JaapSuter

Thanks Andrew. Sorry if my post came off a little rebellious. I will always respect DZ rules, since it is their hospitality that allows me to skydive in the first place. In fact, I don't think I'll take my base-rig for more skydives. Packing takes too long. I'll slap it back in that student rig and take it for normal skydives. Of course, opening plenty high again (3.5) because I wouldn't trust my normal packjob. Thanks! Jaap

Ah crap... Hey, nothing wrong with opening at 2k, right? You do it all the time...

I discussed this with a bunch of people, and Canada is a lot more flexible apparently. I was not breaking any laws; at most a guideline. As far as I know, that's why it is much easier to be a small container or canopy manufacterer in Canada, because you don't have to pay to get TSO approval. Unless you want to start selling in The States of course. The Canadian repack cyle is only a recommended guideline too, and it is up to dropzones to enforce it, recommend it, or not care at all. That is to my knowledge. Somebody that knows what he's talking about, please step in. Cheers, Jaap

Hi, does anybody know what the rules are for low-pulls? I'm especially interested in Canadian and CSPA law, but like to hear about the USPA rules too. Are there laws, rules, guidelines or DZ specifics? I did spend two minutes looking at the online SIM, but couldn't find much information. For the record, I'm often called a high puller (> 3500), but I've been skydiving my base-rig recently wearing a belly-mount reserve. As far as I'm concerned, the belly-mount is purely for show, and I'll happily smoke my base-rig a little lower (

And then pack and jump again.

Off the top of my head, one or more of the following: Assymetry in the pack job Unstable or assymetrical body position during deployment Pilot-chute oscillations, pulling the canopy to one side during the opening, or inducing a spin during the opening (creating line-twist and/or an offheading). These oscillations are caused by the pitch, the wind, substandard pilot-chute quality, or some unknown random factor. Wind factors. Cross winds can easily induce a spin into the canopy during opening. Blown toggles. Although the three I've done -slider down on purpose- can not be categorized as violent. Chaos theory; any sufficiently complicated process has variables beyond human control. Throw a bunch of lines and fabric in a high velocity and incredibly turbulent airflow, detailed predictions become impossible. The shit happens factor. Somewhat in line with the chaos theory factor, but it just stresses that you can do everything right and still get the most violent offheading opening. The debate on how much these factors come into play is ongoing. I have the impression that beginners like myself tend to overrate the effect of a symmetrical packjob, and end up with excessive origami-ing just to have less gear fear. Some experienced people will tell you that as long as the gist of the packjob is symmetrical, body-position and crosswinds become significantly more important. Obviously, that's not an excuse for sloppy packjobs. I may have forgotten some factors, but other people will hopefully correct me. Cheers, Jaap

Not everybody shits his pants on every jump Faber.

Do you mean low openings? What other reason would you have to be on the opening immediately on a wingsuit jump? Of course if you're close to the object you'd have to be quick too, but one advantage of a wingsuit is that you can get away from it easier. The only thing I can think of is that it'll allow for flying (and opening) closer to an object. Consequently, people might use it to fly parallel to cliffs faces, or take it through guy-wires. Is that what you are thinking about too? Or are you implying this suit is suitable for lower objects? If so, why? Cheers, Jaap

Ever since finding out the beginner suit was going to be two pieces, my rigger and I have been talking about modifying a set of Phoenix jacket and pants and turn it into this. I don't want to downplay the amount of time and effort that Phoenix puts into their suits (in fact, I am hoping that Robert Pecnik will join us and explain the differences) but I would not be surprised at all if the manufacturing basis for the two setups (wingsuit vs pants) is quite similar. I can't wait till my rigger has some time so we can sew some small (!) pieces of extra fabric onto my pants and jacket. It won't be Phoenix quality, but it'll be fun to experiment with, in skydives. Cheers, Jaap

It's definitely heavier than my freefly helmet. It's a lot lighter than a camera-helmet with a camera on it. Mace has carbon-fiber models too, but they are significantly more expensive. This helmet was cheap enough for me to take the risk of not liking it. I did a jump with it yesterday, and it felt comfortable. I'll be putting a large number of jumps on it in the coming week and then I'll know if the weight affects my neck or not. I'll let you know. I can definitely move the helmet around a decent amount (it's snug enough though). However, even when the chincup is pretty much in front of my nose, it still extends far enough down in front of my mouth. I believe this would still provide good protection for the lower half of my face. It would require an oddly shaped rock to enter the area in between the chincup and my neck. I'm not saying it can't happen, but one can only do so much to protect yourself. Anyway, I haven't quite made my mind up about this helmet yet, but we'll see in the coming week. Cheers, Jaap

I just booked a room in the Motel 6 from the 14th till the 18th. It has two beds, so if anybody needs a free place to stay for four nights, send me a PM. You gotta be quick, before SullyFlyer comes in and takes it. Maybe I'll get to borrow his shoes again in return. Sweet!

Woah! Did you touch him? Ask for his autograph!

That's very comforting to know. I have to study this attachment point a little better. Somehow the thought of having 400 pounds attached to something so easily tearable as F111 fabric doesn't make sense. I guess it works by spreading the load over a large area of the canopy. We actually had the breakcord tied between two improvized short bridles made from standard webbing. I'd like to try it with round lines (instead of flat webbing) too, to find out if that has an effect. I doubt it though. We'll be trying that for sure, although I think we're just going to see 160 versus 80. No kidding! I had never seen one before, but those things are fun to play with! Then again, anything that allows you to break shit is fun to play with. Maybe that's why BASE is fun too.

