duster731
young gun
I'm gonna go Skydiving on my birthday next month just wondering if anyone else done it..
How was the fall and is it worth it....
Thanks much
How was the fall and is it worth it....
Thanks much
skydiving
- Thread starter duster731
- Start date
-
Dart_Doctor
Asa style
ummm not me im not flying havr fun tho
mullinax95
Well-Known Member
Ive got a friend who has done it numerous times. He said the scariest part of the whole thing is right before you jump out of the plane. He said for some reason when his feet was on something solid and looking out the jump door he got a bit scared. After he jumped out he said he lost that fear immediately and it was smooth sailing after that. He went on to explain that it feels like your floating rather than falling. His first jumps was without telling his wife. lol
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
Looks fun. You would have to beat the hell out of me and throw me the hell out of the plane.
Dartthunder340
Well-Known Member
I agree with Mullinax. Letting go of the support on the wing for me was a little tough but I was past the point no return. I was looking at my jump instructor for the go and he smiled at me and yelled 'Let go of my plane!' Incredible experience. You will have a great time. Good luck!
Drache
1971 Dodge Dart Swinger
My father started jumping back when they were still using round military chutes. I started awhile back and we used to teach classes. I grew out of it but my father never did and still jumps to this day.
I would tear the seats out to keep from being pushed out of a perfectly good airplane.
Mrmopartech
Well-Known Member
At the good jump sites,you have to do the coarse before they will allow you to jump,you just don,t show up and jump.You have to be fit,and have some common sense and understand the pro,s and con,s of jumping.mrmopartech
OneOfMany
Well-Known Member
From what I've heard, you dont even need a parachute to skydive..
Unless you want to do it twice lol..
Always wanted to do it once.. its on my bucket list.
Grant
Unless you want to do it twice lol..
Always wanted to do it once.. its on my bucket list.
Grant
inkjunkie
Well-Known Member
On the bucket list?? Want to do it once?? Need a chute to do it second time?? So do you plan on using a chute?? Just kind of wondering
:happy7::happy7:
MoparDaddy
Damn Right I Carry!
AND HE SURVIVED?!! :toothy7:
One of my best friends did it. He said the feeling is undescribable and totally worth it.
goldfish65
Well-Known Member
This pretty much sums up the experience.
Mankind at last has the ability to fly among the birds, it is an awesome opportunity to do what was only dreamed of!
I became addicted in the early '80's when it was cheap. Nowadays I hear your first jumps are usually done attached to an instructor, or you can pay more to do it by yourself. Do the latter! So much better to be the one in control.
The training they give you is thorough. Don't worry about the landing part, it is not 'like jumping off a 2 story building' as people say, it's more like the parachute sets you down.
The safety standards are very high. If the weather is the least bit iffy, you will have to come back another day.
If I had the disposable income, I would be doing it every weekend.
Drache
1971 Dodge Dart Swinger
Here in Canada and how we taught our courses:
First Jump course is $175, you sit through a multiple hour course and then do your first jump by yourself. You'll either be on a static line (a line attached to the plane that pulls your chute) or the instructor will be the one to "technically" pull your chute as you drop from the plane.
A tandem (where you are hooked to someone) is $175 as well. This is nothing more than a carnival ride. I got one for my 16th birthday.
You must be under 300lbs (otherwise the chute rides in faster and can hurt you when opening) and you must be 18. There are a few younger that start at 16 but they need to prove they are mature and have both parents consent.
If you find you like to keep skydiving then things can become pricey. A decent chute will run you about $3000 easily and most are more than than. Used ones are cheaper and better to start with. Start with a larger cell canopy. The more cells the slower the canopy. 7 cell is one of the fastest and is a ***** to land.
Now you'll start with a jump instructor pulling your chute for you the first half a dozen times or really whenever he decides you have your arch perfect. Then you will move on to "hop and pops". You'll jump from the plan and immediately pull your own chute. You do this say a dozen or so times or until the instructor thinks you're ready to move on. Then comes PFF's. Progressive Free Fall. This is where Skydiving becomes fun. You'll jump out of the plane and have an instructor on each side of you that will hold onto you to keep you steady so you can learn the dynamics of freefall and how to control your turning and freefall speed. Once again this will be done so many times until you graduate.
Each jump ride can cost you anywhere from $50-$75 per airplane ride. Generally cost is based upon height and number of jumpers in the aircraft. Chute rentals are on top of that if you don't have your own.
