This weekend I had the opportunity to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft for the first time.  I'd been wanting to go for quite a while, but I didn't want to spend the $150-$200 unless I could go with some friends.  It's no fun spending that much money all by yourself.  Anyway, a bunch of my friends got together and we did tandem jumps (where you have an instructor strapped to your back).

At first, I didn't want to do the tandem because I wanted the full experience for the money.  But that's what everybody else was doing, so I went along.  I was hoping to be strapped to the really cute she-instructor, but that didn't work out.  I got some big german guy named Bram.  He was cool, though, and I didn't feel nearly as gay as I was afraid...  You don't mind having this guy strapped to your back because [b]he's the one with the parachute[/b].

The only scary part is when you get to the door and look out.  They dip the plane a little and you see that there isn't anything out there for about 14k feet.  But here's the good thing about the tandem:  just about the time you're thinking that maybe this isn't a good idea, the instructor jumps.  And seeing as how you're strapped in front of him, you go too!  

Your stomach gets rather irritated with you for a few seconds because it senses that something happened to the nice (relatively) solid deck of the airplaine.  The sense of falling goes away rather quickly, though, because you don't have any points of reference.  The ground is so far away that you can't tell it's moving toward you at 120 MPH (terminal velocity for a single prone jumper, or tandem prone jumpers with a small retarding parachute).  It's just [i]windy[/i].  After about a minute, the instructor pops the main parachute and you get a tug on your harness.  Then suddenly, it's not windy anymore.  You don't really notice the change in speed other than the jerk of the chute opening.  Fortunately, my harness was very tight around my legs.  A couple of my buddies weren't so lucky, and when the chute opened, the leg straps got pulled up a little too far, if you know what I mean. [:O]

The training was negligible; we didn't even talk about landing until we were in the air.  The student hangs a little lower than the instructor in the harness, so it's hard to land standing up.  You just stick out your feet and land on your butt.  You're moving very slow, so it's easy as long as you keep your jewels from smacking hard.  (Let your heels hit first!)

So overall, I'm glad I did the tandem; it really eliminates the stess of having to remember everything you have to do to get down to the ground alive.  You can just enjoy the ride.  Next time, though, I'm definitely going to jump on my own!  If you can find some buddies to go with, I highly recommend it!  

You know, you don't need a parachute to go skydiving...

You only need one if you want to go more than once!

I did the same thing this year. WOW!

Fizassist, at least you got instructions. The guy on my back really didn't tell me squat. I kept asking questions before we got on the plane, in the plane and on the way down. He wouldn't give me any information until the last second.

One thing that happened to me, I can't remember the first 2 seconds after being thrown from the plane. Yep, thrown. I remember standing at the door looking out and thinking "Wow! It sure is pretty. I wonder........(black out)........ OH my god!!! What the hell is going on! Where did this wind come from?? Shit! I'm falling. I can't breathe" Trying to catch the first breath was extremely difficult. I think it comes form sensory overload. From there I started screaming every swear word I could think of. Couldn't hear a word I said.

After those first 5 seconds, it was really, really fun. The guy strapped to my back put us in clockwise spin, then a counter clockwise spin. The whole time being video taped (well worth the extra money).

After a minute or so, the guy grabed my arm with the altimeter and noted that it was time to pull the cord. I pulled the cord and you are absolutely correct... Make sure the harnes is really tight or you will be singing saprano for awhile. Mine was tight, but it still wasn't a pleasant experience.

I got to control the chute for a bit. Just little easy turns left and right. I don't think the tandem guy liked that, because he grabbed the lines and again put us in a radical clockwise then counter clockwise spin. On the way down, he did play tourest guide. Pointing out things on the ground. Really surealistic.

As we got closer to the ground, did he finally give me basic instructions on landing. Pick up your feet and wait for his instruction to put them down. That was it. I followed the instructions perfectly. It was kinda funny when he said "Down", I firmly planted my feet and brought the both of us to a complete stop. I don't think he expected that because I ended up leaning forward and ended up picking him up off his feet! The guy was roughly twice my size.

Would I do it again?!?!? Hell YEA!! It was worth every penny.

I've recently thought about sky diving.  I think I will do it finally.

Keving67

Ive been wanting to give [url=www.skydivetexas.com]Skydive Texas[/url]a call, but I am to chicken to do it by myself.. The wife doesnt mind as long make sure all the insurance stuff is up to date...[:d]

Go for it!!!

Just don't get worried when filling out the forms for a tandem jump. Tandem jumps are still classified as "experimental" and the forms have alot of references to "death". It is actually a bit funny reading the forms.
[shock]

I forgot to mention that!  Yeah the form had about 20 pages, and you had to initial 4-5 paragraphs per page!  Needless to say, I didn't read anything after page 1....  It's just depressing (bla bla bla death bla bla dismemberment bla bla maiming bla bla serious risk bla bla).

I don't even know why they bother.  It should be fairly obvious...

Release of liability:

[b]Please read the following carefully![/b]

1a.  [size=5]If the 'chute doesn't open you are DEAD![/size=5]

1b.  I understand, Signed: _____________________

Ha!!!
Just what a wus like me needs to hear as I debate about if I will jump or not...[BD]

edited to add....
Torf ,, you arent helping there....[:d]

I'd give it a try, but it's tough trying to find someone willing to pack a cargo chute for me!

Ever done it nikked?

Flapflapflapflapflapflapflapflapflapflapflap!  OWWWWWW!

Tandem, IMHO, is the best way to "try" skydiving.  Not that much risk or training is involved and you can get up in the sky alot quicker.

AFF (acellerated freefall) is a good program, if you got the time and money AND you know that skydiving is what you want to do.

Static line is "ok" but let the dropzone people help you best decide what course you would like to persue.

I've been on dives with neeked peoplez.. let me just say that the temp at altitude is a bit colder than on the ground sometimes.. [:D]

I've jumped out of perfectly good...

Hot Air Ballons
Jets
Turbo Props
Helio's
single and multi engine types.

I've got several HOURS of freefall time [:)]

Never done any CRW  (canopy formation stuff)
done lots of RW (formation flying (falling)) biggest I can recall is a 30-something way.
I've also done plenty of video.
I was a SL jumpmaster for awhile too.

Check out the [url=http://www.uspa.org/]USPA- United States Parachute Assoc.[/url]

Blue Sky's!

I just started a life insurance policy and they had me sign a waiver saying that I didn't sky or SCUBA dive.

Of course it doesn't mean that I haven't jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and it doesn't mean I wouldn't do it again.

Y'know what would be really fun?  Go to a desert or something where no one lives, park an old car that you want to get rid of, bring a gun on the plane ([:O]), and jump out of the plane right over the car and shoot at it, and see how many times you can hit it!  Wouldn't that be cool!

As any skydiver, like myself will atest to, there is absolutely, unaquivically, no such thing as "a perfectly good airplane".  I have jumped for many years and I can't tell you how many times they were tinkering in the engine compartment on one thing or another just before take off.  Also I would have to say there are only three fun times for me in skydiving, the thrill of exiting the plane (thank god it made it high enough to jump out), pulling the hanky(I wonder if it will open right), and landing (damn, sure is windy down there).  the rest seems a little...mundane at times, probably why I don't jump that much anymore. A must do is the solo though, you want to feel like nothing else in the world matters jump out off a lousy plane and remember all the important stuff in the last 8 seconds!  Then do it with a rifle banging you in the head.  No don't do that it isn't near as fun as jumping with a bunch of beautiful women.  Which is why you skydive in the first place to impress the women right?

Kentlik
Go Ducks!  

When I was young and in the Army, my wife wanted us to learn to skydive.  I told her, rather authoritatively I might add, that "there's only two things that fall from the sky:  birdshit and fools."  

Now that I would like to learn, she no longer wants to skydive.  Not to mention her reminding me of my advice from many years ago!

I finally qualified solo a few years back, and would recommend it to anyone. The cost is kind of prohibitive, but it gets cheaper as you go along. Wish I could go more often, but most of my friends don't jump.

I still remember the first time I went. After watching the video and signing the release and going through some instructions, I learned that although you can pack the main, the reserve is always done by someone certified, for obvious reasons. When I asked what if the reserve doesn't open, the instructor looked at me and said, "No, you don't understand, the reserve ALWAYS OPEN."...lol

I've often thought about the exhilarating feeling that skydiving would cause me to have.
But it was always out weighed by the exhilarating feeling I would get by messing my pants in front of other people.

Ok, I am opening up myself for a massive photoshop session. But what the hell...


[img]http://members.cox.net/dirk.brewer/images/Photos/skydive/02a.jpg[/img]

i saw a video of that. a guys package was flapping maddly. damn tthat had to hurt

i also had one of a woman who did it.. lets say she had bowls instead of mounds.

To my understanding there is an airport nearby that you can static jump for $90. But how hard do you land with the chute open (that's the way I plan it anyway)? Im wondering because ive torn cartilage in my knee a couple of years ago.  

When we hit in the tandem, we barely had any downward speed.  It was an extremely gentle landing.  All of the people I saw coming down by themselves just stepped down and started walking on the ground.  No falling or rolling.

unless you really screw up* (ya gotta try hard) it sould be very gentle.


*I recall one landing of mine....
(mind you that modern sport parachutes are nothing like the round canopy you may have seen and/or experinced in the Military.. Rounds sorta bring you straight down while the squares (rectangles) got a lot more forward momentum)

I'm comin' in on a beauty of a landing.. saying to myself..

geting ready to land...
geting ready to land...

WHAM! impact with the ground.. I coulda swore I broke or tore something.. wth happened?
What happened to "flare" ?

my buddy came over to me and didn't ask how I was, he just wanted to know if he could have the rest of my jump tickets! (hows that for friends?) LOL [:)]

anyway, I was a bit shaken, but A-OK.  Jumped several more times that day.

Now that I think more about that, I just may have it on video...

I used to get paid to jump, and have something like 1000 jumps (I finally quit counting!) behind me.  I'd do it more if I hadn't wrecked my right knee and my low back - unrelated incidents.

Haven't done any formation flying, but I have done some aerial weapons practise and the like.  Try dropping grenades from a parachute - kinda humbling...  Shooting from a parachute is humbling the first few times as well.

Difference between sport skydiving and military - the civ packs have more "lift" to them, and you fall slower.  Even jumping GI bubbles without gear seemed a little harsh, compared to my old Vector.  I vastly prefer the "flying mattress."

Haven't done any tandem jumping, but I did do hot air balloons, airplanes, helicopters (parachutes/LALO and fast-roping,) and I've done some BASE jumping.  Like I said, I'd do it again if I hadn't wrecked my knee and my back.

Highest altitude exiting - 28,000 feet
Lowest altitude exiting - 600 feet.

FFZ

    okay I'm gonna go see about diong it. I'm going monday to see when the next class will be.

I belonged to the 82nd Sport Parachute Club while stationed at Ft. Bragg. Had an absolute blast! Have a lot more Lazer9 jumps than MC1-1B or T10 jumps. Wouldn't trade any of the jumps for anything.

Would like to start again if I could find a place in E. Tn.

Hali= just my $.02

I myself have made a few jumps and currently work on aircraft both rotory wing and fix wing, and just to let you know; there is know such thing as a perfectly good aircraft.

"if at first you don't succeed then skydiving is not for you"

My friend's wife sent me this image from before the jump:

[img]www.ar15.com/members/albums/fizassist%2Fjump%5Fshot%5Fsmall%2Ejpg[/img]

Left to Right:  my former Aikido instructor, my current Budo Taijutsu instructor, me.

Jump School - '72
USPA        - '78
USPA J/M    - '81
Army S/L J/M- '83
German HALO - '81
Army HALO   - '81
Army HALO JM- '88

US Master Wings, HALO JM Master Wings, German Master Wings...USPA D-8567......best feeling you can get with your clothes on!!!

I did a tandem jump at Skydive Chicago a few years ago. It sure was an exciting experience to find myself voluntarily jump out of a perfectly good airplane at 13,500 ft. I was surprised at how there is no sensation of falling when you are that high above ground. You don't really feel the ground coming up. It's just feels..well.. really windy.[@:D]
I pulled the ripcord at 5,000 and with my intructors directions, I made our parachute go through a couple of twists and turns and I made a nice  landing that what so soft that I could of done barefoot and it wouldn't of even hurt.[:)]
I haven't tried it again only for two reasons, the main reason is that my ears don't equalize pressure that well and I actually had some pain and discomfort when I jumped at that height. I actually had to quit scuba-diving for the same reason due to the water pressure. Tne other reason is that I didn't feel like spending $160 for each jump.

[b]ArmaLiter[/b]

wow, that's an "oldie"  [:)]

my D license # is D-152xx.

I had to dig out my logbook, but I found a few interesting things to add...

I've got sign off's in my log book by D-1 (and A-1), Lew Sanborn !

I've also jumped [u]with[/u] (not for) the Golden Knights.. that was some fun [:)]

I was on the first pass out of the 727 @ Quincy in '92 ..[:D] can  you say "205 kts"?

and there is something so cool about hanging on the outside of an airplane in a multi-plane formation and pulling off a huge rw formation...

ya just gotta be there!  

or to borrow a 'harley' saying..

It's a skydiving thing, you wouldn't understand!  [:)]