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Hi everyone

I started jumping 2 yrs ago in a very non advisable way and decided I want to dedicate my life to it.
Not having enough cash to finance a lifetime of jumps, and not liking having to hide to jump, made me think of alternative solutions, the best one so far is making my own jumping object, and try and make a living out of it.

Been studying many options, from an anchored hot air balloon, to catapult, to home made S and A, given A the winner, due to cost/jumping benefit ratio.

Reading about Bridge day 2015 and the fingerprint issue made me realise the need for a year round, legal jumping, BASE exclusive spot, is not only mine but almost everyone’s.

I am currently living in Cook Islands and planning to move wherever this A project takes me.

The Idea:
A place where anyone who can jump, can use it year round, offering accommodation at the spot, such as small BASE hostel, and BASE camping.
Even a place where instructors can do FJC's in a safe, jumping friendly place (for this, the A could be modified to any specifications needed).
A space where everyone can have a beer and talk shit after jumping without worrying about where to stay, specially for those liking night stuff.
A BASE club, preferably near some other good jumpable E's or S's so jumpers can make the best of the trip.

The object:
A guyed tower (cheapest) at least 200m (only budget limiting here) with and elevator and a platform on the top, to enable jumpers to jump 3 ways between the cables at the same time with LZ's in all 3 of them.
Platforms made from welded tower sections extending at least 10m from tower each, enabling them to start jumping at least 10m away from the object.
Quick sketch attached (very out of scale) meant for an engineer that is helping me out with design.

The calling for jumping freaks:
I am very serious about this and will carry on with it by myself, but I think if we get some people together we can make something really cool, being able to do jumping events and all kinds of stunts wiht it.
So the questions are:

How many of you dream of a project like this?

How many of you would pay and how much for jumping such place?
(how much a single jump, a week, club membership system etc.)

Where would you rather have such object?
In this question I have to limit myself out of the US as I had overstayed a working visa there and I got....banned..... hahaha
Europe having expensive land is kind of ruled out unless we could solve that.
Top rating countries being:
New Zealand, friendly government, natural objects, affordable land, weather not too good.
Canada, god natural objects, close to USA jumpers, affordable land, not too sure about government and COLD!
Mexico, best of best if it wasnt for the fact that any project near border would be subject for drug dealers harassment asking for "protection money" every month.
Colombia, some good jumping spots, easy government, kind of far from most jumpers.
Argentina, my home town country, kind of like Colombia, with huge potential for natural spots all around the Andes, but government sucks, and far from most jumpers.

How would you like this object to be?

How many of you would invest time & money to be a part of it?

I have a limited budget of course, but the more time passes the more I save and around 2015 2016, I should have enough to start this, If anyone wants to join in, would be a way easier, sooner start, with a much better object.
Anyone that has the land but not the tower, or vice-versa, anyone that simply has the same crazy idea and wants to partner with and do it an open source BASE club?

Anyone that can build?

Anyone that can bring any kind of sponsorship to it?

Even if some decide "this dude is a stupid crack head, lets do it ourselves" it would work anyway, because I think, with the organization you guys have, its time to do something like this and stop dealing with cops and shit like that for doing something that you love, that is harmless to others (if done correctly).
Making a spot that cannot ever be burned, but wanted!

I am putting all my money and time on this, making this object my life and permanent address, and having it working every day possible.

I have people helping me with the design, I am getting good deals on manufactures, from USA to Brazil and Argentina, and have good deals on used guyed towers that could serve the cause for an early cheap stage of the project that we could build into as well.
I have the capabilities of building big part of it, but its definitely a too big of an undertaking to take it on one's own.

I am completely serious about this, and I think the best way to do it is via here, gathering all the info, experience and preferences possible.
I dont have much experience jumping, but I do have a lot of experience doing many different crazy shit, that is too long to mention here, but I know I am capable of something like this, even more so if I can do it with someone else.

What do you say?
I guess I could have just said "Hey, I want to make an A, any help?"
But a feeling in my gut told me I would not be taken too serious.
I have had bad experiences contacting random people on PM before, so Im opening this to anyone interested.

I have a Belgium passport and an Argentinian one, so immigration to some countries would be easier. Again, US is a tough one for me, but would give it a shot anyway.

Happy jumps!

