OT: Skydiving

[smalltowngrll]

Anyone here ever been skydiving? Tandem, solo?

Talk to me about the experience. Looks like I just might be doing this sometime VERY soon! I'm totally excited about this experience...just want to know how others felt their first time. ;D

[JDB7821]

It sounds pretty fun, but I don't know if I'd ever be able to go through with it.

[Florida_Bronco]

I don't know that I'd ever throw myself out of a perfectly good airplane, but good luck if you decide to go.

[watermock]

It's pretty safe honestly, but since I fell, I'm terrified of heights. I start shaking on a roof yet alone 12,000 feet.

I could do it I guess. I've never had a phobia before. It's the shaking that makes it dangerous, not the roof.

You will be fine in a tandem jump. It's not like the news is announcing a skydiving death every week. Man up and jump. My brother has, solo.

I used to be fearless on heights. A man needs to know his limitations I guess. If your shaking, you can't get up there. Sorry to pussy out, the fall just scared me. Beezer doesn't have any fear so I have handed the house jumping over to him.

[cutthemdown]

no but I have bungee jumped.

[Slade]

I went tandem last year. Here is a blog I wrote about the experience:

So, maybe I really am having a quarter-life crisis as all of my friends have been telling me (Really I think everyone is just jealous of all the fun I have been having)...Lately I have been doing stuff I would have never imagine just 6 months ago. This is the latest, and I want to share my experience.

Jumping out of a plane has never seemed too appealing to me. Actually I get a little scared from routine turbulance! Yet, somehow I let my girlfriend convince me into going skydiving today (March 25th.) Here is the story:

The prepartion was pretty boring. We went over all the basic crap: how to pull the rip cord, when to pull the rip cord, what our body postion should be like in the air, what the proper technique was for throwing up mid-flight (honestly...not like we will actually have to use that though!), etc. Then we waited...and waited...and waited. I think it was for about 2 hours, but I am not positive. Aubry and I were all geared up in our jumpsuits and leather helmets and we just fell asleep waiting for our turn to up out of a plane!

Finally our turn! They piled 4 (Aubry, myself, and 2 instructors who would be strapped to our asses) of us into this tiny '56 cesna single engine prop plane...I felt like I was in a sardine can. Really I am not closturphobic, but damn! I was stuck in this death cannister for 25 minutes...I lost feeling in my both of my hands, not to mention by bad knee hurt so bad, I would have rather died! The only thing that made the accent half way bearable was Aubry mouthing sweet things to me! Now that I think about it, it was really hard even turning my head a few inches to see what she was saying...so I think she was saying nice things.

Finally it was time for the big jump! She went first, and actually I was glad! My body hurt so bad from being cramped up that I was about to shove her ass out the door if she didn't jump! Now it was my turn. The jump was from 11,000 feet.

The feeling was nothing like I expected! I thought that the sensation would be similar to a rollercoaster. In reality, only the first quarter second was like that, as you are falling away from the plane...and then it was amazingly peaceful! I don't recall seeing or noticing anything really, I just loved the feeling of the wind blowing my cheeks wide open (I couldn't close my mouth if I wanted to, I wish I had a picture of it.) I don't think I screamed.

Deploying the parachute was a bit of a buzzkill...it was quite possibly the worst wedgy in the history of wedgies! You pull the rip cord and about 2 seconds later the parachute catches the wind and then your harness goes so far up your crack you wonder how long it will take to have it surgically removed!

After about 3 minutes of parachuting back to Earth, I finally touched dirt! I went to give Aubry a huge hug and a kiss (we're alive)...one problem. Apparently she had to employ that silly throw-up technique, so no kisses for her! I know she will kill me for even mentioning this, but I guess she threw up 4 times in the air. She didn't get any on herself though, so that is a plus I guess!

Anyways, I am still not sure if I am haivng this so called quarter-life crisis, but if I am...I am loving every minute of it! And if any of you are interested in skydiving, take the advice from NIKE and JUST DO IT!

