TomBegic

www.wpc2004.com just in case it hasn't been posted.

Yo Yuri Great Post. Its interesting to hear about other people's psychology / life cycle, etc. Death -> I became desensitised before I was heavily involved in parachuting/BASE jumping. I spent time with the Croat army in Bosnia (spectator only - I had contacts). I saw first hand the atrocities that governments all around the world deny. It was really sad to see teenagers heading to war for what they thought were the right reasons (freedom / justice). When they got there, it became apparent very quickly that there were ulterior motives - disillusionment set in and the psychology changed to one of survival and greed. When I returned to the general population, I observed these same young people sitting in crowds with glazed expressions. They would enter night clubs and randomly fire off rounds. Their minds were estranged from normal society. I also volunteered with an Australian State Emergency Service that specialised in first call for road rescue. It was more blood and guts. I witnessed so many lives wasted unecessarily. My parents had 7 kids - there are 3 left. I have spent lots of time with close friends and relatives whilst they were dying (& died) of cancers, etc. Then . . . . . there is BASE jumping. I never counted the numbers. Your post made me think about it a bit. DW, DT, NH, TP, LK, JS, TY, LW, TA, AQ, etc. Then there were all those that came so close. Every time I hear of a fatality, my attitude seemed distant - I almost became cold to it, even with close friends. Although it felt right to be so in control of my emotions it also felt a little unhuman. Death has truly become a part of life for me. The whole DW episode changed my thinking / feelings and behaviours. It was only after discussion with other people and his closest friends and family that I realised that I had lost something special. The clinchers were my internal feelings when I broke the news to his mum and on the day that we spread his ashes at his favourite childhood surfing beach. I actually shed some tears!!!!!!!!! Am I going to give up? No way (physical abilities aside). I have thought long and hard about the reasons why I got into BASE jumping in the first place. It has been a long journey involving so many dreams and ambitions and desires. BASE has been a culmination of many of these. It began decades ago. As a child I dreamed that I could fly. I dreamed that I could travel around the vast world and discover things that no one else had ever seen. I dreamed that I would do things that no one else had ever done. I wanted to experience a variety of natures extreme beauty. I wanted to experience cultures, languages, religions, people, activities, etc that did not exist where I then existed. I wanted to spend time with people who had a similar vision and zest for life. I wanted to have fun. I did not want to exist in a statistically normal world. I have realised many of these dreams due to BASE jumping. It is something that will never completely disappear. I met up with one of my early jumping buddies yesterday. His nickname is "little buddy". He is like mans best friend. Loyal, friendly, mild mannered, without ulterior motive, fun. He made the observation that the BASE jumping community had become too much like skydiving recently. Gone are the days that everyone knew everyone and although not everyone got along, we all communicated and had some level of respect for each other. We participated because we wanted to BASE jump. Not because the sport provided other benefits. BUT WHAT NOW? I had a look at my log book tonight. First time in ages. I found that I stopped logging several years ago!!!!! Even though I have made some awesome jumps over the last few years. I was never consistant with logging any of my activities but it has gotten worse. I have also made very few camera jumps. A camera was compulsory years ago. I was so keen to share my experiences with others. Lately I have been extremely satisfied with the experience at its most basic level and keeping it to myself and the few people I jump with. I still have so many ambitions in BASE jumping. Whenever I hear about the escapades of other jumpers I feel a little jealous that I am not there. KL, Mexico, Baffin, Russia, China. These are all places I will get to. But I think it will take a little longer than expected. WHY? Priorities. There are many other wonderful things in the world besides BASE jumping. But this is a personal thing. A jumper going through the maximum jump stage would read this and say, "what a wanker, he is talking shit". But a number of years down the track (s)he will be thinking along similar lines. I am trying to experience as many of those wonderful things that I can. One is children (I think Per Flare mentioned them - how are you going Per? I remember showing you my home made wingsuit in 98 when you just started jumping, and look at you now huh!!! Great stuff mate). I have a 2.5 yr old boy (Zhan) and a 0.5 yr old girl (Mia). Although they are very time and financially consuming, and a pain in the arse on occasions, they are the most wonderful thing I have done / experienced in the world. Although one could argue that their feelings are based on dependancy, I believe a childs feelings are so pure and untarnished by adult motivations that whatever they do is genuine. Its so good to be loved by them. It is wonderful to be involved in each little progression / development. It is great that society gives a father "permission" to behave just like the child he is playing with (no that I give a shite what society thinks). Rules