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If I owned a legal object in sunny Florida to jump lets say 1000 feet,gave you a ride to the top, provided a bunkhouse with a kitchen, a packing loft and sold jump packages 100 jumps for $1000. How many of you would take advantage of it? Also what are some opinions about being able to learn way better tracking skills and all around BASE jumping skills if such an object existed. It would cater to people who already BASE jump but could also be used for instructors who teach new people the sport and give new jumpers a safe place to get alot of experience before going out and jumping other objects. Please give me some feedback. Thank You

hey brian,
I work with Troy at AA. You have my vote. Id participate and help out.

~Jake

Why 100 jumps? Why not one or two or three?
Ive been to Florida seven times in my life, I could save the money and jump a 1500 footer at home, but, if were to go to Florida, I would jump it a couple of times, not one hundred times.

sweet a legal object, i wont be paying to jump it ;)

I'm guessing because he needs to raise the cash to buy it, and jumpers paying up front gives him the money up front. Think of it as buying a membership.

What does it cost to jump in TF? By the time I fly across the country ( afull day of travel from where I live)and pay relatively high hotel prices, I end up with a hell of a lot more than $10 a jump in that "free" object.

On the other hand, I can get to Florida cheaply and with rides to the top, could take a few of days off work and knock out 15 or 20 jumps.

I'd support it, but my feeling is that something like that would not currently work in this community. If you told people they could come jump it for free and nail your wife while they were there, you'd catch somebody nailing your daughter just because you asked them not to.

So well put!!

You & Epibase are correct and thinking like economists

Many skydivers who want to BASE make the same mistake,
and me most definitely included --- the common error:
Skydives cost money but BASE is free. WRONG.

My last trip to the Perrine I banged out 20 jumps in 4.5 days
and flew there for $20 on a frequent flyer mile ticket and I
crashed at the hostel one night and Abbie & Paul's place the
rest. Nonetheless easily spent $200 for rides, lodging, etc.

Even if you live in Twin Falls there is still the opportunity
cost of your time. Now this differs for different people.
BASE jumpers who have girlfriends/wives/kids/jobs, etc.
well their time is valuable.

Plus being able to jump several times in a row in daylight
with video but without any chance of being busted would
most certainly increase one's learning curve!!

Okay, here's a couple of thoughts . . .

First the bad:

People coming into BASE should arrive with good tracking skills. That's why god invented skydiving.

Towers are considered "hard" objects. This refers to the tower structure itself and the guy wires. And while plenty of "first BASE jump students" have made jumps from towers, it's not considered a great idea. If you want to get into that end of the business buy a bridge.

That being said, the above things would indeed be taught and practiced from a high enough legal tower. Whether that's good, bad, or just progress, only time would tell.

Now the (very) good:

It can't fail. From a business standpoint it's as good as finding a way to turn seawater into gold. Before we go further, and while you may already realize it, this is not a new idea. In the 1980s the first time I cut myself climbing over razor wire I thought, damn, why not just buy a tower. I even subscribed for a year to "Broadcast Engineer" because the small ads in the back of the magazine were full of existing towers for sale. Most were small radio stations that were going out of business or just up for sale. You need to remember in those days, except for Bridge Day, the idea of "legal BASE" was like "legal wife beating." But I realized if a radio station is permitted to have a tower for what is essentially just a business, BASE jumpers could have one too. There was no way they could stop us. I even thought why not jump plus operate the radio station too. Who wouldn't tune into "K.B.A.S.E. - The Home of Rock and Drop! 24-7!" Of course these were the days before we knew electromagnetic radiation was cooking our insides.

I actually brought up the idea at a early CJAA (Cliff Jumpers Association of America) meeting. I had my eye on a particular tower in the Midwest that was going for $250,000. and that included the land it sat on. There were probably 15 of us at that meeting, and while they all thought it was a great idea, when we went around the room figuring how much money we could raise it came to about 150 bucks. And Harry Parker said he'd have to knock over a liquor store in order to kick in anything.

