MY DAD DID A TANDEM!!

[mccordia 74]

Last week was my dad's birthday, he turned 52 (and also my own birthday btw. turned 23..man I'm getting old:)
Together with my brother and sister we collected some money, and gave our dad a tandemjump (with video:)
He had always wanted to skydive and had already signed up for a S/L cource 20 years ago, but his (twin)brother broke his back with skydiving and he decided not to do it (it didn't scare him off, but he didn't want to do it because it scared the shit out of his mother/family...)
But since I started jumping last year, he kept saying how cool it looked, and kept telling everyone how he almost started skydiving 20 years ago, and couldn't get anough of skydiving stories and movies, so we finaly just sayd..."YOUR GONNA JUMP!"
Last sunday was finaly the day!
He was gonna do his tandemjump at Skydive Rotterdam (not my own DZ, but it's closer to home)
First there was a small hold (they had to check the plane for damage, it had sorta landed on it's wing..which is not good:)
After the plane got an okay my dad recieved instructions while we headed for the DZ (20 KM drive...sheezzz)
It took quite a while before it was his turn (we watched about 10 loads before him...4 hours of waiting), cause there where a lot of other tandems that went first, but around 19:00 hours it was finaly time.
The plane came overhead, and I kinda experienced what my mom probably constantly feels when I'm jumping. Not that I don't trust the materials/people, but it's just a funny feeling to know your father is 13000 ft above you, about to jump out :)
I was watching through my videocamera (zoomed in to the max) and I clearly saw the tandem exit, together with 2 other people (the cameraflyer and a regulair skydiver that decided to follow the tandem:) The extra skydiver docked the tandem for a sec, and then let go and went nuts, doing a lot of freaky (clown-esque:) freeflying around the tandem.
On the video you constantly see this dude everywhere, upside-down, going from left to right, right to left, up and down..My dad loved it!
Too bad my dad's gogles flew of his head, so he spent the last 10 or 15 seconds of freefall hanging on to his gogles (and expensive glasses underneath:)
Then came pull-time, and the chute opened, but not quite perfect.
I was looking at everything from the ground, and through the camera lens I clearly saw one side of the parachute that was still closed. A line-over, not a nasty one, but still way to little fabric to make a man happy. They went into a spin for about 3 or 4 seconds, but then the tandemmaster managed to clear the lineover (the parachute made a wierd wobble, and then finaly fully inflated, much to my relief, cause I had a small hart-attack)
The tandemmaster later sayd that he was about to go for the reserve when it cleared.
He initialy pulled at 6.000 because of my dad's gogles flying off, but was happy he did so, cause it gave him the extra altitude/time to clear the lineover..
My mother (also watching from the ground) never had the idea anything was wrong (to my relief:) but was still happy he was back on the ground :)
The video(s) turned out great (I'll try and post it on my website sometime next week) and my dad had the time of his life.
Next weekend I'm finaly gonna jump again myself (after 2 months of not jumping).
2 days of jumping, so with a bit of luck (and good weather) I'll get in 4 to 6 jumps (i'm not that quick at packing yet:(
My brother and nephew are also starting skydiving this weekend, and I hope I'm on the same load as they are when they make their first jump....now all I need is some good weather..:)
Cya,
Jarno (Dutch guy)
http://www.3dluvr.com/mccordia

[Dutchboy 0]

Cool. Glad to hear he finally got to go. Also glad to hear that they cleared that line without having to chop. I'm sure that would really have scared your mom.
The Dutchboy

[mccordia 74]

My mom was already past 'scared shitless' because my dad was up there...I think she'd probably suffer a near fatal heart-attack if something like a cut-away would have happend..:)

[mountainman 0]

That is awesome that you got your dad go jump. My dad saw my tandem video from last year and said "I gotta do that!". So, he's gonna go in July once my wife and I are on our way to getting our A.
Did you try to get your mom to go?? Mine said NO WAY!! Oh well. I tried.
Blue skys (and no mals)
NEW AND IMPROVED!!!
http://home.woh.rr.com/brandonandlaura/

[mccordia 74]

My mother would rather castrate a bull with her bare teeth then jump out of an airplane :)
But seriously, my mother got sick from the kiddie merrie-go-round, and has a real problem with heights...she's the last person in the world I ever expect to see under a parachute.....:)
But my younger brother Kenny is starting jumpschool this saterday (together with my nephew), and my sister is also getting a tandem for her birthday when she turns 16 later this year...so that's anough family in the air for now :)
Jarno (Dutch Guy)
http://www.3dluvr.com/mccordia/

