Risk

[Tomcat933 0]

Before i made my first jump, i thought that skydiving was something that i was going to do one time, check off my bucket list, and move on. Now, after my twenty-first jump, i've almost achieved my A license and its clear that i am not going to stop anytime soon. I LOVE this sport

already. The sensation of freefall is absolutely amazing, and i can think of nothing that could match the thrill of jumping out of an airplane. Now that i'm hooked for life, I just wanted to ask you guys your opinion on how risky skydiving is, really? With the pretty limited knowledge of

skydiving that i have gained thus far as a student, i've realized that jumping out of an airplane is not nearly as dangerous an activity as the average person believes it to be. But people still die skydiving every single month in the United States. I don't plan to push the envelope in

my skydiving career, i may never wing load higher than 1:1, and i try to stay as aware and safety oriented as possible on every jump. Like i said, I'm stuck now for better or worse. So how often have you veterans had oh shit moments? Has anyone every seen a friend go in

or get critically injured and thought "man, they didn't do anything wrong"? I'm staying either way, but what are my chances, in your guys opinion, as a conservative skydiver, of killing or seriously injuring myself in this sport?

[sparkie 0]

do you really expect a serious answer?

stick with it, and answer your own question.

[rivetgeek 0]

You can do everything right and still die in this sport. There are things you can do to minimize the risk (progressing slowly, good gear checks, getting as much coaching as can, not swooping or doing low turns) .

But the fact remains that you could be loaded at .5:1 and landing 200 meters out and still get tangled up by a faster flying jumper, or have a plane crash (read the ntsb reports, it will scare the piss out of you) or even something as simple as a faulty altimeter (rare but possible)

Do a forum search for "shindig" and find the tragic accident he suffered in the incidents forum. He was a very experienced jumper and while there is speculation that his camera wings may have interfered, its just speculation. Long and the short of it was he chopped a mal and never managed to pull his reserve for whatever reason.

If it can happen to him it can certainly happen to anyone.

~Bones Knit, blood clots, glory is forever, and chicks dig scars.~

[skydiverbry 0]

Glad I never got hurt



Bry

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Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[virgin-burner 1]

you fell down the stairs AFTER skydiving when drunk, right!?

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[rivetgeek 0]

On my very first jump I got injured...scraped my knee on the grip tape of the twin otter's floor before jumping ; p

~Bones Knit, blood clots, glory is forever, and chicks dig scars.~

[skydiverbry 0]

Hell,I didn't even get drunk!!
I was on my way to the fridge after the beer light came on and ran into a wall!!!
Smashed my face then fell backwards and hit my head!!


Never even got to the beer after that.
Hell if I was drunk maybe I would have sway and zig-zaged and missed it



Bry

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Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[virgin-burner 1]

and they say drinking is bad for you; but it could save a life!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[skydiverbry 0]

Saved mine a few times
Too drunk to fight the biggest guy in the bar



Bry

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Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[virgin-burner 1]

not so much if its a midget-bar!

protect your balls at all times tough!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[skydiverbry 0]

Bry

--------------------------------------------------
Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[brettski74 0]

Skydiving can be as risky or as safe as you choose to make it. Nobody's forcing you to jump from planes. Nobody is forcing you to participate in any particular discipline, on any particular jump or to jump with any particular people. The choices you make will determine just how much risk you're taking on.

As far as your comments about being conservative, that's great, but you're new. Your attitudes will probably change over time. I'm quite sure that there are a lot of people out there flying a cross-braced canopy loaded at 2:1 or more that once upon a time never thought they'd be flying a canopy at such a wing loading. In fact, at one point in time, the conventional wisdom that such a wing loading was unnecessary, unreasonable and just plain unsafe, and on the canopies of the time, it probably was. The sport will change over time, as will your attitudes toward it. Just keep learning, make sensible choices and there's a good chance you'll be around for a good long while to come.

[Sangi 0]

Quote

I don't plan to push the envelope in

my skydiving career, i may never wing load higher than 1:1, and i try to stay as aware and safety oriented as possible on every jump.

That's what they all say at the start.. Wait a couple of hundred jumps more and you will be singing a different song...

"Dream as you'll live forever, live as you'll die today." James Dean

[Will_Evo 0]

Look at USPA's site, I forget where but they have a statistic for the number of injuries to the number of jumps done each year.

Also, the amount of oh shit moments really just depends. I have 64 jumps, and had a cut away at 30, then at 60 I had a low speed mal, had to land with my rear risers. It just all depends. Some people have thousands of jumps and have never cut away.

