Rr

RonB

19/01/2010 6:34 AM

OT - Big Brutus Claims a Darwinian Sky-Diver

Many who travel through the lower Midwest know about Bug Brutus. It
is a huge electric-driven scoop shovel located in the extreme SE
corner of Kansas. When erected, during he early 1960's, it was the
largest shovel in the world; and was used for strip coal mining. It
was decommissioned several years later; but has been preserved as part
of a pretty neat coal mining museum near West Mineral, Ks.

Apparently some area base jumpers have been eying Brutus' 1960 boom.
One gave it a shot this past week.

http://fourstateshomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=104441

Brutus won.


This topic has 19 replies

LM

"Lee Michaels"

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 8:36 PM


"HeyBub" <heybub@NOSPAMgmail.com> wrote
>
> Needed the right equipment. Here's a video of a 60+-year-old woman
> rappelling down an abandoned bridge abutment to rescue a kitten.
>
> http://www.viddler.com/explore/cheezburger/videos/283/
>
My wife eats stuff like this up. I will send it to her. Thanks.


Rr

RonB

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 5:33 PM

On Jan 19, 8:34=A0am, RonB <rnrbro...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
> Brutus won.

Just saw another local news article. Apparently the guy was a dentist
and a very experience skydiver, with 4,000 jumps including 400 base
jumps. Musta miscalculated.

Dd

DT

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 3:40 PM

In article
<76d10806-6ee0-445a-85bd-6089baa03bf4@p24g2000yqm.googlegroups.com>,
tomeshew@msn.com says...
>On Jan 19, 8:38 am, Swingman <k...@nospam.com> wrote:
>> On 1/19/2010 8:34 AM, RonB wrote:
>>
>> > Apparently some area base jumpers have been eying Brutus' 1960 boom.
>> > One gave it a shot this past week.
>>
>> >http://fourstateshomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=104441
>>
>> > Brutus won.
>>
>> Another product of pop culture and the American educational system bites
>> the dust ...
>>
>> --www.e-woodshop.net
>> Last update: 10/22/08
>> KarlC@ (the obvious)
>
>Unfortunately, we'll probably never know how many successful jumps
>were made from "Big Brutus". I'd recommend static-lining off that low
>of a height.


I'd recommend rocket assist.

--
Dennis

LT

Larry The Snake Guy

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

23/01/2010 11:00 AM

On Jan 21, 3:12=A0pm, tom <tomes...@msn.com> wrote:
> Jumping
> from a moving platform, you must also add that "forward throw"
> distance into the mix. At 125 mph, you'll probably travel 300 feet
> horizontally before you've gone a hundred feet vertically.

Right, which means you've actually travelled a much greater total
distance than if you were base jumping. Unless I'm missing someing,
given the same chute you would need MORE altitude to open the chute in
a base jump because you're not traveling that added forward distance.
(I'm just talking about getting the chute open, and for all I know
reducing the "swinging" that you mention may negate the difference.)

Cc

"CW"

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

23/01/2010 9:01 PM


"krw" <krw@att.bizzzzzzzzzzz> wrote in message
news:d6sml5952ld3ibkt28ist1ca699v0g2eth@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:00:02 -0800 (PST), Larry The Snake Guy
> <ldfishel@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>On Jan 21, 3:12 pm, tom <tomes...@msn.com> wrote:
>>> Jumping
>>> from a moving platform, you must also add that "forward throw"
>>> distance into the mix. At 125 mph, you'll probably travel 300 feet
>>> horizontally before you've gone a hundred feet vertically.
>>
>>Right, which means you've actually travelled a much greater total
>>distance than if you were base jumping. Unless I'm missing someing,
>>given the same chute you would need MORE altitude to open the chute in
>>a base jump because you're not traveling that added forward distance.
>>(I'm just talking about getting the chute open, and for all I know
>>reducing the "swinging" that you mention may negate the difference.)
>
> AIUI, base jumpers don't start with a fully packed chute, though. They
> pitch the folded chute in the air, rather than pull a rip cord,
> opening the pack. IOW, it opens much faster.
>

All that I've ever seen used a throw out pilot chute. I would think that the
method you are talking about would lead to more chute malfunctions though I
have heard of it being done.

Rr

RonB

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 6:43 AM

Uhhhh...........That boom would be 160'.

Finger palsy.

Rc

Robatoy

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 8:11 PM

Whoever first reported on that accident got quite a scoop.

