skypuppy

d-bag it. That's my choice. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it. 44 jumps only, over 21 years. Only one jump on BASE-specific gear. 2 spans, 1 cliff, 3 buildings (opened 1, d-bag about 130' -- d-bag was something I'd read about in a magazine), 5 A's (opened 2, solos), 1 smokestack (opened). (I think this is all correct, but the '80's are still a bit hazy for me -- there may be a few more A's in there. All that morphine an stuff -- oh, and the nitrous oxide....) 1 arrest for trespassing (still got the jump). One broken hip. One broken ankle. I guess jumping off different motorhomes going over the same bridge doesn't count as different objects? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

The whole issue occured when our steering lines started to wear prematurely. Was there some sort of causative factor which wore the lines prematurely, or are you saying the steering lines just wore naturally, but faster than you expected? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I love busts.... Preferably a D-cup.... Skypuppy If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Actually I don't know Mike but I have sent in several articles and pics about skydiving to Sue, the editor. Years ago I dropped my subscription to Parachutist because, in part, they were completely ignoring a big part of jumping -- BASE. Skydiving regularly covers BASE-jumping events, incidents and equipment, from participants and manufacturers and organizers sides -- I think they have a great mag! Well worth the couple of bucks. (They have also covered the ABP and the on-going fencing with the NPS in-depth). They are a credible voice in the skydiving, ground-launching and BASE-jumping communities. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

How's it going, Billy? We're having a hot summer up here. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Rob you sick fuck. that's a ridiculously low 16feet but enough to break a limb or two. What deployment method you use on that. ian __________________________________________________ damn nitpickers! If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Actually, I'd be really interested in it because I remember you interviewed me that year, this after you taught me my first jump course in '84. I was pretty full of myself, I think, talking about how it felt jumping off the 'high' bridge again after doing buildings and 300' cliffs, sub 200" grain elevators, teaching some others and getting caught, etc. Strange thing is, less then a month after the interview, I had a 180 on opening up a new object and hit a smokestack, breaking my hip on landing. About 6 weeks later, just barely (not even) healed, I broke the other leg skiing. That smokestack was the last base jump I did until 2002. Rob Price BASE 92 If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Kevin was a great guy and a fantastic inspiration to me. We didn't know each other well but I'd love to run into him sometime over a few beers. I don't know if he even skydives any more.... Then there was that guy who taught me a First Base course at the bridge in '84. Hmmm, what was his name? Nigel Slick?... God knows where he ended up.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

My two tandem chops were the same day! Chopped with a teenage boy for a passenger, he wasn't sure what happened. Then took his sister up for hers which went ok. After that took up another guy (beer company rep) and had another chop! I was ready for a beer after that. But the skyhooks worked nice! If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Let's not forget Kevin Vennell (spelling?), Phil's partner in crime. Phil was an inspiration to me, but so was Kevin (I'd met him the first time in Zhills when I had about 20 skydives, then the next time was my first bridge day in '84 when I had over 1000 skydives and was waiting to do my first BASE jump). They drew straws to see who got to go with Phil. He said 'I'd wake up in a cold sweat at night, scared stiff, and the only thing to do was to grab the gf) If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Can you post it to skydivingmovies.com? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

This isn't about me, but I found it in the Globe and Mail, 1974. A $25,000 jump from CN Tower by Anne Parsons One friend called him a revolutionary, but William Eustace from Newfoundland himself says he's a man who always 'does his own thing'. He said he would jump off the top of the 1500 ft-high CN Tower. Yesterday, he did. But doing his own thing has cost Mr. Eustace $25,000 a year job and almost his life. "I was fortunate, very fortunate, that I made it... I almost hit 118,000 volts and the tower restaurant on the way down," the iron worker said in an interview last night. Mr. Eustace, 33, said he jumped because he told everyone he would and because he will do just about anything to be an individual. "I've wanted to jump ever since I started work on the tower. I was sick, sick, sick with the job and the people who worked there: but now it';s all over." Mr. Eustace was fired after his jump late yesterday afternoon by Jack Whyte, superintendant of construction for the tower, for violation of safety procedures. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Any more info on the report on the RAF Biggin Hill jumper I would appreciate it..... just for my own anoraky interest.......... __________________________________________________ Look up the book 'The Yorkshire Birdman' by Peter Hearn and Harry Ward. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

The Canadian Nationals is being held at a dropzone which requires aads on all rigs. We had a crw team hoping to compete in rotations, but I think this will do us in. Other than the cost alone, (I have three rigs, with an aad for the freefall rig), what do crw dogs think of wearing aads while doing serious crw? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

