Basejumper.com - archive

Five thousand, Eight hundred, twenty-two views, Eighty-seven comments, 14 days in the top ten topics on the forum and a You Tube video that has been viewed more than any other product interview from the PIA convention is what resulted from a simple post stating:
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Andy Copland

Sonics BASER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyeWFwBBpb4

Talking about his rig at the PIA.

"Have you ever noticed it's always the best that go in first? I strive for mediocrity" El Wise BASE Jumper of the Forest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Questions arose; possible answers were conjured up and tossed about the board like a ping pong ball in a championship tournament. As is my way, I decided that it was time to go to the source. The source in this case is Kamuran “Sonic” Bayrasli, owner of The Ranch Pro Shop in Gardiner, New York. Kamuran has been skydiving since 1992 logging 6,500 skydives, becoming an instructor in 1999. He is a Master Parachute Rigger who opened his store in 2002 making his living teaching skydiving and parachute packing.

In 2006, Kamuran used his background in industrial design and years of gear knowledge to design the BASER. The development stage of the BASER happened in 2007, with marketing starting in 2008 and finally the release of the product this February at the PIA convention.

The BASER is manufactured by Jumpshack, which has 35 years of experience in manufacturing gear. They are a FAA certified manufacturer, a point that Kamuran insist goes hand in hand with producing “safe gear”, along with “quality”.

Kamuran will be traveling to dropzones throughout the US to teach a course in using the BASER for BASE jumping and purchasing it as a piece of multi-functional gear that allows you to practice and learn prior to making that first fixed object jump.

In an interview with Kamuran that took place via telephone he answered many of the questions posted on the before mentioned forum thread regarding the BASER and his BASER Base Jump Tour at participating dropzones.


Q: How do you answer to the concern that skydivers who train with the Baser will think that you can pull the reserve on a BASE jump gone bad and in reality you can’t as BASE jumps are from a much lower altitude.

A: The reserve with my system is like the ADD in skydiving. It’s like the insurance we have but hope we never need to use. Some BASE jump altitudes are too low to use the reserve, however if you are opening at 400 feet you can deploy the reserve if necessary. There are no cutaways with the BASER. The reserve is round and only to be use in catastrophic failures. Example of catastrophic failure, canopy rips, riser breaks, line breaking, or the canopy missed rigged. If you are deploying at 400 feet as a safe number or above there is time to use the reserve. Again, clarifying that I do not recommend the use of the reserve under 400 ft for obvious time and altitude constraints.

In the seminars I teach that this canopy is not something to consider. They are trained to use the reserve if it becomes necessary and can be deployed within the altitude constraints. The whole thing about the reserve is the legality of getting on a plane and the bonus is that you can use it. When I train people, I make it clear that the reserve is for the legality of getting on the plane.

Q: How is the reserve compatible with a wingsuit? How is it to be wingsuit flying with that belly reserve? Does it inhibit your wingsuit flight? What about the weight of the rig for BASE?

A: The BASER has been tested for compatibility with every wingsuit on the market. The reserve covers the legalities of getting on plane. The BASER allows the jumper to practice a BASE system in a safer environment. One the most dangerous steps in wing suiting are the deployment, the BASER allows you practice your deployment from a plane. So that when you finally jump off a 2500 foot cliff you have practiced for it. Average weight of all BASE rigs, the reserve only adds 8-10lbs more weight. Of course it will change the flight in a wingsuit, any additional weight or deviation to the wingsuit of gear the pilot is wearing changes the flight.


Q: Are you a world famous BASE guy? Or how did this misconception come about?

A: First of all, I am world famous. (in skydiving ) Am a world famous BASE guy? Of course not. Listen this is what happened. The interviewer walked up with his microphone and a cameraman, asked “do you mind if I talk to you on camera?” I told him it was all good. The camera rolled and the words came out of his mouth, not mine. Am I going to stop the interview when I have a chance to promote my product to correct that error? No I am not. I am promoting the product, not me.

