Gordon in NC

Just a quick update. Life got in the way but I finally made it back to the DZ today. I had a long e-mail conversation with the owner and this morning my instructor and I had a long sit down face to face talk. I'm feeling so much better after it all got sorted. They are willing to work with me and I do appreciate their understanding and cooperation. So........after all of that.....it was time to gear up and get back in the plane. Things went SO MUCH better for me today. I was focused and even though it was a "little" late I made my first PRCP. Little steps.... but at least it's got me where I'm excited about it again. Thanks again for the positive replies. I got this. Gordon in NC

Just a quick update......it's been a busy week at work. My DZ says they will work with me. I've also been in contact ( from the start of this) with another DZ that's about the same distance from me and they say they too will work with me. That one in fact says they have had a jumper that has over 100 static line jumps with them. So I guess i'm not as alone as I first thought. My GOAL is hop and pops.......but I'm not in a hurry. Like I said at the first of this, at my age I don't even buy green bananas. THANK YOU all for the positive comments and support.....a testimony to the types of good folks in the hobby. Gota get past a couple of busy weekends in my "other" hobby and then I can climb back in the plane. I have to be honest.....after that mess last jump I was really considering just hanging it up but for the life of me (no pun intended) I just can't shake the desire to do it again. IF and when I do finally quit......I'd like for it to be on an high note ( okay that was an intended pun). Take care folks and I hope our paths cross one day so I can shake your hand in person. I'll report back in a few weeks once I've gotten back to it. Gordon in NC PS.....PLEASE don't get me wrong....in NO WAY did my DZ force me to do anything I didn't want to do. But they can't read minds and I just kept quiet and tried to go with the program. Most of the other students are a LOT younger than I am and are eager to get that A license...and so far all of them are excited about freefall. I should have spoken up before I put MYSELF in that position. But it's all out front and I know I feel better about the whole deal now.....the folks at my DZ have been VERY helpful and I couldn't ask for more.

IMO.....the hobby is lucky to have people like you in it sir. Scheduled to go back this weekend.....I gota plan and a goal and good people willing to work with me on them. Life is good. You only die once........live every day. Gordon in NC

Well I have to say you guys (and gals?) impressed me. I thought I'd get raked over the coals but instead your answers were helpful and positive......and I thank you all for it. A little back ground....(warning I can get a bit long winded) I graduated High School in 1968.....not a good time in history to be male, middle class and have both feet and hands. I attended jump school in early 1969. After that, my jumps were hop and pops from a chopper to demonstrate the Air Force's 4 line release on their ejection seat canopies. Fast forward 5 decades............bucket list time I want to jump again before I turn 70. I talk my daughter into going with me. There are no DZ's in North Carolina (that I know of) that offer static line jumps. Doing a tandem wasn't something I was the least bit interested in ( my daughter did one and LOVED it). So I had to search for a DZ that offered static line jumps ( in 1969 we were proud to do them). The DZ we picked out is a 4 hour drive one way. After the jump I just couldn't get it off my mind and wanted to to it again. I'm NOT looking for another hobby.....I already have a couple that take up a lot of my time. I'm just trying to relive some of those past memories......and none of those had anything to do with skydiving......or what they called sports jumping back in the 60's. What we did was called Parachuting....at least in the circles I rotated in. I contacted the DZ owner this morning.......these folks are the BEST IMO......I don't know how they rate in the Skydiving world but as decent human beings....I couldn't ask for better. They are more than willing to work with me. I had pretty much agreed to the 25 jumps required for the class A and honestly I'd be shocked if I do that many. I've been to the DZ 4 times and each time I wasn't the only static line jumper. He told me that when and if I want to advance further......I could. So for now I'm good I really like this advice from Wolfriverjoe "After you've done a few S/Ls, try a PCRP. Don't do it thinking of 'pass/fail', do it more to see if you can. And. most importantly, do what you want. And have fun doing it" Thank you for that.......it makes perfect sense in my situation CoolBeans had some good advice too........I have been thinking about his comment/question about being too scared to cut away because of going into freefall. I'm really new at this but .....I exit the plane at 3500......have a malfunction and need to make a decision by 2500 feet. I'm in a student rig with one D handle that cuts away the main canopy and deploys the reserve in one pull. Am I going to freeze because of the fear of freefall????? I can't answer that with 100% certainty but my guess is.....I'm pulling the handle because as a full grown man I know what's probably going to happen if I don't. Most probably I'd be prone to pull it early instead of trying a few more kicks to get out of line twist.......cause I'm not going to be embarrassed back at the hanger....hell I'm a student. I'll finish with this (told ya I was long winded)........it's a static line jump....I get it's not skydiving....I'm okay with that. But....when the door opens (C182) and the instructortells me to go all the way out on the strut. I'm the one climbing out and hanging of the strut and I'm the one who lets go......nobody is holding my hand. Yep.......I get some help getting the chute out and I'm okay with that too. THANK YOU All for taking the time to reply.........it means a lot and I do appreciate it. Clear skies........a grateful Gordon in NC

Well........I like the idea of coming out of the plane at 3500 feet. But that's all I'm interested in. As part of a survival course (I was a junior instructor) in the service we did some para sail. I don't remember exactly how high the students got but it was mostly for PLF training and water landings. Paragliding.......I don't know, seems like a face plant to me. Thank you for taking the time to reply.....Still thinking it over.....Gordon in NC

Okay, first post and I gota feeling it's not going to go over well. First reason is......I understand that a static line jump is not "really" skydiving. But, what if a fellow isn't really interested in skydiving, he just wants canopy time. Would it be possible to just do static line jumps? I understand that you'd still need to be supervised and the cost would be greater once you past the 25 jump mark but if you didn't care about getting a license would it be bad idea to ask your DZ about it? I'm a 68 year old male. Past jump experience in the military (1969) trying to relive some of those memories. I signed up for a static line course and have made 3 jumps so far. But I can tell that it's not going to be any fun from here on......I have to pass or fail different tasks. Start free falling which I have no desire to do. I'm not going to be doing this for decades....heck, I don't even buy green bananas anymore. I haven't talked to my instructor about it but my last jump was my first PRCP and I was so worried about not getting it right....it took the fun out of it for me. Am I going to be shamed out of the family because I just want the ride? Thanks for listening and I'm open for suggestions........flame suit on........Gordon in NC