Back from first Tandem. Now what?

[mdsfx 0]

Hi everyone. I'm a newcomer. I had my first tandem jump last Friday at Skydive Midwest in Wisconsin and I really enjoyed it. What an amazing experience. Unfortunately, this was an occasion where I promised my wife I would only do it once for the experience and never look back. Well, I keep looking back.

Nothing was as humbling or exhilarating as what I experienced that day, but convincing my wife that it's an acceptable hobby to pursue for a family man (I have a 2yo girl) seems impossible. Have any of you been in the same situation?

Since even before the jump I was looking into AFF courses, and am now more interested than ever. My wife on the other hand, thinks it's nothing more than a deathwish. How do you guys balance family and skydiving? And how do you convince people that you're not insane?

In case anyone is interested, here's my run-of-the-mill tandem skydive video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfLUbGkzIJQ

[liftedtitan 0]

well if your wife really cared about your happiness, and this makes you happy then she wont stop you. Just explain to her and show her the statistics about how safe skydiving really is. Most people think were a bunch of crazy idiots, but they dont really understand mathmatically it really is safer than most sports.

sit her down, tell her how happy it makes you, and promise her it will only be one day a week (tell yourself its just one day a week for now) then ease her into to two days etc.

Moriuntur omnes, sed non omnes vixerunt.

[mdsfx 0]

I would be a little nervous going right to an AFF class. This DZ offers a Tandem Progression which they call a "AFF - Tandem hybrid program." Is this recommended at all? Seems like it might be a nice intermediate step.

[doughboyshred 0]

There are many worse things you could do for your daughter than live your life to the fullest.

I also think you have to be wired a little different to fully enjoy jumping out of an airplane. I don't know if convincing anyone that doesn't get it that you're not slightly insane is even possible.

Good luck getting back in the sky.

[Inspired 0]

My daughter and I made our first two tandem jumps together. She went on to make a third. I went on to get licensed. She desperately wants to get licensed too, but she decided to wait till her two young daughters (ages 4 and 6) are grown. She took a sober look at the risks involved in skydiving and decided that it would be selfish to risk their lives along with her own. Thats right... THEIR LIVES!

When making your decisions, be sure to consider how your children's lives will be affected by any injury you might suffer (likely) or even the possibility of death (unlikely).

You came to a skydiving website looking for approval, and I'm sure you'll find plenty here, at least from the young ones who have yet to begin a family of their own. There are even plenty here who have families of their own but have still decided that the risks are acceptable. Just be honest with yourself. There is a REAL risk of serious injury or death in this sport. Are you ok with the affect that it would have on your young daughter? Or would you rather wait a few years longer till her life won't be turned upside down if the unthinkable happens? You're young. You have plenty of time. All I'm saying is to make sure to keep your priorities straight, and be honest with yourself about the risks.

Good luck with your decision.

[absane 0]

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how do you convince people that you're not insane?

I just tell them that if I were insane, I'd be dead by now. But, I'm a normal guy. If you met me today and skydiving never came up, you wouldn't know I was a skydiver.

Though, when people question my safety, I make it a point to explain what kind of training I went through, the kinds of instructors I had, and various other things (like jumping with 2 parachutes). Sometimes, I'll explain my emergency procedures. I've even went so far as explaining the odds when someone asks "what if both parachutes fail?" Well, there is about a 1/1000 chance of the main failing and about 1/2000 chance of the reserve failing. That's a 1 in 2 million chance both will fail on a single jump. That means there is a 99.5% chance that I can make 10,000 skydives without both failing. Going that far has usually been enough for loved ones to relax a bit.

Of course, well before 10,000 jumps you could end up dead... either by doing something stupid or someone else doing something stupid. However, this risk is presented to us every single day when we drive our cars.

With skydiving, you are staring death in the face every time you jump and the potential for death is very real. I can see it... 14,000 feet below me. But, the way I look at it is this: I'm more afraid of not living my life than I am of death.

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In case anyone is interested, here's my run-of-the-mill tandem skydive video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfLUbGkzIJQ

That's awesome... I liked that video. I enjoyed the music for the freefall, too.

Don't forget to pull!

[Earlybirdmel 0]

I agree with you as far as being more afraid of not living than of death, its just how my kids would deal with anything going wrong, that is still keeping me thinking. My youngest is 9 now and so not a baby, but I would hate her to be without a mother at least until she was 16. I lost my Dad at 16 and that was bad enough to deal with. Saying that, on the other hand, if i wait until then i will be 47! and cant help but think that being nearer 50 than 40 isn't the most ideal age to take up an extreme sport like this. For me personally I think my next step is to sit down with her and see what her thoughts are (although writing that, i am thinking "what a stupid question!")
Can i ask where did you get the stats from? 1/1000 chance of the main failing dosn't sound right to me. Cutaways and malfunctions seem to be something that pretty much every skydiver on here has delt with at some point. I know we have a reserve etc.. but its the thought of how "aware" and "capable" I would be in reacting to a canopy spinning out of control etc... Maybe i have just watched too many youtube videos!

[Southern_Man 0]

Why did you tell your wife that if you were already looking into AFF courses before your tandem? I don't want to be a dick but I think your wife would have plenty of reason to be pissed off.

Anyway, balancing family and skydiving is a choice. People manage to do it all sorts of different ways but at least be honest with yourself and your wife about the risks and benefits involved.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[mdsfx 0]

I appreciate all of the honest responses. It's a pretty tough call for me. It's hard to imagine NOT skydiving at all, but maybe I could strike a balance and do it on a very occasional basis. Of course the potential affect on my family is my biggest concern. My daughter means the world to me and I would hate to make her life any harder than it has to be.

It's a tough one.

[absane 0]

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Can i ask where did you get the stats from? 1/1000 chance of the main failing dosn't sound right to me. Cutaways and malfunctions seem to be something that pretty much every skydiver on here has delt with at some point. I know we have a reserve etc.. but its the thought of how "aware" and "capable" I would be in reacting to a canopy spinning out of control etc... Maybe i have just watched too many youtube videos!

Well, it's just an estimate I've seen. If you go to a boogie, you are very likely to see a few cutaways. But, this has to do with having a large sample size (# of jumps) than cutaways being very likely for a single individual.

On one of my AFF jumps I was under my canopy when I watched a guy cut away. It seems that most people tend to have their first around 600-700 jumps. Two of my friends just had a cutaway, actually. One at about 480 jumps... the other at 600 or so. However, both of them let a packer do the job for them. I let a new packer do mine and my 'chute opened with line twists followed by a fast spiral. Fortunately, I was able to fix it and not cutaway. If you learn to pack for yourself, your odds will improve that you don't have to cut away because some packers don't jump at all... hence, they can be sloppy,

But, if we assume the 1/1000 chance of a cutaway... that means that if you have made 700 jumps, there is a 50/50 chance that at least one jump involved a cutaway (basic probability math... I'm a math nerd). And, that looks about right. At 1,000 jumps, about 64% chance you had at least one cutaway.

Some people have a cutaway on AFF 1 while some don't have their first cutaway until jump 5,000.

Don't forget to pull!