Skydivers Check In

[s0urce]

^Yes, and skydiving is much cheaper.

[george graves]

Too cool!!! Hell of a rush isn't it? Words don't really do it justice.

How much are you going to have to spend before you can jump on your own? How much does the gear cost?

You probably noticed the type of guys that work as instructors. I got the impression that most of them are really addicted to jumping. The whole "sport" draws a certain type of personality.

[s0urce]

^ Well it depends on how fast I go through the classes. There's a total of 8 levels I'll need to complete to get my license. Assuming I pass them all on the first jump we're looking at about $1850. I'll be skipping level 4 by completing some wind tunnel time instead. It costs 70$ more than the jump for the tunnel time but 30 minutes in the tunnel is the equivalent of 30 skydives.

The cost of gear is pretty ridiculous. I'll be renting my gear until I'm more qualified. Used gear can run anywhere from 5000$ and up for everything. New is around $8000 and up.

Words really can't describe it... It's like losing your virginity all over again and trying to tell your buddies about it. It's without a doubt the BEST thing you can do with your clothes on.

[G60 CAB]

Jumped at 12,000 feet last weekend. Going again here in a few weeks and gonna start doing the training to get certified to jump by myself. Amazing fun.

[Adrian_Visser]

Fuck I've done static line 3 times now and it is even a rush.

I think if I wanna continue towards soloing I'll have to do the groundschool course over again though since it's been two years since I've jumped.

Without a doubt skydiving beats the fuck out of any other adrenaline sport.

[BigSam]

I work at a dropzone full time, it is the best community of people that will ever meet. People from every walk of life, from neurosurgeons to adrenaline junkies, full time skydivers that live on the airport to people who leave their mansions to come jump. Its an absolutely amazing atmosphere, I recommend everyone do at least a tandem.

[chadthestampede]

why do they bother with the helmets?

[markseven]

I love it George. What altitude did you jump from? They told me it will be about a 50-60 second free fall. We'll be jumping from about 12,500 ft. I know I'm going to be addicted so I'm considering doing the first AFF course instead of a tandem.

12,500 in Lodi years ago. I would do it again fo sho. I would never bungee jump though.

[s0urce]

why do they bother with the helmets?

Because the last thing you want is to get knocked unconscious mid air. Mid-air collisions do happen, your ability to safely deploy/fly your canopy is important. Skydiving is a lot harder than it looks, prior to my training I figured you just jumped out of a plane and deployed a chute. This is not the case as seen in this video of a TERRIBLE AFF jumper:





Body stability is much harder to achieve than you would think. Can you imagine getting kicked in the head by an out of control student?

I work at a dropzone full time, it is the best community of people that will ever meet. People from every walk of life, from neurosurgeons to adrenaline junkies, full time skydivers that live on the airport to people who leave their mansions to come jump. Its an absolutely amazing atmosphere, I recommend everyone do at least a tandem.

What an awesome place to be every day. You're so correct about the types of people at the DZ's -- easily the coolest, happiest people you'll ever meet. Everyone I met was fucking awesome.

[s0urce]

And the girlfriend kicking ass at her AFF course too. She passed as well.

[E-Thirty]

Wow that looks intense. Did you ever start spinning out of control?

[s0urce]

^Negative. I was really stable. We did a few minutes of tunnel time prior to our first jump. Level 2 is all about controlled turns in the air. Doing my 2nd jump this Friday, I can't stop thinking about it.

[george graves]

[george graves]

And this one

HOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Shitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!

[N2MYE30]

^ GEEEZZ!!!! I went skydiving a while back and it was up there with the ultimate pleasure but those vids are a true reminder of how dangerous it can be. Yikes!