Base jump

The Base Jump is a discipline of the Parachutisme, which consists in jumping since fixed objects and not of the Aéronef S. He is often regarded as the discipline queen of the extreme sports. It is a sport which mixes in fact many other disciplines: freefall, Parapente, Alpinism, precision of landing, Stunt-flying, etc… The exclusive practice of the Jump Base since cliffs names Paralpinisme. There are in France approximately 200 regular practitioners, between: 8000 and: 10000 in the world. The height of the sautables objects varies approximately 50 meters with more than 1500 meters (the drop times can then reach 1 minute 30 seconds). The parachutist accelerates gradually under the effect of the Gravité, before stabilizing himself in the neighborhoods of 200 km/h by frictions of the air.

" Base" is the acronym for: for Building, Antenna, Span bridge and Earth cliff Jump: jump in Parachute starting from a Real , of a antenna, a Bridge or Cliff.

In France, the word Base generally decides with the Frenchwoman although its origin is American.

History

Carl Boenish is often regarded as the sporting father of the Base jump after its jumps since El Capitan in 1978. In France, it is Erich Beaud which opened very many cliffs and it is indisputably one of large the French pioneer. During the years 1980 and the beginning of the year 1990, there did not exist yet of manufacturer of material. Also each Base jumper was itself to arrange a traditional parachute to adapt it to specificities of the Base jump (rope of lengthened extraction, suppression of the pod, technique of folding, etc.). It was one time of pioneers at which one owes the reliability of the current materials. The arrival on the market of basic parachutes jump " loans with the emploi" , about the middle of the years 1990, allowed many people to more easily begin.

Risks

The Base is a spectacular sport that the general public associates with a great taking risk. Admittedly it is an engaged sport, but the impacts on the ground are very rare. Statistically, and paid to the numbers of practitioners, to practice the Base in the rules is not more dangerous than other engaged sports, like the motor bike or the alpinism of high mountain. The principal danger is to run up against the object from which one comes to once jump the open parachute. This can occur in the event of orientation with 180° sail with the opening. These orientations, rare, are partly random and can occur even if very at summer correctly implemented. Extremely fortunately, jumper alarm bases it will be able to generally correct these orientations, in order to avoid the impact. It will be able to still minimize this risk of impact by setting up techniques and clothing of drift which will enable him to take horizontal speed in order to move away from the wall. Finally the practice of the traditional freefall is highly advised before beginning the Base, because the main cause of accident remains instability in fall (an instability at the time to open the parachute increases considerably the risk of orientation to 180°). One notes also many traumatisms of the lower extremities due to posed violent ones. Indeed the zones of posed are not always good quality, and it is not in the philosophy of the sport to clear of undergrowth or modify natural environment. A broken relief also contributes to this kind of wounds, because the wind will be very irregular and unforeseeable there.

To conclude one can say that the 3 principal guarantors of a good safety are: good folding, absence of wind, good position of the body to the opening. There exist precise and exhaustive statistics, and there were to date (July 2007) 113 killed. The recent increase in this number is explained by the relative democratization of this sport and the increase in the number of practitioners.

Material

Note: this paragraph presents primarily the differences with the traditional material of Parachutisme.

The Base is practiced with only one Parachute, of parachute type of help, where traditional parachuting requires two of them (the principal parachute and the parachute of help). But as opposed to what one could think a priori, that does not decrease safety. Indeed the principal veils are not reliable at 100% (it is the help which offers all the security guarantees) and the use of two veils involves specific problems: need for releasing the principal one before actuating the help, therefore risk of late release, risks emmelage because of an inopportune opening of the help, etc… However to use two veils remains much more practical and comfortable: time of foldings very short, psychological comfort, more pleasant openings and posed, more nervous flight, etc… In Base, because of proximity of the obstacles, one cannot allow such a comfort.

