How did you become a skydiver?

[JCoonce 0]

Before we got married, Daniel and I made a "to do list" - and he added skydiving to it. He had done a tandem 6 years ago when he turned 18 and had been itching to go again ever since. I thought it sounded like fun - I've always wanted to fly-

So, we went, did AFF level 1 - and we were both hooked - did levels 2+ 3 the next day. Been at the dz every weekend since (even though the clouds/weather have been very uncooperative).



-- I added my picture from my first jump, but I'm not sure if it will look good....

[Nick 0]

Long story but:

About 9 years ago I was involved in a bike racing team as the mechanic and the riders father (Terry)was a commercial pilot who had flow for a parachute display team quiet a few years ago (not sure where from but could have been HeadCorn) anyway he always had interesting stories about it and it sounded like real good fun and I ashould really give it a go but never got round to it. Anyway met a girl stopped the bike racing, bought a house etc etc etc.

2 years ago this girl and I were thinking of some fun stuff that we should try and we came up with Scuba diving and Parachuting (and I thought of the coversations with Terry). That christmas we were on holiday and booked up for a try out scuba diving course, did all the training and went for the first open water dive, she loved it I hated it. we then split up but still decided to go ahead and do a SL course together. Did the training in March 2001 and managed the jump in July 2001, she hated it and I loved it.

I kept on working my way through RAPS until the end of the season when I decided to bite the bullet and booked myself an AFF course at LakeWales in Feb 2002 (turns out that the ex booked herself in for sports diver training at the same time). Managed AFF and all my consols in a week, came back to the UK and have been jumping whenever I can since, now only on a loly 96 jumps but still loving it.

Nick
Gravity- It's not just a good idea, it's the LAW!

[mujie96 0]

Oooh, oooh, oooh, I want to answer the thread tha's been brought back from 2001.
I started skydiving because:
1. I fell out of the helicopter on my rappels at air assault school and I figured it would be WAY more entertaining to fall out of an airplane at a higher altitude, without the rope, and without all the equipment on.
and
2. I was super bummed about a crappy ended relationship and the guy I was sleeping with to spite my ex wanted to go do a tandem. I was hooked from the second they opened the door of the plane and I felt the wind on my face. I had considerably less of the jumping up and down and screaming when we landed, it was more a calm euphoria and a wierd kind of peace followed by.....HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO FINANCE MY NEW SPORT!!! My second jump was my first AFF jump.
Jess

Just keep swimming...just keep swimming....

[pds 0]

at various times over the past 8 years, i have looked at dz websites and checked out the AFF programs and said 'that's for me', but it seemed other things were always coming first; becoming a pilot, scuba diving, sailing.... who knows why jumping got put back. i hada bad habit of SAYING i wanted to skydive in front of people. until one friday night i got a call from a sweet little girl who knew how to bring the best out of everyone she touched. she basically said 'are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite? i'm goin skydiving tomorrow morning.' oooph. we went up in that 182 all dolled up in our tandem harnesses with no idea. when i hit the ground, i knew. and as i watched her come down, rather heard her come down, i knew she had too! she turned to find me when her feet hit the ground to see if i had been paying attention and when i saw that smile i knew it was on.

Ela, you knew how to reach down inside of someone and turn on all the lights. i love you baby.

Ela left us a month later on her 13th skydive. I was asked and even asked myself how can i continue to skydive? the answer is another question; how can i not? when i saw the joy and freedom i felt mirrored on her face when even simply talking about skydiving, i knew we were home.

even now, the ride up seems long and cold and even the sunshine seems to be singing a lonesome song, but when that door comes open and i step out into the sky i am flying for two. Ela, I fly for you. bliss tempered with sorrow is better than no bliss at all.

since that day i have logged nearly 100 more jumps, have gotten a C license and intend to become the best AFF instructor i can humanely be.

i am a skydiver and thats how it came to be.

Sky Sanders

namaste, motherfucker.

[Spy38W 0]

I was asked to come out to the DZ to be a pilot so the current pilot could start jumping more. Skydiving was something that I always had a semi-interest in, but as a pilot said to myself that it was kindof silly, and I could never understand how it could be entertaining after doing it a couple of times. Well, anyway, 8 days later I decided to do a tandem with the rationalization that it would allow me to understand how to do better flying if I had an understanding of things from the skydivers point of view. After landing from that tandem I paid for the FJC and the rest is history. Best way to ruin a jump pilot is to make him a skydiver..

--
Hook high, flare on time

[wmw999 2,534]

That was really well-written. Thanks for sharing with us.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[jillr 0]

I got started after spending a couple weekends out at the dz with my brother. Thought I'd just do a tandem and never get in a small plane again but something bites you in the backside at about 10k...

and when I thought I'd quit, he'd keep me going.

