base311

But you can't think of it in terms of 'a beer'. Expand your scope. Think of it in terms of 'lots of beer' - depending, of course, on how much you're capable of brewing at any given time. With not much more effort (but perhaps a bit more capital expenditure), one can produce quite a large amt. of beer for relatively little 'work'. YMMV Really, though... if you don't like good beers (and by that we don't mean bud, bud light, etc.), then it's really not worth your time. I like stouts and ales with lots of bitters and some finishing. I wouldn't exactly consider myself traditional, but I tend to use my adjuncts conservatively. Mmmmm..... now I'm drooling all over my dress shirt. Gardner

day when I was sitting on a park bench eating a twinkie this kid walked up and asked me how to fly a kite

Hey, The other day when you posted this I couldn't recall who it was in the first jump on the tape - turns out that was Earl Redfern, who was killed along with Clint Ford (both of whom to which the tape was dedicated) in a plane accident in moab. They were laughing at Earl because of his 'doink' exit. The 'doink' is where one runs at the cliff edge as if to do a running launch, then one stops at the edge, firmly plants both feet on the lip of the cliff and then launches with both feet simultaneously. Hilarious to watch - hence their snickers. Believe it or not, there are a few of us who, until the advent of the moab scene, had never done a running exit. Rather, a poised exit mainly because there's no room to back up. Earl believed, and I agree, that the 'doink' (as it came to be known) was a product of too many poised exits and the jumper trying to retrain the muscle motor to launch in a running exit. I still do it from time to time. It's a good habit to break because the physics are just all wrong. Plus it has a tendancy to put unnecessary strain on the edge of the cliff which could lead to destruction and possible bad circumstances for the jumper. nevertheless, no... he didn't die (doing that jump or any jump)... he more or less flailed. But that's half the fun: flailing in front of your buddies and becoming the subject of snickers, jeers and ribbings. YMMV Gardner

That said, I know you feed off of the drama, Tree.. ...so keep the flames burning for Tree! Gardner

OOOOH!!! OOOOH!!! email me dude... I gotta jump that! Gardner

Geezus Teats Thomas!!! Did you ever get that clapped out Raven I sent you for keeping quiet for a month over on Blinc? Congrats on winning that bet; how about applying what you said you learned from that thirty day respite over here?? I mean come on... I didn't even get a notice telling me that you had received it. I suppose sangiro has locked your acct. for 60 days. I dunno how that works, but enjoy your vacation. Maybe jump a little more and whine a little less... And this whole site-naming thing all of y'all got going... who wants to read that somebody jumped xxx in xxx with xxx and had a really good time afterward partying with xxx in xxx? Who wants to read that crap? Best advice is don't even mentioned that you (you meaning plural "all of y'all") jumped. Nobody really cares unless it's an announcement that someone made BASE, and even then it's only to congratulate someone publicly. Save the war stories for when friends come to visit. later, Gardner

never, under any circumstances, give that dog a bath again.

...hoping to find her trusty roll of TP to offer to the BBW, LRRH reaches into the basket that she was SUPPOSED to be taking straight to grandma's house - and pulls out a HUGE....

Apart from FCC requirements, the marking and lighting of airspace obstructions is governed by 14 CFR Part 77. The marking and lighting requirements are published by the FAA in the form of advisory circulars (AC). AC 70/7460-1K is the current controlling document, and AC 150/5345 is the current lighting specification. A complete list of these and associated documents can be found at: OBJECTS AFFECTING NAVIGABLE AIRSPACE Particularly, AC 70/7460-1K is the document you seek. Good luck staying awake whilst reading the above. After reading it, I think you'll find that the knowledge isn't that useful. Also, beware the use of Aviation Sectionals; I've noticed them to err on the side of conservatism. You should recall that these are used for warning pilots of obstructions, so a conservative error from that perspective is contrary to a conservative error from OUR perspective. You might brush up on your right-angle trigonometry and get better results than using obstruction lighting specifications as your guide. You'll need a clinometer (and if you had a laser rangefinder that was retrofitted with a clinometer you'd have the best of possibilities) and some accurate strides, but it can be done. Check the middle of this page. Have fun and be safe! Gardner base311 (edited to include direct link to ac 70/7460-1K)

Man - that Antoinette woman is tweaker. Has anyone read her latest batch of drivel? Claims to be a skydiver and takes on the risks associated with that, yet denies BASE participants the luxury of similar endeavors. Of course, she does manage to demonstrate either her ignorance or her denial (or both) when she makes the following statement while contrasting the relative safety of skydiving with BASE: "Jumping from a plane sanctioned by the FAA is safe." Anyway, it's kinda like looking at a car crash... I know it's going to be bad, but I just HAVE to keep looking at the reader opinion pages to see her spew. For comedic value only, I suggest you go take a look. Follow quade's link to the article above; reader opinion link is at the bottom of the page. Enjoy! bsbd, Gardner

Also try "The Shovels" - Douggs and crew. It's got a little skydiving on it, but mostly BASE - these guys redefine what a LZ is/can be. Awesome! they go hard for sure. Colorado Crew's "Continuum" - ... I just picked this one up from them at BD - Good video - cool tunes - fun stuff. (plus I'm just partial to all those great folks). Not sure how to get ahold of it - could prolly put you in touch if interested. Fixed 2 is just great fun. One of my favorites is the go-ped parking lot human jumps. Oh, I also like the steel shots. Rage is good. A must-have for the bond-style STXXXXXXXXXE jump by Mr. Utah. First BASE is awesome. Hell, buy them all and watch what people do right and wrong. Tom or Mick or anyone else who's in-the-know> Is anyone selling Mike Allen's old videos?? Mike had some great video - especially for its day when recording decks had to be worn in the chest mount position. Mike did a spectacular spoof/parody of Kent's "From Wings Came flight" Plus, Mike had lots of footage of the brothers harrison, payne, scott, hoov, et al. Those were the folks who were in the videos that I grew up on, so to speak - lots of respect for those guys (fun to party with too). Haven't seen FFOF111 yet; it's next on the list. bsbd, Gardner

okay I'll bite.

