Why don't people skydive?

[decompresion 2]

Quote

most experienced jumpers would never TELL you they are scared of it, while whuffos have no problem expressing their fear.

I call shenanigans on that. I have a healthy amount of fear.
canopy collisions
dust devils
main+reserve entanglement
tail strike
allowing my ego to reach beyond my skills
corking into someone
neglecting my friends and family
someone tracking under me and a "pilot chute in face" malfunction
forgetting leg straps on WS jumps
speeding tickets on the way to the DZ
car accident on the way to the DZ -(most dangerous aspect of skydiving, if you think about it. You are driving an extra 200 miles a week where at any second some idiot can plow in to you at high speed with an SUV. Your car is a piece of crap because you would rather skydive than get a new car. While they were texting and killing you, you are aware of every flesh tearing moment of the accident as your jalopy disintegrates on the highway)

Just to name a few
I admit that I am concerned about these things, but I am not an experienced jumper. I know a few 5000+ jumper who admit to having those same concerns, so they plan their jumps to try and minimize the probability of these things occurring.

skybytch: I agree. fear can be a motivator for experienced jumpers to leave. But an experienced jumper could come up with so many many more excuses:
-significant other won't let me
-too dam expensive
-DZO banned me
-I saw too many friends go in
-Too expensive
-DZ is too far
-Got syphilis in the last boogie
-Moved to a place where there are no DZ's
-My knee/back/shoulder is not up to it
-I don't have the time for it
-DZ became a tandum factory
-DZ shut down
-Weather sucks
-Dropzone drama

There are no dangerous dives
Only dangerous divers

[NWFlyer 2]

Quote

Quote

Maybe "If you would poll 100 skydivers as to why they quit, of the reasons listed, fear would be a much less cited reason, than if you polled 100 wuffos as to why they don't/wont jump".

I'd put money on fear being the motivator behind the exit from the sport for most former jumpers. Difference is - most experienced jumpers would never TELL you they are scared of it, while whuffos have no problem expressing their fear.

Maybe fear isn't quite the right term - with experienced jumpers, it's more that the risk/reward equation doesn't add up anymore for them. That could be because of life changes that change how the jumper feels about taking on the risk (getting married, having kids, taking on responsibility for a sick relative, starting a business, etc.) or because the longer they spend in the sport the more they understand the risk part of that risk/reward equation, or that they see changes in the sport that they believe increase their own personal risk (or some combination of all of the above).

"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

[fastphil 0]

Quote

Because they don't have a skydiving-shaped hole in their lives.

Wendy P.

Hmmm, did I go all the way thru a hole...

[gregpso 1]

Quote

Quote

You want to really increase your testicular mass and get an A license which means you can jump by yourself and not as some handsome mans little spoon?

If an A license increases testicle size in men, what does a D license do to a woman? Do our tits get bigger? Our vaginas get tighter?

And what about those poor guys who end up strapped to some non-penis wearer for their tandumb ride? Did their testicles shrink?

Thanks for the laugh Skybytch great stuff. I now know why I suffer lower testicle size as despite 66 jumps I never got close to an A licence.. and too many tandems !!. I fear I may be gay (not that there is anything wrong with that !) I mean I was strapped to another man in a funny position 19 times (Still have dreams about WOKKA (TM) !) " Greg just get up and gently lower yourself onto my lap !! Shit. (funny how it does not matter up there)

You brightened my day after reading that. !!

I tend to be a bit different. enjoyed my time in the sport or is it an industry these days ??

[gregpso 1]

Quote

Why people don't skydive!
By the one the only the amazing...Shah

1) It's expensive! Per minute of high hookers and blow are cheaper! In fact if you have the hookers bring you the blow...it's still cheaper!

2) It's dangerous! I mean hookers and blow are dangerous but this shit is really dangerous! When was the last time you saw a hooker get her panties in a twist and slam your sorry coke filled head into the ground? Well other than that one time when you found out that said hooker was really a dude and you didn't want to pay her!

3) Speaking of dudes! It's a freaking sausage fest! Who wants to willingly spend this kind of money to be in a place where a peg legged, one eyed, hook handed, one titted tandem passanger is the hot one! Mean while you got like 15 guys holding hands in a big circle rocking colors that would make a blind gay man cry....It's like a total gay pride event in the sky all that's missing is the drag queen!