Try and buy Omaga in Australia before they tear it down.
Or purchase the Wavre antenna in Belgium. That seems to have been offered up in the past.

I heard about the Omega project, but not sure if there was some legal issues with it? heard nothing about the Belgium one.

I think if you truly wanted to do it right, Cost wouldnt be the biggest factor in what object you choose. For instance, a guye wire antenna is much more dangerous and less admirable than jumping lets say a smoke stack. Guye wires that only provide 120 degrees of opening love is not awesome. Personally I would rather jump cliffs than antennas especially if its not a terminate velocity tower.
This is not saying I wouldn't come out and jump it, but it would be a one and done thing which isn't good for business. A smoke stack can have a big platform at the top, has relatively little turbulence, and gives you 160ish degrees of love when off heading occur (which we all know they do).
It would suck to have a legal object where people kept having to be plucked off by the rescue teams.

People have been talking about this forever. It's been looked at by people in a far better position then you. There are base jumpers that work in the industry building antennas. There have been cases where they were GIVEN 1000 ft antennas. It's your take it just haul it away. These are people with access to cranes that could put it up then selves. They how to walk the crane up the mast as they add section by section. They do this for a living and there buddies were willing to help them out for free. All they needed was a site with old ankers and a foot. The concrete can actually cost more then an old mast. We're talking in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. And with all this going for them they couldn't pull it off. I mean there have been really good opportunities and no one has ever been able to make the numbers work.

Hay, if you can get with these guys and make it happen... more power to you. But I don't think you realizes what's involved. What the money would be like. Or how little the return would be.

If you want to do this. Buy a balloon. Not a hot air balloon but a helium blimp type balloon. A small one that would carry one or two people. You need about 1000 cubic feet for every 60 lbs. of weight. Winch it up and down. Look for cheap helium. When we fly we do a cascade fill of the helium tank. At the end we have all these useless bottles of half filled helium at low pressure. Useless to us. A long week of engine test makes for a lot of half filled bottles. Just an example. Point is you could go around doing weekend events with a truck with a wench in the back of it. There is probable enough interest to do this four or five times a year in places to far to travel to Idaho.

Just a thought.

Lee

I actually think a 2000ft guyed tower could work, I also think a 400ft freestander could work too. A BASE tower on it's own would be hard pressed to stay open but with some help from a wider group of users it may do alright. It's about getting the right people together, the timing being right and being focused enough to do it. No obstacle is insurmountable, you just need to look at it from a different angle, under a different light.

Is anyone still in the tower business that can get a used tower for cheap? I just may have a line on a property that could be relatively inexpensive with anchors still in place. It requires more research to verify but it's a possibility.


.

Nanrikkers is considering having a commercial bungy jumping operation from the tower too, to help with income from the general public.

So, look at it as a bungy operation (many working examples already) on an object that's available to BASE jumpers.

I LOVE the idea. Did you know New Zealand is the adventure capital of the world?

Yes our weather is not the best, but today when it was cloudy I was thinking sky jumping's out but BASE off a 200 metre tower would work.

I don't have the answers to the serious questions from the OP and the others with suggestions and ideas, but I LOVE the project. It's going to happen one day.

Frank.

the initial startup would be HUGE. But, if there's a structure built to code then why not make it an ACTIVE antenna, being used just like all of your local antennae already are; broadcast! just with the owner giving us permission to jump off of it for a fee? He would recoup the building cost from the wireless/radio/tv companies while getting a few extra bucks from us every year. privately owned antennae are sustainable as long as you rent out space to the demanding market.

Yes, I did forget to mention, there are a few things that can be done for revenue other than BASE once the tower is there, bungee being the best one for tourism, rigging some lower altitude zip line to some cool water ponds, etc. hot jumpers can refresh by landing the too
Also a small hostel in the land would take in some people year round, if the spot is in a touristy place.

I am not revenue oriented, even if it becomes a kind of non profit BASE club, still good.
I just think is time this kind of spots should be starting to emerge right now.
If done right, jumpers will come, then some cash will come too.
"Build it, and they will come...." hahahaha
Specially if its a nice spot for FJC's and an instructor can teach people in the area.

