Any skydivers?

Way back in the late 70's, when I was in the Navy, one of my friends got interested in skydiving. There was a Chief on board was really into it, and he gave my friend a few skydiving magazines to get him fired up. Well, Frank being Frank, he flips to the back and starts reading the obits. First one he saw read: Time in sport - 20+ years, Number of jumps - 200+, cause of death - impact. The next one read: Time in sport - 1/2 day, number of jumps - 1, cause of death - impact. I don't think Frank ever did go skydiving.
 
I've never done it, but have wanted too for quite a few years. My best friend and I were going to do it last year, when we both turned 50, but life got in the way.

The plan now is, to go next spring. Granted, there are risks, but with a lot of things, there are risks. I raced motorcycles ( moto-x ) when I was younger, and raced Winged Sprint Cars on dirt tracks, and road raced GT-1 Corvettes. Those can be dangerous, but I haul 12,000 gallons of gas for a living, and that isn't the safest thing to do, and could easily go terribly wrong at any time.

Anything that is extremely fun, and provides a good adrenaline rush, has some risks, but that is how we know we are alive, and actually living. If a person constantly thinks about the dangers, and possibilty of dying, they will never enjoy the things they want to explore.
YMMV of course...
 
I did several jumps years ago. It's quite fun and an excellent experience. I recommend it. But it is a bit expensive.
 
It's pretty safe it's regulated and licensed.
Bungee jumping isn't

There is a weight limit do your research.


There are 2 parachutes first one tied to the plane, the second with an altimeter safety trigger.
Static line jump they call that, you have maybe 5 seconds freefall.

The parachutes have steering and brakes, with one way radio contact, they tell you when to steer and brake
No need to get hung in a tree or break your ankle, you can land tiptoe perfect.

Pick a good place with a good record,not necessarily the closest, or the cheapest.
Take the training seriously and it will be OK, they drill the hell out of you.

They can't push you out of the plane, if you chicken out they will give you a couple chances but, no sweat they already have your money.
 
You can do "static line" where your chute is deployed by a line attached to the plane.

You can do "tandem" where you're strapped to an instructor for your first few jumps, the instructor deployed the chute, etc.

Or you can do "assisted freefall" where you jump a few times with two instructors who quite literally hold you hand for the first eight or ten seconds as you go through some simple exercises. Then, you deploy your own chute and land by yourself. This is twice as expensive as tandem because you are employing two instructors instead of one. And it's way more expensive than static line. But, I felt it was worth the cost.
 
A tandem jump is about two hundred bucks. Or you can take an all day class and have two people hold on to you until you deploy the chute for a little over 300. To get certified costs a lot. I've been talking about doing it for years. It's time just to go do it I think. YAAAAA!!! :)
 
I have yet to try skydiving but I was a Paratrooper in the U.S. Army... Loved it! Static line jumping is not the same as free fall skydiving but it was still a rush. We made a few jumps from 3000ft. compared to your normal jump from 800ft. At 3000ft you fall for up to 6 seconds. Great times surrounded by great people. Don't find yourself being 100yrs old laying on your deathbed reflecting back and saying, "Why didn't I try it?" Even a costly tandem jump or two will earn you the honor of saying that you jumped from a plane.:)
 
Been jumping for over 8 years now. I've got just over 4600 jumps and work full time as a tandem instructor in south FL. If you haven't tried it you should!! It is so much fun. :cheers:
 
I never did understand why anyone would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. :confused:


:D
 
UffDa said:
I never did understand why anyone would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. :confused:


:D
Click to expand...

You never know when a perfectly good plane, could spiral out of control, and do a nose dive towards earth. :D
 
As long as the wings are still attached, it's gonna glide better than I do. I'll ride that sucker in. I've recovered from spins before.
 
I did a tandem jump once, it was a blast, so much so I thought I was hooked, and would go again and again...but its not cheap, and lack of money beat out the thrill. I didn't really like the freefall, but when the shoot opened, that was cool, the view, the sounds...it was amazing, I was flying, not falling. The freefall, really just a lot of pressure on my chest and wind noise...
 
Did a tandem jump when I was younger, it was such a rush! I went with a group of friends and we got a discount (but if someone chickens out, you had to pay the full $200 each).

Also, if you've ever had the dream that you were falling and wake up right before you hit the ground, you'll never have that dream ever again after skydiving.:thumbup:
 
Bungee jumping is x5 more intense than a skydive,rebound is immense and if you fall backwards you have 1.5-2 secs of guessing when the rebound is or if there's going to be one,skydiving you get to see the ground for a while,all the skydivers i talked to did not like bungee jumping 1 bit.I find that weird,kind of like a rodeo clown being scared of a bar fight.I did both by the way,when I get some spare money I'll go to the highest one and attempt it,also hoping that one day i get enough experience with skydiving that i get a wing suit.
 
As a former skyGod and A&P mechanic, I will tell you there are NO perfectly good airplanes. They are good enough to get you where you are going in 99% of the cases. Some i would not send a tree frog up in.
As far as jumping out, it seems the only logical thing to do. I gave it up in 1972 at age 18 when I got married. Bad move, as it keeps you limber and keeps your brain at speed on those rare ocassions. Use to cost me $4 to go to 7500'AGL for a 30 second freefall. I packed student parachutes for cash so I could afford to keep jumping. Absolutely a total blast. You are really flying yourself around the sky. Give it a go. Kevin , C-8097: SCS-463
 
I would really like to try this, not so much for the thrill but for the sake of forcing myself to overcome a natural fear. Jeb Corliss put it best," ...I have the same fears as everyone else. If I didn't I wouldn't be human. I have just learned to overcome them...") I paraphrases, but thats the gist of it.
 
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