Q: The Perrine Bridge and Moab have always been legal for BASE. Were you misinformed or did you actually believe otherwise?

A: I was wrong. Period. I admit it. The Perrine Bridge is the perfect place because it’s an arched bridge and 480 feet tall, over water with an enormous landing area for first timers. In my mind I was thinking that it wasn’t legal until around 10 years ago when the BASE gear manufacturers moved in with First Jump Courses. I simply misspoke.

Q: How do you respond to criticisms regarding price and “the stupid magnets” comments?

A: The reason the cost of my rig is more than other standard rigs is that it’s a premiere system. It’s multi-functional, with the reserve in place. Because of the additional attachments on the BASER, there is more time in the manufacturing process, plus the parts an extra cost. Those magnets are expensive and my magnet covers are not stupid. I believe that they are functionally the best and safest because they guarantee even riser deployment especially at slower speeds.

Q: Is it legal to pull low at drop zones with a baser?

A: USPA, the governing body of skydiving has a BSR at 2000 agl. So regardless of the BASER being designed to pull at a lower altitude, my advice is to pull in accordance to the BSR.

Q: Would it be fair to call the use of the BASER from a plane, “skyjumping” opposed to BASE jumping? After all a plane is NOT a fixed object.

A: The simple fact is that it is skydiving when jumping from a plane. The difference is that you are getting to altitude in a plane and it is as close to practicing BASE jumping techniques. For BASE jumpers who do not have Twin Falls in your backyard and wish to stay current and practice, the BASER allows you the aerial time to do so. 99% of BASE jumpers are skydivers, so they have access to a dropzone.

Q: This comment comes from the forum: But that doesn’t matter as long as you’re making a buck right? Remember the days when you would need a reference from a known BASE jumper to be able to buy gear? This is in reference to: Those “FJC’s” are going to get the wrong type of people into base. By removing some of the fear an important filter is removed that will allow people that don’t have the grit necessary to keep your shit together when it all goes wrong. If you don’t have the balls to make your first jump off a fixed object, you shouldn’t, ever.

A: Anyone that thinks that I am making money hand over fist selling gear, they really don’t know much about the business. I work in the business because it affords me to provide for my family and do the one thing I love, which is be at the dropzone daily. The creation of the BASER was not motivated by “money”, but rather advancing the sport of BASE jumping through innovation. When I sell the gear in my shop, of course I will ask all the right questions and give the same advice I do in the seminars. A new jumper should attend a First Jump Course and then fall under the instruction of a mentor.

Am I removing the fear? Yes, I am. I am removing the fear of using the gear that is the point. Removing the fear; by removing obstacles, allowing more time to practice flying the canopy, and becoming comfortable with their gear and use of it before they point their toes to the edge. By being trained in a safer environment, they become comfortable with the gear and not having to focus on the aspect of being on the edge. For new jumpers it’s about learning and getting comfortable with their gear. For experienced jumpers it’s about being able to practice and stay current with jumping when a fixed object is not available.

Their first BASE jump will be off a fixed object, having learned the skills they needed in a safe environment. I use the analogy of a pilot. A pilot spends time on a simulator practicing his landings, so why not practice BASE.

Miles Dasher who is a world famous BASE guy wears the BASER and uses it in teaching his First Jump Course in Twin Falls. His students practice jumping from a plane using the BASER prior to ever making a jump off of the Perrine Bridge. It is my hope that new jumpers across the country follow the same notion and learn to jump in a safe environment. They will then be able to practice anytime they wish too since the reserve allows them to use it at the dropzone. I believe I have designed a safe, multi-function rig that will enable more individuals to learn and experience BASE.

If you have questions regarding the BASER you can contact Kamuran 'Sonic' Bayrasli via email at: sonic@theranchshop.com


A Mini-Review of the BASER by Calvin19

Calvin used the BASER on March 1, 2009

The rig was built beautifully. The craftsmanship is awesome. However, it was obviously built for skydiving. (Not BASE). The BASE harness/container alone is fairly heavy when compared to other BASE rigs, more so than just the added hardware. Everything was excessively padded, nice because wearing a heavy rig around with a front butt can get uncomfortable.

