The Darker side of the sport

[3fLiEr 0]

As I found myself grounded for a couple of weeks with restrictions placed on me when I finally return to the air I thought I would start a Dark Side questionnaire - before the questions I would like to first say to newbies - the questions do not encourage any kind of bravado or a “I did this more so than you” type of response - in fact I am wondering if I should post this at all - but hey ho if you are gonna do this and you frappe well phuqk you - you should not have attempted them - they are stupid and should never be attempted - people die from doing these - and dying does not look cool. Most of us have done these things so just wanted to know others experiences/tales. Seeing that I seem to be the only person I know who gets grounded/red carded/warned on a very regular basis – I wanna know “surely I am not the only one to bend a few rules sometimes”
1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
6) How many times have you been grounded?
7) How long is the longest grounding
8) What do you get grounded for?
9) Any other comments…………………..
...... yeah I know flame me if you want – don’t really give a toss- but I am grounded and bored and reflecting on the reasons of me being grounded - not the best questions to advertise on the net about the sport but hey - sometimes you have to play hard, fast and WayLow......
BSBD

[RemiAndKaren 0]

Should be an interesting thread!
I'm a tame one....
1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
about 2500 (tame I told ya.....)
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
about 1500
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
3 way sit with only 3 or 4 sit jumps (had a blast too... body surfing)... i guess going to Quincy and doing (or trying to do) 15 ways with 70 jumps wasnt too smart either....
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
that stupid premature opening on exit.... not realy an intentional stupidity though....
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
not sure I get your question... do you mean "what BAD things do you enjoy most"?
6) How many times have you been grounded?
none (BOOOORING.. told ya)
7) How long is the longest grounding
8) What do you get grounded for?
9) Any other comments…………………..
I think we all have a skeewed view of the past when it come to "the good old days" (before my time)... I'm sure we all feel that things are more controled now, and they probably are, but the impression we have that things are not as BSBD as before probably come from the fact that what we remember from the past are the rememberable parts.... the boring regular jump stories wont make part of the collective memory...
just my thougths....
Remi
Muff 914

[3fLiEr 0]

5) What gives you the biggest kick?
not sure I get your question... do you mean "what BAD things do you enjoy most"?
Yeah you could say the BAD things - the things you should not really do but get a blast from..............
BSBD

[freeflir29 0]

In my 92 whole jumps
1. 2500
2. 2200 Pulled at and was in the saddle at 1600 or so.
3. Tried to take out the person in front of me while doing a transition to HD. I was movin WAY fast. Luckily Woody moved.
4. Making a nice PLF through 50 Ft Pine trees and landing on a volleyball court. Or hooking it so low that I let the riser up at about 8 ft. Swooped past some airplanes. All this over the tarmac.
5. Opening at a nice alti. Around 3,000. Doing a kick ass hook!
6. None
7. NA
8 NA
9. I like being safe. Altitude is my friend. My Dad's last jump was in 1965. He has told me several stories of the "I can pull lower than you club." I just say. I bet you can! Go right ahead. Believe it or not people may like you and want you around the DZ. Even if they don't they sure as hell don't want to watch you burn in and have to help scrape what's left of you into a bucket. Be safe. If you want to be "FARFROMPULLIN" go do some BASE. You can go as low as you like. You only have one parachute so it doesn't really matter where you pull. As long as you get line stratch before you flare. I have seen enough people die in my time. Please don't add to the list.
"The sky resembles a back lit canopy...with holes punched through it"- Incubus
Clay

[flyinryan 0]

1) 4500 <-boring I know but I like free fall
2) 1800 <-uhh, the sun was in my eyes and I could not see my altimite...yeah thats right and when I did I was at 1800 so I deployed right away...yeah, that'll do
3) Had some one ride my back so we were kinda like a tandem configuration except we tumbled a lot
4) When the DZO caught a group of us riding the beacon..I thought she was going to kill us.
5) Getting blown by a female skydiver...sorry this is the dark side right?
6) 0
7) uhh 0
8) uhh 0
Other coments...there are too few of us to be doing stuff that is too stupid but then again skyding (IMHO) is all about trying new things and taking CALCULATED risks. That and to whufos all skydiving is a stupid risk.

