bot403

I got into AFF after 2 tandems because I HATED not being attached to a parachute the minute the plane left the ground. Couple that with the open door and it freaked me out worse than the freefall or being under canopy.

usually the small children the villagers leave at dropzones for us so we dont wander into town and disturb the peaceWink 2-3 guys take a big net on the plane and jump through clouds capturing carebears for the barbecue + beer later.

Heh. My first 2 tandems were more nerve-racking than my first 2 aff jumps. Most of the worry during my tandem was being in the twin otter with the door open, no seatbelt, and not yet being attached to a chute. I was pawing at the sides of the plane nervously trying to push myself further up :) Once I was hooked to the TM I was calm as could be. Flights are only nerveracking for me below 1,500 now when I know it will be rough to get a chute over me. I thought I failed my first AFF jump because I forgot the legs out signal. The JM was giving it to me and I stared at it in freefall for a good 15 seconds. I could feel my body being unstable in the air and them holding on to me but for the life of me I had no clue what he wanted me to do despite a perfect review of the signals several times in the pane. He gave up and gave me an arch signal. I think the arch fixed my legs :) On my second AFF my radio failed and I had to land solo on what (I hear) is one of the smaller landing zones in the country. (CSC Hinkley IL).

Hmmmmmm. I could have swore I posted this. Sorry if it shows as a double post!. Anyways I'm a newbie at 6 jumps, but I figure it can't hurt to have all types of experience levels sharing what they know/feel. Below is my short essay. I've contemplated skydiving since I was in middle school. To me it represented the absolute limit. Something so terrifying that if I conquered it, I knew I could do anything. I knew going in that skydiving was both safe and dangerous at the same time and that's what really drew me in. Dropzones wouldn't run tandem after tandem if there was a significant loss of life or injury. Don't get me wrong, skydiving can be dangerous and results in many non-fatal injuries but it is not as dangerous as many other extreme sports. Furthermore, jumping out of a plane at 14,000 feet is not something one does rationally. For me, someone who has always been calm, logical, and driven by reason, skydiving let me break free of it and do something my body and mind knew made no sense. You can be a rational person and jump out of a plane, but you drag your mind kicking and screaming through that door. Because I'd been thinking of it for a while it took very little encouragement when a friend at my job I was interning at suggested a group of us go skydiving. Since then I've been hooked. My first jump was a typical amazing tandem. I promptly went home and bragged to everyone and showed off video and pictures. Being in college it wasn't too long until I got a group of people interested in going in September. I was hoping on a group discount but enough people chickened out that I couldn't get it. My second time was amazing and I sort of knew what to expect and was able to concentrate on enjoying my freefall. I was already planning a spring trip but thought to myself "Hey. Tandems are nice, but wouldn't it be awesome if I could jump out of a plane by myself while my friends were stuck with tandems?" So I signed up for AFF. Once I hung around the dropzone I got to meet a lot of friendly people and realized that skydivers are a very interesting and diverse group. They're not crazy tattooed skateboarders or snowboarding jocks. People had real families and real diverse jobs. People were easy to meet and easy to get along with. People traveled from all over the country to get to the dropzone. I would have trouble defining a stereotypical skydiver: they're young, old, crazy, mild, A licensed and D licensed. There is no way you can jump out of an airplane at 14,000 feet and 80 knots and not have it affect other areas of your life. There's one that really sticks out though. I was recently offered a Job at a major corporation after my internship there. However, I had done 2 internships with them as well as worked over the winter and was given the same offer as the other interns. I talked to friends and co-workers and they agreed that I should try to ask for more. Keep in mind that I only had an offer, not a contract and definitely no backup plan. My only experience in the real corporate world was with this company so I was quite afraid to ask for more money. I was at my desk rationalizing why I wasn't going to ask for a better offer and take only what was given to me when I thought "If I can step out of an airplane door, why can't I step into my managers office?" So I did. Sheepishly, but without regret I asked for, and got a better offer - something I don't think I could have done without knowing I had pushed my limits. I knew that walking into that office was nowhere near my limit. It wasn't even moving for pete's sake! Skydiving is with me wherever I go and whatever I do now. When I'm in class or walking outside I can smell the jet fuel. I can look at trees or wind and I look for outs around me and imagine myself coasting over the landscape over canopy. My heart races when I think of my AFF dive flows. The flashbacks to my jumps are so vivid and tactile I imagine a psychiatrist would diagnose me with post traumatic stress disorder. I wouldn't agree it's a disorder or a bad thing at all. Constant reminders that I can push myself to the limit when I want to help me deal with any situation that comes my way. Previously scary or unthinkable actions have become possible. Skydiving isn't for everyone. Some people can be perfectly happy on the ground and unfortunately some people are not physically able to make the jump. However, if you're looking to push the envelope and figure out what your limits are and the fear you're capable of overcoming, the skydiving is a great place to do it. Again, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is counter-intuitive and tends to fill everyone with fear and panic at the door. It's overcoming that fear and going against rationality that makes it a freeing and amazing experience.