sparknote_s 0 #1 December 30, 2004 How did you all get into skydiving? I thought this could make for an interesting discussion... ------------------------------------------- http://www.skydivingforums.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #2 December 30, 2004 My mom had mentioned trying it years ago, when they came to visit this last may I decided that I would give her a jump, ofcourse I *HAD* to go too... Wasnt too excited about it, but, here I am... FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conundrum 1 #3 December 30, 2004 I was looking at either trying hangliding or skydiving, I happend to stumble on Perris's website looking for skydiving "where to" online and said what the hell, Im gonna try it. Went to do a tandem and fell in love before I even boarded the plane. I was a little nervous, but not much, more excited than anything. I haven't stopped since and that was last year. Been a little slow with getting in a lot of jumps because of money but hey, we all know how that goes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NWFlyer 2 #4 December 30, 2004 Two major things have happened in my life in the last 18 months. 1) I lost 125 lbs and got in shape. 2) I got hit by a car (as a pedestrian) and spent 6 days in the hospital. Both woke me up to how much of my life I'd wasted waiting for "someday." Time to get moving Learned to snowboard in the midst of all my rehab last winter (yeah, my physical therapist and massage therapist loved me!). Took up scuba. Dusted off my rollerblades. Did all the stuff I'd talked about doing for years but never did. Since August, that list has included skydiving. I'm hardly a "natural," in fact this is one of the toughest things I've ever had to learn. But the thing that's different now is that I welcome that kind of challenge rather than run away from it. Skydiving has brought me to tears more than once (and no, not tears of joy, though I fully expect those at some point). But... wow."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Travman 6 #5 December 30, 2004 I was 7 years old, watching the old sitcom "Herman's Head". In one episode Herman goes skydivng, and I just said to myself "I'm going to do that!" I think my parent's hoped it'd pass, 7yr olds often come up with crazy ideas, but when I was 19 I did a tandem and loved it. Took me 18 months to finally getting around to doing my AFF, but I got there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites calledisrael 0 #6 December 30, 2004 a friend of mine is moving to central asia, and she wanted to go and ride roller coasters before she left. a few of us planned the day, and realized that week that six flags had already closed for the season. we had all been in missionary training together, and heard all these talks on kicking your fear in the face and pressing in to what you are afriad of to be an overcomer. i had suggested then (jokingly) that we try skydiving. when roller coasters (which i hate, btw) didn't work out, they wanted something "even more exciting" - i brought it up again, and they agreed with much hesitation. four of us went out to do tandems. everyone else was an adrenaline type, liked it. i was the one who had been too scared and almost backed out once i had the harness on - i just wasn't going to let them be cooler than me and go without me. i had a kick-ass tandem instructor who showed me why he loved it. dreamed about jumping for the next two weeks afterward. and since then i have not been able to stop. got three books, an altimeter, and more funding for aff from the family for christmas. so i also hold them accountable for how i got into skydiving. they keep telling me that they would rather me be here and skydive than move overseas. little do they know that the two are not mutually exclusive. :) life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites stratostar 5 #7 December 30, 2004 Been around it from the day I was born, spent many years with my head out the door watching, when I turned 16 they pushed me out. ~you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mik 2 #8 December 30, 2004 worked in the US (Atlanta) on a project with a guy - met him a couple of months later by chance in Sydney, Australia.. one night when we were both pissed he told me he was going for a tandem and asked if I would like to... beer goggles (not afraid of anything when drunk) came into play and before I knew it I was on a tandem at Picton.. Terrified but refused to let it get the better of me so did AFF in South Africa a month or so later.... *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites chester 0 #9 December 30, 2004 Went to a DZ to watch a friend of mine jump and I got hooked right away J-S ---- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites EdC 0 #10 December 31, 2004 I suck at bowling so I thought I would try jumping instead. Big Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites funks 1 #11 December 31, 2004 a little off topic but are you really interested in how we all got into skydiving or are you more concerned with advertising that url at the bottom of your post? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Sheenster303 0 #12 December 31, 2004 I went with a friend to the dz to watch her jump thinking that I would never skydive. I saw all the people landing and not dying and decided that I wanted to do a tandem.I'm so funny I crack my head open! P.M.S. #102 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites bisqit999 0 #13 December 31, 2004 Quotea little off topic but are you really interested in how we all got into skydiving or are you more concerned with advertising that url at the bottom of your post? Gotta be the URL....I was thinkin the same thing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites TomAiello 25 #14 December 31, 2004 I was climbing up the side of a big piece of granite. I saw these two guys go flying by. I said "wow, I've got to try that!" So I went out to figure out what I needed to do. It turned out the first step was "make a couple hundred skydives..."-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tdog 0 #15 December 31, 2004 QuoteI suck at bowling so I thought I would try jumping instead. Me too... I kept losing gutter awareness – so they kicked me out of the alley and told me to try skydiving instead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites drdive 0 #16 December 31, 2004 My daughter wanted to do a tandem on her 18th birthday. I took her to Skydive Snohomish, and decided if whe was going to do it, I would too. Scared the crap out of me when the door opened at 12K, but as soon as I hit the ground, I knew I had to do it. It is AWESOME. Ed in Spokane"We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub" " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites nate_1979 9 #17 December 31, 2004 Quotea little off topic but are you really interested in how we all got into skydiving or are you more concerned with advertising that url at the bottom of your post? I didnt even notice that URL... Checked it out... Do we really need another skydiving forum? I have a hard enough time keeping up with this one! FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites gemini 0 #18 December 31, 2004 Trent called from NY and said "I just did a tandem and it was the greatest thing! You've got to try this." "No", I said "I'm to old." "To late I already bought you a tandem at Skydive USA for next weekend when I'm back in Houston." "I'm not sure I want to do it." "But you said you always wanted to!" "When?" "When you joined the army as infantry airborne." "It was 1967 and I was 19 and stupid then!" "Well, you have to do it. I charged it on my credit card already and there are no refunds." "Ok" Blue skies, Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites digitalamnesia 0 #19 December 31, 2004 I had wanted to do it for a couple of years, so I asked about, searched the internet, told my mum. She thought it was just a phase. Eventually i sent off for a brochure. A couple of months later i had the money for AFF L1 and now iv nearly saved enough to finnish AFF. My mum still hopes its just a phase lol but i just say at least im not on drugs, this hits her even more now since an old friend of mine died as a result of drugs so this helps her accept skydiving, untill i showed her a piccy of a wing suit. she kinda looked like this smily ------------------------------------------------------- if you wanna see the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites timbarrett 0 #20 December 31, 2004 I was just getting into flying aerobatics when my partner suggested that I make a jump so I would be more willing to jump just in case I pulled the wings off my plane....I made an AFF jump and I was hooked immediately..guess i discovered what real flying felt like.. It seems like a natural progression..SCUBA, sailing, flying and then skydiving...."Work hard, play hard and don't whinge" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Airman1270 0 #21 December 31, 2004 I don't remember ever NOT wanting to jump. As a kid I played parachute games, jumped off the swing pretending to pull a ripcord, etc. Went to airshows with Dad and was disappointed if the skydivers got weathered out. (1960's, rounds, etc.) Was working at a grocery store in Sayville, NY in 1979 when a former classmate stopped in. He and another friend had jumped earlier that year near Albany and were going back to try again. I said something like "Wow, I've always wanted to try that", etc. The next day the other friend stopped by my house and said "I hear you want to jump. Wanna come with us?" I went & trained for the first time, but couldn't jump due to weather. They never jumped again. I borrowed Mom's car the following weekend and made the four-hour drive back to Albany, but got weathered out again. The next year I returned