[Michele 1]

Quote

1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no
emergency, fallout etc)?
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no
loss of altitude awareness) ?
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
6) How many times have you been grounded?
7) How long is the longest grounding
8) What do you get grounded for?
9) Any other comments…………………..

1. 6000. (That was my hopnpop - the pilot forgot to let us out lower).
2. 3800 (and that took doing for me)
3. Forgot to have fun.
4. Marrying my ex - oh wait, in skydiving, right?.........the downwinder
5. Landing safely so I can go again! (Actually, the canopy opening right).
6. None. What got you grounded?
7. ....
8. ....
9. Really itching to find out why you got grounded.
(all answers are subject to change as I progress and figure out what I am doing)...
Ciels-
Michele
"What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky".
~e e cummings~

[Aviatrr 0]

1. 2,000ft
2. 1800ft
3. 5 way head down with 2 inexperienced freefliers(myself one of 'em)
4. Hook turn too low
5. Skydiving
6. For doing something stupid? Never. Just for injury. I am, however, banned from driving any motorized vehicles(such as a golf cart) at a couple DZ's..
7. Several years due to injury
8. n/a
9. Self preservation is a very motivating factor. I don't pull low. 3,000-3500 normally, depending on breakoff altitude and formation size. We normally break off freefly dives at 4.5k, so I track and dump at 3 to 3.5. I like flying my canopy, and like to get a good set-up for landing. On big ways, I will plan to pull as low as 2.5k(my canopies open too slow for any lower), and not plan a hook.
Mike

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

[Self incrimination mode]
1. about 1,200 feet with 3 other people into a demo in bad weather. "the show must go on". 800 feet on an SL army jump.
2. 1,500 feet chasing a student until his AAD fired.
3. I had actually written a lengthy answer about another jump that went terribly wrong, but this one will not come off like some "spectre230" war story, so here it is: After being knocked unconscious while shooting video for the "50th anniversary of the Coast Guard" demo in Elizabeth City, NC, and surviving with only stitches in my lip, blood all over my jumpsuit and body, a broken camera helmet, and a second degree left-shoulder dislocation, I got BACK on the airplane for the follow-up demo jump and then the jump back into Raeford. What a fucking idiot. By the way, I have all of it on video.
4. Either the MFF jump I eluded to in the previous question (two others were seriously injured), or when I thought I could cut the "unleaded gas only" restrictor in my truck's gas filler out with an acetylene torch (while it was still attached to the vehicle). I caught myself at the last possible second, put the torch down, and went and drank four beers in rapid succession.
5. Biggest kick? Swooping the PISS out of my canopy every single jump. Being good enough to be sponsored at it. That, and teaching people to skydive; I love it.
6. Grounded maybe four times in 20 years isn't bad is it? Once for taking a downplane to about 150 feet; once for launching a 30-second delay student in an 8-way; two or three times for "dangerous" landing behaviour ( a long time ago).
7. One week.
8. Descriptions above
9. There is absolutely no reason to hum it low on a skydive. ESPECIALLY not with a small eliptical; you never know what you are going to have to deal with over your head. True, being first down means you don't have to deal with traffic, but if you are being grounded, then what's the point. Also, if you dump high you can do cool shit like para-batics, sub-100 square foot CRW, and lastly (but certainly not least!): you can hang in brakes then swoop the piss out of it while everyone is watching and walking in. Glorious.
Chuck
"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"

[fonz 0]

1) 12,500 ft.
2) 3,000 ft.
3) Flipping on my back at pulltime.
4) For lack of anything "better": see 3.
5) A good delta/track and nice landings.
6) Nope.
7) n/a
8) n/a
9) See below.
Ad 1:
Gee. I really ought to knock in a couple of hop&pops next time I go jumping!
Ad 2:
I still gotta learn how to pack. The way my canopy is packed for me, it opens so slow that I don't feel like pulling any lower than 3,000 ft. Besides, I think 3,000 ft. is low enough if you don't have your license yet.
Ad 3:
See my post in the 'Lazy Pulls' thread in the 'Safety and Training' forum for the full story.
Ad 5:
I guess finally getting rid of that backslide of mine would be somewhat of a kick, too.
Alphons (oh I like surveys and polls)

