popsjumper 2 #26 June 8, 2005 Quote...There's nothing wrong with jumping a big canopy and always doing straight-in landings. Some people may think it's not "cool", but you'll have a better chance of jumping forever without getting hurt... In my limited opinion, "being cool" kills....give me tried and true every time. I'm here to have fun, not "be cool". Leave the "being cool" to the maniacs. QuoteJumping forever without injury is just another kind of cool. Yeah...that's the kind of "cool" I want. It really burns me to see the "cool guys" getting on an airplane when they are not geared up and rarely doing gear checks. Call me an asshat, but I really get a kick out of me having to remind them to buckle their chest strap......complacency - an invitation for disaster.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
hemphog 0 #27 June 8, 2005 QuoteCall me an asshat, but I really get a kick out of me having to remind them to buckle their chest strap......complacency - an invitation for disaster. Is it just me or are there more people like that in this sport then in others? Sometimes I'll do some simple shit, but only if it's been a *calculated* risk and I'm happy with it. But I never rag out the peeps who take er easy. Besides, I need them to attach my beer to my helmet after I break my arms. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Ya we'll rape the local objects, and maybe do some jumps too!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybill 18 #28 June 10, 2005 Hi Andy, Old, hell!! Like Scotty says, We're F.O.G.s' (Fucking Old Guys!) {I'm sure there are some Old Girls! there too to throw their hat in the ring!!} After 40+ years I think I qualify to consider myself and Old Guy!! BUT I still jump!! (not as much as I used to but I jump!!) So There!!!!! I would love to have been able to do a pond swoop in a 28' cheapo 7-TU in 1964 but the canopys in those daze didn't have the L/D (know what I mean??) Nobody wears combat boots these daze except for the Airborne troops!! I love the technology we have today to jump!! Old, Hell!!, "You don't quit skydivin' cuz' ya' get old, No, ya' get old cuz' ya' quit skydivin'!!!!!!!!!!!" As far as making it to "Old Age" though, I think besides a lots of luck, being constantly vigilant for anything that may kill you plays a big part. Know your gear, have good gear, know how to use it and use it wisely!!! "your life hangs with your gear!!"SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Monkeyb 0 #29 June 10, 2005 Thx for the feedback everyone, it was really insightful. I'll be doing a few jumps tomorrow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Designer 0 #30 June 10, 2005 Making it through the yrs is a good thing!Boom or bust.Make the most of every jump you can when you can make them.Yr after Yr I keep wondering how I made it this far?Well,for sure some of it was luck and some was learning from mine and others mistakes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites chuckbrown 0 #31 June 10, 2005 I jump with Handsome Dave DeWolf. 43 years of jumping and he stills gets about 300 a year in. Not bad for 72 years old. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites pincheck 0 #32 June 10, 2005 Life is a close call every breath could be your last !. You have to decide if it is right for you no one else can make that decision. Me i plan to grow old disgracefully and enjoy myself when i can remember what i have done Billy-Sonic Haggis Flickr-Fun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites docjohn 0 #33 June 11, 2005 Been jumping 30 years this month (hey USPA, where's my certificate?). You take risks for what you love. If I die tomorrow, at least these 30 years will have been richer. I'd rather work on my 40 year certificate though. Play by the rules. If you're afraid you'll die, quit skydiving, take up bowling and die of a heart attack. Doc http://www.manifestmaster.com/video Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Squeak 17 #34 June 11, 2005 I've never thought about skydiving into my older age. I've never thought about doing anythinginto my older age. I skydive because I really enjoy it, and I'll continue to skydive whilst I enjoy it. Last year I had a firend die in a canopy collision, it was very sad, and affected a lot of people. However his death has no bearing on my enjoyment of the sport. I spent most of my teens and nearly all my 20s' either stoned or drunk and nearly killed myself on several occassions. When I got clean and sober, i decided to live "one day at a time", and enjoy my life to the best of my ability, what ever that may be. Lifes to short to worry about dying. Calcualte the risk, enjoy what you do (whatever it is), and try not to piss people off (at least that's what I do) BTW Alw. Nicely worded, it made me smileYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tbrown 26 #35 June 11, 2005 Check the article in Parachutist last month about the new Skydivers Over Sixty record, I think it was a 35 way. You can die a grisly death driving your car too, but if you're a careful driver the odds are much more in your favor. Same with jumping, though I'm not going to get into whether it's safer than driving (it ain't). But out here in So. Cal we have hundreds of jumpers with thousands of jumps apiece who keep right on jumping, with hardly a malfunction among them, I mean with some of these people a cutaway is real news, because they haven't had one in a couple thousand jumps, or sometimes ever. I quit jumping in 1980 because I felt like all I had to do was keep jumping and it would get me. But I was younger, and frankly something of an asshole safetywise in those days. Too many cutaways, etc. Nowadays, older and alledgedly wiser, I'm doing just fine the second time around, keeping my act clean, mostly, and having more fun than ever. Bottom line is it's a deeply personal choice. You gotta do what you gotta do. Nobody should jump at all unless they love it and they want to. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites DrewEckhardt 0 #36 June 11, 2005 You can make skydiving as dangerous as you want it to be. While not safe, dying when you've done everything right (due to gear failure, getting run over by an airplane, etc) is exceedingly rare. Being more conservative lets you do more wrong with fewer consequences. You need to figure out what you want to do skydiving, weigh the risks of that, and do what you want to reduce them (better training, waiting for more experience, not doing some of those things). Accurately assessing the risks is not always easy because your point of view makes it harder to determine what you're doing, especially when lack of experience means you don't have all the information available. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 2 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. 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Designer 0 #30 June 10, 2005 Making it through the yrs is a good thing!Boom or bust.Make the most of every jump you can when you can make them.Yr after Yr I keep wondering how I made it this far?Well,for sure some of it was luck and some was learning from mine and others mistakes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuckbrown 0 #31 June 10, 2005 I jump with Handsome Dave DeWolf. 43 years of jumping and he stills gets about 300 a year in. Not bad for 72 years old. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pincheck 0 #32 June 10, 2005 Life is a close call every breath could be your last !. You have to decide if it is right for you no one else can make that decision. Me i plan to grow old disgracefully and enjoy myself when i can remember what i have done Billy-Sonic Haggis Flickr-Fun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
docjohn 0 #33 June 11, 2005 Been jumping 30 years this month (hey USPA, where's my certificate?). You take risks for what you love. If I die tomorrow, at least these 30 years will have been richer. I'd rather work on my 40 year certificate though. Play by the rules. If you're afraid you'll die, quit skydiving, take up bowling and die of a heart attack. Doc http://www.manifestmaster.com/video Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #34 June 11, 2005 I've never thought about skydiving into my older age. I've never thought about doing anythinginto my older age. I skydive because I really enjoy it, and I'll continue to skydive whilst I enjoy it. Last year I had a firend die in a canopy collision, it was very sad, and affected a lot of people. However his death has no bearing on my enjoyment of the sport. I spent most of my teens and nearly all my 20s' either stoned or drunk and nearly killed myself on several occassions. When I got clean and sober, i decided to live "one day at a time", and enjoy my life to the best of my ability, what ever that may be. Lifes to short to worry about dying. Calcualte the risk, enjoy what you do (whatever it is), and try not to piss people off (at least that's what I do) BTW Alw. Nicely worded, it made me smileYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbrown 26 #35 June 11, 2005 Check the article in Parachutist last month about the new Skydivers Over Sixty record, I think it was a 35 way. You can die a grisly death driving your car too, but if you're a careful driver the odds are much more in your favor. Same with jumping, though I'm not going to get into whether it's safer than driving (it ain't). But out here in So. Cal we have hundreds of jumpers with thousands of jumps apiece who keep right on jumping, with hardly a malfunction among them, I mean with some of these people a cutaway is real news, because they haven't had one in a couple thousand jumps, or sometimes ever. I quit jumping in 1980 because I felt like all I had to do was keep jumping and it would get me. But I was younger, and frankly something of an asshole safetywise in those days. Too many cutaways, etc. Nowadays, older and alledgedly wiser, I'm doing just fine the second time around, keeping my act clean, mostly, and having more fun than ever. Bottom line is it's a deeply personal choice. You gotta do what you gotta do. Nobody should jump at all unless they love it and they want to. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #36 June 11, 2005 You can make skydiving as dangerous as you want it to be. While not safe, dying when you've done everything right (due to gear failure, getting run over by an airplane, etc) is exceedingly rare. Being more conservative lets you do more wrong with fewer consequences. You need to figure out what you want to do skydiving, weigh the risks of that, and do what you want to reduce them (better training, waiting for more experience, not doing some of those things). Accurately assessing the risks is not always easy because your point of view makes it harder to determine what you're doing, especially when lack of experience means you don't have all the information available. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
