Basejumper.com - archive

So cool. So scary... so many things. Thanks Spence!

Ultra sick...

Great weekend,

Definitely a sick picture. Wish I could have been there, next year...

Congrats on your McConkey E!

Nice one centurion - Nice one!

Not my cup of tea - but each to their own!!

Ballsy!!

And congrats to the hand full of UK jumpers who this weekend did their first McConkeys!!! - Nice work fellas!!!

That has to be one of the sickest things i have ever seen!!! Niiiiiiiiice...

I always feel like something of an outsider posting in and even reading this forum as i don't BASE jump yet. I do however have the utmost respect for the sport and the people who do it. i'm trying to do as much research possible in the time that leads up to my first jump...

I hope you don't take offence to me hijacking your post slightly but would you mind giving some insight on the McConkey?

How easy is it to do really? Is it as hard core as it looks? And what was the scariest part for you personally?

Is it more dangerous to do off of certian objects? What are the risks involved (possible malfunctions) and what contributes to them? (body position?)

I've seen it on a couple vids and I've been doing some talking to some members of my local BASE community and have got various opinions...

Thanks and well done yet again!
peej

I don't have any personal experience with McConkeys, but here is a link that has some good information about doing them.

http://basejumping.net/...;listing_type=search

Nice picture!

Thanks for the help on my first E McConkey. (first ever actually)

Cheers.

Congrats Dexter! Nice pic, was wondering if you used a tailgate on that jump?? Any thoughts on having the slider down versus off for those particular jumps?? If you did use reefing on the lines, how was the heading on opening??
Thanks
Blair

I did use a tailgate on that jump. My heading was right on. If you look closely, you will notice that the upper control lines are all together in a little "bundle". I have been using the tailgate to trap all the tailgate friendly lines. I then pull the tailpocket up and use the primary stow band to close the tailgate(two wraps of a medium rubberband).

I have had pretty good heading performance using this method. I did have a 90 right on a later jump and watched another jumper have a 90 left. It seems the tailgate can adversely affect heading on these jumps.

I don't think it's the tailgate specifically that causes the offheading openings, but since the canopy is contained in a neat little package it can be turned easily by small inputs on the risers. If the canopy is straight when you launch, it can still rotate while you're moving over it. I think that having the canopy spread out more will make it less susceptible to this problem, therefore I have decided to stop using the tailgate on McConkeys, at least for the next twenty or so. Then I'll decide. (It's unlikely that I'll do another twenty anytime soon. I'm finding them less fun as I do more. I'd kinda rather freefall but it's nice way to bang out a jump if you're not feeling up to packing.)

I really don't think the slider will affect anything. I always leave my slider on and secured in front. The slider down vs. slider off argument is an old one and you'll hear strong arguments for either side. I choose to leave it on and I'm confident it doesn't matter for these jumps.

 
Thanks!!