I cant believe this needs to be said but.......

[Brian3576 0]

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does it make you less comfortable to jump without the ADD, or with it turned off? If the answer is yes

i can't jump without one, i live in England

but yes, it would scare the shit out of me to not jump with one.... i might need it to save my life

[billvon 2,989]

>what exactly is the point of this topic?

To help you prepare.

A lot of jumpers can't get past the first time they see a friend go in. Others are mad at the world when they break their back doing this stuff. The key to making good decisions about skydiving is to decide BEFOREHAND if you are OK with all that. Sometimes you can't know what it's like; I don't know if anyone can really prepare themselves completely for watching a friend of theirs go in, then trying to keep them alive for half an hour and failing. But reading about it beforehand can at least get you thinking about it.

Jump or not, it's up to you. But jump knowing what you can lose; it's a lot.

[mnealtx 0]

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.... i might need it to save my life

Then you need to re-evaluate the jumps you are going on. Whether or not you have an AAD, or whether or not it is turned on, should have no bearing on the jumps you make.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Douva 0]

The sad fact of the matter is that you can be doing everything right, have all the right safety devices in place, and still die. You won't be saved by an RSL or an AAD if someone corks under you while freeflying and breaks your neck or if you get into a nasty CReW wrap or if somebody turns into you on final or if you're inverted and spinning at 120 RPM, with one foot still attached to a skysurfing board. Once you decide to board a jump plane, there are plenty of factors outside your control. Only the fearful and the weak minded delude themselves into believing they are ever fully in control.

Earlier today a friend/former student of mine wrote and told me she was horrified by the events of this past weekend and asked how I deal with the realities of our sports. This was my response:


The skydiving community is relatively small--about 30,000 active skydivers in the U.S. That's equivalent to the student body at an average university. So inevitably, you're going to know people who are injured or killed. There is a point where you reach what I suppose you could call a "battlefield mentality." You start to simply accept that people you've met are going to die, and you just hope that it won't be anyone close to you. I've been lucky so far, in that I haven't lost any good friends. I have, however, seen good friends seriously injured, and I've been casually acquainted with a few people (like Girlfalldown) who died. It's never any fun, but you grow to accept it.

When I heard that Girlfalldown (Shannon) had died, I really wasn't surprised to learn that someone I knew had died, but I was saddened to learn it was someone I was kind of fond of. I didn't know her well. Aside from being on a big way tracking dive with her at the 2004 Holiday Boogie, I really only knew her from our discussions online. That's the reality of this sport--Occasionally someone you've crossed paths with will be killed. The same would be true if you were an avid rock climber or snow skier. It's all part of the price we pay to experience a life beyond what most people will ever know.

As several people have said online, and as I've said many times in the past, students should never be conned into believing skydiving is safe. You hear a lot of talk about safety statistics, but statistics can be used to prove either side of most arguments. The truth is, we're jumping out of airplanes two miles above the ground and falling toward the earth at the speed of a NASCAR race. That's not safe. Neither is scaling sheer rock cliffs, sliding down snow covered mountains on fiberglass boards, or speeding along the sidewalk with wheels bound to your feet. We all take risks in life. In skydiving, the important thing is knowing how to balance those risks and knowing when to draw the line. By belly flying you accept one risk. By freeflying you accept a slightly greater risk. Wingsuits and CReW increase the risk a little more. Canopy swooping increases it even more. Skysurfing increases it a little further. And BASE jumping increases it further still. What is an acceptable amount of risk to me, a single guy with no kids, may not be an acceptable amount of risk to you, a married woman with children. That's a choice only you can make. But remember that just because one person enjoys BASE jumping or skysurfing or whatever, that doesn't mean you have to. Each person must draw his or her own line in the sand.

Every skydiver needs to understand that jumping out of airplanes is a gamble. We don't choose the hand we're dealt, but we can influence how heavily the deck is stacked against us. In the end, It all comes down to honestly evaluating the risks, both physical and emotional, and weighing those risks against the benefits.

Blue skies,

Douva

I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

[sartre 0]

*** It's all part of the price we pay to experience a life beyond what most people will ever know.

I think that sums it up. Very profoundly.

[happythoughts 0]

Few sports have an obituary column in its national magazine.

[dgskydive 0]

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@dgskydive ... do you genuinly think you're going to die when you jump? if you don't think 100% you are going to die (and why would you do something you were 100% certain was going to kill you?) then you have an element of "it's not going to be me" which goes against what your post is about

I missed this question Brian.

Everytime I jump I say a prayer. Everytime I jump I ask that God look after every person on the load. I ask that if he takes someone that they not feel pain. I ask that he not let them suffer. I do and many of you that have jumped with me may have noticed me crossing myself.

Do I know 100% that it will be me? No, I don't know that. If I knew I was gonna go in on a certain jump, of course I wouldn't make the jump.

I won't jump in certain wind conditions because I have seen people die in those conditions, or had a scare myself.

I won't jump with certain people, because although they may be GREAT people, they (at least in my eyes) are a danger in the air and I believe that they may kill me or someone else on the load.

I do accept the fact that it could be me at any given time though. I do accept the fact that even a very good jumper with a good safe additude can make a mistake that may cost me or me or a good friends life.

i do except that everything can be done right and I or a person I care for could die.

ONe thing that a lot of people have missed in what I said. I am not just talking about me, or you. I am also talking about people we care about. Friends, loved ones.

Dom

[dancingdolphin 0]

Just a few thoughtd flying through my mind.........

I've done a wee bit of skydiving (married an instructor so have spent a bit of time on dropzones having a blast ), paragliding, hang out a lot with the hangliders which I've also done.........I always accepted the risk involved with the attitude that we all gotta die sometime...and 'what a way to go..:-)'
Two years ago I sat on a wall....fell...and am paralysed from mid chest down (shit happens).....nobody ever sat me down and warned me about how dangerous extreme wall sitting could be I have a friend who is a quad for 22 yrs after crashing into a mountain hangliding. My point being......... ok ..we're still alive ....but life is dangerous. i know 2 girls who died in their sleep in their twenties.......wonder if they'd have preferred to die skydiving..

Skydiving is fantastic, dropzone parties rock..........if you can accept the risk and hope for the best......as the saying goes.......just do it

Live doing what you love

Love, prayers and condolences to all affected by last weekends tragedy's (I feel gutted after reading all the threads and never even met them here)- I'm sure Shannon + Taz(sorry I don't know the others names) are flying free ..they don't need parachutes now.

Its fantastic to see the huge loving response.

(hope you don't mind a newbie putting it my 2 cents worth)

If you're holding anyone else accountable for your happiness, you're wasting your time."

[dgskydive 0]

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hope you don't mind a newbie putting it my 2 cents worth

Not at all!!!!!

Sorry for your bad luck!!!

Dom

[dancingdolphin 0]

Thanks
can't complain..still alive.....can still work etc + have taken up air rifle shooting

If you're holding anyone else accountable for your happiness, you're wasting your time."

[dgskydive 0]

Good for you!!!!!

Dom

[Conundrum 1]

Great post Dom, it's a shame that some people don't think it could ever happen to them.

I know the risks involved with skydiving and I've now lost two friends in the short time I've been a part of this sport. I don't think reality set in for me until it hit me on a personal level but I will continue to jump because I can accept those risks and try to do whatever I can to keep myself safe(r).

[dgskydive 0]

I thought oh The mitchyone when posting this

Dom