Big girl looking to jump

[slug 1]

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Some heavy people are very active and athletic, therefore they have strong legs and strong bones. Some heavy people are couch potatoes, in terrible shape, and are very likely to get hurt skydiving. It just depends on the individual.

Tall women Are very nice in any size.

Start jumping and you'll have to keep the men away with a bat.

R.I.P.

[Para-viper 0]

At the risk of hijacking this into a 'the multifarious joys of tall women' thread, I gotta agree with you, Slug.

Rowr.

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Of course it hurts. The trick is not *minding* that it hurts.
- T.E. Lawrence

[NoShitThereIWas 0]

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Dude that HARSH it's also VERY wrong
Do your home wrok before you post dribble

Being too heavy or big IS a safety issue. For one, the harness has to fit and it should fit comfortably. Number two, in my experience as an AFF instructor when people are too large for their harness, finding their emergency handles can become a problem as well as reaching across their chest to pull either of them. I have had to tell students that they could not jump AFF because of the safety issue of being able to reach their handles.

My second concern is that, I don't know how large the reserve canopies are at every other DZ, but our student gear holds Manta 288 mains and PD 253 reserves. Someone weighing 280 pounds who might have to use our student reserve without any canopy experience is wingloading the canopy more than a student should.

My last concern is that I have seen video of AFF jumps where instructors have tried taking a 300 pound student. They were the largest instructors, very skilled and wearing lots of weight. When it came time for that student to be released in freefall on their Cat C skydive, it was a real problem. I have met 280 pound anvils who reach speeds of 207 mph on their bellies so they are out there... Someone taught them how to skydive.

As a 125 pound AFF instructor, I could never hang (unfortunately) and have had to make my personal limit 220 pounds and that is if they are proportional and I am wearing all the weight I have in my weight vest.

Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires."

Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

[slug 1]

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At the risk of hijacking this into a 'the multifarious joys of tall women' thread, I gotta agree with you, Slug.

Rowr.

Hi Rowr

Not to worry It was fun while it lasted
No shit is trying to hijack our thread about "tall women" And change it into a skydiving thing[:)

I think I'll go back to speakers corner, for some more... more

R.I.P.

[gjhdiver 0]

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Hi, I live the Los Angeles area and have come to the conclusion that i want to skydive. I have called all the places in the area and no one says i meet the weight requirements. i am a big woman who is 6' 0" and weigh about 280lbs. I know i should lose some weight, no doubt about it. But it isn't exactly easy either. Is there anybody on here that might point me in the right direction? Is it impossible foe me to achieve this dream

Thanks
Kim

Personally, as an AFF instructor with about 8000 jumps, I wouldn't take you as a student. With gear, you would be over 300 pounds. I've learned over the years that students of this exit weight are very difficult to control even when they are doing everything right. In any kind of instablity or tumble, they very quickly become unmanageable.

Also, at a 300 pound exit weight, you may be exceeding the TSO limit of many reserve canopies. There have been failiures of reserve parachutes recently that have been deployed at terminal velocities that exceeded their TSO ratings.

Lastly, if you did get through a training program, you would find it difficult to jump with anyone. There are larger jumpers who do manage, but they are usually ones that already have a lot of experience. You're also much more likely to injure yourself on any bad landing. I personally have only met one skydiver of over 300 pounds exit weight in nearly 20 years, and that person had to jump alone with modified gear.

Simply put, with no judgement, skydiving is an action sport that places a lot stress on the body, and places the participant at significant deadly risk each and every time that you jump. Your best chance of safety and success comes with good training and better than average physical fitness and awareness. If you really want to be a skydiver, you need to address your weight issue and drop at least 50 pounds if that is both safe and possible.

[NoShitThereIWas 0]

Sorry Slug, Tall women Rule. Okay you can carry on

Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires."

Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

[Rettrae 0]

The weight limit for a tandem at SkydiveTaft was 230 pounds - I think 250 or 270 for AFF. That weight limit was a HUGE motivator for me to get down to 230 pounds and I am 5'9", and now after 2 tandem jumps, I am working my way through AFF. AFF is very physically tiring and it has forced me to stick to my exercise program so I dont drag for 4 days afterward. Side affect of all that exercise? A loss of 15 lbs after 3 months! Do a lot of hiking/bike riding to strentghen your legs and knees and build up your cardio.