When do you consider yourself a "skydiver"

[Genn 0]

....When I'm skydiving.

[hcsvader 1]

When the door opens!

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[Melt16 0]

I would say once you are no longer a student and capable to jump out by yourself.

[SkydivaII 0]

This thread has kind of changed my mind. I used to think it was after the first time you jumped out of an airplane in flight. It takes a certain kind of person to have the balls to do that. And that person is a skydiver. However, I totally see the point that a lot of people have made. I think it's when you know you'll jump again. And again. And again. It doesn't have anythhing to do with medals or rigs or jump numbers or dollars spent. It's all a mindset.

She did not know that she could not fly so she did.


Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape

[pirana 0]

When I leave the plane.

" . . . 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

[feuergnom 22]

one of my buddies used to tell proud a-license holders the following: yesterday you were a fairly good student. today you are the steam of the shit of a true skydiver

so a "true skydiver" is somebody who'll stay longer than just two or three years and - most important - is able to pack his own gear in reasonable time all others are just tourists

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[npgraphicdesign 2]

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This thread has kind of changed my mind. I used to think it was after the first time you jumped out of an airplane in flight. It takes a certain kind of person to have the balls to do that. And that person is a skydiver. However, I totally see the point that a lot of people have made. I think it's when you know you'll jump again. And again. And again. It doesn't have anythhing to do with medals or rigs or jump numbers or dollars spent. It's all a mindset.

Amen. I was in NY yesterday visiting grandma, and as much as I love her, as I was doing some food shopping for her, I was looking up in the sky and wishing I was up there.

[justintime1983 0]

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one of my buddies used to tell proud a-license holders the following: yesterday you were a fairly good student. today you are the steam of the shit of a true skydiver

so a "true skydiver" is somebody who'll stay longer than just two or three years and - most important - is able to pack his own gear in reasonable time all others are just tourists

Hold on there now buddy!!! 8 years 800 jumps and only a C licence. Not to sure you should be telling who's a real skydiver. At my pace Ill have your jumps in about a year and a half, whos a tourist?

Sorry just thought your post was preaty rough. Im not really sure what defines "skydiver"

For such a freeing sport seems silly to restrain it by definition.

I keep telling my friends skydiving will fix all your problems, Im a fibber you just let go a minute at a time. Choose what to do with it.

[feuergnom 22]

not everbody is priviledged enough to live in a place that alows 12 months of jumping. others are limited by income. not everybody bothers to make a D, especially if one does not live in the us of a. furthermore a uspa-license is of no real value here.

if you get 500 jumps a year - hey good for you and congrats for not being a tourist

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[pirana 0]

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so a "true skydiver" is somebody who'll stay longer than just two or three years and - most important - is able to pack his own gear in reasonable time all others are just tourists

One of the "old guys" at our DZ who has been around a while and who's guesstimates I respect says the half life of a skydiver is about 5 or 6 years. It's wierd to look around the place and realize that almost all the folks that were there when I started in 1995 have moved on.

" . . . 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

[bigbearfng 9]

I'm beginning to think that it may be when the full realization of just how unforgiving this sport can be really sinks in and you can accept that and still feel the need to keep jumping for as long as you can.

"If it can happen to..........(too many names now)............it can happen to anyone."

[airtwardo 6]

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I'm beginning to think that it may be when the full realization of just how unforgiving this sport can be really sinks in and you can accept that and still feel the need to keep jumping for as long as you can.

"If it can happen to..........(too many names now)............it can happen to anyone."

I never thought of it quite that way...but extremely well put!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[klingeme 0]

another thought that I've had is that until you get pied for you 100th, you are kind of a "Tourist". By this I mean you are not "sure" you are going to see that person back at the DZ. After you commit the time and effort into doing 100 jumps, the process of you being "pied" is kind of like saying "Welcome to the club, your now one of us."

Mark Klingelhoefer

[Squeak 17]

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another thought that I've had is that until you get pied for you 100th, you are kind of a "Tourist". By this I mean you are not "sure" you are going to see that person back at the DZ. After you commit the time and effort into doing 100 jumps, the process of you being "pied" is kind of like saying "Welcome to the club, your now one of us."

Mark Klingelhoefer

what about those hundreds of places around the world that dont pie, or have other 100th ceremonies?

