Ragnarok 0 #1 August 20, 2005 Ok, I have 4 jumps into what will hopefully be a long skydiving experience. I passed each AFF so far. When would it be acceptable to refer to myself as a 'skydiver'? I see that I will still be a noob for a while, but being a noob is not the bad thing in skydiving like it is in so many other things. Every other hobbie I have taken up, from long distance rifle to riding motorcycles, noob has had a negative stigma. In skydiving it is ok to be 'the new guy', people take the time to treat me like 'one of the crew' and are patient answering all my questions. That, IMO is the best part - and I get to jump with these great people! I was just wondering at what point do you stop being a Whuffo (used affectionately) and become a Skydiver? (please forgive me, I struggled with my wording and mean no offence to anyone)_________________________________________ Twin Otter N203-Echo,29 July 2006 Cessna P206 N2537X, 19 April 2008 Blue Skies Forever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorangemd 0 #2 August 20, 2005 There are no legal requirements. Most people are introduced as a "new skydiver" after completing AFF. Call yourself what you wish (I won't tell). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtval 0 #3 August 20, 2005 well you usually get "SKYDIVER" status about ten jumps after you stop asking LOL J/K nah, well IMO if you jumped out of a plane. you did a skydive. but if you are going through the course and getting certified you are a skydiver.My photos My Videos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shark 0 #4 August 20, 2005 Doing a tandem or two does not make you a skydiver. You made a skydive. Doing the tandem progession will eventually make you into a skydiver. Completing AFF level 1 with the intention of getting your license makes you a skydiver. Many people consider themselves skydivers without ever having landed their own parachute, ie. did a few tandems over the years. As a skydiver you will know when someone is trying to blow shit up your ass, and they will never make it to the DZ. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dvdcoon 0 #5 August 20, 2005 I have thought about this many times since I started jumping. I have 19 jumps now, but I won't consider myself a "skydiver" until I get my A license. I think at that point I will have felt that I have earned the title and it will be more gratifying too. Plus the jumps will be cheaper...more jumps, more friends, more freedom, more fun. IMO Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Elisha 1 #6 August 20, 2005 QuoteI have 19 jumps now, but I won't consider myself a "skydiver" until I get my A license. Probably the best response. The DZO where I went through AFF would say (once I finished AFF), that I'm still not a skydiver - I just know how to save my life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites MB38 0 #7 August 20, 2005 I know that I'm going to be a "skydiver" very soon, but right now I'm just an AFF student. Once I'm out of AFF, I'll be close, but I won't feel like I'm not tooting my own horn until I have my A.I really don't know what I'm talking about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Dougiefresh 0 #8 August 20, 2005 I have ~ 200 jumps and am just beginning to think of myself as legitimate skydiver. I am still a noob, and I know it. The longer you keep the humble attitude, accepting that you know jack, the better you'll do.Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Andy_Copland 0 #9 August 20, 2005 The honest truth is i'd be embarrassed to call myself a skydiver knowing i have only 7 AFF jumps and im about as graceful in the air as a porta potty. I'll just about have the balls to call myself a skydiver when i get me A license. hey i've earned it 1338 People aint made of nothin' but water and shit. Until morale improves, the beatings will continue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Ragnarok 0 #10 August 20, 2005 All I say is that I took up skydiving and the number of jumps comes up. I guess you could call me a "single digit midget"!_________________________________________ Twin Otter N203-Echo,29 July 2006 Cessna P206 N2537X, 19 April 2008 Blue Skies Forever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites quade 3 #11 August 20, 2005 I think when you have made all of the preparations yourself, walked to the door taking full responsibility, knowing all the risks and still jump, at that moment, you are a skydiver. Some people get this on their first solo jump. Some people never get this. A person that jumps without knowing all of the preparations is not a skydiver; he's a cargo drop. A person that jumps without taking responsibility is a liability. A person that jumps without knowing the obvious risks is a fool. A person that can understand the nuances of the risks is a skydiver.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Andy9o8 0 #12 August 20, 2005 OK, how about this: Right now, you're a "student skydiver". Is there a magic threshold, one single jump, at which time the word "student" is removed? No. Quade just said: A person that can understand the nuances of the risks is a skydiver. . That's an excellent answer to your question. I think an equally valid question is "when is someone not a whuffo?" IMO, being a whuffo is a state of mind. There's a certain ..... call it "understanding" of the "Why" (and not the "how") of skydiving that separates someone who no longer is a whuffo from somone who is. Remember, "whuffo" means "Whuffo you do that?" A whuffo has no idea what the answer is to that question, and often feels compelled to ask. A non-whuffo understands the answer, even if he can't quite put it into adequate words, and especially if he's gotten sick of hearing the damned question from whuffos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RhondaLea 3 #13 August 20, 2005 QuoteI was just wondering at what point do you stop being a Whuffo (used affectionately) and become a Skydiver? Steve Rafferty gave this answer to your question in 1995: > p.s. Can I call myself a skyiver yet if I haven't finished the AFF yet? You certainly are a skydiver. You become a skydiver when you begin to dream of falling or peddling your trike fast enough to get airborne. You become a skydiver when you marvel at the birds, the clouds, or a wind-blown leaf. You stay a skydiver as long as you continue to be able to look at life through the eyes of a child. All the rest of it is just a matter of the implementation schedule. Congratulations. rl P.S. He's an old-time jumper who still jumps. And the person he was writing to made skydiving her life and business.If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tdog 0 #14 August 20, 2005 I would consider you a skydiver now... You have saved your own life 4 times, and you are learning... I still learn just as much every time I visit the DZ now, that I did when I was in AFF. You never stop learning - so, by that token, don't get a mindset that completing AFF is all it takes to become a skydiver or something, because the fun is just beginning there... So, to me... If someone has jumped a few times in the last few weeks/months - and they plan on jumping sometime soon in the future - they are a skydiver... If they USED to jump, even with godzillion jumps, they "skydived"... That is the way I look at it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Ragnarok 0 #15 August 20, 2005 Well put. This is the kind of answer I was thinking I would see._________________________________________ Twin Otter N203-Echo,29 July 2006 Cessna P206 N2537X, 19 April 2008 Blue Skies Forever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tigra 0 #16 August 20, 2005 Well, in another thread someone boldly stated that averaging a little over 100 jumps a year over 12 years didn't qualify, so now I'm stumped! You see, I believe EVERYTHING I read on the internet! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites EvilLurker 2 #17 August 20, 2005 QuoteShe said it was just skydiving, I told her she was just a girl...... With that attitude, it won't be long. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Orange1 0 #18 August 20, 2005 Hmmm. I was told I became a 'skydiver' when I did my first free fall - I had just been a 'parachutist' while doing static line. But that's just a technical term. I like both Quade's and RhondaLea's answers, even though they seem to be 180 degrees apart.Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RhondaLea 3 #19 August 20, 2005 QuoteHmmm. I was told I became a 'skydiver' when I did my first free fall - I had just been a 'parachutist' while doing static line. But that's just a technical term. I like both Quade's and RhondaLea's answers, even though they seem to be 180 degrees apart. Raff's answer. I was just quoting him. I don't think they're 180 degrees apart, either. When it comes to skydiving, people either "get it" or they don't. And that's what both responses have at their core. Quade has always been a very bright boy, he's just not as touchy-feely as some of the rest of us. rlIf you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites DBCOOPER 1 #20 August 20, 2005 After you buy your first case of beer for the DZ.Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites HydroGuy 0 #21 August 20, 2005 I think that you are a skydiver when OTHER skydivers recognize and/or acknowledge your commitment to and respect for the sport and all it entails. If you are a moron or DGIT - regardless of your jump numbers - your peers will view you as a moron, not a skydiver.Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites MarkM 0 #22 August 20, 2005 QuoteI think that you are a skydiver when OTHER skydivers recognize and/or acknowledge your commitment to and respect for the sport and all it entails. But then no one is currently a skydiver, because no first skydiver could've been created as there were no other skydivers to recognize them. Frankly if you've jumped out of a plane, deployed your own chute and landed on your own, you're a skydiver. It's an action you perform, not an attitude or state of mind. And if you stop doing it, you're no longer a skydiver. You were a skydiver. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites slug 1 #23 August 20, 2005 QuoteAfter you buy your first case of beer for the DZ. Hi DB We like your style How about after you get your first skydiving tattooFor life FWIW if someone wants to call themselves a skydiver so be it. If someone wants to call themselves a cowboy thats ok to. If you call yourself a MD and want to touch me it better be true R.I.P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RhondaLea 3 #24 August 21, 2005 QuoteFrankly if you've jumped out of a plane, deployed your own chute and landed on your own, you're a skydiver. It's an action you perform, not an attitude or state of mind. And if you stop doing it, you're no longer a skydiver. You were a skydiver. The action you describe above is "making a skydive" not "being a skydiver." The trouble with strict definitions is that they don't describe real life. And most of real life is very much about attitude and state of mind. My father hasn't seen military service since Korea, the conflict in which he was disabled. Feel free to walk right up and tell him (and every other non-active jarhead) he's not a Marine. Or maybe you want to tell the woman who lost her only child in a skydiving accident that she's no longer a mother. Or how about...well, I guess if you don't understand that it is what we have done--not just what we do in any given slice of time--that makes us who we are, all the examples in the world won't help. rlIf you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tbrown 26 #25 August 21, 2005 Hey, if you've done 4 AFF dives, you're a skydiver. One tandem doesn't do it, unless you're handicapped, but the fact that you've come back, faced whatever door fear you have and stuck with it means you're IN. Plus you've shelled out a small fortune by now that you could've spent on sex, drugs, or rock "n roll, so you're gettting the idea that expense is no object, regardless of your visible means of support. Welcome aboard and keep on truckin' ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
Elisha 1 #6 August 20, 2005 QuoteI have 19 jumps now, but I won't consider myself a "skydiver" until I get my A license. Probably the best response. The DZO where I went through AFF would say (once I finished AFF), that I'm still not a skydiver - I just know how to save my life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MB38 0 #7 August 20, 2005 I know that I'm going to be a "skydiver" very soon, but right now I'm just an AFF student. Once I'm out of AFF, I'll be close, but I won't feel like I'm not tooting my own horn until I have my A.I really don't know what I'm talking about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dougiefresh 0 #8 August 20, 2005 I have ~ 200 jumps and am just beginning to think of myself as legitimate skydiver. I am still a noob, and I know it. The longer you keep the humble attitude, accepting that you know jack, the better you'll do.Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy_Copland 0 #9 August 20, 2005 The honest truth is i'd be embarrassed to call myself a skydiver knowing i have only 7 AFF jumps and im about as graceful in the air as a porta potty. I'll just about have the balls to call myself a skydiver when i get me A license. hey i've earned it 1338 People aint made of nothin' but water and shit. Until morale improves, the beatings will continue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ragnarok 0 #10 August 20, 2005 All I say is that I took up skydiving and the number of jumps comes up. I guess you could call me a "single digit midget"!_________________________________________ Twin Otter N203-Echo,29 July 2006 Cessna P206 N2537X, 19 April 2008 Blue Skies Forever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #11 August 20, 2005 I think when you have made all of the preparations yourself, walked to the door taking full responsibility, knowing all the risks and still jump, at that moment, you are a skydiver. Some people get this on their first solo jump. Some people never get this. A person that jumps without knowing all of the preparations is not a skydiver; he's a cargo drop. A person that jumps without taking responsibility is a liability. A person that jumps without knowing the obvious risks is a fool. A person that can understand the nuances of the risks is a skydiver.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #12 August 20, 2005 OK, how about this: Right now, you're a "student skydiver". Is there a magic threshold, one single jump, at which time the word "student" is removed? No. Quade just said: A person that can understand the nuances of the risks is a skydiver. . That's an excellent answer to your question. I think an equally valid question is "when is someone not a whuffo?" IMO, being a whuffo is a state of mind. There's a certain ..... call it "understanding" of the "Why" (and not the "how") of skydiving that separates someone who no longer is a whuffo from somone who is. Remember, "whuffo" means "Whuffo you do that?" A whuffo has no idea what the answer is to that question, and often feels compelled to ask. A non-whuffo understands the answer, even if he can't quite put it into adequate words, and especially if he's gotten sick of hearing the damned question from whuffos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RhondaLea 3 #13 August 20, 2005 QuoteI was just wondering at what point do you stop being a Whuffo (used affectionately) and become a Skydiver? Steve Rafferty gave this answer to your question in 1995: > p.s. Can I call myself a skyiver yet if I haven't finished the AFF yet? You certainly are a skydiver. You become a skydiver when you begin to dream of falling or peddling your trike fast enough to get airborne. You become a skydiver when you marvel at the birds, the clouds, or a wind-blown leaf. You stay a skydiver as long as you continue to be able to look at life through the eyes of a child. All the rest of it is just a matter of the implementation schedule. Congratulations. rl P.S. He's an old-time jumper who still jumps. And the person he was writing to made skydiving her life and business.If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #14 August 20, 2005 I would consider