How can newbies know

[flyangel2 2]

More and more I read a newbie posting that they haven't made a jump yet, but they know they will be in love with the sport. They are getting way ahead of themselves with all kinds of questions about gear, where to buy it, and so on. I even see some post in their profile they are photographers. How can they know they will get into that discipline of the sport when they haven't even made a jump yet?

I love to see newbies excited about the sport, but am I off base in thinking, "Wow, you haven't even made a jump, how do you know you will love it?"

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[slotperfect 7]

Great point. Worthy of conversation to support those who are looking at skydiving to channel their energy.

Love at first sight with the sport works for a lot of people. Of course, for some it just doesn't click. They have to actually get involved to know for sure if they can find passion somewhere in its midst.

Most gear questions I get from prospective skydivers are simply "due diligence," to see what they are getting themselves into. So, the basic framework of what a basic gear bag full of stuff contains, and both the purchase price and routine maintenance costs are good for them to know if they are interested. I think it's also beneficial for them to know that except in extreme cases (like my huyooge noggin), there is quality used gear out there for a decent price.

I have experienced soon-to-be skydiving students that read everything they can get their hands on, including these forums. Whether it helps them or not really depends on their personality and their ability to apply what they read to what they learn in the performance oriented part of their first jump course.

Arrive Safely

John

[Nickkk 0]

I knew before i first jumped i would become obsessed and want to get my license and where am i now? Obsessed, and going through my AFF as we speak.

I think some people KNOW, some may just be jumping the gun (no pun intended) but there are some, like me, who knew before they jumped.

I have always been fascinated with flight, ever since i was little and this is the closest thing to it!

What do you do when someone throws a big planet at you?
Throw your pilot chute in defense!

[SkiD_PL8 0]

I don't think you can just know. I had a feeling that it would be something that would consume me when I decided to do my FJC so I made sure to take enough money with me to do several jumps that day. As it turns out I did love it and plan to continue doing it. Since there is nothing to really compare it to you can't "know" until you actually jump. Just my 2c.

Greenie in training.

[flyangel2 2]

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Since there is nothing to really compare it to you can't "know" until you actually jump. Just my 2c.

That's my point. If there is nothing to compare it to, how can you know that you will be "in love" with the sport if you haven't even done a jump?

Example: I've never done any scuba diving, I can't think it's like swimming. It's something I've always wanted to try, but I can't say that I'm in love with it before I've done my first dive.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[bigorangemd 0]

When I went to do my tandem, I was interested in the sport and wanted to try it, but I had NO IDEA what I was in for untill I exited the plane. After that it was Katie bar the door! I hate to discourage someone from their excitement when retention rates are so low. Even as new to the sport as I am I hate that I am already so skeptical when I ask a tandem passenger if they are planning on coming out to go further (which I try to do to everyone on our DZ). When they beam "Yeah I'll be back soon to learn!", I mutter to myself "Scha fright and monkeys might fly out of my butt!" I hope they keep there enthusiasm, but if not, they'll find out soon enough. I wish them all well and tell them how much I too fell in love with it right off the bat.

[The111 0]

I'd thought about jumping since I was young and always knew it was something I would do when I was old enough. The thought occurred on and off through the years, and I always knew it was something I would fall in love with, not a one time thing. When I was 17 I thought to myself, "hey, I bet I'm almost old enough now!" I did some research on the internet, found out that a city 30 miles away (DeLand) was world renowned for skydiving. I got a job in manifest, did my AFF and a few more solo jumps, then went to college, and quit jumping due to "college kid poverty". I told everyone I met in school, that as soon as I graduated and had secured a good job, I would take up the sport again. THE DAY AFTER my graduation ceremony (I had a job contract signed already) I took my meager savings and went to the DZ and blew it on a recert and a bunch of solos. I've been jumping almost every weekend for two years now.