[JohnJug 0]

My family is exactly the opposite. My mom went and did a tandem last thanksgiving and loved it. It is my dad who is saying "No freakin' way are you getting me to jump out of a plane."
Oh well, one out of two aint so bad.
Blue skies
Bill

[Pammi 0]

That's so cool! My brother got a tandem from my mom for his birthday, but guess what..."he's just not sure when he can come down and do it". So she ended up giving him the money instead. Hmph! Whatever. I just hope she's that generous with me for my birthday in a week :) LOL! "Mom, just deposit it at the DZ. Thanks!!" hehe

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My mother would rather castrate a bull with her bare teeth then jump out of an airplane :)
But seriously, my mother got sick from the kiddie merrie-go-round, and has a real problem with heights...she's the last person in the world I ever expect to see under a parachute.....:)

That's definately my mom! She won't even get in a plane, besides out! Honestly tho...get this...I can't get on a merry-go-round, swings, or any of that without feeling like I'll heave. I also am afraid of heights...I tried to help with xmas lights last winter and realized just how much so then. I was shaking and could only get almost to the top of the ladder before I freaked. So there's still hope for your mom!!
Pammi
"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live."
http://trak.to/skydivechick

[Hellian 0]

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My brother and nephew are also starting skydiving this weekend, and I hope I'm on the same load as they are when they make their first jump....

Yeahm tell me about it, i was on the load (only my 12th jump) when my bro did his first s/l jump it's way kool being able to see the expression of sheer enjoyment on their faces,
now i gotta work on my parents
or.... maybe i'll just try and get my mum to let me do aff before i try and convince her to try it Ed

[mccordia 74]

Although I was always the kid who was hanging upside down from trees, and jumping from the local dam, I used to have a serious problem with hights whenever I got higher then say 50 ft or so.
Stuff like rollercoasters (going up before the initial drop) and high building scared the shit out of me, and people walking on the roof gave me an eary feeling in my stomache..
But for some stupid reason I have no problem with heights when I'm in an airplane, or about to jump out at 4.000 to 7.000 ft (haven't been any higher yet)
Ofcource, it scared the sh*t out of me the first few jumps, and it's still not without any scared feelings when I jump, but that's only a brief second before jumping, and I think that's more common sense then an actual fear of heights that's scaring me at that moment...
Anyways,
Anyone else have (or had) a serious problem with heights before he/she started skydiving?
Or perhaps still has (a bit) like me :)
I'm always special..I can't have normal fear of heghts, I have partial fear of heights....50ft and up, on buildings and structures (when I'm not wearing a rig:)
Cya,
Jarno (Dutch Guy)
http://www.3dluvr.com/mccordia

[Zennie 0]

Not a serious problem with heights so much as a serious problem with airplanes. I'd get all sweaty-palmed and ancy on takeoff & landing. Skydiving's pretty much cured that. I've been on jump planes that have got to be way more heavily loaded than any commercial airliner.
Still, I'd rather go out the door than land with the A/C.
------------
Blue Skies!
Zennie

[PalmettoTiger 1]

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Still, I'd rather go out the door than land with the A/C.

I hear you on that one. I flew from Charlotte, NC to Bemidji, MN via Minneapolis last summer. The plane from Charlotte looked like a miniature C-17: round body, big tail, four jet engines, high sloping wings, all that. But it wasn't nearly as big; I think it was a relatively new regional jet made by Saab. Anyway there was something about that plane that made me want to get the hell off of it. My sisters, neither of whom skydives or is particularly comfortable in airplanes, both felt fine. There was just something in the way the damn thing moved that unnerved me.
The leg from Minneapolis to Bemidji (tiny little town in the far north of MN, so small they don't even have metal detectors at their "airport") was on a twin-engine turboprop that oddly enough felt lots safer than the regional jet. The guy next to me remarked that I looked a little nervous (I have a habit of staring out the window the whole flight), and I told him "Last time I was in a plane this small, I jumped out of it." He didn't know whether I was joking or not!
Blues, squares,
PTiger

[freeflyguy 0]

I don't have any problem with the heights, usually.
But my first baloon jump was trippy. I was a little spooked of the height, until I got to about 500 feet. It was a little freaky knowing that my parachute was useless, before 500.
Then all was supreme blue and awesome.

