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I am looking into purchasing a tower expressly for BASE jumping. What are other BASE jumper's thoughts on this? Would other BASE jumpers be willing to pay to jump a tower (similar costs to a skydive) without having to worry about getting busted? The tower I'm looking at has no active transmitters, is a 350 foot freestander, with a platform. I am also trying (it is for sale, currently in a much larger parcel) to purchase about 20 acres of land around the tower for an awesome landing area.

I know there have been threads about the idea of this before, but if you have a tower lined up that is on purchasable land, I'm very interested. How much? Where is it?

I like the idea of buying a tower!

NO, I would not pay $18 to $28 to jump it.

However, if you rig up an elevator then I
think more people would be more willing
to pay more money for the privilege and
convenience.

Think about it this way... many guys are
willing to pay Don the boat guy $7 for a
ride but no one would pay $28 for a ride.

By the way Joe, cool on your number

GO AHEAD AND PURCHASE YOUR TOWER AND ILL BREAK INTO YOUR FACILITY WHEN YOUR NOT LOOKING AND JUMP IT FOR FREE...

Hey There,

Northast Pennsylvania.

Gerald


If you keep doin the Same thing it will eventually...

Bite tchow
























1072

+1

honestly... id pay a reasonable amount maybe once or twice but if it was around the cost of a skydive i doubt id be jumping all day.
i think the 8 bucks for the boat ride in twinn is a friggin rip off. ill pay but only after a few days of hard jumping when im just too pooped to climb out. so to pay triple that for an "ok" object would be tuff for me.
if it was more of a social "bridge day" type of weekend that would interest me more and be willing to pay a fee. otherwise there lots of free A's out there.

p.s. ive heard those things are insanley expensive. is this true?

I haven't got a hard number from the tower company yet, but ball park of around $40,000. The tower is in the Charleston area.

Hmmm that is a good point... I do have plans to put in an elevator, I'm not sure of the costs of that yet... so the main reason no one has done this is return of investment I'd guess. What about $20 a visit... jump as often as you want? That would make it more of a social event, possibly without feeling like a rip off. I'm still tossing around ideas.

I imagine that would happen, much like people jump before/after Bridge Day... and honestly, there is nothing to stop people, that's just the way of the BASE jumper! In fact, I would remove the fence around it, make it easy. Honestly I just want to get to jump whenever I want, and not worry about getting busted... now if I could own a tower, and do that, I thought perhaps other people would be interested in that too. Of course it is still a ton of money to shell out just to jump whenever (the purchase side of it). I wonder if someone bandit jumps it, and gets hurt, the liability side since I'd run a business from it.

I agree it may get old... but still... jump anytime? During the day! No worries except how the jump will go!

Pay for the jump? humm interesting thought... a legal jump with no bust factor, that is a plus.

I might pay.. (if it were close, if it were cheap to climb; maybe 5 - 10 bucks for gheto elevator ride,)

a lot of regular jumps would not due to the, already having towers near them, that they procedures have down pat. and its only 350 ft.

BIgger thing to worry about is scared wuffos getting into base to easily... (FLAME prepared)


It would be awesome if one of us won the lottery, (surprised one of us hasn't) and buys or builds a 2k Broadcast Tower minus the broadcast... I might pay for a legal jump then?

at only 350 the normal skydive jump ticket price wouldn't interest me. i'd pay a few bucks if i had to climb and probably a couple more if an elevator was available. now if you can get a 1500'+ with an elevator i'll pay you $25/jump as many times as i can pack and get back on the elevator

It's not about making money on the endeavor, it's more trying to not spend too much a month on it for me. If it's $40K-ish for the tower (and the acre it's on) plus my guess $100-150K for the land around it... now it's another small house payment, plus electricity for the lights (gotta keep them going per FCC), etc... and I know it will be bandit jumped, not an issue, other than liability concerns with no waiver :) How many BASE jumpers want to sign a waiver! Hmmm how about a drop box like the parks do. Some people will pay, some won't. The tower is still there!

Now the wuffo side of it as you put it... I'm sure it would generate some interest with BASE jumping without the necessary jump skills. That's asking for trouble for me... but a FJC? I'm not qualified to teach that... but someone else might be. With the right winds, a 350 foot tower with a 20 acre landing area is relatively safe. As safe as one of the most dangerous activities on the planet is.

Unfortunately 2K towers are rather expensive, over 2 million to build/buy. Out of my price range :)

a one time all day fee would be good. id pay for the low stress bust factor alone.