[Geoff 0]

1) 2000ft
2) 2000ft
3) a couple of freefly ' big ways' - 5 or 6 people and not enough experience. High speed bodies everywhere. Scary and very unpleasant.
4) Downsizing before I was ready, then turning too low to get back into wind. Hit the ground. bounced. hit it again. lay stunned for a couple of minutes. eventually stood up and walked away with just a bruised body and ego. very lucky. should've taken the cross-wind landing.
5) Canopy Swooping. Scary but the greatest feeling.
6+) never grounded but threatened once. it wasn't me honest!
Geoff

[3fLiEr 0]

coz you are itching michelle and dont have the correct cream my responses are :-
1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no
emergency, fallout etc)?
1,100 or 1,200 ft cloud base jump
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no
loss of altitude awareness) ?
900ft
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
Closed my eyes and tried to guess when pull time was - opened them at 5,000ft - mis-judged slightly (this was when I was just off CAT-8 - the most stupid thing to do.... what a twat!)
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
Have never come close enough to warrant a memory
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
GoingWayLow, Exiting low, hooking it, canopy rush, close prox deployments, Downplanes and kick arse FFly jumps with my partna
6) How many times have you been grounded?
Approx 4 or 5 times in the past year
7) How long is the longest grounding
2 Weeks
8) What do you get grounded for?
Going Low
9) Any other comments…………………..
it aint big and certainly not clever..................
BSBD

[jfields 0]

1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
About 1000', but that was static line. 3200' freefall hop-n-pop.
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
2500'. I'm a novice, so I try not to go too low intentionally.
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
Losing altitude awareness.
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
Good question. It could have been my tree landing, or the time I scraped a UPS truck in my car doing about 75 in a 15 zone. That was years ago, and I've mellowed a lot since then.
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
Skydiving-wise, everything. I'm still learning.
6) How many times have you been grounded?
0
7) How long is the longest grounding
N/A
8) What do you get grounded for?
N/A
9) Any other comments…………………..
Nope. Justin
My Homepage

[freeflir29 0]

"I think 3,000 ft. is low enough if you don't have your license yet."
Hell, I think it is if you do have one.
"Swooping the PISS out of my canopy every single jump"
That I can attest to. Chuck, I thought you were a little nutty jumping that 65. Joey showed up at SD Atlanta with his VX-60, I think it was, this weekend. Thats just plain nuts!
"The sky resembles a back lit canopy...with holes punched through it"- Incubus
Clay

[flyhi 24]

1) lowest intentional exit ? A 900 foot Army Static Line.
2) WayLow intentionally ~1800 (Hard-pull at 2300', honest!)
3) most stupid/dangerous thing done in freefall? Geezer alert...Geezer Alert...Deployed my reserve when my Para-Commander's PC was hanging around in my burble. Good body position, bad head work.
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself? Low Hook Turn.
5) What gives you the biggest kick? Multi-points on a big way followed by a swoop.
6) How many times have you been grounded? 0
7) How long is the longest grounding 0
8) What do you get grounded for? Once for a knee op, but I don't count that.
9) Biggest "Can't Frigging Believe I Did That" Moment - Hung on rear risers for about 3 miles to get into position to do a face plant into the fence 3 feet short of the DZ. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. I give you so many other reasons.
flyhi

[3fLiEr 0]

or when I thought I could cut the "unleaded gas only" restrictor in my truck's gas filler out with an acetylene torch (while it was still attached to the vehicle). I caught myself at the last possible second, put the torch down,
Man that made me giggle loudly.............. jesus ....... that could have been a bit interesting!!
BSBD

[freeflir29 0]