Now that sounds like my kinda place!!! Gardner

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0604-01.htm

Hey there, I can echo what Tom has said about the PD 7-cell reserves. I have about 50 jumps on two different PD 253s. Overall I'd say that the canopies are suitable for BASE (if you're aware of their limitations), and, as others have mentioned, they've been used a lot in the past for BASE purposes. HOWEVER, times have changed and there's really not much need in using skydiving canopies for BASE when there are canopies that have been designed from the links up to be used in the BASE environ. Simply put, you can pick up good used base-specific gear for relatively cheap these days if you keep your eyes open. As for the PDs, the late great Earl Redfern swore by them: not that THAT is terribly comforting! I don't think I ever saw him jump much else, unless it was someone offering to let him use their gear. I now have his rig in my possession and use it as my secondary rig (sans his risers - which I discovered after jumping it once to be BLACK FRICKIN' DEATH, MAN!!!). I don't jump it very often (usually just for old time's sake when the mood strikes), deferring instead to my warlock/mojo260 combo. On a guess, the openings on MY PD253 jumps have been about 90% consistent: good on-heading performance and decent pressurization (but on-heading perf. is so variable - IMHO due mostly to packing and jumper body position/technique). But every now and then I'll look up to find the canopy accordioning and nearly unresponsive and losing alti fast! I mean where else can you get three openings on one jump (except for maybe with a fury 220 without properly set DBS)? It is for this accordion problem that I don't use it on low stuff nor on stuff where object strike is a concern. YMMV My recommendation is to get something built for BASE. Most of my jumps have been on modified skydiving canopies and I have only recently (within the past 40-50 jumps) been using BASE-specific canopies. My advice: get something BASE specific - it really is THAT MUCH BETTER. Gardner

I am very impressed with your response; this attitude will go a long way toward keeping you alive/injury free. It would be nice to see more beginners in BASE with this attitude. Remember, the objects aren't going anywhere. Gardner

That is a good call, Tom. I can tell you that the internet was used in a case in which I was a character witness for the defense. The prosecutors, even though their case was a bunch of malarky and poorly presented, still used information they had obtained from the internet. It was weak information, but from the internet nonetheless. I can imagine a good quality researcher could really dig up some useful stuff for a prosecution if he/she wanted. When it comes to discussion of Outlaw BASE Events, things are better left unwritten/unsaid. If you want to discuss it, perhaps pm each other back and forth.. or go to the pub and chat... somehwere where a guest-searchable record isn't maintained. Gardner

Ziggy Zoggy! Ziggy Zoggy! HOY! HOY! HOY! Ziggy Zoggy! Ziggy Zoggy! HOY! HOY! HOY! Ziggy Zoggy! Ziggy Zoggy! HOY! HOY! HOY!

yo B- heh heh yeah.. besides, I usually jump 'slider off' -G

Well I'm glad to see you have your priorities in order (that was a test). Man sail wall and the fin make my heart skip multiple beats... one of these days... gardner

not to mention Lee's server getting a spike in hits on that one pic.... gardner

I have definitely given a lot of thought to buying one of their black mesh sliders Like this one

I jump Hanwag Fly 2000 paragliding boots. As far as I'm concerned they've already saved me hundreds upons hundreds of dollars in ankle protection. I do know they saved two other buddy's of mine from probably serious injury in two separate instances. If they hadn't been wearing them, they would have almost certainly had broken ankles/feet. Gardner

no, that's just really crappy cell pressurization aggrevated by unstowing the brakes rapidly and not immediately pulling the toggles down to stall/near-stall point during the unstow process. What you are seeing is the canopy surging when he unstows the brakes. The jumper in that instance may have had several forces working against him at that time: a tailwind (note the flag blowing on top of the object next to the exit point) which certainly didn't aid pressurization, perhaps the brakes aren't set deep enough, and he may have unstowed a bit soon before the canopy was fully pressurized. Take a look at the jumper just before him and note how much better his canopy performed. The most likely culprits in this case are dbs, unstowing before the canopy was ready to fly and the tailwind (and possibly cut and design of canopy - I can't tell what kind of canopy that is on the vid). Sometimes when you're static lining really low stuff where you don't have much time to fly, it's better to just leave the brakes stowed and land it on risers. In the case of the guy you're asking about, he'd have been better off and gotten a better flight by landing on risers without unstowing. YMMV Gardner edit: sorry.. realize I didn't answer your question. Tail inversions are where the trailing edge flips under the canopy during deployment. They're considered the leading culprit for line burns on the topskin of the trailing edge of the canopy. they often clear themselves without the pilot noticing. edit2: well, now... there seems to be some conflicting information on the web concerning what a 'tail inversion' really is. CR claims it to be what I just said, and BR claims it to be a flipping up and over the top of the trailing edge. It seems, also, that Dwain was using the term as "a flipping up and over the top" of the trailing edge, which could become a lineover. citations: http://www.crmojo.com/faq.htm - Consolidated Rigging FAQ see: tail inversion http://www.basicresearch.com/tailgate.htm - Basic Research Tailgate info http://www.basejump.org/discus/articles/nosefirst.html - The article you mentioned

what the hell is this? are these all you can muster? don't quit your day jobs.