shah269 0 #1 May 22, 2009 WOW! So I did my first tandem this evening. Went well. The most peaceful experience of my life thus far. That aside, I had to watch this video.....and well....i saw many of you guys on it. This is really a small community? I'm more use to the thousands of motorcycle riders....you guys number in maybe a few thousand or so?Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
futuredivot 0 #2 May 22, 2009 It's hyperbole but I call it a community of twice removed. I might not know a certain jumper but there's a reasonable chance that I know someone who does or that I know someone who knows someone that does. And I talk like this soberOh, and congrats You are only as strong as the prey you devour Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #3 May 22, 2009 Yup.... http://www.uspa.org/AboutSkydiving/SkydiverDemographics/tabid/303/Default.aspxAlways be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #4 May 22, 2009 31,264 WOW this is a very small community! As I stated, I come here from the motorcycle world and well....there are a few more of us there. So i was, am just very surprised. Always thought there were more of you....aahhh...me....sky diving folks! 31,264....wow.Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #5 May 22, 2009 Quote 31,264 WOW this is a very small community! As I stated, I come here from the motorcycle world and well....there are a few more of us there. So i was, am just very surprised. Always thought there were more of you....aahhh...me....sky diving folks! 31,264....wow. Yup.. and the percentage of women in the sport is fairly small..... and a lot of us could be construed as being fat by many of the younger male community who base everrything on looks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #6 May 22, 2009 Quote Quote 31,264 WOW this is a very small community! As I stated, I come here from the motorcycle world and well....there are a few more of us there. So i was, am just very surprised. Always thought there were more of you....aahhh...me....sky diving folks! 31,264....wow. Yup.. and the percentage of women in the sport is fairly small..... and a lot of us could be construed as being fat by many of the younger male community who base everrything on looks. At 5'6" and currently 143 pounds, I'm considered a heifer by some.... Always be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #7 May 22, 2009 And I'm thinking he's in luck because if he did his first tandem at Skydive Sussex, that means he's close enough to come to my home DZ (Cross Keys)!! There's a stripper kinda pole in the middle of the tiki bar!! Always be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeffwxyz 0 #8 May 22, 2009 Yup.. and the percentage of women in the sport is fairly small..... and a lot of us could be construed as being fat by many of the younger male community who base everrything on looks. At 5'6" and currently 143 pounds, I'm considered a heifer by some.... I think he is feeling that he is not only in the bonfire forum, but in the bonfire, tied to a stake. He is sure paying for that other thread. You'r no Heifer, but I wonder how long our resident bovine lover will take to notice your description. She may be turned on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeForsythe 0 #9 May 22, 2009 Well the golfing community (27 million) makes your motorcycle community (4 million) look small too. Maybe you should try that group since to you size matters and it appears that you are looking for something bigger! Time and pressure will always show you who a person really is! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #10 May 22, 2009 Congrats on the jump. The measure of man can be gauged by the quality of his friends not the quantity. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeJD 0 #11 May 22, 2009 Quote 31,264 WOW this is a very small community! Although I hear they've started doing that sky jumping stuff in other countries as well now. When I think of the 'skydiving community', it's on a worldwide scale - and it's still a small community! For me one of the greatest pleasures of the sport has been travelling a few thousand miles to a big annual boogie, and jumping again with many of the same people I know from past years - lots of whom have also come from abroad. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverbry 0 #12 May 22, 2009 Congrats on your jump there! -------------------------------------------------- Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!! D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SARLDO 0 #13 May 22, 2009 Sure, it's a small community until your trying to squeeze onto a king air load and the only space available is on a camera step Congrats on the jump now get into an AFF class already will ya. "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest" ~Samuel Clemens MB#4300 Dudeist Skydiver #68 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
d_squared431 0 #14 May 22, 2009 Quote Quote Quote 31,264 WOW this is a very small community! As I stated, I come here from the motorcycle world and well....there are a few more of us there. So i was, am just very surprised. Always thought there were more of you....aahhh...me....sky diving folks! 31,264....wow. Yup.. and the percentage of women in the sport is fairly small..... and a lot of us could be construed as being fat by many of the younger male community who base everrything on looks. At 5'6" and currently 143 pounds, I'm considered a heifer by some.... There isn't anyway you are 5'6! You are just as short as I am....TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1 I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #15 May 22, 2009 Quote Quote Quote Quote 31,264 WOW this is a very small community! As I stated, I come here from the motorcycle world and well....there are a few more of us there. So i was, am just very surprised. Always thought there were more of you....aahhh...me....sky diving folks! 31,264....wow. Yup.. and the percentage of women in the sport is fairly small..... and a lot of us could be construed as being fat by many of the younger male community who base everrything on looks. At 5'6" and currently 143 pounds, I'm considered a heifer by some.... There isn't anyway you are 5'6! You are just as short as I am.... Ya huh... it's even on my driver's license. Always be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #16 May 22, 2009 Who did you see on the video?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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iambeav2 0 #17 May 22, 2009 Quote Quote Quote Quote Quote 31,264 WOW this is a very small community! As I stated, I come here from the motorcycle world and well....there are a few more of us there. So i was, am just very surprised. Always thought there were more of you....aahhh...me....sky diving folks! 31,264....wow. Yup.. and the percentage of women in the sport is fairly small..... and a lot of us could be construed as being fat by many of the younger male community who base everrything on looks. At 5'6" and currently 143 pounds, I'm considered a heifer by some.... There isn't anyway you are 5'6! You are just as short as I am.... Ya huh... it's even on my driver's license. Ok, well in FL, do they not make you prove your height or do they just ask...how tall are you....ok, here ya go, 6'7" it is!!...it's not the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone...it's the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until someone appreciates it for you! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Misternatural 0 #18 May 22, 2009 Dude You did it...that's awesome, I bet we see a change in your dialog from now on, now that u visited the Wizzard of OZ- and for the love of crap did you buy beer???!!!Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires. D S #3.1415 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #19 May 22, 2009 Pleas pardon these next few posts there were a few questions. QuoteWho did you see on the video? I thought I saw you!Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #20 May 22, 2009 Quote Well the golfing community (27 million) makes your motorcycle community (4 million) look small too. Maybe you should try that group since to you size matters and it appears that you are looking for something bigger! Well...riding and golfing are two different mind sets....than again so is riding and sky diving. the reason I was so surprised is cost. Assuming such a small community I would have thought the equipment would have been much much much more expensive. Say $10k for a parachute instead of the....what $2K? As for the size of the community....doesn't matter really. I ride alone 99/100 so no big deal. Rather I was just worried that due to the relative size of the community data, knowledge and equipment would be hard to find.Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sangi 0 #21 May 22, 2009 Nah, this ain't so small of a community, now BASE on the other hand is a whole different story... QuoteYup.... http://www.uspa.org/AboutSkydiving/SkydiverDemographics/tabid/303/Default.aspx Oh and by the way, this is only counting americans, there's the rest of the world as well, which really boosts our numbers.."Dream as you'll live forever, live as you'll die today." James Dean Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baksteen 84 #22 May 22, 2009 Quote Assuming such a small community I would have thought the equipment would have been much much much more expensive. Say $10k for a parachute instead of the....what $2K? Please don't give the manufacturers any ideasCongrats on the jump and now on to the FJC!"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #23 May 22, 2009 Quote Dude You did it...that's awesome, I bet we see a change in your dialog from now on, now that u visited the Wizzard of OZ- and for the love of crap did you buy beer???!!! Sim was my instructor and he offered me a beer. In return today when I go back I'll be bringing over a set of obnoxiously loud harden karmen computer speakers and a mini keg or two. I noticed they had a grill and I'll bring over a cubic yard of hot dogs later and I may have access to what is a case of MRE's. As for the stripper pole...will it be a strip off? And pleas per your dimensions you are anything but + sized! But let's keep that on the other thread shall we?Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #24 May 22, 2009 Quote Please don't give the manufacturers any ideasCongrats on the jump and now on to the FJC! Thank you! And well...ok here is how I look at it....blame the engineer in me. I ride a GPZ-1100. I think they may have made 15K of those bikes in the few years they were in production. The bike probably sold for about $7K. Sure a bike is more complex than a canopy but still.....if they only sell 1K or 2K a year....the price isn't half bad! But what scares me a little....as a new guy seeing these small numbers......affordable second hand equipment. My first bike was a $1k garage find that I rode the wheels off of. My second and current bike was a $3k dealer find that I have put 8k miles on. Will I be able to readily find good priced good condition second hand beginners gear?Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darius11 12 #25 May 22, 2009 Here is another thing to consider as well. Parachutes and rigs don’t depreciate as much. If you take care of them they will be good for a very long time, and you can sell for a fair price. Welcome to the community, and congratulations on the first jump man.I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