"when I thought I could cut the "unleaded gas only" restrictor in my truck's gas filler out with an acetylene torch (while it was still attached to the vehicle). I caught myself at the last possible second, put the torch down"
See....I told you guys Chuck was from Alabama! "The sky resembles a back lit canopy...with holes punched through it"- Incubus
Clay

[Slowfaller 0]

1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
3400ft.
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
3200ft ( I only have 33 jumps )
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
Not tracking far enough and opening about 100 ft from someone else.
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
Thinking I was going to over shoot my target and hit the hanger I proceeded to bleed alti by trying a 360 degree turn, only did a 180 because I scared the shit out of my self and took a downwinder. I love flat and " S " turns.
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
Landing like a feather on the ground always feels great but I'd have to say " DOOR ".
6) How many times have you been grounded?
ZERO
7) How long is the longest grounding?
n/a
8) What did you get grounded for?
n/a
9) Other Comments?
San Dimas football rocks!!!!!!!!
CHris
" You're having the time of my life, and I think you've got it right" Jets to Brazil

[jumpervali 1]

1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
1800 ft.
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
1400 ft. skydive....230ft. basejump
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
3 point 3 way from 2100 ft opened at 1400
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
hit an inflating canopy in freefall......ouch!
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
instructing aff level 4 & 5's
6) How many times have you been grounded?.. 0
7) How long is the longest grounding.. 0
8) What do you get grounded for?..
9) Any other comments…………………..
All of the above harebrained stuff except base jumping was when I was at that dangerous age of 500 jumps.

[SniperCJ 0]

This should be an interesting thread:
1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
2900ft
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
Never have gone way low. ive pulled at 2500 which isnt low at all.
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
Hmmm, im still pretty boring. Ive never really done anything THAT dangerous...
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
A 4 way tube launched from a CASA. At about 10 grand the woman in front of me had a premature deployment and was sucked out of the tube at about mach 1. Fortunately for the other tubers, she was on top of the tube at the time and the tube simply broke apart. Had she been on the bottom and come thru the other members, someone woulda got seriously killed. She ended up breaking several suspension lines and ended up cutting away at about 4K.
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
8 - 10 ways with people who dont take things too seriously. Otherwise hop and pops leaving the plane doing somersaults.
6) How many times have you been grounded?
Zero
7) How long is the longest grounding
N/A
8) What do you get grounded for?
N/A
9) Any other comments…………………..
I did my 300th jump the other day riding the back of an inflatable shark with 8 other people docking on me / sharkie...whata hoot!
Blues
CJ

[Merrick 0]

Quote

"1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
6) How many times have you been grounded?
7) How long is the longest grounding
8) What do you get grounded for?
9) Any other comments………………….."

1) 3000 ft
2) 2200 ft (Bi-plane jump at Quincy, right before I broke my leg LOL)
3) Ummm... night jump at about 55 jumps with no briefing & no light stick to see my altimeter. Also, attempted 4 way sit-fly with very little experience on the entire load (two of which were Pam & I).
4) no close calls so far (knock on wood).
5) SPEED!! The more the better.
6) Once (broken leg), but I don't really count that... (unless you want to count the time Pam got us kicked off the DZ.... LOL only for a week).
7) 8) 9) N/A
Skydiving is a dangerous ass sport... those who try to rationalize it & say that it's "not really" are just kidding themselves. True, there are certain situations that can be controlled making it a "calculated risk," but that can only be done if you go your entire jumping career without getting complacent or stupid... or if you're just plain lucky. While I can definitely see the attraction of going as low as you can or exiting the plane sub-1500, I also know that there is a definite difference in "tempting fate" and tieing her up & bitch-slapping her for 60 seconds! lol
"Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

[Keith 0]