Cost is always a limiting factor here, specially if its done with "lung power".
But I will go as tall and as good as my final budget allows, considering all the options, freestander can work, guyed can work too if done tall enough, of with a long enough platform that can get you far from cables (this not being done in normal A's just 'cause they are not designed to jump from them).
I believe something really decent can be done under 100k if we get the right people together. this is also a long term project, I will start as soon as I can find the right land, then start building the foot and anchors, then erecting, and it will take whatever it takes, the sooner the better.
I mean, with the same money one could start a small skyjump DZ, so why not a small BASE LZ or JZ?

I also can get cheap deals in used towers like 1000' tall in US.
just need the land in Canada or Mexico, and someone to get the tower in the US cause Im not allowed in.
But you guys in US definitely have the best opportunities to make it happen there.

I was going to make this project for myself anyway, so if anyone has the same idea and its half way, 1/4 way, or ever way, we can make something pretty cool happening.

Frank, NZ rocks!
living in New Caledonia, with french laws, and being in Cook Islands (driving on the wrong side though) with NZ kind laws, whole different world.
In New Cal you cannot even buy cold beer by law!

dan

Thats a good one too, I actually have a radio that does the deal with me, but its in Argentina and they want to put it in the top of a mountain, with no lifts there, it would take 3 hours to get to the tower hiking, only wingsuiters would profit from it.

is a good idea if the location is good though, even a ski resort that has lifts working in summer could probably like the idea. would mean more lift users in summer for them.

Please correct me if im wrong, but im pretty sure the reason AJ hackett completely pulled out all of his operations inside the United States was because of skyrocketing insurance policies that were too great to justify keeping a bungee business alive around here.

if you are planning on starting a commercial bungee operation, which would also allow base jumpers access, youre going to have a serious mountain to climb of finances and insurance policies. or maybe not. what the fuck do i know about business operations? nothing. i just like to jump off shit.

look into it though.
i will come pay to jump off your tower, or whatever it is. as a matter of fact, my roomate owns a house out in eastern washington, his backyard is a 90 foot wall, and we want to either build a 100+ foot tower on top of it, or invest in circus cannons to launch us off the fuckin thing!

If there are E's and S's around why would I pay to jump at your DZ?

You have a point about the insurance, but that depends on the country.
Some countries allow no insurance/use at your own risk, adventure tourism companies, its one more reason to check which countries are the best about this, not being to sure about Canada.

Sadly the more jumpers the country tend to have, the more insurance policies are there.
I would definitely pay to try out that cannon jump!

The reason for having other objects accessible near by, is that it would be a nice legal one to jump throughout the day, having short rotation times back to the exit, making the best of a jumping day, without worrying to cut it short due to cops.
Where as in a good tall span or E would take you time to go back up there (and maybe more money than the A fee), so the A could be a good warm up place, then you can go off to whichever other spots out there, and make a nice complete weekend.

The whole fee thing is not meant to be much, and still depends on the feedback I get.
I would pay a small fee for a legal object where I dont have to worry about cops, wouldnt ya? specially if it has an elevator.

But maybe is a better idea to put it near a place with many jumpers, and where is too long for jumpers to get to any spot. All depends in demand here I guess.

Edited, forgot to say, there will be some paperwork to sign before jumping it for sure.

I vote for a non-US, (Mexico, or Central America, etc) and it the tower be over 600m. Internal elevator, wires with the lowest angle possible so sing suiting or tracking in any direction in any wind direction is safe. Platform on top be at lease 10m in diameter. no railings, good grips on all areas all around the top platform.

This would be a wonderful destination object, many things would be possible off of it. anything from private rope-access rope jump rigging to regular FJC jumping.

just my thought.

As far as partnerships are concerned, I would think the large FJC operations (and manufacturers) would be your best bet. We've all got the Potato Bridge for now...but how long do we think that will last? TF is growing fast and I don't think it will be long (5-10 years max) before this fringe behavior on the outskirts of town is nixed.

If I were an FJC instructor I would be giving serious consideration to an operation like this in the interest of business security and continuity. Or, I'd just make as much money as possible and plan to retire when the Perrine gets shut down.

The US would be tough from a legal/insurance standpoint, but I think the most desirable option from a demand perspective. I'd guess that we have the most jumpers and there's less competition from local legal objects. If you're in Europe you're going to lose to all the large legal (free) objects they already get to enjoy everyday.

Also important to consider, US based jumpers would have access to local healthcare if needed. Going to jump in Mexico would be fine...as long as you don't get hurt.

