base570

Damn, it really sucks to come back from a great weekend to hear about this. Dwain was a true pioneer in our small sport, always pushing the limits. I only got to spend one day with him in the summer of '99, but I will never forget it. I was just starting out in my BASE career (50 jumps) when base 515 and I decided to take the Europe trip for 5 weeks. We were at a really nice Swiss dam when Dwain and a few friends came blazing through. Now I thought I was doing pretty good by even getting off this thing but Dwain totally blew my mind away when I see him on the edge with his skyboard strapped to his feet!! I thought he was crazy but he was very meticulous about every aspect of his jump, constantly rehearsing it in his head over and over. As I watched his concentration I thought 'he's not crazy, he actually seems quite sane'. After all the preparations were made he exited into a really nice front flip. He deployed and had a 120 off heading, Yikes! This, of course, was a minor problem for him. He turns the canopy away from impending doom and lands safely at the bottom. This meeting with Dwain left me with a few things... 1. Anything is possible in BASE (dream it and you can do it) 2. Attention to detail will help you to become an "old" BASE jumper 3.Mental and physical preparation are paramount. I have become a better, safer, more aware BASE jumper thanks to this one meeting with Dwain. Thanks Dwain for everything from your well written and researched articles to showing us what can be achieved....... You will be missed 570

Ahh, I can see it now..... Mr. Pink in the plane getting ready to jump round 10 all tied up for 1st place. Mr. Jade sits quietly near the door contemplating the dive, then suddenly he catches a whiff of the the thing he most dreads... Yellowtail He tries to compose himself but can't, the other team has found out his weakness and capitalized on the opportunity to wreak havoc on poor Bobbys' belly To be continued..... Never show them your weakness man, NEVER!!!! 570

RED LIGHT Blair as your mentor!!!!!! You might need a second opinion!! 570 ps- love ya Blair

How in the hell do you consider that a "tirade" and "in your face"?? There is nothing angry or violent in it. It sounds from the tone of your post your the one who is angry. Sorry if you took something in my post as offensive, if you knew me you would realize your mistake. I don't see how I'm being any more rude to you than you are to Todd. Your the one who came back bitching about the price of the creepers. Don't you know that if you start to bitch about something your opening yourself up to some sort of rebuttle?? All I did was tell you that you could do the same with virtually every other piece of equipment you own (OK maybe I was out of line with the container... that would be costly!). All you need is the drive to do it. Yes I know you talked with Todd and your OK with him. I guess you felt guilty for bitching about his creepers? Oh and please refrain from telling others when they should or should not post.... don't you know that it is RUDE!! PEACE 570 lighten up man, your taking this way too seriously!!!

How about making your own helmets too I hear there's huge profit margins in them And from what I hear there not that hard to make. In line wheels suck ass, have you actually tried others to compare? You could always save hundreds or thousands of dollars too if you sewed your own jumpsuit, harness, parachute etc. The patterns are right there, just unstitch the ones you own now. It really shouldn't be that hard! ok so you'll pay top dollar for your custom Odyssey, Stiletto, jumpsuit, helmet etc. which are all there to basically make you look like a good skydiver but you wouldn't pay for a tool that will actually HELP to make you a better skydiver. Hmmm, that's kinda strange Why would you want to try to roll around on some uncomfortable hunk of plywood that you keep falling off of and that requires way too much effort to get around? If you want to expend less energy and focus on "learning" not the creeper clunking around then I would go with a design that has been tested year after year by some of the best teams in the world. I guess the reason someone would pay for the best creeper around is the same reason some people would pay for the best canopy around... R&D. Peace, 570

Don't mind Stupid Sky Monkey sometimes he's just a stupid sky monkey!! He is correct in saying that Casper Creepers rock! No doubt about being the best out there. I have had one for 5 years and it's still going strong.