If it had an elevator and was enough closer than more interesting (I like the whole communing with nature, going for a hike, and taking the fast way down vibe) or nearly free objects (In Idaho I pay Don for the ride back to the park) and remained as much fun as the skydive it was priced comparably too (a hop and pop at the nearest DZ).

What you should really do is find a group of investors to go in with you and buy the old "Jim and Tammy Faye" business property. That would be the really hot ticket.


Now for a more serious note. Jumping the same object over and over, becomes boring a lot sooner than you might think. Ask anybody that has lived in Twin for more than a year. The only time you want to jump is when freinds come to town. IMO full time legal objects are over-rated.

Within 5 miles of my sisters house in Austin, TX is a 3 bedroom 2 bath house on 1 acre for sale. On the 1 acre property is an abandoned 350 guyed tower with a huge platform at the top. There is only one blinking red light up top. Perfect landing in all 3 quadrants. Total cost for everything $300,000.

How much for the seester ?

already been bought... plans are to rebuild it by some church group

dont know about the boring part..

I had a tower in sc that I have 170+ jumps off of, and would go to it anyday of the week. Got to where I had done 4-5 gainers off of it...

The thing is, if you're really and seriously considering this, is that its fine to have a tower that you own that you allow people to jump off of.

but the minute you start charging them money for it, everything changes. Essentially, it becomes a dropzone, and you would need all of the legal representation and authority a dropzone has, the waivers, etc...

Gotta have the insurance too, just food for thought

but hey, i'd be down for paying a nominal fee for some legal jumping whenever i wanted

but an elevator?? its 350 feet guys, i mean i'm not one of those 'oh you gotta earn your altitude' guys but an elevator, really??

oh yeah...what happened to it?

lucky for you guys im a regular powerball investor and i wouldnt charge for jumps!

Joe,

Yeah, I think your idea about having
an on your honor, voluntary, donation
drop-box is the way to go!

Because then you would avoid some
liability problems and the hassle of
dealing with waivers.

To the other poster, hell yeah, I would
gladly pay $25 for an elevator ride up
to a terminal altitude BASE jump!!!

As a tandem master and economist
the value of couple hours of my time
is worth more than the greenbacks.

I have also heard of people buying old cranes and planted them in the ground... doesnt sound too safe to me, but people would probably jump it. I would buy the land with a tower and huge platform! That sounds awesome.

Joe,

Have you considered the "co-op" business model? I'm no business guy but as far as i know, it basically involves starting a corporation or LLP that owns and operates the land and the tower. Jumpers can purchase shares in the organization, and as part-owners they can access the land. It might be a good way to manage the liability issues.

 

by gosh i think we are onto something here...

Hahaha elevator for 350 feet, that made my day

Why not make a jump course?

Electronic winch system? Clip straight onto rig.

Could fall for free but pay for parking?

Offshore we had just a clip in with weights which made it faster, safer,and easier to climb. You just need a small winch to bring it down for the next jumper.

That may be an idea worth exploring as well.

I think a jump course would be inevitable. It is probably what would make paying the loan for the land/tower possible.

Now that is a cool cost effective idea... of course the climb up is only 10-15 minutes... and there are 2 platforms to rest on as well!

Everything for a business idea is, Location, location and location! You have to make sure the jumpers have other reasons for coming there. In USA I think a Hooters will do. In Europe we have a product called Kinder egg with 3 surprises, and this will be almost as succesfull as those. Base jumpers have only 3 wishes, and you will fullfie all of them in one go! BASE, tits, and beer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Suprise

(Edidt note: Of course my ego did not think about the 10% who is girls, but however they always hang out with the boys, and have no competition almost, so I hope they forgive me)

 

You could put a McDonalds or two in the LZ, incase any fat ass septic starts to feel faint after burning a calorie or two climbing 350ft.

I am a lazy arse but really an elevator to 350ft?

Glad I could tickle you

Really the idea of an elevator was more for making
it a viable business plan. Joe has to offer a reason
for people to pay. Being legal is one thing but with
an elevator more people would come visit...

Perhaps some of our brothers who have been injured
or some of the much older fellows with limited ability
to climb.

Today I'm climbing & jumping my freestander twice



That is a good idea, but they would need to find an
instructor, the guys in that crew are really activce
but as Joe said he is not ready to teach.

