buba07 0 #1 May 6, 2008 Hi, I'm waiting to do my Level 1 AFF, i've done ten RAPS jumps and can't wait to feel freefall. However when I say I can't wait. I've got no idea how it feels! Can anyone explain please..... Phil www.freefallphil.blogspot.comThanks Freefallphil. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildfan75 1 #2 May 6, 2008 Windy. Very windy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buba07 0 #3 May 6, 2008 Cheers, I've been told there is no real feeling of falling more flying. Which is ace, however do you not feel the speed at all?Thanks Freefallphil. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,546 #4 May 6, 2008 It feels just like the tunnel. "There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VincentVL. 0 #5 May 6, 2008 Like I already said: It's a mix between a rollercoaster ride and diving into cool open water. Once you'ret past the exit sequence, you won't feel a thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maestrabella67 0 #6 May 6, 2008 I've done 3 jumps towards AFF, and each time free fall feels different... I wouldn't really say it's a feeling, it's more about noise and speed... free fall goes SO FAST that 5,500 comes quickly, it's LOUD and at least here in Indiana, at 11,000 feet up it's also a bit chilly this time of year. Hehe... why don't you do your AFF1, then YOU tell US how it feels? Answering this question is like trying to explain skydiving to a whuffo! Good luck with AFF1, BTW! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #7 May 6, 2008 QuoteWindy. Very windy. That. It's also kinda loud. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VincentVL. 0 #8 May 6, 2008 QuoteQuoteWindy. Very windy. That. It's also kinda loud. Blues, Dave Weird, I've never found it to be loud. Must be a sensory overload thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #9 May 6, 2008 A bit like jello and pudding all wrapped up in bacon. mmmmm.....bacon ... 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheSecret 0 #10 May 6, 2008 Quote A bit like jello and pudding all wrapped up in bacon. mmmmm.....bacon Life is good Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
L.O. 0 #11 May 6, 2008 QuoteA bit like jello and pudding all wrapped up in bacon. mmmmm.....bacon I always thought the Bacon thing, was just me. Now I know I'm not alone in the world. Thanks Bill.HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bfilarsky 0 #12 May 6, 2008 like riding a cushion of air Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vskydiver 0 #13 May 7, 2008 Have you ever rolled down your car window when you are going 80 mph on the freeway and stuck your hand out the window? Hear that wind? Feel all that wind pressure against your hand blowing it back? Now imagine sticking your whole body out there. When you jump that wind feels like it's holding you up and it feels like you're floating. The ground does NOT rush up at you. Your stomach does NOT feel like it's sinking. It doesn't feel like you are falling at all. You are floating up there with the best view in the world and you are flying above it. That is what skydiving feels like. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grannyinthesky 0 #14 May 7, 2008 Ummmmm, What a nice description. "safety first... and What the hell..... safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy POPS #10490 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vskydiver 0 #15 May 7, 2008 Thanks! People are always asking me how I can skydive if I'm afraid of heights. I've figured out how to describe what skydiving is like so they will understand that heights don't really factor into it. I usually start off with: "You've been up in a commercial airliner and looked down haven't you? Were you afraid up there? No. It's because you are so high up that heights are no longer an issue." Then I go into what it feels like to skydive and how I can do that, but I'm not able to climb a ladder. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grannyinthesky 0 #16 May 7, 2008 When I was a kid, I used to throw toys onto the roof so I had an excuse to go up after them. Boy, would I have been in trouble if my parents had known it was on purpose!! Then somewhere along the line, I started not being very happy about heights, including ladders. Since I started skydiving, the old feelings are coming back and I don't mind climbing ladders like I did. But if I don't start landing better, I may develop a real dislike for those last 10 feet to the ground. "safety first... and What the hell..... safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy POPS #10490 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yamtx73 0 #17 May 7, 2008 Your landings will get better with time... of course some of mine are still uhmmmm... amusing at times... The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danielcroft 2 #18 May 7, 2008 I have an irrational fear of falling but skydiving doesn't give me that. For your first jump it's all a bit overwhelming but as mentioned, gets better with practice. I used to get really, really, ridiculously (zoolander) nervous before getting in the door but that would subside once I got there & was gone after exit. Now I'm just nervous but it's been a bit better this season. To me, free fall feels like a really long time. It's only 60 seconds (or there abouts) but it feels like minutes to me. On your first jump you may feel your stomach drop with the acceleration but that passes pretty quickly, i.e. you probably won't get it again. You certainly don't feel like you're falling at all because there's no perspective. That's why I think the height doesn't bother me, you really don't have a sense of how high 13500ft is. It's beyond normal comprehension so I just kind of accept that I'm high and move on. Opening your canopy will give you a bit of a stomach feeling too but it really shouldn't be too bad and probably will only happen the first time. You'll also probably be overloaded with information so don't think of your first jump as representative of them all, your second will be closer but each jump from the second should be a good step along the way to a lot of pleasure and a great deal of healthy respect. As far as the actual feeling of free fall, the closest most people get is (as someone mentioned) sticking their hand out the car. I ride a motorcycle and that's more similar but it really is a unique feeling that I think is very personal and one of the reasons skydiving gets in people's blood. There's an intense feeling of freedom and self dependence. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corvettedude 0 #19 May 7, 2008 QuoteHi, I'm waiting to do my Level 1 AFF, i've done ten RAPS jumps and can't wait to feel freefall. However when I say I can't wait. I've got no idea how it feels! Can anyone explain please..... Phil www.freefallphil.blogspot.com Kinda like an orgasm with out the sex!It is possible to get all A's in school and still flunk life~Percy Walker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squarecanopy 0 #20 May 7, 2008 Quote Quote A bit like jello and pudding all wrapped up in bacon. mmmmm.....bacon I always thought the Bacon thing, was just me. Now I know I'm not alone in the world. Thanks Bill. You people are weird.... EVERYBODY knows it smells like Jet A Just burning a hole in the sky..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
headcase 0 #21 May 7, 2008 QuoteA bit like jello and pudding all wrapped up in bacon. mmmmm.....bacon Oh sure----use the B word---now I am on a midnight safeway run to make tequila jello shooters wrapped in bacon dipped in pudding deep fried. So what's a night jump like then? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SivaGanesha 2 #22 May 7, 2008 Quote It feels just like the tunnel. Except that the air gets steadily--and noticeably--warmer in real freefall."It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baksteen 84 #23 May 7, 2008 QuoteAnswering this question is like trying to explain skydiving to a whuffo! When I tried to explain skydiving to a whuffo I warned her that none of the terms I could come up with completely covered the experience. Next time she asked about "the magic of skydiving" - I like it!"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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buba07 0 #24 May 7, 2008 Cheers guys / gals, Weather looking good for North of England this weekend, so hopefully get at least Level 1 in. I'll post as to how it felt straight after. Thanks again www.freefallphil.blogspot.comThanks Freefallphil. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brucet7 0 #25 May 7, 2008 For me, my first few freefalls didn't really feel like falling. My world was just beyond arm length. I focused on my instructor/s and the tasks at hand. I was aware of the world beyond, but didn't or couldn't focus on it. Once I got to self-supervised I took one jump to just look and experience freefall.POPS #10623; SOS #1672 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