I then thought of preparing a proper prospectus and approaching a bank for the money. Since I had nothing in the way of collateral to secure such a loan such a prospectus would have to be airtight. But the problem would have been after my pitch, which I'm sure would have been a barn burner, the first question from the banker would have been, "What the hell is BASE jumping?"

You wouldn't have that problem today.

It didn't keep me from dreaming though. At first I thought just a tower open twenty four hours a day with a coffee can at the bottom where jumpers would just drop in a five dollar bill. Then the dream became bigger. Tower Gear Store, Tower Bar & Grill, regular BASE meets, and yes BASE instruction too. Instruction was a more viable idea in those days as new BASE jumpers tended to have much more skydiving experience than they do today. But the timing wasn't right for a tower like that back then. But the time is more than ripe now. And I'll say it again, only I'll add - figure out a way to protect yourself from liability - and it can't possibly fail. It may take ten years to start making money, depending on how elaborate you go, but I'm not afraid to use the term "eventual millionaire".

Let's look at how it would pan out. It would become a worldwide BASE destination. It would, at least in the beginning, get millions of dollars in free press coverage. Every TV news program, every newspaper, and every radio station, would do stories on it. And all free of charge. Once that died down you get press every time there was an incident. Which, unfortunately, there would be, but hey, it's just more free press.

BASE jumpers would move to the area in droves. It would become an instant BASEville. But let's talk height. A thousand feet, while nice, isn't tall enough. When you consider what's going to go into getting this started you need to think big. I wouldn't consider anything less than 2000-feet. And not in Florida either. More centrally located, somewhere in the middle of the country would be better for business. I know you're thinking Florida for the weather, but you'd probably pay more for the land than the tower. Also the middle part of the country already has the majority of existing towers in that size range and Podunk, Nowhere land is always cheaper. So yes, I'm thinking buy an existing tower. Building one from scratch would be monetarily crippling.

Also the further into Nowhere you are the less problems you'll have with the townies. I could just imagine the blue hairs going completely nuts in Florida when BASEville springs up in their backyards.

The last thing I'll say is I've always wondered why this hasn't been done already. It's a no brainer if you don't go overboard in debt on the outset. And while the economy is bad right now, there are still a lot of people who have money to invest, but no good place to invest it. This just might be that place.

Let me know if you need a night manager . . .

NickD
BASE 194

If I had my own tower, I would set up a moat filled with alligators around it to prevent BASE jumpers from illegally jumping it!

most of our objects in south fl have just that. and it doesn't prevent us. haha

this sounds like the start of a good song ;)

Ok then.. Guns, flamethrowers, land mines, razor wire, sadistic guards, alligators, moats... It will be a hell on Earth, of my own creation. A paradise for BASE!

Also, electric fences, pain field generators, directed energy weapons, laser weapons, and biological warfare should be incorporated to keep those pesky criminal trespassing BASE jumpers off my beloved tower! Attack dogs too. And flying monkeys! Have I left anything out?

Hi Nick,

I agree with most of your post except for
the characterization that all of Florida is
like Sarasota or Boca Raton.

There are plenty of huge, wide open,
chunks of flat land with nothing for
miles in any directions except swamp
or crops.