are bent, responsible behaviour is not compulsory. Just beware. If you plan on having children, the decision should consider them, NOT JUST YOURSELF. You need to do it for the right reasons. What else is there? I am getting more and more involved in a variety of non-mainstream investment strategies and developing a solid portfolio of income / equity producing assets. I don't care whether I have a job or not tomorrow. These investments have involved risk (& risk management), travel, meeting a wide variety of people with a passion for life and positive attitudes, etc. There are many similar motivations / feelings to BASE jumping - even if the physical reality is totally different. There is a fight looming in the future for personal freedom (read George Orwell's 1984 and think about the current international political climate). There is so much potential for the individual / organisation to make a difference. Then there is the continuation of my passion with outdoor activities. I went for a flight in a glider the other day. We traveled many miles eeking out an aerial existance in poor gliding conditions. We found every bit of lift available and stayed in the air for hours. We indulged in some heavy duty aerobatics too. Geez - I'm still living that childhood flight dream. Hang Gliding next weekend + showing some potentially new BASE jumpers what it is all about for me. Then they can make up their own mind. How do you maintain the excitement? Mountain Climbing Human Settlement in Space Making Movies Business / Investment Living out your fantasies Tell your boss to fukc off (make sure you have a back up plan) syphon millions of dollars from your bank save a forest free a political prisoner alter your sexuality change religions or start a cult rock climb / canyon / abseil become a stunt motorcyclist start a family kinky sexual practices become a controversial / outspoken critic of something that the general public support crime etc As I said, I still dearly love the sport and would like to travel the world and jump every jumpable object. But my priorities have changed. RECALIBRATION - don't know. I think it really depends on the person and the reason why they got into BASE jumping. If people started for a near death experience, then golf is just not going to cut it, but maybe being a combat soldier would???? If they got in to chase new experiences, then there is infinite potential for substitute activities. Life is too short to experience EVERYTHING. If entry was due to ego and attention, perhaps a career in the public eye (movies, politics, ). If it was to spend time with friends who were jumpers, then it becomes difficult, especialy if those people are gone. DESENSITISATION - ?????? This is a function of your personality / psychology / environment / experiences. Some of these you can control, some you can't. Not sure what the answer is. I'm rambling now. Sorry. Still Dreaming. Without dreams, there is no reality. I choose my reality. Stay Safe Have Fun Good Luck Enjoy Life If you're not, you haven't done enough thinking.

Is Skydiving Relevant to BASE Jumping??? Absolutely - check out the following tragic story - death as a result of an off heading opening in CRW. http://www.canopy-formation.org/info/accidenthitsfrenchrotationteam.htm As an aside, the only people who think skydiving is irrelevant are those with closed minds. There are an infinite number of transferable skills in various skydiving disciplines that can be utilised in BASE jumping. Equipment knowledge, rigging (repair and manufacture), accuracy, canopy control (during deployment, flight, and landing), attitudes, open mindedness, willingness to learn, modesty & respect of each other and our abilities, etc. To me, it is like asking the question, "is go-karting relevant to F1 motor racing", I bet most champion drivers will say yes. They would say that it was a solid foundation. Fundamental skills would have been developed in a safer learning environment. Learning to BASE jump without skydiving is not necessarily wrong - but this is the case for only a select few individuals. Most humans exist around statistical norms and hence can be defined as mortal and approximately average. They need to learn in a more forgiving (higher margin for error) environment. A 400 ft bridge does not give you that - despite what people may think. How do you SAFELY teach a person to get out of line twists from 400ft, would a student attempt a major shutdown / stall / rapid stall recovery / etc from 400ft. Would they learn about proximity / formation flying (we all do canopy relative work on BASE jumps at some stage - whether it is with each other or the object), what about rapid heading correction practice (developing your reflexes), how about testing ALL flight characteristics of a new canopy, etc. Is there anything wrong with skydiving???? Hell no. IMHO, BASE jumpers who think that have the same narrow minded attitude that they despise in many skydivers. The day that a BASE jumper ridicules other sports and defines them as useless, is the day they become a "whuffo". The day that a jumper with only 20 skydives describes skydiving as boring is the day they have committed to ignorance (how the hell would a 20 jump wonder know anything about skydiving with such minimal experience). If I had to choose one and give up the other, I would choose to do BASE jumping over skydiving any day. But I think skydiving is a hell of a lot of fun too and I am glad that I did and am still doing it. So to gliding, hang gliding, caving, canyoning, hiking, ultralight flying, mountaineering, etc etc etc - all are fun.

