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Hello,

I just learned that the German BASE Association has 'official' BASE instructors. Can somebody from the G.B.A. elaborate on what that means? I'm also curious how having an organizational body and legal jumps from high profile objects has affected BASE jumping in Germany. Is it still true you have to wear a belly mounted reserve on those jumps? Has it affected the underground jumping and traditional influx of BASE jumping at all?

I realize I could have just send an email to the G.B.A. directly, but I'm hoping to stir a broader discussion on how organizational structures can affect the sport.

It appears to me that our constant struggles with jumpers pushing the boundaries of what the common deem ethical is the price we have to pay for our sport to remain free (in the moral sense). As such, maybe we're already doing the best we can today (through our discussions, and occasional 'educational' reminders).

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I just learned that the German BASE Association has 'official' BASE instructors. Can somebody from the G.B.A. elaborate on what that means? I'm also curious how having an organizational body and legal jumps from high profile objects has affected BASE jumping in Germany. Is it still true you have to wear a belly mounted reserve on those jumps? Has it affected the underground jumping and traditional influx of BASE jumping at all?
Well it seems like belly mount reserves are optional but lederhosen are not ....

Underground jumpers still wear PVC ....

if they need pvc at your side, we prefer cotton... ;-)

to bring some light to the dark, I try to explain the german system.

in germany, basejumping is like sportsparachuting, so you have to follow the parachute rules and aviation laws.
first we had to do our homework and the paperwork-stuff.
then the technical approvement of our gear.

if you want to jump and you are a newbie, you need instruction and training, a test and a rating system, technical approvements for the rigs, etc...
all this was done.
we made droptests for harness and canopies to get the german tso.
we wrote an instruction manual and this became the basic for the instructional courses.
but for holding a course, you need instructors.
so a handful experienced jumpers with the most amount of knowledge became instructors.
the theoretical part does not really differ from sportsparachuting, except that the "students" must hold a current skydiving license (and the info is much more complex than the skydiving manual).
our gear is certified and insured.

we have to follow the same rules (with some exceptions) as sportparachutists.
and we usually have to wear reserves, because you have to carry a reserve with you at parachute jumps in germany.
exeption is: if we can prevent spectators or others from getting hurt by our jumps, than we are free to use the reserves.
example:
> jumps from a building in a city where probably someone could get hurt (like an exit over a street,....), then we have to wear reserves.
> jumps from a bridge where no one is underneath, then we are free to use reserves.
it is a little more complex, but in general it is like you intend to jump into a stadium.

@jaap: what do you mean with influence?
having the possibility to do legal jumps does not mean every spot is open. the owner of the objects are not like : "you want to jump from my building? ok, go up and have fun" it is always a hard struggle to convince them to open up their property. of course, the main question for them is: what is in for me?
so underground activity is still common.

to get base legal in germany, it was a long and hard way, especially for the heads of the gba.
but we were able to "beat the system by its own weapons".
this is not suitable for every country, of course.
but it worked in germany.
it depends what kind of structure and basics the parachuteorganisation in your country has and how responsible this organisation is, also to be seen in combination with local aviation rules.
question is, who is able and allowed to give you a permission for a jump from a fixed object?
what kind of paperwork has to be done in front?
what are the technical guidelines to your rigs?
do they fulfill your tso-standards?
if not and they have to, what do you need to get them?
will you find an insurance company, that will cover your risks and a third-party-liability (if this is the correct term).

to cut a long story short:
if you want to jump more and official, you have to create an organisation which is very, very competent with the rules in your country and does the long and hard work with the official authorities.

in some countries it would need less work, in others it could be a neverending story.

Big respect from Finns !!!!!
way to go boys.

FastPete

this could be a stupid question - sorry if so...

was it (and is it in other countries) a big problems in the past if you wanted to make a demo-base-jump e.g. from the roof of a football-stadium before the game begins? what was the problem - sorry, but i do not get it.

I'd really be interested in reading the instruction manual, because I always like seeing how other people approach education and training . Only problem is I don't know German.

Is it something that would be fairly easily translatable?

Thanks for the detailed answer Hajo!


I assume this only applies for newbies interested in getting involved in the legal and regulated jumping, correct? For underground jumping it only remains a highly recommended approach, not a mandatory step?

first to that:
what someone does in the underground is his own responsibility.
if you intend to steal a car, you do not have to pass a drivers-license test in front. ;-)
we do not offer two fjcs, one for official and one for underground jumping.

the stealth-jump itself does not differ not so much from daylight jumping.
stealth action needs the same training than official jumping.
so why not give all the knowledge you have to interessted guys?
what they are doing with that after leaving the course - no one knows in detail and is not the point.
everyone round the world can buy base gear and walk to an object of his choice. if he fails with his jump, we all have to suffer from that in a certain way.
offer those guys basic instruction and probably they recognize: this is different to the footage seen in freaky videos and not what they expected.
we do have many calls, saying "hey, I saw that freaky base action and want to do this also. I now have 79 jumps and have done everything from rw to freefly and I think I want to do this now".
by the time, they receive the overlook how a first jump course is structured and what to do in front, a lot are able to have a first look behind the videos and they think about base in a different way.

zennie:
to the manual: it holds hundreds of pages and it is like translating the SIM of the USPA from english to german. would be a hard job.....
join the gba and get your hardcopy ;-))

mostwanted:
jumps into a stadium from the roof (germany):
getting the permission holds several difficulties.
from outside of the roof (on top) it is basejumping and therefore you need everything in front:
permissions from the owner, approved gear, insurance, certified jumpers, an expertise from an official to define the settings for the jump (deployment method, gear configuration, etc ....).
from inside (like we did from the island resort dome) it is different. it is parachuting but not in open airspace. this is a little more complex then.
in the past, it was a problem. mainly because the rigs were not approved and therefore not able to be insured.
no approved gear - no coverage - no permission - no jump

Well done Hajo, thanks.

Just to add, that the GBA followed the needs of BASE itself. And objects do not make a difference between official/legal or inofficial/illegal. It just counts what your abilities and knowledge are in order to your performance. It's all about if you can do it and not that you are allowed to do it.
And as Hajo described our political environment. It's all based on rules we didn't invent.
As everybody is free to use his training know-how once he is educated enough.

Mahle
GBA

Do they hold BASE courses for people from outside germany??

Our courses are in german language. All materials are in german language, too, and we have a very detailed plan to cover all possible needs a german BASE jumper may face, starting with fixed object jumping. This includes a big variety of basics which middle Europe requires from someone.
So therefore we don't do quick stuff. It may takes a newbie about 1 month and more to do all groundpreparations and flight exercises from a plane and a balloon. This is also due to the fact that we have very less access to first timer objects with optimal conditions.
So if someone wants to start here, the Scout who mentors him has to have a very good idea of whom he is dealing with. So this is anyway always the first line of defense.

Böse bleiben
M.