Hello All!

[Bethany94 0]

I am brand new to this sport and board. So far I have done 2 tandem jumps. The 1st one I was not altitude aware and did not pull and the 2nd we did some spins in free fall (on purpose...LOL), I watched the altitude & pulled the cord. I liked the 2nd one MUCH better!
I want to go solo but I don't feel like I am quite ready yet so I am going to get a few more tandems under my belt.
I am afraid of the door. Isn't that silly? I love everything else though but I think my favorite parts are free fall and the sound of the parachute opening.
None of my friends are really into this and, in fact, one of my best friends is SO afraid of heights he FREAKS every I go and makes me call him as soon as my feet are on the ground.
So, what I am looking for here are other people that understand why I love it and maybe make some new friends along the way.
Have a great day & jump safe!
beth

[joebud321 0]

hahah...when i did level 1 aff my heart almost stoped when they opend the door!!! all that cold air and noise!!!....i wanted to curl up and be somewhere else!....i love exits now though ,,a chance to be creative and watch ur friends disapear!.....im sure it will come!! just gota give it a chance!

blue skys beth

[skymama 35]

Welcome to the forums!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Bethany94 0]

thanks....I feel like I am wussing out making the nice tandem guy do all the work every time.
I feel like I have to do it to prove to myself I can.
I don't understand why the door scares me so much. I am fine IN the plane and I am fine OUT of the plane but that little 6 inch area in between scares me. The last time I went we went out by falling straight into the air and I liked that exit better than going out backwards. When I went out backwards I felt like I was going to run into the plane. I don't know why.
My tandem guy is really great and nice and patient with the 5 million questions I fire at him as soon as we are under the canopy. He probably enjoys free fall because I can't talk to him then!
I am just going to stick with tandem until the end of this season and worry about getting my license next summer.
I am getting addicted though. I was just outside at lunch looking up at the sky thinking: The sun is shining, no clouds, no wind. Perfect day to jump!
Thanks for the welcome.
later..
beth

[Iceburner 0]

i used to be nervous when the door opened as well during my student training. My instructor noticed my hesitation, and when we were on the ground asked me what the worst that could happen up there when the door opened.....of course it's falling out, but you are jumping anyways. I dont know what kind of plane you jump from, but it helped me to right after the door opened stick my head out and feel the breeze....now i love when the door opens, i get the rush of "it's about to happen again" type feeling. I can't believe how much i love this sport.

[sharimcm 0]

Quote

I am afraid of the door. Isn't that silly?

My skydiving partner was afraid of the door all through his AF/coaching. I remember one afternoon as he was doing a coaching jump, the instructor and him were outside the door. As the instructor was nodding yes, Mike (my bud) kept nodding no. Finally the instructor just took his hand off the bar and pulled Mike from the plane... After 65 jumps, he still has issues with that door...

Welcome to the forums.

"I had a dude tip his black cowboy hat to me after I provided him with a condom outside my hotel room at 3-something in the morning." -myself

[immanence 0]

Quote

I am afraid of the door. Isn't that silly?

Welcome to this beautiful sport, Beth!

You're not alone in this fear, and no, it's not silly. Your confession got me thinking and I posted on it in the General Skydiving Discussions forum. Perhaps some of the responses, if some come, will help you too. The more jumps you do, the more confidence you will gain. The more you hang out around the DZ, the more knowledge you will pick up, so the more assured you will feel. Slowly you will grow to love the door. Through it, because of it, we experience one of the greatest joys open to us: flight.

Take heart. You'll be fine.
Blue skies,
ian

"where danger is appears also that which saves ..." Friedrich Holderlin, 'Patmos'

[swedishcelt 0]

Bethany,

Welcome to another Bethany!!

[Bethany94 0]

Thanks for your support & welcome!
Actually I think I am doing a little better. Well, I really don't KNOW as I am on the ground but a friend of mine is doing AFF right now and I watched his first 4 videos and I think my desire to be OUTSIDE the plane should cancel out my fear of the door. Maybe. I will wait and see on the 30th.
I really think some of my issues are coming directly from a really good friend of mine. He does not want me to do this but is aware he really has no say. He freaks out and gets so nervous I think it's rubbing off on me! I know he loves me but I am not going to stop being who I am for anyone, especially of there is no nookie involved...lol
I really like being in the air. I love free fall and the sound of the parachute opening. I can't wait to go again! I am addicted. I think about it all the time. I was driving somewhere last night, going about 85 on a back road and rolled the windows down and it sounded a little like free fall with the wind whipping in. I know I got the biggest smile on my face!
Beth
(glad to see there is another Bethany here. I don't run into too many people with the same name!)