'fraid not. Wrong on at least one count. French were first to experiment with delayed parachute openings and to develop stable free-fall body position. __________________________________________________ Actually, that's not true. The French were the first to really 'publicize' that they were doing stable delays, but other people were doing some in the 20's and 30's, long before Leo Valentin.... I have a copy of an article from the Feb 1934 issue of Popular Mechanics called 'Secrets of the Silk Sailors' by Floyd Smith (of McCook Field fame) which describes stable fall, rolls, turns, loops, even dives and actually gives remarkably accurate fall rates for the different positions. These body positions were perfected by 'Spud' Manning, but by the time the article came out he had died in an aircraft accident (he was also a pilot). There were also others who had discovered the secrets of controlled flight, but most kept them to themselves as 'trade secrets'.... One of the others reputed to have discovered the secrets of stable fall was Corp Arthur East of the RAF who died at RAF Biggin Hill in March 1927. He had planned to do a stable fall from 5000' past the observers into a steep valley before deploying the parachute, but he missed and hit the road at the top of the hill, in front of a bus. (Apparently spotting was considered less important then freefall control.) If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I wonder if the people whose gear is lying somewhere in an NPS storage room agree with you. I'm curious if Jan and Frank would have agreed with you. Besides; even when the rules are there, you can still continue to make illegal jumps if you want. As long as you respect the establishment and don't endanger the platform that other people have worked hard for. __________________________________________________ I didn't know them personally, but I'm pretty sure I know what Jan and Frank would think -- and they wouldn't be for a set of rules! As far as making illegal jumps once the process has come into place -- we all know what sort of ostracization that would bring on -- look at the threads after someone 'dares' to do a jump from the rail in TF -- or the threats to someone getting caught on 'another's' object.... Once rules are in place I wouldn't be surprised to see BASE jumpers calling the rangers on other BASE jumpers if they think they're not following said rules.... All that being said, I'm still for legal access -- I just don't think we should have bend over to get it. Skypuppy BASE 92 If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

This brings up an interesting topic -- when were the first jumps made at Auburn? This is around the era when Owen Quinn jumped the WTC or that construction worker parachuted from a crane during construction of the CN Tower. It even predates the New River Gorge Bridge. Anyone know who made the first leap(s) and when? There must be some good stories involved -- might even have been round parachutes... Skypuppy If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

All you have to do is explain in less than 32 words why you base jump. No doubt in my mind at all, Im old school. There's only two reasons to BASE jump. For the girls, and for the glory. Everything else pales. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Last time I did a PCA jump, the holder got his fingers caught up in my pilot chute and I landed with some of his limbs still attached to my rig. It didn't seem to affect my jump at all! If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

A couple of guys and I were doing some three-stack rotations yesterday. Two of us had furys, the other a Pursuit, which was tending to float. I just did my first rotation and the Pursuit started to rotate when everything went to shit real fast.... I was thinking this was going to be a chop when I got spit out real fast, then watched the other two spin around for a few seconds thinking they'd chop before they flew apart and started flying. The Pursuit was flying straight and level except for the fact the guy had 8 or 9 line twists, but he was in perfect position for a pin so I started to approach (insert theme from Jaws here). As I came in I watched him slowly unwinding under the canopy. He would see me approaching and then spin around away from me, only to see me much closer as he spun around facing me again. It was actually sort of hilarious to see. Finally I had to put on brakes and back off a second to wait for him to unspin the last couple of twists, then sashayed down and redocked. We rebuilt and continued on, but the look on his face as he was untwisting under the canopy and betting glimpses of my approach was just priceless. Funniest thing I've seen in a long time.... Anyone else have funny stories about wraps? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

When I read the part about the bong I thought this was something I had to read, something I believed in.... Duh.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I could buy that if I didn't know some Tandem Examiners who have done night jumps. I've done a fair number of night jumps, I wouldn't hesitate under the right circumstance to consider a tandem.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

As Nick said, when you stand at the edge of a cliff you will know the difference between theory and reality. __________________________________________________ Or when you hit the bottom.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I have a reason for wanting night tandems...and I want to hear the historical aspects of our development into what jumping is today for a clues in how to get the USPA to say OK to night tandems...as they did with all of the issues I've mention above. __________________________________________________ I'm sure Bill Booth has probably done night tandems with his daughter, underaged. But I'm equally sure he will say it is not a good idea for anyone else and that it would not be condoned by Relative Workshop. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone