Thread 198896

Want to participate in one of the most ultimate extreme sports? Come Skydive.

Either do a tandem for ~S220 (Don't get video you will watch it once or twice and it costs $120+) or go through AFF and jump with your own gear every jump ($~3600 for the first 8 jumps or so) Most jumps are $60-70 after that if renting gear, or ~$30 if you have your own.

Any questions? Ask away I'm an insutructor

>>198896 (OP)
bump

Whomst went to Carolinafest?

>>198896 (OP)
>Don't get video you will watch it once or twice and it costs $120+

They don't let you wear your own go pro I take it?

>>199899
no - and even if we put one on the glove for you, you would be sensing so much overload you would forget to film anything

Also you would watch the video a few times and no one would be interested in seeing it - I did tandem videos and I loved the pay but told all my friends not to get them

>>199899
nope not allowed

>>198896 (OP)
I just completed my AFF, are you still around instructor?

>>206523
I am always here - whats up (sorry for the delay)

>>198896 (OP)
Mid 20s male, small/midsize DZ in the midwest. I started skydiving recently. Graduated AFF and did my first solo. 3 hours of tunnel time. How do I fit in at the DZ going forward? What will make people like me?

>>210737
Get in some belly flying, jump in on a speedstar here and there. Don't be a gear queer, don't be weird, don't be dangerous. The only dumb question is one not asked.

Hanging out with people your skill level is safe and you have stuff in common that makes it easy to talk, but you can't learn from them. Look to the videographer/AFF who also funjump and see if you can't ask them a question here and there about a video they are debriefing/watching and ask about going on that type of jump.

Making people like you is a loaded question - hang out, buy some beers, get into conversations, listen a lot, but also ask questions. The newbies who were wondering how to do something, get started into a discipline, or looking for recommendations ended up leaving an impression on me as someone who was going to be in the sport for a while and was worth investing a friendship, time, or coaching on. If you are only showing up one weekend a month it's going to be hard to stand out and also be recognized.

Just did my first skydive yesterday (tandem so not super legit), I made the decision of paying for photos and I looked like a fucking retard. So I second what OP has to say.
Going to go solo when the company gets back to me, any tips?

>>199891
This looks sick, when I get my license I will be going next year.

>>211562
Pay attention to your instructors, see if they can't hook you up with tunnel time ($10-15 a minute if you are going with other skydivers), and be prepared to be a bitch to the wind, the clouds, and the temperatures.

>>211563
seek out Louis French if you are ready for 10-15 ways by then - dude is VERY good at teaching and setting up fun dives

>>198896 (OP)
Did my first tandem yesterday and loved it. Going to push through and get my A license now

>>198896 (OP)
Lame. If you want to learn to skydive, sneak a parachute onto a plane and just jump out. They're not going to jump out and bring you back up, are they?

Looking to set up my first jump. Is there anything I should look for when selecting an instructor/school? As far as certifications go? Since I'll be barreling out of a plane I want to be sure the people know what they're doing and they're not retards obviously.

>>215204
Make sure it's a USPA affiliated dropzone - they have good requirments for their TIs. You can go here: https://www.uspa.org/dzlocator?pagesize=16 and select 'TANDEM'

If you want to make sure it's a great dz, select 'AFF' as well. This means it's not a tandem mill, meaning the tandem instructors will most likely also be funjumping or AFF instructors as well - more difficult positions.

Honestly though not much of a difference between worst and best TI - if you die they die. Customer service is most likely the biggest difference.

Most TI's make $35-50 per jump btw.

>>214573
>>215204
I implore you - do NOT go to Spaceland if you are trying to get your A License. Yes, they offer 'A license in a week!' but they prioritize getting it done over teaching and mastering the basics. I have had multiple people get their A license, come to my DZ and not know basic shit like spotting, tracking, navigation, and how to fly and land their parachutes.

>>216239
What's your DZ?
I'm doing my course at Spaceland Dallas rn

>>217043
I jump in the northeast. I've seen Spaceland Dallas instructors pass women that would fuck them, and wouldn't know how to pack, how to track, or even spot when they came up here with 50 jumps

>>217513
Boston per chance?
I'm moving there in March.

Did three jumps yesterday. At level 5 now. Good stuff.

>>217965
Nicely done.

>>217679
Yeah Boston area. I've jumped at Jumptown, SNE, CPI and Danielson.

If you are living in Boston Proper, SNE up in Lebenon Maine would be your closest proper DZ. I'd stay away from Pepperall (Groupon that dumps out the tandems at 10,000 and then climbs to 13.5).

Jumptown has a decent population of belly jumpers and a few swoopers (full sized swoop pond) and a proper RV campground.

I did 15 jumps from June to September. Now I'm waiting for April for season to reopen.
At my 10th jump I wasn't scared of jumping anymore but now I'm watching videos and I know I will be terrified again in April

>>218576
I'm living in downtown Boston. Anyway I could hitch a ride up to a DZ on a weekend?

How to make skydyving more extreme without making it as retarded as this?

