Base Jump


Base Jumping


Base Jump

As if parachuting wasn’t scary enough, BASE Jumping sees participants jump from fixed objects before using a parachute to land! "BASE" is an acronym that stands for the four categories of objects from which one can jump; (B)uilding, (A)ntenna (an uninhabited tower such as an aerial mast), (S)pan (a bridge, arch or dome), and (E)arth (a cliff or other natural formation). BASE Jumping is much more dangerous than skydiving from aircraft. The first recorded instance of a BASE jump was that of Frederick Law, who jumped from the viewing platform of the Statue of Liberty in 1912.

Though similar in concept to Sky Diving, there are significant differences. The lower terminal velocity and jump height give a BASE jumper less time and space to deploy a parachute. Therefore, BASE Jumpers use specially adapted ram-air parachutes, which can open quickly at lower descent speeds. Even hardcore extreme sports fanatics regard BASE Jumping as a fringe sport because of the inherent high risks of death or injury.
With many covert jumps taking place due to legal restrictions on using private property or land, this has not stopped thousands of people from taking the plunge.

Your Leisure Time would not recommend or support BASE Jumping as an extreme sporting activity or participant sport. The only intention of this article is to describe the details of BASE Jumping.

There are many Parachuting and Sky Diving Clubs around the UK which give training lessons and provide registered instruction on parachuting. Use Your Leisure Time's Quick Search facility to find them.