Packing was easy, the rig is VERY stiff. Flaps come together perfectly.

It is my opinion the pin flap/bridal flap thing, 100% pointless outside innovation for the simple sake of innovation. It in fact creates a cinch knot out of the bridal, making it difficult and complicated to rig. While it looks really cool set up, it really is a step backwards from the BASE ideals of simplicity.

I did not like the smaller sandwich BOC for small PC's, as if it was OK to be jumping a 26" or a 28" or even a 30" with an effectively single parachute system.

All in all, this rig was well made, but is obviously designed by a skydiver. While it has epic craftsmanship, it lacks in the basic NEEDS for base jumping (weight, simplicity, 'only chance' safety) It is heavy. It would work great to introduce jumpers (BASE students) to the packing and jumping demands of flat single parachute systems and to use these systems before being actual BASE jumps. To me for this reason it seems be very good. I would not recommend this rig to anyone other than a backup BASE rig for multi-rig trips (Bridge Day for example) and for skydive-BASE training.

For a more in-depth review by Calvin19 http://www.basejumper.com/..._reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

I didnt mean for my thread to generate so much discussion, and its good to hear Sonics input on it. Although i'd still like to see a complet syllabus of his BASE FJC i enjoyed it. Nice article again.

it's amazing to me that this rig is getting so much attention. it's about time though that someone finally got a TSO for such a system. many, many jumpers used to jump exactly this type of thing back in the 1980s. do most jumpers realize that magnets demagnetize rapidly when exposed to RF from towers?

I didnt.

What is the world coming to, a non-jumper talking to a 10-jump-wonder about base jumping.

I didn't know you only had 10 jumps andrew. wow!

The interview is fine. I don't' know the tizzy, nor get past the first paragraph of the other stories but the interviews are good regardless. I'd be interested in your comments on the interview itself. I'll get to mine later.

I thought that some German/european Base Rigs were TSO'd....? Unless we are assuming we are only speaking of the USA?

I did know that much stronger magnets tend to demagnetize weaker magnets (or can re strenghen them)... But I didnt't know about the rapid demagnetization from RF energy...

Maybe Sonic could offer a "Re-magnetizer" to solve this possible "Recall " issue? lol Assuming that he believes that none of his students will do AAANYthing illegal

Jumpers realize that magnets demagnetize
rapidly when exposed to RF from towers?

I did not know that, I have a Gargoyle for
BASE jumps so not an issue but still a good
piece information to have. Any idea on the
strength or amount of exposure necessary?

I would like to know TizzyLishNinja's opinion of the BASER.

Oh, nevermind.

Thanks for bringing that up. I assumed that the higher voltages around antennas would have some affect on the magnets. I thought it would either reverse the polarity ( as per the old HS physics experiment ) or it would demagnetize them. Thanks for clearing that up.

do most jumpers realize that their bodies degenerate rapidly when exposed to RF from towers?

damn, you beat me to it..... someone who doesn't jump interviewing someone who doesn't jump.

That was the exact point at which this site completely and finally jumped the shark.

Tom had a few failings, but at least he showed some loyalty to the core of this site. Not favoritism to a disrespectful, obviously obsessed, and slightly disturbed passerby who has been enabled as the defacto expert on BASE. Hilarious and sad at the same time.

I'm out.

Wwarped...delete my account and everything associated with it. I'll ask Jay too.

I'm disgusted also. Please delete my account, and anything associated with it.

Corporate BASE forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All i am saying right here is that i wish i could have put a few jumps on the canopy i jumped at the Bridge!!! It was some weird shit flying a new canopy for the first time landing it in a different place!

Someone who doesnt jump interviewing someone who doesnt jump

Before I start, I just want to point out that my post here isnt directed towards any specific person, I fucking hate drama, and thats all this is. High school girls locker room drama. But anyway

Hmm...