That story was probably too long, but the point is, I did know. I didn't go out of my way and research gear (and especially not cameras) until long after I had completed AFF. But I did know I would love it. And I still do. I have no objective way of knowing I'll do it forever, but I feel VERY strongly that I will.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[Beeron 0]

I had no idea that I'd like skydiving as much as I do. My first jump was a big group of us going for part of a bachelor party. I really liked it, but decided that I should try another tandem just to make sure. After the second, I was signed up for AFF the following weekend!

B~

[kylestyles 0]

I knew I would love it. I got a 10 jump package before I ever made my 1st jump. I grew up flying airplanes so I've always been around avaition.

BUT

Anyone who wasen't jumped has serious promblems if they are hanging out on DZ.com and wondering what kind of gear they should be buying "when they are a skydiver".

What a waste of time

[tdog 0]

I think some people are home on weeknights killing time on these forums trying to figure out if skydiving is for them... They are not yet experienced enough to get into a cypres or wing loading debate, so they start asking a lot of questions about gear, because that is a tangible object they can understand - or more importantly - want to understand...

Heck, when I went to my FJC - I could successfully explain most of the objects you would find on the average rig, because I am very technical minded (and like toys and gadgets) - so between the books you can find for newbies at Amazon.com and reading these forums, I at least had the vocabulary down. Made my FJC much less intimidating and I retained a lot more info...

Anyway - if someone starts asking about gear, it clearly shows they are interested in our sport, and I hate to see the usual, "ask your instructors" or "do a jump" reply, because they are trying to suck in so much info, you can tell... Why not respond with general info that won't get them in trouble instead of specific advice, like leading them to the books and websites out there that are of help so they have something to keep them busy for the night...

Oh - and how do you "know" you will fall in love with skydiving... I knew... I see some people who don't know, but I knew. I spent too many hours dreaming of flying to not know flying was for me.

[SkydivingNurse 0]

I have a grand total of six jumps.
Due to some personal problems which I have now sorted out (more or less), I haven't jumped in over a year.
I bought a Z-1 after my first jump, but only because I knew I would love the sport and can't handle wind in my face.
I just bought an altimeter and am eagerly awaiting arrival.
I have no idea what discipline I will pursue, although wing suits seems uber-cool.
The only photography I do is astrophotography.
Finally, I have this weekend off and was planning on getting out in the air again, but the weather isn't cooperating.
I don't have big numbers of jumps, hell, I don't even have my A yet, but I know this is something that will be a great source of enjoyment in my life.
Sorry to ramble, but I just wanted to give my newbie perspective.

[StevePhelps 0]

Perhaps some are like myself. They have tendacies to go all out. I didn't play golf until my HS 20th reunion. I started playing that Summer. I had a hole in one on my eigth game and regularly shot in the mid 80s. I took lesson after lesson, bought three sets of clubs, practiced every day. ... then I took up skydiving. Sold all but one set of clubs (now I play once a year with my brothers). When I started rock climbing I went every week to the climbing gym, bought all the gear, climbed every weekend in WA. I even built my own indoor rock gym out of an old barn on the property. I could go one with the same about SCUBA diving which I learned in SF. I knew when I first jumped out of a plane I was hooked. Why? It simply goes with my personality.

[lizzieuk 0]

I think maybe there is a love of the idea of skydiving - being in the air, jumping from a plane, how the scene as a whole appeals to people who are seeking for an exciting new lifestyle or hobby, then there is a love of the actual sport, of the sensation and of the personal experience of it - the feeling that you can only understand once you have experienced it. If you make this distinction then maybe it can be clearer how people just "know" instinctively that they'll love it, after all, does the love of the idea ever really leave jumpers with thousands of jumps? I can't speak from any great level of experience, but maybe that belief they'll love it is just the first level, some may follow through and love the actual sport too, but some may not. True passion for the idea may well lead to passion for the experience itself.

Just a guess - as I knew six months ago I was hooked somehow, even before I jumped, yet looking back it's difficult to understand how I was so obsessed having no actual knowledge of how it actually felt...

