PixieUK

Lol - I've never been asked those questions by skydivers so it's never been an issue. I'm referring to the kind of people who never question anything for themselves, just do it "because everyone does it" or "it's the thing to do" - getting married in church, having kids, getting them christened even if the parents never go to church and don't believe in God, yada, yada. My experience is that most people are sheep and bimble along through life without challenging (or even realising they could challenge) societal norms, and who automatically reject other opinions and viewpoints as wrong or somehow suspect just because those viewpoints are not held by the majority. The majority of skydivers might well be exempt from "sheepdom" simply because they have challenged norms and thought things through for themselves, even if that challenge is limited to throwing themselves out of perfectly serviceable aircraft A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

My responses tend to depend on who's making the assumptions. If it's someone I respect or don't particularly want to upset, I may explain my reasons or brush it off with "there's plenty of time to worry about that later". If it's someone who is being a busybody or trying to impose their opinion on me, I generally ask them "if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?" I was married for nearly 10 years and have been happily unmarried for 2.5 - I doubt there is anyone on the planet who could persuade me to enter into that particular anachronism again, lol A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

Hi Malooper, I'm just going through the same process myself. Did my first ever tandem last weekend and am not at all sure if I want to continue, though watching the video and looking through all the pictures gives me a very different perspective on the whole thing. I was very calm and relaxed throughout, then watching the video gave me goosebumps and butterflies, lol. I'm doing my ground training and hopefully my AFF jump 1 next weekend to see if I really like it. My DZ have said I can pay for each jump as I go and since I get a big discount for AFF1 having just done a skydive, the cost doesn't work out much different. Good luck with your next tandem if you jump today

So ground school booked for Friday next week, with my first AFF jump potentially on Saturday. Having just received my video of my skydive, I did have an "OMG, did I really do that?" moment, especially seeing the TI tip us out of the plane in a somersault. Now I know why it felt like I'd left my stomach behind, lol. Definitely a hard opening of the parachute - looks a little shocking on video (deployed in about a second, throwing us both about) and the same thing happening to the videographer (his swearing was covered by the music ) was enough to give me butterflies that I didn't actually feel at the time. Analysed it with my OH and looked at some of the AFF student videos and concluded that the conditions were unusual, so I'm not overly concerned about it happening to me next weekend. Time to start practising my free fall arch on the kitchen floor A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

Thanks all - some interesting things to ponder. I definitely think having an instructor boyfriend has helped because I was very nervous just before we were due to get in the plane the first time and then we were stood down which meant it was another week before I actually jumped. During that time, I was able to ask lots of questions and get informed answers. My brain had a lot of time to process the first set of 'shocks', like how small the aircraft was, and how I would be hanging out of the plane whilst the instructor was still holding on getting us ready to jump out. And what it would feel like at different stages (free fall, deployment, under canopy, landing), and what I would see if I looked up or down. And yes, I have seen hundreds of hours of video footage, lol, and I have also flown in commercial aircraft a lot so I'm used to seeing the ground at various distances out of the window. I am a qualified climbing instructor so I'm used to the fear-factor of fall practice and having to trust someone else to hold me, so I had absolute trust in my tandem instructor and that helped too. I've pretty much decided I'm going to do my AFF jump 1 to see the difference and then figure out if I want to do any more

Hi all After my first tandem yesterday, I'm considering whether to do my AFF or not (I posted in the General forum about confusing people with my reactions). I was fully expecting a "Marmite moment", you know, either you love it or hate it but no-one ever is ambivalent. Except me, apparently, lol. It was fine, I liked some bits, wasn't so keen on others. We had a hard opening (as did my videographer on his chute) which was a nasty jolt and we had a hard landing due to flukey winds around a group of trees, but I was chilled and unfazed throughout. I was able to look around, found the drop zone (eventually!), was fascinated by the view but didn't get the massive adrenaline rush that makes people euphoric afterwards. It was a bit of an anti-climax to be honest. Has anyone ever started out this way and ended up loving it? Will it be different if I do an AFF jump and have to do stuff myself? Or is the lack of excitement just one of those things that says "ok, great, ticked that box, what's next?" My boyfriend is a qualified skydive instructor and he is somewhat freaked by my reaction as he's never seen it before, especially considering I was really nervous the week before when we nearly got to jump but it was called off at the last minute. He would like to get back into skydiving after a long break (about 8 years) but doesn't think there is much point if I don't enjoy it. There is absolutely no pressure from him for me to jump - if I love it, that's great, if I'm not bothered, he won't be upset. I'm seriously considering doing my AFF jump 1 to see if jumping myself and pulling my own chute makes a difference but I guess I'm wondering if it's likely to be a waste of time and money. Any thoughts? Feel free to respond on the post in the General forum if that's more appropriate than here

So, 3rd time lucky, I actually did my first tandem skydive today and in the process, confused several people with my reactions! I have always been of the philosophy that if the pilot is landing in the plane, I see no good reason why I shouldn't. It has taken my SO over 4 years to persuade me to try a tandem jump (I've had my medical certificate for over 2 years!) and after doing lots of research, asking loads of questions and finally wanting to see what all the fuss was about, today was the day the weather was kind enough to let us actually jump. First was cancelled 2 weeks ago due to rain, second last weekend was called off at the last minute (as we were kitted up and ready to go) due to strong wind gusts that never really died down and the cci decided to stop further jumping that day. So I thought I had a fairly good idea what to expect, having had 2 briefings (and my SO is a qualified instructor though he hasn't jumped for about 8 years so he did his first tandem at the same time) and was relatively chilled out as we headed to the plane. I was very relaxed in the plane and was curious to see if I could find the drop zone myself without being told - it was easy enough at the start and I did spot it out of the opposite window at about 5000' but lost it again when the plane banked. My TI showed me his altimeter and explained what would be happening at various heights on the way back down. We got to altitude, I saw my SO and his TI drop out (doing somersaults apparently, lol) and before I knew quite what was happening, I was smiling for the cameraman and we launched. I wasn't expecting the big lurch in my stomach like a rollercoaster ride or the pain in my right eardrum shortly afterwards and I'd forgotten about the noise we'd been warned about, but was looking around as much as I could, given my head was wedged against my TI's shoulder. My camera man popped into view so I was smiling and waving to him, then couldn't resist looking down. Incredible views, though I had absolutely no idea where the landing point was The canopy opened with a hell of a jolt and I felt a bit thrown about - wasn't expecting that, especially as I'd been told it wouldn't be a jolt when I'd asked earlier! I looked up immediately and the canopy was fully open so I figured everything was fine. Did some amazing spirals and turns on the way down, spotted the landing zone, then had a hard fast landing on our bums (with catchers!). Rich and the cameraman were already down and looked a bit concerned but I was fine, just hadn't tried to move because I was waiting for instructions from my TI as we were still clipped tightly together. I was very happy I'd done it, enjoyed the ride but wasn't bouncing about with euphoria and didn't have the adrenaline rush everyone seemed to be expecting. I'm still not entirely convinced I want to do it again, but am not sure how much of that was down to the pain in my ear (not pressure related, probably water or wax I think), and unexpected things happening. Maybe when I see the video and pictures, my recollections will change Apparently the hard opening of the chute was unusual (cameraman had the same thing and was unimpressed!) and so was the hard landing. Though I do know low count jumpers and students would not have been permitted up today so maybe I need to do another jump to decide A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

Did my first tandem skydive today and had a similar issue. On coming out of the plane, almost instantly I had intense pain in my right ear though at the time, I couldn't tell if it was from cold / wind / gunk in my ears (I was wearing a rubber helmet as required by the drop zone). The only thing I was fairly certain of was that it wasn't to do with pressure changes as it only occurred in one ear and it didn't change in intensity through swallowing / gulping air / putting pressure on the outside of my ear which are all things I usually do to equalise pressure in my ears. I was in a lot of pain throughout the jump, and it continued for a few hours afterwards until I got home and was able to put some surgical spirit into it. I suspect I had a little bit of water or some gunk in my ear as the pain was alleviated almost instantly once I'd managed to get the drops down (I have very narrow ear canals and cannot scuba dive because I cannot equalise the pressure - I do not fly anywhere with a head cold or sinus issues). I was going to ask the question about ear plugs because I will not do my course if I think I am likely to suffer that pain repeatedly (felt like someone jabbed me in the ear with a sharp stick!), but am prepared to try another jump if I think I can prevent air getting in. I was thinking of using my moldable swim ear plugs as they keep water out so should be ok to keep cold air out. Will test them with my motorbike helmet which has a 2-way radio with my partner's bike helmet so that will tell me if I can hear a radio ok with them in