B-12's - yuk - how about the cutaway handle for an alternative to getting the canopy away from you???? Its a lot easier to "operate than B12's. Pin v Velcro - velcro is more consistant in terms of pull forces etc. In ideal conditions, pins require less pull force than velcro - but this is only relevant at ridiculously low altitudes. P/C deployment is a more important factor than pull force given that it is more variable. Pins -> What about an oversized canopy messily packed into a container with short closing loops on a de-arched jumper falling on his/her left side on a LOW jump???? Velcro would be better here. I prefer pins but I make the assumption that I am competant enough to avoid the above scenario. Also - Beware of individual opinions. Many opinions on BASE boards come from people with limited or narrow experience or biased opinions. People's opinons on equipment are dependant on their experience (i.e. a jumper may have 20 jumps on a Fox in ideal conditions and think it is great. They may have 20 on a Blackjack in shitty conditions and think its crap). Gear is regional too (the Italians are Brento were all jumping Sorceror's a while ago - why? Because the first guy with gear chose this rig. Hence most of the later jumpers were sheepichly following a trend as opposed to choosing the best gear - it may have been the best gear but that is not why it was chosen). Not every BASE canopy is the same. They have different aerofoils, line lengths, aspect ratios, flying characteristics, etc, etc. Different jumpers have varying styles of flying canopies that may be better suited to one type of canopy over another (i.e. each of us flare slightly differently). You have to consider wing loading, equipment configuration, and a million other variables before you could really answer the question "which canopy is the best". It would be correct to say that "in average conditions an average jumper would find most BASE canopies satisfactory".

Aaaahhh Rocket. Now that is an infamous story. Quite funny if you're not an animal lover fascist and you have a warped sense of humour. I will use fake / no names to protect the innocent. I am passing this story on 2nd hand and deny everything!!!! One boring day after completing some wonderful jumps, several jumpers were sitting around wondering what to do. Lets call the jumpers flippy do, gimp, ruin, and fatso!!!!!! They were sitting at fatso's place when fatso's mother's dog turned up to play. Big mistake - no, actually - it was a turning point in the dog's life. His real name was changed by deed poll from an Eastern European unpronouncable name to Rocket - just like all budding movie and porn stars do. The lights were glowing brightly in the minds of flippy do, gimp, and fatso. Out came a 20yo 8ft military cargo roundy, webbing, gaffer tape, and a plastic shopping bag. Fatso's mother was starting to worry. She loved her dog dearly and could see that the jumpers were up to no good - oops, I mean they were accelerating the creation of an extreme doggy legend and mapping out a potentially lucrative career in the media (cough splutter bullshite cough). As the jumpers sped off (I mean drove calmly) to their destination, mumblings of "that dog better come back in one piece or you will suffer the same fate" were heard in the background. The show arrived at the destination. Rocket was displaying signs of excitement as the jumpers (now acting as riggers, stunt advisors, safety officers, animal rights consultants, fluffers, cinematographers, etc) approached the exit point. Rockets ears were curled down, his eyes were darting around wondering what the hell was going on - oops I mean he was assessing the whole scene as a part of his regular pre stunt potential problem analyis. The webbing was very professionally made into a harness by some of the finest riggers this world has seen. The deployment system chosen was the most up to date direct bag technology (the canopy was "packed" into a plastic shoping bag). Flippy do gave Rocket his final instructions. Gimp was assigned the critical role of D-Plastic Bag deployment specialist, Fatso was filming. We had several support crew in the water below. As the scene board was cut, silence enveloped the jump