Once you have some jumps under your belt then you can start applying for your different grade of licensing. Some of these are physical tests where you have to jump out of the aircraft and do so many backflips or turns or whatever in a set period of time. Get a high enough license and you can start teaching your own classes. My dad is currently making $500-700 per class when teaching.
Skydiving is very safe. Each rig has two chutes, a main and a reserve. Many people think Skydiving is dangerous and thus cant do it. Yes it is dangerous, I wont lie that if you freeze you'll die. But per capita, fewer people die skydiving than driving.
Your normal freefall will hit speeds of about 120 mph. Go into a verticle head down dive (we call it tracking) and you can hit speeds of 160-180 mph.
Now when you pull your chute in a normal freefall position, you will go from 120 mph to about 30-40 mph within a matter of a couple seconds. When you do first jumps you never reach terminal velocity. The average skydiver pulls their chute anywhere from 3000-5000 feet above the Earth. Most skydivers prefer the freefall and see the chute ride as somewhat boring so the lower you pull the shorter the chute ride and faster you can get onto a next load and freefall again. Some skydivers will wait until 2000 feet and some will even wait to 1000 feet. Under 2000 feet you'll most likely be asked to leave your average drop zone. If you pull your chute at 2000 feet and it fails, you'll have 2-3 seconds MAX before you hit the ground. Your reserve chute opens in half the time your main does but that doesn't leave very much time.
The average chute on an average day with no wind will have a forward speed of about 25 mph. Going with the wind speeds your chute up and going into the wind slows you down. You will most always land into the wind unless you are a hot dog or a retard.
The chute has two handles called toggles. You pull down on a toggle to steer the chute that way. When landing you pull on both toggles to slow you down. Hold the toggles down long enough and the chute collapses.
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
First Jump course is $175, you sit through a multiple hour course and then do your first jump by yourself. You'll either be on a static line (a line attached to the plane that pulls your chute) or the instructor will be the one to "technically" pull your chute as you drop from the plane.
A tandem (where you are hooked to someone) is $175 as well. This is nothing more than a carnival ride. I got one for my 16th birthday.
You must be under 300lbs (otherwise the chute rides in faster and can hurt you when opening) and you must be 18. There are a few younger that start at 16 but they need to prove they are mature and have both parents consent.
If you find you like to keep skydiving then things can become pricey. A decent chute will run you about $3000 easily and most are more than than. Used ones are cheaper and better to start with. Start with a larger cell canopy. The more cells the slower the canopy. 7 cell is one of the fastest and is a ***** to land.
Now you'll start with a jump instructor pulling your chute for you the first half a dozen times or really whenever he decides you have your arch perfect. Then you will move on to "hop and pops". You'll jump from the plan and immediately pull your own chute. You do this say a dozen or so times or until the instructor thinks you're ready to move on. Then comes PFF's. Progressive Free Fall. This is where Skydiving becomes fun. You'll jump out of the plane and have an instructor on each side of you that will hold onto you to keep you steady so you can learn the dynamics of freefall and how to control your turning and freefall speed. Once again this will be done so many times until you graduate.
Each jump ride can cost you anywhere from $50-$75 per airplane ride. Generally cost is based upon height and number of jumpers in the aircraft. Chute rentals are on top of that if you don't have your own.
Once you have some jumps under your belt then you can start applying for your different grade of licensing. Some of these are physical tests where you have to jump out of the aircraft and do so many backflips or turns or whatever in a set period of time. Get a high enough license and you can start teaching your own classes. My dad is currently making $500-700 per class when teaching.
Skydiving is very safe. Each rig has two chutes, a main and a reserve. Many people think Skydiving is dangerous and thus cant do it. Yes it is dangerous, I wont lie that if you freeze you'll die. But per capita, fewer people die skydiving than driving.
Your normal freefall will hit speeds of about 120 mph. Go into a verticle head down dive (we call it tracking) and you can hit speeds of 160-180 mph.
Now when you pull your chute in a normal freefall position, you will go from 120 mph to about 30-40 mph within a matter of a couple seconds. When you do first jumps you never reach terminal velocity. The average skydiver pulls their chute anywhere from 3000-5000 feet above the Earth. Most skydivers prefer the freefall and see the chute ride as somewhat boring so the lower you pull the shorter the chute ride and faster you can get onto a next load and freefall again. Some skydivers will wait until 2000 feet and some will even wait to 1000 feet. Under 2000 feet you'll most likely be asked to leave your average drop zone. If you pull your chute at 2000 feet and it fails, you'll have 2-3 seconds MAX before you hit the ground. Your reserve chute opens in half the time your main does but that doesn't leave very much time.
