Anybody ever go skydiving?

[xirtam]

Looks like something I'd like to try sometime. There's a club at my college... probably be the cheapest route. How much did it cost you when you went, and was it cool?

 

[TLfromAI]

Q: Anybody ever go skydiving?
A: Not me.

 

[McPhreak]

I have. The price usually depends on the altitude at which you jump: the higher you go up the more expensive it is. My jump cost something like $120-140 and I jumped at 13,000 feet.

 

[SaltBoy]

I went about a year ago. Cost about $150. It was the most thrilling experience of my life so far -- I highly recommend it!

 

[Rivergater]

Yes. Sensory overload. After the chute was pulled, I wanted to go again because it felt like such a short span of time-- I think like 1 minute of freefall.

 

[Michael1897]

haven't yet, but i really want to. I got a very lucrative bet set with my g/f about skydiving b/4 the end of the year. I plan on doing it before the end of the summer though.

 

[911paramedic]

I did it once, but realized halfway down that I forgot to put on my parachute. I will never forget that again, trust me.

 

[ajskydiver]

If you just wanted to jump once...go tandem with an instructor for about $125-200 -- more if you want it videotaped.

If you'd like to take it up -- your college club is a great place. UF had the "Falling Gators" -- but I'd gone way before I went to college, so...

I've taken the AFF (accelerated freefall course) -- it's very demanding and runs approx $1250 for 7 jumps. Once you complete those, you need a total of 20 solo jumps to get your card which will allow you to rent gear/jump at almost all dropzones. If you fail a level, be prepared to shell out more cash to retake -- I had to with the 5th level.

Another course is longer (I think 15 instructed jumps) and starts static line and is probably the way to go if you're not very athletic or have a hard time picking physical activities up.

It's a great experience and well worth it, even if you only do it one time in your life.

Good luck,
AJ

Edit: grammar sucks this morning

 

[propellerhead]

Back in 87-88 timeframe, I did five static line jumps. It was the best thrill of my life... ever!

The class plus the first jump was $85. $15 for every jump after that. The instructor said I was ready to free fall, but the girl I was dating who I was about to marry wasn't ready to collect my life insurance yet.

 

[m2kewl]

Mine costed $150 but man, WHAT A RUSH! I never knew things could fall so fast. :Q

 

[McPhreak]

If you're looking for a bigger rush, I'd consider bungee jumping over skydiving. Skydiving sounds more extreme, but bungee jumping makes you $hit your pants more than skydiving does IMO. The actual feeling of freefall only lasts about a second or so with skydiving...

 

[Kelvrick]

I definetely plan on going. I haven't yet, but then I really really really wanna. I just need to get a couple of my friends to be willing to shell out $150 each.

 

[notfred]

When I saw "skydiving", for some reason I thoguht "skinnydipping"...

But since it says skydiving, I have to change my answer. No, I've never been skydiving.

 

[Koing]

nope but I would really love to someday

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: notfred
When I saw "skydiving", for some reason I thoguht "skinnydipping"...

But since it says skydiving, I have to change my answer. No, I've never been skydiving.

Evil images... Evil....

 

[Rivergater]

i was talking to the instructor and he told me that most people forget to pull the parachute on their first time doing a tandem jump.
and skydiving isn't as scary as you think it would be because you're so far up in the air that everything looks unreal. since its so far away, you stop worrying about hitting the ground.

i've heard the rush with bungee is better because you're closer to the ground so its easier to imagine hitting it.

 

[McPhreak]

Originally posted by: Rivergater
i was talking to the instructor and he told me that most people forget to pull the parachute on their first time doing a tandem jump.
and skydiving isn't as scary as you think it would be because you're so far up in the air that everything looks unreal. since its so far away, you stop worrying about hitting the ground.

i've heard the rush with bungee is better because you're closer to the ground so its easier to imagine hitting it.

I got a bigger rush bungee jumping than I did skydiving (see above).

I don't know where you're jumping from, but where I went, people weren't allowed to jump without an instructor strapped to them (tandem) if this was their first jump. I figured that this was probably a law as too many things could go wrong the first time. They said that on a second jump, they could jump non-tandem provided there were 2 instructors jumping with them.

As for people doing tandem not being able to pull the cord, I wouldn't even think this was possible seeing how you're strapped to the front of the instructor who has the parachute strapped to his back. You'd have to reach all the way around him to get to the cord. I think the instructor is usally the one to pull the cord.

 

[Robet]

I've been sky diving (with a static line) and bungee jumping (from a crane). I definitely liked sky diving better. I really want to go sky diving without using a static line.