It's taken this long, is it maybe not right for me?

[B_Charles 0]

First off, sorry this will be so long and sorry if it's stupid I've just been struggling with this and not a single person I know can even remotely relate or help. The deal is, I have a large sum of money coming my way. I can finally afford to jump as much as I want and as often as my schedule provides, I can afford my first rig and all my gear. Essentially I have the means to accomplish this dream of mine finally but my history with the sport up to this point makes me concerned I may have my first mal or something will change my mind in the future and I'll quit and all that money could have went to something else.

I've wanted to jump for as long as I can remember. Sadly it took awhile due to deployments right out of school, marriage, kids, etc.. the dream was all but forgotten at one point. When I was let go from the military I asked myself what to do now and one of those things was to finally jump. So I did, 2010 I made two IAD jumps and fell in love with the sport. I couldn't read, watch, or talk about it enough the following week.

However due to some outside input and my own second guessing during the period following while waiting on more funds to jump I decided maybe it's a selfish and irresponsible thing for a husband and father of two kids to do and I tried to forget about. Three years of constant battling with myself, I'd forget about it but it would always come back begging me to keep going.

Finally end of last summer I made two more IAD jumps since a buddy was going to do a tandem. That all but sealed the deal for me. I told myself I was ok with the risk, and I would do it as safely as possible and that would be a good compromise so I can follow this dream but also not be completely disregarding my wife and kids in the process.

My wife went from not even wanting to be at the DZ when I jumped to doing a tandem herself in November. My obsession kicked into high gear through the winter and our house is littered with books, mags, DVDs, etc related to the sport. We took a mini family vacation to a wind tunnel 6 hours away and all 4 of us got some tunnel time in. That brings us to today, almost jump season, I finally have the money to jump to my hearts content and buy all my gear... I just fear the doubt will resurface and I'll stop at some point and I don't want that.. if I do this thing I want to do it right and go all the way, I want it to be a big part of my life. Not sure what kind of responses I'am even looking for here honestly, maybe reassurance that if I've spent this long and still have not given up then it must be something I cant live without.... or maybe you guy's have seen my type plenty of times and can truthfully tell me I likely won't stick it out, I don't know.. maybe I just needed to vent.

[mjosparky 3]

Sounds to me you have 2 choices, get off the dime and start jumping or buy a bowling ball.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[B_Charles 0]

Damn, I'am only 28 I hope its not time already for an old man's sport like bowling

I agree though and that's why I've been beating myself up about it since finding out about the money. No more is it a couple jumps to "try it out".. it's time to either put up or shut up.

[Joellercoaster 6]

Sparky sums it up.

But the picture is not quite as black and white.

First, buying all the gear up front is not a good idea for a bunch of reasons. So put that aside for a moment and think about the training... go back and rejoin the student program. See how much you enjoy that (and it's a lot cheaper than a rig).

Then there is the tunnel. I know people, especially kids but not just them, who don't skydive, but they fly a lot anyway. So there is that.

It's not an all or nothing decision right now. Dip your toes back in

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[dthames 0]

For no specific reason I waited until I was 54 to do my first jump. Skydiving had always been something I thought I wanted to do but never really seriously considered. With the kids grown, and enough income that I could afford it, I started jumping. Someday I will stop jumping. I don't know when that will be. I will never look back and say, "One that I wanted to do but never did was skydive".

Right after I started jumping I had some problems that made me always consider if I wanted to continue. I even purchased a good used rig with the idea that the rig was a commitment that would keep me in the sport long enough that I would not bail before I had given it a good run. Having my own rig did help me settle into the sport better, but at the same time I figure I could sell it today and get 70% or more of my initial cost out of it. I have spent more on skydiving than about any other hobby in my life. That is just the cost of having fun, I guess. If I didn't feel it was worth it, I would have quit already. I can't say that I am "in love" with the sport but I have always wanted to fly and now I fly.

Don't put your family second to skydiving but you can skydive for a couple years or a couple hundred jumps and then reevaluate. I reevaluate all of the time. You might look back 30 years from now and say, "Wow, I am glad I started with I did".

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[jimmytavino 16]

you say that you're "not sure of what kind of responses I'm looking for. "

well here is a shocker response...
unless your "large sum of $$$" ,,, is SUPER large.....

then First be sure that your family and children have a safe, clean, solid and comfortable HOME, in which to live.
second, estabish college funds for each of them, and make some sensible and cautious investments Into them...
YOUR hobbies and interests may come next,,, IF and when you are properly set,,, in these other areas of your life...

windfalls ( depending on How they have come to you ) should be treated with care and not used to SPLURGE on things,,, imho.
If it's an inheritance, be careful not to disrespect the source.. would that person/persons approve of something that many consider frivolity....??? i.e. skydiving...

