dontlikemustard

Was this part necessary? New to SC? Been lurking here and there.

Was this part necessary?

Point taken and understood, didn't take offense.

is it more difficult to physically do the arch in those situations? or is it just a matter of not panicking and doing it? what im trying to say is, did you not arch right away because you panicked or because you were not able to?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Marz6qLsI what an inspiring person.

thanks. its scary how quick you went into that spin! did you try to arch right away, or did you lose control for a bit and then started arching?

I did a tandem + 5 minutes of wind tunnel before I started aff, and I am glad I did it. When I did my AFF1, there was a guy in my class who made his first jump an AFF jump, and he completely froze during the skydive. It can get very overwhelming, and its hard to process the routine that they teach you while going through that crazy sensory overload, that's why a tandem helps, it gives you an idea as to what its like, without much responsibility. just my .02, for what its worth.

Not every dz puts radios on their students. Even if they do, radios can fail. Don't count on getting any help with flare timing on any jump. hmm, wasnt aware of that. if it wasn't for that radio i definitely would have flared too early. the ground seemed much closer than it was once i was at around 25 feet from landing.

as a student jumper the landing is definitely the part of the skydive i am worried about the most. as far as how to know when to flare, you have a radio and they tell you when to flare as you are approaching to land. on my first solo i landed skidding, standing up. but it was not a good landing. i landed a bit hard on my right foot because my leg was stiff, it hurt a bit. I also pulled on both toggles slightly before fully flaring. landing on water is not going to teach you how to land properly. Next time you are at the DZ you should spend some time and just watch people land before your jump, that's what im gonna do.

haha, engineer here and thats me in a nutshell.

im not trying to change him, id just like it if he went out and tried something new a little, maybe saw why its fun as opposed to judging a sport hes never tried. im definitely not pressuring him if thats what you guys are thinking,the last thing i would do is peer pressure someone into anything.

Devil’s Advocate... I know you don’t want to hear this, but, your dad is right!!! In over 35 years in this sport, the only time I’ve ever been nervous in a jump plane was the day my daughter did her first Tandem and I was sitting next to her. This is a dangerous sport and you put your life at risk every time you board a jump plane. That’s a fact that you can’t sweep under the wheel skirts. And, that affects the people close to you. Your dad is not going to change his mind because he does not have your passion for the sport. Accept that and deal with it. You don’t have to lie to him, but you might consider being discrete about where and when you jump. What he doesn’t know won’t bother him. My Sig line… That’s what my dad told me the day I made my first jump. He too was correct!

Regardless of whether or not you are skydiving, its good for you. It can only help.

This. For educational purposes, I would love to see the vid.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll have to take him out to the DZ one of these days.

I remember before my first jump I used to think of my safety in this sport using statistics too. Its important to understand that while you can't bring your chances of dying down to 0, you can definitely lower the odds of dying or getting injured by being safe and having the proper attitude. I came to that realization the second my canopy opened on my AFF1 jump, skydiving is not like playing russian roulette, your actions and attitude have a lot more say about how long you will last in this sport, than some website with a bunch of numbers. The problem with looking at statistics is that they put the personality of a skydiver out of the equation. So please don't think of every jump as rolling a dice, as it gives off a false sense of reality, one where you are not in control of your own fate - that simply is not true, even when jumping out of a plane.

Skydiving is not for everyone, and the notion of willingly jumping out of airplanes to many people is absolutely crazy. While I respect different opinions and perspectives as all being valid one way or another, how could I go about convincing my dad to stop worrying about me picking up this sport? Though I am completely independent from him, and he has no real control over my decisions, I don't want to have to resort to lying to him about it. I care about my family, and I can't help but feel a little selfish. But I also love this sport, the thought of jumping is literally popping in my head every minute of the day. I am doing my AFF2 and 3 this Saturday, I would love to go to the dropzone without feeling guilty about it. I am sure someone on this forum has been in a similar situation? I have tried everything from throwing him a bunch of statistics, to trying to trying to convince him to do a tandem, but he wont budge... Thoughts?

new AFF jumper here. can somebody explain to me what the advantages of a larger canopy are? If you are careful with a smaller canopy, how is it more dangerous? wouldn't a larger canopy actually be more affected by wind gusts due to the larger relative size compared to the weight of the skydiver? also, if a smaller canopy is quicker to steer, is it not more capable to save you in situations where you need to avoid canopy collisions, or when you are having trouble finding a place to land. Not trying to go against the conventional wisdom here, I just want to be as safe as possible in this sport... so I like to understand the reasoning behind everything I'm taught.

assuming you are perfectly safe... exactly what are the odds of being in a situation where there is a 0% chance of survival? obviously it can happen, but how low is it? one in a million? considering the extremely low fatality rates and the fact that most of them are due skydivers pushing their limits... the risks of skydiving seems no different than a lot of other activities. if i drive past the speed limit in my car, eat unhealthy, jump off 20+ foot jumps snowboarding, ride a dirt bike or quad (which pretty much all my neighbors do), scuba dive at unsafe depths...am I not being selfish as well? i don't think its skydiving itself that's the problem, but like most things, its your attitude on life and how safe you choose to be.

thanks for the replies... just wondering, is it at all risky to buy used? im not really planning on going cheap considering its my life on the line.

Im getting my AFF soon and I am planning on doing my get my A license by the end of summer. I really don't want to keep wasting money on renting equipment past my first 25 jumps, and I also dont think I can afford to drop around 5k on gear by the end of summer. Do companies take any kind of monthly payments or financing considering the high initial cost?

too late =) but no worries, im gonna do both.

I don't know where it is $70 a minute. I just split 30 minutes with some friends. With a coach it was $475 so $158 for 10 minutes. That’s like paying $16 for a 13,500ft jump with 60 seconds freefall. Tunnel is way cheaper then skydiving and more useful for working on basic freefall skills. In the tunnel you are not worrying about watching your altimeter and you have a fixed reference point with the walls. You get to focus on your actual control skills with out being jacked out of your mind with adrenaline like you are on your first jumps. Plus your coach can stand next to you and give coaching during flying. Plus the tunnel I was at gave me a dvd of my time in the tunnel. If I was doing aff I would like to spend time in the tunnel first. It would be nice to go into the jump knowing how to stay stable, turn etc. I think they have you do practice pulls. If you fuck up and fail a jump in aff that cost you a lot more than $70 minute. I’m new to skydiving as well. I have a friend that has the same amount of jumps but 40 minutes of tunnel time. He is MUCH better in the air than I am. It’s like he is 40 jumps ahead which is a lot under 200 jumps. However the tunnel will not make you a skydiver. You will still need to learn how to not die or kill others. then I will definitely do a couple of sessions. thanks for the tips

I don't think you need to here, Most already know that feeling. And welcome. good point, thanks well I am planning on doing ground school and AFF1 in april, AFF2 in may, (maybe ill keep them 3 weeks apart just in case) and by june i want to take a week off work and finish it all off. no wind tunnels at Lake Elsinore, but there are some around the area, you think its worth it to spend the 70 bucks for a minute of practice?

of course.