Basejumper.com - archive

So this is yet another "starting out" post ... except hopefully this is a little less frustrating to you guys than the last few I have seen.

I have approximately 300ish skydives (mostly RW jumps, a bunch of tracking dives, probably around 30-40 wingsuit jumps, with the occasional freefly jump here and there) and a few of my friends and I are starting to seriously discuss doing a BASE FJC.

My question is 2-fold. First, while I am still actively skydiving (15-20 jumps per week), are there any skills that I could focus on that would translate over to the BASE side of things? And secondly, feel free to share any and all advice you have on FJC offerings, expectations, and any other tidbits of advice you feel like sharing ... I'd be very much appreciative.

Thanks.

Hey Eddie,

Preface: I'm still a beginner


If it's financially feasible, I'd suggest getting a large 7-cell skydiving reserve that would put you at a 0.65-0.75 wingloading and work on accuracy, non-standard landing approaches, and drilling these (http://www.asylumbase.com/...ations/fjccanopy.pdf) on every jump.

If you're very sure you want to get into BASE, you could also just buy and hook up a BASE canopy and do the drills with it.

There are many FJCs out there and for each one there is someone who will tell you it's the only good course and someone who will tell you there are much better courses available.

im-H-o, Tom's course in TWF is spectacular. You jump a wide range of containers and canopies, do extensive classroom work, and get in a lot of jumps. Not to mention Tom is a very nice person and easy to get along with. Most importantly, he covers a wide breadth of information (beyond what is needed for your jumps at the Perrine) that will help you be a more rounded and informed jumper when you return home.

My suggestion would be to take Tom's course and plan to stay at least several days longer. Use his video material that is publicly available so that you will know how to pack before you get there. Also, if you can have your BASE canopy with you while you are there, that is ideal and you SHOULD NOT pass up the opportunity to let someone like Tom help you set a custom deep brake setting.

After the FJC, use your time very wisely while you are there (the longer the better). It isn't until after you leave and start jumping at home that you'll realize how much opportunity there is for learning and growing at that bridge. Try new (responsibly safe) things. Do lots of object avoidance drills and be sure you get video of it so that you can really see how you are handling your canopy immediately after line-stretch. Outside of jumps with technical landings, your body position and how you deal with those first couple seconds after line-stretch is the second most important thing to keep you safe next to good judgement.

Do you know any BASE jumpers?
Are there any at your dropzone?

If yes, then I highly suggest you
learn to pack and then practice
it several times before the FJC.

Being comfortable with the gear
and packing will help you a lot.

Zebu - thank you very much for the response. Gave me some good stuff to work on. I am actually VERY current on 7-cell canopies - almost all of my jumps have been on PD Spectre (either 210 or 190) ... not sure if that experiences crosses over into BASE or not, as I don't know what the specific differences are in the canopies, but I'm sure it counts for something ... or maybe I am hoping that it counts for something :)

As far as FJCs go, I'm friends with Johnny Utah (not sure if he's on here, but I'm sure some of you guys know him) and him and I have been talking pretty extensively about BASE and me starting and so on and so forth - he's offering a FJC at the Perrine Bridge that I'm pretty sure I'm going to take, however, I appreciate the suggestion of Tom's course. Being that I live in FL and see Johnny all the time, the on-going education shouldn't be too much of a problem.

GreenMachine - see above, however, you do make a great point of familiarity and confidence in gear goes a long way.