Geronimo509

Weegegirl relax if you thought that was an attack just go read through the archives of the Baseboard. The comparison of BD to a tandem is fairly accurate. A tandem just walks up and are spoonfed a jump and thats what many, not all, skydivers did at BD. I did my first jump there but it's a cake BASE jump at BD. Sure the danger is still there but it's nothing like standing on an A at 420' with the winds blowing at 8 mph down the wire and its pitch black and you have to make the decision to jump or not. There's a lot of knowledge required in this sport and most people who come and do thier one or two jumps a year at BD don't have, or need, that knowledge and that's fine, but you must realize that BD is not like your average jump. In skydiving you fill out some paperwork pay some money and ride up to altitude and jump. There's a whole lot more work, time, risk and reward with a normal base jump. I'm sure you and everyone understand that but if you look at it that way you can see why people look at BD as being similar to a tandem. Trust me if you get into this enough you too will see it that way. Anyways not trying attack anyone just want you to understand where we're coming from. Also you said: "This is such a formulated sport with all sorts of rules and regulations" Trust me the day that's true most BASE jumpers will quit. Take care. Later Gabe

Made my 1st at BD 2000 with about 300 skydives. Definitely agree with a lot of the points Tom brought up. Base gear is the way to go, sure a skydiving reserve works but after you use base specific you want go back. We helped a bro get his B last weekend and he was jumping a PD 253 and as we watched his canopy flutter almost all the way to the ground I said and that's why we use base specific gear. Also CREW is very helpful I wish I had done some. Knowledge and being confident with you gear is extremely important. I always tell people you should be willing to take your gear totally apart (to include lines off links) tangle it up then untangle it, hook it up and feel comfortable jumping it. Read everything you can the Base Board is an excellent place to go. I had a job on a ski mountain that involved hours of sitting around by yourself and I literally read every post in the archives, despite the frequent bickering there is a huge amount of good info. Like Tom said diving training, or just going to the pool and playing, helps but also, as me and a buddy have discussed, freeflying. It gets you used to not being on your belly and seeing the world in other positions. Of course, as I learned in Norway this summer, work on your tracking or you'll find out that you really can't track as you see everyone fying away and your just hanging around near the wall. As for the courses I'm sure they're good , I've heard Jimmy and Marta's is very good and covers everything from doing PCA's and S/L's to site selection, but I'm a firm believer in finding a mentor and doing it the old way. Again like Tom said talk with your family and let them know your motives and wishes. This sport will lead you to some of the most beatiful places in the world and to meeting some really great people. Oh yeah be ready to get hasseled some about it by those who know you do it, some people will never understand but you don't do it for them you do it for yourself. Well maybe a bit more than you asked but there you go. Take Care Later Gabe BASE 697

Just got back from norway with some good footage but lots of it are in pal and am wondering if anyone has any experiencie converting it to ntsc. I have premier but haven't got it to work yet. Thanks for any help. Later Gabe

Check out www.skippyslist.com I laughed my ass off. Also http://www.paratrooper.net/aotw/pvtmurphy/weekly.asp?fileid=63 Later Gabe

If you're hurting for money, like myself and the notebook set you back enough already you can just use the movie shaker software that comes with the vaio. It definitely can't do what premier can do and if you're not using a sony camera it can be pretty frustrating importing and exporting but it is essentially free. I've had fairly good results with it so far. Just my .02 Later Gabe

Just wondering if anyone else has had a situation like this... I just got my new pc9 like a month ago and last night dropped it and now there's a pretty good sized crack where the memory stick goes and it won't eject the tape. I was wanting to see if somebody has sent something similar to that to sony and if they fixed it for free or said it wasn't covered by the warrenty. Thanks

I'm looking at buying a Rebel 2000 and was wondering if anybody recommends any certain filters or extras, probably getting a 22mm-55mm lens. Also would you recommend the extended warranty or are still cameras a little tougher in freefall than video cameras. Thanks

Here's the link to the elph conversion. http://skyelph.homestead.com/

Hey just wondering if anyone has any reviews on that new .3 lens Max Cohn selling. Thanks