[orangefan]

I have perhaps one of the funniest sky diving stories of all time. Let me start by just saying this is not the place to look for a bargain. For my 21 st birthday a couple of buddies and I decided to go skydiving. At that time two places advertised every week in the RMN, one was in Loveland at the airport, the other about an hour east of Denver near Strasburg. The price difference was minimal,maybe $20.00. We deided to save the money and headed east one Saturday morning. Upon our arrival we found an old Cessna, and a dirt airstrip.Shortly after, several others arrived. We looked things over and thought about leaving,but only a pussy would do that, or so goes the mentality of a 21 year old. a bit later the pilot arrived,closely followed by our instructor. The instructor was in a body cast from just below the waist up to his neck. he had a t shirt on over the cast with the words"boogie till you bounce,or break both legs" followed by the date almost 1 year previous.We laughed nervously and in talking to instructor found out he had collapsed his chute and fell a little over 100ft just about a year ago. We joked,trhought about leaving, and decided only a pussy would back out.More people arrived,most whom jumped here as part of a club.We met a guy who had made 98 jumps prior to that day,and was going to make two more that day so he could qualify as a jump master.(the person who determines wind speed and direction and puts you out at the correct place to hit the drop zone).We paid our money, and began our training, while watching a few members from the club getting ready for the first jump of the day.Our instruction was almost all verbal, as we watched a chute being packed, told how to land,what to watch for etc.This verbal trainning continued for the better part of two hours, before we began practice landings,where we jumped off a cut off telephone pole, and learned how to roll.Again we laughed more nervously than before,and decided only a pussy would back out now.After lunch we prepared for our jump.We had our friend,the newly qualified "jumpmaster" with us.More laughs, more denial of our fear.The Cessna took 15 minutes to reach altitude, and unlike the movies you not jump out the door. On the passenger side of the plane there was no door,one by one you sit with your back to what would be the dashboard so to speak. when approaching the drop zone the jumpmaster gives you a signal to get ready. Getting ready means to stick your left leg out of the plane to a small wooden step above the wheel, and reaching out with your left hand to grab the wing strut.(the angled brace from the planes fuselage to the wing0Once you have ahold of the strut you turn your body so that your right foot joins your left on the step,and reach out with your right hand to grab the strut.You then have to just let go with your feet, letting your body and legs hang behind you as you hold the strut with both hands.From here is a quick three count.....and then you just let go while throwing your arms back and arching your back to get in the position for your chute to open.My heart was pounding!But once on the strut there is no return.As I fell back from the plane the and awaited my chutes opening,(which seemed like an eternity)I couldnt help but laugh.My chute opened and I looked up over my shoulder to the left, and then right just as I was taught and fear took over as my chute lines were tangled. I was terrified. i had been told that if this happened I needed to cross my legs at the ankles,cut away my main and deploy the backup chute.Heart pounding I was ready to do just this when i began unwinding like a yo-yo at the bottom of it's string.After several quick revolutions I rechecked my lines and figured out all was well. The descent was amazing and almost sureal, until i realized I was not going to land near the drop zone. I tried to steer the chute as taught, but these were old round Army T10 chutes( you probably played with one in gym class)and not very manuverable. Their design was to get troop to the ground quickly, before they were shot.Needless to say, we missed the drop zone by a little more than a mile. I landed in a freshly plowed cornfield, and had my left knee fold backwards rather than forwards. I had had two previous knee surgeries on that knee, but this was it for the ACL.Of the three of us,myself and Crazy George both had knee surgeries the following week. To top it off, when i went to visit my orthopedic doctor, he asked what had happened, as he had done the first two surgeries. i told him I fell, then mentioned it was from about 3500 feet. He laughed, and told me "you went out east of town, didn't you" I told him yes, and he told me had done three surgeries in the last year on my instructor, and was the one who had put him in the cast.I would skydive again, but i will never again look for a bargain when considering such a thing!

