What whuffo questions annoy you the most?

[spootch 0]

Well I gotta say, hands down, the whuffo question that annoys me most is from my wife


"Can we go home yet?"

[pairashooter 0]

When someone asks me, "What if your chute doesn't open?" I, of course, say there is another chute. Naturally they then ask, "Well, what if that one doesn't open?" I then say, well, I would then take my left shoe off and put it in my right back pocket. With a confused look they wonder what good that would do, and I tell them none, but it would give the FAA investigators something to think about.

Chris Scaife

[Jbag 0]

after showing someone one of my video's on my phone they have to ask, "you held this phone up the entire skydive?" i find it amusing

IHYD

[silent_pumpkin 0]

Yes! Although not as a question, but my father-in-law stated bluntly that "you just DON'T jump out of perfectly good airplanes!" He also loves to tell me "only bird shit and idiots..."

Interestingly enough, he came out to show support for my first solo jump off AFF and I was praying that he would stfu or risk having a skygod beat his ass. He played nice and might actually do a tandem next summer, ha!

[ABerry83 1]

Mostly it's not the questions I get asked, but the judgmental looks/comments I get that bothers me the most..."You're just crazy" or "I hope you get it out of your system soon" or "there's something wrong with you"...etc... I've just gotten tired of the comments and don't tell anyone about it unless they explicitly ask...and even then it's like prying teeth to get me to talk about it because the comments eventually get made in conversation anyways. It's kinda sad really...what's so wrong with me enjoying life in a way different than yours??? Why be so quick to publicly judge when I don't judge you at all? You can ride motorcycles and race cars and no one bats an eye, but jumping out a plane is considered "suicide" ....huh???? Just makes me mad sometimes....

[murps2000 86]

I have a responce for one, anyway.

If there's such a thing as a perfectly good airplane, why were parachutes invented?

[kj126 0]

But with you it was almost suicide, wish I had video of those AFF's... bwahahaha

Had to give ya shit A, see ya this weekend.

And better yet, just tell them i get to do 3 ways every weekend, and slowly walk away..

I Am Sofa King We Todd Did!!

[Travman 6]

I don't mind most of the questions, but the one that annoys me the most is "How do you pack the chute?"

But the most annoying thing is people that tell you all things fall at the same rate. Most people understand if you explain that this is without wind resistance, but I have had a few that seem to think they are the best physics expert in the country.

[labrys 0]

You left out the most common whuffo question:

When can I expect payment?

Owned by Remi #?

[JohnDeere 0]

I dont talk to whuffo's about jumping, but i do get sick of people at the DZ asking if I've ever thought about taking up bowling

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[Andy9o8 2]

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I call bullshit on any skydiver that says they get annoyed when they get asked questions. Show me a skydiver that doesnt enjoy talking about skydiving and I will show you someone that doesnt exist.

In that case, here's a picture of me:

Me

[NovaTTT 2]

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I will show you someone that doesnt exist.

I'd like to see that.

"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

[BillyVance 34]

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I will show you someone that doesnt exist.

I'd like to see that.

Sure, see the link in post #61

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[silent_pumpkin 0]

I must say that most questions don't annoy me. Maybe because I am still a newbie and enjoy talking to anyone who will listen to me - my coworkers genuinely ask how my jumps went over the weekend.

Although, the one time I felt frustrated was trying to explain to my sister why I couldn't land in a certain area when my landing pattern/altitude/wind direction were taken into account. She just kept asking 'why not?'....sigh.

[feuergnom 28]

my standard answers to whuffos standard questions

question: what if the reserve also totally fails?

answer: then we have a really bad day

question: and how many times did this happen to you?

answer: twice yesterday

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[Baksteen 84]

Why Norway?

---

I don't hide the fact that I skydive, I'm just selective in who I tell about it. My cubicle (if I'd had one) wouldn't be covered in photos and I don;t tell people how 'extreme' I am - but I do try to answer peoples questions to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps that will help in a small, small way with how people see the sport.

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1) Why would anyone jump from a perfectly good airplane?
2)Ever seen one of them suits with the wings?
3)What's it like?
4)What if the chute doesn't open?
5)Is it scary?