So do sportscasters on ESPN HAVE to play football to interview football players? Does the interviewer in question have to be a BASE jumper to ask pretty basic questions that are still pretty well informed considering she is a NON JUMPER

Do aeronautical engineers have to be pilots to design a plane that flies? Does Sonic have to be the worlds most badass BASE jumper to design and innovate something? Or are we just afraid of losing 'the good ol days'

Its called progression people, if you dont like it, dont buy it.

I'm working on something right now that is going to help advance terrain flying. I've got the physics, 40 pages of lab reports and 3 different aerodynamic analysis programs that tell me it works, but I have a feeling that when I try to introduce it, people are going to chew my head off because I'm not Jean Louic.

And to those people, I give you my mighty sausage for your licking and sucking pleasure

Great article that got as many varied responses as an article should get.

I say delete Para-Frogs account, but don't delete everything associated with it. Seems Fair.

P.S.-Froggy, you and Blondie come to CO for fun and games.
Hankster!

Why not respond to the interview? Seriously? There's plenty in there to pick apart in a constructive manner... or just say... you non base guys suck! haha

I also dislike sportscasters, believe it or not.

Haha, fair enough

I also hate hookers with the clap, but I still have my way with em, they're cheaper

 

I rarely read Novel posts, but that was a good one.

Deploying at 400 feet and using a reserve. No way. If your under canopy at 400 already... MAYBE... but unlikely



How much does the rig cost Minus the reserve container which I believe is 400.

The rest of my comments do not include the reserve container.

I don't know how much the magnets actually cost or if you use separable or non Separable D Rings. One is about 8 bucks a set, the other is about 40. So there's an added 30 for hardware and whatever the magnets cost.

Building the loops into the harness is not terribly time consuming. When a good harness builder is current and motivated, a full skydiving harness, plus a set of risers to go with it, can be made in about 2 hours. That's not rushing it, that's just being efficient. That's true with articulation built in or not. Admittedly, I do not know how that particular harness is constructed, but adding loops, is not a time consuming affair.

I imagine the quality of the construction is good but can't comment on it without seeing it. It's being built by a skydiving rig manufacturer under their TSO. Does that make it a good thing? Not necessarily. It does mean it's probably built with good quality sewing and assembly. That doesn't mean good function, it just means built well. I reserve comment until a rig is in my hands to look at.

Some personal comments. I believe Sonic is not making a lavish living on the rig. I've been involved with making rigs and it's not exactly a gold mine. I'm not sure what to think of the FJC course. Learning to pack isn't that hard. Learning to use a rig isn't that tough either. The pilot chute goes on the bottom. Grab it and throw it.

Basic rigging skills SHOULD be a requirement. In my opinion, it should be a requirement before doing a real BASE jump. Properly inspecting, properly assembling... etc. Skydiving and parachuting skills can be worked on just by skydiving and practicing canopy control.

Making a concerted effort to offer a BASE related course at a dropzone will lend itself to more and more BASE jumpers that probably should continue to skydive instead. I will never suggest BASE jumping. If you're going to do it anyway, I'll probably help you along but I'm definitely not into having 7 random people at a skydiving dropzone coming to me for a day or 2 of *instruction* It's not my desire to keep BASE from someone however pushing the subject on skydivers in my opinion is a bit much.

This is getting long so I'll end the post.

Damn, your post kicks my post's ass. That was a good read.

+1

a few thoughts...

1) if some jumper had been providing content, there would NOT have been an opportunity for the various interviews. this thread has produced several thoughtful, reasoned comments. far more than the other Sonic threads which feature more quick quips than thoughts.

2) who is the "core of this site?" the frequent posters? (including the drama queens?) or the lurkers who don't want to get involved in the drama?

3) the OP NEVER claimed to be an expert, which can help make the interviews more rounded. too many people complain that the outside world never views us well, never writes positive pieces. now some complain that someone from the outside world is showing interest and writing positive pieces? as a community, we can't have it both ways.

