Bridge Day mods?

[guest]

Ok I am a person with 100 skydives and zero BASE experiance. I have only talked to one person that has admitted to BASE jumping but he said that at bridge day you have a chance for a reserve and I questioned that in my mind if thats true. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on, on BASE. I think I know the basics and want to do Bridge Day in one year. Well to my question. Aside from a 42" PC, 9' bridle, and mesh slider, is there anything else I need to modify? I probably won't be able to jump my main for it's a 9 cell semi zero P. It is a 185 and thats my weight. I thought if I'm aiming for the deep water I would be ok but I'm reconsidering that. Can I keep on my skydiving deployment bag? If not why?

[imported_Tom Aiello]

>Aside from a 42" PC, 9' bridle, and mesh slider, is there anything else I need to modify?

I'd recommend removing your deployment bag and using a big 7 cell canopy with a tail pocket.

>Can I keep on my skydiving deployment bag? If not why?

The deployment bag creates a possibility of bag lock (possibly fatal with no time for a reserve), as well as hurting deployment heading and promoting line twists (since it's easier for the bag to spin on the way to line stretch).


--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@ucdavis.edu

[guest]

I've never tried to set up a skydiving rig for BASE, so when I ask this, please bear with me.

how about pro-packing the reserve slider down? If you have a mal with the more complicated skydiving system, you're going to be pretty low for chopping and getting a slider up reserve out. I'd see if I could borrow a rig .

I don't monkey with the different rigs because I am a firm believer in application specific gear. BASE rig for BASE and vice versa. (I'd rather spend two grand on a rig than on a funeral) I just thought I'd ask because there are some pretty technically competant people who use the board. I'm kinda curious too.

Fall fast, pull low. ---Dex

[guest]

Wow, I say, "rig" too much huh? &-)

[jon593]

You're going to be jumping your reserve!

It's packed in your main container.

The extra parachute in the backpack is ballast that could be just as easily replaced with flotation foam.

[guest]

That floatation device would be great.

Your ass would float and your head would sink.

&-)

[346]

Past videos from Bridge Day have shots of people cutting away from lineovers and getting reserves out. As I recall these people tossed after about 1 or 2 seconds and were slider down so they were relatively high and under a relatively slow falling malfunction. High speed mals are another story. Our one and only Bridge Day death (1987 I think) was due to a high-speed malfunction. He jumped with a small pilot chute on his main (this is the reason we have a minimum size requirement now) and reacted a too late to a pilot-chute-in-tow. He pulled his reserve low. He impacted the water with the reserve out of the freebag, but it was not inflated enough to slow him down.

So, a reserve can be an option as long as you know its (and yours) operating limitations. Modifications can be made to the reserve to extend those limitations some.

Walt Appel wrote a good article some years ago on setting up a Skydiving rig. Mick has reposted it here:

http://www.blincmagazine.com/content...3d/r/352?lang=

A large P.C. and a mesh slider are the typical modifications made to a stock skydiving rig. I'd also suggest considering a longer closing loop for your main to reduce tension on the pin and cutting all the rubber bands on your bag in half length-wise to reduce tension there. Again, I'm suggesting that you CONSIDER these options. It may not be required or even advisable with your particular setup.

Bottom Line: Find a BASE-friendly rigger to assist

Mark

[kleggo]

not necessarily true.
of the 27 jumps i've made at nrgb with skydiving gear, i feel confident that on every jump save 1 there was time for a reserve deployment if required.

that's assuming 3 - 4 second delays with a mesh slider.

stay safe


craig f

[460]

People have jumped all sorts of things off the NRGB, and as Mark notes, many reserves have been used. For base jumps, you generally want to tailor your reserve pack job for the site you are jumping.

Using a bag can be done successfully if packed using specific tricks. For example, the bag must be weighted very symmetrically. Secondly, it must not catch a corner during liftoff. Test this repeatedly by putting the bag in the container and extracting it with a variety of speeds. The last stows on the bag should not rotate the bag at all with a slow liftoff. Use ponytail rubber bands for 2 or 3 stows. The other rubber bands should be skydiving rubber bands cut in half to make them narrower. The last 1 or 2 are the important stows and should still not rotate the bag, while preventing line dump. Don't make these stows too loose since line dump can be a danger too.

This is a start and I cannot cover all the details and dangers now. I gotta get back to work.

Get a base friendly rigger to help you.

-Chris

[Alabanana]

Hey Mark
Are you correct in stating that there has been only one death at BD? I thought there were three, but I can't remember the details of why I thought that.
Joe

[346]

I'm pretty certain there has only been one fatality during the Bridge Day event.

As I recall, there was another guy that drowned in the river following a bandit jump made the day before Bridge Day in the 80s. Maybe you're including him?

I came into the BD scene in 1991. I'd remember anything that happened since then. Nick from BR seems to be our BASE Historian, where is he?

Mark

[imported_mknutson]

If you do a search here, you will find a post by Nick telling about 3-4 people that have died/drowned during BD.

There was more than one, not including the bandit jump one that you mention.

:+

[Skypuppy]

The first fatality at Bridge Day was before they had boats available in '80 - '82. Some guy went into the river with his reserve out - got swept into rapids downstream - it got hung up on a rock and the current pulled him under. By the time a boat got there it was too late. The second was also very early '80's - the guy impacted under a deploying reserve - the rangers said he had a baggie of dope in his pocket but there wasn't enough blood left in the body to do a tox-scan. I think both happened on Bridge day. On at least one bandit jump a friend of mine landed in the water at night and drownned after hitting his head in the rapids.

[guest]

:9

[jon593]

From the landing area I saw a reserve deployment after a racer towed the pilot chute because the velcro side flaps were too tight to let the pack tray open and let the main out. It was open plenty high too.

My point seems to have been misinterpreted.

Pack your main as well as a reserve and believe in it as such. The RESERVE container filled with flotation was to emphasize the point of trust in the main. I've got plenty of jumps off the NRGB with skydiving gear too and never got wet or needed the reserve.

jon