My fear of jumping at a new DZ

[stitch 0]

I never saw a cactus in the landing area.

"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

[wildcard451 0]

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I never saw a cactus in the landing area.

Did you see the iguana?

[kelel01 1]

Well, I didn't mean "start" at a smaller DZ. I'm assuming he has some jumps.

I just meant for him to start his travel jumping somewhere that's perhaps less intimidating - small plane (or even just one plane) for less traffic, etc.

[PLFXpert 0]

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I think he/she has jumped...in the OP they mention bringing their gear...

In that case, please refer to my first response, aloneinthesky.

To sum up:

Suck it up. Everyone looks at the new guy. Stick around and you'll make friends.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[skymama 37]

Bbarnhouse is a longtime dz.com member and is on staff at Eloy. I'm sure if you let her know the next time that you are going to be in the area that she will make sure she or someone else will show you the ropes and hook you up with someone to jump with.

Traveling to new dz's is a lot of fun. Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there to get the rewards of new experiences.

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

[aloneinthesky 0]

ya im licensed

i don't have a rig, but i have accessories.

something about using a rig i've never used before

thanks for tips ill be more assertive, i think thats a good word..maybe not...in other words ill try not to be such a pussy

[azdiver 0]

theres always some one organizing at sda. if you want some one to jump with ask around. the gear rentals at s2 are great as are the people. if your still uncomfortable talk to someone over at the school im sure they can help you get over it

light travels faster than sound, that's why some people appear to be bright until you hear them speak

[popsjumper 2]

Next time take a jumping friend or two along with you and do a couple of jumps together after getting a good orientation from manifest or the S&TA. That will help you get over the hump.

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

[grue 1]

haha, kinda like what happened when I showed up at Eloy. Since none of you fuckers were there yet, I walked to manifest and said "Yeah, I don't know anybody, who does what?", and Omar and Ash saw me and said "Hey, let's go do a jump"

I didn't even know who they were until halfway to altitude

cavete terrae.

[apollard24 0]

I will remember that next time I go somewhere new.

Breathe out so I can breathe you in...

[plowdirt 0]

when I first started jumping, I was blessed and had a buddy who jumped, so 1 right off the bat. then I met my DZ family, whom at the time I thought were will somewhat challanged. But Man I made the best friends of my life, They are the greatest people I ever met.

Now as far as your buddies, not all of them are gonna stick around b/c if you stay in this t5hing that we love to do long enough, you will learn we are a huge family, don't get me wrong just like any other family we have the same delemas,( like my spelling I refuse to use spell check) but we will stick by you.

The scared feeling is a weird feeling, And if you decided not to jump so be it, and good for you.

You will get over it.

Fill out you profile so we can know where what and how many jumps you have that wey we can call you a pussy, or we can really say hey you'll get over it, which you will.

you wil find a wealth of knowledge on here, posters who will hijack your posts, and turn it into something sexual Hey wheres cocheese??

And a ton of support.

good luck, and don't forget to smile, it releases indorfins or something.

E

[lilDevil 2]

i don't really know what it was, the fear of the unknown, being in a new place, i dunno if i felt out of place among the other jumpers.

all these weird things keep happening to me with things i like.

does anyone ever have this happen

[Icon134 0]

I'll reiterate what others have said... you probably did the right thing... not jumping.

I sort of remember what it felt like to fan out and check out a new dz when I was first starting out.

it can be very unnerving to to show up at a new dz not knowing anyone... not sure of what to think...

I was fortunate to run into some very helpful people at the dropzones that I explored (e.g. popsjumper really helped me feel welcome when I first showed up at Monroe in Georgia) I also as a lot of questions when I first show up at a new dz.

I like to know who (if anyone) is organizing, which people like doing certain disciplines of skydiving, I like to find an aerial photo and go over the direction that jumprun is typically going to be, what the typical landing directions are... to name a few...

One of the best briefings I got was at the dropzone I currently jump at... One of the instructors organized a 4-way jump and before getting out she helped me locate the dropzone from the plane. (as it can be kind of a challenge for new people to find... considering it is a grass strip and surrounded by farmland... )

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[piisfish 140]

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Wanna show that you know the meaning of the word fleet?

I have big fleet. It's hard to find shloes that fit.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[JohnMitchell 16]

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Did you see the iguana?

Yes, it was on the Weber.

[JohnMitchell 16]

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I have big fleet. It's hard to find shloes that fit.

You're so flunny. Don't you mean shloes that flit?

[peregrinerose 0]

You didn't make the wrong decision! Eloy scared the shit out of me the first time I was there... multiple planes flying, a lot more swoopers than what I'm used to at my home DZ, many more people, just the fact that it wasn't 'home'.

I had a couple hundred jumps and still sat on the ground for a few hours watching load after load land and getting a feel for things before actually manifesting. The first jump, I just did a 2 way with my husband and we opened a little high so we had time to orient ourselves under canopy prior to landing, it also made us last down from the load, which alleviated our traffic concerns.

We walked away from jumping at another DZ... Sedona. Everyone there was so nice and we really wanted to jump, but the weather conditions weren't ideal and the landing area fairly small. At our jump numbers at the time, we both knew we weren't ready for it even though other jumpers were in the air doing fine.

Bottom line, you're normal

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[GTAVercetti 0]

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Right, because obviously I was speaking geographically.

Do you guys have some issues?

Let's hug it out bitches!

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[karenmeal 0]

I can be a fairly shy person.. but I love going to a new DZ on my own. I haven't been able to do that in a while cause of school and since I was packing every weekend for five years.. but I still think it's cool.

You just have to step out of your shell a little bit, find someone who looks nice, tell them you're new and ask to be introduced to people.. then just start jumping! You need to jump though.. really. Actually going and getting on at least several loads is key.

If you're nervous about the actual jumping part of going to a new DZ.. just ask for a really good airport briefing from an instructor and make sure that you get any questions that you have answered. Maybe make a list of possible concerns before hand so you know that you've had all issues addressed in the briefing.

Don't be scared about going to new places.. you'll learn soon that it is actually really easy to go to a new DZ. The fact that you can just bounce around DZ's and always find new friends is one of the coolest things about the skydiving community.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[Armour666 0]

I jumped at a new DZ for the first time last Sat.

I went out was not shure what to expect. I did a coach jump for the first jump there. Went over the lay out of the DZ. How they Spot the jump runs ect. On the way up to altitude he pointed out the land marks and lay out of the land so can reconice the points used to find the DZ on jump run.

This mada a huge difference on the nerves. Everythign changed once in free fall. up to that point it felt worse then my first jump. When climbing out and reconizing the points he mentioned and then in free fall things took it cource. Once under canopy and getting a good look around it it was easy to see the the patteren and points to get in to the flow if it.

The extra money for a coach jump for me was worth it to get to know the place since I'm still new at this but now gives me a good idea of the questions to ask and what "I" need to know of a new DZ to feel comfortable.

SO this one time at band camp.....

"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most."

[mailin 0]

That's the exact reason I didn't jump at Perris last time I was there. It scared the shit out of me as far as sheer number of aircraft, people and landing areas.

But I love jumping at cross keys. But they have a big landing area...

If you aren't feeling absolutely perfect about a jump, don't go. If you have any doubt its better to play it safe than sorry.

Don't know why I'm missing skydiving so badly lately... I'd probably be scared shitless to just put on my rig again

Arianna Frances

[MikeJD 0]

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I never saw a cactus in the landing area.

Me neither. I've done a few hundred jumps at Eloy and only ever seen cacti when I've been driving to and from the airport. You'd need a hell of a bad spot to land on one.

Those EVIL thorn bushes are another story, though...

[jeiber 0]

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ya im licensed

i don't have a rig, but i have accessories.

something about using a rig i've never used before

thanks for tips ill be more assertive, i think thats a good word..maybe not...in other words ill try not to be such a pussy

You're so gonna die. Think of everything that could go wrong. Different gear, different aircraft, different LZ. Just think, when you land out in the middle of the desert, injured, nobody can hear your cries for help. Since you're new, nobody will even know your missing.

You'll probably be out there for days, dying of dehydration, while fighting off the snakes and coyotes. Once you're too weak to move, the buzzards will start picking at you.

Jeff

Shhh... you hear that sound? That's the sound of nobody caring!