BASE oriented skydiving

[guest]

I'm a skydiver with around 120 jumps. From the first jumps I'm interested in BASE. ON BR page I found the article on
BASE oriented canopy control. Ther are few thing I don't understand:

-Drill: On every opening anticipate your heading before the parachute has deployed. Be
able to accurately recall the exact deviation. Learn how to steer your opening by shifting
your weight in the harness.

During opening, do you look at your canopy or at the ground? HOW do you shift your weight in harness?

-Drill: After opening, with the brakes still stowed, initiate a hard 180 turn using a rear riser.
Note how the canopy responds. At what point of riser input does the canopy turn the fastest?
When does it stall or partially stall? Repeat this drill until you can accurately use riser input to turn
the canopy back on heading without inducing a stall.

Why it is wrong to induce a partiall stall? Wouldn't this be the fastest turn? Does anybody has a video of some cliff strikes that could be educational? Does anybody have video of a good PLF?

In spring I will be doing some baloon jumps. How should I exit to simulate BASE jump?

Is sub terminal tracking body position different than the one at terminal speed? Can someone advice me what else should I train to be more prepared for BASE. In freefall, under the canopy, landings? Would it help to make 100 skydives with a BASE canopy? Does anybody knows if Atair in Slovenia offers a FJC?

Thanks in advance
B

[imported_Tom Aiello]

>During opening, do you look at your canopy or at
>the ground?

Look at the canopy. You need to know immediately if there is a problem or malfunction of some sort, and you need to see what it is.

>HOW do you shift your weight in harness?

Just lean to the side. It's easy to practice this on a skydive.

>Why it is wrong to induce a partiall stall? Wouldn't this be the fastest turn?

It would be a fast turn, but it would also cost you altitude (you will sink fast). At BASE altitudes, this could smack you into the ground (or an underhung object).

>Does anybody have video of a good PLF?

Find an old skydiver. Anyone who jumped rounds out of an airplane has lots of PLF practice.

>Is sub terminal tracking body position different than the one at terminal speed?

See:

http://www.blincmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=132&forum=DCForumID17

and

http://www.blincmagazine.com/cms/article_31.shtml

Optimal track is very similar. I find that on a BASE track my legs are slightly spread, with toes pointed out (not back). My track sucks, though, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on tracking.

>Can someone advice me what else should I train to be more prepared for BASE. In freefall, under the canopy, landings?

See:

http://www.blincmagazine.com/cms/instruction.shtml

Other good articles are at:

http://www.basejump.org/

>Would it help to make 100 skydives with a BASE canopy?

YES. More skydives on your BASE canopy is excellent preparation. I'd recommend making all your skydives on your BASE canopy from now on.

> Does anybody knows if Atair in Slovenia offers a FJC?

I don't know if Atair does, but I know that Robert Pecnik (robert@bird-man.com) offers one in Croatia.

--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@mac.com

[crwper]

Nice response, Tom. I'd just like to add a couple more points, if I may...

>> HOW do you shift your weight in harness?
>
> Just lean to the side. It's easy to practice
> this on a skydive.

I think of it more as lifting one hip and dropping the other. Sitting in a chair, you can feel a weight shift if you lean from one side to the other, but you can achieve the same effect by sitting upright and just lifting one side of your bum off the seat. Do the same thing under canopy and you'll initiate a turn to the side which is bearing your weight.

>> Why it is wrong to induce a partiall stall? Wouldn't this be the fastest turn?
>
> It would be a fast turn, but it would also cost
> you altitude (you will sink fast). At BASE
> altitudes, this could smack you into the ground
> (or an underhung object).

You shouldn't even do this in skydiving. There was a fatality last year in Canada... As I understand it, the jumper was flying in deep brakes at a few hundred feet when she initiated a hard turn to one side. The canopy spun up and she impacted still spinning with line twists.

You should try in your skydiving, and later in your BASE jumping, to be very aware of the flight characteristics of your canopy. If you're flying in deep brakes, it means your airspeed is lower than in full flight. That means you're correspondingly closer to your stall point. When you bury a toggle in that situation, you may unintentionally induce a stalled turn.

The problem with a stalled turn is that the canopy is no longer flying -- that is to say, it's not really generating lift properly any more. As Tom mentions, that can cost you altitude. It can also put you into line twists.

Learn to recognize the point where your canopy starts to stall. When you turn, instead of just "cranking a toggle", try to be very conscious of the pressure on the toggle as you initiate the turn and as you come out of it. Same thing when you're in deep brakes. Just before one side of the canopy stalls, you'll feel a subtle change in the toggle pressure. That should be your cue to back off a bit, and it will help you learn the optimal non-stalled turn.

Michael

[imported_mknutson]

I actually sold my regular skydiving rig, went and got a large container and a Raven II as well as a Raven III for full time use.

This way, all of my skydives are on a 7-cell base-like canopy.
Plus it is fun to get EVERYONE asking why I had a cutaway each time I land at the DZ.