4) unless you move to ID, most people don't have a perfect object close by. they deal with what is available. unfortunately, people are NOT perfect. Tom is not. I am not. and the OP is not. we all make mistakes. readers get 3 choices, deal with it, complain about it, or find an alternative. too many choose the 2nd.

finally...
I can't help you delete anything. I have no powers over accounts, and can not even delete each and every of your posts. if deleting your posts is important to you, then feel free and do so. take responsiblity for YOUR actions. it seems odd to slam this site, then ask for a favor. odd. very odd.

The mechanism for anybody to "delete" your account and everything you posted is prohibitive to say the least. Essentially, I have to pay an hourly rate and put it into the development queue with all the bugs, etc. I don't know why it was originally set up that way, but I see it as something that's good for the community as a whole (speaking of the .com community, not BASE in general). My super-hero-like admin powers have a limit well shy of omnipresence. I can't look at your PMs. I can't read your email. I can't delete you. Even if I could do so easily, I wouldn't. It would leave gaps in threads that are unfair to the rest of the folks.

Also, I don't moderate these forums... ever. That's entirely up to Tom and wwarped. I don't butt into their business.

But hell, you don't really need any of us for that anyway. Self-disabling = Edit your profile to say something profound like, "Up yours, Namemedia!" Then change your password to something random and never look back -- simple, elegant, effective.

+1

Oh, one other thing. There might be some confusion as to TizzyLishNinja's official relationship with BASEjumper.com. There isn't one. She's doing interviews of her own volition on her own dime and time and submitting them to this website for absolutely nothing in return.

edit to say... ok still maybe extreme.. but this sight is definitely getting a little ridiculous.

great response. some great points.

 

Its called innovation. Without it there would be no such thing as technology including the ability to skydive or BASE. Not all innovation is successful but if it doesnt exist in the first place then everyone loses.

Innovation also rarely comes from those who are the intended operators, especially in technology. Hell look at engineers.

innovation is great if it fixes problems. Innovation for the sake of innovation is a way of over-complicating things and causing new problems.

You're saying that innovation is great if it is successful. I agree, but nothing has a 100% success rate. You have to take risks for the opportunity of reward and there will most likely be failures. I figured this community would understand that best.

Do we need automatic transmissions in cars? No. Do they complicate things? Yes. Did it take many attempts and a lot of testing to perfect? Yes. Were there a lot of car enthusiasts bashing the idea and saying it was over complicated and not needed? Yes. Yet what is the most common US transmission type now a days?

You Americans are the only ones that drive like that, so i say its still wrong

excellent point, but when a transmission fails or defects, it just means the car does not shift properly.
in this, miss-rigging failure of over-complicated systems means that some 20 skydive noob ends smelling up the bottom of the local 120' cell tower.

I think an excellent place for the BASEr is at drop zones with legitimate instructors who can teach BASE packing, and then switch to BASE gear for actual BASE jumps. I talked with Sonic for some time about the pros and cons of his rig, and I maintain that it is an excellent skydiving system and a very well designed and put together rig. but BASE is for BASE specific equipment.

IMO, this BASEr should NOT be sold to students. only to qualified instructors running FJC's, or qualified mentors. there are some great aspects of the BASEr (asside from being legal) but in the end, it is a skydiving rig.

yet European and Japanese companies still build the best automatic transmissions.

Suppose that goes for the beer too?

Why do you even ask? Everyone knows all you drink is cheap American piss water.

You must be fucking smoking crack or something, i only drink the best.

I requested the curriculum of the seminar that Sonic will be presenting at dropzones.


