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shortyj

What drew you to the sport?

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GooniesKid

***Lets hear your stories.



Not gonna lie,,i do it for the ladies

You're in the wrong sport if for that reason. :P The ratio is like 10 men to every woman.
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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BillyVance

******Lets hear your stories.



Not gonna lie,,i do it for the ladies

You're in the wrong sport if for that reason. :P The ratio is like 10 men to every woman.

It's really about 17:3.
But I got into it for the same reason: the groupies.B|
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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Was going to get married - the whole white wedding schemer - she called it off 6 weeks before :(

Couldn't stand the thought of not doing something on what was to have been our wedding day

So did AFF and instead of walking down the isle - I started in a sport that keep life in perspective :)

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In Feb 2002, the wife and I were on holiday in Cape Town, South Africa. I saw either a billboard/advertisement and said to her “I've always wanted to try that; let’s go skydive”; so promptly called and booked. Our jump was from a C206; so just us, tandem masters and a video guy each. Great views with Table Mountain and Robben Island in the background. On my video, the TM asks me after landing “what did you think; is it something you’d like to take up?” I replied yes and made a trip back to South Africa in September of 2002 and completed my AFF and first two consols for only £440 equivalent (the South African Rand had taken a hit that year and everything was unbelievably cheap).

After doing my AFF in 4 days in South Africa, it then took me 3 months to finish my consols back in England, but remember landing in a cold/wet/muddy field in mid-December happy knowing that I had just qualified for my A License and was now a skydiver.
"Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

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I grew up as an army brat. As a teen living in Fayetteville, NC, Fort Bragg was an open base, and I'd go on jump days and watch paratroopers jump. My dad was a jumpmaster for the 519th, and I remember being in awe of the C-130's coming in low and slow and blanketing the sky with parachutes. All things aviation gets my blood pumping.B|

What you say is reflective of your knowledge...HOW ya say it is reflective of your experience. Airtwardo

Someone's going to be spanked! Hopefully, it will be me. Skymama

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To jump out of a plane.. period everything else was a bonus. Met some really good good people... and a few dick heads but that's the same every where.

First jumps in 1981 in a club environment (read not for profit) took a long time to be accepted in that format but once you were in .. you were really in.

Again jumped again in 2008 in the era of commercial skydiving. Different experience..(Yes safer and better equipment and training) I thought the CI and staff cared about me and welcomed me with open arms but in reality it was only to get my money. (largest DZ in Victoria) as I did a lot of tandems. They dropped me like a ton of bricks cause I asked about skyhooks. Got told by email I was banned from AFF... not even the courtesy of face to face or a phone call.. very disappointing. !! (AFTER 19 TANDEMS)

My faith was returned when I went to Australian skydive and found CI Ralph.. a kind and generous man who really cared.

My story the way I saw it, others will disagree (squeak)
I tend to be a bit different. enjoyed my time in the sport or is it an industry these days ??

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I was about ot hit 30 and was feeling pretty depressed with life in general. I hadn't had the adventures i had planned when I was younger and found myself sitting behind a desk staring at a computer for work all day every day.

So decided I really wanted to try base jumping and so starting doing some research and found that it's recommended to have a minimum of 200 skydives before getting into base. So i signed up for an AFF course in Spain for my 30th to get me started.

Now 38 and in a couple of months will make my 1st base jump.

I've made so many good friends through the sport and it really has changed my life for the better.

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TL;DR
That feeling of nervous excitement in my stomach from the thought of jumping out of an airplane. Had it before I signed up, still do.

...and to make a long story long.
I grew up next to a small airfield, seeing gliders and small propeller planes in the sky every summer. It was mesmerizing. Skip forward 20 years, I finally have the job and the time to get a glider license. I liked it and flew for a couple of years, but towards the end of the third summer I was having to realize that I was flying less and less and wasn't really able to keep current.

Among the pilots there was always talk of the crazies that would leave the perfectly good airplane. I figured, crazy yes, but it does seem kinda exiting too doesn’t it? So, as sort of compensation for having to give up the pilot’s license I decided I'd sign up for an AFF program; do the course, make the jumps and that would be that. Finished. I’d have another license to tick off the bucket list, no need to make any more jumps. Riiight…

I sent an email to the closest DZ, but it was August and the last course turned out to be full. I told myself ok and started getting over the sour feeling of giving up the glider license. Four months later, I'm on a tram on my way home from having a few to many beers with friends and I see I have an email from the girl that handled the reservations for the FJC's at the DZ, saying that, if I was still interested, reservations for next year's courses were open. Enter that lovely feeling in my stomach. There was like a hook that caught my spine and it’s still there. I didn’t want to do it, I had to! I was able to hold of making my reservation... until the morning after. Spent all the money I’d saved up for an expensive full format DSLR in one blink. I remember posting on facebook that "my girlfriend will probably kill me for this, but I'm going skydiving come spring". She nearly did.

Three years later I'm a jumpmaster, doing post-AFF jumps with students. I'll probably hold FJC's myself next year and who knows what’s after that.

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Broke my racing motorcycle and couldn't get parts for it. Saw an ad skydive $19. After I made the first jump I asked what they did to the equipment between jumps. when they said pack it and throw it in the car. I sold the motorcycle.
Paul Thompson who managed Para Gear for many years saw the Ripcord show as a kid.
I believe the best I've ever heard is a woman that bought a gift certificate at a rummage sale for $2. The person had bid on it on public TV's fund raiser, but was too scared to try it. As far as I know she is still jumping 40 years later.
U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

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shortyj

***Little plastic army man with a parachute, 5 years old.

those are fun and if i found one i would so play with it:D

You know, you can play with the full-size real ones, too.:|
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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Well way back in November of 71, Northwest Orient was kind enough to give me 20,000 unmarked Andrew Jacksons.

They initially gave me a couple old T-10 World War 2 parachutes to make my first jump. But instead got them to provide a nearly new para commander.

Made it out of the 727 over Washington state and never looked back.Should have taken a first jump course first but it was fun none the less.

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Phil1111

Well way back in November of 71, Northwest Orient was kind enough to give me 20,000 unmarked Andrew Jacksons.

They initially gave me a couple old T-10 World War 2 parachutes to make my first jump. But instead got them to provide a nearly new para commander.

Made it out of the 727 over Washington state and never looked back.Should have taken a first jump course first but it was fun none the less.



Damn - It's like you read my Diary!

You Too?:o
I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

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Always wanted to fly but getting my pilot's license is way too expensive so I figured why not jump out of 'em if I can't fly 'em?

That, and running into burning buildings doesn't scare my mom any more. Gotta keep her on her toes! :)

If you can't convince them, keep them confused.

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