Also, central USA already lucks out by
being closer to TF, BD, and Colorado

Peace,
~Tom

Very interesting thoughts. I really appreciate everyones input. What is funny is that everyone assumes I am building a tower and I have to admit that was my origanal thought. However with a tower I am only able to get 4 jumpers to the top about every 1/2 hour by the time the elevator returned to the ground if that. From a business point of view it would take a long time just to get your return back. I also realize that 1000 foot is not a lot of altitude for max tracking but the idea is to improve all around general BASE skills. Since there are a whole lot of illegal jumps being made from a lot less altitude practicing subterminal flying skills from 1000 foot is ample. The reason I pick Florida is because I live hear and there are are a shit load of dropzones and also people vacation here from up north and from across seas. Also I can sell spectator rides to fill slots. Anyway the exit point is not a tower it is a Helium Ballon on a steal tether that can take 20 people up about every 15 minutes. While there is stall the chance of hitting the cable it is no where near as dangerous for new jumpers learning the sport as a tower with guy wires would be. You also hit it on the head when you said I want to sell advaced memberships to help finance the project. I am still working on the business plan But I believe if I could find 100 people to participate in buying a lifetime membership for $5000 that would be enough of a financial foundation to make the dream a reality. There are enough people with either a lot of money or who are hard core enough about jumping that it seems realistic to find just 100 people. I am willing to let these people jump for free for the rest of their lives if they pony up the $5000 to help get it started. I am working on my website now with more details. I would really appreciate as much feedback from the BASE and skydiving community so that I am able to give jumpers what they want and also have a very fun atmosphere to do it in. Please comment if you read this thread. I am very serious about putting this together. Thank You

I have a friend in Florida who used to build towers. We were in the process of obtaining a tower when we hit a hitch obtaining the land. Anyway, he said he could set up an external elevator that would run on diesel motors - ground operated. It would run much, much faster than an electric elevator. Also, he used to use something called a skip pan which would haul 15 guys up to the top of a 2000 foot tower in only 2 minutes. There are cheap ways around these issues. If you are going to work on obtaining a tower, much of the cost goes into assessing the land for placement of the concrete foundations. And those foundations are very expensive to place. Find a place where a tower has been removed and use their existing foundation. You can obtain a tower that is being scrapped from one of the big tower companies, like American Tower. You will have to have it erected and replace all the the bolts on it. For a 1000 foot tower, the total cost with cheap land is about $100k. A 2000 foot tower is just too expensive overall. Fund the sucker by placing cell phones at 400 or 500 feet, higher than competing towers, which is what a provider is looking for. Regarding legal issues, have the jumpers buy into something that makes them a co-owner of the land and the tower, a 0.000001% co-owner, with some provision that they automatically give up their co-ownership after some period of time (to allow for sale of the land, etc.) at some eventual time. You will eventually have jumpers living near your tower. You could rent out bunks or something, sell them drinks, food, etc. You'll have film rights too. You'll have a BASE mecca with jumpers acting like crackheads to get money for another jump!

 
I knew a guy that worked for a company that built towers. I remember helping him pack his rig once in exchange for an elevator ride. He had it all set up. Some one had agreed to give him a thousand foot mast. It was disasembaled in a field. All he had t do was haul it away. He was looking for sites where he could assemble it. There are lots of sites with preexisting ground ankers from old towers. The concreat for the foundation and ankers is one of the big exspences. He had a couple of posable sites and he was trying to rase $20,000 to have it trucked to one of them. He couldn't even get that much interest. I mean if any one could do this... He was the perfect person to set something like this up and he couldn't even get enough support for his project to get it off the ground. Hell he couldn't even get it shipped.

Things have changed sence then. I would say that base is 3-4 times the size. The people etting into it are diffrent. They want it to be hand fed to them, they're just diffrent. They're also more likely to fork out money to "buy" there way into the sport. Things have just changed. Given the right cercomestances I think it could work now. I think your plan needs work. I don't think you'll sell a lot of $1000 100 jump packages. I think you'd sell two $500 50 jump deals where you woudn't a 100. But those are all details. Sooner or later this will be done. It's just a question of who will do it. Hell sooner or later some one will just buy space on a tower for a base jumping platform. Seperat company, good waver, good insurance against dammage to the tower, etc. Hell I'd think some strugling stations would do it just for the free press.

Lee

Oh so your just setting up another dropzone in Florida. Jumping from a teathered helium balloon is a skydive. Many boogies around the country offer hot air balloon jumps as "speciality jumps" for that event. They range from $50-$70/, I think around 3-4K ft. alt. Only thing is they usually require skyjumping speicific gear (pusSYs BiGg uspA). So your $10/jump for 1K ft. sounds like a good deal.

May not want to market it as a base jump.....cause it's not.

