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Thursday Throwback: Real BASE Jump History

Melanie Curtis — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:50:48 +0000

Here’s a blast from the past for a random Thursday Throwback. I can’t understand a word they’re saying, but the footage speaks for itself. Jumping off a cliff with a round parachute back in the day. Talk about adventure-seekers. Here’s to these guys who paved the way for all the cool shit we get to do today. If you’re looking for more old school footage, check out this crazy parachute test jump from the 1930s.

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80 Seconds of Line Twists

Sydney Williams — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:50:41 +0000

Holy line twists, Batman! Parachute test pilot Brian Germain does a high pull with a test canopy, immediately fighting line twists with a hefty spin. After 80 seconds of battling the line twists, Brian finally settles out and talks through the thought process of how to get yourself through a malfunction safely. It goes without saying that Germain is an experienced test pilot with over 13,000 skydives, so please don’t try this at home.

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Intentional Cutaways. Many, Many Cutaways

Melanie Curtis — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:50:18 +0000

Cutaways are a strange thing… we don’t want to have them, but we also want to know all about them so we feel prepared if and when we ever have one. One way to prepare is to do an intentional cutaway on a system with a tertiary reserve like the one in this video, which shows all sorts of different malfunctions. Hey, I figure if we can’t actually have all these mals to prepare for, at least we can watch them on video and see them handled well. Good stuff. We got this.

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Friday Freakout: 1930s Parachute “Test” Off Cliff

Andrew — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:50:31 +0000

Apparently the role of a parachute test pilot in the 1930s was a lot more hardcore/crazy than it is today. It looks like cliff strikes and near certain death was part of the job description back then. “If it lets you down, it’ll be a great success. If not, you get a new parachute absolutely free!” That’s a good deal, right? There’s also some bonus footage of the “air taxi” invention, which didn’t really take off (no pun intended). Wouldn’t you rather skydive into the office instead of driving or taking the bus?

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The Petra 69 Project: Fast As F**K!

Andrew — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:36:25 +0000

I’m sure by now you’ve heard that Icarus Canopies‘ new high performance swooping canopy, the JPX Petra (aka “Playmate of The Year“), is here to stay. And you all remember Nick Batsch, the distance world record holder, swooping a moving truck. Well here’s a sneak preview of Nick’s early jumps on his JPX Petra 69; cranking out 810 degree turns on a 2.97 wingload! In Nick’s own words, “fast as fuck, far as fuck.”

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Slow Opening Snivel Lasts 60+ Seconds!

Andrew — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:14:33 +0000

This is intense! Check out one of the early “test” jumps for the new Icarus JFX canopy. It seems they slowed down the openings a bit too much at first, but they’ve got them worked out now. Even Luigi Cani – a parachute test pilot and stuntman – endorses the Icarus JFX canopy: “The JFX is the best overall canopy I have ever jumped. What I like best about the canopy is the way it opens – every time it’s on heading and soft – not too slow and not too sharp…” For more info about Icarus Canopies, visit http://www.nzaerosports.com

Do any of you jump an Icarus JFX canopy or have you ever had a snivel last more than a minute?! Let us know in the comments below.

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