>>219129
remind me later when the season starts

>>219793
Learn stand up and head down flying

>>198896 (OP)
Haven't jumped in years, haven't been able to afford a rig and lift tix. Kinda miss it. Live 30 min from Z Hills

>>222420
Why can't you afford it?
Did you get divorced or something

If your over 200lbs please god just do AFF, I'm tired to strapping you fat fucks to my chest.

>>225468
Or fucking lose weight

>>225528
We had a dude lose about 70 pounds to become a skydiver.

>>225468
it's part of the job fuckhead. Don't like it? Go work in Japan

I’m doing my first jump this weekend! How long does a jump take? I wanna do it multiple times in one day!

I’m jumping out of a plane tomorrow. Holy shit. I kinda wanna cancel but I paid 300 for this motherfucker

Well I did it. It was, something. I don’t know, it was rather underwhelming. I guess I’ll get my A license now.

>>230561
20 minutes

>>230755
welcome

>>225468
lol anon...

>>225468
maybe get another job?

So,
I'm a fledgling bird that just did AFF and a couple funjumps. I have my A license checklist but I'm told to just focus on getting some jumps in at the moment.
Still, it feels kinda directionless to jump without concrete goals each time. I have a general idea on what to practice each time, but idk what the right thing to focus on is, or even if I'm engraving wrong patterns without supervision or footage, which will make it harder to unlearn later.
Should I try to hold various tracks and stability drills or something else for the next 10 or so jumps?

>>233321
Don't do tracks by yourself, ask a coach or D-license member to jump with you.

If you are already good on all the jumps needed, see if you can't find someone to jump with you (coach, AFF or D-license is allowed) and have some fun.

>>233993
>>233993
Makes sense
My instructors also basically explained what boils down to: You don't want an untrained retard tracking in random directions on the jumprun'
For now I've just been getting the reps in ane having fun™. About to get started on my 1 on 1s.
I'm starting to see where the compulsion to live life as an accessory activity to jumping, which alot of people at the DZ seem to have, comes from.

Man I think about giving it a try. But I'm such a pansy. The rational part of me realises that I probably have a better chance of dying in a car crash driving to the airfield. But the rest of me thinks that I didn't evolve to be in mid-air for a prolonged period of time and that it will kill me.

>>235425
Give it a try. I'm a newfriend to the sport but having the time of my life, even though I have to commute 3h to the DZ.
The fear part differs between individuals, but for me at least, you're so far up the ground and potential impact don't even register the way they do in, say, bungee, so you just hop out.

> https://6abc.com/post/massive-emergency-response-cross-keys-airport-gloucester-county-reports-plane-down/16923343/

Plane Crash at Cross keys

>>200454
Sure, but it gets you women in your dm's when you post the video on instagram

>>235922
Intersting. That's given me something to think about.

>>236472
Wouldn't they be more interested in the ones you take after you stop going tandem and jump on your own?

>>235425
I literally started skydiving because it's safer than driving a motorcycle.

Seriously, the parachute is GOING TO OPEN - you toss a small chute out that at 120mph will open your spine. And then you have an AAD which will open your reserve if you fail to open anything.

it's not that dangerous.

>>236807
>>236472
2600+ jumps, no woman has ever been interested in my skydiving unless they were already interested in me.

>>238315
>I literally started skydiving because it's safer than driving a motorcycle.
See now that is interesting. I used to ride a motorcycle and I was thinking about doing it again some time in the future. I'm aware of the risks of it, but wasn't really deterred. So to balk at skydiving for the dangers seems kind of irrational.

>>238329
Skydiving is a dangerous activity that can be done in a relatively safe manner.
Your parachute will open almost certainly, but that doesnt mean it will always open exactly when or how you want, or not cause you to end up in a double out mess.
You have to be collected/capable enough to deal with all the bullshit introduced by human error/other jumpers.
This week, a pro jumper in a national team died to a swoop landing in my DZ.

>>238375
Comparatively, I wonder how many more people died in car/motorcycle accidents around the same area.

>>238407
I would estimate each skydive to be ~20 mins of potentially dangerous activity (with 15 mins of it being the ride up, which is significantly lower risk profile, but not 0).
So a good comparison would be based on the likelihood of injury or death in 1000 jumps (20000mins=333hours of skydiving+parachuting+riding up) vs 333 hours of riding your motorcycle.
It's still the safest extreme sport, but it's unfair to exclaim civilian motorcycle riding to be more accident prone on a per minute of activity basis.

I'm struggling too much with sit-fly (in tunnel)

>>238315
I had my first jump last week (it was exhilarating, would recommend) and I was talking to my tandem master along with another experienced jumper about the AAD on the truck ride to the plane, and they said one dude they knew died because he passed out on a jump despite the AAD opening. That's one that shocked me never having done it before is how fast you come in even with the shoot open, especially on swoops and turns. You land wrong with the shoot open and you're still fucked. So the AAD isn't the best fail safe you would think it is. And from my understanding that's where most skydiving fatalities come from, human error not mechanical error. It doesn't matter how battle tested your gear is, it can't prevent people from being dumbasses doing highly risky maneuvers or freak health accidents like losing consciousness on the jump.

Your gear not working and winding up like a bug on a windshield during a summer night is your fearful primal monkey brain speaking, but in actuality it rarely happens like that.