BUNGEE JUMPING STUNT ENGINEERING
BCI is often called upon to participate in, plan, rig or engineer stunts for TV, professional sports teams, and other private sector entities wishing to add a spectacular element to their presentation or show.
BCI has worked with TV networks such as TBS, NBC, MTV and ESPN, on shows such as Road Rules, Real World, Fear Factor, Ripley’s: Believe It or Not, and Senseless Acts of Video, among others.
BCI has been involved in several world-record-setting stunts. Click on the links above to view some examples of stunts in which BCI either, engineered, participated, rigged or co-rigged.
World Record Longest Jump All Categories
The "Mile Long Bungee Jump" stunt was done for Ripley's: Believe It or Not. In this stunt, stuntman, Dave Barlia, jumped from a helicopter hovering at over 10,000 feet. The relaxed bungee cord measured approximately 1,800 feet, but hanging under its own weight from the bottom of the helicopter it stretched to approximately 4,200 feet before the jumper started to stretch the cord. The total distance dropped including freefall and stretch of the bungee was approximately 6,000 feet. This beats any record previously set by over 2,500 feet! This stunt took place over the Mohave Desert, California, in June, 2001
World Record Longest Jump from a Building
As part of a TV series, this event brought together several bungee pioneers whose task was to design and rig a bungee jump so that a novice could break the world record for a jump off a building. The old record of 591 ft. was crushed several times over the course of two days and the farthest and highest jump was recorded at just over 700 ft.! The jump took place in September 1999 at the world-famous Stratosphere in Las Vegas, USA.
World Record Longest Hot Air Balloon Jump
MTV's "Senseless Acts of Video" sponsored this jump in which the host of the show, Troy Hartman, who himself was a bungee novice, was to break the world record for jumping from a balloon. The balloon was taken to a height of 5200 ft before the jumper left and the lowest reading on the jumpers altimeter was just 1900 ft. The 3300 ft. distance destroyed the old record of 2000 ft. After the jump the jumper cutaway and skydived to safety. The cord for the jump was over 800 ft. long. The jump took place in December 2000 over the desert in Perris, California.
World Record Longest Land-Based Jump
On the world-famous bridge day in October of 1993, seven people placed themselves in a purpose-built cage and attached themselves to a 1200 pound bungee cord. In front of thousands of spectators, and with the purpose to promoting safety in bungee, they were launched from the New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia, USA -the world's longest single-span bridge. At the time, the jump set the record for the highest and longest land-based jump. It also set the record for the most people on the same bungee cord. To add to the uniqueness of the event, after the jumpers came to rest, one of the participants base-jumped from the cage while another did a bungee jump from the bottom of the cage within meters of the river below! While the individual records for longest jump from a bridge and most people on the same bungee cord have since been broken, none have matched the feat of doing it together. Today, this still remains one the most famous jumps in the annals of bungee jumping history.
NHL Ice Touch
The task was to dress as the mascot of the NHL's Ottawa Senators and during the team's inaugural opening ceremonies, jump from the ceiling of the stadium and touch the rock-hard ice below. With no room for error, the jump was pulled-off flawlessly several times over two days, including the live event. The event took place in October 1993 in Ottawa, Canada.
MTV Wire Walk
As part of a TV series for MTV, the task was to rig a jump for some inexperienced tightrope walkers. The stunt created many special challenges. The 'wirewalkers' purpose was to walk along a 16mm cable spanning two purpose-built towers, and make it across. Only 2 walkers out of 10 made it. The other eight participants took a substantial fall, but the fall was arrested meters before the ground with a bungee cord, deployed in a specially-built bungee deployment bag'. The event took place in August, 2000 in New Jersey, USA.
World Record Longest Bungee Cutaway
This rarely-attempted, yet famous stunt aired worldwide on Ripley's "Believe it or Not". The stunt involves bungee jumping down to exactly ground elevation. At ground zero the bungee system is released by the jumper, who stands and walks away as the cords shoot back towards the structure. Exact timing and precise equipment is essential to avoid certain disaster. The stunt, performed by Canadian, Ron Jones, took place in November 1999 in Myrtle Beach, USA.
MTV Helicopter Rope Ladder Stunt
As part of a TV series for MTV, the task was to rig a pair of rope ladders suspended from a helicopter flying over the desert in Morocco. The stunt involved contestants racing down the 200 ft rope ladders while the helicopter hovered over the sands of the Moroccan desert. Part of Road Rules Season 10, 2001.
MTV Human Chandelier Stunt
As part of a TV series for MTV, contestants were hung upside down in a Straightjacket at 150 feet in the air and needed to race the clock to remove the jacket in a time limit with failure resulting in a head first plummet on a bungee cord . Filmed in Tempe, Arizona, 2000.