you a skydiver now... You have saved your own life 4 times, and you are learning... I still learn just as much every time I visit the DZ now, that I did when I was in AFF. You never stop learning - so, by that token, don't get a mindset that completing AFF is all it takes to become a skydiver or something, because the fun is just beginning there... So, to me... If someone has jumped a few times in the last few weeks/months - and they plan on jumping sometime soon in the future - they are a skydiver... If they USED to jump, even with godzillion jumps, they "skydived"... That is the way I look at it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ragnarok 0 #15 August 20, 2005 Well put. This is the kind of answer I was thinking I would see._________________________________________ Twin Otter N203-Echo,29 July 2006 Cessna P206 N2537X, 19 April 2008 Blue Skies Forever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigra 0 #16 August 20, 2005 Well, in another thread someone boldly stated that averaging a little over 100 jumps a year over 12 years didn't qualify, so now I'm stumped! You see, I believe EVERYTHING I read on the internet! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EvilLurker 2 #17 August 20, 2005 QuoteShe said it was just skydiving, I told her she was just a girl...... With that attitude, it won't be long. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orange1 0 #18 August 20, 2005 Hmmm. I was told I became a 'skydiver' when I did my first free fall - I had just been a 'parachutist' while doing static line. But that's just a technical term. I like both Quade's and RhondaLea's answers, even though they seem to be 180 degrees apart.Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RhondaLea 3 #19 August 20, 2005 QuoteHmmm. I was told I became a 'skydiver' when I did my first free fall - I had just been a 'parachutist' while doing static line. But that's just a technical term. I like both Quade's and RhondaLea's answers, even though they seem to be 180 degrees apart. Raff's answer. I was just quoting him. I don't think they're 180 degrees apart, either. When it comes to skydiving, people either "get it" or they don't. And that's what both responses have at their core. Quade has always been a very bright boy, he's just not as touchy-feely as some of the rest of us. rlIf you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DBCOOPER 1 #20 August 20, 2005 After you buy your first case of beer for the DZ.Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HydroGuy 0 #21 August 20, 2005 I think that you are a skydiver when OTHER skydivers recognize and/or acknowledge your commitment to and respect for the sport and all it entails. If you are a moron or DGIT - regardless of your jump numbers - your peers will view you as a moron, not a skydiver.Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #22 August 20, 2005 QuoteI think that you are a skydiver when OTHER skydivers recognize and/or acknowledge your commitment to and respect for the sport and all it entails. But then no one is currently a skydiver, because no first skydiver could've been created as there were no other skydivers to recognize them. Frankly if you've jumped out of a plane, deployed your own chute and landed on your own, you're a skydiver. It's an action you perform, not an attitude or state of mind. And if you stop doing it, you're no longer a skydiver. You were a skydiver. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slug 1 #23 August 20, 2005 QuoteAfter you buy your first case of beer for the DZ. Hi DB We like your style How about after you get your first skydiving tattooFor life FWIW if someone wants to call themselves a skydiver so be it. If someone wants to call themselves a cowboy thats ok to. If you call yourself a MD and want to touch me it better be true R.I.P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RhondaLea 3 #24 August 21, 2005 QuoteFrankly if you've jumped out of a plane, deployed your own chute and landed on your own, you're a skydiver. It's an action you perform, not an attitude or state of mind. And if you stop doing it, you're no longer a skydiver. You were a skydiver. The action you describe above is "making a skydive" not "being a skydiver." The trouble with strict definitions is that they don't describe real life. And most of real life is very much about attitude and state of mind. My father hasn't seen military service since Korea, the conflict in which he was disabled. Feel free to walk right up and tell him (and every other non-active jarhead) he's not a Marine. Or maybe you want to tell the woman who lost her only child in a skydiving accident that she's no longer a mother. Or how about...well, I guess if you don't understand that it is what we have done--not just what we do in any given slice of time--that makes us who we are, all the examples in the world won't help. rlIf you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbrown 26 #25 August 21, 2005 Hey, if you've done 4 AFF dives, you're a skydiver. One tandem doesn't do it, unless you're handicapped, but the fact that you've come back, faced whatever door fear you have and stuck with it means you're IN. Plus you've shelled out a small fortune by now that you could've spent on sex, drugs, or rock "n roll, so you're gettting the idea that expense is no object, regardless of your visible means of support. Welcome aboard and keep on truckin' ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
