UKC

So.... I want to learn to base jump this summer!
I have no skydiving experience so will need to gain this first. The main question would be... does anyone base jump/sky dive. Can they recommend the best way of acheiving flight???

looking at both the aaf and raps learning methods but cant really decide?!!

In reply to FreshTracks:
I did the first couple of jumps of a RAP course before breaking my leg!
At the time I was told you really need to build up about 200 jumps to get enough canopy control to BASE jump.
If you want to this summer you will have to get working on those plus have a shedload of cash (200x £30 a jump? = £6grand and that's before equipment hire/purchase, packing, training etc.)
If you are 100% sure you want to start jumping asap do the AAF, otherwise do the RAPs and build up slowly without the initial £1500ish outlay.
Not an expert but hold that helps...

In reply to mills85: could you jsut clarify whether the broken leg was related or just a coincidence???

Im kind of torn between which method, aff = 1200 plus then you need your 10 consolidator jumps. but can be qualified in a week-10 days

raps 17 jumps to become qualified at 160 for first jump followed by 35 per jump. so aproxx 800 but takes longer??

In reply to FreshTracks:
now that's annoying! I just wrote a big reply, got distracted by a colleague, turned back and the page had refreshed and deleted! grrr

apologies for now putting this in bullets because of that.

+ base jumping is illegal in this country and many others. Even where it's not I've only heard of a couple of tandem base jumps and they aren't for tourists as such, so you're right yoou'll have to do skydiving first.

+ some skydivers, particularly older ones or those who run the system, have a big issue with base jumping. Don't go on to a dropzone saying "I want to basejump so am going to learn skydiving". They may get arsey with you. Saying that, most don't care, but it can cause problems.

+ AFF vs RAPS - there's pros and cons. How much money do you have to throw at it? If you've got loads or don't mind waiting while you save up then go to AFF. If you'd like to start up and don't have lots then do RAPS. It usually works out cheaper in the long run and can stillget you qualified quickly, plus has other benefits like canopy control experience.

+ Even once you're qualified you're only just beginning to learn how to contro lyourself in freefall - you are not ready to basejump! In fact most people I know would suggest AT LEAST a couple of hundred jumps before thtinking about it. However everyone learns at different rates and everyone has a different opinion on this, plus most people I know are skydivers or went in to base jumping after several hundred jumps. So if that's the only thing you're interested in then it's going to be a long road.

+ Don't necessarily think "I've got to do x y and z before I can base jump <sigh>". Skydiving is fantastic and also very varied as well as very social. Go and enjoy every step of the way. In fact you may even realise later that you don't fancy base jumping after all.

If you want more info feel free to email me.

In reply to FreshTracks: why not just kill yourself now? saves time and you could leave the money to charity, or me. (Joking, incase that wasn't clear).

In reply to FreshTracks:

go for it.

dont know much about it but it can lead to amazing adventures (and death of course, but i suppose youre adult enough to have thought about it).

all i know aside from the asgard project was when i was in australia (where its very illegal to do, but not be informed on) there was a BASE community fronted by a doctor from sydney who was quite forward about it.
he had a site up with the MINIMUM requirements to be part of the organization.
the idea was that they would police it themselves with high standards.

never really got too deep into it - BASE attracts me but sky diving doesnt, so the dozens of plane jumps, night jumps etc put me off pretty early.
i have a respect for BASE as a pursuit, and for any underground organization specifically legislated against despite being a higher authority on the subject than the authorities doing the legislating.

so go hard. be safe, and good luck.
and stay outta trouble (ie dont get caught)

In reply to Scarab9:

Or an extremely short one.

I like the idea of skydiving and admire the ability of base-jumpers to just do it but as much as I'd like to base jump there's no way I'm ever going to do it. The only thing I can compare it to, in my experience, is the very early days of hang-gliding. My brother started hang-gliding 30 odd years ago and I often flew his hang-glider. Your first flight, back then, was a solo and you either got it right/got lucky or crashed. Some of my first "flights" were extremely short indeed with one ending with me in casualty. The number of people who were killed or seriously injured, experienced flyers not just beginners, was rather high.

So to the OP I would listen to what Scarab9 has to say and go through the learning process for however long it takes. Even then there's no guarantee of a long life.

In reply to the crabbit man:


Base jumping does not equal short life. There are many levels, and very safe jumps to extremely dangerous ones, like most sports you can take it any level.

You need to enjoy the skydiving first, which incidentally is not just about belly flying (what most base jumps are), but get into the freefly. If thats not enough for you then by then u will be prepared and 'in the know' for BASE

In reply to FreshTracks: I'm learning to skydive at the mo on the RAPS course as far as i can tell the reason it is a 200 jump min for any base clubs is due to canopy control as there will likely be many crosswinds etc... so you need to be able to land well (what i've heard anyway)

In reply to Gorilla:

I said there was no guarantee of a long life, I didn't say "You WILL die".

In reply to Reidy: Out of interest are you doing your course 2 jumps a weekend, 10 a week, 1 a weekend kinda style or are you able to combine them into more of a week long progression??

In reply to FreshTracks: I have tried to do as many as possible per weekend however due to the british weather this hasn't been many,

I've been going about 7 weekends and only done 8 jumps because of the weather

I'm pretty sure the best way to progress is a week of 4 jumps a day and get qualified as if you do 1 jump a month you don't progress, where I'm learning is open all week start of june so I'm going to camp there for a week and get qualified.

