Just 'found' the sport

[JWill47 0]

And now I'm obsessed with it. I've been lurking the forums, the sub reddit, YouTube. I can't get it out of my head. A little background, I'm a 37yr old who's wanted to skydive since I was 11 and saw point break. I finally just pulled the trigger 2 weeks ago and went to a nearby dropzone with a friend from work. I paid for 1 tandem jump each. I was probably 60% excitement, 40% nerves. But it felt good, and it kept feeling better as we met the instructors, boarded the plane and climbed into the sky. I've never felt like that before. Never had a passion in life so I didn't recognize what was happening but it felt like a religious experience to be honest. I was amped up and calm at the same time, super overwhelmed by everything going on around me but laser focused. When they opened the door all the way my heart was hammering away but I couldn't wait to jump! And then we did. It was so much more than anything I could have expected and I jumped 2 more times that day. My friend wasn't really feeling it which is weird because he's getting his pilots license. Anyway, I called back and signed up for the AFF class which I'll be starting in 2 days. I was so excited when I paid for the course I couldn't sleep. So I'll take any advice or suggestions or comments you can provide, being completely new to it all. Thanks!

blue skies

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Run away. Fast and far. Before you know it, you will be eating Ramen & hotdogs and living in a van, down by the runway.

But it sounds like it might be too late already.

For serious suggestions:

Download and read the SIM (Skydiver's Information Manual). Available free from USPA. Brian Germain has a couple of good books, The Parachute and It's Pilot and Transcending Fear. Worth a read.

You might also take a look at the Skydiving Duck cartoons. A lighthearted but uncannily accurate portrayal of the AFF process. There's a fair amount about fear in there too.

Try not to spend too much time on here. There's a lot of good info, but there's also a lot of garbage. At your experience level, it's hard to discern between the two. Never, never ever tell your instructor "But I read on DZ.com that I'm supposed to..."

Your friend didn't feel it. He didn't get it. Not everyone does. Being a pilot makes very little difference. I know pilots that are avid jumpers and ones who would only jump if there was no chance of surviving the landing (and maybe not even then).

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[JWill47 0]

Haha I appreciate the warnings. I've actually stayed away from most of the info and have been reading about others experiences. And I love ramen!

blue skies

[Bob_Church 7]

JWill47

Haha I appreciate the warnings. I've actually stayed away from most of the info and have been reading about others experiences. And I love ramen!

I mention this because it fits in with something I'm doing now, or trying to do. What I'm doing would be a lot easier with more data.
What I'm saying is don't slack off on your logbook. For your first jumps you'll obsessively write down every detail. Try to not get out of that habit after a few dozen or hundred jumps. Someday in the future you'll wish you had instead of trying to piece scenarios together by asking other jumpers.
It's like commenting code. It doesn't always seem important but it is.

[JWill47 0]

Would you recommend a physical logbook over an app or spreadsheet, or should I think about both?

blue skies

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

JWill47

Would you recommend a physical logbook over an app or spreadsheet, or should I think about both?

Which ever you are most comfortable with.

I will agree with Bob on the reasonably comprehensive logging of jumps.
I like to note who was there, what the plan was (exit, my position, formations planned and my positions), what really happened (which can be quite funny sometimes), pattern quality, landing location and quality and anything unusual or notable (had a bald eagle come check me out under canopy one time - that was really cool).

I know a few people who stopped logging jumps once they reached the point where they didn't really have to and every one of them regretted it.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Bob_Church 7]

JWill47

Would you recommend a physical logbook over an app or spreadsheet, or should I think about both?

I'd definitely recommend both. You can make notes of any sort and get other jumpers' signatures in the physical one, and look up things in the computer version, then maybe even go to the paper logbook for more details.

Bob