[slotperfect 7]

I had dropped out of college and planned to join the Army. The recruiter showed me a film about Jump School at Ft. Benning, GA and I was hooked. My first jump came during jump school in August of 1984.

After being assigned to Ft. Bragg that November, my best friend (who had made a few civilian skydives at Lakehurst, NJ) talked me into starting static line progression at the Green Beret Club. After 11 jumps on freefall MC1-1Bs, I took a short break and went to the Army's Military Free Fall School. I have ben a free faller, both military and civilian, ever since.

Arrive Safely

John

[jtval 0]

um there is a whole webpage dedicated to my story
hit the clicky link if you care to!

My photos

My Videos

[MattM 0]

My best friends' dad is an ex-golden knight..... so we jump!

Matt

[noggydog 0]

Well other than having always wanted to skydive my new life started in april in Lodi, Ca. I'd been building snowboard parks in the east for three years prior to being hired to move to June mtn. which is the sister mountain of Mammoth. I came out last second and ended up couch surfing my way through the season. As a thank you too a couple of friends that let me stay with them for six weeks(for free, I tried to pay them but they refused), I bought them and myself our first tandems. In all there were seven of us that went. The second we were out the door I was hooked, it was awesome to look back over my shoulder and see my fiends on their way out . I came backk the next day for the static line course, did 6 jumps that day and 4 on the following. Came back the next week and did ten more(major credit card abuse)! On the last day of jumping I got to hang out with the staff and watch the sunset go down out over the runway, I felt like I was at home. Any way the next day I started the drive back to Maine, a week later found a cessna dropzone 25 minutes from my house with a crew of guys who's whole goal seemed to be to help others learn. A month later I'm a packer and working there every second I can to pay for jumps. On monday I'm heading back out to california and can't wait to go back to Lodi, and bring beer to all the other dropzones I have yet to visit. Hope to meet some of you all soon.

[Samurai136 0]

My father is not a skydiver but I think he made me a skydiver. As soon as I could walk he would have me lay out on the floor and pick me up by an arm and a leg and swing me around the room.

I loved it! First adrenaline rush. After that it was only a matter of time...

Ken

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[TEB6363 0]

I just wanted to try it. I didn't really like my first static line, so I went to try it again.... Much better and I kept going back.

I just keep forgetting to stop

Once the plane takes off, you're gonna have to land - Might as well jump out!!

[riddler 0]

Ever knew that there was something you were going to do? I don't mean you always wanted to do - just always knew you were going to?

I had dreams about skydiving my whole life - mostly about free-fall, because I had no idea what riding a canopy would feel like, but my mind could imagine free-fall, I guess.

When I turned 30, I listed eight goals for myself for that year. I accomplished 6 of them. Skydiving was on the list. I haven't looked back. Wish I hadn't waited so long, but things have worked out for me in a way because I did (i.e. I have the money and time to do it now, unlike during college).

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[akaGQ 0]

The very first taste I ever got with jumping or somewhat was when I was I think 14 15 16 somewhere in there at Flyaway in Pigeon Forge, Tenn and I was like over welmed even then at how much fun I had *Props to Gary* and then my father was the one that took me on my first jump tandem of course. I think with him being a S.E.A.L. at the time and a HALO jumper had a lot of influence on me...but when I took it up heavily was about the time I was wake boarding and wanted something a bit more with the edge and all I ever seemed to see was people skysurfing and I figured hmm Id like to try that little did I know that you had to have over 500 jumps and a whole lot of other things in order to do it but yep thats pretty much what got me into this.

- GQ

... it was the love of the air and sky and flying, the lure of adventure, the appreciation of beauty ...
-Charles Lindberg

[VisionAir 0]

In retrospect, it dates back to a recurring childhood dream of falling off the roof and falling/flying out to the end of the driveway. Then in my mid 20's everytime I'd see skydiving I'd say that looks like fun but could never gather the gumption to call and do it. Jump ahead to age 29, and my wife in search of a gift for father's day for me called and made an appointment for my first jump course unbeknowst to me. I found out the night before my f-j-c that "I should get some sleep tonite". She thought it would be a one time "now I can say I've done it" type thing. I was instantly hooked and then understood what my childhood dream was all about.

Huh?!? What cloud?!? Oh that!!! That's just Industrial Haze
Alex M.

