jclalor 12 #1 September 8, 2008 I am really not nervous jumping but during the time I spend on this site I find myself thinking what hell am I doing. I get a real pit inside my stomach reading about the realities of this sport. Does anyone else have this issue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
labrys 0 #2 September 8, 2008 QuoteI get a real pit inside my stomach reading about the realities of this sport. This is an Internet forum. Some things you read here are real and some things are not.Owned by Remi #? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
millertime24 8 #3 September 8, 2008 What are you reading on here that makes you nervous? Or better yet, why do you think some of what you read here makes you nervous? I do agree with the second post though. Theres a hell of a lot of shit on here that isnt real or has never actually been done.Muff #5048 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jclalor 12 #4 September 8, 2008 QuoteWhat are you reading on here that makes you nervous? Or better yet, why do you think some of what you read here makes you nervous? Mainly all the deaths I read about on these pages,I know some are BS but I think the majority are credible. I heve never watched anything more than the camera guy sprain his ankle where I jump. When I read stuff here it's real easy to put my self in their situation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites peregrinerose 0 #5 September 8, 2008 The reality of the sport is that people die. If you're in it long enough, you'll know someone that goes in and/or see it happen (I always hoped that saying was bullshit, but unfortunately it's not ) Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jtval 0 #6 September 8, 2008 Quote The reality of the sport is that people die. If you're in it long enough, you'll know someone that goes in and/or see it happen ) everyone forget to say, YOU MAY BE THE ONE BURNING IN.My photos My Videos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites chrismgtis 0 #7 September 8, 2008 Quote The reality of the sport is that people die. If you're in it long enough, you'll know someone that goes in and/or see it happen (I always hoped that saying was bullshit, but unfortunately it's not ) This sport is like anything else. You can die at anytime. Gear in this sport has hit the point that you can really be in control of life or death. Fact is 97% of deaths in this sport are due to really stupid mistakes and the rest are either someone else's mistake that kills you or something you stupidly overlooked. When you realize that just like everything else, you can participate and stay alive, it makes things as easy as anything else in life that we do day to day. Go ahead and jump. You really do not have any more chance of dying in a skydive than you do driving your car to work. The "realities" of this sport are no worse than every other danger we are exposed to every day in our lives. It's just portrayed as very dangerous and you hear about these things from sources that make you feel like it's worse than it really is.Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites aresye 0 #8 September 9, 2008 You must make peace with yourself knowing that people do die in this sport, you may get injured, and if you stay in it long enough, you may get killed. Incidents unfortunately show that the majority of those involved are experienced jumpers. Just never stop training for EPs. Keep rereading your first jump course material. Pull your handles when you get a repack. Skill permitting, intentionally go unstable in freefall, and learn various ways to recover.Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites peregrinerose 0 #9 September 9, 2008 The 'reality' of this sport is you can do everything 100% right and still die. My husband and I 'joke' about being entirely too close to 11% of the fatalities last year. The bitter cynicism is how we deal with it. When you are slapped upside the head with a friend or two dying in front of your eyes, you'll have a different outlook. I could have written those same words a few years ago... in fact, I probably did. And some older and wiser jumper told me my perception of the sport would change. They were right. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #10 September 9, 2008 I remember when those stupid "No Fear" shirts first came when everything was first beginning to be called eXtreme. The company came to an early 90s Bridge Day and set up a booth at the BASE trade show. When asked by a rep if I wanted to buy a shirt I answered, "Yeah right, when you get one that says "Big Fear" let me know . . . And to whoever told the OP that this is the internet and some stuff here isn't the truth that's actually one of the few fibs (probably unintentional) I've seen here. The skydiving community is small and we also hear about the incidents, accidents, and otherwise scary events in other ways. And very few of us that have been around awhile (and can smell BS a mile away) rarely read anything here we haven't heard of happening before. I do, however, sometimes think some people pose as newbies here just to ask stupid questions (at least I hope to hell some of them are) but if it's an interesting question I'll take the bait because some real newbie out there is probably really wondering about it . . . NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites denete 2 #11 September 9, 2008 QuoteI am really not nervous jumping but during the time I spend on this site I find myself thinking what hell am I doing. I get a real pit inside my stomach reading about the realities of this sport. Does anyone else have this issue. Yes, but it hasn't been a bad thing for me. Let me re-phrase that. For me, it has been a good thing. Last month I woke up one Sunday morning and couldn't wait to get back in the air. It had been 3 weeks and I had gotten "spousal clearance" for a full Sunday at the DZ. At 7:30 AM my bags were packed, my gear was loaded, I had food packed in my backpack and a cooler of water on ice. I woke up the computer and did a quick check of the forecast and radar before hitting the road. While I was checking the forecast I checked my e-mail and then did a quick sweep of dropzone.com out of habit. My eyes locked on an incident report that was posted just 15 hours earlier. There had been a fatality at my home dropzone. I sat in that chair for the next four hours. I went through some serious soul-searching that day. I stayed home. I contemplated the one scenario that I had known about since the beginning, but had never truly put myself into. You can do everything right, and still die. The rewards of jumping outweighed the fear of things that are out of my control. Now before I leave the house to go to the dropzone, I spend some time reading the incidents forum. It keeps me grounded, and it never lets me forget that it can happen to me. - DavidSCR #14809 "our attitude is the thing most capable of keeping us safe" (look, grab, look, grab, peel, punch, punch, arch) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites popsjumper 2 #12 September 9, 2008 QuoteI am really not nervous jumping but during the time I spend on this site I find myself thinking what hell am I doing. I get a real pit inside my stomach reading about the realities of this sport. Does anyone else have this issue. Having this "issue" is a good thing. That pit in your stomach is keeping you aware of the realities. I'd say don't lose it. Keep it, think about it, stay aware of it your entire skydiving career. It just may prevent you from getting complacent and ignoring safety.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Cari 0 #13 September 9, 2008 Reading things here actually tends to make me feel more comfortable because it makes me see that most deaths are avoidable. Obviously, there are going to be some crazy exceptions where there are unexplainable and unavoidable malfunctions that lead to death or serious injury. The things I have read here have only made me considerably more conscious of safety than I might have been otherwise. Instead of simply assuming that my safety is in the hands of the gear I'm using, it has made me realize that my safety is in my hands. I'm also quite new to the sport though. I hope as I become more experienced, I don't get too "comfortable" and start relying on my equipment (as opposed to checking everything out for myself) more than I should. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites FourSideDean 0 #14 September 9, 2008 I remember when I first started in the sport (6 months ago) I was looking at YouTube videos of malfunctions. I read all the safety and fatality items in parachutist magazine also. From these things I learn what went wrong and do everything I can so that it doesn't happen to me. Also... If you ever have any questions ask an instructor, coach or master rigger. These guys have years of experience. Get to know some of them personally so that you can give them a call or shoot an email if you ever have a question. My AFF instructor is one of my friends. He moved away but I still keep in touch and I know he give great input from what he has learned not only from personal experiences but from data he knows to be true. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Reginald 0 #15 September 9, 2008 QuoteThis sport is like anything else. You can die at anytime. Gear in this sport has hit the point that you can really be in control of life or death. Fact is 97% of deaths in this sport are due to really stupid mistakes and the rest are either someone else's mistake that kills you or something you stupidly overlooked. I’ve got to disagree with that statement. I’ve seen competent people with thousands of jumps die due to gear failure on modern well maintained gear. The chances are slim but don’t fool yourself into believing it can’t happen. QuoteGo ahead and jump. You really do not have any more chance of dying in a skydive than you do driving your car to work. The "realities" of this sport are no worse than every other danger we are exposed to every day in our lives. It's just portrayed as very dangerous and you hear about these things from sources that make you feel like it's worse than it really is. Again not true. We take an enormous amount of risk every time we step out of an airplane. Please don’t compare it to driving to work. That line of logic has been long since refuted. Stay in the sport long enough and you’ll see your friends die and become crippled. That is a fact. While the risk is small it is not zero and should not be dismissed. I personally take on the risk because I believe the rewards are worth the risk. But do not think the risks don’t exist. This is a risky sport, understand the risks and try to minimize them, but accept that they can’t all be controlled. Make a personal choice to accept them or not. One of the best quotes I’ve heard is from a friend with 12,000 jumps and 20+ years in the sport. He was talking about the long list of friends he watched die or become crippled and he said, “This sport is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, but it also eventually extracts an enormous price.” Keep your eyes open and make your own decisions."We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites JohnMitchell 14 #16 September 9, 2008 Quote I remember when those stupid "No Fear" shirts first came when everything was first beginning to be called eXtreme. I like the ones that say "Know Fear". That's more my speed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites brokenwing 1 #17 September 9, 2008 The reality of life is that everyone dies -- you only have some choice in the path and perhaps a little less in the exit point Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites pirana 0 #18 September 9, 2008 QuoteThis sport is like anything else. You really do not have any more chance of dying in a skydive than you do driving your car to work. Huh? This sport is like very few other things. Maybe you are a really bad driver." . . . 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites npgraphicdesign 2 #19 September 9, 2008 Quote Quote This sport is like anything else. You really do not have any more chance of dying in a skydive than you do driving your car to work. Huh? This sport is like very few other things. Maybe you are a really bad driver. Maybe he/she drives a drag car as a daily driver. Those have parachutes that help it slow down at the end of the race or maybe he/she does this on the way to work every day... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZyGMKpgyHA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites squarecanopy 0 #20 September 10, 2008 Having this "issue" is a good thing. That pit in your stomach is keeping you aware of the realities. I'd say don't lose it. Keep it, think about it, stay aware of it your entire skydiving career. It just may prevent you from getting complacent and ignoring safety. REREAD THE ABOVE COMMENT. SEVERAL TIMES OR UNTIL YOU LOCK IT IN. As for your feelings, you are normal to come to the realization that - it ain't an amusement park ride -you really can die doing this. Go with it, face your natural fear, and decide for yourself if jumping is worth the risk. For me there is nothing else risky or not, that I would rather do. Reading about other people's troubles is good for realizing what could happen but don't let it overwhelm you; let it serve the purpose of educating you without having to go through it yourself, and be just that much more prepared for when stuff happens. Just burning a hole in the sky..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peregrinerose 0 #5 September 8, 2008 The reality of the sport is that people die. If you're in it long enough, you'll know someone that goes in and/or see it happen (I always hoped that saying was bullshit, but unfortunately it's not ) Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtval 0 #6 September 8, 2008 Quote The reality of the sport is that people die. If you're in it long enough, you'll know someone that goes in and/or see it happen ) everyone forget to say, YOU MAY BE THE ONE BURNING IN.My photos My Videos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrismgtis 0 #7 September 8, 2008 Quote The reality of the sport is that people die. If you're in it long enough, you'll know someone that goes in and/or see it happen (I always hoped that saying was bullshit, but unfortunately it's not ) This sport is like anything else. You can die at anytime. Gear in this sport has hit the point that you can really be in control of life or death. Fact is 97% of deaths in this sport are due to really stupid mistakes and the rest are either someone else's mistake that kills you or something you stupidly overlooked. When you realize that just like everything else, you can participate and stay alive, it makes things as easy as anything else in life that we do day to day. Go ahead and jump. You really do not have any more chance of dying in a skydive than you do driving your car to work. The "realities" of this sport are no worse than every other danger we are exposed to every day in our lives. It's just portrayed as very dangerous and you hear about these things from sources that make you feel like it's worse than it really is.Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aresye 0 #8 September 9, 2008 You must make peace with yourself knowing that people do die in this sport, you may get injured, and if you stay in it long enough, you may get killed. Incidents unfortunately show that the majority of those involved are experienced jumpers. Just never stop training for EPs. Keep rereading your first jump course material. Pull your handles when you get a repack. Skill permitting, intentionally go unstable in freefall, and learn various ways to recover.Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peregrinerose 0 #9 September 9, 2008 The 'reality' of this sport is you can do everything 100% right and still die. My husband and I 'joke' about being entirely too close to 11% of the fatalities last year. The bitter cynicism is how we deal with it. When you are slapped upside the head with a friend or two dying in front of your eyes, you'll have a different outlook. I could have written those same words a few years ago... in fact, I probably did. And some older and wiser jumper told me my perception of the sport would change. They were right. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #10 September 9, 2008 I remember when those stupid "No Fear" shirts first came when everything was first beginning to be called eXtreme. The company came to an early 90s Bridge Day and set up a booth at the BASE trade show. When asked by a rep if I wanted to buy a shirt I answered, "Yeah right, when you get one that says "Big Fear" let me know . . . And to whoever told the OP that this is the internet and some stuff here isn't the truth that's actually one of the few fibs (probably unintentional) I've seen here. The skydiving community is small and we also hear about the incidents, accidents, and otherwise scary events in other ways. And very few of us that have been around awhile (and can smell BS a mile away) rarely read anything here we haven't heard of happening before. I do, however, sometimes think some people pose as newbies here just to ask stupid questions (at least I hope to hell some of them are) but if it's an interesting question I'll take the bait because some real newbie out there is probably really wondering about it . . . NickD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
denete 2 #11 September 9, 2008 QuoteI am really not nervous jumping but during the time I spend on this site I find myself thinking what hell am I doing. I get a real pit inside my stomach reading about the realities of this sport. Does anyone else have this issue. Yes, but it hasn't been a bad thing for me. Let me re-phrase that. For me, it has been a good thing. Last month I woke up one Sunday morning and couldn't wait to get back in the air. It had been 3 weeks and I had gotten "spousal clearance" for a full Sunday at the DZ. At 7:30 AM my bags were packed, my gear was loaded, I had food packed in my backpack and a cooler of water on ice. I woke up the computer and did a quick check of the forecast and radar before hitting the road. While I was checking the forecast I checked my e-mail and then did a quick sweep of dropzone.com out of habit. My eyes locked on an incident report that was posted just 15 hours earlier. There had been a fatality at my home dropzone. I sat in that chair for the next four hours. I went through some serious soul-searching that day. I stayed home. I contemplated the one scenario that I had known about since the beginning, but had never truly put myself into. You can do everything right, and still die. The rewards of jumping outweighed the fear of things that are out of my control. Now before I leave the house to go to the dropzone, I spend some time reading the incidents forum. It keeps me grounded, and it never lets me forget that it can happen to me. - DavidSCR #14809 "our attitude is the thing most capable of keeping us safe" (look, grab, look, grab, peel, punch, punch, arch) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #12 September 9, 2008 QuoteI am really not nervous jumping but during the time I spend on this site I find myself thinking what hell am I doing. I get a real pit inside my stomach reading about the realities of this sport. Does anyone else have this issue. Having this "issue" is a good thing. That pit in your stomach is keeping you aware of the realities. I'd say don't lose it. Keep it, think about it, stay aware of it your entire skydiving career. It just may prevent you from getting complacent and ignoring safety.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cari 0 #13 September 9, 2008 Reading things here actually tends to make me feel more comfortable because it makes me see that most deaths are avoidable. Obviously, there are going to be some crazy exceptions where there are unexplainable and unavoidable malfunctions that lead to death or serious injury. The things I have read here have only made me considerably more conscious of safety than I might have been otherwise. Instead of simply assuming that my safety is in the hands of the gear I'm using, it has made me realize that my safety is in my hands. I'm also quite new to the sport though. I hope as I become more experienced, I don't get too "comfortable" and start relying on my equipment (as opposed to checking everything out for myself) more than I should. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FourSideDean 0 #14 September 9, 2008 I remember when I first started in the sport (6 months ago) I was looking at YouTube videos of malfunctions. I read all the safety and fatality items in parachutist magazine also. From these things I learn what went wrong and do everything I can so that it doesn't happen to me. Also... If you ever have any questions ask an instructor, coach or master rigger. These guys have years of experience. Get to know some of them personally so that you can give them a call or shoot an email if you ever have a question. My AFF instructor is one of my friends. He moved away but I still keep in touch and I know he give great input from what he has learned not only from personal experiences but from data he knows to be true. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reginald 0 #15 September 9, 2008 QuoteThis sport is like anything else. You can die at anytime. Gear in this sport has hit the point that you can really be in control of life or death. Fact is 97% of deaths in this sport are due to really stupid mistakes and the rest are either someone else's mistake that kills you or something you stupidly overlooked. I’ve got to disagree with that statement. I’ve seen competent people with thousands of jumps die due to gear failure on modern well maintained gear. The chances are slim but don’t fool yourself into believing it can’t happen. QuoteGo ahead and jump. You really do not have any more chance of dying in a skydive than you do driving your car to work. The "realities" of this sport are no worse than every other danger we are exposed to every day in our lives. It's just portrayed as very dangerous and you hear about these things from sources that make you feel like it's worse than it really is. Again not true. We take an enormous amount of risk every time we step out of an airplane. Please don’t compare it to driving to work. That line of logic has been long since refuted. Stay in the sport long enough and you’ll see your friends die and become crippled. That is a fact. While the risk is small it is not zero and should not be dismissed. I personally take on the risk because I believe the rewards are worth the risk. But do not think the risks don’t exist. This is a risky sport, understand the risks and try to minimize them, but accept that they can’t all be controlled. Make a personal choice to accept them or not. One of the best quotes I’ve heard is from a friend with 12,000 jumps and 20+ years in the sport. He was talking about the long list of friends he watched die or become crippled and he said, “This sport is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, but it also eventually extracts an enormous price.” Keep your eyes open and make your own decisions."We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #16 September 9, 2008 Quote I remember when those stupid "No Fear" shirts first came when everything was first beginning to be called eXtreme. I like the ones that say "Know Fear". That's more my speed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brokenwing 1 #17 September 9, 2008 The reality of life is that everyone dies -- you only have some choice in the path and perhaps a little less in the exit point Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pirana 0 #18 September 9, 2008 QuoteThis sport is like anything else. You really do not have any more chance of dying in a skydive than you do driving your car to work. Huh? This sport is like very few other things. Maybe you are a really bad driver." . . . 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
npgraphicdesign 2 #19 September 9, 2008 Quote Quote This sport is like anything else. You really do not have any more chance of dying in a skydive than you do driving your car to work. Huh? This sport is like very few other things. Maybe you are a really bad driver. Maybe he/she drives a drag car as a daily driver. Those have parachutes that help it slow down at the end of the race or maybe he/she does this on the way to work every day... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZyGMKpgyHA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squarecanopy 0 #20 September 10, 2008 Having this "issue" is a good thing. That pit in your stomach is keeping you aware of the realities. I'd say don't lose it. Keep it, think about it, stay aware of it your entire skydiving career. It just may prevent you from getting complacent and ignoring safety. REREAD THE ABOVE COMMENT. SEVERAL TIMES OR UNTIL YOU LOCK IT IN. As for your feelings, you are normal to come to the realization that - it ain't an amusement park ride -you really can die doing this. Go with it, face your natural fear, and decide for yourself if jumping is worth the risk. For me there is nothing else risky or not, that I would rather do. Reading about other people's troubles is good for realizing what could happen but don't let it overwhelm you; let it serve the purpose of educating you without having to go through it yourself, and be just that much more prepared for when stuff happens. Just burning a hole in the sky..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DottieBear 0 #21 September 10, 2008 I remember first visiting this forum when I realized, 3 years ago, I wanted be a part of this sport. I had to make myself aware of the risks, the dangers, and accept them before I would allow myself to finish AFF. perhaps my need to do so was increased because my first TI was Yonatan Ran, and I learned that night(from others) how just the summer before he had held one of those most dear to him after the jump that would be her last. Perhaps it was because I finished AFF at Cross Keys, with the memory of that double fatality fresh in their minds. And it maybe that I am still so acutely aware of the dangers because it was just months into my skydiving career that one of the most heads-up jumpers and respected people at the dz lost his life when he did everything right, and never gave up, fighting all the way to the ground. I owe it to myself, my family, and the other jumpers around me to be a little scared. A little cautious. I'm grateful for that. And I hope I never lose that fear.