If it's a settlement, know that life , likely won't be a continuous stream of those sorts of sums of money...

Be careful with it... don't squander it...
IF skydiving IS important to you, let it be Tough as well.... IF it takes work AND financial sacrifice, for you to afford to make jumps ( as is the case for MOST of the folks in our sport,) then THAT adds importance and value to your jumping accomplishments.
If it's easy.. and just a matter of Blowing some Coin on gear and training and alllll that goes along with it.... then I dunno,, THAT kinda cheapens its value, to MY way of thinking..
sorry to be a downer,,, but you asked...

I often wonder how SOME people are so easliy able to upgrade gear, buy a second rig, travel where and when they want, make as many jumps as possible, and care NOT for the cost.... and then snicker when looking at the old or "outdated " gear of some of Us.... I never gave a thought to the possibility of having " a large sum of money " coming their way... But I guess it DOES occur.

Prioritize....family first , financial security next, correct and fair consideration to extended family members and friends who may have been there for You in the past ,,,,,, a PAID FOR Home....reliable and paid for transportation, and THEN blow it on a hobby....
while having a clear conscience..

With all the best intentions,, and NOT trying to rag on anyone for WANTING something,,,,
I remain yours, cordially, jimmytavino

[format 0]

B_Charles

First off, sorry this will be so long and sorry if it's stupid I've just been struggling with this and not a single person I know can even remotely relate or help. The deal is, I have a large sum of money coming my way. I can finally afford to jump as much as I want and as often as my schedule provides, I can afford my first rig and all my gear. Essentially I have the means to accomplish this dream of mine finally but my history with the sport up to this point makes me concerned I may have my first mal or something will change my mind in the future and I'll quit and all that money could have went to something else.

Downtime of coming to DropZone is meeting people like you.
(being honnest)

edit: was it downside?

What goes around, comes later.

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

The old "Too Big Of A Dream" problem. You've always dreamed about it, but now that it has a real chance of coming true, you have doubts.

The only way to find out is to do it.
Would you rather try it and decide it's not for you?
Or wonder for the rest of your life what it would have been like?

If you are worried about the investment part of it, then take it slow. Do AFF. See how you feel. Get your license. See how you feel. If you feel positive about it, then get your own gear. Start looking earlier, sometimes it takes some time to find a good deal. Patience is often rewarded.

Even if you just jump for a while and then quit, much of the gear can be sold to recover the cost (presuming you bought used gear at a reasonable price).

If you are reasonably smart about it, you can get your A and all the gear for less than $10k.
Even if you don't stick with it, you will always have the experience of it, and there are a lot of lessons in preparedness, decision making, risk analysis and more that can be applied to "real life."

Follow JimmyT's advice about making sure the family is protected if the worst happens. There are a lot of jumpers who have families, and they are fine. But it is a possibility that should be addressed.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[TsunamiGilligan 0]

One simple question one of my instructors posed to me when I was a less than perfect student... are you still having fun? That's what it all boils down to. Do you really enjoy skydiving enough to spend the time and cash that it will inevitably consume?

A little fear is natural. Learn everything about your gear, and that will give you some reassurance. Read the SIM. It's not as entertaining as the YouTube videos and magazines, but it has the information you need to become a safe skydiver. Chat with your instructors whenever you can. Bad whether days, and over a beer after jumping are great times for that.

Expect a mal on every jump, and be prepared to deal with it. Hopefully things go well and you don't need your EPs, but plan for that first mal on every jump. When that first one happens, you should be prepared and ready. If so, then it shouldn't be an experience that would stop you from skydiving.

Bottom line, if you're having fun and your instructors haven't told you to consider taking up bowling (a nice way of saying you're not cut out for skydiving), then I would encourage you to continue.

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

So go do the training and rent your gear up to jump 25 or however long it takes you to decide that you want to be a skydiver. Other than that, stop making excuses! If you want to jump, jump! If you don't want to jump, go do something else! It's normal to have doubts in this sport, but if you really enjoy it that much, you're not likely to want to stop.

