Basejumper.com - archive

I am currently learning to skydive and I have aspirations to be a base jumper sometime in the future. I know that Base is a dangerous sport and I want to be as well prepared as I possibly can, I have seen on numerous sites that 200 skydives is the minimum number of jumps before moving on to base. I thought that doing double this number would be more sensible as I would be preparing myself more thoroughly, is 400 skydives a sensible number before getting into base or would you reccomend more?

For most, you know when it calls to you, just don't get pregnant and here that call, cause it sucks waiting! Oh wait you are probably a guy and don't have to worry about that huh....stupid guys... Just make sure you realize what you are getting yourself into, do a lot of ground crewing and save a lot of money, because it does cost more than skydiving.

i would say that your surgestion on 400jumps is more fair(if you want to make it safe as posible).
I have one major reason to why i think that 4-500jumps are more reasonble than 200jumps. After 200jumps most people start to explore new canopyes in the skydive envioment(its a good thing),i simply think that people wont be ready unless they by the first 200jumps actualy only worked on canopy skills,that can be used in BASE.
you still have stupied people(like me)that gonna learn it the hard way(not learning the prober canopy skills,as they only flyes their fast canopies)and lucky only break some bones..

As the other(cant rember who,right now as im drunk)said,you will know when your time is up,after all its up to you to deside when you think your skills are great enough to save your a s s

I did start after 500jumps....and i guess i could have used more practice on bigger canopyes...

a familiar question...
Me personally? I have less than 200 skydives, of course I am not the ideal role model for "How to fly a BASE canopy", nor am I advocating anything I do is close to correct.
However, some others have pontificated about this subject.

Me, I would look through BLINC to find more info, as well as links to more info.

However, asking is the first step in the process. And learning to skydive is a good start also, unless you are going to R and S' Bounceproof BASE school.



Thomas

I'd say 200 is good and 400 is even better. I had 600'ish skydives before my first basejump and 800'ish when I had my first bad exit from a 780 feet A on my ninth BASEjump. When I tumbled that exit all the skills I've learnt through freeflying and all the altitude and time awareness that only come with hundreds of skydives really paid off. I was able deal with that situation and stay altitude and time aware, get stable and depoly right at the time. Don't know if I would have been able to do so with 200 skydives... Of course in case of unstable exit you need to deploy regardless of body position if the time is running out BUT the crucial skill of time- and altitude awarness and ability to make split second decisions and to stay on top of the situation only come through hundreds of skydives.
I'd say don't rush things, get as much skydiving excperience as you feel is necessary and just that much that you feel comfortable at the exitpoint that you can deal with jump in hand. Just my newbie opinion...

i started with 500 skydives, some CRW experience, practiced alot on 7-cells and the CR canopy drills, - even with this more experience would have been better - certainly more CRW / 7 cell experience.

Alot of people took the piss when I stopped freeflying and did all my skydives from 6k on a fury - asking what the fuck i was doing - preparing for CRW was my response.........

i also dont think you can put a number on when someone is ready - i went through trying to think if i was ready and then one day I just KNEW.............. some people maybe ready with 300 or some with 900 skydives

no one will be able to tell you whether mentally you are ready.............

Please take what I am about to say with a total grain of salt as I am nothing more than a BASE newbie with a grand total of five jumps all from the slightly safer compounds of the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls Idaho. Here goes ...

BASE jumping is serious shit requiring good decisions on when to jump and when to climb down, requiring good decisions while in freefall and especially requiring good decisions under canopy and having the appropriate canopy control skills. On most BASE jumps, you are not landing in a nice open landing area like we find at most DZ landing areas. Instead you are landing in tight confided areas often with trees, boulders and other stuff not friendly to the human bones. So you must ask yourself, do you have the appropriate personality to back down and come back another time when the jumping conditions are marginal? Do you have enough high stress experience both in deployments and under canopy. Do you have the skills and the knowledge to pilot your canopy into a tight landing area where if you don't make that landing area you're going to be hurt or killed? If you think you can handle the high stress, fast moving and unforgiving environment of BASE, then yes it's time to try it. But know that BASE is NOT skydiving and is an order of magnatude more dangerous that your DZ environment.

BASE jumping rocks, but it must be respected if any of us who do it want a chance to grow old and grey. Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do and be smart with your choices.

 

what he said

30 consecutive skydives working on the skills necessary for BASE. Assuming one can grasp the TLO´s quickly, maybe 50 if they lack skydiving exp by being "just of student status". How many skydives required ( just as a number) is normally from trying to.......But a skydive doing freeflying and deploying a small, hi wingloaded canopy doesn´t help one prepare for BASE. I think that the jump minimum is useless as is, I´ve seen it in action. The leaders should be thinking about it dynamically. It would be very easy IMHO to institute a "Skydive U" type of thingy...
take care,
space

wow, sounds like i'm about ready to go base jumping.

You don't need any skydiving experience:

http://www.dropzone.com/...rum.cgi?post=918886; :)

3 DZs? Damn.....isn't ONE good enough anymore? Shizznit, I gotta start driving farther if I am getting booted from more DZs.
Wait.....that'd mean I gotta start skydiving again to be able to get booted from DZs.



oh well,....slip it in her


Thomas