[heidihagen 0]

skydivingnurse, wow! i love the wind in my face.. you're missing the best part!!! i know, i know.. we're all different. =) i agree with ya though- as soon as i get my license and gear, the crazy part will be over and the fun will begin!!! ok, ok.. i'm already having a ton of fun! but you know what i mean

hey mar!
i wonder how they find this place. i didn't even know about this website until my second tandem. initially, i was just saving up for a tandem just to see what skydiving was like. we landed and i paid for the second step (another tandem) that same day. landed.... wanted to go again... signed up for the course that week!
i know exactly what you're saying though, and i have noticed the same thing. i don't know how they "know" -- i don't think they do -- yet. i had no idea i'd be hooked in.. it just LOOKED like something fun to do one weekend

i'm a lurker in the g&r forum, but i try to make up for it in the bonfire i've seen a few that seem to know a lot about gear (like hp canopies!?)... and i don't understand that. i haven't bought gear yet, i'm waiting for my dzo to say "buy your own!" -- i'm still a student, so no big rush.

i ammmm 100% guilty of looking at gear. my 2 favorite places to buy clothes/shoes online lost their spot on my toolbar thanks to skydivewings and paragear.
....there's my newbie confession! hehehe

as far as them making up discipline & flying a camera... since they have never jumped, i think it's just something to click.
after faceplanting in the tunnel a few times, i decided some things look a lot cooler on screen... when it's not me! getting belly down took long enough and i'm just not the type to push the envelope with something over my head.

and i just assume they see "photography" and click "yes" because they probably can take pictures and/or like photography. i have a little kodak easy share i use allll the time.... but i understood the question when i filled out my profile... so, i left it blank!

i guess this site just draws in the adrenelin junkies/people interested in skydiving.
i'm not sure why the make stuff up though.

summed up: i have no idea. i just like to ramble.

i didn't lose my mind, i sold it on ebay. .:need a container to fit 5'4", 110 lb. cypres ready & able to fit a 170 main (or slightly smaller):.[/ce

[riddler 0]

I don't know how I knew before I started but I did. My brother and I jumped off the roof a lot when I was a kid. I got the idea to try it holding a lawn bag, but we just couldn't hold onto it I remember being asked what I want for my 18th birthday, and I said I want to go skydiving. My step-mom looked into it, decided it was too expensive, and made me a cake that had a skydiver on it instead. Now that I look back, she was probably more scared than worried about the cost But the day I walked into Mile Hi, I knew I would be a skydiver, and I was lucky to have a great tandem instructor (Pintamo) who only added to my enthusiasm.

Who knows, maybe I spent my whole life convincing myself that I would love it, and so when I finally made the first jump, I did love it?

Psst - Mary - when you're ready to spend the other half of that income that you don't have on scuba diving, call me. I can get you a discount if you take one of my classes

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[freeflajankie 0]

I had always wanted to jump and then finally I started.
And I had made a lot of research before hand, I was looking at gear and reading on internet and checking out pictures and movies.
I was one of those who knew I was going to love it.

But then I started, and I hated it. The first jump was fun cause I had no idea what I was doing and I guess to stupid to be afraid. But second jump and forward I was terrified. Almost everytime in the airplane I was saying to myself I'm landing with the plane. But then it was time to get in the door and I just did it, and as soon as I had exited the plane all was fine.

It took me 37 jumps to finish my static line. I sucked
But I was determined and I saw all these videos and I just knew that when I get the hang of this shit I will love and guess what I am. It's absolutely awesome.

Skydivers are a bunch of insensitive jerks...
And that's why I don't skydive anymore!

[Griff69 0]

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and i just assume they see "photography" and click "yes" because they probably can take pictures and/or like photography. i have a little kodak easy share i use allll the time.... but i understood the question when i filled out my profile... so, i left it blank!