[f1freak 0]

I have been afraid of heights my whole life, but i knew that i wanted to jump. remember watching demo jumps into different events, and i just thought it was the coolest....
so one day at work a couple of us decided to go out to skydive fargo and go through the staticline program.
I will never forget any of that, i remember getting in the plane thinking "what the hell am i doing" i remember hanging on the strut of that 206 and the JM pointing up and me letting go....
That one second changed my life forever....
I was hooked...

HAVE FUN...
...JUST DONT DIE

[wmw999 2,534]

I remember wanting to as far back as 12 years old. When I was 19, I saw a class in the campus newspaper, but I didn't have the $30 it took for that FJC (this was a long time ago). A year later, I had the $40 it took, and took the class (6 weeks of PLF practice -- the guy was teaching it through the extension university, and thought he had to make it last the whole session). I had a choice between a first jump certificate and a logbook; I took the logbook.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Skylovin 0]

I worked for a PBS station back in '87 (in Ohio) and got assigned to produce a segment on skydiving - for a cultural arts and events program! Go figure.

I went out to "check out the place" and Dean Giannantonio, Jay Luccioni and Ed Ganley were there. With a twinkle in their eyes they said, "You know, you're not really qualified to tell a story on it unless you've done it." At first I said "Oh no no no no no....". Then that small still voice said "Mary Pat, are you looking a gift-horse in the mouth?"

I landed from my first tandem absolutely enamored. Inspired to write about it.

[lawrocket 3]

I had wanted to go since I was in my early teens. When I was 18, a few friends from work decided to ditch school and jump. I was a student (ditch school? NO WAY!) and I missed the opportunity. But, for years thereafter I wanted to go.

Ten years later, gettign ready to start my after-school life in the "World" I was speaking with my girlfriend at the time. Her birthday was coming up and we decided we should jump sometime. She called, and we talked, and she said:

"Let's do something life affirming."

We went a couple of days later. The fear and dread was incredible. She'd been before, but not for a while. That tandem was amazing, the greatest thrill of my life. After that I knew that when I got the money together, I'd jump on my own, and she'd do it with me. We had done something "life affirming."

A couple of weeks later she told me some bad news. She had cancer. She'd just found out about it when she wanted to affirm life. Months went by. I wanted to jump, but not without her. We had plans that would get scrapped due to her health.

This past May I did my AFF. I havent' jumped with her since that first time. I've been jumping when I had the time ever since.

Sweetpea was correct: It is life affirming.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[DivaSkyChick 0]

The first time I went was like 12 years ago with my Mom, stepfather and HIS father for his 80th birthday. We watched the video, got all set to go and then got sent home due to wind. The following week we went back and the winds were being a little squirrely but I desperately wanted to go so me and the head tandem guy went in a little cesna to check it out. That was amazing and I rrrrrreally wanted to go again when they put the whole plane load up afterwards. Alas I was stuck on the ground and watched my step grandpa land first. They sat him down on a cement bench, against a cement wall and he was himself the color of cement. I remember thinking, "mommy hurry, he's gonna croak!"

Down came my stepfather so that issue was dealth with. Then came my mom with a bleeding face. I asked her what happend but she just smiled and said "nothing, that was such fun." She wasn't very convincing.

Her tandem master later told me that they'd had a malfunction and cutaway.

Mom was so cool. She never really said much about it except that she knew there was a problem when all of a sudden they started spinning round and round really fast then smack she got punched in the face. After that "it was all very nice, honey." She never said a word when I took up the sport myself. Bought me my first jumpsuit, too!

She's never jumped since but she keeps telling me that one of these days....

M

---
www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch

[ladyskydiver 0]

Skydiving was always something that I wanted to do once and then mark it off my list of things to do. So one day my ex and I decided to sign up for an AFF class. Went to the class, did the jump, and I was hooked.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[jimmytavino 16]

"I had a choice between the first jump certificate and the logbook.... I took the logbook"...

There you go!!!! Great choice...
"Two roads diverged in the Wood,,,, and I,, I chose the one less traveled,,,
and THAT has made all the difference"..Robert Frost

I became a skydiver,, in much the same way..W,, picked, up the college newspaper,,( 1972) saw an ad for the
"Skydiving Club".( it said,,"Get High. Go Skydiving" hahaha after all it WAS the '70's... )
and jumped within a week....
and Wendy,,,,I pretty much followed the same path as you,,, static line start, old gear, perserverance, flexibilty,,,,tough, for anyone,,and real tough for the
girls, especially the smaller girls,,, the gear was heavy, and "off landings" were frequent.
I quickly came to the simple realization, that Indeed, I was a skydiver..... in addition to everything else...........when I was "standing tension for a cheapo"..)
skydive softly,,,,skydive often,, skydive with friends..