with another friend and trained again. No jump. Weather. We returned two years later & trained again. Jumped, landed wrong & broke my ankle. (Friend did fine, but never jumped again.) I sat there waiting for the guys to find me, thinking "Wow, that was so cool!" Went back the next year, jumped, did well and stayed with it. Due to a mix of small income, medical bills, and four-hour trips to the DZ it took nearly two more years to graduate. During that time I learned there was a DZ near my home, but they didn't do student training. Also discovered the Ranch DZ, "only" three hours away. After graduating I made a few jumps close to home. Almost immediately I inadvertently caused/was victimized by an awkward political situation. Got kicked off the local DZ "for life." Spent the next six years driving to distant DZ's, averaging a couple of dozen jumps per year. In 1988 I almost went in on a hard reserve pull and was kicked off another DZ in Woodstock, CT. Got discouraged, almost quit. Got married & moved to Georgia in 1991 & finally began jumping only an hour from home. Wife has no hobbies, doesn't understand cameraderie, and still can't understand why it matters that I make a few jumps every month and maintain contact with other jumpers. Started bitching about the time & money spent at the DZ, and refused invitations to come along and get to know these folks. (Before marriage, she thought it was kinda neat and enjoyed spending the day with me on my occasional trips to the DZ. Even made a tandem in 1990 and said it was "nice." But from her perspective, skydiving was something I did once in a while, not every week or two.) Still, I love this sport! Cheers, Jon S. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites idlewild70 0 #22 December 31, 2004 My friend Won 2 tandems from 95.5 wbru, a local radio station in Rhode Island.-Fish Blue skies, Soft landings Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites JumpRu 14 #23 December 31, 2004 I did my first one to impress a girl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Adriandavies 0 #24 December 31, 2004 I'm a travel agent so occasionally I get the odd good deal or free offer. I was in Cairns (Australia) scuba diving (for free), and talking about my travel agency to the marketing manager of the dive shop. He offerred to take me around town and introduce me to a few more suppliers, which meant I ended up at Skydive Cairns talking to their marketing manager. He offerred me a free 8000 foot tandem which I paid to upgrade to 12000. So I went along and did the tandem, loved it, and went back the following year to try to get through AFF although I ended up graduating back in the UK. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites sabr190 0 #25 December 31, 2004 Drunken bet with a former Airborne Ranger buddy of mineI thank him every time I see him "The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few, or the one" - rehmwa Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next Page 1 of 7 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. 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NWFlyer 2 #4 December 30, 2004 Two major things have happened in my life in the last 18 months. 1) I lost 125 lbs and got in shape. 2) I got hit by a car (as a pedestrian) and spent 6 days in the hospital. Both woke me up to how much of my life I'd wasted waiting for "someday." Time to get moving Learned to snowboard in the midst of all my rehab last winter (yeah, my physical therapist and massage therapist loved me!). Took up scuba. Dusted off my rollerblades. Did all the stuff I'd talked about doing for years but never did. Since August, that list has included skydiving. I'm hardly a "natural," in fact this is one of the toughest things I've ever had to learn. But the thing that's different now is that I welcome that kind of challenge rather than run away from it. Skydiving has brought me to tears more than once (and no, not tears of joy, though I fully expect those at some point). But... wow."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Travman 6 #5 December 30, 2004 I was 7 years old, watching the old sitcom "Herman's Head". In one episode Herman goes skydivng, and I just said to myself "I'm going to do that!" I think my parent's hoped it'd pass, 7yr olds often come up with crazy ideas, but when I was 19 I did a tandem and loved it. Took me 18 months to finally getting around to doing my AFF, but I got there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