1) Why not?
2) Yes I have
3) It's like I found a piece of the puzzle I didn't even realise I was missing.
4) You got a backup, a so called 'reserve parachute' whihc you cannot pack yourself. These parachutes are packed by so called 'Riggers' who are specially trained to pack, inspect and maintain reserve parachutes. The chance of both parachutes not opening is very small - bu still there. This is something every skydiver is aware of, but the risk is deemed acceptable.
5)Of course; especially the first (few) time(s). Remember, you are going to do something that goes against all your instincts, you really have to overcome yourself. Perhaps the second time is even scarier, as you now know what will happen once you exit the plane. But with experience this fear will gradually be replaced by a feeling you have necer experienced before. When you are on a skydive, you truly live in the moment. Nothing exists but you, the skydive and if applicable the people you are jumping with.
Sometimes some of the fear comes back though - if you do Something Big for the first time (first freefall, first formation skydive) or haven't jumped in a while.




In response to the original question as posed in the thread title:
There are only a few whuffo questions that annoy me; chief among those are

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Whuffo don't you know this topic has been discussed already?

and

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Whuffo didn't you do a search?

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[ABerry83 1]

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But with you it was almost suicide, wish I had video of those AFF's... bwahahaha

Had to give ya shit A, see ya this weekend.

And better yet, just tell them i get to do 3 ways every weekend, and slowly walk away..

Haha...after last weekend I can no longer say I'm a 3-way virgin. Yeah, I guess it does make one wonder how I ever got off AFF...after freakin jump #15! Just doing my part to keep the doors open for other jumpers ...

[skydived19006 4]

Not that it's annoying;

What's it like?

Somewhere between a car crash and good sex.

Feel free to use.

I had a fifth grade son of another skydiver tell me that his science teacher informed him that people can breath through their skin in freefall. I called bullshit on his teacher. Told the kid to ask his teacher to do a little experiment; Draw a bathtub full of water, get naked, place fan blowing at said bathtub, stick head under water pointing ass at fan, maintain 10 min.

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[Veritas3777 0]

Ha I totally understand where you're coming from. I'm 6'7" and I am a server and college student. People love to comment on my height. And they always seem so pround like it was an original comment. "Do you play basketball?" "No." "Well you should." Does this imply that I should play professionally? I didn't realize it was that simple.. or maybe they just think I should play in my freetime. Whatever, it's funny to me. The one that I refuse to even dignify with a response is "you're tall." No shit

[Andy9o8 2]

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I call bullshit on any skydiver that says they get annoyed when they get asked questions. Show me a skydiver that doesnt enjoy talking about skydiving and I will show you someone that doesnt exist.

In that case, here's a picture of me:

Me

OK, in fairness, sure I enjoy talking about skydiving - but mainly only with other skydivers. One exception might be a prospective student who really, truly does have an interest in partaking in the sport. Maybe other types of aviators or extreme sports participants who really are genuinely interested. But just to answer the same, old questions to satisfy the morbid, sometimes slightly-derisive curiosity of someone whose bottom line is they'd never do it themselves in a million years, and think I'm being suicidal and/or selfish to my family? Pass.

[ABerry83 1]

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...But just to answer the same, old questions to satisfy the morbid, sometimes slightly-derisive curiosity of someone whose bottom line is they'd never do it themselves in a million years, and think I'm being suicidal and/or selfish to my family? Pass.

Agreed.

[JohnMitchell 16]

As an instructor, I'm used to answering all kinds of skydiving questions fairly easily, and sometimes it's even fun to talk about some of the amazing things I've gotten to see or do skydiving. I don't like to have someone bring up the deaths or injuries we have in the sport. As skydivers we've learned to somehow deal with it. Outsiders don't really understand that.

[Para-cutie 0]

I plan weddings at a country club (that I got to jump into for the 4th of July) so most of the members know I'm a skydiver. The question I hate most is when a bride asks if I won't jump again until after their wedding. I just laugh.

I'm a little teapot short and stout, here is my handle and here's a note from my shrink. He says I'm getting better. Last week I thought I was a toaster oven!
-Dot Warner

[JerryBaumchen 1,354]

Hi Tuna,

In 45 yrs of putzing around in this 'skydiving thingie' I have never been annoyed by any Whufo questions. I have always felt that they simply want to know and I try to give them an honest answer.

My son is a kayaker and sometimes when I am with him & his kayaking buddies I am very sure that he just rolls his eyes at some of my questions.

JerryBaumchen

[pirana 0]

When they point to the trailor ghetto and ask what they are for.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley