Placcypaddy

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Posts posted by Placcypaddy

  3. chasitie

    I’ve posted a few times about how to get over the fear of doing aff and all that Jazz.
    Well the time has come and I will be starting training on Sunday! What are some things that I should be expecting??
    Please feel free to share your experiences of your AFF courses!
    Super nervous about that door flying open, but I’ve done five tandems.. how rough can it be :$



    Chasitie I also have just booked my aff for June and done my 3rd tandem yesterday, but can’t seem to get rid of the anxiety in plane
    especially on jump run, thought my heart was going to climb out my chest yesterday but once in the air absolutely fine :S

    Would be really helpful if you could post your progress on here :)
    Thx john

  4. Mark.Carroll

    Paddy, several commenters have already spoken eloquently about the need to be responsible and balanced in all aspects with regard to skydiving (money, time with family, risk, insurance, etc.) and the other pursuits in your life, so I won't comment further on that.

    What I can offer is that skydiving and a family don't have to be exclusive. I've enjoyed the sport since college and then got my girlfriend (now wife) into it not long after that. We both have demanding full-time jobs and we have a (now) 17-year old son that we've spent a great deal of time raising, yet we still jump as often as we can (sometimes we have a blast just fooling around with each other in freefall). Of course you'll notice by my jump numbers that indeed we haven't been able to spend a ton of time at the DZ, but we still enjoy it.

    And now our son is ready to start AFF in July. He has 6 tandems (minors can do tandems at Mullins' DZ in TN) and right now we're spending some money to get him prepped in the tunnel so he'll get the most out of his AFF.

    My point is simply this: skydiving can be a fun part of a parent or spouse's life as long you treat the risk with respect and make sure the hobby fits with all your other responsibilities and obligations.

    Hope you're able to fit skydiving into your life.




    Thank you Mark I have already booked my AFF for the 1st weekend in June :)

  7. gowlerk

    ***Yes you are.

    This is your children's childhood, not yours. This is the only one they get. They should be free to explore whatever interests they want that you can afford. They may find that they are world class at soccer, skiing, choir, acting, piano, violin, hockey, horseback riding, swimming, you pick it. Or they might just be good, but not great students. Do you have their college expenses covered? Or are you going to get a couple of thousand jumps in before they go to college and then saddle them with a six-figure debt coming out?

    If you opt to jump a couple of times a month, and let them explore the other weekends, realize, you will not be current. This isn't golf. You can't lay off for a few weeks and comeback and figure you will be in the same place you were on the last jump. Without a large experience base, you will not have the skills to pick it right up. You will not be safe to jump with others. In skydiving, if you are not moving forward, you are falling behind.

    Harsh. You asked.



    You owe your children responsible parenting. You are not required to organize your entire life around meeting their wants and amusing them. Many recreational skydivers are parents. Lighten up a little.

    Well I thought the odds of all skydivers having no children or families would be a little crap

    And I understand that bettering yourself within the sport requires dedication and time but it all depends on what you want out of it

  8. flyhi

    Yes you are.

    This is your children's childhood, not yours. This is the only one they get. They should be free to explore whatever interests they want that you can afford. They may find that they are world class at soccer, skiing, choir, acting, piano, violin, hockey, horseback riding, swimming, you pick it. Or they might just be good, but not great students. Do you have their college expenses covered? Or are you going to get a couple of thousand jumps in before they go to college and then saddle them with a six-figure debt coming out?

    If you opt to jump a couple of times a month, and let them explore the other weekends, realize, you will not be current. This isn't golf. You can't lay off for a few weeks and comeback and figure you will be in the same place you were on the last jump. Without a large experience base, you will not have the skills to pick it right up. You will not be safe to jump with others. In skydiving, if you are not moving forward, you are falling behind.

    Harsh. You asked.



    So young & single or old and divorced to take up skydiving ? :S

    And as for college fees yes my kids will be paying for them as they need to learn to have responsibilities in life and not keep running to daddy to pay for everything

  9. FlyLikeARaven

    People have already cleared up the safety questions, but I have a couple of suggestions.

    If you bring your kiddies to the DZ, please make sure they have enough toys or whatever to stay entertained, and have someone there to watch them while you're jumping or training. Few things are less fun than trying to pack while a toddler is running across your lines and trying to figure out who it belongs to. There are many people who don't like kids, and dropzones aren't always kid-friendly. Your kid will hear questionable language and it'll be up to you to teach them the difference between adult words and kid words. An excited kid running on to a runway or into the landing area or hangar can quickly ruin a good time. That said, the few parents who bring their kids to the DZ I go to are fantastic about keeping them happy and the kids are well-behaved, although we have seen a few nightmare brats.

    If your spouse is picking up the slack while you're out jumping, be sure to pay it back. Don't make them be a single parent while you're out having fun. For every full day you're jumping, give them a full day of childcare so they can do whatever they want.



    No worries there youngest is 12 now plus me & him go snowboarding/skateboarding & fishing all the time so I do my fair share of childminding B|

    As I said it’s more of it being such a high risk sport and feeling guilty for participating in it but hey I can’t keep paying for tandems forever so will have to give it a go

  10. Pit76

    I was scared shitless the first few jumps :S
    Very nervous in the plane, and when the door opened I would grab the bench to feel safe :$
    But then the first ones started jumping out and when it was my time I just focussed, took a deep breath and jumped. And loved every second of it. :)
    I have now 20 jumps, and I still have a bit of a fear and nerves the first jump for the day, but for me that's part of the fun, conquer myself.
    I think if I wouldn't have that feeling anymore the fun is gone. I also have a youtube movie with all my AFF jumps :)

    My whole story is written here somewhere :)



    It’s good to hear as I think what skydiving has to offer could be amazing once you get over the nerves/fear, if you have any links to your aff post them on here pal would love to see them

  12. GoGoGadget

    *** Need to get over the fear now :S



    I am not an AFFI, but I have been a motorcycle instructor for years. When I have a student express fear, I ask them if they are nervous or afraid. Nervous I can work with. Fear, I cannot.

    Hard to say, loved every minute of the tandems had a grin for 2 weeks after them but from now it will be on me :S

    So probably little of everything nerves/fear & self confidence

  13. HPC

    From a safety standpoint - no, you're not being selfish. Skydiving is generally safe so long as you exercise common sense and basic safety practices.

    Just make sure you keep your priorities straight. From a time standpoint, don't pass on watching your kid play a sport, act in a school play, etc. in order to go skydiving.

    Ditto with financial resources. For example, don't have your kids wearing worn out sneakers (or maybe worse, buy the cheapest shoes/clothes available) in order to have equipment and lift ticket money.

    Also keep in mind that unless you make a buttload of money, you won't have the funds to both support your family as you should and skydive your rear off. If funds are limited, you may as well figure that you'll be a fun jumper instead of someone with the goal of becoming an expert in any discipline. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try your best on the dives that you make, it just means that you won't be able to make the jump numbers necessary to become really good at a particular discipline.

    Discuss it with the Mrs., if she understands that you need to have your own hobby/sport I'm sure the two of you can work out a family/skydiving balance that keeps everyone happy.

    Hope this helps.



    All helps HPC,we have discussed it and she’s fine with it :)As for getting to the top of any discipline that doesn’t bother me (way to old for that now) I just love the fact that there is so much to learn & enjoy in skydiving. Need to get over the fear now :S

  15. chuckakers

    ***Hi I have done a couple of tandems so far but can’t get it out of my head & am seriously considering doing aff course this spring/summer so here’s the question, am I being selfish to take up a high risk sport like skydiving with a young Family ? :S



    I say no, you are not being selfish, and I also think it's wrong to avoid risks because you have a family. My wife (also a jumper) and I raised two kids who spent nearly every weekend of their young years on the drop zone and it was good for them. They matured quicker than their peers, learned things and met people they would never have had the chance to otherwise, and learned that taking calculated risks is something that should be embraced to conquer life.

    They are both now in their 30's and are very accomplished. I believe being raised in the sport played a big part in that.

    Skydivers don't take risks, they manage them.

    Think I will bring my youngest with us when we go the dz next I think he would love just watching :)

  16. shorehambeach

    Paddy,

    Your feelings are perfectly normal. A lot of your questions and worries will be answered during your AFF course by the instructors and the knowledge you pick up as you start your journey.

    This video is a good outline for what to expect on AFF

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyViaTCx_C8

    I found out on AFF that my biggest challenge (apart from breathing smiling enjoying relaxing staying stable pulling staying altitude aware ..... Smile) was nerves.

    Jennifer (a skydiver and illustrator) wrote this blog during her AFF - it helps explain the battle in the brain that goes on when you jump out of a plane.

    http://tailotherat.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/skydiving-duck-iii-parachutting-school.html


    There's many pages but its worth a good look !

    Where are you based ?



    Brilliant reading pal, I am in Aintree, liverpool

    I have a million questions so will have to wait until I go the dz and ruin some poor instructors day :D

  17. Really good to hear shorehambeach I think my missus & kids r ok with me having a go it’s just a bit of guilt incase something goes wrong plus I have let a bit of nerves & self doubt creep in ( probably shouldn’t have watched the bad videos on YouTube) I have a few weeks in may & june where I am totally free so think I am going for it then

  18. So would you say the tunnel is harder than free-fall gogo? It’s hard to tell on a tandem as your just along for ride, I was just starting to get hang of it and time was up so have booked another 10 mins in tunnel next week

    Ps,,, how was it when you got license ? being the newbie, could imagine it’s a bit daunting

    Thx

    John