[watermock]

I'll buy a cheap plane, or a cheap car, or even a free kitten. Throw my ass out of a plane with a guy is a body cast I'm out of there.

[MechanicalBull]

Two of my friends have done it. One did it with an instructor on his back and the other did it in the Airforce. They both said it was great. One of them is trying to get people including myself to go this summer. It's one of those things I'd love to do but I will not do.

[Merlin]

I have done it, but a couple of decades ago, when you still had to drop and roll (not like the wimpy shoots they have today :) ) It was incredible, just "floating" in the air "quietly" and just looking at everything around you. The only thing more tranquil was being at the top of a mountain peak. However, the sport was too expensive so I discontinued it. Old school req'd one to take courses for a couple of weeks to learn to roll and how to handle emergencies, I'm not sure how that works now.

It should be great fun, especially if you can go by yourself.

[Jana®]

Anyone here ever been skydiving? Tandem, solo?

Talk to me about the experience. Looks like I just might be doing this sometime VERY soon! I'm totally excited about this experience...just want to know how others felt their first time. ;D

I just have to say one thing. Oh, HELL no! I'm a chicken. But one of my sisters is an adventure junkie.. and does it all. Not me.. no way. But I hope you have fun.. I've heard it is a huge rush!

[Sassy]

Never been personally...my sister and my brother-in-law did parasail when were were in the Islands...they said it was awesome! My Aunt and her son went skydiving when she turned 50. She loved it!

[Swedish Extrovert]

I have perhaps one of the funniest sky diving stories of all time. Let me start by just saying this is not the place to look for a bargain. For my 21 st birthday a couple of buddies and I decided to go skydiving. At that time two places advertised every week in the RMN, one was in Loveland at the airport, the other about an hour east of Denver near Strasburg. The price difference was minimal,maybe $20.00. We deided to save the money and headed east one Saturday morning. Upon our arrival we found an old Cessna, and a dirt airstrip.Shortly after, several others arrived. We looked things over and thought about leaving,but only a p***Y would do that, or so goes the mentality of a 21 year old. a bit later the pilot arrived,closely followed by our instructor. The instructor was in a body cast from just below the waist up to his neck. he had a t shirt on over the cast with the words"boogie till you bounce,or break both legs" followed by the date almost 1 year previous.We laughed nervously and in talking to instructor found out he had collapsed his chute and fell a little over 100ft just about a year ago. We joked,trhought about leaving, and decided only a p***Y would back out.More people arrived,most whom jumped here as part of a club.We met a guy who had made 98 jumps prior to that day,and was going to make two more that day so he could qualify as a jump master.(the person who determines wind speed and direction and puts you out at the correct place to hit the drop zone).We paid our money, and began our training, while watching a few members from the club getting ready for the first jump of the day.Our instruction was almost all verbal, as we watched a chute being packed, told how to land,what to watch for etc.This verbal trainning continued for the better part of two hours, before we began practice landings,where we jumped off a cut off telephone pole, and learned how to roll.Again we laughed more nervously than before,and decided only a p***Y would back out now.After lunch we prepared for our jump.We had our friend,the newly qualified "jumpmaster" with us.More laughs, more denial of our fear.The Cessna took 15 minutes to reach altitude, and unlike the movies you not jump out the door. On the passenger side of the plane there was no door,one by one you sit with your back to what would be the dashboard so to speak. when approaching the drop zone the jumpmaster gives you a signal to get ready. Getting ready means to stick your left leg out of the plane to a small wooden step above the wheel, and reaching out with your left hand to grab the wing strut.(the angled brace from the planes fuselage to the wing0Once you have ahold of the strut you turn your body so that your right foot joins your left on the step,and reach out with your right hand to grab the strut.You then have to just let go with your feet, letting your body and legs hang behind you as you hold the strut with both hands.From here is a quick three count.....and then you just let go while throwing your arms back and arching your back to get in the position for your chute to open.My heart was pounding!But once on the strut there is no return.As I fell back from the plane the and awaited my chutes opening,(which seemed like an eternity)I couldnt help but laugh.My chute opened and I looked up over my shoulder to the left, and then right just as I was taught and fear took over as my chute lines were tangled. I was terrified. i had been told that if this happened I needed to cross my legs at the ankles,cut away my main and deploy the backup chute.Heart pounding I was ready to do just this when i began unwinding like a yo-yo at the bottom of it's string.After several quick revolutions I rechecked my lines and figured out all was well. The descent was amazing and almost sureal, until i realized I was not going to land near the drop zone. I tried to steer the chute as taught, but these were old round Army T10 chutes( you probably played with one in gym class)and not very manuverable. Their design was to get troop to the ground quickly, before they were shot.Needless to say, we missed the drop zone by a little more than a mile. I landed in a freshly plowed cornfield, and had my left knee fold backwards rather than forwards. I had had two previous knee surgeries on that knee, but this was it for the ACL.Of the three of us,myself and Crazy George both had knee surgeries the following week. To top it off, when i went to visit my orthopedic doctor, he asked what had happened, as he had done the first two surgeries. i told him I fell, then mentioned it was from about 3500 feet. He laughed, and told me "you went out east of town, didn't you" I told him yes, and he told me had done three surgeries in the last year on my instructor, and was the one who had put him in the cast.I would skydive again, but i will never again look for a bargain when considering such a thing!

