Scary prospects

[bozo 0]

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Well exactly, thats my point some people don't want to be a "pro" i mean 1 to 5 jumps a week can lead to some decent progression factor in some wind tunnel time, hey you can progress to a pretty comfortable level, no?

Cant answer that. Ive never been in a tunnel...then again I only have 36 hrs ff time.If I sound a little defensive, its because skydiving has been my life...all my adult life.
Its been a pretty good life too.

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

[notrealsteve 0]

Hey man i have no doubts about that, maybe skydiving will become as big a part of my life too, now i'm gonna go grab a beer with my friends, something that should be part of every lifestyle

[PhreeZone 15]

Hell, in my 6 going on 7 years I've seen more then a few too

Currency isn't everything in the sport, but it is something. The people I am worried about are not the ones that show up once a week to the DZ or even once a month. The ones I see that should take the sport more seriously or find something else are the ones that show up 2-3 times a year, make their 3-4 jumps per day and disappear into the void until nothing else ties them down for a day and its convienent to go to the DZ again. This isn't playing a round of golf, this is a sport that likes to punish mistakes by leaving you with a cast, some hardware and a nifty little scar. Make a big mistake and your friends will be attending your funeral.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[FallingDuck 0]

I'm in the same boat. I run a college club and I get a lot of people asking questions and then none of them jump with us. One guy came to the DZ four times and sat around all day before jumping and then he never came back. I just wish that people would be honest. If your not going to jump don't waist my time having me tell you all the details of a jump if your never going to go out. And the worse thing is that the people that want to jump can never afford it.

[PhreeZone 15]

No, if they really wanted to jump they would find away. DZ's always need packers, lawn mowers, Plane washers, etc. People take up second or even third jobs to come up with the money if they really want to do it. If they really want to jump they can find the money, otherwise they really don't want to do it.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Royd 0]

I went into Sam's Club last week, and on the big tv screens on display were four FF skydivers. One had a tube and the other three were flying around it.

It immediately caught my eye. Partly because I jump, and partly because it just looked like fun.

I watched until they landed.

Several people walked by as if they were zombies. Totally oblivious.

I believe that most people are happy with the safe little world that they have created for themselves and don't want anything to disturb it.

[kelpdiver 2]

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I went into Sam's Club last week, and on the big tv screens on display were four FF skydivers. One had a tube and the other three were flying around it.

It immediately caught my eye. Partly because I jump, and partly because it just looked like fun.

I watched until they landed.

Several people walked by as if they were zombies. Totally oblivious.

Who's the zombie? Those who didn't get sucked in by an image on a TV? TV zombies are the ones with the happy little world. Others would rather spend that time outdoors.

This thread continues to illustrate that people seek their preferred level of involvement, which is fine, but don't understand those that choose a lower level, which is stupid.

[Baksteen 84]

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[..] At that point it is up to them to ask questions and you to answer them as best as you can. But if you think that there are some special words or phrases or actions you can take to create more skydivers you are wrong plain and simple.

Sorry.

If people ask what I do on weekends, I tell them my schedule. If they keep asking, i'll allow that I go to an airfield. Still interested? I tell them I'm learning to skydive.
I watch their reaction. I tell something about my jumps so far, the best and the worst ones.
Again, I watch their body language.
If they really seem interested, why not explain that everyone can learn it?
What do I care whether I actually convert them or no? At best they'll come and do a tandem, or even a course, which means extra cash for my DZ; at worst they say that they'd never skydive.

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No, if they really wanted to jump they would find away. DZ's always need packers, lawn mowers, Plane washers, etc. People take up second or even third jobs to come up with the money if they really want to do it. If they really want to jump they can find the money, otherwise they really don't want to do it.

They need to know such options exist, is all I want to say.
It would seem to me that saving up for skydiving is more appealing if you can do it by performing a skydiving-related job. Keeps the interest alive, so to speak.

"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

[fallfast69 2]

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The people I am worried about are not the ones that show up once a week to the DZ or even once a month. The ones I see that should take the sport more seriously or find something else are the ones that show up 2-3 times a year, make their 3-4 jumps per day and disappear into the void until nothing else ties them down for a day and its convienent to go to the DZ again.

Well that's about what I do. I spent 3 years as a static line instructor during the "Point Break" era. and have been an active jumper - off and on - since my early 20s. When the "magic 3" components(time,money,weather) all converge at the same time, I get to go jumping. It's hard to do this, not only because the "hebee jebees" get ya, but because you know the extra dangers that being uncurrent bring to the table. I take this into consideration - plan and plan and practice and practice...just like I taught my students.

Skydiving isn't a hobby to me - nor is it, any longer, the driving passion in my life...but after 25 years of jumping, skydiving is in every fiber of my being and soul.

Jon

[elias123 0]

I too try to bring people into the sport.
So far I have gotten 2 people to go jump.
One of them landed way out and faceplanted himself into a pole on his first jump, the jumpmaster should not have let him go up because there were very high winds. I was on the same load and once under canopy I was barely moving forward. I never heard from the guy again ...
The second one is a longtime friend of mine, he made 7 jumps but because of financial problems could not end his AFF. I dont know for sure but i dont think he'll be back soon. I hope he does come back soon, then I have a close friend jumping, that would be awesome.
When i talk to people the also say, i wanna do that, and it irritates me cause they will most likely never do it. but what the hell, so be it

"In a mad world, only the mad are sane"

[brianfry713 0]

I think cost is a major issue to a lot of people. I did my first jump in 1998, thinking it was a one time thing. At the time I was in college and not working, so I depended on my parents for cash, and they didn't want to finance my skydiving.

It wasn't until around 6 years later after I'd graduated and started working that I finally made my second jump.

I do agree that if you want it bad enough and have the time, you can do whatever it takes to make it happen, but most people are not going to change their entire lifestyle after one jump. I do see some that go through some major changes right away after one jump, but for most of us I think that occurs after we've committed to the sport and finished AFF and once we're trying to afford gear.

I think the people that do it once and want to keep going but don't look at the cost of all the training and gear and see it as a major roadblock. For a lot of people it just isn't worth it to give up everything else for a new hobby when they already have invested a lot in their current ones.

I'm not saying cost is the only thing stopping everyone from becoming a skydiver. Most people just aren't like us. Fear, level of tolerable risk, lack of time, family, and initially lack of friends that skydive I would guess prevent most people from coming back to the DZ a second time. Other people just aren't as into it as we are. I think we should help the people that are really interested in becoming a jumper, but not everyone is.

[tomleone 0]

I'm with ya. When I came off student I was discouraged bc I didn't learn much jumping on my own.

I think a lot has to do with the DZ and people's willingness to let you jump in on some RW with them. And people who are willing to let it slide when you go low on the formation a few dozen times.

Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping ~ Author Unknown (but I wish I knew)

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