~Dottie “Everything looks perfect from far away.” Postal Service, Such Great Heights Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrismgtis 0 #22 September 10, 2008 QuoteThe 'reality' of this sport is you can do everything 100% right and still die. My husband and I 'joke' about being entirely too close to 11% of the fatalities last year. The bitter cynicism is how we deal with it. When you are slapped upside the head with a friend or two dying in front of your eyes, you'll have a different outlook. I could have written those same words a few years ago... in fact, I probably did. And some older and wiser jumper told me my perception of the sport would change. They were right. What you all fail to realize is people feel the same way when their friend dies in a car wreck. It's all relative. I've been in car wrecks before and was paranoid afterwards and the reality that it could really happen to me hit me. Sure I could die one die when I do everything right and someone else may kill me too, but the fact is if you are smart you have very little chance of that happening. I trust every skydiver, whether 20 jumps or 5000 more than I do any guy outside of this community. I know they will watch my back. I sure can't trust anyone on the road. The driving thing is just an example, it has nothing to do with "proven" statistics. Again, statistics are crap, so I don't believe in that stuff a whole lot though I will actually use them from time to time in a conversation. And you can talk about statistics all you want, statistics are just butter BS and useless for more than conversation about "what ifs" and "maybes" - a lot of guys that go to school and really get deep into it will tell you that, but if you really look at it... the sport has come to the point that you can really control whether you live or die as far as as opposed to say, in the 1970s or earlier. It's to the point that it's not much different than anything else. As with anything in life. You can do everything right and life will come around and punch you right in the face. I know it all too well. And I don't get on an airplane expecting to live. It's always on my mind that something may go wrong, but the truth of it is I know that if it does, it is most likely, 99.9% true that it will be my fault. And anyone here can say differently, but that's just the truth of the matter. Oddly one of my worst fears of going in on the DZ is that I'll be the first and set the precedent. Not doing it because of the "dangers" or "realities" of the sport is obviously understandable, for damn sure... but you realize sooner or later that everything you do in life, is just like everything else. If we were in the 1940s that might be a little different. The act of jumping out of an airplane seemed like definite suicide then, thought a lot of that had to do with a million rounds flying by you in the air. My point is only that anything can happen. No matter what you're doing. Don't let what people say stop you from doing something you'll never forget. If you do it and don't feel it's for you, no one will do anything but congratulate you on having a great experience. I can tell you every "whuffo" out there will talk a lot of shit about this sport, but they don't understand and I'm sure their out doing a lot of dangerous things themselves.Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbrown 26 #23 September 11, 2008 One of the problems with the web is that you get SO much information so quickly. Years ago, when things were actually a lot hairier, it would take months, even years to hear so much scary stuff. By then you'd have the experience to temper your perspective. But now, you have all the dirty laundry hung out before you, while you still don't have the perspective. Keep jumping and jump safe. Don't get complacent. A safe jumper gets noticed and respected. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peregrinerose 0 #24 September 11, 2008 QuoteSure I could die one die when I do everything right and someone else may kill me too, but the fact is if you are smart you have very little chance of that happening. I trust every skydiver, whether 20 jumps or 5000 more than I do any guy outside of this community. I know they will watch my back. I sure can't trust anyone on the road. I would not suggest this philosophy at all. Treat every skydiver like they are out to kill you in the sky... other jumpers watch your back less than you think they do, and have more potential to hurt you than you appear to realize. None of them intend to cause harm, but it does happen and there are moments when the sky is very very small. Trust is the last thing you should be relying on to keep yourself safe. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMK 3 #25 September 11, 2008 You do have a point. None of the hairy stories really bother me, but it limits a website or magazine from being an ambassador or introduction to new people in the sport. Example, someone wants info so they go to a skydiving site or maybe one our magazines. What do they always see – at least one or more “obituary” pages. Fuck, there’s even a “death thread” on this forum. I know people love and miss these people, but in selling and growing our sport this is no help. Many times when they die of some other cause (illness, car accident) it’s never noted in the article, then the public just assumes more skydiving deaths."Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