There may be a little more to this trend, too. I am ALMOST 100% certain I did not check photography when I filled out my profile. However, when I came back in to update it two weeks ago, there it was, telling the world that I thought I could jump a camera... Now, I don't know if I did it unconsciously, or if there is a tech issue of some sort, but if I can have that in my profile without my knowledge, maybe there are others...

Chris

"Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. Liberty is two wolves attempting to have a sheep for dinner and finding a well-informed, well-armed sheep."

[Punky_Monkey 0]

I think some Newbies know and others don't.

I fall into the catagory I know, I don't know.
Started jumping fear of door opening. Told myself a couple more jumps and we will see. Well, that fear went away and I fell in love with it.

Winter came tried to jump enough to stay current and was fine. Then a 2 month break came and I got fear back, not of the door but of exits..Worse than when I started jumping. Would go out to DZ and couldn't get myself to get on a plane. I was ready to give it up. Was putting myself through all of this worth it?

Flew out for tunnel time and did an AFF jump at a different DZ. Somehow that instructor got me on the plane. (Bless him) Yes, I freaked out on the plane big time, almost had tears. But he got me to the door and I attacked with vengence. Was hooting and hollering under canopy. Reminded me why I love this sport. And yes, it is worth it.

Still is rough for me, sometimes the fear is too much for me to handle so I stay on the ground. Safest place. Other times I know I am ready to tackle it. I am not afraid of freefall or canopy. Just that damn exit. It is coming from a jump when I had a scary exit involving the plane.

Yes, it is getting better and it is so worth it.

And yes, still being a student I do have my own gear. The DZ found a good deal on it and no I don't plan on using that canopy (120) for a long time. Lots of downsizing and a couple canopy training classes are needed.

To sum this up I do think some do know and some don't. Me I am still trying to figure it out. Somedays I love it and other days I wonder what the hell I am doing.

*******
Punky Monkey
You may never get rid of the butterflies, but you can teach them how to fly in formation

[SkiD_PL8 0]

I think I will elaborate on my answer some more. For those of you that said you loved it before you did it, you didn't. You thought you would but you had no idea what freefall would be like. I flew in 182's several times before I jumped and it sure didn't prepare me for DOOR! I am sure there are others that felt that same way you guys did until they jumped and then never came back. We are only hearing from the ones who did end up loving it and sticking with it. If a whuffo is asking me why I skydive or to explain to them how it feels I explain it like love. It is like nothing else you have ever experienced and you can't know why until you step out of the door, just like you can't explain how being in love feels to someone who has never been in love. I am sorry but I will never believe that you can be in love with anything before you try it. To me that is like seeing a picture of a person and falling in love without ever talking to them or seeing them in person.

Greenie in training.

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

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I don't know how I knew before I started but I did. My brother and I jumped off the roof a lot when I was a kid. I got the idea to try it holding a lawn bag, but we just couldn't hold onto it I remember being asked what I want for my 18th birthday, and I said I want to go skydiving. My step-mom looked into it, decided it was too expensive, and made me a cake that had a skydiver on it instead. Now that I look back, she was probably more scared than worried about the cost But the day I walked into Mile Hi, I knew I would be a skydiver, and I was lucky to have a great tandem instructor (Pintamo) who only added to my enthusiasm.

Who knows, maybe I spent my whole life convincing myself that I would love it, and so when I finally made the first jump, I did love it?

..go figure.

BTW, scuba is on that list

_________________________________________

[Thijs 0]

Hi, I guess I'm one of those people .
I'm already here on these forums for some time and still haven't made a jump yet and probably won't untill next year. So why do I read on these forums here? well, it basicly just interest me a lot. Some people like to know how cars work, I like to know how parachutes and a rig works, before I trust my life to it.

I could fill in basejumping as choice of discipline, since that is what really interests me and that is probably what I'm going to train for in skydiving, if I'm going to get a bit comfortable at it. I want to skydive (and basejump), but am I going to like it? I don't know, I guess, but can't really be sure untill I tried it. And even if I don't like it, what will stop me from still being interested in this sport. It is not because you don't play football that you can't be interested in it?