[cdunham 0]

So, I'm up in a ladder cutting some branches out of a tree in the back yard, and I'm scared shitless! Not only do I have the chainsaw of death in one hand, leaving only the other to hang on with, but every time I look down I think "whoa, way too close!" or "FLARE!!".
I'm much more comfortable at altitude, or with nylon over my head, thanks.
Carl

[Zennie 0]

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So, I'm up in a ladder cutting some branches out of a tree in the back yard, and I'm scared shitless!

Funny you mentioned this. I was talking to a few TIs after hours once, all of them with thousands of jumps. And they're all going on about how they could never BASE jump because they're afraid of heights (even mentioned ladders). My jaw about hit the ground.
So this is not uncommon. Weird, but not uncommon.
------------
Blue Skies!
Zennie

[Slowfaller 0]

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But my first baloon jump was trippy. I was a little spooked of the height, until I got to about 500 feet. It was a little freaky knowing that my parachute was useless, before 500.

how high do balloon jumps go to?

[froggie 0]

*** Anyways, Anyone else have (or had) a serious problem with heights before he/she started skydiving?
Or perhaps still has (a bit) like me :) ***
hell yeah! I still have a serious fear of heights. But its not extreme hights. Its like standing on the edge of a roof, only one or two stories up that really gets me. Climbing trees isnt that bad, you got the tree to hug onto.
I flew in the ultralight down in carolina and that freaked me out for a second. But that was because the seatbelt rode so low on my thighs, It actually rested on my knees. My only true means of not falling off was the fact that i had a death grip on the center bar (a stabilizer? it sure wasnt one of the steering bars) Not having a rig on wasnt that comforting of a thought. IF i had been wearing a rig then im sure my grip woulda been a bit more relaxed.
But seriously, i need some kind of harness not to feel fear. whuffos dont understand why i dont like rollar coasters or the merry go round. But when you think about it, a rig is such a gaurentee. It just shows how much faith we put into it, and the comfort we feel when were wearing one. Matter o fact, if i had a modified base rig then i just might get on that merry go round :) this way, if i did fall off, i could throw the PC. hehe.
Gimme something on my back to get me safely to the ground or else i dont wanna go up!
froggie

[PalmettoTiger 1]

Have you ever taken an observer ride in a jump plane? I took a group down for the school's Sport Parachute Club but couldn't jump myself, so I rode shotgun in the Otter. It was soooooooooo freaky being in that aircraft without a rig on!!
Blues, squares,
PTiger

[froggie 0]

tiger,
yup! did the whole ride along thing this past winter at freezefest. Sunday night, sunset load. getting ready to watch them board the plane when the idea struck me "get in the damn plane! go for a ride along!" ran up to Toast and asked about it. before i knew it i was sitting co pilot with the headphone things on listening to air traffic control. I wasnt scared at all... Just something about the whole plane thing. I love em. but i sure in hell was cold! didnt plan on riding to 14 grand so i wasnt dressed apopriately. But yeah, i love me some fly alongs. thats why i begged a ride in the ultralight. My next fly along is going to be in John eddows Stearman biplane. cant wait for that one~ open cockpit, front seat! whooo heee!
froggie

[wingnut 0]

tiger,
ya didn't have a rig on when ya went on your observer ride? i though all people on a plane with preplaned parachute jumps had to have one on? now thinking back a friend of mine went for an ob. ride in a casa with me jumping and he didn't have a chute on either.....

"if dreams are like movies, then memories are like films about ghosts"-counting crows

[BenW 0]

I think it does along the lines of:
All persons behind the cockpit barrier must wear parachutes on when performing skydiving operations. The people in the cockpit must wear their seatbelts too.
I've seen it on a printed sticker inside a couple of Grand Caravans. Not sure about the legal stuff though, just what I've seen.
B.

[PalmettoTiger 1]

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ya didn't have a rig on when ya went on your observer ride? i though all people on a plane with preplaned parachute jumps had to have one on?

Well s#it, looks like they had it in for me!!
I was a little nervous when the pilot put on dual shoulder restraints and all I had was a lap belt. He assured me it was for his bad back. I figured if we went in, the front of the plane would have to stop the middle and back of the plane, so whether or not I headbutted the instrument panel wouldn't really matter.
Blues, squares,
PTiger

[Dutchboy 0]

It depends on the plane. Since the Otter has a bulkhead that seperates the cockpit from the rest of the plane you are "protected" in the case of a crash. If a skydiver takes out a small Cessna, as happened in Australia last weekend, you are totally screwed as a passenger and would have to jump.