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Question - when i watch videos of BASE from the ITW, kjerag and places like that, it appears that openings (for obvious reasons) are still extremely fast - the kind that skydivers would start saying its a bad canopy or whatever. Are they actually that hard? is there some property of the canopy that makes them not as bad as they look? Do you just get used to them and expect them? or are you guys just double hard barstewards??!!

They all use DACRON.

i think in my case that it's simply because i'm a hard headed bastard and i like the abuse.

Yo!


Yes. Recently, after giving a wingsuit rodeo ride to Mother Teresa in Eloy, I had an insta-canopy. Not a second, not a half-second opening. Instant. (Spectre by the way, with Spectra lines.) I was surprised that I didn't even have a sore neck (I was wearing a heavy camera, too.) The last thing recorded on video (camera was pointing backwards) was PC at bridle stretch.

Yuri

Believe it or not base openings are not that hard but unfortunately they are not always constant. By constant I mean "headingwise" and "speedwise". If you want an exact science take up chemistry or maths... NOT BASE! Most of the openings in the right configuration, with an appropriate sized pilot chute, an appropriate delay, a decent pack job and a decent body position will usually yield a decent result in regards to heading and deployment speed.
However, if you also factor in your own f... up's and Murphy's law, the results can be "interesting" sometimes... If you jump long enough you WILL eventually get a huge spanker for no apparent reason, a 180, and less than perfect openings.

So to answer your question shortly, no, base openings are not usually that hard and we are not "double hard barstewards". (at least I am not...)
But if you accidentally take a 6 sec delay with a vented canopy such as a blackjack with no slider ..., you will fully enjoy the pleasure of a fast and crisp BASE opening.

When your leaving the edge, preparing for the worst, but hoping everything turns out the sudden smack of a canopy opening above your head is a good feeling, something I don't complain about!!!

If you are head low, it will hurt, almost always. I have taken a couple of inadvertant long slider off delays (4.5 seconds and 4.7 seconds) and one didn't hurt a bit, I think due to the rotation, (gainer) it swung me into the opening. The other I kicked off of my back at four seconds and pitched a little head low, and two months or so later, I am still having minor neck pains. Truthfully, I have only had maybe five openings (of about 230) or so that have stayed with me, slider up or down. I didn't notice right away, but when I started, I had bruises consistant with my leg straps. I was soft though

Dude, what about that front flip gone wrong!? You felt that one right away! Then you finished with a nice downwind superman!

BTW: How you been, man? Been a long time.

Bill Booth said on his skydive radio interview that

"If you didn't lose conciousness, it is not a hard opening"

He was talking about terminal slider off jumps(When ram air canopis first made their appearance...he mentioned some other methods of making the opening slower but did not go into great detail). Obviously, there has been progress now that we complain about openings that are too fast .

Kris

You know, I sort of forgot about that one. You're right, that put me out for about, hhmmm, 20 hours. That is until I put a slider on my rig, then I was good to go. I have been good, I haven't been jumping a whole hell of a lot, but I am working a shit load and trying to make money. I did a skydive yesterday , it was fun. You got my number still? Call me up sometime, and if you ever get this way, you know where the objects are...

Take care
Adam