Carl Boenish, one of the worldīs first and most renowned
freefall-cinematographers was also the founder of the BASE-movement, a group of
experienced skydivers seeking the thrill to leap from fixed objects with their
parachutes. BASE is the acronym for B = Buildings, A = Antennas, S = Spans and E
= Earth (meaning earth formations like cliffs, canyons or mountains). The name
was inaugurated January 1981 by Phil Smith, Phil Mayfield and Carl & Jean
Boenish, the first jumpers having made leaps in all 4 categories. Carl Boenish
was killed on a BASE-jump in Norway on the 7th of July, 1984. Carlīs
spirit still lives with his unforgettable films and the mottos of his life:
| * | Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to see them come true. |
| * | I do not choose to be a common man. |
| * | Only those who dare can share! |
Contents:
1. Very low experiments: This test footage explores early
research using hang-gliding parachutes as one-chute main parachutes for
BASE-jumping into water. Free falls are made into water from 68ft using
miniature hand-held parachutes.
2. Ultralight aircraft jumps: This film-clip
shows some low-level parachute jumps from an ultralight aircraft near Lake
Elsinore, California.
3. Astrodome jumps: Phil Smith and Andy Smith, "The
flying Smitties" static line from the roof of the Houston Astrodome (192 ft) to
deliver the major league season-opening baseball.
4. New River Gorge Bridge:
Bridge day is celebrated by BASE-jumpers for a crowd of 20.000 spectators.
5. Tethered Balloon Drops: Free falls are made into water from a balloon tethered
at 400 ft.
6. Rocket belt: Kenny Gibson makes some practice flights in the
park using a hydrogen peroxide rocket belt.
7. Burro Creek Bridge: Several
jumps, both static line and free fall, are made from a 370-ft bridge over land
using square parachutes.
8. Colorful, breathtaking building jumps from
skyscrapers downtown L.A. (Crocker Center) and Houston (Commerce
Tower).
9.10.11.... The first jumps made from El Capitan (Yosemite / CA),
Half Dome (Yosemite / CA) and the Green River Cliffs (neer Moab /
UT).
| Duration: | 55 minutes |
| Note: | You may find additional BASE-scenes in the videos AIRDONE ONE
(Stock-No. 01-003-1) and OVER THE EDGE (Stock-No. 01-010-1) |
| Rated: | Rough-cut shorts on BASE-jumping; no narration. |
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