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Jasonm47

BASE first or wingsuit first?

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BASE does not "require" 200 jumps first. Thats whats so great about the sport, its not regulated by an association or anything.

But for the dude asking the question, its a very smart idea to do a bunch of skyjumps with your wingsuit before you take it in the mountains.

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I only have 56 skydives but want to plan this thing out... Should I get into wingsuiting first or BASE ? Seems to me it would be more important to do a BASE FJC first... then learn to fly.. ? any guidance would be appreciated.



Make a lot of skydives in quick succession and learn/practice good canopy accuracy and conapy control techniques ON EVERY JUMP because BASE involves low openings with little setup times into often-gnarly landing zones that are tight and/or surrounded with obstacles and/or at higher altitude.

The more competent and confident you are with your canopy control and navigation, the better off you'll be.

One more thing: There is a difference between canopy control and canopy accuracy.

Accuracy means I can land on the hood of your car.

Control means... no dents.

On BASE jumps, it sometimes doesn't manner how controlled you land as long as you hit a precise spot.

Other times it doesn't matter where you land but you better land in perfect control.

And of course sometimes you need to do both at the same time.

Now what was that you were saying about BASE FJC first or wingsuit first?

44
B|
SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."

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I only have 56 skydives but want to plan this thing out



Just enjoy the ride, and stop planning.
Everyone has a different set of skills, tempo in which they jump, and different speed at which new things catch on.

Some people will need about 200 to 300 skydives to be ready for base. Than another 100 or so in a wingsuit and than slowly start combining the two. Other may need 500 or 1000 jumps to get the experience and do things within their own skills envelope.

Dont rush things. Set goals, but try and not see everything you do, inbetween where you are at and your goal, as a hurdle or thing you 'have to do' to get to doing what you really want to do.

Becoming a skydiving ninja and samurai master in a wingsuit before even taking on the path of basejumping is something thats not only recommendable, but also a lot of fun. Dont put any jump numbers on anything. Just jump and have fun, and take things one step at a time.
JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

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I really appreciate the feedback guys, I guess I was just trying to figure out which would be the better route financially. I still have a long way... just anxious I guess. It seemed to me like BASE would be more difficult to get into and more expensive... Either way I'll be broke hahaha. Anyone want to buy some golf clubs or a snowboard
? LOL I would live out of my vehicle if it meant i could jump everyday. LOVE IT.
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Elaborate...please ?



I don't know exactly what Chuck means. I get the general sense, but specifically, in this case, I'm not sure.

Here's the thing, wingsuit and BASE are seperate things for a long time. You should be 'good' at both before combining the two, and that will take 'at least' a years time.

You can certainly learn the two concurrently, there's nothing wrong with that. The truth is, it's probably the best way to go about it. Skydive (wingsuit) during the day, and BASE jump at night and on holidays, that's pretty much the deal unless you live in Idaho (or close). Even then, you're going to have to go out after dark if you want to move past the Twin Falls bridge.

For now, just skydive and have fun. Work on your canopy skills, with accuracy being the prime objective. If you're serious about winsgsuiting and BASE (and eventaully wingsuit BASE) stick with larger 7 cell canopies and a rig that will hold them. Maybe a Spectre loaded at 1 to 1 would be a good idea. This way you'll be comfortable with the canopy by the time you get to jump a wingsuit, and you'll have some slow 7 cell experience for when you start BASE jumping. If you buy the container big eoungh 'loose' fit a Spectre at 1 to 1, you should be able to 'tight' fit a BASE canopy in there at .75 to 1, and then you can easily jump your BASE canopy out of a plane for canopy practice or to see what it's like with a wingsuit.

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Maybe a Spectre loaded at 1 to 1 would be a good idea.



The OP indicated that he was on a fairly tight budget. If that's the case and he's looking to get into BASE, I'd recommend buying an old BASE canopy (good condition Mojos and FOXes can be had for well under $1000--I bought one with 20 jumps for $600 last year). If he's unable to find one of those, I'd go with a Raven.

Get a canopy like that and work through the attached canopy drills (from Consolidated Rigging) until you are 100% comfortable with every one of them.