The average chute on an average day with no wind will have a forward speed of about 25 mph. Going with the wind speeds your chute up and going into the wind slows you down. You will most always land into the wind unless you are a hot dog or a retard.
The chute has two handles called toggles. You pull down on a toggle to steer the chute that way. When landing you pull on both toggles to slow you down. Hold the toggles down long enough and the chute collapses.
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
OneOfMany
Well-Known Member
LOL.. I guess it will depend on whether there are things left to do on my bucket list, and whether I am capable of doing anymore of them.
Grant
Drache
1971 Dodge Dart Swinger
I was about 100 yards off from a woman who froze and hit the ground after jumping from 12000 feet. This was at a dropzone called Skadam Flast in Kamloops, BC.
She hit the ground so hard I felt it in my feet. When we got up there she didn't look human, every bone in her body was broken, yet she was still alive and conscious. She died on route to the hospital.
Skydivers joke about "bouncing" all the time, we do it to keep the fear of it happening out of our minds. But it's a terrible sight for people to see.
Before i joined the Air Force, back in 1973, i took up the sport for a short while at a jump center in Orange, MA.
Have 11 jumps.
Then i left for the Air Force and didn't persue it anymore after that.
But that was when i was young, invincible, defyant. lol
It was fun at the time. :thumbrig:
Have 11 jumps.
Then i left for the Air Force and didn't persue it anymore after that.
But that was when i was young, invincible, defyant. lol
It was fun at the time. :thumbrig:
goldfish65
Well-Known Member
Man, that's horrific. However it's very uncommon for someone to 'freeze' while skydiving.
Criscobath
Well-Known Member
I've done it. Went through a day long instruction class. I was so tired by the end of the class that I wasn't at my best for the jump. They really want to insure your form when you're free falling and that means lots of practice in a prone position.
The flight up is all butterflies. More than likely if you're planning on a free fall (not attached to an instructor) you'll jump w/ two coaches that will make sure you're in the correct position during the free fall. They'll tell you to pull your cord and then they'll drop away.
It's a pretty amazing experience. The buffeting of the wind is pretty intense. The whole thing is over before you know it. One of the funnest parts is steering your chute and doing turns. Have fun and be safe.
Oh, one more thing. See if you can hold onto the pull cord after the chute is released. Most first time jumpers, myself included, drop the cord after pulling the chute.
The flight up is all butterflies. More than likely if you're planning on a free fall (not attached to an instructor) you'll jump w/ two coaches that will make sure you're in the correct position during the free fall. They'll tell you to pull your cord and then they'll drop away.
It's a pretty amazing experience. The buffeting of the wind is pretty intense. The whole thing is over before you know it. One of the funnest parts is steering your chute and doing turns. Have fun and be safe.
Oh, one more thing. See if you can hold onto the pull cord after the chute is released. Most first time jumpers, myself included, drop the cord after pulling the chute.
Drache
1971 Dodge Dart Swinger
duster731
young gun
Wow so much experience here.... Awesome I cant wait so far I have two other friends jumping with me and we are doing the tandem jumping its 189$ now
OneOfMany
Well-Known Member
I guess this is why they recommend a "tandem jump" when starting out then? That must have been terrible to witness..
grant
Drache
1971 Dodge Dart Swinger
Very terrible. What's worse is she was an avid skydiver and had over 400 jumps in her log book.
I made my first just in 1968 have to say at that point in my life it was a good as sex loved it right from the first jump but like other when i got out on the wheel and was holding on to the wing support i looked down and asked myself what the F*^*^ are you doing out here lol just then my jump master side GO well my feet wanted to but my hands kept saying NO well with a little help from the pilot (he took his foot off the brake) away i went the best day of my life made a lot of jumps thru the years but i put it aside and now i am working on making a jump or 2 on my 66th birthday you only go around once enjoy every day of it
mullinax95
Well-Known Member
That's funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
His work buddy both decided they was going learn how to skydive without telling their wives because one or both would not have it. When they needed to be in class or jumping they would tell their wives after they got off there regular job "Scott and I are going to grab a few cold ones before we get home." And vice versa with the other guy. So they both had alibis. Now later in the following weeks after the jumps they all out went out to eat together. That's when they sprung it on both wives at the same time!!! With pictures!! I would have liked to seen their faces.
-