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 1:41 PM


"tom" <tomeshew@msn.com> wrote in message
news:76d10806-6ee0-445a-85bd-6089baa03bf4@p24g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> Another product of pop culture and the American educational system bites
>> the dust ...
>>
>> --www.e-woodshop.net
>> Last update: 10/22/08
>> KarlC@ (the obvious)
>
> Unfortunately, we'll probably never know how many successful jumps
> were made from "Big Brutus". I'd recommend static-lining off that low
> of a height. Tom


I'd recomend not doing it at all.

tt

tom

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 10:59 AM

On Jan 19, 8:38 am, Swingman <k...@nospam.com> wrote:
> On 1/19/2010 8:34 AM, RonB wrote:
>
> > Apparently some area base jumpers have been eying Brutus' 1960 boom.
> > One gave it a shot this past week.
>
> >http://fourstateshomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=104441
>
> > Brutus won.
>
> Another product of pop culture and the American educational system bites
> the dust ...
>
> --www.e-woodshop.net
> Last update: 10/22/08
> KarlC@ (the obvious)

Unfortunately, we'll probably never know how many successful jumps
were made from "Big Brutus". I'd recommend static-lining off that low
of a height. Tom

tt

tom

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

21/01/2010 12:12 PM

On Jan 19, 12:53 pm, Morris Dovey <mrdo...@iedu.com> wrote:
> On 1/19/2010 12:59 PM, tom wrote:
>
> > Unfortunately, we'll probably never know how many successful jumps
> > were made from "Big Brutus". I'd recommend static-lining off that low
> > of a height. Tom
>
> I would not. The training towers at Ft Benning are 250' tall and "jumps"
> are made with an already-open canopy (note the shadow in this photo):
>
> http://www.army.mil/-images/2008/07/28/20075/size0-army.mil-2008-07-2...
>
> (In ancient days back when I was indestructible I rode to the top of the
> tower in the background of that photo. The trip up is scarier than the
> trip down, and I quite understand this young woman's slight nervousness.
> :) )
>
> I recall being told that the T-10 parachute needed ~200' to deploy and
> fully inflate in a static line jump from an aircraft going ~125 mph -
> and that the minimum (very high risk) static line combat jump altitude
> was 300'.
>
> --
> Morris Dovey
> DeSoto Solar
> DeSoto, Iowa USAhttp://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

That jumper doesn't have his feet together...Fort Benning is a haven
for broken ankles. The equipment has changed drastically since we went
from round to square parachutes, silk or pongee to zero-porosity rip-
stop fabrics. I think when the figures you recall were accepted, they
took into account the oscillation factor, the swinging that occurrs
when your round canopy opened in a horizontal configuration. Jumping
from a moving platform, you must also add that "forward throw"
distance into the mix. At 125 mph, you'll probably travel 300 feet
horizontally before you've gone a hundred feet vertically.

Sk

Swingman

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 9:38 AM

On 1/19/2010 8:34 AM, RonB wrote:

> Apparently some area base jumpers have been eying Brutus' 1960 boom.
> One gave it a shot this past week.
>
> http://fourstateshomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=104441
>
> Brutus won.

Another product of pop culture and the American educational system bites
the dust ...

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Hh

"HeyBub"

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 4:57 PM

RonB wrote:
> Many who travel through the lower Midwest know about Bug Brutus. It
> is a huge electric-driven scoop shovel located in the extreme SE
> corner of Kansas. When erected, during he early 1960's, it was the
> largest shovel in the world; and was used for strip coal mining. It
> was decommissioned several years later; but has been preserved as part
> of a pretty neat coal mining museum near West Mineral, Ks.
>
> Apparently some area base jumpers have been eying Brutus' 1960 boom.
> One gave it a shot this past week.
>
> http://fourstateshomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=104441
>
> Brutus won.

Needed the right equipment. Here's a video of a 60+-year-old woman
rappelling down an abandoned bridge abutment to rescue a kitten.

http://www.viddler.com/explore/cheezburger/videos/283/

'Course she had some skill, too. Second oldest woman to scale Mt Everest,
oldest woman to climb the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents,
etc. She's climbed the following (among others):

Rainier
Athabasca
Adams
Kilimanjaro
Mt. Hood
Shasta
Glacier Peak
Elbrus
Aconcagua
Denali
Ecuador Volcanoes
Baker
Cho

She heard the kitten on her morning four-mile jog. And so on.

Still, the kitten got to the ledge before she did...

Hh

"HeyBub"

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

20/01/2010 7:27 AM

Lee Michaels wrote:
> "HeyBub" <heybub@NOSPAMgmail.com> wrote
>>
>> Needed the right equipment. Here's a video of a 60+-year-old woman
>> rappelling down an abandoned bridge abutment to rescue a kitten.
>>
>> http://www.viddler.com/explore/cheezburger/videos/283/
>>
> My wife eats stuff like this up. I will send it to her. Thanks.

Yeah, it made my day too.

Serendipity? Perhaps.

But what are the chances of a world-class mountain climber just passing by a
kitten in distress?

I prefer to think somebody upstairs watches over the wee ones.

kk

krw

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

23/01/2010 3:59 PM

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:00:02 -0800 (PST), Larry The Snake Guy
<ldfishel@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Jan 21, 3:12 pm, tom <tomes...@msn.com> wrote:
>> Jumping
>> from a moving platform, you must also add that "forward throw"
>> distance into the mix. At 125 mph, you'll probably travel 300 feet
>> horizontally before you've gone a hundred feet vertically.
>
>Right, which means you've actually travelled a much greater total
>distance than if you were base jumping. Unless I'm missing someing,
>given the same chute you would need MORE altitude to open the chute in
>a base jump because you're not traveling that added forward distance.
>(I'm just talking about getting the chute open, and for all I know
>reducing the "swinging" that you mention may negate the difference.)

