Question for TM's -- panicked passengers?

[Jeth 0]

Hey all TM's,

I am just wondering if you've ever had a really panicked passenger. What was the worst that U ever had?

I am thinking about this because my 64-yr old mom wants to do a tandem for her 65th birthday. I think its awesome if she wants to and will enjoy it. But since she has never done anything remotely like this, I am wondering how she'll handle it. She has never been on a roller coaster, she has never gone parasailing, bungee jumping, rock climbing or anything that gets the blood flowing. And she is very scared of heights.

I saw a post from a TM who said they took a 60 yr old nun. I have seen many other stories about senior citizens going up and having the time of their life. I really hope thats what happens, but I guess I'm just trying to imagine her reaction if its something less than exhilaration/joy. I can see her being in tears cuz she was so scared. I would hate for it to be a bad experience for her. But also, I have never seen an unhappy tandem passenger after their jump.

Thoughts? I was thinking of maybe putting her on roller coaster and seeing how she feels after that. (Mainly for the speed/wind-in-face factor) Do you think this would matter at all?

Thanks.

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[slotperfect 7]

Quote

I am just wondering if you've ever had a really panicked passenger. What was the worst that U ever had?

I have never had a passenger completely freak out. I have had two of them get kind of wiggy on exit and try to grab my arms . . . where I put them they are out of reach anyway. The worst I have had was a non-listener. He was kind of nauseated, holding the sick bag I supplied him in front of his face, and would not do anything I told him. On landing I pretty much pushed his feet up with mine and did a decent sliding landing. He "came to" right away talking about how great it was.

Quote

I am thinking about this because my 64-yr old mom wants to do a tandem for her 65th birthday. I think its awesome if she wants to and will enjoy it.

Awesome! My Mom is coming over in June to jump with me - she's 75. I am greatly loking forward to it.

Quote

And she is very scared of heights.

About 80% of my tandem students tell me that. I ask them how they react to being in high places, they say that they are very afraid they are going to fall off and get hurt. When I tell them "ME TOO!" they relax a little, and I explain that it is quite different being at 13000 feet with two parachutes between you and the ground, and standing on top of a cliff looking over the edge.

Quote

I can see her being in tears cuz she was so scared. I would hate for it to be a bad experience for her. But also, I have never seen an unhappy tandem passenger after their jump.

Unhappy students are few and far between. Crying because of being scared is OK - it's their natural human reaction. After they land it is quickly replaced by a HUGE feeling of accomplishment, because they conquered their fear. I will never take a student out of an airplane that doesn't want to go - therefore I tell them they did it, not me. They had to make the decision to answer affirmatively my question: "Are you ready to skydive?"

Quote

Thoughts? I was thinking of maybe putting her on roller coaster and seeing how she feels after that. (Mainly for the speed/wind-in-face factor) Do you think this would matter at all?

I would be careful about the roller-coaster comparisons. You really get that stomach-in-the-throat falling feeling on a roller-coaster, and on some of the older ones you really get jerked around. Also, some of the G-forces on coasters are much more physically disturbing than a tandem.

You have got the hard part in the bag - getting her to commit. Answer her questions to the best of your ability, choose a Tandem Instructor you are comfortable with, then trust the process. If each of us described in detail the feelings we experienced on our first skydives, you would find a wide variety of stories. The reason for this is that for those who connect with the experience, it becomes very personal to that individual. That's what makes it so hard for me to describe what it feels like.

She is gonna have a blast! My only question is who will have the bigger grin on their face, you or her??

Arrive Safely

John

[LawnDart21 0]

Hi, I am the TM that took the nun on a skydive. The oldest jumper I have taken on a skydive was 72 yrs old, and I have to say, in 800 tandems, they were both two of the calmest passengers I have ever taken.

I think I may have had 5 people panic in the traditional sense once the canopy is open and they realize they are supended 5000ft off the ground. In every case, I found that constant verbal communication with them, reassuring them they were doing great and that it was "almost over" really helped get through the canopy ride. Once safely landed, I told each one of them how genuinely proud of them I was.

I know your Mom will do great when she jumpss!

Please let us know how it goes,
Blue skies, Tom

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[Jeth 0]

Thanks, John, for your thoughtful reply. I am feeling better about it already!

Quote

Unhappy students are few and far between. Crying because of being scared is OK - it's their natural human reaction. After they land it is quickly replaced by a HUGE feeling of accomplishment, because they conquered their fear. I will never take a student out of an airplane that doesn't want to go - therefore I tell them they did it, not me. They had to make the decision to answer affirmatively my question: "Are you ready to skydive?"

She is gonna have a blast! My only question is who will have the bigger grin on their face, you or her??

Yup, I told her she'll have to answer that question to get out the door.
Yep -- it will be totally awesome to see her land under canopy. I hope we both have huge smiles.

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[tombuch 0]

I took my mom on a tandem for her 65th birthday. I was more nervous than she was. If your mom really wants to make the jump, she should be fine. The folks who I have had the most trouble with were generally pressured into making the jump, and not motivated to be there at all. The one exception was a kid with Downs Syndrome that I discussed several months ago.

Real panic is pretty rare, and as an accomplished tandem instructor you should be able to recognize it and react without worry. Will your mom enjoy the jump? who knows. Give it a shot!

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[livendive 8]

I've taken a gal for her 82nd birthday...she had a blast. I took a gal who was so scared that she started crying while I was briefing her (before I even got her into a jumpsuit/harness)...she had a blast. I've taken plenty of people who thought it was pretty frightening and wouldn't do it again, but to a person they were glad they'd done it that once.

If she's interested in jumping, let her. I'm sure she'll have fun.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[matthewcline 0]

I have taken a 80+ year old Grandmother, My mom, and My mother in law and none of them had any real issues.

I just had to plan on ther age as a factor (slower positioning in the door hearing , etc.), as Tom said I was far more nervouse for them.

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[Jeth 0]

Thanks, guys, for the replies. I do feel better about her going now. I have not pressured her at all (it wasn't even my idea), so if she does do it, it will be all her decision. (And all her joy and accomplishment when she's finished.
Woo-hoo, go Mom!!!

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[Deuce 1]

Vick Krusi just took a lady for her 95th birthday and she loved it.

If she wants to do it, she'll be fine.

I have found that the folks that get sick are the ones who are the most "excited" or afraid that they are going to be injured. When the parachute opens and it's much more like a balloon ride than a rocket ride, their blood pressure drops and they get nauseous. It's that post-adrenaline thing that sometimes has them woozy right about landing time.

I haven't had anybody puke yet, but I've got a few on tap tomorrow out of the Cessna, so there's hope!

[mfrese 0]

I've never had anyone freak out completely, and in my experience (3 years and about 750 tandems), the older folks are generally pretty calm. You do have to make allowances for their physical condition, but generally they're not a problem. I've taken two 80-year-olds, and will probably add to that later this year when I take my Dad for the fourth time for his 80th. (Of course, he's got 10 jumps and did his first on the same load I did my first on, so he does have some experience.)

One of the things that seems to help people a lot is something I picked up from Brian Germain's canopy course: after the canopy is open, tell them to take a deep breath. Brian recommends this for swoopers to re-center yourself and transition from the freefall to the canopy flight, and it seems to work wonders with people who are still getting their pulse rate under control from the freefall.

Anyway, sounds like fun, hope she has a blast!

Doctor I ain't gonna die,
Just write me an alibi! ---- Lemmy/Slash