 
I was typeing and only now saw your ballon post. I think that's an even better idea. I remember seeing those blimp like teathered ballons all along FL as we flew down in the DC-3. I actualy got started in skydiving when I went out to a small airport to make a bungy jump from a tethered hot air balloon. That shit of course never works and I wound up makeing my first skydive instead.

I don't know what your looking at in termms of start up and opperating cost. I don't know what your wind limits are. I'm not sure why such an opperation would have to be fixed in location. I would think a smaller balloon could tour the country. Theres a guy with an aluet, no clue on the spelling, it's a hellecopter. He tralors it all over the country. No ferry fee. Does well. Tour drop zones or even county fairs. If you were going to fix it in place, may I suggest Texas? Not just because I live here but also because the only source of He in the world is in west TX. In fact most large weather balloons are launched from there for exactly that reason. Also we don't have thunder storms every afternoon.

I and some others on here would probable like to see a perspectus. Show us some numbers but if you really want money you'll have to show ROI.

Lee

1000$ is a fairly large chunk of money to me, and I don't think I would be willing to spend that much at one time unless it was really close by. I certainly would not pay 5000$ to jump it for the rest of my life. The same object over and over gets old quick, and how do I know that you will stay in business or that I will continue jumping long enough to make it worth my while?

If you need to sell the tickets in bulk for start up capitol, you could sell them on a sliding scale to encourage people to buy more, while not shutting out those that are not willing or able to spend 1000$ at once: 14$ per ticket, 260$ for 20, 600$ for 50, 1000$ for 100, for example.

 
Actualy it is a base jump. As it is a teathered balloon it does not have to be regestered as an aircraft. It does not have to have an N-number. They went through that at WFF about ten years ago. so base gear is or can be legal.

Lee

Registered as an aircraft or not it IS still an aircraft....therefore IS still a skydive. But whatever, if the dude wants to start up a helium balloon dz then by all means, do it. As someone else pointed out, here in the good ol' US of A, liability is a HUGE factor. That can be resolved but with a lot of long hours, hard work, headaches, stress, etc. Look at what Jimmy, Marta, and the Go Fast gang go through every year the the GFG.......fucking sucks!!!!

Just curious about the whole BASE JUMP or Skydive argument. I would certainly require BASE specific gear. and the exit would be from a stationary point. the only difference really between that and a tower is no guy wires. I also think that some of you may be missing the point. The idea is to give people a place where they can learn base jumping skills in a safe envirorment. Of course people are still going to continue jumping different objects all over the world. Being able to come out and make 10 20 or 100 jumps in broad daylight would most definetly increase the skills needed to make safe jumps elsewhere. A helium balloon also is completely different than a hot air balloon. The steal cable is hooked to multiple wenches so even though strong winds are a factor just as they are on any type of jump it is not like a hot air balloon that can only be jumped at sunrise most of the time. I would have no problem running the thing all night as well. Just some food for thought. I also know that a large investment of 5 grand is not for everyone but I just need a small number of people to committ. look at what people spend on other hobbies such as golf or skydiving in a year. I am not knocking your points in fact I want feed back I am just trying to point out some of my thoughts. Please continue to commemt

We did tethered hot air balloon jumps (testing gear & student BASE training) in Perris for a couple of years.

Balloons are a big PITA. They are very WX dependent, you gotta get up too early in the morning, and the FAA will jump down your throat, tethered or not, if you aren't using TSO'd parachute gear.

Go back to the tower idea . . .

Green machine, I've driven up and down the state and across Alligator Alley enough times to know exactly what Florida is like, thank you.

NickD

 
We were actually speaking on diffrent topics. I was refering to legality. If it's an air craft, there are catagories for both hot air and gas, Then the FAA will require TSO'd gear. Because it is tethered it does not have to be flown as an aircraft. This was done with a hot air balloon at quincy. It involved the decomishening of the balloon as an aircraft. This ment that the balloon could nolonger be flown as a free balloon. The Fisdo there acceped this argument. So there is a presadent and paper work some where for this. Now it's legaly just a thing that sticks up above the ground on a string and you can do what ever you want with it. Be advised that every FSDO is semi independent but haveing the paper work could make getting an approval for opperation much easier.