Good times...


There is a skydiving training thing here in Florida which is pretty cool. Just a tall windy tube you climb up and get in.

I'd be down for skydiving when I move back to Colorado.

[Hogan11]

I'm Man enough to admit my fears without worry to others opinions....and when it comes to heights, I'm a fearless coward. Skydiving would be, for me, totally out of the question......hell, I hate even climbing up on a ladder.

[Sassy]

I like the doors of my airplane to remain closed until landing. ;D

[BleedingOrange]

I went a couple of years ago tandem. It was a great experience. You want to make sure you get a reputable company. The guy I did the tandem with was a jump instructor at the Air Force academy with over 8,000 jumps and everything went smooth.

[BleedingOrange]

I paid to have the jump taped and pictures taken so I could show my kids. I would recommend doing the same if you only plan on a once in a lifetime jump.

[Spider]

I don't know that I'd ever throw myself out of a perfectly good airplane, but good luck if you decide to go.

;D you and me both .......... if there isnt a problem , I am not leaving

[watermock]

http://www.studentradioen.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/Homemade%20Hillbilly%20Jam%20still%205.jpg

"Gas her up...nothing but Deisel? It's a go"


"We got search and rescue allready in the water..."

[smalltowngrll]

Haha, ahh, thanks for the stories guys!

And, for those of you that would never jump out of a perfectly good plane, I can respect that!

Kind of funny how this all came up. But, lets just say I got called out on something I said...so, now I must follow through. No big deal as this is something I've always said I'd love to do. I'll be going tandem.

I've been told that it's nothing like a roller coaster and that was my biggest question about it.

[watermock]

Remember when Homer crawled thru the toilet to rescue Marge from Moe on their way to Aruba then tried to bail out and decompresses the cabin?

[BMF Bronco]

Haha, ahh, thanks for the stories guys!

And, for those of you that would never jump out of a perfectly good plane, I can respect that!

Kind of funny how this all came up. But, lets just say I got called out on something I said...so, now I must follow through. No big deal as this is something I've always said I'd love to do. I'll be going tandem.

I've been told that it's nothing like a roller coaster and that was my biggest question about it.

You're totally going to love it being the outdoors/adrenaline junkie you are. I told you about the time I went, It was friggin awesome!!!

[smalltowngrll]

You're totally going to love it being the outdoors/adrenaline junkie you are. I told you about the time I went, It was friggin awesome!!!