Pics of the tower and shelter follow.... No shit, it's as big as a home depot It's on a few different levels (yellow, orange, and the 2 living quarters) Pic 1 - 1/4 of the yellow level pic 2 - 1/4 of the orange level pic 3 - fallout shelter door pic 4 - open 15 ton shelter door (note the light mounted on a spring... everything had these vibration dampeners) pic 5 - outside overall view Sweeeeeeeeeet! 570

Missed ya last night... 515 said you was at a party All I can say is wow, what a cool place! It might be worth 1.5 mil if it weren't in such bad shape and it had all the things the article states but it doesn't. The 750kw generators.... gone. These would have helped with the asking price

If we already sent in an application before the dates were worked out do we need to send another one in now?? Jason BASE 570

Count me in for the festivities with the race. I don't have a suit yet so I won't be competing but I bet I can be a damn good pylon!!! Fall slow right??? I think all those 14second delays from 1860ft have trained me right What's going on down there during the week usually... besides kanighets stuff?? 570

Damn dude... that's very close to my dreamhouse!! 80,000sf seems kinda small though. 570

Somewhere in my hours and hours of video footage I have some video I filmed in Norway in 1999. It was some of the first BASE BM jumps out there or anywhere for that matter and I got some footage of Chris getting into a flat spin and having to cut his wings away and deploy before he smacked the wall. He said he was experimenting with the slowest vert. speed he could get and that's what got him into the bad situation. Maybe the slow speed of the Porter attributed to your flat spin?? Just a thought.... Jason BASE 570

Hey Charles, it was cool hanging with ya this weekend! I was thinking the same thing as Motherhucker with the FF tubes and all then you posed this good question so I thought about it and came up with this solution... Just have 2 planes flying a set distance apart (quarter mile, half mile, whatever). I figured you could have four BM's and 2 pylons. 2 BM's and a pylon flyer in each plane exiting at the same time or maybe the pylon flyers out first? My question is this... Are you going to take the big easy arcing turn or are ya gonna staight line it then slam on the brakes and put it in reverse?? Jason BASE 570 The pylon flyers could act as judges too, making sure the BM aren't too high or too low, causing a DQ.

Hi Melanie, I would suggest having the Point and Tail doing the verts. 1st and both picking up and catching the grips. This way, in my opinion, makes the block easier by giving some room for the vert to begin (especially helpful when leaning verts while being attached to a teammate ). If you continue the way you have I would suggest keeping your body from contorting, instead see where you need to go (your pictures) and know exactly where you need to stop, then make the move and dig the appropriate knee at you stopping point (or before!) Body contortions aren't necessary to fly effieciently and smoothly, just use your legs and knees more. Oh, and make sure the grips between you and your partner are loose not stiff letting each of you fly independently yet still connected. Peace, Jason Point - Angry Beez PM me if you want a detailed version of how we do our 18's

Oh no my friend I believe you are the one mistaken. If you are referring to the name of the picture then I can assure you that I just pulled that name out of my ass, we actually call it something else. If you were reffering to the "one of the biggest in the country" statement, I can assure you that it is true. I realize that you Texans think that you have the biggest everything out there but really there are big sticks like that all over the country, not just in your area. I'm not saying my stick is better than yours, I think they are probably equally good. We just need to make sure that we play with them and give them the attention they deserve!!! 570 here is another nice one...

I beg to differ my friend.... we have some of the biggest sticks in the country Peace, 570

Farm Pest Said to Be World's Best Jumper Wed Jul 30, 1:29 PM ET Add Science - AP to My Yahoo! By ALICIA CHANG, Associated Press Writer A common farm pest appears to have leapfrogged over the flea to claim the unofficial title as the world's best jumper. British researchers say experiments show the spittle bug — a tiny, green insect that sucks the juice from alfalfa and clover — can leap more than 2 feet in the air. That's more than twice as high as the flea, and equal to a man jumping over the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, scientists said. "We've all been brought up on fleas as being the best performers. It turns out that, really, they're not," said Malcolm Burrows, a zoologist at the University of Cambridge and the study's lead researcher. Burrows analyzed the spittle bug soaring through the air using a high-speed camera. By unlocking the insect's jumping secrets, scientists can better understand how it coordinates its brain, eyes and muscles to escape from predators. The results appear in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. Burrows said the finding is remarkable because the 6 millimeter-long spittle bug — about the size of a pencil eraser — is bigger and heavier than the bloodsucking flea, yet still able to outjump its tiny rival by accelerating faster. The spittle bug reaches its heights by unleashing the large amount of stored energy in its muscular hind legs. When it is not jumping, it uses its smaller forelegs to move around while dragging its hind legs, which are constantly poised for liftoff. During take-off, the spittle bug accelerates at more than 400 times the force of gravity compared to 135 times of a flea. A flea is about one-eighth of an inch long. In an American experiment carried out in 1910, a flea jumped nearly 8 inches in the air, and performed a long jump of 13 inches. The comparison between a spittle bug and a human athlete is no contest. A human jumps with a force of three times his body weight and Olympians barely can jump above their own height. The world track and field record for the high jump is a fraction over 8 feet. Humans generally cannot tolerate more than three times the force of gravity before passing out, or about the G-force experienced on the scariest rollercoasters. The spittle bug is found worldwide. In the United States, it is prevalent along the Pacific Coast and east of the Mississippi River. It is also known as the froghopper because its squatty appearance resembles a frog. The spittle bug feeds on legumes, pine trees and strawberries. Some species are considered pests and can damage plants by piercing stems and sucking the juice, according to Mike Hoffmann, director of the Integrated Pest Management program at Cornell University. While feeding, the spittle bug covers itself in bubbles of white, foamy saliva to protect from the sun and its enemies. Some insect experts who did not participate in the study said the British results reflect the evolutionary lesson that all human athletes eventually must learn. "There's always someone out there who's bigger, faster, meaner, tougher and can do things better," said Iowa State entomologist Ken Holscher. "Maybe the flea has been replaced by something a little bit better." Ha Ha, 570