4) 90% of the time you can't jump! You drive like 4 hours to get to a drop zone only to find out because there is one cloud in the sky you can't skydive! Listen I paid good money for something that costs more than hookers and blow and I'm holding other mens hands here I'm not afraid of a little cloud punching! Hell there is a rainbow in there and we are men holding hands!

5) You can't show off for the ladies! Yeah the reason why any man does anything ever in the history of time was to increase his testicular mass and to show off to the ladies!
Cave man "Look I made fire"
Cave girl "Oh you are so handsome let's have sex!"

Greek dude "Look I discovered math!"
Greek girl "Oh you are so handsome let's have sex!"

Roman dude "Look I invented architecture!"
Roman chick "Grab a pack of Trojans and let's do this!"
==>fast forward<==

Hot rod dude "Look I can drag race faster than that guy!"
Hot rod chick "Oh let's make out in the back seat!"

Squid dude "I like did a sick thing on the bike and it was lie wow!"
Squid chick "Ah you are so brave let's fuck NOW I'll keep my leather boots on!"

Skydiver dude "So I like held hands with these 3 other guys for like a minute while my friend took pictures."
Random girl at bar "You hold hands with other guys!"

6) They are just not radical enough!

Brillantly written Shah funny funny stuff !!

I tend to be a bit different. enjoyed my time in the sport or is it an industry these days ??

[pirana 0]

Quote

I believe that is the number 1 reason people don't jump.

But my answer to that is the only way to overcome that fear is to face it!!

Bry

How about standing in front of speeding trains? If someone has that as a fear, should they face it; or maybe just a sideways glance?

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[skybytch 259]

Quote

I agree. fear can be a motivator for experienced jumpers to leave. But an experienced jumper could come up with so many many more excuses:

Sure we can. But barring true financial difficulty, most people who quit the sport do so because they are scared (they re-examined the risk vs reward thing and this time risk won). Most of us aren't going to admit that to other jumpers, so we come up with other "reasons" that sound much better.

Saw someone go in? Fear that I'm next.
Knees/back/neck not up to it? Fear that I'll hurt them again.
etc...

[erdnarob 1]

I believe that the main reason why people don't skydive is that they have to overcome one of the three insctinctive reflexes of all living mamals : fear of falling, fear of strong unknown noise, fear of fire.
Instinctive reflexes are deeply rooted in our unconsciuousness and rule us to a certain extent. You have to go past your basic insctinct to jump out of an airplane and some people just cannot overcome their instinct by being rational. In their youth a lot of people have been overprotected by parents and see themselves restricted from a lot of "modern" activities like swimming, travel with airplane, jumping from an airplane...etc.
Personnaly I am a jumper since 1973 but when comes the time to go on a roller coaster, I give up. I did try roller coaster in the past but I maybe don't trust now people who do the roller coaster maintenance.
I am also scared by launching myself into starting a business. When young, my parents were never talking about money and business, never. This could be the reason.
That being said, everybody has his fear here and there. Those fears are just not the same for different people.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[DanG 1]

Quote

But barring true financial difficulty, most people who quit the sport do so because they are scared (they re-examined the risk vs reward thing and this time risk won).

I don't think fear is the right word. One of the reasons I quit was that the risk/reward equation didn't add up. It wasn't that I was more afraid for my personal safety, it was that the reward was less than is used to be. In other words, the risk side didn't really go up, the reward side went down. If you need to call that fear, then whatever.

- Dan G

[shah269 0]

It's cheaper to buy a bike.
No joke it is!

Look AFF is how much? $2k? (if you don't screw up!)
Second hand gear is how much? $3k?

You can get a nice second hand bike for that price!

And you can ride your bike almost every day.
AND if you are a man who likes the ladies...well the ladies do love a man on a motorcycle.

You have a double whammy on the sport.
Very high cost of entry, both monetary and potential for getting hurt and very low sex appeal.

It's like engineering school, great place for a heterosexual woman or a gay man.

And stop your bitching money and sex is what makes the world go around! And if you don't like it find yourself a new world to live in.

But once you get past that....there are many reasons to stay or start. It is a great excuse to get some sun and to escape ones home for some fresh air.

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[skydived19006 4]

I think that one of the best answers I noticed here was that the "risk/reward" just doesn't add up for many or most folks. It's not all about the risk, consider the reward side of the equation. If someone honestly and simply has very little desire to skydive, then there is very little on the "reward" side.

