LittleDJ 0 #26 September 6, 2005 mine was when i was younger, i always loved watching the demo's and have always been an adreniline junkie, i didnt get the push to do it till i seen an ad in my local paper wanting people to get sponsored to do it for charity, my mum applied without telling me then helped to reach the target, i dont think i would of actually jumped if it wasnt for the charity, it gave me the first drive and i got addicted.*********************************** LittleDJ!!- There is no such thing as a perfectly good aircraft!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerRamjet 0 #27 September 6, 2005 For me it was an air show at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL when I was in the sixth grade. The Navy's (now defunct) Shooting Stars skydiving team performed there and did stand-up landings on the runway right in front of the crowd. I read every book in school on it, watched the Ripcord series on TV, even had an old 24' round reserve a friend's father brought back from WW2 to play with. Kind of forgot about it for a few years, but the subject came up while working with my brother one day when I was 20. We decided to go out to Z-Hills and check it out. I spent the next 7 years doing NOTHING else, even living on the dropzone (in the loft) for most of a year. Earned my riggers license to help pay for my jumps, built the first 100+ Wonderhogs for Bill Booth, built Eagle rigs for Bill Buchman, even built my own rigs for a while. Life was good. I have a nice collection of firsts, world records, and great memories ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luv2Fall 0 #28 September 6, 2005 The sex.....definately the sex. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpinfarmer 0 #29 September 7, 2005 I can't say what really got me thinking about it. I had never been in a plane before and had actually resisted the idea of flying. However I always liked adventurous things. I took a scuba class and dove several times with a couple friends but after they moved away I never dove again. I do remember watching something on TV back when I was in high school, I think it was 48 Hours. They had an episode about skydiving and was at a friends house watching with him and his brother. I do remember saying I wanted to do that some day and they said they would never try it. They are actually the ones that got me into scuba. The whole idea sort of excaped my mind until a guy in our fire department said he had made a tandem jump and couldn't say enough good about it. Still a few more years passed and while driving west on interstate 80 west of Chicago I saw the signs for Skydive Illinois and Skydive Chicago. I stoped at both, but was to chicken to jump. I even had the waver filled out at SDC. Another year went by and the next winter I started to think about it again. I started looking and reading about it on line and decided to give it a try in the spring. The last day of March in 2003 I was going down the same strech of route 80 and this time went right in to SDI in Moris IL and without hesitation signed up and a few hours later made a tandem jump. I never told anyone, after all I never wanted to fly in a plane before. When I got down I was scared shitless and although I acted cool I wasn't impressed and decided I would never do it again. After a few days the whole experience sort of sunk in and I realized I had done the most exciting thing in my boring life and was just to stupid to realize it. The next week I went to a different DZ where they offerd AFF thinking if I could do it my self I might like it better. After that first Aff jump I was hooked. The thrill of free fall and then the silent beauty of the canopy ride is still something I can't describe to a non-jumper. I think that sort of sums it up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrEaK_aCcIdEnT 0 #30 September 7, 2005 lets see... cause people said i wouldnt do it. Thats the reason i do alot of stuff. I love it when people tell me i cant. also the sky chicks. Whom i stay away from due to shyness. Overall just the friendly atmosphere! The people are great! ExPeCt ThE uNeXpEcTeD! DoNt MiNd ThE tYpOs, Im LaZy On CoRrEcTiOnS! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amy1975 0 #31 September 7, 2005 Hello, Ive been wanting to skydive for a little while now it was just one of those things that i thought would be a really cool experience, and it was. I only have one jump and feigning for my second jump, i cant wait to go again im hooked. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jedeisurf 0 #32 September 7, 2005 My first interest in skydiving was after watching point break but never thought about doing it. I was at a bar and they had some skydiving pamphlets took one called the DZ been jumping ever since. David Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #33 September 7, 2005 Weren't they called The Chuting Stars? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #34 September 8, 2005 Extreme SkyFlyer ride at Canada's Wonderland amusement park in 1996. I did a tandem the next year, 1997. It still stuck in my mind. Did another in 2002. When my 31st birthday came to pass, and I was in a new job, I decided to go for a freefall progression course. Decided I'd regret it more if I didn't fork over the money for the opportunity. I did see a demo jumper land 20 feet away from me back in 1988/1989 and the skydiving movies in the early 1990's, but Extreme SkyFlyer was the one that made me decide to want to try it for sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerRamjet 0 #35 September 8, 2005 QuoteWeren't they called The Chuting Stars? I'm sure that's right, I was 6.... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bert_man 0 #36 September 9, 2005 I was maybe 13 when I was helping a family friend move out of his house. One of his other friends was there, who happened to be a blossoming skydiver who had just gotten off of student status. I asked him how much it cost and everything, including training and equipment. I never really asked what it was like, because I just knew it would be fun. So I decided to start when I turned 18 (didn't know about the 16-yr-old thing) My 18th b-day came around, and I realized that it was december, and snowing. I looked at some local DZ's websites, and realized that the prices decreased with every level. I just figured it would be more worth the money if I jumped a lot of times, rather than once. Early that spring, I called the DZ and finally talked the DZO into having a static line class with only two people. I then made the goal to get my A by the end of that summer. I ended up getting it before I finished high school two months later Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StephZ 0 #37 September 9, 2005 oh the familiarity of that story! lol, here i am thinking i must be one of the only ones to start at 18 ... (but i say that only because i'm the only one i know of ) so i'm glad to hear a similar story I am not afraid . . . I was born to do this -Joan of Arc- But what do I know, I'm only 19 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slug 1 #38 September 9, 2005 All the young cute guy's running around in their tight shorts with their shirts off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #39 September 9, 2005 Nope , you're not the only one to start at 18. When I was a kid, some jumpers did a demo into our town's 4th of July celebration. Then I read a book about a WW2 paratrooper's jump school training. Then I started reading books about skydiving. A few years later, while away in my first year at college, I made my first S/L jump about a week after my 18th birthday. One of the best days of my life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petrified 0 #40 September 10, 2005 my brother put the idea of skydiving into my head over a couple of drinks. He had been dreaming of doing it for ages. I searched out a DZ and got things going! Mainly, i did it for my 20th birthday, AFF 1, am hooked. Working real hard to get the cash to finish up my AFF course! Peeple of ze wurl, relax! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sagan 0 #41 September 10, 2005 I did my first (and subsequently second) tandem in Capetown, South Africa while on semester at sea. I'm not really sure how I got roped into doing it the first time, I probably thought a chick that was part of the group that was going was cute or something. Enjoyed it so much that I did a second tandem the next day. From then on I kept saying, yea I really think this is a sport I'd like to take up, I wonder what it takes? Back in the states I started AFF a year ago, but had little success due to wind (only 2 jumps from august to october). Then as my graduation present I spent about 2 weeks finishing up AFF. Now everyone can't stand me because all I talk about is how much I love jumping on the weekends.-Patrick Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike111 0 #42 September 10, 2005 Adrian Nicholas went to my old school and did a presentation on his skydiving. That got me interested and then i read into it and the interest grew. Eventually, i did it and was hooked Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDiveCoastie 0 #43 September 11, 2005 LoL i read everyones comments and we all started different ways..me..I just woke up one thursday morning..a beatufiul day in July in S. Florida..and said..today, i want to skydive...and there it was...3 hours later i was at my local dropzone, strapped in a tandem harness, scared out of my mind...lol now i cant stop doing it! only have 16 jumps, but its somthing! LoLDanny The Sky Divin Coastie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyinchicken 0 #44 September 12, 2005 A picture speaks a thousand words! "Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iwasinkheson68 0 #45 September 13, 2005 i was getting stoned listening to pink floyd's 'learning to fly'. getting into skydiving seemed like the most sensible thing to do. six months later i was in perris doing AFF. rock on getting stoned and listening to pink floyd. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jackpunx 0 #46 September 13, 2005 I have been talking about it for a while.. My buddy called me out on it.. and payed for it..LOL.. I have jumped twice this month and am on level 2 of aff.. strung out like a research monkey.. Quote Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites 377 20 #47 September 13, 2005 As a elementary school kid in the 50s I loved big prop airliners. I desperately wanted to fly in one and dreamed of eventually piloting one. Jets came in the 60s and I saw my window of opportunity fading fast. In 1967 I was hanging out at the old Oakland Airport North Field gazing at derilect Connies, Douglas DC 6s and 7s, a Trans Ocean Stratocruiser etc. all put out to pasture as the Boeing 707 took over. I saw a sign at Steven's Paraloft advertising a first jump course complete for $75. I asked if I could ride in any big prop planes as a jumper and they said sure, DC 3s, Lockheed Lodestars, Beech 18s, and even some larger ones at special events. That sealed the deal and I plunked down my money. It was small planes for my first 20 jumps but I soon did get to ride in some big radial engined transports. Amazingly, even in 2005, skydiving remains the best way to sample flight in rare old propliners. Jumping Fat Annie the Carvair at WFFC 2005 is a great example. DC 3 jumps from 15K for a mere $21? You bet, all at WFFC. Propliner paradise for me.2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Thunderbow 1 #48 September 13, 2005 My neighbor and I used to play "Ripcord" from the tv show in the sixties. We'd climb a tree and spot then hum the tune from the show as we jumped. I made plastic parachutes from garbage bags, even bought a couple plasic ones that had the canopy, lines, man and little round tapes to attach lines to canopy. I started flying model rockets mainly because they had parachutes on them. Then one day in 1974 I stopped at the local airport in my hometown (Sturgis, Michigan) to see my friend that was the airport manager. I was on my way to a softball game. Norm Johnson and John Cummings were there touting the skydiving school they were starting. When they offered to knock $10 off of the $100 price of their 10 jump course I thought for about half a second and said sure. That was on a Thursday night and by the next Sunday I was in freefall loving every minute of it.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Lord, let me be the person my dog thinks I am. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RossDagley 0 #49 September 13, 2005 I was told the chicks dig it and I'd guarantee to be cool. Damn liars - now I'm just broke. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites OzoneJunkie 0 #50 September 13, 2005 Flying dreams. A lot of flying dreams. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 3 Next Page 2 of 3 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. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
377 20 #47 September 13, 2005 As a elementary school kid in the 50s I loved big prop airliners. I desperately wanted to fly in one and dreamed of eventually piloting one. Jets came in the 60s and I saw my window of opportunity fading fast. In 1967 I was hanging out at the old Oakland Airport North Field gazing at derilect Connies, Douglas DC 6s and 7s, a Trans Ocean Stratocruiser etc. all put out to pasture as the Boeing 707 took over. I saw a sign at Steven's Paraloft advertising a first jump course complete for $75. I asked if I could ride in any big prop planes as a jumper and they said sure, DC 3s, Lockheed Lodestars, Beech 18s, and even some larger ones at special events. That sealed the deal and I plunked down my money. It was small planes for my first 20 jumps but I soon did get to ride in some big radial engined transports. Amazingly, even in 2005, skydiving remains the best way to sample flight in rare old propliners. Jumping Fat Annie the Carvair at WFFC 2005 is a great example. DC 3 jumps from 15K for a mere $21? You bet, all at WFFC. Propliner paradise for me.2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thunderbow 1 #48 September 13, 2005 My neighbor and I used to play "Ripcord" from the tv show in the sixties. We'd climb a tree and spot then hum the tune from the show as we jumped. I made plastic parachutes from garbage bags, even bought a couple plasic ones that had the canopy, lines, man and little round tapes to attach lines to canopy. I started flying model rockets mainly because they had parachutes on them. Then one day in 1974 I stopped at the local airport in my hometown (Sturgis, Michigan) to see my friend that was the airport manager. I was on my way to a softball game. Norm Johnson and John Cummings were there touting the skydiving school they were starting. When they offered to knock $10 off of the $100 price of their 10 jump course I thought for about half a second and said sure. That was on a Thursday night and by the next Sunday I was in freefall loving every minute of it.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Lord, let me be the person my dog thinks I am. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RossDagley 0 #49 September 13, 2005 I was told the chicks dig it and I'd guarantee to be cool. Damn liars - now I'm just broke. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OzoneJunkie 0 #50 September 13, 2005 Flying dreams. A lot of flying dreams. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
