Stunt Junkies: Reverse Bungee BASE Jump: Jimmy Pouchert
TMBA is the New York animation studio that created the "physics behind the stunts" animations for Discovery Channels "Stunt Junkies" TV show. In this episode bungee jumper Jimmy Pouchert performs a 1000 ft reverse bungee jump into a BASE jump at the highest suspension bridge in the United States.
To do this he catapaults himself 400 feet into the air with a bungee cord. At the apex of his flight, releases the bungee cord, and while free falling, pulls his parachute cord and glides safely to the the bottom of the Royal Gorge in Canon City, Colorado.
The team that Jimmy had put together to do this reverse-bungee BASE jump was remarkable. They had definitely done their homework, and from preparation to testing to execution of the stunt, they were flawless. This was a very dangerous stunt with no room for error, and every day on set was a day that somebody could get seriously hurt or killed.
On the day of the stunt the weather was not looking very good. As the rain started to fall Jimmy made the call to go for it. He got set and before we knew it, he was being shot straight up into the sky.
He cut away from the bungee, got his position, made a cool "wooosh," and deployed his chute. Perfect opening and excellent landing! The stunt was truly exciting and one for the books.
BASE Jumping
BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E jumping, is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects, as with paragliding. "B.A.S.E." is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antennae, spans (bridge), and earth (cliff).
BASE jumps are generally made from much lower altitudes than skydives, and a BASE jump takes place close to the object serving as the jump platform.
On low BASE jumps, parachute deployment takes place during this early phase of flight, so if a poor "launch" leads into a tumble, the jumper may not be able to correct this before the opening. If the parachute is deployed while the jumper is tumbling, there is a high risk of entanglement or malfunction. The jumper may also not be facing the right direction. Such an off-heading opening is not as problematic in skydiving, but an off-heading opening that results in object strike has caused many serious injuries and deaths in BASE jumping. (wiki/BASE_jumping)