This may be less of an issue for you if the balloon you are useing is not certified as an aircraft which may be the case if you are useing a specalized ,blimp like, teathered balloon. In which case you're all ready at that point.

And by the way, sealed gas balloons are way more tollerant of wind then hot air. The envolope is pressureized so it can't collaps like a hot air.

Lee

As I understand it... any tethered balloon is NOT a FAA regulated aircraft. I expect the FAA Safety Inspectors will not really wish to fully embrace that idea with a tethered hot air balloon, complete with a pilot.

Unfortunately, many times interpreting regulations correctly will not prevent issues with Law Enforcement.

An unpiloted, tethered, He balloon might get more slack. Plus you might find more sympathetic FAA officials outside of SoCal.

At 1000 ft, you might want to check with the FAA about charting the object. I'm not sure they'd care. They do care about lower antennas, and tethered balloons rising to 16000 ft...


ps
it looks like Lee & I were typing at the same time. most of what I wrote can be summarized as, "what Lee said!"

A lot of this FISDO by FISDO dependent. What you can do in one area you can't in another.

I do know they do fly this helium balloon tethered but I don't know if it's certified or not.

http://www.ocgp.org/visit/balloon/

NickD

Nicky.... man I like the way you think. Those dreams have graced me a few times. Im with you, the assistant manager job cant be spoken for yet.

For $5000 you'd 'let' people jump for life? Wouldn't they all be equal share owners of the thing?

no. base IS free. free as the air we breathe.

touristbase however, can be quite expensive.

Good info

Still havn't figured out comptetly about the pricing for memberships. It is open for discussion about what the market will pay. To me $5000 seems cheap for a LIFETIME of jumps. If I were a hardcore jumper I could make 1000 a year off the balloon. Thats a year of jumps for $5 a piece. everything is free. Definetly not for everyone but a small group of people exist for sure.

 I am not trying to stop anyone from jumping thier local free tower or free cliff but wouldn't it be nice to take a trip here for a week and go fricking crazy with a quick ride to 1000' all day. so what if you drop a couple hundred bucks.

Reality check :

your point of view is extremely biased, as you are the entrepreneur who is trying to get this off the ground. A common mistake to make is to disregard other people's opinions and go ahead with the project. That usually results in a failed venture with sunk costs (if financed yourself). In a VC finance world you will find that no one will want to give you the funds without a good business plan; and in this case it seems that you are failing in one of the most necessary, and simple aspects of any business - interested clientele.

In times like this, I suggest to put your thoughts on paper, then take a long breather, and try to think from an outsiders perspective. That may help make things clearer and re-construct your Business Plan to be more attractive to the potential clients/investors.

I for sure wouldn't invest $5000 in the venture that you have spelled out here, because no matter how good your intentions are, I deem it to failure, and good intentions won't get me my $5K back, and probably won't even get me a few months of jumps from the said venture.

signed,

realist :(

I fully agree with your thoughts on taken in other peoples perspective. That is why I started this thread. A solid business plan is definatly a must. Before collecting any money from anyone there would need to be escrow accounts, land, permits, business licenses and a lot more. But in a situation like this where everything was in place is the general consensus yes it would be an attractive idea or no noone would jump it. That is really what I am trying to find here.

 
I'm not saying that this is a bad idea. I'm not saying that it wont work. But, it might not work the way you're invisioning it. Don't be discuraged but start over at the begening with a compleatly open mind. Don't try to force it into what you want it to be. Look insted at the form it naturaly wants to take. Failure is the result of refuseing to egnolage the diffrance between these two things.

Let's take an example. I as an experanced jumper might be interested in jumping your balloon. I might make five or maybe ten jumps from it.

Now if I was running a first jump course and I had a student there I would encurage him to try to make at least twenty jumps from it. Depending on the time avalobale they might make a few more but I can't see any one even a student makeing more then fifty.

