Basejumper.com - archive

How many of you still skydive (in whatever quantity that is) or since you started BASE, have you completely switched over to BASE?

I haven't "quit" skydiving, but I rarely ever go. If I do, it's usually to try something out for BASE.

I do really enjoy it, I just haven't really gone in a while.

I do both, but I've been broke lately so just base at the moment. (its winter too so that helps with not being able to jump. Weekends aren’t nice and warm at the moment)

I'm also saving for a PF phantom. I'd like to get into WS base in the next few year but I need adequate experience in both Base and WS flying first.

Same as Dexter… I haven't quit, but I am definitely not all over it anymore.
I tend to get irritated with the DZ politics . I like the freedom of making all the calls in the BASE environment. When I go skydiving, it's usually to test some new gear or to improve things for BASE.
I don't really get the kick out of freeflying like I used to.

I just started getting into base recently and I'm loving it, but I doubt I will ever totally abandon skydiving for it. I like flying my skydiving canopy too much. Besides, my skydiving money pays for my base gear.

I cannot see myself quitting skydiving. Sure they are different, yet I enjoy both very much.

I do both.

BASE has special significance for me (as it captures flight dreams and being at one with mother nature + self reliance, etc, all in the same activity). But in the end, I love being in the air. It does not matter if it is flying a plane, a glider, a parachute, my body, it's all good. ;)

I am still 110% adamant that all BASEr's should start their careers with skydiving. If they develop the skills that make them competant and safe, then I have no dramas with them getting into BASE and giving up on skydiving.

You gotta do what you gotta do. Each to their own. etc.

p.s. r.e. DZ politics - general response (not directed at anyone). Once you have gained respect for your skills, abilities, attitude, experience, etc - I have found that politics only becomes a factor if YOU decide to get involved. What gives you the above mentioned characteristics? Representing your DZ or country in competition, proving to the CI or S&TA that you are intelligent and safety conscious via consultation and discussion, fitting in with the culture of a DZ, social interaction, etc. Coming once a year with non standard equipment and a demanding attitude and an expectation that the DZ should allow you to open at 300ft whilst geared up in your wing suit and BASE rig is a totally unrealistic expectation of the DZ. If you want to do that, you have to find people who can accommodate, and with a bit of effort, you WILL find them. We all know they exist!!!

Be careful of what you think is politics. If you are inexperienced or not known at a DZ, a chief instructor or safety officer telling you what to do and what not to do IS NOT politics. They are just doing their job - and that is to keep YOU AND OTHER PEOPLE safe.

And of course, there are some places where the people are just plain wankers and you don't want to be with them. Vote with your feet and Credit card. Go somewhere else. Oh, now I get it - that is why some people only BASE jump.

I'm not the one that mentioned DZ politics.



******

To everyone that's answered. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I won't be "jumping" into BASE this winter....cold = icky - however, it's defintely something I'm looking to get into next year.

It's that part that I find lacking in skydiving.

I don't mind the politics so much. I like to think that I'm quite the politician myself and like you say; you can easily stay out if it if you want to. People that complain about politics are often those that enjoy getting a piece of the action too.

I love skydiving, but it doesn't satisfy my craving for survival. The advent of the RSL, the AAD and the blind trust in reserves has taken a lot of the pioneering spirit and responsibility out of skydiving. I find self reliance in other sports like BASE, climbing and mountaineering.

What I miss in climbing and mountaineering is the crazy wackiness and the speed that skydiving offers. You'll find a lot of tradition in climbing and few people willing to try new things. Just look at the general climber's attitude towards rope-jumping. It's generally rather negative.

Perhaps that's why I'm so attracted to BASE. It combines the best parts of climbing and skydiving without bringing along the bagage. It's truly a unique sport.

I'm keen on getting into shark-fucking, but I'm still looking for an FJC that will let me try it without the required 150 scuba dives as a prerequisite. I hate scuba politics and Red Bull told me short-cuts are the way to go. I've already tuned my deep-air-settings to my own body-weight and fin-loading. I've also been practicing octopus-avoidance-drills in my local swimming pool.

I was totally not expecting that. I am still laughting, thanks.

Uh oh, someone's going to be getting narc'd!

Cheeky!!!!!



BTW - it's FSFC, not FJC!!!


