Flying is not natural for humans. Our instincts are wrong, and our senses misinform us. This is well known among pilots, and why one has to fly regularly to keep the license, and why a large part of pilot training focuses on trusting the instruments rather than your body.
Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
31–40 of 275 posts
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#32I had a close call this summer whitewater rafting on the Upper Animas River in Colorado and it has caused me to re-think every serious risk I take and has changed me in a big way. I was participating in a multi-day trip run by one of the local guiding outfits through the Upper section of the river, a much more difficult and serious undertaking than the Lower Animas, which is frequently run by average day-tripping tou…
Nowhere near that close for me and a lot more soft, but still one of these “oh shit” moments was when I decided to go swimming when waves were bigger than usual due to a coming storm. It was all fun until I realized I wasn’t able to swim back to the shore to where I can stand. Every time I tried, a wave knocked me further into the ocean and my leftover stamina kept dropping. I was freaking out and had no idea how to get out of there.
Luckily the waves went smaller for some time and I was able to swim back to where I was able to feel the ground and pushed from there.
I knew that in the worst case the coastguard or other swimmers would have jumped in but still.
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#33> Wingsuit skydiving has virtually zero fatalities...
Virtually zero or really zero?
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#34I've seen this mentioned before, it seems to be the main point. > Most beginners who die appear to be making variations of the exact same error, according to Webb. “They jump off a cliff, get flying, and for some reason there's just this human reaction to try to hug the air like a big, gigantic beach ball,” he explains. “By hugging air you feel as if you're creating or catching more lift than you actually are. What e…
A lot of highly experienced jumpers are also dying, probably due to a mix of complacency, envelope-pushing and the inherent lack of margin for error in terrain flight. This point is made in the latter part of the article: > Figuring out why the best are dying confounds, saddens, and even irritates just about everyone I’ve spoken to in the wingsuit BASE world. “It’s really puzzling to me,” says Rich Webb. “I wish I kn…
When a person loses fear they take greater risks or feel invincible, neither a good when executing a maneuver that has a very small margin of error.
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#35> Wingsuit skydiving has virtually zero fatalities... Virtually zero or really zero?
Occasionally a single person will die in a year. As opposed to almost 20 fatalities in a much smaller population of wingsuit BASE jumpers every year.
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#36Probably because it's the most dangerous thing you can do short of actually attempting suicide
Bet its even closer than you think. Nobody I know who does BASE is still alive. Some quit, others died. Everyone just kind of expects to die doing it. Blue skies, black death.
Why is it not banned?
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its safer than regular base jumping provided you don't try to strafe tree and hilltops and cliffsides. These jumpers are trying to do ever riskier stunts all for the clicks.
I will call bullshit. There is no way it is safer to hug terrain than to jump at altitude from an airplane.
They said safer than BASE jumping, though they didn't capitalize it. BASE jumping is jumping off stuff, not out of stuff. It is an acronym. Building Antenna Span Earth, I think.
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#38Extreme sports like this just feel so dumb. Why are you risking your life for a momentary thrill? You'd get a better rush and be safer taking heroin.
It's a challenge mentally? Overcome fear see different places, have different experiences?
I've been skydiving and base jumping longer than I've not been and it's led me to some of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bet its even closer than you think. Nobody I know who does BASE is still alive. Some quit, others died. Everyone just kind of expects to die doing it. Blue skies, black death.
Why is it not banned?
It is in the land of the free. It's generally not banned in Europe, so most BASE jumpers who are active spend at least a few weeks a year there.
About 10 to 20 die world wide in about a population of 1000 or so active jumpers. It can be done relatively safely but the group isn't big enough to regulate effectively and most BASE jumpers are hostile to anyone mentioning the idea.
Re: Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
#40Flying is not natural for humans. Our instincts are wrong, and our senses misinform us. This is well known among pilots, and why one has to fly regularly to keep the license, and why a large part of pilot training focuses on trusting the instruments rather than your body.
Pilot training only focuses on instruments during IFR training. Private pilot and most VFR is done without emphasis on instruments. Aerobatics rely on senses and no instruments.
Source: Skydiver, BASE jumper, paraglider, aerobatic airplane pilot, private pilot land and sea.