1st Jump Questions

[LastBreath 0]

Hello guys this is my first post here, made my first ever jump (it was a tandem) less than 12 hours ago. I'm looking for some answers to afew questions i have after my first jump.

Not sure if this is a forum for the more exp of divers, please forgive me if this is so.

1. During my jump the free fall went great, it was when the shoot opened and the guy i was attached to did one or two sharp turns i started feeling really sick. Now i had been on a rather (now admittedly bad) diet before the jump and had not even eaten that day. Could i put this feeling down too the diet or could i simply not handle the sharp turns ? Would this effect any plans i have to enter the sport?

2. Also my arms and hands felt really strange about 2min before landing. I had a pins and needles feeling that went pretty much as i hit the ground. Again down to the poor diet or couldn't i handle it again ?

Sorry if i sort of pushed my way in and have asked silly questions, i really did enjoy my day and want to carry it on if i can.

Thank you for your time
Gareth

Fell the Fear, do it anyway !

[MarkM 0]

The sensations you had are pretty common to tandems. I did a tandem jump after doing 17 solo skydives and got really sick and had problems with numbness too. Never had issues with either before or since.

You should also eat and keep well hydrated during the day that you're jumping. I know it's easy not to, especially when you're nervy, but your body needs the fuel for all the stress you'll be putting it through.

[christelsabine 1]

No. No silly question(s) at all. It's not your diet, it's normal. During my 2 tandems, I had exactly same feelings. That will disappear once you are under own canopy, own control.

Your "pin and needles" feeling quickly also will disappear.
You just will take the use of a harness sooner or later. Perhaps, your TM lashed you a little bit too tight? Don't worry.

Enjoy your coming jumps and have fun!

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[skybytch 259]

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...had not even eaten that day.

That could be why. It's best to have eaten something prior to jumping.

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Would this effect any plans i have to enter the sport?

Probably not. You don't have to do sharp turns or spirals when you're flying a parachute.

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Also my arms and hands felt really strange about 2min before landing.

Tandem harnesses are not the most comfortable things in the world even if they are adjusted correctly. Yours could have been a bit too tight.

[LastBreath 0]

Thanks Mark, I really did love today and its by far the best thing i have ever done. I really want to do a course but worried about the sickness and numbness if i were to come down on my own.

I was thinking maybe doing a second tandem with a good diet or maybe a static line jump. Any advice ?

Thanks, again.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who also posted, very quickly...... i may phone on monday and have a chat to them about where i can go from here.

Fell the Fear, do it anyway !

[MarkM 0]

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Any advice ?

Listen to your instructors
Seriously though, they've probably seen it all before and will know what you should do next in your training. Good luck and have fun.

[Danne 0]

It was most probably because you haven't eaten. You can of course get sick anyway, but not eating will definitely get you... I always refuse to take passengers that haven't had anything to eat. I send them away for a snack and water and there good to go.

/D

[monkycndo 0]

Getting sick under tandem can be like getting carsick as a passenger. You aren't in control. Once you are steering, that sickness goes away.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[krazykate 0]

Hey Gareth,
I felt the same thing on my tandem and my instructor told me it was because of the harness.

He said something about pressure points in your thighs and armpit/shoulders and because of the way the tandem harness 'hangs' off the instructor harness, all the passengers weight is on these pressure points.

I went on to do a static line and the canopy flight was much more comfortable and the harness was much better.

If you enjoyed the freefall part of your tandem, then with a static line jump you only get the canopy ride, so think about doing the first level of an AFF course.

Kate

[LastBreath 0]

Cheers guys, why the hell not in it. I've had a brief chat with my mother about this, I'm 18, and she told me i am older enough to understand the risks; she naturally doesn't want me to do it.

However, the feeling of jumping out of a plane so high up and joy i get from feel falling was better than anything i have ever done. I still have a massive smile on my face and can't get over what i have done.

Tell you what, you guys and gals are bloody mad !

Fell the Fear, do it anyway !

[MB38 0]

I've overheard a tandem instructor tell his student [moments after landing] the answer to your first question.

When you're the passenger on a tandem rig, you are slightly in front of the center of gravity. The TI is the center of gravity under the canopy and you are out in front. Apparently this puts the passenger just out-of-whack enough to make them feel sick after tight turns.

That said, I've never made a tandem. I'm also just passing on information I heard in passing.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[Phobos 0]

what would be good to eat before a tandem jump and would it be alright to take some dramamine before?

[mdrejhon 8]

Eat! A little bit. So that you're still full of energy.
Eat nothing that day -- feel weak and dizzy.
Eat too much -- may feel like throwing up.

But the primary thing that scared me about skydiving is the massive ear pain I got on my first tandem. That proved to be a nonissue as my ears got used to it, and I learned to jump only when my sinuses aren't blocked.

[steveorino 7]

1. Adrenaline on an empty stomach will make most people sick. Eat something light (not greasy) before you jump.

2. Tandem harness typically put pressure on nerves and arteries that sport harnesses don't. What you were feeling was similar to what you feel when you hit your funny bone (elbow)

steveOrino

[StreetScooby 5]

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1. Adrenyline on an empty stomach will make most people sick. Eat something light (not greasy) before you jump.

On the 5th/6th jump of the day, if I didn't eat a lunch, I'll get an adrenaline rush that's potent. Makes me weak. I'll eat a snickers bar, then get some real food to eat there after.

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