Skydiving, wanna try, any opinion

[benliong]

I want to try skydiving. Anyone'd done it? Can someone tell me what I should look into before I really go do it?

 

[bigrash]

I asked the same question about a week ago. I'm still undecided though. Do a search, and you might get some answers. sorry too lazy to do a search right now

 

[IcemanJer]

bump for him.
I wanna find out too.

edit: dang, too slow.

 

[ajskydiver]

Do it. You'll have to go tandem - but it's worth it.

You may not want to do it twice...but you'll never regret doing it once.

~AJ

 

[dude8604]

<stolen from someone's sig>
If at first you don't succeed, don't try skydiving.
</stolen from someone's sig>

 

[AzNmAnJLH]

if you do decide to... make sure you tandem with a really hot girl

 

[deerslayer]

Originally posted by: AzNmAnJLH
if you do decide to... make sure you tandem with a really hot girl

I don't think you would regret doing it twice then

 

[MaxDepth]

You do not have to go tandem your first time out. The class for single jumping takes half a day as opposed to an hour for tandem.

Here is a hint (for tandem): get on the plane first. You'll be the last one to jump (with the your tandem partner). It is better this way.

And remember the moment. When you look oustide and realize the next step you take is not to the next step or the floor below you but out into nothing - 15 angels (15,00 feet) down from the ground. The adreniline rush is well worth it.

To be honest, free fall was wonderful, but gliding (after the chute opened) was boring and somewhat painful (the crotch strap yanks on you something awful when you pop the chute open).

My suggestion: do it. You'll love the chance to actually do it. But it is better with friends and/or girlfriend. Sharing the experinece leads to future shared moments.

Are you in NC? i have the place for you to jump, and I'll go with you.

 

[PaNsyBoy8]

I didn't enjoy skydiving, the free fall part was kewl, but not kewl enough to be worth the amount I paid for it

 

[Whitecloak]

just remember to take insurance first

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Do it, it's one of those things everyone should try at least once in their life. For a first time you have 2 options, tandem and static line. In tandem you're hooked to an instructor. He/she wears the chute, pulls the rip-cord, steers the chute, etc. You're just along for the ride. In static line you jump alone, but you're tethered to the plane. You jump out and the tether pulls open your chute. After that you steer it and land by yourself.

Pro and cons: In tandem you get a much longer freefall, so if that's what you're looking for, do it that way. Tandem is also a faster path to certification if you ever want to do it for real rather than as a 1-time shot. But as for the first few jumps you're essentially ballast, tandem is kind of a wussy way out IMHO. In static line you're responsible for landing safely and more importantly, you step out of the plane alone. If you're looking for that macho "yeah, I jumped out of an airplane" rush, do it static line. I did static line in college and am glad I did as a rite of passage, but it's really expensive if you actually want to do it as a hobby.

 

[Codewiz]

MaxDepth,

Where in NC? I can't afford it right now until I get a job. I am in Raleigh still looking for a job.

 

[Semidevil]

here is a very very important advice: the day you jump, make sure that your parachute is in fact a parachute, and not a knapsack. !!

I can almost picture fellow anandtecher jumping and going "wtf, where's my chute? crap........"

 

[AU Tiger]

Speaking of parachuting, did you hear about the lady who hit the ground at 80mph and lived. Her parachute failed to open and her safety chute opened late. She is a Bank of America employee, and I heard the CEO offered her full retirement after the accident.

 

[Mutilator]

Originally posted by: Codewiz
MaxDepth,
Where in NC?

I might be interested as well... us Raleigh area guys should get together sometime. We're special because we'd be the only ones to have Anand show up personally!
hehe Anandtech NC Skydiving meet. Get to know your fellow Anandtechers... then throw them out of a plane!

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

A couple points:

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Do it, it's one of those things everyone should try at least once in their life. For a first time you have 2 options, tandem and static line. In tandem you're hooked to an instructor. He/she wears the chute, pulls the rip-cord, steers the chute, etc. You're just along for the ride. In static line you jump alone, but you're tethered to the plane. You jump out and the tether pulls open your chute. After that you steer it and land by yourself.

Pro and cons: In tandem you get a much longer freefall, so if that's what you're looking for, do it that way. Tandem is also a faster path to certification if you ever want to do it for real rather than as a 1-time shot. But as for the first few jumps you're essentially ballast, tandem is kind of a wussy way out IMHO. In static line you're responsible for landing safely and more importantly, you step out of the plane alone. If you're looking for that macho "yeah, I jumped out of an airplane" rush, do it static line. I did static line in college and am glad I did as a rite of passage, but it's really expensive if you actually want to do it as a hobby.

No, you can go solo on your first jump. Its called accelerated free-fall. Two trained instructors jump out of the plane with you and hold on to your sides while you fall. You aren't tethered to the plane or the instructors. They just keep you stable.

As you're falling, you go through a predefined routine including practice touches of the chute hacky sack, and altimeter reads. At the specified height, you wave off the instructors. They let you go, and you fall by yourself for about a second or two, until they are out of your way. Pull the chute and float to the ground.

Originally posted by: Mutilator

Originally posted by: Codewiz
MaxDepth,
Where in NC?

I might be interested as well... us Raleigh area guys should get together sometime. We're special because we'd be the only ones to have Anand show up personally!
hehe Anandtech NC Skydiving meet. Get to know your fellow Anandtechers... then throw them out of a plane!

For jump zones, check the yellow pages. Seriously.

 

[IamDavid]

Do it.. It was the best time I ever had.. It costed around 130 and was worth every penny.. It was the first and only time I ever lew.. It was a rush..

 

[308nato]

My wife went for it last year. The kids and I bought her the jump for her birthday. The local club is only 2 miles from our farm so we watch them all the time. This time we watched mommy jump. They did not make her go tandem, she went solo.

The smile on her face told me that it was worth every penny. A very good friend of ours who served in the 101st in VietNam made a big deal of presenting her with a Screamin' Eagle patch. I was very jealous.