calledisrael 0 #6 December 30, 2004 a friend of mine is moving to central asia, and she wanted to go and ride roller coasters before she left. a few of us planned the day, and realized that week that six flags had already closed for the season. we had all been in missionary training together, and heard all these talks on kicking your fear in the face and pressing in to what you are afriad of to be an overcomer. i had suggested then (jokingly) that we try skydiving. when roller coasters (which i hate, btw) didn't work out, they wanted something "even more exciting" - i brought it up again, and they agreed with much hesitation. four of us went out to do tandems. everyone else was an adrenaline type, liked it. i was the one who had been too scared and almost backed out once i had the harness on - i just wasn't going to let them be cooler than me and go without me. i had a kick-ass tandem instructor who showed me why he loved it. dreamed about jumping for the next two weeks afterward. and since then i have not been able to stop. got three books, an altimeter, and more funding for aff from the family for christmas. so i also hold them accountable for how i got into skydiving. they keep telling me that they would rather me be here and skydive than move overseas. little do they know that the two are not mutually exclusive. :) life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stratostar 5 #7 December 30, 2004 Been around it from the day I was born, spent many years with my head out the door watching, when I turned 16 they pushed me out. ~you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mik 2 #8 December 30, 2004 worked in the US (Atlanta) on a project with a guy - met him a couple of months later by chance in Sydney, Australia.. one night when we were both pissed he told me he was going for a tandem and asked if I would like to... beer goggles (not afraid of anything when drunk) came into play and before I knew it I was on a tandem at Picton.. Terrified but refused to let it get the better of me so did AFF in South Africa a month or so later.... *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chester 0 #9 December 30, 2004 Went to a DZ to watch a friend of mine jump and I got hooked right away J-S ---- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EdC 0 #10 December 31, 2004 I suck at bowling so I thought I would try jumping instead. Big Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
funks 1 #11 December 31, 2004 a little off topic but are you really interested in how we all got into skydiving or are you more concerned with advertising that url at the bottom of your post? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheenster303 0 #12 December 31, 2004 I went with a friend to the dz to watch her jump thinking that I would never skydive. I saw all the people landing and not dying and decided that I wanted to do a tandem.I'm so funny I crack my head open! P.M.S. #102 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bisqit999 0 #13 December 31, 2004 Quotea little off topic but are you really interested in how we all got into skydiving or are you more concerned with advertising that url at the bottom of your post? Gotta be the URL....I was thinkin the same thing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #14 December 31, 2004 I was climbing up the side of a big piece of granite. I saw these two guys go flying by. I said "wow, I've got to try that!" So I went out to figure out what I needed to do. It turned out the first step was "make a couple hundred skydives..."-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #15 December 31, 2004 QuoteI suck at bowling so I thought I would try jumping instead. Me too... I kept losing gutter awareness – so they kicked me out of the alley and told me to try skydiving instead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drdive 0 #16 December 31, 2004 My daughter wanted to do a tandem on her 18th birthday. I took her to Skydive Snohomish, and decided if whe was going to do it, I would too. Scared the crap out of me when the door opened at 12K, but as soon as I hit the ground, I knew I had to do it. It is AWESOME. Ed in Spokane"We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub" " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #17 December 31, 2004 Quotea little off topic but are you really interested in how we all got into skydiving or are you more concerned with advertising that url at the bottom of your post? I didnt even notice that URL... Checked it out... Do we really need another skydiving forum? I have a hard enough time keeping up with this one! FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gemini 0 #18 December 31, 2004 Trent called from NY and said "I just did a tandem and it was the greatest thing! You've got to try this." "No", I said "I'm to old." "To late I already bought you a tandem at Skydive USA for next weekend when I'm back in Houston." "I'm not sure I want to do it." "But you said you always wanted to!" "When?" "When you joined the army as infantry airborne." "It was 1967 and I was 19 and stupid then!" "Well, you have to do it. I charged it on my credit card already and there are no refunds." "Ok" Blue skies, Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