AIUI, base jumpers don't start with a fully packed chute, though. They
pitch the folded chute in the air, rather than pull a rip cord,
opening the pack. IOW, it opens much faster.

tt

tom

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

23/01/2010 1:58 PM

On Jan 23, 12:00 pm, Larry The Snake Guy <ldfis...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Jan 21, 3:12 pm, tom <tomes...@msn.com> wrote:
>
> > Jumping
> > from a moving platform, you must also add that "forward throw"
> > distance into the mix. At 125 mph, you'll probably travel 300 feet
> > horizontally before you've gone a hundred feet vertically.
>
> Right, which means you've actually travelled a much greater total
> distance than if you were base jumping. Unless I'm missing someing,
> given the same chute you would need MORE altitude to open the chute in
> a base jump because you're not traveling that added forward distance.
> (I'm just talking about getting the chute open, and for all I know
> reducing the "swinging" that you mention may negate the difference.)

Yes, "given the same chute". That's why I mentioned the newer fabrics
and designs, which have changed the sport phenomenally. Not too long
ago, a manufacturer was espousing the effectiveness of its reserve
static-line design, called the Skyhook. They were static-line base-
jumping the rig from insanely low altitudes at a major U.S. skydiving
event. Tom

bR

bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 4:26 PM

In article <hj52k1$e8a$1@speranza.aioe.org>,
Morris Dovey <mrdovey@iedu.com> wrote:
>On 1/19/2010 12:59 PM, tom wrote:
>
>> Unfortunately, we'll probably never know how many successful jumps
>> were made from "Big Brutus". I'd recommend static-lining off that low
>> of a height. Tom
>
>I would not. The training towers at Ft Benning are 250' tall and "jumps"
>are made with an already-open canopy (note the shadow in this photo):
>
>http://www.army.mil/-images/2008/07/28/20075/size0-army.mil-2008-07-28-145653.jpg
>
>(In ancient days back when I was indestructible I rode to the top of the
>tower in the background of that photo. The trip up is scarier than the
>trip down, and I quite understand this young woman's slight nervousness.
>:) )
>
>I recall being told that the T-10 parachute needed ~200' to deploy and
>fully inflate in a static line jump from an aircraft going ~125 mph -
>and that the minimum (very high risk) static line combat jump altitude
>was 300'.

I recall the 300' minimum as well. that that's what it took to deploy,
inflate, _and_ slow you to a 'safe' landing speed. FSVO 'safe', that is.

MD

Morris Dovey

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 1:53 PM

On 1/19/2010 12:59 PM, tom wrote:

> Unfortunately, we'll probably never know how many successful jumps
> were made from "Big Brutus". I'd recommend static-lining off that low
> of a height. Tom

I would not. The training towers at Ft Benning are 250' tall and "jumps"
are made with an already-open canopy (note the shadow in this photo):

http://www.army.mil/-images/2008/07/28/20075/size0-army.mil-2008-07-28-145653.jpg

(In ancient days back when I was indestructible I rode to the top of the
tower in the background of that photo. The trip up is scarier than the
trip down, and I quite understand this young woman's slight nervousness.
:) )

I recall being told that the T-10 parachute needed ~200' to deploy and
fully inflate in a static line jump from an aircraft going ~125 mph -
and that the minimum (very high risk) static line combat jump altitude
was 300'.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

JC

"J. Clarke"

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

19/01/2010 2:31 PM

tom wrote:
> On Jan 19, 8:38 am, Swingman <k...@nospam.com> wrote:
>> On 1/19/2010 8:34 AM, RonB wrote:
>>
>>> Apparently some area base jumpers have been eying Brutus' 1960 boom.
>>> One gave it a shot this past week.
>>
>>> http://fourstateshomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=104441
>>
>>> Brutus won.
>>
>> Another product of pop culture and the American educational system
>> bites the dust ...
>>
>> --www.e-woodshop.net
>> Last update: 10/22/08
>> KarlC@ (the obvious)
>
> Unfortunately, we'll probably never know how many successful jumps
> were made from "Big Brutus". I'd recommend static-lining off that low
> of a height. Tom

I'd recommend being _damned_ sure of my packing and my opening time as well.
You're _not_ gonna pop a reserve.

LL

"LDosser"

in reply to RonB on 19/01/2010 6:34 AM

20/01/2010 8:15 PM

"Robatoy" <counterfitter@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4dc9dcb3-1d03-4ed1-a5b2-4b9458564d5e@a6g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
> Whoever first reported on that accident got quite a scoop.
>


Oooooooo!


You’ve reached the end of replies