I very often tell folks that fear is not a valid reason to not skydive. You're supposed to be scared! It's a scary thing! On the other hand "I don't want to do it." is a perfectly good reason not to skydive, nothing beyond that necessary.

I didn't make my first skydive until I was 25. I likely would have done it at 18 if I had done a little research. It took someone showing up to work on a Monday all excited about his skydive. I did a static line the next Saturday. Many have not done it because they're lazy. They're not motivated enough to do the leg work, pester their friends to go with, set up the reservation, etc. A motivated friend doing all the leg work is enough to get quite a few out for a tandem.

I'm sure that there are endless other things that most here have not done. I've never gone SCUBA diving. Not for lack of opportunity, more for lack of motivation. I've not BASE jumped, as I'd estimate is the case for the vast majority of skydivers. Again for me the risk/reward equation simply does not add up. I don't have enough desire to overcome the risk. I'll freely admit that it would scare the hell out of me, but if I had a high level of desire I'd have no problem overcoming the fear. Although, my wife may have a problem with me BASE jump'n, so I'd also have to overcome any resistance on that end.

So, pick a few things that you've not done such as BASE, SCUBA, fly an airplane, swim with sharks, etc. Ask yourself why, and there's your answer/s.

"If people don't want to come to the ball park, how are you going to stop them?" Yogi Berra

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[Southern_Man 0]

Please stop bringing your bonfire nonsense in here. It is not the place for it.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[shah269 0]

Quote

Please stop bringing your bonfire nonsense in here. It is not the place for it.

What?
1) Expensive learning curve.
and
2) It lacks diversity of genders and races.

What's your counter argument?

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[skydived19006 4]

I just received an email from a female asking that her reservation to do a tandem this weekend be canceled. Why? Because her friends "risk/reward" equations are not adding up. Stated another way, her friends are puss'n out on her, and she's being "a girl" not wanting to "do it by herself."

I honestly thought that my above comments were fairly profound. To the point that I think I'll boil it down, and list it in my FAQs. As with the above mentioned woman, many folks may not understand why all their friends are such a bunch of pussies. This FAQ may lend a bit of prospective.

Ok as a PC disclaimer, the use of the term "a girl" can obviously not be applied universally to all those equipped with mommy parts! Very many women in this sport exemplify what an independent woman can be! Skydiver chicks rock!! Love 'em!

Short story: I was on my way to the DZ one Wednesday afternoon, and made the last turn onto the road we're located. I noticed that a mini van with a one occupant turned that way. She was wearing traditional Muslum head covering, and I thought 'that would be interesting if she's my 4:00 tandem student!' She pulled in at the DZ. She hadn't told anyone where she was going for obvious reasons. That chick had some intentional fortitude!

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[SkyDekker 1,122]

Quote

I figured with all these threads that question why people skydive, I want to know....Why don't people skydive?


Bry

I think it is like any other decision a balance between risks, costs, and rewards and each individual will have a different opinion on each of those factors.

[joeblow9 0]

Its a genetic predisposition. Many of us would like to, but such things are sheer horror. Iv forced myself to do certain amusement park rides, hoping to get over it, but no luck. No different than some people that get sick from certain foods, or allergies. No different than the frustration of people with a learning disability trying to cope with advanced math and multitasking. Some of us would rather be in a fist/gun fight against 5 other people, or be in a burning building, or stay in a jail cell for a week. Why pain ourselves? Remember, we WANT to enjoy it, we KNOW it's safe, but it pains us still.

[DocPop 1]

Quote

Its a genetic predisposition. Many of us would like to, but such things are sheer horror. Iv forced myself to do certain amusement park rides, hoping to get over it, but no luck. No different than some people that get sick from certain foods, or allergies. No different than the frustration of people with a learning disability trying to cope with advanced math and multitasking. Some of us would rather be in a fist/gun fight against 5 other people, or be in a burning building, or stay in a jail cell for a week. Why pain ourselves? Remember, we WANT to enjoy it, we KNOW it's safe, but it pains us still.

Tell that to all the people in the incidents forum.

This is not a SAFE sport. We do what we can to minimize risk but that's not the same. People get seriously injured and people die.

That's the reason why many people exercise their right to not skydive.

"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA