A 'Failsafe' Device?

[Robert Schreib]

Dear People, I don't do any BASE jumping. Actually, I'm afraid of heights! But I do like to send technical recommendations over the Internet, and this post is one of them. I send this idea out to that Skydiver's Magazine, and to a few other related links on the Net, but zippo replies. I hope you guys can do something with it. That is, your BASE jumping experts should talk to the people at DARPA, (Good luck with that, they apparently don't like to take advice from civilians!) who develop and test equipment for the USA's military branches, including the Air Force, who might want to look into this idea, namely, a 'Failsafe' device, that automatically pulls the parachute's ripcord after a preprogrammed time, determined by the exact height of your jumpoff, so that no matter what, the BASE jumper CANNOT be killed by being distracted by the acrobatics of his fellow jumpers, or some accident disabling him, and not having the parachute deploy in the nick of time, to keep him from being killed. It should entail a sensor device taped to your shoe, connected by a thin wire taped to your body to the parachute, so that when you jump, and there's no pressure on your shoe sole, the time mechanism is activated. This setup should include a wrist watch type device you could program the 'Failsafe' device with easily. Possibly, if you guys have an insurance company, the insurance company could pay for the research and development of this thing, since it would be a case of an ounce of prevention being worth a ton of cure, life-wise and money-wise for everyone involved. I'm sorry, but BASE jumping scares the shellack out of me! It seems to me that you guys are all potential 'Darwin Award' winners, if you do this thing without some kind of technical advancement of your equipment like that, to insure your complete safety. That covers it. Please forward this idea to the REAL experts in this field. Best Regards, Bob Schreib

[hamsandwich]

There are devices out there like this used by the military and in sport skydiving made by companies such as FXC, Airtec, and Aviacom. BASE jumping as a sport (and skydiving) isn't about a thrill right that has failsafes but rather having the ability and presence of mind to be in control. If yo elimate this exciting challenge, there wouldnt be such a sense of accomplishment.


-

[lifewithoutanet]

If yo elimate this exciting challenge, there wouldnt be such a sense of accomplishment.-

Not so much that, but if you eliminate the possible issues that could arise from a lack of self-reliance, responsibility, and accountability for one's actions, you'll end up w/ the same litigious asshats that overpopulate every other sport, hobby, pastime or whatevertime BASE is to you. We'll lose the few legal areas and objects we have. More cities will enact more ridiculous laws because some jamoke with inadequate training or an elevated sense of self-entitlement fucks himself up because he doesn't configure a device properly...and this, all because someone decided they wanted to make something safe for the asses. I mean masses. Wait. Nope, had it right the first time.

-C.

[Mac]

The cypress pushed Darwin out of skydiving......

[MMK]

BASE-T Fully T'sod B.A.S.E.T. and Skydiving Rig System - eBay (item 350049281588 end time Oct-12-08 12:59:03 PDT)

[jools]

BASE-T Fully T'sod B.A.S.E.T. and Skydiving Rig System - eBay (item 350049281588 end time Oct-12-08 12:59:03 PDT)

Can you get optional airbags with that? ya know just incase.

[Robert Schreib]

Dear Jools, Technically, there WAS a kind of 'airbags' for people falling from the sky. During World War II, air force warriors in the big B-52 bombers that crash landed, discovered that by wearing these inflatible life-preserver vests and pumping them up, prior to crashing the plane, these inflated life preserver vests DID act like airbags and enabled them to survive that massive impact situation. Apparently, this tactic was so effective, that the Air Force redommended that option to all of their B-52 airmen who were forced to do hazardous landings.