The basic material is standardized now enough and specific. The bag can be closed by needles or Velcro. The veils are always of the 7 boxes (in comparison with the 9 boxes, that decreases the performances of flight but makes reliable the openings) with suspending rods making it possible to absorb the shocks with the opening (in dacron). To avoid any risk of blocking, the sail is folded directly in the bag (there is no pod nor of sleeve) and the suspending rods are simply coiled in a small pocket closed by velcro and bent on the trailing edge (it is the tail-pocket). For the openings at low speed (less than 3 seconds of fall), one leaves the slide block in low position (in position high it is a timer of opening). The opening itself uses only the energy of the relative wind: to open one spray lance a " extracteur" , which is in fact a small round parachute from which the role is to extract the principal sail via a strap. Its size must be adapted according to the falling speed, and thus the height of the jump. It is not a question so much of a question of lowering but rather of a question of quality of opening: to choose the size of its extractor well will increase, statistically, the number of openings in the axis. To fold up the sail requires 30 minutes roughly.

At present the material can be regarded as extremely reliable if it is used correctly. The statistics show clearly that the vast majority of the accidents is due to human errors and not to failures of the material.

Concerning the combinations, there has existed for a few years of the " wingsuits " and of the " clothing of dérive". This clothing has surfaces of more or less large fabrics of which the goal is to increase horizontal displacement. One can thus deviate very quickly from the wall and fly to the manner of a fast ultra hang glider (the smoothness varies between 0,5 and 3 and speed on axis remains close to 200km/h). That also makes it possible to better exploit uneven sites which present only one weak vertical part (typically a cliff with the top of a long slope with 45°). Lastly, with these combinations, the flights are much longer and can reach more than one minute.

To begin

Many people wonder how one can begin or at least taste there. The Base jump is not so dangerous that it of with the air when it is practiced seriously, but on the other hand, if the technical training is not sufficient, the danger is enormous. Moreover there exists neither baptism, nor tandem. It is thus formally disadvised beginning without a sufficient technical knowledge and without to have contacted others Base jumpers as a preliminary.

In France there exists neither school nor monitors. Typically, the majority of the Base jumpers started by learning traditional parachuting, then by almost reading all existing technical documentation on Internet, by buying their material, and finally while learning only with well folding. At this stage, and this stage only, it is possible to contact others Base jumpers to ask them an opinion and to be made check. In France, there is no monitor other than oneself, each one entirely assumes its responsibilities. On the other hand abroad there exist some schools, which require for the majority pre-necessary of approximately 200 jumps of plane.

Legality

The Base jump is accepted by the majority of the countries (of which France and Switzerland for example). However certain sites are prohibited for reasons of access and use of the places (private properties, public monuments, natural reserves, etc…). In France the Base, which is not concerned with the French federation of parachuting, is rather regarded as an activity of mountain. Moreover the French association of Paralpinisme is affiliated with the French federation of the alpine clubs and of mountain and its members are ensured for the cliff jumps.

Mentality

Although the Base is technically rather close to traditional parachuting, it is necessary to note a clear difference in mentality between these two disciplines, in particular in countries as France where the jumps are done especially in mountain. Indeed, traditional parachuting, in optics to minimize the risks, chose a policy of strict framing of the practitioners by monitors. On the other hand the Base leaves a total autonomy because there does not exist any regulation on the matter and only the personal liabilities of the parachutists import. That thus brings closer more the Base of the sports to mountain.

This absence of regulation offers a total freedom as for the risk management. That does not mean that Base jumper will take risks with the light one, quite to the contrary, but simply that it will be him even its own judge. He will have itself to evaluate the risks and to progress according to the councils which he will have asked. It is a specificity of the Base, expensive with the practitioners, and who in fact a true school of responsibility and autonomy. However the disadvantage of this philosophy is, for safety reasons, a greater difficulty to begin and thus an access more limited for the general public.

Moreover the Base jumpers are seldom heads burned in evil of strong feelings, but rather of people posed and reflected. The majority of the jumps, particularly on the new or little known spots, are preceded by long recognitions. This reality is often put at evil by the public opinion which bases its judgment on vidéos found on Internet and a priori. The Base is to some extent victim on its spectacular side.

References