Ulster County
Containers & Canopies
First Jump Course Outline

INTRO TO B.A.S.E. JUMPING
History
Who, What, When, How, why
Danger Involved

Current
How gear has evolved
Velcro Containers to Pinned Rigs
Canopies
Improvement in training courses

INTRO TO UC3 B.A.S.E. GEAR

BaseR Main Container
Risers
Standard / Integrity
Toggles
Quick Grab / “BBLO’s”
Bridle & Free Flap
Pilot Chutes
Vents / Sizing / Handles

BaseR Reserve Container
Theory of a B.A.S.E. reserves
Sorcerer dual canopy B.A.S.E. rig
Our TSO’d reserve system
Legal to get on aircraft
Use on B.A.S.E. jumps
Low altitude jumps – NOT recommended
High altitude / High pull
Same attitude as AAD’s when they came out
How to put on
How to use and when
Describe the two types of malfunctions in B.A.S.E jumping
Partials – Line twists / Line over
Catastrophic - Canopy rips in half, lines brake, miss rigging
Canopy Transfer

Canopy
Proper size canopy
Wing Loading
Landing areas
5th Control Line
Vents
ZP Upper Skin
Tail Pocket
Proper Assembly

Safety Gear
Helmets
Body Armor, knee pads
Walkie Talkie / Cell Phones

JUMP SITE EVALUATION

Knowing height of object
Rock drop and counting
Laser range finder
Knowing Landing Area and Obstacles
Evaluate Conditions – Reading wind conditions

B.A.S.E. Packing

Slider or No Slider
Tail Gate
Setting Toggles
Different brake settings
Picking Appropriate Size Pilot Chute
Using proper size for length of the delay
PRO pack
Flaking, Folding, Redressing
Tail pocket
Free stowing lines
Placing canopy in Container
What type of jump you are doing depends on how gear is closed
Stowed
Dual B.O.C. Pouch
Hand Held
Static Line
Direct Bag
Exits
Delay – Time to Impact
Static Line/PC Assist
Hand Held
Stowed
Direct Bag

Canopy Control & Survival skills

Openings and Heading Control
Stalls & Stall Recovery & 180’s
Deep Brake Flight / Landings
Rear Riser Flight / Landings
Accuracy techniques
PLF’s
Tree or Cliff Strikes & Hang Ups
Water Landings
Night Jumps

Stowing Gear and Maintenance
Using your stash bag
Daisy Chain lines
Rigger Roll / Field Pack Canopy
Hiking Out to Safety

Drinking Beer when the jumping is DONE!!

I disagree 100% with that reasoning.

The best gear to teach BASE packing on is the BASE gear you own and will use until you are out from under your mentor's wing.

If you would like the confidence of having jumped your own BASE packjob as a newbie before using it on your first BASE jump, the answer is really simple:

Whoever teaches you to pack should be willing to jump your packjobs on a BASEjump.

If you cannot get familiar and confident enough in your rigging, packing and gear this way, then you should really question if you are ready to jump and/or if the instruction you are getting is worth a damn.

By all means do some skydives with your BASE canopy in a skydiving rig before BASE-ing it, but there is no need to skydive your BASE container.

The only real function it seems to serve according to the interview is to 'remove fear'.

I say this makes it counterproductive. Some fear is good as it keeps you in line.

The correct approach IMHO is "knowledge dispels fear", not: familiarity in a different context dispels fear.

As for the whole WS BASE angle, you should get familiar with all your shit on BASE jumps before adding a wingsuit into the mix. A sense of pattern recognition and a quick look at the fatility list since WS became popular should make that rather obvious.

And now you have more retards who can't operate, much less understand how their car works.

 

 


i think most of them are ex- pros, or super hot chicks reading questions provided by pros.
if the author of the interview is super hot, i'd be willing to delete all previous negative comments... of course nude pictures are mandatory.

enh... that's been up for debate for a long time. They can sew just fine but designs from that company have been known to be slightly odd. Dual Sided RSL for instance. It's a downright dangerous design.

Many claims of harness strength is bogus. A single layer Type XIII harness is not stronger than a 2 layer Type VIII or Type V11 or combination harness. Even if it was, how many cars does a harness need to be able to carry to be suitable for a human? Besides, the strength is limited by hardware anyway. There are others but it's not important.

