Basejumper.com - archive

hi, i'm new arround here and i have this question ... probabily stupid ... i don't know.
What's the big diference betwen a base and a skydive canopy. Is there any problem if you use a skydive canopy to perform base jumps? tanks.

BASE canopies are built to open reliably, quickly, and on-heading. They have additional reinforcing tapes. They're built like classic accuracy canopies so you have a lot of control over glide slope and can sink them straight down with no forward speed so they're easy to get into small landing areas. They're usually big enough so that you get an acceptable stand-up landing following such an approach.

Contemporary skydiving canopies are built for fun and to open slowly. Most lack reinforcing tapes as used on reserves and BASE canopies. Contemporary designs maintain about the same glide ratio until they stop flying. They're usually small enough that they're fun to fly.

Skydiving canopies are more likely to malfunction which is bad when you're too low to use a reserve. Modern designs won't open in time when jumped off a low object, or when opening low to get good separation from a high one. Modern designs with tapered planforms and high aspect ratios are more likely to open flying towards an object. The high glide through most of the flight range makes them harder to get into landing areas surrounded by obstacles like trees cliffs and boulders. The usual smaller sizes will not provide acceptable landings at the lowest approach speeds.

Drew gave a great answer above but I am wondering why you are asking.

If you are looking to do BASE on a budget and are thinking that getting a used skydiving canopy really cheap would be a good idea, then you will find a lot of disagreement here.

If you already have a skydiving canopy and are wondering whether it will be ok to BASE jump with some modifications, ask. You'll still get a lot of crap, but IMO it is a valid question.

So, why are you asking?

well, i was thinking about buying a used skydive canopy to save money but i wasn't sure if that was a good idea so i decided to ask here what you had to say, and if i bought a cheap skydive canopy, what kind of modifications would i have to make so that the skydive canopy would behave like a base canopy? And if the biggest issue here is the time it takes to open, in case i jump from a really high cliff like the one there is in the eiger, switzerland, it would't be a problem, right?

Lets call it a complete modification.
You are kind of asking how to modify a Formula 1 car to work off road. It can be done, but it will cost you a shitload and it will still not be good.


No, you still need horizontal seperation from the cliff and you cant get good horizontal seperation if you pull high.
Correct tool for the job or dont jump at all i my opinion.

how much skydiving or any other airsport experience do you have ?

I recently helped two of my good friends buy
their first SKY rigs, both bought used rigs, prices
with shipping worked out to be $1600 & $1475.

VID666 can sell you a used BASE system made
specifically for BASE jumping for about the same
amount or LESS.

So what is this round thing you are designing?!?

are you sure you will only want to jump a high cliff?

how much effort have you put in so far?
or are you just wanting to get into BASE fast and cheap?

i don't have any base jumping or skydiving experience.
i'm just a curious guy looking for more information about this sport, i would like in the future to make base jumping but i'm still giving my first steps and trying to get to know it better.

http://www.dropzone.com/dropzone/

Find a dropzone, learn to skydive,
do lots of jumps, learn how to pack,
then come back later once you have
some basic knowledge and are ready
to explore more advanced jumping...

edited to make the above link clicky

A complete redesign from basic principles.

To be perfectly honest, this is a completely pointless conversation for you right now. You don't yet have the baseline of knowledge neccessary to be able to ask the right questions or interpret the answers.

Its simple..

If you wanna skydive use a skydive canopy and then go here http://www.dropzone.com ,

if you wanna BASEJUMP you use BASE GEAR..

If you wanna shortcut you will end up here..

http://www.splatula.com

Good luck dont cut corners then i wont have to hear about you...

+1

I think I paid $900 for my first used BASE container, canopy, and one pilot chute. My first 200 skydives, training and gear were closer to $8000 although more are better and I didn't make a BASE jump until after 800 skydives and over $25,000. Used proper BASE gear is almost free compared to what you spend getting to the point you stand a good chance of not killing or injuring yourself using it.


It's still a problem. You want to open lower so you have more separation from the cliff and are going to have much more serious problems if you malfunction the less reliable equipment in a BASE environment (low altitude, probably over trees and rocks) not skydiving (thousands of feet to sort things out, often in the middle of flat farm country).

To quote Greenmachine

and if you're still interested then start thinking about BASE jumping.

well then welcome!
your first task should be to read, read, and then read some more. there is plenty of info in the Forums and the Articles sections.

BASE is best suited for the inquisitive control freak. you want to be the person who seeks out answers on your own. you have a lot to learn, but fortunately, many people have typed up some great words of advice. all you need to do is read.

learn to skydive first. it sucks but the slow way is the safe way. all i want to do is make a base jump, but i am smart enough to know i am not ready. hopefully another year of skydiving and ill be able to take that leap.

good luck

 
If you wanna skydive use a skydive canopy and then go here http://www.dropzone.com ,

if you wanna BASEJUMP you use BASE GEAR..


I was reading the skydiving article in getting into base area, it was from 2007 i think, and the author suggested that the ideal canopy, for a skydiver looking to get into base, would be a base specific canopy. Is this no longer suggested per PATTO's comment? I am looking at my first skydiving rig but am trying to keep base canopy skills in mind for the future. Sorry if i'm hijacking

- ask different people your question, and you are likely to receive multiple answers. in BASE, the only opinion that really matters is YOURS. you only put YOUR health at risk, not mine.

- the "standard" recommendation is to accumulate 200 skydives before BASE jumping. do you want to put all that wear on jumping a BASE canopy from an airplane? do you want to put all the wear on your body?

-especially considering your username, will you have the patience to wait until you are ready to BASE jump? if you have a BASE specific canopy, you will likely have it tempt you to jump "just once" before you should.

no advice.
you get to make the call.


ps.
if this hijack develops, I'll split it off into it's own thread.

That's a great way to get practice on a BASE canopy.

You can skydive with a BASE canopy all day long. But you can't BASE jump with a skydiving canopy for very long on technical objects.

If you're focusing your skydives on BASE specific training and preparation, it makes a lot of sense to just start with a BASE canopy from the beginning.

I met a guy who is a base jumper, from LA, at a mini-boogie this weekend, he is the only person I have ever had a chance to ask questions, and even then he was having a good time and i felt like I was annoying him a little so I backed off.

My point is that my base opinions are non-existant, I can tell you what I do know about myself though.

I love falling with a chute on my back, and off some cliffs into water without one. I want to know as much as I possibly can about parachuting and all of it's disciplines, "inquisitive control freak" is an understatement when it comes to my safety and well being. I see base as a natural progression for myself and will not try it, with 100 or 1000 jumps, unless I know that I can make that calculated risk in my favor. Until that day comes though I am going to soak up as much info as I can, which is tough when my dz is as far away as it is.

Yes, i'm adhd, this does not make me impetuous or unsafe, I actually know it's helped in skydiving, being able to intensely focus on multiple things at one time.

I don't know if I want to put "all that wear and tear" on a rig let alone myself, because I don't know the pro's and con's and recommendations of people who do know. it was question with no other intent than to gleen information on a statement that was juxtaposed to something I had read in an article on this site.

If I posted this in the wrong spot then I'm sorry, I usually just read forums unless I feel the need for clarification.

If you made enough skydives on a BASE canopy to wear it out, you'd be better prepared than 99% of the BASE students I've seen.

Worst case, if you wore your BASE canopy out skydiving, you could just go buy another one in the same model and size. It would probably still be cheaper than buying a new skydiving canopy.

Thanks Tom, I appreciate the information. Don't be surprised if I come knocking for more