who the @#%$# gives these guys life insurance?
:lol No life insurance covers these guys. The real problem is health insurance...they will cover if you get hurt, but not without a hassle.
I wonder how they practiced to learn the techniques required??
frown
You start with regular skydiving...put in at least a couple of hundred jumps...then get instruction on the suit. You don't jump that close to the ground right away. You have high exit altitudes, around 12-13,000 feet, and high openings for the parachute.
Example...when I did my first jump in that type of suit I had 2,500 jumps and I left the plane at 13,000 and opened the chute at 5,000 feet so I had extra time to deal with any problems. On a normal skydive I would not open my chute till around 2,000 feet. It is like trying to jump in a straightjacket because the suit constricts the range of motion of your arms. I had my one and only malfunction of my main parachute on that jump out of 3,300 skydives because I did not practice the sequence for opening the parachute enough. I was a little overconfident. It all worked out fine because I had plenty of time to deal with the issue.
Those guys are skimming the ground at 3 to 400 feet, :eek come over the hills or cliffs and probably open up around 500 ft off the ground. They also jump base skydiving rigs which are special and have no back-up chute....because when you open as low as they are, there is no time to use a second parachute. You have to work with whatever comes out. Not for me. I like having some space between me and the ground to fix a problem. These are basic explanations as I would teach them to a first timer when I used to instruct. I have never base jumped. I would off some of the real high cliffs, but you couldn't pay me to do what they did.
You and they are crazy!
I'd love to try that!
I took out 1,100 Tandem students (you are attached to the instuctor) and did over 1,500 AFF (accelerated freefall jumps, where you learn to jump with your own chute and I hold on to you during the freefall) and I have never seen anyone not like it. Tandem is easy and just a thrill ride. I took both my parents on a Tandem Jump....and they are not fun people :biggrin, and they loved it. Some beautiful jump spots in Hawaii for you to try Aloha. My first jump was over a beach and the views were fantastic. :thumbsup
"If at first you don't succeed" - this sport definately ain't th' one fer yew. :ack
EP, I understand the comment....but it is really safe. Most people that get hurt or killed are pushing the limits of safety and sanity....think of some motorcycle riders you know. :wink My parents hated that I jumped and tried to get me to quit for years. But on a trip to Cali they came to the drop zone and
saw it done a few times...saw how exctied people were and saw how easy the landings were and they decided to jump spur of the moment.....and they are not bold people by any means. Honestly if they had not got the video of their jumps I would have thought I dreamed it. :lol
When you see it in person a few times it changes your mind. I had this lady in her mid 70's that came out three years in a row to do a Tandem with me on her Birthday....and she loved it more and more each time. If George Bush Sr. can so it, so can you. :cheers