In any event, it's not like your gear just disappears if you quit skydiving. You can always sell it and recoup some of the expense, so as long as you got your money's worth of enjoyment out of the training and jump costs, it would have been worth it. If you did each jump and hated it every time, then it would have been a bad decision.

This is probably happening now because it just got real for you. Funnily I started skydiving because I wanted to fly a wingsuit. At 0 jumps, I was pretty gung-ho about flying a wingsuit. Around 160 jumps when I was getting measured for my wingsuit, it got a lot more real for me. I was substantially more nervous about the idea at that point. I did it anyway, but it was like being in AFF all over again. See? Normal.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Jump! You are far more likely to regret NOT doing it, than doing it.

Be frugal.... Just cuz you have a bunch of $ does not mean that you must spend it! That will give you the potential to jump lots or take on other interests too. It will also diminish the "I don't like it" risk.

Have fun!

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[B_Charles 0]

First off I really appreciate ALL of you that took the time to respond. It's been frustrating looking for opinions and advice from family and friends that in general think the sport is insane in the first place. All of your comments brought up reasonable points that go further in easing my concerns than making them worse like others have.

jimmytavino, I especially appreciate your comment as the financial part of the decision is one of my biggest concerns. Up to this point I've not had much money in life (was military for most of it). So it's very important to me to put this money to the best use possible. I've set aside a certain amount to address many of the issues you spoke about and decided to set myself a certain amount to get started in skydiving, beyond that I won't touch the rest, jumps and gear will have to come from working for it.

I figure around $10k would get me well on my way and starter gear when it's time? My wife and I have recently had the good fortune of both getting pretty nice jobs well above what we've been used to in the past so I should be able to afford jumps much easier once beyond my initial limit compared to affording the past 4 jumps I've had. Not to mention the jumps being cheaper in general from being license and having my own gear.

Again, thanks to everyone that replied. I believe I'll take a little bit from many of the suggestions to guide me. I'am going to set a financial plan for it, start jumping and take my time, not get in a hurry to get my own rig, and see where it leads. Hopefully by the time I'am ready to make the large investment for a rig I'll know for sure if it's for me and will be able to justify the spending with a good conscience.

[GD64 1]

B-Charles......I also agree with Jimmytavino's points on financial security for you and your family. Large cash stashes are not easy to come by and you may never see another in your lifetime. But assuming you have that covered, go for it! My best friend and I look back at our skydiving experiences as one of the highlights in our lives. Talking about it always brings a smile.
You mentioned the military.....while I sat in a nasty shithole not of my choosing, I decided that if I got out of there I would skydive. So follow your dream brother.

[DrDom 0]

My advice as a pragmatist:

If you have a bunch of money, invest it all. Seriously. If you do not need it right now go invest it and let it make money for you. Keep working. Do a few jumps and see what happens. Maybe you'll love it maybe you wont. Get life insurance. Seriously. That covers skydiving.

I am the breadwinner in my house. Suffice to say I make an unreasonable amount of money (I'm an ER doc and hospital administrator) and yet I didn't go out and buy gear and go gung-ho into it... I did a few jumps. I loved it but havent been back since fall. If I bought $5000 worth of gear and left it 1/2 a year, maybe I'll have $5200 by now with good returns. Maybe more. THats jump cash. Plus you don't get used to having it.

Live like you have no money, and you'll never worry about it. But remember if you get injured in the sport you better have enough money awaiting you in the bank to cover expenses. Your kids and significant other depend on it.

You are not the contents of your wallet.

[pchapman 261]

DrDom

Do a few jumps and see what happens. Maybe you'll love it maybe you wont. Get life insurance. Seriously. That covers skydiving.

And to add to that for the OP, the standard advice is that you get the insurance first, then go skydiving. Keeps the extreme sport out of all those questions asked when signing up for insurance.

[councilman24 36]

But you still have to make sure the policy will pay off on skydiving deaths, whether you've started or not.

If they ask and you say no they may just not tell you about the exclusion for private aviation, skydiving, and motorcycle racing.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[jimmytavino 16]

you sound like a very sensible person B_Charles and it certainly seems like you have a Great outlook on your responsibilities and on your dedication to your family..Way to be a good Father and Husband..
If you have the time , why not Proceed with learning how to skydive.? It can have a positive effect on all aspects of your life...
Often, things in our day to day, which seem serious, or overwhelming, can be brought back to a reasonable level, in our minds, After time spent with DZ friends , including a few rides to Altitude..

good luck. work hard, play hard...

jmy
A 3914
D 12122