Re: [tobiasz] What to do with such shit?
Hi
A 50m Building is an advanced jump for someone with so few jumps.
From these altitudes, it is most definitely wise to use BASE specific gear (preferably vented) as quick pressurization is crucial. I have jumped from under 50m with a non vented canopy and it was fine, but vents certainly improve your chances.
With regards the position of the person performing the pilot chute assist, this is hard to comment on. How much to one side were they, 1 foot or 6 feet. If they are literally standing to the immediate right of the jumper (almost looking over their shoulder, then in my experience it has little bearing on the heading performance (all other factors being ideal). If however they are standing 6 feet away then yes i can see how that would easily affect heading performance. For me, PCA and static line heading performance are very reliable and the biggest factor for an off heading will be bad body position.
50m jumps even with proper BASE gear should be treated as a 'pad up and pound in' jump. In otherwords, plan for not standing it up. Thus good ankle protection, knee and elbow and of course, head protection is very wise. In addition wrist protection might not be bad idea, providing it doesn't hamper the jumpers ability to unstow the brakes and or stear the parachute.
This new jumper is surely going to get hurt very quickly. Using non BASE specific gear, with little or no experience off low altitude buildings and inadequate protection. It is almost certainly a case of when he gets hurt rather than if.
My suggestion is simple. Try to put aside personal issuse like whether you like him or not and meet for a drink and talk to him. Explain why you feel he is on course for some pain and suggest a better course of action. Point him in the direction of other jumpers for advice if you are not sure.
If he choses to listen or not is out of your hands. All you can do is explain your concerns and suggest an alternative. In this case that would be a more suitable object to jump, to wear protection, and preferably to get better gear.
It is in your interest to try to steer this jumper away from the course he is on. You both have to share the same objects and him pounding in off a building will have knock on effects for you too. That is why in my opinion you have to at least try. If you try to help and it still goes badly for him, then at least you know you did your best and no one could accuse you of contributing to the mess.
If he doesn't listen he'll almost certainly end up hurt and unable to jump anyway due to injury, or maybe he'll throw his rig off an object and simply lose it. Stranger things have happened. Believe me.
On an equally ominous note, I have to wonder if this Spanish course is providing adequate training for the students it is taking on, or whether the fact that the course is cheaper than most of the competition, is attracting more than it's fair share of recruits who want BASE but do not want to invest in it, either financially or educationally.
No mentor or FJC operator can be wholey responsible for their students once they walk away from the course so there has to be some kind of responsiblity in the vetting of students before they take the course. If a course is designed to appeal to those with little money and even less time to spend then it can not be a surprise when their product goes awry.
Finally, we too should look at our contribution to the rise in the up-take of jumpers who perhaps are not ready for BASE. Every time a new BASE video goes on skydivingmovies.com with the obligatory nu metal soundtrack and the ensuing "wow that's so cool" comments below it, we are sending out very skewed, editorialised and selective messages to a community of skydivers (and i would guess a huge proportion of relatively new skydivers who are still hungry for the visuals); a message which in my opinion is not at all representitive of what BASE is actually like.
I love BASE videos, but I believe that there is an appropriate forum and context for their viewing. In the same way that porno is restricted to the higher shelves or the licensed sex store (available to those who actively seek it out), so should BASE footage be treated.
I appreciate not everyone will agree and i'm not claiming it would solve all problems, but i do feel it certainly contributes significantly to the increasing 'BASE jumping - how hard and how dangerous can it be' mentality.
ian