1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
1800 ft
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
2000 ft . . . not way low but low enough.
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
Doing an 1800 ft hop-n-pop on a brand new rig I was working the kinks out of.
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
I had a pilot chute in tow on previously mentioned hop-n-pop. After pulling nothing happened. I gave a couple of seconds, still nothing. I looked over my shoulder to see where my pilot chute was to find I was trailing it, deflated, behind me (I have a bungee collapsible for those thinking I for got to cock it :)) Knowing I couldn't just cut it away for fear it would entangle with my reserve, I grabbed the bridle and yanked it, pulling the pin. When I yanked the bridle I went unstable and rolled on my back. My main deployed through my legs . . . luckily I felt it coming and spread my legs hoping it would deploy cleanly. I was under a fully functional main around 800 ft.
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
A big ass grin from a friend across a formation.
6) How many times have you been grounded?
0
7) How long is the longest grounding
8) What do you get grounded for?
9) Any other comments…………………..
I'd rather live to jump another day then to take unnecessary risks.
Keith

[skybytch 259]

1. 3000
2. 2000 intentionally, 1700 by mistake
3. Tandems
4. Tandems
5. Walking back to the packing area
6. Officially? Never. By injury, once
7. 8 months, then I jumped once. 4 months since then, 2 more to go.
8. Cuz I blew out two discs in my back and had to have surgery
9. I know someone who was grounded for a year and had his ratings taken away by USPA because he swooped into the landing area and hit another jumper. He not only "did his time", he also paid the injured jumper's medical bills before he got back in the air. Today he's a top canopy pilot and RW competitor who no longer does "stupid shit."

Quote

Seeing that I seem to be the only person I know who gets grounded/red carded/warned on a very regular basis

Hmmm... perhaps there's a lesson in that?????
pull and flare,
lisa

[lazerq3 0]

This outta be lame but:
1.3500ft
2.2300ft (traching away from a 12way)
3.Doing a two way sit where it was both our first time trying!
4.Jumping outa a perfectly good plane but damint everytime this stupid chute kept opening on me around 2500-3000ft5.launching 4,5,6etc ways and turning some points(hey what can I say I'm still learning)
6.1
7.1 day
8.Winds where high and they told me No jumping for you today(just off student status)
9. Thank you.....please drive through!!
jason
A-38658

[algboy 0]

Hey--I only have 19 jumps--yet to get the big "A"--but I've had some cool jumps so far: started in `76 with two S/L jumps, 22-year layoff before three tandems, AFF and some neat solos. Jumped from 6 different aircraft and four dropzones to date.
1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
2500 ft on my first two static line jumps back in the "old days"
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
I waited until just past 3500 on a solo--under canopy by 2800
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
My first AFF (AFF 2) I got my container stuck in the door of the KingAir; MJM pushed me out but we lost the RJM, I was "back-to-earth" down to 8000. Don't know why I didn't do anything. I felt very calm (believe it or not) and just waited for my jumpmaster to flip me, the RJM re-joined us and it was a great ride after that.
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
I have been pretty confident with my canopy flying since AFF 2, but on one of my early solos I set up a final approach that took me over the road with power lines/poles. I was so focused on hitting the peas that I didn't consider the approach. I was sweating bullets as I passed over the power lines--they seemed really close!
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
Three things: hanging onto the outside of a plane B4 letting go, diving out the back of a CASA or jumping through "industrial haze".
6) How many times have you been grounded?
Not yet
7) How long is the longest grounding
Not yet
8) What do you get grounded for?
Not yet
9) Any other comments??????
The thing I love about skydiving is the "3-ring circus" aspect to the sport (so much going on): the 20-minute call heebie-jeebies, the plane ride up, the exit, freefall, canopy ride, good landing (hopefully), the interesting people and the general DZ vibe.
"That which does not kill me makes me stronger."--Nietzsche

[FallinWoman 1]

1) What is the lowest you have intentionally exited an aircraft (i.e. no emergency, fallout etc)?
dragged a two-way off from 2,500ft.
2) What is the lowest you have gone WayLow intentionally (i.e. no loss of altitude awareness) ?
2000ft, which is only a big deal because my canopy takes up to 1000ft to open
3) What is the most stupid/dangerous thing you have done in freefall?
nothing
4) What is the closest you have come to killing yourself?
landed in a 35 mph wind, got picked back up and landed on my head. OUCH
5) What gives you the biggest kick?
knowing that i have bigger balls than most of the people in this world!!!
6) How many times have you been grounded? Zero
Blue skies,
Anne