Basejumper.com - archive

A friend and I jumped from a 2000 foot antenna about a month ago. There was approximately a 30mph wind bisecting the wires. He and I both did monster tracks that I have a hard time believing. So get this, I tracked hard and opened at 200 feet. My friend opened higher but he got further out than me. We had gotten approximately 1200 to 1400 feet from the tower by opening time, without tracking pants, suits, or anything special. I have since not been able to repeat it. How the hell did we get into the zone to do that? I know how far we were because after we opened, we had to fly past a particular road.

tail-ish wind an lotsa pot

Yeah that was a sweet jump. As I was tracking past the road I actually had to stop for fear of not knowing what I was tracking into, and where (terrain) I was about to have to land. I have to say the tail wind + the fact that we are spoiled and get to track from terminal objects on a repeat basis played a major role. I could hardly believe the distance either. I also find that getting really steep in the first couple of seconds, building up hella speed, then flattening it out really helps the end result.

And anyone that smokes out before a jump is a f---ing moron as far as I am concerned.

I have no basis to make this assumption but....I was under the impression that 1.0 s a good GR for tracking without tracking garb. What is a good still air glide ratio for BASE jump with 1800' of usable altitude?

Kris.

Its going to vary based upon the time and distance of freefall. You really get your track going on the last 5 sec. Its just like tracking over the road when you jump La Mouse in Switzerland.

I'd say 1400' is impressive. The gear doesn't make the flight, but it certainly helps. Yet, I've seen people "in the zone" track just as well without.
Here's a GPS plot from last year, using tracking gear VKB style. Exit at 970m, pull around 270m.