If you are near the lakes I recomend Cark/Northwestparachute Centre

Couple of things I disagree with in this thread.

1) BASE isn't illegal, it's the trespassing that is.

2) You don't learn more canopy control on a raps course because on a raps course you jump out at 3,500 not 13,500.

I'd say spend the money on an AFF course considering the cost of the rest of the jumps and gear a couple of hundred quid isn't going to be a huge issue. I'd say forget about base jumping, goto your local dropzone, do an AFF course spend 1K on a rig, jump as often as you want for a year or so, spend 2K on a more suitable rig, jump for a few more years and then think about BASE.

I've heard it said that to jump BASE (relatively) safely after 200 jumps you need to have 200 jumps specifically for BASE training, and 300-500 is recommended.

In reply to FreshTracks:


I think it's falling rather than flying, if you want to achieve flight try paragliding.

In reply to FreshTracks:

When you have your canopy control down, you should head over to Twin Falls in Idaho. It's legal to jump from the bridge there (and relatively safe). Great place to try your first jump. When you're done, you just hike back up and do it again.

In reply to psykx:
You don't have a canopy out at 13,500 though do you? I dump at 3000.
Anyway try Hibaldstow - 15000ft

In reply to Gorilla: no.... so you dump at 3000 huh? is that the same height (give or take a 100ft) you'd be under canopy on a raps course?

In reply to psykx:

and other charges including one related to endangering life - so the act of base jumping will defintely break that law if no others. Therefore it's illegal.


yes you jump from 3,500 and have control of your canopy by 3,000 at least. When you jump from 13,500 (or up to 15,000 at a good centre) you still open your chute at a hight that will give you a canopy approx 3,000 so there's no difference due to altitude.
The reason you have better control from doing raps is you've done 18jumps to qualify minimum (prob 20-25) rather than 8, so you have a longer learning/support time from an instructor and in controlled circumstances before you're let loose to do as you please.




It can be a huge difference in cost particularly if you haven't got a limp some up front. Also you aren't going to get a rig for 1K unless very lucky and you also settle for a bag of shite. Budget 1500-1800 second hand.


You can't REALLY do base training. You certainly don't need to. It's mostly the head game, skills you'll pick up from freefall and from hanging around a dropzone, and about packing right (very important). Assuming someone else packs and you do a BASE jump from a safe point it's literally the head game and nothing more. You defintely need 200+, preferably double or more, before you should be thinking a base jump but you don't do 200 BASE training jumps


Oh and seconding Cark/NWPC/Skydive Northwest/Far-too-many-alternative-names as a dropzone

In reply to FreshTracks:

I thought you needed 10 consolidation jumps after your AFF course to get your A license? so that makes it 18 jumps if you don't have to retake any levels.

do you BASE? I don't I'm still saving for things, but BASE jumpers I know recommend doing lots of HA hop and pops on BASE style canopys.

In reply to psykx:

I was addressing your post, in which you stated:
'You don't learn more canopy control on a raps course because on a raps course you jump out at 3,500 not 13,500'

Which implies you learn more on an AFF course which is clearly not the case.

In anycase I would strongly advise anyone learning to save up and fork out for an AFF course, RAPS is pretty obselete, and Britain is practically the only place left where it occurs, and is mainly undertaken due to a lack of aircraft, high proportion of old-school ex-miltary types, and shitty weather.

In reply to FreshTracks:
100% related - only RAPS jumper on a very windy day. Landed in a recently ploughed field on the airfield, legs got bogged down, my body and chute carried on going. SNAP!

I would suggest that if your are worried about breaking a limb you shouldn't have your heart set on BASE jumping.

I would also say that if you are so impatient that you can't manage an extra 7 jumps for RAPS that you may get bored long before you have the experience necessary to BASE jump.

In reply to mills85:
Dude I live and ski back country in Chamonix, the risk of breaking bones is indeed that, "a risk" but one that is considered along with all other conditions to be at an acceptable level. However, is that not half the reason for the rush?!!

Its not that i'm inpatient enough not to do the extra 7 jumps. I was suprised it required so few jumps to become qualified. WHat i am trying to evaluate is which learnin method is at the end of the day most beneficial and easy to progress through. The raps method as mentioned above by someone has been noted as old fashioned, with it requiring 5 jumps before an actual freefall. Where as the Aff method is preparing you and giving you an extra 5 jumps experience in actual freefall!

In reply to FreshTracks:

if you can front the money in one go I'd suggest AFF. the only major bonus to Raps apart from money is that it can be better for meeting people as you'll spend more time at the dropzone with other students, instructors, and piss ups with the regulars, while AFF you tend to spent most of it with just the two instructors who teach you, or often abroad so you don't meet local skydivers. However it sounds like the ease and speed is more important than making friends (as in it doesn't sound like you consider that difficult, some do. I don't mean you're antisocial :-p)

The raps method as mentioned above by someone has been noted as old fashioned, with it requiring 5 jumps before an actual freefall. Where as the Aff method is preparing you and giving you an extra 5 jumps experience in actual freefall!

you still get more freefall jumps in RAPS and a similar number of them from high altitude, however you progress immediately onto freefall with AFF which is a bonus.