first jump sunday and have questions(also scared out of my mind)

[doingit 0]

so im doing a jump with some of my friends sunday and have some questions.

I don't have health insurance and my parents are both freaking out about me being a vegetable. I have told them the statistics of deaths but now they are in my head and getting me scared.
They talked to some people who know people that have had bad landings and are damaged for life.
They also received info that I should have several lessons on how to land and what to do before I even think about this.

So I figured this would be a good place to get some better info.

thanks in advance all

[skymama 37]

Welcome to the forums!
That said, you made me think of one friend of mine who was sure that I was going to kill myself skydiving. Every weekend I went jumping, she'd pray for me. One weekend, I can remember that I did 5-6 jumps and didn't have a scratch on me. When I saw her a few days later, her leg was in a cast. She stepped off a curb the wrong way when she was at the mall! Moral of the story is, you can hurt yourself doing anything.

Your tandem instructor will tell you what he or she wants you to do with your legs. Listen and do it.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Sapphire 0]

Welcome and have fun on your jump on Sunday! Hopefully you're jumping because YOU want to and not due to peer pressure from your friends!
Most important... get it on video cause it'll be over before you know it... smile and have fun as you are about to do one of the most amazing things you'll ever do! I wish I could describe it for you, but you'll understand when I say you'll just have to wait and experience it for yourself to understand!

Post back and let us know what you think... you'll prolly get hooked and end up passing me through AFF. LOL!

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar" ~ Helen Keller

[MikeRMontagne 0]

For what it's worth, don't be like me, thirty years ago I had a hankering to take-up sky diving and now I"ll never get all thow's years of missed jumps back!
Take the plunge, no guts no glory. Guarantied you will love it! Mike

Be Brave, embrace the fear,
even if your not, pretend to be.
No one can tell the difference

[fossg 0]

Pay attention to your instructors and you will be fine. Life is meant to be enjoyed PS make sure the beer is cold

[skyjumper1988 0]

Welcome to the forums :), you have come to the right place. Just make sure you listen to your instructors and you will be fine. make sure to put your legs up when you land also. I did my first jump (AFF) last month and I walked away with no injuries. I ended up landing on my butt but I did not care. i am currently waiting for the drop zone to get a new plane right now. You will love it and i am sure you will want to keep doing it after you get your first jump over. Good luck! :)

[doingit 0]

thanks for all the replies
Does it matter that im almost 6 foot 3?(Probably not)
I also have asthma

also I hear its a life changing experience
Is this true for most of you? if so in what way?
(im so damn nervous lol)

[pinkfairy 0]

Hi!

Welcome to the beautiful sport! In our world, the clouds are made of cotton candy and dreams about flying really do come true.
I can understand that you are nerveous, but if you are, you should do something about it instead of keeping thinking about the "what if"s. Break it down to simple pieces and make solutions to all the factors that you can control, and you'll see that even if there is some factors you can't control, you'll feel a lot better about the whole project.

You worry about insurance: get an insurance that covers skydiving. If you can't afford that, maybe it's better to wait till you can?

You worry about landing injuries: Yes, you are right, lots of incidents happen under fully open and functional parachutes, what about researching this a little further? Your skydiving instructors can tell you about this, and there's info about it in the incidents forum here at dropzone.com. Like all other sports and means of transportation, the majority of incidents are caused by human error. You will hear a lot of scary tales of skydiving accidents through media or through aquaintances, according to media, our parachutes fail to funcion properly half the time. This is not true, take the time to investigate this if you are worried. Having said that: skydivers die every year because of mistakes committed by others, and because, at 120 mph, shit happens. It will never be completely safe to throw yourself out of an airplane.

Your height shouldn't be a problem, as the student gear is very adjustable. But there are weight restrictions because it wouldn't be safe to have too heavy a student under the student parachutes. Talk to your local DZ. If you are long and thin and flexible, you will have an incredible range of fall rates, which is great!

Astma shouldn't be a problem either, I know skydivers with astma and skydivers with severe pollen allergies, but they have to be careful about taking their medications. All skydivers have to make sure that their upper airways are nice and open, as the rapid pressure changes can cause things to burst if something is clogged.

If it has been a life changing experience?

Well, it's just a very exciting and fun hobby. But it has helped me see possibilities instead of limitations, made me think that people are generally nice, and made me believe more in my own capabilities.

Oh, and for some inexplainable reason, my money keeps disappearing. And I can still somehow afford that new main canopy, and not new shoes to wear at work.

I hope this was of any help. Like Nike said: "Don't think, just do it".

Blue skies!

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?