Re: [Kynan1] 1400ft antenna vs. 500ft bridge on your first jump?
>>I have 600+ skydives, so feel comfortable with my track.<<
You have exactly the same amount of skydives that I did when I began BASE jumping.
And while the 600 skydives I made were varied as in lots of different places with lots of different gear I thought the transition to BASE would be smooth and manageable. But it wasn't. My first BASE jump was a lot like my first S/L skydive. A big blur of motion, color, and speed and I was behind the curve the entire jump.
Taking into consideration we are all different (to a degree), and I've seen others take to BASE. quite easily; it would still be foolish not to plan for the worst. The Cosmos doesn't know, or care, if you are making your first BASE jump or your thousandth BASE jump when it decides to throw you a curve ball.
I've said in the past we are luckier today as there is such a wealth of BASE information and experience available for new jumpers. But that has now become a bit of double edged sword. There is so much information to digest it's become quite possible to pick the wrong things to focus on. You didn't say anything about having a mentor, so I'll assume you have one. And it's their job to keep you laser beamed onto the important stuff.
More to the point a first BASE jump from a tall tower is not a good idea. And here are some things to consider. Again I'll assume you understand the basics like what combination of wind in relation to the wires would call for aborting the jump. Also towers of this height have multiple levels of wires so there are at least two altitudes where opening would but you in a corner with the tower behind you and wires to your left and right. You mentioned confidence in your tracking, and yes that skill will negate the above somewhat, but how many times have you transitioned to a track in subterminal air? Tracking away from a terminal skydive is not the same as tracking away from a tower after only a few seconds of freefall. We make it look easy on Youtube – but nobody is born knowing how to do that.
Another thing to consider is your state of mind. Upboard someone mentioned the bust factor on a tower and that is really good point. In your case it could go one of two ways and both are bad. You will either focus on it too much to the detriment of doing well on the jump, or you won't care at all, and possibly burn a good object.
And if you are lucky enough to have a mentor who correctly steers you through that part are you climbing or riding? If there's an elevator you're fortunate, but if you have to climb it will mess with your head. Just climbing a 1400-foot steel ladder without jumping is a big enough deal on its own. Again we are all different, but for most people at 100-feet you'll still be excited. At 500 feet you'll be thinking, "WTF am I doing?" And at 1000-feet you'll be a quivering mass of jelly.
All antenna towers pose some amount of radiation risk. AM towers are the worst, of course, but FM, TV, and microwave towers all spew out electro magnetic radiation. Some people are more susceptible to it than others. And I'm only throwing it in here to make sure you consider that part of the overall risk. On any live tower the best advice is, get on – get up –and get off - as fast as possible. But that's exactly the kind of pressure you don't need on a first BASE jump. Also, I'll assume this to be a night jump. How many of those have you done? And night skydives and night BASE jumps are two different things.
Now let's look at the relative dangers between all types of objects. We live in a time when if a BASE number isn't important to you, than you could have a very respectable career in B.A.S.E. without ever going near a building or tower. And even if you want a BASE number starting on the "softer" objects makes more sense. Cliffs can offer the same, or more altitude, without the wires, but it's hard to argue against bridges for a first BASE jump.
When I used to mentor people I put more than a few off a tower on their first jumps. There was no potato bridge then, nor any of the legal cliffs. But none of these first jumps were freefalls. At first it was direct bag or static line, and later PCAs. And it wouldn't matter if the new jumper had thousands of skydives. And I don’t see anything that's changed in BASE to make me think differently today. There's a reason there's no first BASE jump course in the world today that doesn't end on a bridge, or in a very few cases a very tall cliff. And even then, at least on the Bridges, these first jumps aren't freefalls.
History has shown us that very few people die on a first BASE jump. And the few that did were woefully unprepared. You don't sound that way so yes, you could probably make this tower jump without incident. But that's not entirely what you should be shooting for. BASE jumping is a lot of fun. Over a lifetime you'll meet a lot of cool people and go on a lot of cool road trips. And when you are sitting in the rocking chair in the old folks home while everyone else is bemoaning their regrets you can pop a DVD in of your past jumps and your palms will get sweaty again and old Miss Betty in the next room might just drop her drawers for you.
But the main thing is if you get hurt bad on one of your first few BASE jumps, then no matter how much you dreamed and drooled over BASE - it's probably over. It's very hard to return from an injury when you are experienced, it's five times as hard when your not. However, if you do get hurt, but it can be said you did everything right and BASE just bit you in the ass, then you have a shot of coming back. What I mean is break a leg at the Potato by sticking your foot in a hole on landing and the entire community will wish you a speedy recovery and welcome you back. But wind up dangling from a wire on your first BASE jump and you'll only hear what an asshole you are from every person who ever strapped on a BASE rig.
NickD
BASE 194
In all seriousness, I think your comment about wind speed is very important is especially important if the jump is a PCA, but any slider down jump. 