Basejumper.com - archive

brand new to the forum. so quick question. I posted this on dz.com but thought i might get an answer here quicker. anyone know anything about this TBX base specific tandem canopy? how many sq. ft.? who makes it? contact info for the maker? I'm an experienced skydiver with no base exp. other than as an observer. but I'm a big un. 6' ft. 4" and 260 plus. anyone see any reason this canopy couldn't be used as a solo base canopy by a big boy? they make you jump a tandem canopy solo to get your ti rating. this may have been posted here b4 but i couldn't find anything with the search feature. thanks and quick on heading opening to everyone ...........keith

My understanding is that its a 9 cell canopy, since its only being used in Twin (and bridge day from the looks of it) but that would make it shitty for everyday use. I don't see any reason why you couldn't get any other base canopy made custom in a larger size.

thanks. they prob. haven't been making this canopy long enough for anyone to have one used for sale. but that's what i was thinking about. what's the largest base canopy you have ever heard of? or the biggest base jumper you have seen or heard of? I'm thinking I would need something at least 350 sq. ft. I guess a raven iv what's that like 344 sq ft? or a tandem reserve might be a possibility. just spitballing and throwing it out there for disscussion.

largest officially made canopy is a Flik 354 from Apex.
this guy : http://www.basejumper.com/...ername=anvilbrother;
had one for sale recently, and may still.

a few tandem base jumps in the video were done on THAT canopy, it's the all black flik with yellow center cell.

good luck (and try to do research :)

please tell me if i'm wrong but by shitty for everyday use. you mean no good for low stuff? I really don't see me wanting to do anything lower than about 500 ft. or at least not for many years to come. I know of a few antenna towers that are better than a grand that i would like to do. so if i restricted myself to tall stuff it would be a nice canopy for that? or no?

Keith,

While I would think that the Flik 354 would be fine for you, I would urge caution in simply following the "formula" for canopy size. As far as low stuff, it is my experience that the larger the canopy, the longer (and farther) it takes to open.

People who are doing the really dirty low stuff are jumping smaller canopies, so be cautious about anything you read on here about how low you should realistically be jumping from. Most of those numbers are for smaller, lighter people with smaller lighter canopies. PC size for a given delay also changes when the canopy size and weight increase substantially.

There is very little experience out there on these ultra large base canopies, so consider yourself a test pilot.

Are you even sure you can drag your big ass up a 1000 ft tower?

Do you know why most canopies used for
BASE, CRW, & Reserves are usually 7 cells?

When I started SKY jumping was really only
interested in being able to do solo / belly...
Now I swoop, freefly, tandems, BASE, etc.

Once you start BASE jumping you will want to
jump from below 500', trust us, it happens


Yes, the smaller you are the easier it is going
to be in BASE, smaller canopies open faster,
smaller bodies fit better in crawl spaces and
tight ladder areas, etc.

Honestly, the best advice would be for you to
work on dropping 10 pounds while doing some
research on the various gear available, etc.

FYI - I have a buddy who is 6' 4", 220 LBs,
and we regularly jump from 315' with ease.

Are you even sure you can drag your big ass up a 1000 ft tower?

GREAT point!!

260 LB dude + 40 LB of gear = a long fucking climb

Seeing as how that guy thinks they do Tandem BASE jumps with a 9 cell that is shitty for BASE jumping, I wouldnt listen too much he has to say.

A Flik 354 will obviously open a bit slower than a Flik 240. Ask the manufacturer for some more specifics. If you start BASE jumping, you WILL be jumping under 500 feet, I can pretty much guarantee that.

thanks for all the great info guys. some towers have these things called elevators though

In 5+ years and almost 300 BASE jumps
I have gotten to ride exactly one elevator.

I have seen, touched, and tried to jimmy
a few but often the power is cut off from
inside the building with an alarm/camera.

But the ladder works every time

Haha Tom. We tried everything on that one elevator, still wish we would have climbed but I got sketched out.

The canopy they're currently using is a 9 cell, and obviously its fine for what they're using it for, but with 9 cells you're going to sacrifice heading performance. It's not a shitty parachute, but its a shitty parachute for solid objects.

Stop pissing about on A's and go jump some buildings!!!

HAHA, when I read Tom's post, I thought 0 for me so far but counting buildings I have 5 elevator rides, for a total of almost 1200' of easy altitude.