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[feuergnom 22]

doing a naked jump or getting pied is an american thing. hereabout 100-jump wonders get a spanking from all the others having more jumps

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[dropdeded 0]

Well I got some stickers on my truck

------------------------------------------
The Dude Abides.
-

[trab1925 0]

***sky·dive (skdv)
intr.v. sky·dived, sky·div·ing, sky·dives
To jump and fall freely from an airplane, performing various maneuvers before pulling the ripcord of a parachute.quote]

What do they call people that do that sort of thing?

panicked did a 180 and nosed it down into a road and hit a car.Hit a car how many planes with skydivers have a car accident? Only here.
-recovercrachead

[AFFI 0]

It was after my separation from my first wife; I was not thinking clearly and blamed myself for not being a better partner to her. I searched for relief from all manner of exterior means, drugs, alcohol, food, sex but nothing would fill the void. Somehow I felt that I would be better off dead, next thing ya know I was sitting in the back of a field with the business end of a shotgun in my mouth, toe on the trigger, sweat pouring – and I thought of my dad, how much it would hurt him if I died that way. I just collapsed to the ground and cried. I had to make it look like an accident and decided that I would skydive, not deploy the parachute and bada bing bada boom! Of course I did not know anything about skydiving, did not know I would have 2 instructors with me that would ensure I deployed my main and knew nothing of RSLs or AADs. After the first jump course I was mentally prepared to end it all and on the plane I was determined to follow through. When the door opened and I took my place in it the terror overcame me, my fear of heights, fear of falling – I chickened out in the door. Luckily one of my instructors signaled the pilot to make a go round and he got militaristic on me, put his nose against mine and yelled “are you here to skydive or not”? I yelled back – yes, I am – he commanded me to take my place in the door and just like in boot camp when a DS told me to do something I did it without thinking. Check left, check right – and the moment my feet left the door I was overcome with the most wonderful sensation. My personal problems instantly faded away and there were no worries, no fear, nothing on my mind but that moment – it was the most beautiful experience, one I not only had been searching for all of my life but one I desperately needed then and there. I landed right in the landing area near the target and the first words out of my mouth to my instructor were “I want your job”. Within a few weeks I was off the depression medication my doctor had me on, the panic attacks I was suffering from stopped, I lost weight – dedicated myself towards the goal of being a skydiving instructor, I finally found what I was born to do – teach…
I left a very good paying career, a nice home and all the bills that go along with the rat race, 20+ hours a week in traffic, all that good stuff – moved into a 22 foot camper parked on the edge of a field where I have been for nearly 8 years living as a full time skydiver and even though money is tight at times, even though I am battling spinal cancer and have had a lot of back surgeries to remove tumors and implant metal – I would not trade my life as a fulltime skydiver for anything – I have never been more content than when I am teaching or never felt more gratified when a skydiver I trained earns a rating or a medal in competition or especially when I get to witness first hand a flailing student transform into a safe and confident skydiver. The only other thing that compares is spending time with my loved ones.

So skydiving is not just a hobby or activity for me, skydiving literally saved my life. To this day, no matter how huge my worries, no matter how insurmountable my problems seems to be, when I am in freefall I experience the same sensation as my first jump – the world and all it’s worries just fade away and there is only the moment. I have trained a lot of others who came to me afterward telling me how skydiving helped them to overcome personal problems, overcome depression and fears just like it did for me. There are times when my issues have me down, when I am not coping well and just want to wallow in it and feel as though I cannot focus enough to jump and there have even been times where I have had to force myself to get on the plane and out the door and 100% of the time the result is the same – everything just fades away and only the moment is there for me to focus on and I feel much better afterwards.

So at what point is someone “considered” a skydiver? Perhaps for each person there is a different answer, I believe for me – I was a skydiver before I made my first jump.

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[rehmwa 2]

...
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

[danielcroft 2]

If there was a clapping emoticon I would have used several. Thanks for posting and thanks for jumping rather than shooting!

[mr_music11 0]

Wow.. havnt seen your bio in Parachutist magazine, but the "how skydiving changed my life" section has been missing an article.. as many blessings to you as your story has given me chills. blue skies brother!

If flying is piloting a plane.. then swimming is driving a boat. I know why birds sing.. I skydive.

[skyh2omedic 0]

Wow, cheeers. Thanks for sharing.
Blue Skies

"You can't teach what you don't know and you can't lead where you won't go"

[erikph 0]

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... not deploy ... bada bing bada boom! ... depression medication ... panic attacks ...

Would you now as an instructor take on a student in this (your) state of mind?

blue skies,

http://myjumps.blogspot.com/

[Baksteen 84]

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***sky·dive (skdv)
intr.v. sky·dived, sky·div·ing, sky·dives
To jump and fall freely from an airplane, performing various maneuvers before pulling the ripcord of a parachute.quote]

What do they call people that do that sort of thing?

Old skool?

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[AFFI 0]

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Would you now as an instructor take on a student in this (your ((Not any more))) state of mind?

Don't have to worry about that, I am likely the only skydiver in the history of the sport that ever experienced "issues" during the course of life.
Just in the event that they are able to hide their personal issues from me while teaching them to skydive safely, howzubout I have every student provide a detailed report from a qualified and competent psychiatrist to ensure that they never had or are currently experiencing any form of negative emotions or depression of any kind what-so-ever?

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…