Sounds good to me

you hit the nail on the head,some jumpers are injured and older fellows with bad knees thanks to the army,put on a few pounds and any elevator looks really good.i lost a few drops of sweat climbing in sc.come to think about it i also lost some sweat riding a elevator thinking is this thing going to break with 3 jumpers in the box and 2 on top.anyway it would be nice for any jumper to own a tower,would he recover his money,not in his life time,after he got sued from the parents of a young jumper that gets killed,win or lose you will go broke defending yourself.

That is really the big worry!

I'm thinking tandems and death camping rich folks is where the real money is at.

I think partial ownership for all the people who want to use it is the way to go. Sign me up for that!

Is there anyone that would be interested in a real partial ownership? IE making it a joint venture?

Not a chance (for me that is)

I'm not slamming the idea, so if it reads that way, it's not the intent.

It's too far away. What other activities are there? What accommodations are available? What about night life? What is the attitude of the rescue people should it be necessary? How will you decide who jumps and who doesn't?

You already said it's going to be wide open so there is no decision. I can show up with my 3 jumps and go jump it because you won't be there to say no.

Personally I'd take a trip to Moab or the Perrine before flying to SC to jump a 350 footer a few times.

The idea is great but practicality is on you. If you buy it, it will get jumped but honestly it will not be a great attraction.

I regularly climb 2000' on towers, an elevator to slider down jump is barely worth pushing the button to go up.

there are tons of nearly wide-open slider down free standers across the US. The only point I can see to owning a tower would be a huge one.

Even 1000' elevator is barely worth it.

I would go for 2000' elevator on legal towers any day.

I respect all of you natural athletes in great shape
who laughed their ass off about an elevator to 350'.

However, you should respect the truth that you do
not know the condition your body will be in after
20 or 30 more years at full throttle.

Car, Motorcycle or BASE accident, ligament damage,
numerous knee surgeries, or arthritis finds you and
you would all be singing a different song.

Why are there even elevators in 3 story hotels?

Lastly, and specifically directed at you Matt since
you are a thinker in regards to engineering, think
about the system dynamics of you climbing up an
inside ladder versus Tree.

Thin, fit, tall guys still carry more weight, hence
bigger/heavier gear, and most of all fit in the
space not nearly as easy as you sub-6-footers

Oh, and for the record, in the last week I climbed
up my 315' freestander 5 times and down once.

Why do you need the 20 acres around it? One acre sounds like a huge landing area!

I see your point, forgive me for that.
I think in 5 years I will be in that same boat. I'm 24 and already have terrible arthritis in my ankles and can only play after 2400mg/day of ibuprofen. but I barely let it slow me down.

How about this,
-I- personally don't think slider down jumps are worth going through the trouble.

-IF- someone was going to build/buy a tower and use an elevator, I think that a 2000' A is the only way to go.

-BUT- if this 350' tower is cheap, and you have the money, I would say go for it. I would come out and pay for a ride to the top.

When it comes to the cost of a tower they are surprisngly cheap. my neighbor is an antenna engineer and was telling me that you can get a 1,200 to 1,500 foot antenna built with an elevator for around 500,000.00. I was thinking it would be in the lower 7 figure range. While this price is impractical for anyone in the community to use just to jump; here is the purchase quote. By the way if you ever need codes to any local A's so you don't have to climb the fence just ask your neighbor.

Ody

The one acre is what it is sitting on... 1 acre is 208 feet by 208 feet. Take away about 60 feet by 60 feet for the footprint of the antenna... then the tree's that are around it (yes get rid of them) and it is enough space for someone good with a canopy to land there... but a first timer? Little chance. Safety would have to be paramount for me to think it's anywhere near ok to have anyone jump it.

It looks like someone may have just bought the land already... so maybe they'd just be cool with people landing on it... The more I think about it and the more opinions I've heard... THIS antenna may not meet the requirements to make it a good business venture.... but finding a 1500-2000 foot antenna that is no longer in use may be quite difficult.

a tower near here that is un-jumpable, 2000', was reported as 1.2 million to complete. I believe this included land, and federal permits.

IMO BASE is not a "good business venture".

even getting paid to BASE jump is not worth it as a profession, especially since no professional jumper in the world makes shit for money.

get a real job, BASE jump when and where you feel like.

again, just my opinion.

That may be completely true... have a real job now, and retire in 6 years... would like to just have a fun play job after that.

A friend of mine at American Tower told me that it is basically $1000 for every vertical foot. These are materials and labor only. So $1000x 2000'= $2,000,000.

But im pretty sure it doesnt include elevator, land, or permits.

~Jake

if they didn't, it might be worth just investing in the land..so if police come you have a legit reason why you were there..."I own this bitch"