I spent quite some time reading on these forums (mainly basesection). When I asked a question to someone about gear orso, I more then once got the answer: 'get to a dz and ask there' which comes to me sometimes over as a bit agressive. It ain't that simple if you live 60km from the nearest dz and you can't drive a car to get to there

Recently I took up caving/speleo, you know, going into caves underground. I had never done it before, and didn't know if I would like it, but still, I took the lessons about climbing technics, even knowing that they were not necessary for the beginnerscaves. I didn't know if I was going to like it, but still took the course.
I now already went into two different caves I still don't know if I really like it, atleast, it is different then I expected. Well, I didn't really know what to expect, just as I don't know how I will feel on my first skydive. I'm not really going underground for the visuals or the interesting geology , i'm going underground for the physical and mental challange of it, of 'crap, how am I going to get out of here in one piece' .

I love the sport, but I don't know if I'll love the personal jumping, that are two different things.

I don't see what the problem is if newbies ask questions about gear etc. Maybe that is a way they see that it ain't that 'stupid' and 'crazy' and 'suicidal' to jump out of an airplane

I don't really post much here, maybe unintentionally to avoid reactions like this (not offence intended ofcourse
Guess I'm gone go sleeping.
Going underground again tomorrow

[SkiD_PL8 0]

Right, you seem to have the right attitude about it. We were talking more about the people that start shopping for specific gear. That is something that should be discussed with your instructors when the time comes. Asking about what things are going to cost or wanting to know how/why it works is great and should be encouraged. There is just no right answer to someone who has never jumped who is asking what gear they should get.

Greenie in training.

[kai2k1 0]

After 90 jumps in the past year and some odd months I'm still not sure if I love this sport. Maybe i should give it another 500 or so then make an informed opinion.

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

[kc10boom 0]

This is my first post on Dropzone so bare w/me. I am a "newbie"; I just recently completed 33 jumps in 8 days. I went through the FJC @ Skydive Elsinore and had my world open to a new light. I planned and saved for over two years and had the disire many years prior. To all newbies and experienced, I love Skydiving, I knew I would from an early age. I was worried that starting age 29 would hender me, then I met Jonathan Tagle while I was going through Scott Miller's Flight-One canopy course. I learned that Jonathan started at age 30, 4-5 years ago and is now the best swooper in the world. He gave me a confidence and drive to be the best, at a good pace though. Newbies beware, be patient and live to skydive again and again...Later...Boom

NKAWTG...N

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

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More and more I read a newbie posting that they haven't made a jump yet, but they know they will be in love with the sport. ...
I love to see newbies excited about the sport, but am I off base in thinking, "Wow, you haven't even made a jump, how do you know you will love it?"

My mom kept a scrapbook of school stuff from me and my siblings, going all the way back to elementary school or even before. There's a homework assignment of mine from 1979; I was 8 years old. The assignment was this:

"This Saturday, you can go anywhere and do anything you choose. Write about some of your plans."

Here is what I wrote:

"If I was free on Saturday, I would go to Brooklyn, or Virginia, or Accapulco (sic), or Florida, then to the Statue of Liberty, or Buffalo, or climb trees, or go to Canada, or to my grandma's and grandpa's or to my aunt and uncles, or out in space, or go to the mountains or beach, or maybe boating, or sky diving. Sorry folks I can't think of any more."


It warms me up inside to realize that lonnnng before I ever got a chance to do it, I was eager to skydive. (All those other places were ones where I had family or that my family members had been to.) I have to wonder what I had seen, on t.v. or in movies, that kindled in me a desire to skydive. I like knowing that it is, for me, very deep-seated.
So I don't doubt people who have never done stuff saying that they know they will love it. I'd have to doubt myself, then.

-Jeffrey

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"