1 time jumper in need of advice

[DynamoGuy 0]

Hi everyone, my name is Frank and I did my first tandem jump last week. I am not an adrenaline junkie and I am usually conservative on what I do in my free time, but after doing that tandem jump I am at a crossroads of my life. Skydiving was the most exhilarating, free, amazing experience I have ever had in my life. I can't stop thinking about it, I can't focus on work, I can't focus at home. I had no idea that there was a skydiving community that did this as a hobby. I have a few questions, and honest answers would be appreciated.

1) Does a class A license allow you to jump from any DZ in the world?
2) If someone does everything "right", checks their gear, packs right, stays within their skill level, and watches to avoid collisions, how "safe" is skydiving?
*note* I understand that doing everything right can still kill you in this sport and that this is just minimizing risks.....

I know yall are probably sick of reading/answering stuff like this, but I am seriously thinking about going to AFF and getting an A license, and I want to be able to live a long, happy, skydiving life. Is that possible or is an accident waiting around every corner? Sorry for the negative post, all gloom and doom.

[mrbiceps 0]

A skydiving license is worldwide and u can jump anywhere. Death statistics are around 1 in every 100000 jumps end in a fatality. Injuries are obviously alot higher. You can play it safe and drastically lessen your chances though by doing a few things like.
Dont be a hero and start flying a small canopy before u are ready. Be very careful when learning high performance landings and swooping, Open high, Dont jump in marginal weather conditions, Dont jump when u are not 100% (ie get plenty of sleep and no hangover), Be very aware under canopy and assume that everyone else are idiots who are trying to kill you, Dont rush that pack to make the next load, etc etc. good luck and welcome to the best sport in the world.

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

1 - Yes and no. USPA licences are recognized to a great extent all over, but an A is a beginner license. Some places will limit what you can do, what gear you can jump, who you can jump with, ect under an A.
Some places (even in the US) require a higher license to jump there. Hawaii is the one that comes to mind. They have some dangerous winds, and are right on the ocean so there are more risks. And a higher license is required at some of the DZs there (I'm not sure, I haven't personally been, this is just what I have read).
Other places, even here in the US, will require a higher license to do certain things. Summerfest at Skydive Chicago is currently running, and they are requiring a B or better to jump out of the helicopter or balloon.
The best thing is to figure out where you want to jump and to find out before you go. And advance your license when you can. I now wish I had gotten my B. I hadn't needed it to jump at home.

2 - To a large extent it is as safe as you make it. I know people that have been jumping for 15 or 20 years with no incidents at all. I know low timers that are basically a crater in search of coordinates.
Shit can and will happen. Unfortunately you can be doing everything right and still get taken out. But if you read through the incidents, a lot of them were preventable, and some of them were predicted.
Most of it is attitude. I am well aware of my mortality and choose to minimize the risks. Others seem to be convinced of their immortality and ridicule those who suggest their choices are not wise. I am willing to sit down today in order to be able to jump tomorrow. Others will jump in appalling conditions and wonder why the old-timers are sitting on lawn chairs with cameras.

One thing to remember is that there is risk in everything. Riding in a car, going into a tall building, walking down the street. The difference is that we are used to those risks, and they have faded into the background. Again, I choose what risks I take, and understand that there are no guarantees.
I have friends who are amused that I skydive, yet am uncomfortable walking my dog down a sidewalk that is directly alongside (no guardrail, no grass strip, no nothing) a very busy highway. I feel safer going out of a plane with a jump partner that I know than walking with my back to a bunch of idiots talking on their phone, texting, putting on makeup and/or eating while driving a 3000# missle at 50+ mph. Not too long ago I saw a simple front tire blowout turn into a very near head-on accident, and a 90-degree wall hit at about 35mph. The driver must not have been holding the wheel and when the tire blew, the car swerved hard left. It missed an oncoming car by about a car length and smashed almost full speed into the opposite wall.

You have to decide if the risk is worth the reward. I agree with your assessment of the experience and will continue as long as I can. I have told my family that the risk is worth it to me, and they understand and respect my choice.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[DynamoGuy 0]

Wow, thank you both for your perspectives. This is all so new to me. I run, cycle (which can be very scary, I guess), hike. Stuff like that was adventurous to me. I was never the guy who searched out danger to get an adrenaline rush. I was actually scared of roller coasters before last week! (haha, seriously). Now, even going 30-40 mph on my bike doesn't bother me and I see videos of people jumping and floating on their chutes and all I can think of is, "I want to be there...". If there are any newbies, would you mind sharing what your thoughts were at this time in your jumping career? I know I can't be the only person thinking this stuff, right?!

