blue sky black death?

[MADPROPS 0]

ok this may be dumb but here it goes

i know what the blue sky part means but whats up with the black death part. does it mean one thing or diff things to diff people

dawns FR suit

live and let live

[JohnRich 4]

It's something that younger skydivers say to show how cool they are, and that they don't fear the possibility of death in the sport.

They usually quit uttering this phrase the first time they lose a friend in the sport, because then it no longer feels cool anymore.

P.S. What is "dawns FR suit" supposed to mean?

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

ummm... did you try a search?

[skittles_of_SDC 0]

Quote

P.S. What is "dawns FR suit" supposed to mean?

I was wondering that too. the conclusion i came to was putting on a flame retardant suit. due to the flaming that the poster was sure would ensue.

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

Quote

It's something that younger skydivers say to show how cool they are, and that they don't fear the possibility of death in the sport.

They usually quit uttering this phrase the first time they lose a friend in the sport, because then it no longer feels cool anymore.

Hmmm... this thread is going to get kicked to the Speacker's Corner really quick.

I guess I cannot consider myself a younger skydiver anymore... I have lost more than one friend in this sport... but I do still say Blue Skies Black Death from time to time.

Amongst other things, IMO, "Blue Skies" can be thought of as "skydiver slang" for Aloha or have a good one or Catch you later bud or Take it easy or what not.

Also, IMO, I believe in certain things being Black Death or, in other words, for example, a habbit persisted or situation, if you get into it or put yourself there, can kill you.

As for the occassional chant you'll hear on jump planes on takeoff right at rotation where someone shouts "Blue Skies" and the rest onboard respond "Black Death". Yeah, its a bit of macho bravado, but what's wrong with a little bit of that as long as you remember that this shit really can kill you?

[airdvr 197]

Quote

ok this may be dumb but here it goes

i know what the blue sky part means but whats up with the black death part. does it mean one thing or diff things to diff people

dawns FR suit

I always saw it as yin and yang...

A reminder to have fun in the sky but never forget what's lurking at the bottom. I don't think that's macho bravado at all. Now my Sport Death t-shirt...that's a different story

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[MADPROPS 0]

yup you hit it on the money


to me it means like some of you have said have fun in the blue sky but when your out of blue sky black death is all that you will see.... as in you die if you run out of sky

live and let live

[madhatter 0]

These guys have pretty much summarised everything said here: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/BSBD

A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
D.S # 125

[wrightskyguy 1]

I've only been jumping for 16 years or so, but it's been around at least that long. The saying is almost as annoying to me as the people that insist on having "Plan B" monogrammed on their cutaway pillow. Get your own material for heavens sake!

John Wright

World's most beloved skydiver

[riggerrob 558]

"Blue skies, black death" is a yin-yang expression that reminds us that - while skydiving may be fun, death always lurks.
I started skydiving in 1977, around the time to phrase was coined in Ghoolidge, Arizona. Back then, guys like Skratch Garrison were learning - the hard way - how to modify military surplus gear for skydiving, learning why it was unwise to wave off with a pilot chute in hand at 2,000 feet, etc.
They learned a lot of lessons the hard way so that we do not have to.
I avoided serious injury through almost 31 years of skydiving, then separated a shoulder in a forced landing last week.
Lately, I have been signing off with "Blue skies, black death!"

[Martini 0]

Your sig line would make more sense if you spelled "dons" correctly. Otherwise it's just WTF.

Sometimes you eat the bear..............

[danielcroft 2]

Quote

Your sig line would make more sense if you spelled "dons" correctly. Otherwise it's just WTF.

Or "Dawn's"

[airdvr 197]

Quote

"Blue skies, black death" is a yin-yang expression that reminds us that - while skydiving may be fun, death always lurks.
I started skydiving in 1977, around the time to phrase was coined in Ghoolidge, Arizona. Back then, guys like Skratch Garrison were learning - the hard way - how to modify military surplus gear for skydiving, learning why it was unwise to wave off with a pilot chute in hand at 2,000 feet, etc.
They learned a lot of lessons the hard way so that we do not have to.
I avoided serious injury through almost 31 years of skydiving, then separated a shoulder in a forced landing last week.
Lately, I have been signing off with "Blue skies, black death!"

Glad you're still able to make that post Rob.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[ltdiver 3]

Best described by legend Pat Works:

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0404b&L=ads-l&P=3305

Quote

From: Pat Works
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Re: Why Blue Skies ?
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 20:46:10 -0800

Keith Levine wrote:

Please anyone, why do we sign off with "Blue Skies", how did this get
started & what is the intended interpretation.

When sequential RW was just getting started in the mid 1970s it started in
ST, AZ, CA, TX, KS, IL western USA. Jumpsuits were small. Most skydivers wore
boots. Belly reserves and ripcords were the norm.

Of course, good inteligent, cool skydivers never got caught dead. we beleived
that until Jim Heydorn bounced with a double total. Poof, the myth of the
right stuff vanished. If Heydorn could bounce, ANYBODY can bounce! Thus, the
brighter pioneer sequential types began to notice that the quality/quantity of
people getting killed by impact appeared random... good skydivers and bad
skydivers both bounced about as high. We noticed that it was not that He screwed up
but rather that fate is the hunter and there is a real element of chance in
skydiving.

