Stuff to think about before you do your first BASE gainer…
Practice
Practice at a pool. Launching from a solid base is more realistic for most exit points. If you have access to a solid diving platform, then that is ideal. If you do not have one available then you can practice standing exits from a springboard and running exits from the edge of the pool (if the water level is somewhat lower than the edge of the pool). If you don’t have access to a pool that will work, then you may know of a swimming hole or a boat dock that will suffice.
While practicing at the pool, focus on looking at a point that is behind you before you start the rotation. On a BASE jump this point would possibly be the exit point… makes for a sweet visual. The danger you are training to avoid is either under-rotating or over-rotating. Why? Because deploying in an unstable body position can result in several problems, such as bridle entanglement, pilot chute-in-tow, off heading openings, and line twists.
Hot tip
Here is the HOT TIP: once you have rotated to a head-down body position, you can safely deploy. Any momentum will continue to rotate your body towards a belly to earth position as your parachute is extracted from the container. If you were to wait until you were flat belly to earth to deploy, you have a high chance of over rotating as your parachute comes out. So, while practicing at the pool, try to learn how to enter the water headfirst and vertical. Hitting the water is the ending point of your practice jump at the pool… likewise, this head-down body position is the first moment of your rotation when it is safe to deploy.
This does not mean it is the ideal time to deploy. What I like to do is deploy once my body has passed through that vertical plane and I am approaching about a 45-degree angle; so I am not flat belly to earth yet. You will have to figure out that perfect timing for yourself. But the window for a safe deployment is between the vertical head-down body position and flat belly to earth.
Having said that, I would like to stress three old sayings my first Jumpmaster told me back in Cedar Valley, Utah, 1984:
- When in doubt, whip it out!
- Haste makes paste!
- Those who hesitate, inherit the earth.
Here is an all-time classic I picked up along the way: KNOW THY ALTTITUDE!!!
Priorities
My point is this. Your jump priorities (from exit until freefall ends) are:
- Pull
- Pull at a safe altitude (allowing enough time for your parachute to open completely)
- Pull stable if possible In other words, if you do not have enough altitude to get stable, then you must deploy unstable (as bad as that sucks, we usually get away with it…sometimes we don’t). This leads to my next suggestion. Do not attempt your first gainer at the Perrine Bridge. Although it is not a low jump, it is not a high jump either. The best place to try your first gainer is at Bridge Day or a similar object. Something you won’t hit if you should have an off-heading opening or line twist, and something high enough that you gain enough airspeed to right yourself before deploying.
Safety Tips
Here are three more safety tips:
- When throwing your pilot chute, throw it straight out to the side, hard enough to stretch out the whole 9 feet of bridle. This technique will help keep your bridle and pilot chute away from your body and burble.
- When you open, your number 1 priority is heading.
- Never give up!
First BASE Jumping Gainer,
GoPro Caught my Heartbeat Increase Right Before Exit!
