Balloons to BASE
I just did my first balloon jump...what a fun rush, but all it does is make me think about BASE jumping and how much more wild it must be. On what level, if even in the same realm, would you BASE jumpers actually compare a hot air balloon jump to a BASE jump? (of any height) 10x more nuts?, 100x? 1000x?.....not even close to being similar? Just wondering if balloon jumps can prep me at all for for the feeling when you first step off of a bridge, cliff, etc. Thanks! Basejumper.com - archive
General BASE
Re: [Buffs303] Balloons to BASE
there ar a few threads on that exact newbie-prep subject. but with my first balloon jump on my 21st skydive, it fealt amazing. never went back!
Re: [Buffs303] Balloons to BASE
In reply to:
On what level, if even in the same realm, would you BASE jumpers actually compare a hot air balloon jump to a BASE jump? (of any height) 10x more nuts?, 100x? 1000x?
A balloon jump (and, in many ways, a helicopter jump) shares a lot in common with a BASE jump with respect to how quiet it is at the exit point, and the complete absence of a relative wind at exit. I recall the first being a big part of the rush in a balloon jump -- it seems like it's much more difficult to do something like launch into thin air in the absence of loud noise (engine noise, or some guy yelling "3-2-1-go").
The two sports differ rather astonishingly with respect to both the visuals and (especially important to understand) the risks that follow.
Re: [Buffs303] Balloons to BASE
In reply to:
The two sports differ rather astonishingly with respect to ... (especially important to understand) the risks that follow.
what he said!
balloon jumps may give you a taste of the high, but first aid training might be a better way to prepare for BASE.
Re: [wwarped] Balloons to BASE
Ballon & helicopter jumps can be a good way to get a feel for low / zero airspeed exits. It never hurts to have a couple of these under your belt. I have a ballon pilot who is willing to drop us a various altitudes.
Exiting a ballon at 200ft + an a skydive rig I see as a skydive
Exiting the same ballon at 300ft on my BASE rig has much more in common with a base jump. If he is going up and I can get on I go. I have 300ft - 500ft over a big grassy landing area gives me a nice safe (nothing to hit) training / testing jump. I don't log them as BASE jumps becasuse they are not but they can be fun.
Greeny
Re: [greeny] Balloons to BASE
In reply to:
Exiting a ballon at 200ft + an a skydive rig I see as a skydive
Please tell me your missing an 0...?!?
Re: Balloons to BASE
I have 1 balloon jump, 3 ultra-light jumps, 7 BASE jumps, and a dozen helicopter jumps...
ALL of them were awesome but nothing compares
to the rush and danger of stepping off of a fixed
objects with only one parachute & 3 seconds.
On the flipside, I bought a used hot air balloon
envelope, a blow torch, and other gear just so
I could do more low altitude balloon jumps...
Honestly, in my opinion, the best of both worlds
would be daily jumps from 400 feet with a BASE
rig, no strike hazard, and zero climbing!!
Re: [GreenMachine] Balloons to BASE
In reply to:
Honestly, in my opinion, the best of both worlds
would be daily jumps from 400 feet with a BASE
rig, no strike hazard, and zero climbing
Because that would just be low altitude skydiving...
And Tom, you are aware that generally when people preface a statement with "honestly", it implies over 70% of the time that they are totally full of shit. I can supply bibliographic references if required.