I think there is actually room for a business here. BASE, bungee, zip line, lodging, bar...kind of an adventure park. You'll just have to build it assuming that BASE jumpers will be like 10%-15% of revenue. We're cheap and many of us seem to follow the following rule:

[(Free jump) + (Bust risk)] > (Payed jump)

Where "Bust risk" can be any amount of risk up to and including a guaranteed arrest and "Payed jump" can be any amount of money, down to and including 1 US cent.

One huge obstacle you will need to overcome is trust from BASE jumpers. How do you expect jumpers to pay you when you basically blew off all the advice that was given to you from your first post on this site. You showed that your attention to detail was severely lacking, your patience and desire to do things the right way was non-existent and you indicated that you were broke and couldn't afford proper gear for the jump you wanted to do, not to mention your flippant disregard of most experienced jumpers advice, only listening to what you wanted to hear.

If you put the same ground work, attention to detail and lack of funds into building a tower, chances are it may be as unstable as you seemed in your first post.

http://www.basejumper.com/...ost=2960811;#2960811

It's in the works.

570 youre right about that, trust is hard to gain when you just show up like that asking questions, but I didnt learn much being in the dark either.
Thats why I decided to come back here to stay, show up, get to be known by some, know some back, and hopefully, in time, you can decide I deserve your trust, and I decide you deserve mine too.
I wouldnt trust a skydive canopy knowing there are base dedicated rigs, but they have been jumped before anyway.

I just couldnt live with myself if the tower crumbles and kills a bunch of people, one thing is what I do with my life, another very different is what I do to others.
Thats why I have engineers helping with the design, and will construct it with professional builders help.
Is not a homemade tower, and not having experience jumping does not mean I dont have it erecting towers, I have plenty experience on radio towers, nothing in the 2000' but I know the implications involved very well.
The project is not for everyone either, I wouldnt let anyone I dont know, go kill himself up there just 'cause they say they did a FJC or say have experience, or their log says 200 jumps in 1 yrs.
Proof is key for this, and everyone is different, so each case has to be analyzed (but no fingerprints needed ).

Explaining my reasons for starting the way I did are way too long to describe here, money being one of them big time, meaning not in the way I dont have it, but in the way I dont have it to spend it and never see it back. Its a poor country peoples difficulty.
I have many family and friends that are really poor, as in $100 us a month or less poor, and they are not in that situation because they are lazy or drunk, it simply just happens in some countries. I am one of the lucky ones with an european passport, you have no idea how lucky you are if you are born into one of those, I was lucky enough to get it at 26, after years of my father trying, but getting one does not mean, bye bye, see ya motherfuckers! Im out to europe!!!! (I owe my dad and friends more than that) I simply cant make money and spend it while very good friends of mine and family (specially the ones that have constantly been there for me when I needed) dont have enough for clothing, good food, or that wonderful post working week, friday cold beer. Or worse, going visiting family and not having enough to invite a beer because I spent all my money traveling to USA, doing FJC's and jumping all over. That would put me in a category of asshole I hope I never fall into.
So If I have the opportunity to make a living out of it, then taking it is a must, 'cause then I can jump all I want AND give back a little bit.

I could always move near a good jumping spot, and have a job, but is the same thing, is the bye bye motherfuckers attitude, I'll be happy, friends not, cant have it. Having the potential to do better and not doing it, is a waste, that at least in my hometown, is worse than jumping “the wrong way”.

That is one of the main reasons why it seems I disregarded advice (saying dont do it is not advice, that is like a smoker telling a kid not to smoke, it only lures them in more).
I actually received plenty good advice from many jumpers that helped a lot, best ones not being via posts.
But I did get angry about the bitching I received for not following certain rules (becoming a little bitch myself on the way), because I saw the way some newbies are treated here, not only me but many, and could not believe that if the one site dedicated to the sport couldnt help, then who would?
I saw the case of people being buggered off, and then coming back 2 yrs later after they have successfully done their first jump, I know exactly how bad it feels all that time, to the point that the motivation for doing it, is not to do it for ones self no more, but to prove those that said you couldnt, wrong. And that is a real recipe for disaster, in any activity.

Although, I learned there are many kinds of people in this community, and many are incredibly good and helpful, so I feel that I have to give some back to the sport as well, and behave as well as I can.
(again, killing myself one thing, burning a spot another) I can say Im so far so good on that one.

