DexterBase

I apologize. I'll use the honey.

I'd like to shoot him in both kneecaps and leave him in bear country sometime.

You're rad Amanda!

I agree with Shotgun Ray. That's one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. BASE#'s don't prove a thing. I know jumpers with #'s who are just accidents waiting to happen (even though we're all accidents waiting to happen...hmmm) and jumpers with no # (like me) who are pretty solid. The numbers are for fun but were never, or should ever, be used to prove anything to do with skill level or experience. Having a BASE# tells me you have done 4 BASE jumps. That, and nothing more. I think the numbers are great and I hope that tradition continues as long as people are BASE jumping. But some like them, and some don't.

I have noticed dramatic differences between the BASE canopies available and feel that they're mostly all acceptable, just suited for different appications. I prefer a canopy that's super stable in deep brakes and they're not all good at flying that way. Some canopies excel in this area, while others barely squeak by.

Basically, I'm not worried about it. I place my pilot chute where I want it in the air. I'm conscious of when conditions could cause my bridle to interfere with part of my body and I try to plan my jump/delay so that isn't an issue. If there's a higher than normal possibility that snag factor may be an issue on a certain jump, then I'll wear a long-sleeve shirt over it.

The BASE community is going to spoil that little girl! Nice one Tom and Cheri! Hope to see you guys very soon.

I'll say that the TWOP is the most insane thing I've seen in a long time. That's including some of the things my Marines did in combat. NUTS!!!

This quality varies a lot between different models of BASE canopies. Some are good at this, others aren't so good. The difference is definitely something you can feel under canopy. Which BASE canopies have you flown to make this comparison?

I just watched that video about 50 times before posting, and compared still shots of all three deplotments. Did you change any of the settings on your stills camera between jumps? I have pretty good photo evidence that the hesitation was significant. Of course, that's based on my analysis skills. Someone elses opinion may be different.

Yeah, yeah, you and Peter didn't miss the chance to have a naked guy on guy photo shoot with my poor innocent BASE rig. Any have you ever come to terms to the accident you had with Becky? An innocent girl died and you still have not posted a public apology.

oooh, have you seen her new BlackJack?

The difference Faber, is that the moderators will attempt to keep people's feelings from getting hurt. See, nobody here cares about your feelings. So we're all pretty much allowed to take jabs at you here and there. Well, I guess I do care about your feelings a little, I didn't post the bikini picture. edit:typo

Oh man, you guys are going to get me in trouble!

I tend to agree with you about sharing information, but what's with all the interest in super low jumps lately? The questions are seemign to come from people that have absolutely no business doing any type of BASE jump. I think there's a difference between an experienced jumper, with experience in the rapid-fire paced world of BASE, asking how to explore the possibility of doing these jumps, and a person who is just curious. The information would be posted for anyone to read so it really doesn't make a difference as far as information dissemination is concerned, but why all the low stuff from no-timers?

Ray, you never answered me. You think I was joking?

I was answering to safely and that answer is NO! There's nothing safe about jumps under 100' There are a couple people who can pull off this type of jump (and I watched a jump like this), but the people who are pulling this off, aren't asking questions on an internet forum about how to do it.

If you do it right. If not, you're dead.

No, not safely.

You're assuming that we, the BASE jumpers, want to promote this activity. Promote it to who? There's people we'd like to promote BASE to, and others we'd prefer if they never even heard of BASE jumping.

I believe I'm the jumper you're talking about. (Maybe not) I used a super mushroom that I packed basically at the exit point. I used a solid surface to pack the PC and the technique was no different than what I've been using for the last two years. My jump was a go-n-throw from 240'. I exited with a head-high attitude so that I wouldn't swing under canopy on opening, and I would be able to react quickly to any offheading. (This isn't a great place to have a 90 in either direction) As my feet left the exit point, I threw the pilot chute to bridle stretch with a motion similar to throwing a dart at an upward and forward angle. (Just like I have done on every other hand-held go-n-throw.) The pilot chute reached bridle stretch as my body broke the plane of the exit point. The pilot chute was fully extended, but towed for a moment before inflating and completing the deployment sequence. I ended up with just over 7 seconds under canopy, while the average for the rest of the load was about 12 seconds. I know one other jumper on the load was flying almost identical equipment (same gear, different canopy size but similar wingloading) and my canopy ride was about half as long as his. So, it wasn't scary low, but it was noticable both from the ground, and my perspective was interesting. I wasn't in danger of impacting, but it certainly cost me altitude. But, that is the only hesitation I've experienced in about two years with the super mushroom. Given the PC packing techniques I have to choose from, I would still use the super mushroom for all of my stowed jumps. For hand-held jumps, I'm using it for now, but I'm also tring other methods to see which I really believe yields the most consistant results.. I will jump a 46" PC stowed with the super mushroom and not worry about it. Stowed with a 46, I pack the PC at the exit point, or as close to jump time as possible. I don't even own a 48. With an open landing area, I'd use a 46 (Very brand specific) all the way down to ~200' and any lower than that I'm going PCA or SL. It's possible I'd just SL from 200' too, but then other factors come into play. All of my pilot chutes are built by Asylum designs. I only jump Asylum pilot chutes. Edit: Oh yea, what do I think caused this? Nothing caused it. If anything, me jumping off the bridge caused it. I did, after all, jump off a perfectly good bridge and the only plan I had to avoid being killed... get this... was to throw a little parachute out into the air so it could pull out a bigger parachute and hopefully keep me out of the dirt. Hesitations happen. Period.

By round of applause, should I post that picture?

It'll only surge if you let up the toggle input too fast. Properly executed (and with a good BASE canopy) you can go from full flight, into a vertical stall, and ease back into full flight in a very controlled manner. That's one thing I really like about the BlackJack. It's absolutely rock solid in super deep brakes. Most of the objects I jump at home have MANDATORY deep brake approaches. You have to be sure you can shut the canopy down, sink it into a hole, and then get enough forward speed to flare. With the BlackJack, you can even flare from 3/4 brakes and get some decent flare power. To me, if that transition from full flight, to stall, back to full flight isn't smooth and easily controlled, then that is an undesirable quality in a BASE canopy for technical landing areas. If you mostly land in fields and open areas, then don't worry about that so much. I've found the ACE to have a very acceptable transition and the BlackJack is even better. As of right now, the Ace is the ONLY non-vented BASE canopy I will jump (unless I can get my hands on a Mojo...TOM). If it comes down to using a BlackJack/ACE or sitting out the jump, I'll do groundcrew. I won't jump standard FOX canopies at all, and I think the Ace pressurizes as well as a vented FOX. I don't have any experience on the Dagger , Rock Dragon, or Troll (other than observations of many jumps in the field) Jury is still out on the Flik, but for now, it seems like a canopy that is not well matched for the parameters I use to select a BASE canopy. (Also, ACE/BlackJack canopies ability to rapidly generate speed or return to full flight is something you can definitely use to your advantage in certain situations.)

Might have to check this one out. Is Iiro involved?

Yo Ray, since the Seattle crew doesn't want to jump with me anymore (hint, hint, screw the rain let's jump guys!) can I join the PDX crew? Will you guys take me? I heard there's a few open slots, you know, with everyone being on vacation and all...