[Hvance 0]

I've been asking the same questions recently. Few nuggets of wisdom I've heard:

-You can tell who the experienced jumpers are easily on a windy day. They're the ones sitting on lawn chairs watching the newer jumpers get experience.

-They are old jumpers and there are bold jumpers. But there are no old, bold jumpers.

-Blind risk is not the same as informed choice.

-Better on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground.

The gist that I gleaned is that by being careful, you can reduce the risk of injury. As another poster put very well, we can't eliminate the risk in anything. No one would deny that skydiving is inherently a dangerous sport. But I think it is fair to say that a safety-conscious skydiver has a good chance of avoiding major injury or death.

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Saw after I posted that you also asked for new jumpers' perspectives. Here's mine. At first I was not that worried. I had a healthy fear when standing at the door, but I was feeling okay overall.

Now, ten or so jumps later, I'm not more afraid per se, but I do have more respect for the risks. The reason is that I have asked for advice, reviewed previous incidents, read about safety, etc, and I understand more than I did before that the human element is critical. The advantage of this is that I am more careful and even more willing to take advice.

Overall, I think it's a great sport (and obviously extremely fun), as long as you acknowledge the inherent risks and actively work to minimize them.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[DynamoGuy 0]

Quote

I've been asking the same questions recently. Few nuggets of wisdom I've heard:

-You can tell who the experienced jumpers are easily on a windy day. They're the ones sitting on lawn chairs watching the newer jumpers get experience.

-They are old jumpers and there are bold jumpers. But there are no old, bold jumpers.

-Blind risk is not the same as informed choice.

-Better on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground.

The gist that I gleaned is that by being careful, you can reduce the risk of injury.....

Thank you Hvance for replying to my post. This is very reassuring for me. I will call the DZ that I did my tandem with and talk to one of the instructors there. The skies are calling and I gotta answer...

[popsjumper 2]

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...At first I was not that worried. I had a healthy fear when standing at the door, but I was feeling okay overall.

Now, ten or so jumps later, I'm not more afraid per se, but I do have more respect for the risks. The reason is that I have asked for advice, reviewed previous incidents, read about safety, etc, and I understand more than I did before that the human element is critical. The advantage of this is that I am more careful and even more willing to take advice.]

Overall, I think it's a great sport (and obviously extremely fun), as long as you acknowledge the inherent risks and actively work to minimize them.

Hunter, good stuff, big guy. I want to hold you up as an excellent example of what a SKYDIVER really is. Never, ever lose that attitude.

Too many jumpers out there and not enough SKYDIVERS.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Bramble 0]

Hey, I'm also a student pretty early in my training. I had a similar experience- a fantastic first tandem that left me wondering about the people who do this for fun, all the time. Maybe half of the skydivers I've talked to say that they are adrenaline junkies- the other half tend to be like you and I, willing to do something risky, but wanting to do anything we can to eliminate unnecessary risk. I've learned a lot about myself by going through this training (I'm static line, not AFF) and the skydiving community, at least at my DZ and here at DZ.com, is fantastic. Good luck to you!

[Hvance 0]

Thanks Andy.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

[DynamoGuy 0]

Quote

Hey, I'm also a student pretty early in my training. I had a similar experience- a fantastic first tandem that left me wondering about the people who do this for fun, all the time. Maybe half of the skydivers I've talked to say that they are adrenaline junkies- the other half tend to be like you and I, willing to do something risky, but wanting to do anything we can to eliminate unnecessary risk. I've learned a lot about myself by going through this training (I'm static line, not AFF) and the skydiving community, at least at my DZ and here at DZ.com, is fantastic. Good luck to you!

Yeah, the more I am researching the more excited I get. The general consensus is that you can dramatically minimize risks by being smart, listening to instructors and people with more experience, and not trying to push the envelope too far too fast. Thank you everyone for your input. Now I gotta find ways to save money so I can start AFF/jump again.