That being another reason for not doing the tower for myself, but also offering being a part of a possible ongoing project, if anyone is already there and is short cash, land, work, I am happy to partner up and putting whats needs to be put into it to make it happen.
Is not my A, its a club's A, jumpers A, whoever wants to join A, and whoever is part of it, can inspect, advice, do, redo, etc.
I am not high profits oriented, side cash, yes, for sure, bar at the tower, hostel at the tower, wet bikini contest at the tower, dick measurement contest at the tower, why not (not too fond of the late 2, hahaha)?

There are many ways of learning too, and no way is best for all, but each way must have its own differences according to people and personalities, specially in an activity where your life is at stake. You must have room for your own way of doing things.
One cannot pretend to have a formula, kind of like a production line and just make jumpers after a course (courses sure help though).
As a scuba diver I have seen instructors that dont know how to swim!!! but they have all the certifications to put people's lifes in their own hands. Its the same old story of having a Phd on something, and just reading the whole lot of books about something, they both can have the same knowledge, but somehow, the Phd one gets the job.
And even all that knowledge, is shit when compared to a person that had been doing the same things from the Phd since little kid, and has the experience of a lifetime without even reading any book.

I got angry as well because I thought BASE jumping was different than other sports, but I was surprised of seeing its just like surfing, where most surfers are douches in local waves as they get crowded and there is no way to find a good isolated spot. Give some time to base, and at the rate jumpers are emerging, that is what is going to happen eventually if only the people with money can access the sport.
Spots are literally going to be bought out, like they bought out whole reefs with good beakers on Fiji, or mountains for skiing.

We could go on and on, never ending, but all I can say for myself, yes, I started a very non advisable way, I dont recommend it, it works for me, and I try to be as ethical as I can when jumping any spot that is jumped by more than me (or it has the potential to be jumped by others), and sure as heck I dont littler! hahahaha

I have heaps to learn, and would like to learn them in a nice, non high money paying way, as difficult as it may be.
Dont take me to serious though, but I can do serious things.

I guess I could have just said, yeah, thats gonna be a tough one, I did fuck up that post, hehehe

I looked in to the tethered balloon way before, it's the cheapest way to do it and you would just need a winch to pull it back down.
The best way would be to use a light weight rope, metal cables can't even hold their own weight once you get over a certain height and the balloon would never lift them.

The thing that stopped me putting in any more research was the fact that the CAA/FAA won't let you have a tethered balloon over a certain height. If you could get around this then it would be quite easy to do with a balloon.

I believe a crane with a nice sized basket would be awesome!!!! And definitely not a guyed antenna, a 450 freestander or stack would be bad a$$!!!

I disagree, at least if it's to be a US-centric project (e.g. targeting US-based jumpers).

In the USA legal s/d objects are pretty accessible in either Moab or Twin Falls.

If your goal is to be attractive to BASE jumpers, especially in the US, a very tall, guyed, terminal tower would be more attractive. High season for the business would be pre-summer as people train for Europe. A tower where terminal and WS exits could be dialed in would probably attract more BASE jumper dollars (due largely to less competition) than a s/d object. I think you'd still get traction in the s/d community as a training ground for aerials.

Theoretically at least.

Nothing legal on the east side of the states though. I think any legal jumpable object would be awesome.

 
Sickbro! Looks like you got it all figured out! How about adding a bar at the top where Victoria Secret models hand out free blowjobs to BASE jumpers just because they're so cool. Good thing we got nanrikers hard at work making this thing happen!

Trying hard man, trying hard.... those titties dont come easy.
Nah, project being far from that, but we probably agree that that behaviour inevitably comes with it.

Any kind of legal object should work if its in the right place though, granted this thread must make some very experienced people laugh their asses of, or cry, or angry (seriously sorry for that) since many surely tried doing this or dreamed about this.

But, trying and searching doesnt hurt, and that one in a million shot might just happen given the right ingredients, but is easy to see, that its probably too early for this kind of project, or probably right on time?

I do feel the sport is growing faster and faster, I only started jumping 2 yrs ago, but been following it from many years before, and now there is so many base footage out there that you can spend your life watching it.
The rate jumpers will come out in the next few years is going to be exponential, like golf!