This is often a problem with people who are in it only for a few hundred jumps or a few years. In the early parts of a skydiving career, you are generally controlled/confined by operational regulations. Rules that are designed to keep you safe and develop your skills in a logical / sequential manner. It is a fact that many BASE jumpers do not have the psychology or patience to wait for more freedom which is attained via time/experience in the sport. Hence one ofothe reasons for giving up.

Can skydiving be fun? Well here are some scenario's of the things I have experienced in skydiving:
- about 35 cutaways
- being involved in a wrap/formation collapse involving about 20 other canopies
- display jumps into ancient temples, exotic beaches, vast cities, my home, etc.
- taking people for their first skydiving experience and probably the most exciting thing they've done in their lives. You are actually in physical contact and feeling their excitement.
- turning up to the DZ with home made wingsuit and woomera (hand deployed reserve) before anyone had even heard of Birdman.
- representing my country.
- travelling the world.
- smashing the nose of my canopy through 3 other canopies and then slamming my canopy onto another parachutist all in the space of about 4 seconds.
- Sometimes getting the experience above wrong.
- Jumping into remote areas for BASE jumps.
- Cross country flights above awesome landscapes (mountains, forests, seas, etc)
- Flying co-pilot in everything from Cessna's to Hercules aircraft.
- Aerobatics in planes.
- Freefalling with descending planes.
- Learning skills that I use in BASE jumping......
- etc

And these are all relatively conservative things. If you really let your imagination run. . . . . . .

I would tend to agree that turning up to a DZ every weekend, seeing the same faces, turning 8 points on a 4 way RW dive or 2 way freefly, and then repeating this again, and again, and again, can be boring for many people (especially BASE jumpers or individualists), but the mere fact that someone is doing this is showing that they are limiting their minds to what parachuting society expects from them.

I am fortunate that my DZ is about 4 minutes away from my house, 50m off the beach, 300m from the centre of a large regional city, and not that far from a bunch of climbing and lower BASE sites.


I hear ya brother. That is one of my reasons.

In the end, each to their own...

I enjoy both skydiving and BASE. Although I don't skydive often, heading to the local DZ with my wife (who skydives but doesn't BASE) or turbine chasing is fun. I really enjoy freeflying with the other big boys in the Midwest.

I've noticed lately that I have less and less patients for sitting in a 182 and mostly just do hop-n-pops and save the freeflying for the turbines. (FYI - turbins are very hard to come by in the midwest where I jump.)

I also enjoy BASE, and find the big events espeically fun and have a great time attending them.

I feel BASE jumping has giving me a slightly different view of skydiving. Basically - that skydiving is easy and relatively safe. And I love a sub-10 minute pack job when at the DZ.

Of course lately, I'm more of a wuffo than a skydiver/BASE jumper due to a mortgage and a little one running around the house.

Dude, there's a huge difference between "Whuffo" and "really busy with other things called life" give yourself a beak.




(((dude, are you really an adult film actor?)))

A couple of you have mentioned that when you do skydive, it's to try things out for BASE. What is it that you're trying out? Canopy flight characteristics or ???

In my case it's either canopy stuff (either looking at flight characteristics or practicing some kind of maneuvers), or wingsuit flights.

I have not made a whole lot of skydives this year, probably the least in eight years. However, I find myself going to the DZ just to stay current at the very least. If I go a month without a skydive, I do not feel as comfortable under canopy on than if I recently did a hop n pop, CRW, RW, or even wingsuit.

If sh!t goes bad on any jump, I want instincts to take over rather than having to think too much. Hesitation will make your worst fears come true (I think I heard that in the movie Point Break but it is sooooo true).

if i had more money i would go skydiving more often. but really. the objects arent costing me much money to jump off of.

LAtER

Wait till ya get popped! Things start to add up then, especially ordering that new rig.

That's what i'm sayin! Student loans get ya a rig..... but not many jump tickets.

Yea but they aren't gonna take your rig on a normal jump, they only do that on NPS land kinda deal right?

Coco

Edited to add: One of my sources said if I get popped on an B or A jump its just gonna be trespassing.

Thay can take your gear in most cases, sometimes they do, sometimes they dont. Most coppers dont deal with us on an as regular basis as NPS, and in that they may not know the ins and outs of busting us. Which could be a good thing, or a bad thing.

Nic

Per jump, I'm certain my BASE jumps have cost more than my skydives--and that's even before medical expenses.

Tom. you just have something to say about everything! dont you. ahahaha.

i dont have any more money because i put it all into my travels, jumps, rigs, yaddi yadda due to BASE and skydiving