading performance is atrocious, not all the time, but when it goes bad it goes terribly bad. A friend of mine got a finger stuck in her lines. Someone else actually hit the talus at the potato bridge. She flew 200 meters down-wind in line twist. You will hear that they are "super easy", and they are. It is very easy to hurt yourself. Please have someone who knows, show you. And try to find out if they've almost killed a student before (I know I have). Simply watching my video is NOT acceptable training. It doesn't actually show you how to do it. And it talks nothing of the launch. Be safe out there (there is a planet pointed at you) -Bill

You want a second opinion on unpacked jumps? I don't blame you PM sent. ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

RkyMtnHigh girl means to say she "qualified" for her BASE number this week. It actually will take 30 days for Joy to give out the number, because of official BASE policy. She qualified in a little place called "The Playground". Congrats Becca. Stay Safe -Bill

It's weird to see this, because one of your friends was in my living room yesterday and today is jumping down south. I worry, but at the same time I think of her having an awesome time. From skydiving I'm sure you know, if you want to have a great time, you need to push your personal limits just a bit. My advise would be not to worry so much. I know that is pretty obvious, but it works. Think of one of your friends having a great time. And it's like anything new, she will get to a point where she misses skydiving and she'll come back to jump with you guys. She's lucky to have a friend like you, and I know she knows it. Two of my friends are headed out rite now... I know how excited they are to jump this new object, so I'm happy for them. I just say "Be Safe" and "Have a good one". Hope this helps. -Bill ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

280, but he's a nut. I static lined a 486ft bridge yesterday (Slider up) When you talk about low free falls, Spencer's name comes to mind. 180ft bridge handheld. 102ft tard.

Last night I saw one guy PCA, one went hand-held, and one did a gainer. Can you tell me how high the object was, or what the landing area was like? I look at the jump, and I chose my gear, and my configuration accordingly. You really need to ask very specific questions when it comes to low stuff. And be careful who is answering (is it the guy that did the gainer) Be Safe ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

I log. But mostly just to keep track of the jumps on my gear. I retired a 42" PC because it felt like it was hesitating just a little. I looked in my log book, and it had 206 jumps on it. After that, I started keeping a closer eye on the jumps on my gear. And I'm not afraid to say I also like the numbers. My last jump was jump number 486 off the potato bridge (some of you might catch the significance of that) And it's always nice to see how people get excited about doing a 100th or 500th jump with someone. And I have it on my computer, so it's not that tough to keep a log going. ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

Robi told me that the V1 (Pretty much the same wing as the V2) was designed to be pulled a little different than the Bird-man suits of that time. I always reach around my GTI and the S3. But I reach under the V1 wing. That's why the wing was moved up slightly on the hip, so you can reach under instead of around. So my pull is kinda the same leg pouch or boc. I reach to where the bottom of the wing meets the body and then go either down for the leg or up and in for the boc. You should have an experienced wingsuit flier show you the differences on any new suit you are jumping. I have always used the leg pouch for BASE, but I use the boc on skydiving if I'm going to be back flying or doing a lot of flipping/twisting transitions. Hope this helps. -Bill

I always use small mesh sliders on WS jumps. I wouldn't trust a sail slider on openings under 500ft. Maybe I'll try one at the Casa boogie in Ogden mid-September. I know a guy with some big-old student rigs. Be Safe. -Bill

I agree with Yuri, and not just because he has a cool sounding name. WS openings are complicated enough without the multi.

To qualify: I have 41 WS BASE jumps with 2 different canopies, 2 different suits, 2 different containers, and 6 different exit points (cliffs only so far). I prefer my non-vented Ace without a multi (I think the multi is too complicated for a ws jump). I use a vented 36 and a 12 foot bridle. I use the long bridle to get the pc out of the burble so I can use a smaller pc. I like using the smallest pc I can get away with so the center cell doesn't get distorted (especially assymetric stripping that might cause off heading - leading to line-twist) This is also why I use a vented pc. My experience with my vented Black Jack is that the openings are very hard. Not a big deal, but it does help throw you off axis and maybe into line-twist But if I'm gonna pull dirty low (or lower) I'd use my Black Jack. I would advise going to James' WS seminar at Bridge Day before you try to jump off anything with a ws for the first time. With the exception of hot air balloons over 2000ft - have at that. Hope this helps. -Bill