site (until a semi trailor drove past and nearly blew the whole film crew off the bridge). Rocket looked over the edge and gulped. He knew he was in for something special. A ground breaking event. He just wasn't sure what to expect. ;) As Rocket lept off the bridge (we are yet to confirm but he may have been assisted with a gently placed hand on his tush by Flippy Do), the crowd held its breath. Rocket plummeted at hundreds of miles per hour to line stretch. The key moment arrived - would this latest technology deployment system function adequately for this extraordinary stunt. The next fraction of a second would tell. Like slow motion - the canopy started releasing from the plastic shopping bag. Anticipation was high. You could feel the heart beat of the crowd and the star that was entertaining it. A defining moment in aerial stunt cinematography was occuring before our eyes. Rocket was almost burning up due to the immense speed he was reaching. The jumpers were extremely well prepared for such a scenario. Their skills included physicists, IT analysts and programmers, mathematicians, engineers, stunt coordinators, riggers, etc, etc. This whole event was so thoroughly planned and executed, thousands of lines of code were written to calculate every aspect of the stunt including physical, emotional, spiritual, etc. Simulations were conducted. Test were done. Back to the event - as the canopy finally escaped from the bag and started its gentle inflation, Rockets special fire retardant and G Force suit kicked in as he decelerated from supersonic freefall speeds to a gentle waft / float towards the water below. The crowd was relieved with the perfection & execution of this stunt. Rocket dropped gracefully into the water and was immediately retrieved by the well equipped rescue crew (he was fed 2 cans of dog food as well!!!!!), the fluffers towelled him off and he was ushered past the adoring crowds into a waiting car. The whole event was so dramatic for Rocket that he suffered a strong case of flatulence on the way back to his country estate. Fatso's mother was so impressed that Rocket came home alive. After the dizzying heights of his stunt / movie career, Rocket went on to do several cliff and another bridge tandem with Fatso. He was well on the way to becoming the first ever BASE doggie until tragedy struck. After a long difficult day at the country club, Rocket decided to sleep under the front tyre of Fatso's mum's car. She approached the car from the rear and could not see the front. As she reversed the car out of the garage she felt that sickening bump that haunts her to this day. Rocket died a hero. He had acheived so much in his short life but had not even come close to realising his full potential. It was ironic that the person who loved and protected Rocket the most (Fatso's mum) was the one who would bring about his downfall. There have been several pretenders to Rocket's throne. But no one could match his courage, brilliance, and sense of adventure & acheivement. RIP Rocket You will be remembered forever (or at least until the end of this post). Stay Safe Have Fun Good Luck

All the jumps I did with Dwain and some with Johnny Utah were a hell of a lot of fun. Some that come to mind: -The Low Pull Comp over about 6 rounds (slider still up on impact on the last round) -The Double Gainer from 57m -The Aerobatic Skysurfing jumps with me wearing & freeflying ( ;) ) a wingsuit (before Birdman started selling) & Dwain doing his magic -The 4way linked head down shuttle cock off KL Tower (+Slim & Johnny & Dwain) -The 3 way tube exit off KL Tower (+Slim & Dwain) -The 9 and 11 way world records off that dangerous but beautiful cliff in Oz (including wraps & cliff strikes) -The fog jump at Smellveggen - a week after Thor Alex - beautiful sunset, 1500 feet of cloud, Ed Trick with sprained ankle, Ed + Johnny + myself deciding to go for it. Visibility < 50 feet. Johnny & I made it (good balanced harness flying) - We found Ed hours later. The Norgies were NOT impressed. -24 way at Kjerag p.s. KM was the guy with 180 + upside down exit - I filmed it. etc etc etc I have been blessed with many great jumps. I am sure DJ would have some great stories of his adventures with DW.