Preparation for BASE isn't about number of skydives--it's about the actual skill set you've developed. It doesn't matter if it took you 150 skydives to learn those skills, or 1500. I get students through with 1000 skydives who have spent their entire skydiving career freeflying and learning to swoop, and are less prepared than guys with 150 skydives who have focused the last 100 skydives on BASE specific canopy training on a large F-111 7 cell.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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Thank you Dave and Tom. I'm even less prepared than I thought... Very very helpful information. I was trying to downsize when I should have been going bigger. I'm going to look for a used large canopy/container. I should have maybe researched a little. I was just so excited to get my own gear I bought before I knew anything. Big mistake. Growing pains #@%$@^@%^&

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fucking retards


elaborate


If the OP can't navigate and land worth a ****, then it doesn't matter what he does first because he won't last long as BASE jumper whether he's wearing a wingsuit or not.

Kinda funny how all the other posters totally ignore the most important part of the whole equation in favor of pontificating on jump numbers, canopy types, wing loading and which freefall skill to learn first, none of which matter if you can't walk away from the landing area -- most of which in BASE are smaller and gnarlier than even the tightest drop zones.

Or as Number One Sky Monkey say...

44
B|
SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."

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Yes. I'm a noobie, and so were you at one time. I realize theres a stigma against noobie questions in this sport. Doesnt make sense to me because no question is stupid..especially if it's potentially life and death. When I am an experienced BASE jumper (granted I don't die in the process) I will check my ego at the door and help newcomers by telling them what they can do, not what they can't.

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I was trying to downsize when I should have been going bigger.



As one n00b to another...
You post your home DZ as Perris and 9 jumps. That is puzzling.
- Why do you even own gear at this point?
- Downsizing? What is that? Why do it? Please explain to me. Should I be downsizing too?
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I should have maybe researched a little.



- Yes.

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I'm a noobie, and so were you at one time.


-But we behaved like it.
1) We read a LOT of posts on many different forums before posting on anything.
2) We never asked material questions on a forum before getting the (S&TA/DZO/AFFI/Experienced jumpers) at our home DZ to weigh in on what is appropriate for ME.
3) We never complained about getting slapped down for a newb mistake on the forum, because the people who slam us down the hardest on the internets will usually go out of their way in the DZ to put us on the right path.
4) We listened intently to answers on the forum. We did not just say "F@&K ya'll, I gots mad skilzz. Haters hate"

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I realize theres a stigma against noobie questions in this sport.


- No one here has a problem with the question. However, people here might be concerned by the person asking it.
- Maybe a little problem with the question:
--It is like someone asking about what color the helmet should be for a triple bus jump after just getting their training wheels off their bicycle.
--Or like someone asking if a static or dynamic rope is better for a multi-pitch ice climb after learning to belay.
--Or asking about indeterminate pressure setting in your decompression regulator for a trimix, multi-stage CCR dive after doing a resort course.
You get the picture? Questions like this show a dangerous lack of basic knowledge from the person doing the asking.

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Doesnt make sense to me because no question is stupid..especially if it's potentially life and death.


- If you gotta ask...the answer is No.

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When I am an experienced BASE jumper (granted I don't die in the process) I will check my ego at the door and help newcomers by telling them what they can do, not what they can't.


Why wait till then? Check your ego at the door right now. People here have stopped using their ego a long time ago.
Ego is not a factor here at all. All the "ego" jumpers have left the sport due to injuries or worse.

To answer your question: BASE or wingsuit? Neither, right now.
There are no dangerous dives
Only dangerous divers

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I sincerely appreciate everyones feedback, even negative feedback helps me understand the sport more. I have about 70 jumps now just havent updated my profile. I can't tell you whether you should downsize or not, i'm not qualified to give that kind of advise. I totally understand where you are coming from and what you are saying. I will not be asking anymore questions until I have a little bit of experience.

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I'm not arguing with any of you guys and I understand your frustrations with me but I am extremely frustrated too. I can't find anwers to a lot of my question in any articles. If I ask experienced people on the DZ the answer is basically the same. Get more jumps then talk to me. I totally get that. If I ask on a forum I get kicked in the balls. I'm not even about to post anything on BASEjumper.com I would get my head ripped off. I dont think it's unreasonable to ask specific gear questions about flying a large (250-270) canopy out of a plane with 70 jumps. I need this.

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