John Shermanisms are vast in the skydiving community. That's enough Racer talk for a BASE forum so I'll keep it at that.

 

 

Agreed,
Sonic, No Offense, but we should leave teaching BASE to experienced BASE jumpers.

I also feel your rig needs to be separated from this discussion of your course. without your BASEr, would you be teaching BASE jumping? probably not.

Miles uses your gear and seems to like it, how about letting him make decisions that determine the use of the BASEr as it pertains to the lives and futures of prospective students.

bullshit.

This "boys club" as you call it exists to protect newbs from killing themselves and as far as I am aware girls are welcome to join.

I am also interested in your relationship to the BASER and the companies that surround it?

In my opinion the BASER does nothing to make BASE jumping any safer (a large container will do the same as far as the safety claims go) yet encourages people that should not be in base into base.


Also I note with interest the syllabus for the FJC course contains no teaching of the UC3 rap?? Surely that should be included?? Maybe it has to be sung by skydivers before they "base out of a plane" hahahaha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPNeVy1QIoc

you obviously did not read the forum rules.

Still don't understand what his "FJC" is for.......skydiving or BASEjumping???? Are skydiving and BASEjumping the same thing now? If you teach an all inclusive BASE FJC, isn't jumping off A FIXED OBJECT part of it or do I have it wrong? I know several years ago before Abbie's bridge became commercialized, BR used to teach a FJC out of a tethered hot air balloon. That's still a skydive but closer than taking students out of a moving airplane and calling it a BASE FJC.

the only relevance i see in revealing the curriculum
is that it further proves the irrelevance of the product

+1

There was this one time when everyone made posts about an advert in skydiving that said:

"BASE courses with the world famous BASE jumper _________"

after the up roar he was world famous

Sonic too is now a world famous BASE guy

Leroy, Morpheus has had their harness dropped tested and TSOd in Germany last year. I think there is another manufacturer that has their gear TSOd there as well. If any US manufacturer wanted to buy their harnesses from any of the skydive rig manufacturers (aka RACER/Sonic) it would be US TSOd as well. Its not worth the extra money so they don't do it. They also design them for the BASE specific environment.

That would almost mean my Stunts Xtreme is TSOed as well. Do I just need to sew in a TSO tag from an Eclipse?

I'll have to modify it to be a pin rig but it would work great.

I don't think so, but that would be because the eclipse was certified as a specific harness and container (reserve) pair.

JP. You're right but believe or not, I wasn't actually serious. I wrote that just because of the quote below.

If the harness was certified with front mount reserve att. points, then yes you could put a certified (tso or mil drwg #) emergency parachute on the front. You would then have to build on the single parachute container. I wonder if the paperwork was really dug through at Jumpshack, would the current rig design be "Legal"?

I've wondered the same thing. What was the actual TSO process for this particular rig?

One used to be able to log the Racer as either a chest or a back. It's just a guess but somewhere down the line the harness may have had an actual chest option.

There was a stand alone pop top chest mounted reserve you could use on any conventional (gutter gear) rig. That's why that particular reserve container could be logged as either a chest or back . . .

NickD

I've got one here, it's a Starmaker, poptop auxiliary parachute made by Strong Ent. I know Strong licenced the Poptop rights to Parachute Labs to make the SST, ect. The counting it chest or back depending on what rating you were looking for doesn't fly so much anymore. I just wonder still about the history of this design.I checked the parachute Manual and found a reference to a rig called the competitor, and then the Super Swooper. The Super Swooper Tandem it says, was TSO approved in early 1975. No mention of the early rigs being approved though. I think the rig has it's place in the world with the current pool of wannabe a base jumper, who have to be spoon fed and burped afterward.

hey pete...what the hell is the use of this thing? i've got a dual parachute system; i use it for skydiving. i use a single parachute system for base. am i missing something here? i guess this is made for the dirty high pullers...