Nice flight!! Damn hard opening

Nice Job Mike!! It's about time you get past 400! Now all you have to do is catch me!! I'll be down your way the 2nd weekend in Aug. training with ICE... you gonna be around? Tony? Blair? TJ? Anyone?? I have some good stories to tell....... Jason

I was just wondering if anyone thinks that a 20pt. avg. in 4-way could possibly be achieved by a weekend team with no sponsorship?? By weekend/non-sponsored team I'm meaning a team that jumps less than 400 jumps together per year and pays for everything themselves. If not 20pts. how about 18? Where do you think the pros would be avg. wise without the "unlimited" resources? BUZZZZZZ Jason

I'm sure it's more than you can imagine, this is her 2nd loss due to skydiving.

This question kinda hits home for me right now since I'm dealing with this very scenario. A friend of mine recently died attempting to swoop his canopy. While a lot of factors came into play during his flight, I believe that he is ultimately to blame for his death. He was the only one with control of his canopy and his actions. He was the one that made the decision to turn when he did, no one else did. When events like this happen people like to place blame for the loss, they are angry and hurting and want someone to "pay" for the unfortunate incidents that happen. This is exactly what we don't need. Society needs to stop looking for a scapegoat for everything and realize that each individual controls their own actions, and ultimatelty their own fate. jason

I thought that the vents helped with canopy "pressurization" not "inflation" time. From what I have seen the vented canopies open in the same amount of time as the non-vented ones, they are just ready for control inputs faster. A canopy that pressurizes faster can fly faster. Please clarify this point for me. Whyt not list the other canopies you have jumped and the number of jumps you put on them in your report? As a very active BASE jumper and as one who is currently in the market for a new canopy, I think this information would help to "sell" your choice. Without this data your report doesn't hold as much water and it seems more like you are kissing BR's ass. Maybe it was part of the deal you worked out when they sent you the Flik to test jump?? I don't know. In no way am I saying that the Flik is not a great canopy and BR is not a good company (hell I own 2 Fox's right now and love them) all I'm saying is direct comparisons will win more customers than just stating that it outperforms other canopies. (in your opinion) So how about the openings at terminal? How exactly are they? I do quite a few terminal jumps (8-14 seconds) and am concerned with the openings compared to other, non-vented, canopies. Thanks for the article, it has provided me with more info so I can make an informed decision on my next canopy purchase. Jason Naked BASE #15

Both of your ideas are already in use... have been for quite some time.

Must have been your body position So your 1st 180 on jump #85??? You made it a little further than I did, mine was on jump #63 then my second was on #65 off the same cliff in Switzerland. Funny thing is that 515 was there on mine too I'm beginning to see a pattern Hmmmm. So how come you didn't practice turning it around and landing the same direction you faced when you jumped? Just curious. Seriously... congrats on "dealing" with your 1st 180. slider down even!! I haven't had one of them yet, all of my 180's have been slider up. Hopefully I'll never find out what they are like Nice one, Jason PS-Did jump #420 the other night!