if skydiving was safe ...

[Staso 0]

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I was talking about TAME. You're on your own with the skydicing, but I think that one could become very popular with people that like to funnel big-ways

i haven't been doing much at my work for a couple of weeks now, so i became to lazy.
can't type at all :)

skydicing forever !

stan.

--
it's not about defying gravity; it's how hard you can abuse it. speed skydiving it is ...
Speed Skydiving Forum

[gale 0]

Personally, I would love it if skydiving were safe. I'm in it for what I get to do, not the danger I wish to mitigate. If the sport lost some of that "I'm cooler then you" vibe it would be fine with me. I don't need the possibility of femuring in to be cool - but that's just me.

Gale

I'm drowning...so come inside
Welcome to my...dirty mind

[Staso 0]

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Personally, I would love it if skydiving were safe. I'm in it for what I get to do, not the danger I wish to mitigate. If the sport lost some of that "I'm cooler then you" vibe it would be fine with me. I don't need the possibility of femuring in to be cool - but that's just me.

Gale

so would you trade it for wind tunnel ? unless you like canopy flying ..

--
it's not about defying gravity; it's how hard you can abuse it. speed skydiving it is ...
Speed Skydiving Forum

[KATO33 0]

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I don't need to die to have fun. The thrill is in the flight!

DITTO!!!!

Blue Skies Black Death

[happythoughts 0]

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...the possibility of femuring in to be cool - but that's just me.

Gale

With ya on that. We participate in a sport where "femur" is a verb and everyone knows what you are talking about when you use it.

[Staso 0]

there was a very good show on TLC channel yesterday. about high speeds and dangerous kinds
of sports in general. and why this kind of sports appeal to people. it's gonna be on TV this saturday
from 2 till 4 ET i beleive. i think it's worth watching. explains a lot :)

stan.

--
it's not about defying gravity; it's how hard you can abuse it. speed skydiving it is ...
Speed Skydiving Forum

[billvon 2,470]

>if it wasn't for danger part, freefalling and going to wind tunnel
>would be the same, wouldn't it ?

Still wouldn't be the same. And if you used faulty parts in the wind tunnel, such that a fan burst could kill you (and made it riskier than skydiving) tunnel flying wouldn't get better.

[Deuce 1]

Uh, it's not safe?

I was under the impression if I maintained my gear and did my part I wouldn't get hurt.

Same with my motorcycle, using a ladder, operating a chainsaw, and driving, right?

[JDBoston 0]

Of course! That's why I can only talk about it with people I don't already know, especially people with boobs.

Joe

[jumperconway 0]

I can appreciate the speed diving thing. Before skydiving I used to run crotch rockets a fast as I could and people would say I was crazy. I would say "I can always have an open shoebox funeral!" always wear head gear!

[edenney 0]

Can't do a 60 or 100+ way in a tunnel :). Besides, the swoop down to the formation is half the fun. I'm an RW guy and I enjoy the canopy ride (though I don't do hook turns) and I'd much rather jump out of a plane than go to the tunnel, even if it was as safe as the tunnel. My 2 cents worth....

[SpeedRacer 1]

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if it wasn't for danger part,
freefalling and going to wind tunnel would be the same, wouldn't it ?

No it wouldn't. I've done both and the experience is very different.
Real freefall is a much more intense experience...and not just because of the danger, but because of the whole view, plus the ability to really fly around, track, use different body positions, work with large groups, etc. etc. Wind tunnels have their place for training, but, believe me, the experience is NOT the same.

Speed Racer
--------------------------------------------------

[gale 0]

"so would you trade it for wind tunnel ? unless you like canopy flying .. "

Well, I don't know. I've ever been to one and I'm not likely to anytime soon as I'm in Western Canada. I suspect however, that I would miss the exits (I really love them) and the space, and the view, and yes, even the canopy ride. (Even though landing scares me)

So I don't think I could trade it. It would be interesting to try the tunnel though just to see what I'd really think.

Gale

I'm drowning...so come inside
Welcome to my...dirty mind

[billvon 2,470]

>the example with wind tunnel is very good. if it wasn't for danger part,
>freefalling and going to wind tunnel would be the same, wouldn't it ?

So if you found a dangerous enough wind tunnel, would it really be able to substitute for skydiving for you? It wouldn't for me at all. I'd avoid dangerous wind tunnels like the plauge.

[clrarch 0]

I started skydiving in June----thought I would do that one tandem jump and the next thing you know I'm enrolled in AFF. Hooked? Oh yeah

My family and friends have felt it is their duty to remind me on an almost daily basis since June that I have some kind of a death wish because I'm doing something that is so DANGEROUS But I look at it like this:

Skydiving isn't more dangerous than skiing (something I've done since I was 4 years old), or driving in Boston (ever driven a car in Boston? Bunch of crackheads behind the wheel out here). Sorry if any of you are the crackheads I'm referring to It feels like a greater risk because it's not "normal". So, for me, I don't see it as being any safer or more dangerous than some of the other things I do...it's just a different thrill.

[Staso 0]

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or driving in Boston (ever driven a car in Boston? Bunch of crackheads behind the wheel out here).

he-he :) i do live in boston

stan.

--
it's not about defying gravity; it's how hard you can abuse it. speed skydiving it is ...
Speed Skydiving Forum

[clrarch 0]

So you're one of the crackheads!

[dove 0]

Your to pickey abuot you're speling lummy.

Fall in dove.

[billvon 2,470]

>Skydiving isn't more dangerous than skiing (something I've done
> since I was 4 years old), or driving in Boston (ever driven a car in
> Boston? Bunch of crackheads behind the wheel out here). Sorry if
> any of you are the crackheads I'm referring to It feels like a
> greater risk because it's not "normal". So, for me, I don't see it as
> being any safer or more dangerous than some of the other things I
> do...it's just a different thrill.

It's definitely more dangerous than driving, even in Boston (I lived in Cambridge for four years.) It depends on how you add it up, but it's hard to play with the stats or definitions to make it as safe as driving. My own analogies (and these, of course, are something of a WAG) are that it's more dangerous than driving, safer than flying your own plane. Although since you don't have the benefit of metal landing gear, you're still more likely to get injured than a GA pilot.

As a very simple test of this, add up the number of people you know who have been seriously injured or killed skydiving, then the number who have been seriously injured or killed driving to and from the DZ. For me it's about ten to one.

[weegegirl 2]

I'd still do it.... but it wouldn't have all the adrenaline that I can't live without. The danger of it all really gets my blood flowing. It pushes me to work harder and focus more. In fact, that's why it is such a huge stress relief. While skydiving, it is unsafe to think about anything but what you are doing in the air.... oh, and who you'll be doing on the ground. woh! did I say that out loud?

[lummy 4]

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Your to pickey abuot you're speling lummy

hey, I was only playing with the fact that we're talking about dangerous sports and one of the typo's says TAME...

Now the Skydicing is another whole ball of whacks...

I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. eat sushi, get smoochieTTK#1

[wilmshurst 0]

Re windtunnels versus skydiving. As has already been said, skydiving has the big advantages of visuals and freedom (ie, not flying in an oversized metal can).

Re risktakers, I saw a TV show that stated that males who take risks (engage in risky activities) are more attractive to the opposite sex as such behaviour communicates an ability to provide (think 'dawn of time' when the male was responsible for the hunting and gathering to provide for the family).

"Sometimes you kick; sometimes you get kicked" - INXS

The only thing worse than a cold toilet seat is a warm toilet seat.

[flypunk 0]

the thrill does not come from the danger it comes from the freedom, id it could be made completely safe by some magic fairy dust or something then bring it on, more freedom.

...

[goose491 0]

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the thrill does not come from the danger it comes from the freedom, id it could be made completely safe by some magic fairy dust or something then bring it on, more freedom.

The adrenaline rush may come from the freedom and feeling of human flight but there is no denying that the dopamine (this is responsible for the perma-grin afterwards) comes directly from the fear of death (conscious or sub).

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[clrarch 0]

It's definitely more dangerous than driving, even in Boston (I lived in Cambridge for four years.) It depends on how you add it up, but it's hard to play with the stats or definitions to make it as safe as driving. My own analogies (and these, of course, are something of a WAG) are that it's more dangerous than driving, safer than flying your own plane. Although since you don't have the benefit of metal landing gear, you're still more likely to get injured than a GA pilot.

As a very simple test of this, add up the number of people you know who have been seriously injured or killed skydiving, then the number who have been seriously injured or killed driving to and from the DZ. For me it's about ten to one.