Extreme sports have gained global attention and various base jumping videos and base jumping movies have made extreme base jumping immensely popular globally. Wingsuit base jump is even harder than regular base jumping and therefore it is recommended that you know what you need to focus on before you choose to pursue it.
However, base jumps are not as exciting and simple as they seem on the videos or in the Hollywood movies that we see. A base jumper has to go through a lot of preparation before they make their first jump to ensure that there is enough safety and precautions taken.
Experience Base Jumping
As wingsuit base jumping is more dangerous than regular base jumping; you certainly need to have some level of experience before you decide to take off with a base jumping wingsuit.
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One of the reasons why you need to focus on your experience is because wingsuit base jump demands keeping your mind clear and calm, especially under pressure. Your experience will also include your canopy flying skills, terminal tracking skills and stable deployments.
Remaining cool, calm and collected is what you should focus on, when doing a wingsuit base jump.
If you’re not an experienced base jumper you should focus on improving your performance on extreme base jumping, before moving on to wingsuit base jump. There are certain base jumping things that you need to know before you move on to wingsuit base jump.
Stability
When you are trying out wingsuit base jumping for the first time, focus on stability more than anything else. This is important because you want to make sure that there are no problems halfway through.
For the first 10 base jumps you should ensure that you do not try fancy movements that can lead you into trouble. Try and keep your head together and after you have extended the leg wing you can focus on flying the suit efficiently.
You need to keep in mind that wingsuit base jump is relatively new and therefore you need to develop new skills and understanding to master it.
Deployment
It is also important that you learn to deploy from full flight as the environment might not offer you enough altitude to collapse the wings and drop vertically before deploying. Stable deployment from full flight will keep the airflow over your body fast and clean minimizing the risk of pilot chute hesitation.
It also allows you to keep your legs inflated while you’re allowed to collapse your arm wings as and when required. When the canopy reaches line stretch you may close your leg wing as it may twist your body after catching air. Make sure you keep your body symmetrical during deployment to maintain heading performance.
Emergency
It is also important that you also prepare for the worst situation you can think of when you are focusing on wingsuit base jumping. Make sure that your gear, including base jump helmet is in the right condition and you don’t have to go through ‘Exit Gear Fear’ syndrome or cleithrophobia, as you might be under stress while performing it initially.
It is also important that you have prior knowledge about the area where you will perform your base jump, so that you can take various things into account, like the weather and air current.
Work on your deployment altitude, stability issues and opening problems before you decide to take the jump.
