Noob with one jump needs guidance

[skeptimist 0]

I took the leap of faith this morning, loved every second of it. I gave up sportbikes a couple of years ago and since then haven't found anything to fill the void for adrenaline, well today i found it! It's too early to say "hooked", but fair to say if provided the proper guidiance i could see myself becoming fully involved in the sport. Obviously safety being a rather large concern, i have read the info provided on fatalities and the causes, or deemed responsible causes. it appears from the limited resources i've read that 2 factor tend to play a key role. 1 being error on the part of the individual, and 2 being malfunctions. it appears to me that most (from what little i've read) errors were from well seasoned veterans, while the malfunctions were both veterans and inexperienced individuals. line twists, low openings /cutaways, spiraling under main canopy ect... i guess what would make me more comfortable would be more information on how and why these types of accidents happen, what if anything could have been done to prevent the situation. i've alot of questions in my head and little to no insight on the subject. not meant to be morbid, but in 30 years of racing motorcycles, i never once got on without knowing exactly what was between my legs. Any insight from you guys / gals would be great! I had a blast today and am stoked to go again.

[popsjumper 2]

Welcome to the big blue skies!

I will assume that your first jump was a tandem and that you are planning to do individual training next.

Believe me, I understand your concerns and I am going to anwer your main question. You may not like the answer but it IS reality.

First, I congratulate you on your concern for skydiving safety. That attitude will take you a long way through this sport. Never lose that concern. Maintain it throughout your entire career AND try your best to instill that concern for safety in others wherever go.

So...to answer your questions:

At this stage of the game, your main concern should be to learn what those malfunctions are and, most importantly, how to handle them properly. Every mal has a root cause but the problem is that we often do not get to understand that cause until after the fact.

The last thing I would want you thinking about at crunch time is "what caused THAT?"

Yes, there are "preventatives" for every mal. The problem there is that even though we, individually, do everything right, mals can, and do, still happen. I put "peventatives" in quotes because we can minimize the occurances but we cannot totally prevent most of them. Relating that to your biking, It's good that you know what's between your legs...but that will not prevent the less-skilled from taking you out on the track.

You may hear people say, "Stuff happens" and to some extent that is true. The deployment sequence (deploying your parachute) is a very chaotic process and even though we do everything correctly, a mal could still develop. What's important right now for you is not that you understand the cause, it's that you are able to act quickly and properly to handle the mal successfully.

During your training you will be taught how to handle those mals. It is your best interest to drill those procedures into your head to the point that you know the proper way of handling each of them like the back of your hand.

Early in your career, you will be learning about causes and what you, as in individual, can do to help minimize the occurances. Some of those things will be beyojnd your control at first such as packing the parachute; somebody else will be packing for you.

So, my suggestion is to focus on handling malfunctions now and learn about causes and minimizing them as you progress.

I will say this, though. One of the best things you can do to minimize the occurance of malfunctions is to maintain a good, solid body position during the entire deployment sequence. Your first-jump training will be highly focused on that body position. It's one of the major reasons why young jumpers are so successful nowadays...we drill, drill, drill them on good body position right from the start regardless of the training method. Listen and learn from your first-jump ground school instructors.

Listen and learn. Skydiving is a life-long learning process.

Don't forget to smile!

Andy

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[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

[dthames 0]

Traditional skydiving is a fairly mature sport. With proper training, proper equipment, and good discipline the final factor (to me) is “Do you want to jump more than you want to worry about what might happen?”

Helen Keller quote often used:
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”