Introduction/First jump story from a newbie

[oxymoron 0]

Hey guys,

I finally took my first jump out of a perfectly good airplane. When I started looking into going skydiving, I was pretty sure I didn't want to commit my time and money to getting a license. I figured I'd go with a nice quick IAD course, or maybe even a tandem jump. But yesterday, enjoying the view while flying that beautiful canopy I resigned myself to the fact that there's no way I could stop now. I'll probably stop yearning for another jump when I stop thinking about girls.

A few weeks ago I signed up for the PFF course + first solo jump at Niagara Skydive. To my pleasant surprise I was told there'd be an unadvertised additional free IAD jump before the first PFF jump. The whole experience was like nothing I'd ever done before, and the staff and facilities are top-notch (thanks guys!). I remember getting to 3,500', the door opening and our jumpmaster telling me to stick my hand out and feel the wind. At that point I realized that in a few seconds I'd have to get out of the plane and move away from the door while holding on to the wing strut. "You've got to be fucking kidding me" was my only thought.

When I started the course I was mentally prepared for having to jump out of a moving airplane. In fact, I've been able to mull it over for years and get comfortable with the idea. The idea of hanging on to a moving airplane, though, is something totally different.

I was so surprised when everything went better than I expected. Climbing on to that first step, then moving up the wing strut and finally hanging on to the plane in the airstream.. I found myself thinking 'holy crap, this is fun!' Letting go (my one regret is not looking up at the plane to watch it fly away), there was no 'sinking' feeling like you get when, say, bungee jumping. Perhaps because you already have so much forward momentum and the fact that you have only 3-4 seconds before your canopy deploys.

I froze for a second, then felt myself in a turn and the training kicked in. "Arch!" I thought, but as my brain was trying to tell my muscles what to do in this unfamiliar environment I felt the softest tug and found a big, beautiful canopy open above me. Had to kick out of 3-4 line twists, but that went smoothly thanks to the incessant drilling during training.

It's at this point that I realized I found a new way to drain my bank account balance for (hopefully) the rest of my life :) Sitting under that canopy and enjoying the view was just so peaceful and felt (oddly enough) so natural that I was just happy that I finally went out and did it instead of putting it off.

My life is mostly school (university, undergrad) and work (nothing exciting there) so there's something to be said about taking your first step in a brand new hobby that challenges you physically and mentally (and how!), learning more and more every day you go to the drop zone.

Excuse the longish post, in my defense I'd like you to think about your very first jump and tell me you weren't just as excited :)

I think I can learn a lot from all the experienced jumpers and instructors on these forums, and hopefully eventually I'll be able to contribute something back.

'Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.'

[skycamefalling 0]

Welcome to the forums. Glad to hear that your first jump went well. It is a pretty damn good feeling being up there. Sometimes I ask myself what is better, the freefall portion or the canopy ride I hope the rest of your training goes good. Try to keep everyone posted on your progression.

Speedracer~I predict that Michael Jackson will rise from the dead.
And that a giant radioactive duck will emerge from the ocean and eat Baltimore.

[andyvaughn 0]

That sounds amazing! Welcome to skydiving, and who needs any of the extra money anyway?
I haven't done my hop n pop yet, that hard ground just seems so damned close at 3500 feet! But I'm slowly working up the courage, every time the plane is at 3500 I look out and contemplate the idea ... one of these days.
I wonder if the static line students get the reverse fear when they head up to 13K, look down and go HOLY BATSHIT, the ground is so far away?! Tell us about it when you work your way up the free fall scales!
Welcome to skydiving - and thanks for sharing, heck - if you can do a hop n pop on jump one I should be able to do it on jump 21?!?!?
Andrea

[Cheach 0]

Congrats!


and Andy- I did static line- and sorta yes, I had that feeling. "wow. I'm really high"....Then MONTHS later I finally went to a turbine dz and was like "whoa! My altimeter just went all the way around- and holy hell, 13500 seems soooo much higher!" haha. But on the birhgt side- I have no issues getting out at 3500 feet.

I woke up next to a blowup doll Ash....so what do you think?

[Flyerer 0]

That really seems to be the big advantage of IAD vs. AFF (getting used to deploying at 3500). The only major problem I had during my training progression was my "hop and pop". I made the mistake of putting it off until the end of my progression, and sure enough I psyched myself right out. I ended up flipping over just as I deployed and was falling back to earth watching my pilot chute come up between my legs. Needless to say that was an "oh shit" moment. Luckily the deploying canopy righted me with no problem, but I failed that part of the progression; and had to do it again. Moral of the story" Don't focus on what you don't want to happen, focus on the successful outcome you want. Blue skies.

[skymama 37]

Welcome to the forums!

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

[Profman 0]

Excellent! When it was time for my hop-n-pops everyone told me "don't freak out, you still have a lot of time to pull." Well, I was honestly excited about doing them and had watched any number of folks leave the plane early on the way up to altitude. But I bet you half-dozen folks kept saying, "don't freak out." I thought to myself, "am I suppossed to be freaked out??"

So I jump at 5500, land, get another shoot, hop on another plane, jump at 3500. It was no big deal. Just watch the plane as your leaving and give a nice count and pull. Oh, and don't listen to all those folks saying "don't freak out." Enjoy the jumps and good luck!!!

The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety.

[bluetwo 0]

Congrats and welcome to skydiving! Looks like you got the bug.

Honestly I was just as excited too. The instructor said I pushed off the wing strut which put me into a roll but I don't remember pushing. I mean I wont do it now but all I remember is coming off then rolling sideways and asking myself WTF is going on?

A good canopy is a beautiful feeling and there's nothing quite like the ride down.

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