Be safe, check your gear every jump, have a good plan, and have fun!

-Evo

Zoo Crew

[rdufokker 6]

If you have ever ridden a motorcycle (street) you will realize that skydiving is a heck of a lot safer.

Irony: "the History and Trivia section hijacked by the D.B. Cooper thread"

[virgin-burner 1]

you should revise your packing..

never had anything like that happen in close to 250 jumps..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[freeflyit 0]

>>Your attitudes will probably change over time<<

I was thinking the exact same thing. I wonder how many other 'for better or for whorse' commitments like this he's made and they just didn't end up working out for one reason or another. Not trying to judge, just life is unpredicatable is all.

At my DZ, we say this jokingly of course but its more dangerous to be at the DZ on the ground than in the air...especially the rain days.

[cocheese 0]

You're scaring me dude. Go study the last 100 deaths in the incidents forum before you jump again.

What are your chances? Higher than average is my guess. You don't get it. You will say "Oh shit" very soon. You will know the guy who went in very soon.

Veterans have "Oh Shit" moments more often than they expect to have them because shit happens when you least expect it. You "least expect it" already. See the problem?

[Will_Evo 0]

My cutaway was a packing error and it has been fixed, the second mal was just bad luck really. Toggle came lose on opening and knotted up before coming completely undone and caused line twists. No Bueno.

-Evo

Zoo Crew

[skydiverbry 0]

Bad Luck???

Yep,that what happened to me then...bad luck

Bry

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Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[davelepka 4]

Quote

as a conservative skydiver

What does that mean? If that means keeping a low wing loading, and only jumping in light winds, you're leaving alot of risk factors on the table.

If only do solos, that's a step.

If you only jump from 182s, when you never have more than three other canopies in the air, that's a step.

If you buy the other three slots on the 182, that's a step. No chance of a canopy collision then.

If you have a rigger pack your main every time, that's a step.

If you have an A&P check out the plane before every load, that's a step.

If you only fly with an ATP rated pilot who gets yearly recurrent training, that's a step.

Now if you were to take all those steps, you'd be paying $500 a jump. Even then, you're still flying in a small plane, and jumping out of it. It's not hard to see the risk there.

Otherwise, no matter what you do, you're always going to depend on the maintenence of the aircraft, the performance of the pilot, the performance of the other jumpers in the plane, and the performance of the packer (maybe you) to ensure your safety.

It's up to you to decide if you can indeed count on those factors, perform well enough yourself to overcome those factors, or quit jumping. It's that simple.

[muff528 3]

Quote

you fell down the stairs AFTER skydiving when drunk, right!?

I remember the guy who got drunk after skydiving and fell asleep in the fire at Zhills. This incident taught me to lean AWAY from the fire while partaking in the evening festivities. (I won't mention any names but he was of the Brit persuasion.)

[skydiverbry 0]

Now thank would suck!!!
How drunk would you have to be to sleep in a fire!!

Damn!!!

Bry

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Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[skybytch 259]

Quote

That's what they all say at the start.. Wait a couple of hundred jumps more and you will be singing a different song...

Really? I have 1200 jumps and I still try to stay as aware and safety oriented as possible on every jump. Don't you?

[JohnMitchell 14]

[reply but what are my chances, in your guys opinion, as a conservative skydiver, of killing or seriously injuring myself in this sport?

I've figure statistically you have a 1 in 1000 chance of getting killed each year you jump regularly. That's 1% in a decade. I plan to jump for about 5-6 decades, so I figure I have a 95% chance of finishing the ride.
What can you do to improve your odds? Most people die from

A. Low turns on highly loaded canopies
- Don't jump them. Don't swoop.

B. Low turns to avoid obstacles on conservatively loaded canopies.
- Learn to fly your parachute better. Learn to fly and turn in half brakes. Get good at accuracy.

C. Canopy collisions in the landing area.
- Learn to look around for traffic. Keep your head on a swivel, like a fighter pilot in enemy territory.
-Fly a predictable pattern for landing.
-Jump at DZ's that have separate landing areas for swoopers, and enforce it.

D. Poorly handled malfunctions
- Jump with an AAD
-Use an RSL. Big debate on this, but I feel the benefits outweigh the risks, esp. for conservative wing loadings.

Learn how you gear works. Get a pincheck before every jump. Check your handles and harness yourself before jumping. Realize there is not a skydive you can make that can't kill you if you give it enough chances.

This sport is a personal choice. Have the rewards outweighed the risks? For me, yes, it's been very rewarding. But if I knew it was going to kill me, I'd sell my gear tomorrow.