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I drive by these two cranes all the time and I noticed today that one of the cranes that used to be the smaller of the two is now the taller of the two. Is this possible or am I just losing my mind?

While that is certainly possible, you are not mistaken. One of them is definately higher.

Order that range finder.

It's in my hand right now.

Nice ... good luck with that one. Prime your velcro if you go for it.

Cranes do grow taller as the structure being erected gets higher. Since many of us climb around on these cranes, I looked into how they make them grow taller, and it's pretty cool.

Let's say it's a building. When the building gets to a few stories the crane is brought in by truck in twenty foot sections. They pour a small cement foundation to support the bottom of the crane and also anchor it to the side of the building. As the building grows they raise, they call it jacking, the tower up like this;

Right below the cab (the part where the crane operator sits) are four hydraulic rams that can raise the cab another twenty feet higher. The crane operator then picks up another twenty foot section and lifts it into the space created by raising the cab.

For those of us that have been up in these cabs, in the middle of the night, on very tall buildings, we can see these crane operators have one of the scarcest jobs in the world. These cranes do fail and fall over sometimes.

But, you can't beat the view . . .

In the early days the hatches that provide access from the ladder up into the bottom of the cab were seldom locked. Nowadays, they all seemed to be locked. But, I'm not sure if we had anything to do with that. Some jumpers now use climbing gear and skills to maneuver passed the locked cab to gain access to the horizontal boom. But, it's not a move for the faint of heart.

BTW, you don't have to climb the tower ladder from the very bottom. You get on the crane the same way the operator does. You first access the building, and then somewhere, usually about half way up, there will be a gangplank placed across the void to access the crane. Then it's the ladder the rest of the way.

Also, they do not, as a rule lock down the rotation of the horizontal boom at night. As long as it can't hit another building it's free to move with the wind. I found this out one night standing on the end of a boom, 500-feet above a big open intersection. As I was getting ready to jump the boom started to move and I had to get off fast. It's the only BASE jump I've ever done that included spotting . . .

NickD
BASE 194

>>Hehehe I know some folks who do that quite regularly!

That's very cool info Nick. I had no idea!

Thanks.

ha ha just got the visuals of that one.. he he nice work

 
ha ha just got the visuals of that one.. he he nice workIt's all about the visuals...
~J

That's funny!

Your crane story just reminded me of this story I read five years ago:

http://groups-beta.google.com/...3d1216a?dmode=source

Cool read.

My new favorite quote:

"You couldn't have driven a sixteen penny nail up my ass with a sledghammer."

Aw yes...decisions, decisions, decisions...do you do the crane, or the building. Right, Hookitt?

They won't be there forever.


Rod

if the crane is on the building or is higher... go for the crane! or the safer jump...

Thanks,but I'd take the B probably, buildings rock!
~J

Yup... missed out on a perfectly good 420' crane.

Thanks for the picture, that one was stellar.

Two rigs. No problem.

I only had one with me and so did Rod. That B was pretty cool. It's unfortunate we didn't hit up the crane but that's how it goes.

By the way Tom, thanks for hooking me up with Rod's contact info back then.

Rodney, I can't wait to return the favor.

huh?

hell no its all about risk mannegement. I would probaly go for the B(if it can be jumped)

Sounds like fun to me, I should have been a T crane operator.

"Also, they do not, as a rule lock down the rotation of the horizontal boom at night. As long as it can't hit another building it's free to move with the wind."

That really is something! I thought I was crazy for a time, but then I remembered reading this, and thought, no shit, they better get to the end of that thing. It was interesting watching it move very slowly back and forth, thanks for the info Nick, it helped out last night.

Adam

yeah, they definatly move. scarry. beautiful.

Thanks kids. twas amazing.
you saved my christmas. really.

Cranes are great fun.

If you want more spotting practice Nick, may I recommend a nice cable car in the French Alps. It travels above variable terrain and there is one spot where distance to impact becomes more acceptable for a multiple person exit.

p.s. another thing about climbing onto crane cabins. Remember that the fact that a mechanical device had to rotate often means that lubrication is required in and around the sections that are in contact. This means that the area is often VERY greasy. This is a slip hazard and can damage / soil your gear. So wear protective clothing etc. The next important point is this - it is slippery, be ready to slip off (it has happened both accidently & deliberately ). Have you rig ready to deploy (p/c & canopy packed ready in case you fall off). Also try to make sure that your right hand (assuming that is the side you deply on) is free of grease if possible, because that stuff sticks to your p/c when you grab it. This can be a very unnerving feeling - trying to shake your p/c off your hand whilst falling in an unstable position not that far from mother earth.

Code

Which begs the question ? Officially what does jumping from the crane satisfy, the B or the S ? It can be looked at as both, no?

or since the wind blows THROUGH it, some would call it an "A."

others call it an "O" (for other).

it's really your call.

Officially? Who knows. I haven't given much thought but, I log then in the "Other" category as a crane. Some of the entries I put in the "other" category are: Bridge pillars, power towers (also known as pylons), cranes, tram suspension cables, .. and later this month, KL Tower will be logged in "other" as a tower.

Just got back from my first UK BASE jump and first crane. Awesome. Absolutely buzzing. Nick D, your post was invaluable tonight. It certainly got me thinking. Fortunately nothing was locked up. Stairs to 19th floor saved me 19 floors of ladder climbing on a greasy crane.

Tonight was not a sensible evening for me as this was my first jump post my FJC in Norway. My first slider down pack job. (All from the manual) First jump with a large PC. First handheld. And was on my own with no groundcrew. No doubt I shall attract some disapproving comments. However all went exactly to plan and no one is any the wiser. I would love however to catch up with any jumpers around the Yorkshire area. I skydive at Hib and Langar. I clearly need a mentor and someone to show me the ropes. Happy to groundcrew, listen and learn. Any wannabe mentors out there? I don't need you to hold my hand just point me in the right direction so that I don't upset the status quo and ruin it for the established community. And if anyone is interested I know of an awesome crane in a large city in the North East! Thanks.

Quifmiester

 
Try posting on the UK board ... In fact i'll copy your message across for you ...

Mentors are pretty hard to find and it's always a good idea to try and find one before doing your FJC ... Sounds like you've found a nice object, but doing solo's without groundcrew whilst packing from a manual isn't really the best way ....

I'm glad you're ok after the jump but it would be a really good idea to find someone to GC for you or show you the ropes ....

There should be someone around at Langar or Hib who can help you ... Have you asked around to see if there's anyone who can help you whilst you're learning ????

Be prepared for it to take a while and for people to accept you slowly ... Until you have proven your commitment or unless someone who knows you is willing to take you on as a student.

Mentoring a student takes a lot of time and is a big commitment for an experienced jumper ... Perhaps talking to some of the guys on the UK board and offering to GC for them will help ....

It could be worth doing especially as there has been another recent graduate of a FJC who decided to do this the hard way recently and is currently rigless and is pretty much without any friends here in the UK ...

I was up in the NE last week and was looking at a couple of cranes which have sprouted up PM me with the location if you have time ...

Regards


James

>>No doubt I shall attract some disapproving comments.<<

By necessity the rules, ethics, and advice dispensed in BASE jumping is geared to the slowest among us. I know if you had posted about your recent BASE course and the fact you were now considering this building the responses would have been mostly, "Don't do it!" But, real life is always more complicated than that. . .

I don’t mean to ever discourage people from asking questions – but there is something to certain queries here that scare the crap out of the rest of us. A simple self-administered initial test of your own ability (or a site's fitness for jumping) is if you have to ask about it here you're already in a spot of trouble. And it indicates you need physical assistance, not virtual advice.

In a way, it's this board's biggest flaw. Billed as a place to get advice for those skydivers interested in BASE, we seem to mostly help novice, or already BASE jumping jumpers, and turn the fire hose on the rest. We don't do it to be mean. We do it because the days of getting your initial BASE education over the net are over.

I remember when my monochrome (and big as an old Zenith TV) IBM monitor flashed an electronic mail message from some jumper in Florida in the year 1988.

>>Hi all, (There were six of us e-mailing each other . . . )

Marlen hit a wall on landing and died. The winds were honking. I think we should be wearing helmets!

Mike Allen<<

What you did, is what a lot of us did, except for the BASE course. We made our first BASE jumps somewhere and sometimes with someone (who showed us how they did it) and then we retuned to our hometowns to rape every jumpable object in sight.

Welcome to the madness . . .

NickD
BASE 194