Al, What's up Chum?!? Yeah that's our friend Miles. He's a good example of what happens when BASE jumpers get bored; it's not a good thing. See ya -Bill ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

Yeah, Manny is doing Tandems up here all season. He will definitely be here. I'm just passing through though on my way back to Idaho (I took the long road home) Have fun up here. You don't even need a rig to enjoy THAT weekend See ya -Bill

What's up Adam? Yeah, this is Mile Dasher's event. He will have a competition of some kind. There will probably be prize money. Don't plan on winning, though. He will sculp the competition to his own tallents. Like: Fastest hike up the hill, Craziest Aerial that looks out of control, but is pulled out at the last minute, Swooping a Red Bull canopy with complete disregaurd for your own safety; stuff like that Talk to Miles about it. It should be a fun event to watch and hang out at. I assume he planned it at the same time as the Go-Fast Games because he has never been invited to that event But now that Go-Fast is out, this event seems like a good idea. I'll be there. And so will you - because we live there Miles never comes on here, but maybe someone can find info, or post a link. You may be struck down by the all-seeing hand of The Man though because any info you put up here will be considered advertising I'm sure. Rite now, consider this a get-together of the Tahoe/Nor-Cal crew in Twin 15, 16, & 17 of September. Be Safe. There's a list where we keep reports of your mistakes, but you never live to see yourself on it. See ya -Bill ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

I'd be happy to share my experiences with you if you let us know who you are. Fill in your profile or PM me. My advice to a stanger is to find an experienced jumper that knows you and ask them what they do. Be Safe. -Bill

I would take it to a rigger so they can see it and handle it. They can test it to see if the hole will easily expand. They will probably just put a small piece of rip-stop tape on it if the hole is big enough. See ya -Bill ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

I'll be there. And the cliffs aren't high enough to jump with my V1 so I'll probably do a few out of the planes See ya there. -Bill ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

Here is a Clicky until Tom takes this down for being an advertisement... ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

I'll try to post it soon, mate. I'm traveling and can't locate my fire-wire, but I'm sure I can find one. stay tuned... -Bill ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

Oh, James beat me to it... Maybe he'll put a video up...

OK, this is my trick for folding my V1 while on my rig to stash it for the hike up to a tall cliff. 1. Lay it flat on it's belly (rig up) 2. zip up arm and leg wings, leave belly unzipped 3. fold arm wing into middle and fold excess back to middle keeping stiffener flat 4. repeat for other arm wing. 5. flip entire rig/suit over 6. push leg wing together in middle (stiffeners flat against each other in middle (V2 will have more stifferner, just keep them all flat up against each other)) 7. Fold leg straps up onto rig 8. fold leg wing up over the rig 9. then find the top of the stiffeners and fold the rest of the leg wing back on top of rig *So, steps 8 and 9 flod the leg wing in half from the bottom of the countainer to the toes of the booties. The stiffeners only go half way up so you don't put any fold in the stiffeners. That's it. I'll try to put a little video on SkydivingMovies and link it here. Hope that helps. Oh, and the process is the same without a rig, it's just easier to fit the suit in the stash bag See ya -Bill ~ Fear is the thief of dreams...

I want to give a huge shout-out to all the packers!!! He needed a packed rig every 6-7 minutes for 22 hours, that ain't no hay. I am always shocked and proud of the selflessness put forth by BASE jumpers. Also, I'd like to thank all the other support staff that got us food and water - you all rock! And everyone that did the jobs that nobody else wanted like standing at the exit point to make sure Dan didn't have a bridle around his head at 2am. And the guy that wrote down the exact time he landed, all 201 times! And a huge team-effort. How about JT swimming 300 yards against the current to drag Tom A's canopy to safety at 2 in the morning. This was a fun event. Nice job folks. See ya. Be Safe. -Bill

I'm in the US and planning a trip to Jaap's house. Anything I should know? Seriously, the weather sucks in Seattle, I'm coming up to visit...