digitalamnesia 0 #19 December 31, 2004 I had wanted to do it for a couple of years, so I asked about, searched the internet, told my mum. She thought it was just a phase. Eventually i sent off for a brochure. A couple of months later i had the money for AFF L1 and now iv nearly saved enough to finnish AFF. My mum still hopes its just a phase lol but i just say at least im not on drugs, this hits her even more now since an old friend of mine died as a result of drugs so this helps her accept skydiving, untill i showed her a piccy of a wing suit. she kinda looked like this smily ------------------------------------------------------- if you wanna see the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timbarrett 0 #20 December 31, 2004 I was just getting into flying aerobatics when my partner suggested that I make a jump so I would be more willing to jump just in case I pulled the wings off my plane....I made an AFF jump and I was hooked immediately..guess i discovered what real flying felt like.. It seems like a natural progression..SCUBA, sailing, flying and then skydiving...."Work hard, play hard and don't whinge" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Airman1270 0 #21 December 31, 2004 I don't remember ever NOT wanting to jump. As a kid I played parachute games, jumped off the swing pretending to pull a ripcord, etc. Went to airshows with Dad and was disappointed if the skydivers got weathered out. (1960's, rounds, etc.) Was working at a grocery store in Sayville, NY in 1979 when a former classmate stopped in. He and another friend had jumped earlier that year near Albany and were going back to try again. I said something like "Wow, I've always wanted to try that", etc. The next day the other friend stopped by my house and said "I hear you want to jump. Wanna come with us?" I went & trained for the first time, but couldn't jump due to weather. They never jumped again. I borrowed Mom's car the following weekend and made the four-hour drive back to Albany, but got weathered out again. The next year I returned with another friend and trained again. No jump. Weather. We returned two years later & trained again. Jumped, landed wrong & broke my ankle. (Friend did fine, but never jumped again.) I sat there waiting for the guys to find me, thinking "Wow, that was so cool!" Went back the next year, jumped, did well and stayed with it. Due to a mix of small income, medical bills, and four-hour trips to the DZ it took nearly two more years to graduate. During that time I learned there was a DZ near my home, but they didn't do student training. Also discovered the Ranch DZ, "only" three hours away. After graduating I made a few jumps close to home. Almost immediately I inadvertently caused/was victimized by an awkward political situation. Got kicked off the local DZ "for life." Spent the next six years driving to distant DZ's, averaging a couple of dozen jumps per year. In 1988 I almost went in on a hard reserve pull and was kicked off another DZ in Woodstock, CT. Got discouraged, almost quit. Got married & moved to Georgia in 1991 & finally began jumping only an hour from home. Wife has no hobbies, doesn't understand cameraderie, and still can't understand why it matters that I make a few jumps every month and maintain contact with other jumpers. Started bitching about the time & money spent at the DZ, and refused invitations to come along and get to know these folks. (Before marriage, she thought it was kinda neat and enjoyed spending the day with me on my occasional trips to the DZ. Even made a tandem in 1990 and said it was "nice." But from her perspective, skydiving was something I did once in a while, not every week or two.) Still, I love this sport! Cheers, Jon S. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idlewild70 0 #22 December 31, 2004 My friend Won 2 tandems from 95.5 wbru, a local radio station in Rhode Island.-Fish Blue skies, Soft landings Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JumpRu 14 #23 December 31, 2004 I did my first one to impress a girl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adriandavies 0 #24 December 31, 2004 I'm a travel agent so occasionally I get the odd good deal or free offer. I was in Cairns (Australia) scuba diving (for free), and talking about my travel agency to the marketing manager of the dive shop. He offerred to take me around town and introduce me to a few more suppliers, which meant I ended up at Skydive Cairns talking to their marketing manager. He offerred me a free 8000 foot tandem which I paid to upgrade to 12000. So I went along and did the tandem, loved it, and went back the following year to try to get through AFF although I ended up graduating back in the UK. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sabr190 0 #25 December 31, 2004 Drunken bet with a former Airborne Ranger buddy of mineI thank him every time I see him "The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few, or the one" - rehmwa Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