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it is Slim who, at the end of the ABA 2003 video, shoots Dwain's ashes with a potato gun for one last jump? Shortly after, you can see Slim limp to the edge and jump off too. I highly recommend getting a hold of this footage. Not only for this incredible scene, but also for Dwain's "roll the dice" speech he makes right before doing a gnarly jump.

We played with 80 pound breakcord and a

I just walked into my local mountain-bike shop and ended up trying several different models from several different brands. I ended up buying a Mace, see the attached picture. This model allowed for slightly bigger peripheral vision. It was also a lot cheaper than the others, yet certified according to the same standards. I'm guessing they can be cheap because they're just a small local Vancouver-based brand. Btw, here's an interesting post by Dwain from this thread: I guess that applies to wearing body-armor and helmets too. Better make sure I lessen the chance of needing it.

Oh by the way, one thing I've always noticed with the mountainbike style helmets is that they always feel really lose, even when you go a size smaller than what fits. They're also very big around the head, but that's a trade-off between safety (more material between you and the rock) and looking good I suppose.

My thoughts exactly! You'd think that now that there are at least a thousand base jumpers , skydiving helmet manufacturers would realize there is a market for sturdier helmets. I used to ride with a snowboard helmet from Red, and have recently bought a new one, but the brand name is slipping at the moment. It's actually what I was wearing on my skibase, and it seemed to be fine. Maybe I'll take another look at it. I do like a chincup though. If only to avoid planting the rest of my face against a rock. The Dainese helmet looks pretty good, although I'm curious about their cert. I'd also take off the cap. Thanks, Jaap

It's been a while since we've had a thread about helmets, so I figured I'd start one. I did a search on the forums, but there are so many threads out there with so many different recommendations that I'm not seeing the forest from the trees anymore. Maybe if I specify my requirements and keep it base-specific, somebody has some advice. I've been using my N-Vertigo freefly helmet so far, mainly because I hesitate to add another helmet to my collection. I have helmets for skydiving, bicycling, motorcycling, climbing and skiing. Arg.... I realize that this helmet is not going to provide much protection on hard impact though, so it's time for something better. I need the following: 1. Good solid strength and protection. More than just protection against bumping your head in the plane. Ideally some proven strength through a CE or other certification program. I care more about protection than weight. 2. Good visibility, including full peripheral vision. No visor, or at least a detachable one. 3. Chin protection, preferably one that is slightly protruding, so it stops your face from deforming. 4. I have no interest in video at the moment, but I'm guessing that some day I will succumb to the lure, so future camera-attachability would be a nice-to-have. However, if I find a better helmet without this, I'd take that one. I have my eyes on the Bonehead Illusion at the moment. Does anybody have any comments on it? My main worry is their strength, since they don't seem to go through independent certification testing. Thanks, Jaap

White water kayaking is another great way to learn about reading eddies and rotors. It's not quite like moving air, but there is significant overlap. Also, there is a neat little application on this website. A direct download to the executable is here. It allows you to draw obstacles and see how they affect the fluid flow. It seems to handle eddies and rotors pretty decent. Obviously there is no way this comes close to what happens in three dimensions, or reality for that matter, but it's still fun to play with for a bit. I've been meaning to write something like this myself so it allows you to remove obstacles and set wind direction and strength, but I'm too caught up in jumping. Cheers, Jaap

Thanks Jevto and Truckerbase. Interesting you mention the job thing. I seem to suffer from that too, always looking for new challenges and opportunities. It makes you wonder if the guy that wrote that manifesto (you know) had a point after all. His methods for revolution were despicable, but some of his ideas are quite agreeable. Good thing the sentence didn't stop there.

Wind Drift Indicator

Ha! I'm still looking for an expert to provide an FSC (first snort, shot, sniff, or swallow course). Maybe a good idea for base manufacturers, to diversify their core-business?

That exact thought occured to me when starting this thread. Sometimes I wonder if a drug habit would be safer and cheaper...

I have done seven jumps since my two FJCs, and I've noticed something I'd like to call post jump depression. I am curious to hear if anybody else experiences this. And more importantly, whether there is a treatment for it. Directly after a jump, there is excitement, exhilaration and the feeling of great accomplishment. This usually lasts for an hour, and then comes a smile that stays for several days. You know; the grin on your face, walking down the street looking up at the highrises around you thinking: "There's a world out there that few people know of." Then, after two or three days, the post jump depression kicks in. You find yourself doing some mundane task, like doing the dishes, getting groceries, or just sitting in the office, and you begin to wonder what the purpose of life is. You worry what happens if base becomes too consuming. What if the intervals between jumps become boring inevitabilities in life? Another two days later this feeling subdues. You come back to reality and begin appreciating other things. An early morning coffee, waking up and seeing a blue sky, old music rediscovered, a great dinner with friends, or a walk in the park. And then you start packing for your next jump and the cycle repeats... Is this feeling familiar to anybody? One solution is to make another jump before the smile dissapears. That way the bliss keeps going forever. However, one ends up having to make jumps more and more often, not to mention push the limits further and further. Inevitably, this will lead to accidents. I think the best life is one of moderation and balance. Not only in base, but for any intensely emotional activity (like beer ). The question is; how to do this if we acknowledge that happiness is largest in extremities. Woah, slow down Jaap; "It's only base jumping after all..." Cheers, Jaap