Now there are people that teach FJC on a regular bases. There's a manufactorer there in FL that would probable be interested in running a course with you say twice a month Let's say they had three students in each course. You might be looking at five jumpers from them per load don't hold your breath on more then ten loads a day from them. Even that's pushing it. Now lets say you had a like number of jumpers there the same day. I think it would be reasonable for them to alternate loads with the class. lets say you get another ten loads out of them.

Now that's a pretty damn good day with twenty loads with five jumpers a peace. That's some thing you could shoot for but I don't see you doing more then that. So basicly you could suport a 182 or 206 but not an otter or casa.

Now it's FL lots of tourest. If you advertise enough, "come and watch them jump from before your very eyes!" you might get wofos to come and ride the balloon. But let's be honest, they'll ride it once and watch the rest from the ground. Still let's say you worked it really hard and got a matching number of tourest for each load. Now your up to ten a load. Whoohoo now you're up to a carivan sized opperation.

Now what I'm describing is a weekend day. Week days will probbably be slower and you wont have a class every weekend but if you get a couple of diffrent instructors working with you you might come close.

Now if you're really adventureish you might hire an instructor to run FJC for wofo's. Hear me out. Give them a plf course and do a hanging staticline with a large good quality round. akin to the towers at Ft. Brag. Yes, you'll break an ankle now and then but on the whole dope on a rope is pretty safe. And you could get a good chunk of change for that.

I'm trying to present an optimistic but still realistic estamint of how much business you might do. All I'm saying is you might want to think about a slightly smaller operation.

What do the rest of you think? How much interest would you really have and what would you really pay?

Lee

Lucky for me I make good money & can afford it

Bryan, you have been to Brento, KL, and BD many times.
While all of those trips were fun none of them were free.

I jumped Wanda yesterday with two visiting jumpers... but I
do not know if it was real, fake, tourist, etc. While the jump
itself was free and fun my time and gas were not. Nor was
the case of soda I brought for the land owner who graciously
moved the LZ specifically for me. He is a real sweet guy!
______________________________________________________

I find it strange and humorous that for a sport with no rules
(besides gravity and the common sense: have fun - don't die)
how so many people want to try to make their opinions apply
to others in some official way.

I do not like mayonnaise, never have, but it does not bother
me in the least that other people do, great, enjoy your mayo

Edited: to correct a spelling error and add another thought

If you are going to allow wofo students, why not use a square and radio guide them down, like they do with FJC students at DZs everywhere? You'd probably break a few less ankles, and I think the students would enjoy it more and be more likely to try it again.

Thanks Lee
It is your point of view and others I am trying to understand.
The only way I see it being possible from a financial standpoint is having groups of 20 or 30 coming in at least bi-weekly and just going crazy for a week for a fixed price. I am still not sure if I could book enough groups per year. That part is definetly the gamble side. I am pretty sure it could become addictive but I would still have to push all of the avenues you describe very well.

keep in mind that part of BASE for some is being alone, earning altitude. it creates the "savor every jump" mentality.

large groups of jumpers can create a different mood.

lot's of folks, assigned loads, gear, etc. could start resembling a dz. surely you'd develop rules and policies. the focus could shift to daily jump count. I bet many would like it, but they may not be active BASE jumpers now. you might have to build a following from noobies.

I was telling my friend Troy the same thing. Most current BASE jumpers have earned their experience the old fashion way. It may be the people like myself who would prefer a safe and legal way to get their rush to become the market for my idea. I would jump my balloon like crazy and I think if people were in the area they would to.

your idea may be the future. it could easily expand the pool of jumpers.

I'm thinking if I want a dz experience, I should just go to a dz... (but I'm told quite regularly I'm wrong...)

 
Just for the record it's been a long time since I made an illegal base jump. I don't miss the stress of sneeking around at all.