We learned that the bright blue friendly sky was balanced, yin/yang style, by
a dark forboding ground. Since the ground snuffed the life it was/is death.
Unsafe practices, as a group were termed black death. The exit count used by my
8-way teams and several others was Blue sky/ Black Death. Sport parachuting
became Sport Death. While the Black Death thing was an insider thing which
translated to Hey yall, lets avoid danger up there it later got adopted and/or
banned by folks who did not and do not understand what it means.

So just as goodby means God be with you

Blue sky/black death is a salute to the sky/earth that means
something like lovely up there/watch out

crazy pat

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[marcandalysse 0]

Quote

blue sky black crotchless underwear
are you ready to.....

who came up with that one? some asshole no doubt!

"The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly." --GK Chesterton

[riggerrob 558]

Bob Celaya

... as in "blue skies, black crotchless panties!"

[tazz 0]

carbone

[rehmwa 2]

A new skydiver wrote me and asked why I'd sign my notes "blues" - I responded




"Blues"

short for "Blue Skies"

Although short for the Phrase "Blue Skies - Black Death" which originated as an acknowledgement that skydiving is a dangerous sport and one must
be ever vigilant, yet accept the daredevil lifestyle, and, further, that we respect and acknowlege those that share that lifestyle because they take the ultimate bad (Black Death) in order to experience the good (Blue Skies - infers a great day to skydive) .

The Phrase "Blue Skies - Black Death" was used as a departing phrase for those that died in the sport and was considered a proper and respectful phrase in mourning. Also shortened to BSBD.

The short version "Blue Skies" has evolved to simply a friendly exit phrase (like "warm Regards" would be in a letter), except more personal as an exchange between friends that share the skydiving sport, or at least between one that jumps and another that understands the culture enough to recognize that wishing blue skies to another is a pleasant sentiment.

Certainly, the wishing of "Blue Skies" to a skydiver has never been misconstrued as wishing them also "Black Death". "Blue Skies" alone, has
never been interpreted that way to my knowledge.

However, with the proliferation of 'weekend jumpers', the culture from the origin may not continue to be educated, and these sentiments and knowledge
of them could fade with time. Even now, 'newbies' (a term used for fledgling skydivers) may be confused when an experienced skydiver
expresses "Blue Skies, Black Death" or "BSBD" on a card of mourning and needs the sentiment explained.

In Contrast - Strangely enough, it would seem, that in similar fashion, to say to someone "Screw You" should be a pleasant sentiment to wish for
anyone. However, in that case, it is rarely taken as a positive sentiment.

The english language is a strange one.


Blues

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rehmwa 2]

I've seen newbies get upset upon seeing the phrase "Blue Skies, Black Death" on memorial signing posters and cards.

They really don't understand.

(In agreement with JR's note - I'd bet a dollar it originated with a few adrenaline junkies that wanted some way to shore up their egos (lots of that in skydiving). But, since then, it seems to be a positive bit of culture now)

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[patworks 5]

More BSBD Info.

Quote

Mike Michigan (facebook 9/12/11) -- As much as I like to read Pats ramblings about the way it was I must add to the understanding of where Black Death originated. It found it's roots in the Desert sands of a place called the Gulch. Many folks from all those states he listed... ventured thru or knew somebody who ventured thru the Gulch at one time or another. It was a time of round stars. Diving and swooping was the way. Gips on wrists was the only way. That was until a wayward stranger with "grippers" on his legs found his way out of the desert and into the line up and yelled: BLUESKY BLACK DEATH!!!. Our innocents was gone. Stories of a bony arm holding a ripcord and teams walking around with one red eye started to filter in. A traveler by the name of Captain Smooth sat me down and told me of sport death. It wasn't as Black as one would have thought just by hearing the phrase. Folks had a belief that skydiving was safe and when someone with more than average ability bounced it shook that belief to the core. So phrases like "You're a dead man til you pull that ripcord" started to bring a new vision to the true reality at hand. Gear was changing at a very rapid pace and some, if not most, of the changes were tested literally on the fly. When someone saw something dangerous it was called to attention but saying" Hey man that's sport death" It was a safety thing. You could die if you keep going in that direction. So where did Blue sky Black death come from? When the radial engined aircraft you happened to be jumping out of wheeled around and lined up on the center-line of the runway and the smoke and dust started to billow up behind the tail. The pilot would shout over his shoulder while looking down the runway at the blue sky he was about to try and drag this aircraft up into: BLUE SKY! and all the folks in the back would yell: BLACK DEATH!!! almost as an affirmation of what could be. Mike Michigan

Quote

Pat Works: Well Said! Thank You Mike! Mike (Michigan Jump Suits < http://michigansuits.com/ >) was a leading force in the development of RW, Freestyle, and Freefly. He's one of perhaps 3-only who led-practiced Skydance. Mainly SKR + my later SkyDance Team) -- During the times we discuss, I was both a regular at the Gulch and had the boon of BJ and Rande stopping by the house every Sunday night (on their way home from the Gulch-USFET) to preview the latest USFET footage for the film "Wings" ---that blew us away!

Yep, We palyed with the mummy-arm grasping a ripcord (BSBD). Yes, a tour of the bounce-craters was a wind-day outing. .... We'd get wasted & pile on the DZ Truck. Zing or whoever would narrate. "Monty and Link have dual impact craters that are only about 4' apart!... we think that is a world record." YES!! The radial-engine 'LodeStall' stalled on Jump Run... Heavy G's...Very exciting!). Later, It killed about 20 jumpers in a horrific crash.