I'm sure I will...and if I don't, well then I'll just blame you all here for telling me that I would! 8')

I figure if I can hang from a rope and repel down the side of a mountain, it's only natural I'd love this too. Bungee jumping, though, is something I'll pass on.

I'll give a full report on my jump afterwards.

[Dukes]

Good luck kicking me out of a perfectly good airplane. Even with a parachute.

[C130Herkload]

In my job Ive dropped jumpers MANY a time (think thousands...) Ive seen them go from the static lines at the Airborne school and freefall both HALO (high altitude low opening) and HAHO (high altitude High opening) specail operators. I sit right at the end of the ramp with them at about 12,000 ft or more and communicate with the DZ and pilots for a good drop. Its an awesome experience to see em go, but the best part is knowing I dont have to do it. Been trained to, but its gotta be a REAL bad day to get me to jump out.
Have fun....Remember when the ground gets big, your too late.
Deceleration trauma sucks.

[watermock]

Deceleration Trauma...Military word for SPLAT.

[REB]

I'm with Hogan. No thanx. I have nightmares like that :)

[orinjkrush]

i got a couple hundred jumps. been jumpin over 20 years. most fun you can have with your clothes on.

[Traveler]

i got a couple hundred jumps. been jumpin over 20 years. most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Congrats! I've got over 160 jumps under my belt. All while in the Army. Both static line and HALO (mainly the former). And like most things, once you do them over and over, it's loses it's appeal. Only with parachuting, you better keep focused on the task at hand or they could be pouring you out of your boots!:~ohyah!:

[c_lazy_r]

Hilarious! Deceleration Trauma...Military word for SPLAT.

[orinjkrush]

Congrats! I've got over 160 jumps under my belt. All while in the Army. Both static line and HALO (mainly the former). And like most things, once you do them over and over, it's loses it's appeal. Only with parachuting, you better keep focused on the task at hand or they could be pouring you out of your boots!:~ohyah!:

:notworthy HALO and HAHO rock. would love to do that jump from 120K hot air balloon. nothin like comin in from geostationary orbit.

splat. right. its just the last half inch of cumulo-granite that gets ya.

and there is NO perfectly good airplane, people. they don't exist.

And finally, eating a sizzling steak, drinking a fine merlot, tasting a deep dark chocolate, and making love to a beautiful woman AFTERWARDS.....is indeed perfect heaven (Mooselimb or not). :strong:

[crowebomber]

I went last year - tandem - in Canon City. Great experience and very reputable (Rocky Mountain Skydivers).

If they have the option of getting the video, pay the extra to get it. There were five of us who jumped and we paid for one video for our buddy (the jump was part of his bachelor party weekend). The guys were really cool and filmed a lot of the rest of us in the plane and on the ground. They jumped with the one guy but he went last so they got us all leaving the plane. They edited it together really quick with music and the works. We all made copies.

[Mtbrncofn]

I like the doors of my airplane to remain closed until landing. ;D

Yep, I'm with Sassy. It makes my stomach roll just to think about it. Good luck though, STG!

[BMF Bronco]

Yep, I'm with Sassy. It makes my stomach roll just to think about it. Good luck though, STG!

You're telling me you live up 'dere in da nort' and haven't been to the skydiving place outside of K-spell?! For shame!!

[ol number 7]

I paid to have the jump taped and pictures taken so I could show my kids. I would recommend doing the same if you only plan on a once in a lifetime jump.

Been a dozen times. Got my free fall certificate and everything. My buddies stopped and I went a few times by myself. It's a rush that's for sure. Our instructor looked like Jennifer Lopez. Incredible body. We kept going back just to hang with her.

[BleedingOrange]

If my instructor would have looked like J-lo, I would have skipped the pictures/video and paid for another jump. :)

[Mtbrncofn]

You're telling me you live up 'dere in da nort' and haven't been to the skydiving place outside of K-spell?! For shame!!

You must be talking about Lost Prairie. Nope, haven't been there. Seriously, I think people that do this are insane! :)