But haveing said that I think there is something to the fact that you would have to grow your own cliantel. Look at what the tandom did for dz schools. I'd say it's debatable whether it was good for the sport as a whole but look at the percentage of first jump students that are tandoms. Now admitedly most of them only make the one jump but these are people that never would have jumped other wise. and it's a big market. Look at the numbers from the major schools. Tandoms are big bussiness. Once skydiving was very fringe. People never sereously thought about doing it them selves. Then it became more visable. Then along comes tandoms. Base is at the same point. People are seeing it so much they are accepting it. It's almost not fringe any more. A platform like that with a big enough field you could almost do the equivalent of tandoms. Hang them from the risors with the canopy packed above swing them out over the void looking a thousand feet down at the ground so thay can't flail on exit. give them the release and let them pull it as they drop away to make there first D-bag "Base Jump". I say a large good quality round because you can kill your self under a square. It's damn hard to do that under a round and a large round maybe with a pull down apex should set them down just fine. and it's something that requires a limited amount of training. All those tandom students could just take a first jump course but you don't see them doing that.

I don't really see this as a part of the sport but I could see it being as big a part of your schools income as tandoms are to your dropzone.

Lee

RiggerLee

You make a good point about Tandems:

I did one with my dad, grandfather, and cousin
on fathers day 8 years ago because it was seen
as semi-normal and safe... 8 years later I have
1,000 tandems.

However, I disagree with the common sentiment
that straight AFF is the only way to start in the
sport. Static line and tandem are quicker and
cheaper ways for someone to try doing a jump
and then decide if they like it enough to spend
the time and money for ground school, etc.

I have video'd and taken dozens of people who
had great jumps but when asked if they would
ever do it again they honestly reply - NO WAY.

_______________________________________________

As for dropping whuffo's off of this antenna:

Not likely to happen. I do marketing for every
dropzone I work for because it equates to more
jumps and more money for me.

So I had a bunch of high quality 2 sided business
cards printed and ask random people "would you
like to go skydiving?". I also leave them in bars,
bulletin boards, and when I sign credit card slips.

Sure, some do come and jump and love it. But
quite often the response is, "What?! No Way, I
am scared of heights, jumping is crazy, or dumb,
and so on... blah blah blah".

Hence I think getting a large quantity of whuffos
to pay to be death camped is NOT going to be a
big source of revenue.

Of course, I frequently hear that lower is safer

Thanks Lee

Off a tower wouldnt work but off this helium balloon it just might. who knows

the issue with a balloon for me is that the operator doesn't like a regular BASE launch, they want you to just fall off. Otherwise the gondola rocks back and forth a lot.

The only thing I'm skeptical of is what if the venture fails and each jumper is out $1000 or $5000?

yeah or the pilot crashes the balloon...or burns a huge hole in the balloon....or it explodes in a thousand bits on the first flight...who gets to get their money back?
Specially on the 5000 for life plan...is it getting prorated..so you jumped it one day out of xxx amount of days of your life...there fore you get...xxx dollars back

not to be a douche...
isn't it a tethered Helium balloon?
if so, there would be no burner, no fuel, and no pilot.

while they might choose to put staff onboard to co-ordinate the jumps, I'm guessing the main operator would be someone on the ground controlling the winch.

but your point about that the investment carries risk remains very appropriate.

>>The only thing I'm skeptical of is what if the venture fails and each jumper is out $1000 or $5000?<<

And there's more than a few jumpers who remember J.O. and his $5000 deal at Lake Elsinore in the 1980s.

He's still hiding out somewhere in Alaska . . .

NickD

A helium ballon is completely diferent. There is a cage where you open the door and jump. it is not a hot air balloon gondala

it is sealed gas. no burner or anything like that.

There is a operator on the balloon.

All money would be put into an escrow account and all the permits and faa guidelines and a bunch of other stuff in order before anybodies money was spent. once the place was up and running. the origanal investors should keep the thing flying daily for at least a year.

Tethered helium ballons are controlled from the gondola. There is quite an elaborate control panel on board to run the winch. Seems like overkill, but thats how Cameron and Thunder & Colt do it.

see, I knew I'd be wrong about something!


I'm far more familiar with the old 16,000 foot balloons hoisting radar and other equipment. The ones I've seen lacked a gondola.