Price breakdown from then until now

[SCS422 27]

When I started At Elsinore in  1970 I paid $150.00 bucks for my containers, canopy and reserve chest mounted.  I had a 7TU and a 24 reserve B4 containers.  I then moved up to a PC Church Window I bought from Dick Gernand for $300 and I had a custom piggy back made for $200 and I bought a navy 26 for 50/75 bucks.  I jumped that for years until I got a 1.5 LoPo copy of a PC that packed up real small for $150.00.  Custom jump suit for $65.00 Then I had another Piggy back made for about $300.00 for  Hank  aschuto (sp) canopies, those were free for 10 man speed star team jumping and lastly I got a Paradyctal for free from Jim Hanbury.

I posted this because my new rig is going to cost me north of 10 large, custom containers, new 9 cell, new reserve, AAD, Jump suit, helmet.  The good old days are GONE!   sob, moan

Edited July 29, 2024 by SCS422

[wmw999 2,439]

The first rig I owned was bought used for $400; a couple years later I bought a custom Wonderhog Sprint (pre-vector) for $400. But I think I paid about $2500 for the only new complete rig I ever bought; Mirage (the Mike Cerasoli one that followed the Rapod Transit) with a Firefly and a K-20. But I tend to stick with gear for a long time. My husband just bought an upsize rig for himself, for $5500. 10 years old, but pristine and a great fit  

Enjoy your new rig

Wendy P. 

[gowlerk 2,190]

2 hours ago, SCS422 said:

The good old days are GONE!   sob, moan

All part of the escalating cost of skydiving that is driving young people away from the sport.

[SCS422 27]

Yeah, I don't know how young people can afford that kind of money for gear and that does not even count the jump tickets, when I started jumping it was like 8.50 to 12,5. 

[JerryBaumchen 1,354]

5 minutes ago, SCS422 said:

Yeah, I don't know how young people can afford that kind of money for gear and that does not even count the jump tickets, when I started jumping it was like 8.50 to 12,5. 

Hi Larry,

In '64, when I started, it was $5.25 to go to 12.5.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Comparing wages/salaries from '64 to today, jump prices are less today.

[chuckakers 425]

3 hours ago, SCS422 said:

When I started At Elsinore in  1970 I paid $150.00 bucks for my containers, canopy and reserve chest mounted.  I had a 7TU and a 24 reserve B4 containers.  I then moved up to a PC Church Window I bought from Dick Gernand for $300 and I had a custom piggy back made for $200 and I bought a navy 26 for 50/75 bucks.  I jumped that for years until I got a 1.5 LoPo copy of a PC that packed up real small for $150.00.  Custom jump suit for $65.00 Then I had another Piggy back made for about $300.00 for  Hank  aschuto (sp) canopies, those were free for 10 man speed star team jumping and lastly I got a Paradyctal for free from Jim Hanbury.

I posted this because my new rig is going to cost me north of 10 large, custom containers, new 9 cell, new reserve, AAD, Jump suit, helmet.  The good old days are GONE!   sob, moan

Equipment advancements have had a whole lot to do with our advancements in safety. We all say we want safety. The real question is what are we willing to pay for it?

 

 

[SCS422 27]

Quote

True, my safety was called "the last chance cord" and was a length of line attached to the top reserve flap and then to a spot on the harness above the reserve handle, when you pulled your reserve you made sure you pulled it also  it also made sure the flaps came apart.  My reserve openings  always happened quicker than I could get to the cord .   I only recall a couple of AAD's during the late 70's

 

Edited July 30, 2024 by SCS422

[JerryBaumchen 1,354]

49 minutes ago, SCS422 said:

 

Hi Larry,

Re:   "the last chance cord" 

I recall that they were also called The Last Hope Rope.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Talk about going down Memory Lane.

 

Edited July 30, 2024 by JerryBaumchen

[wmw999 2,439]

It was often called the Jesus String or the Jesus Rope in my circles. A friend of mine put his own onto a Starlite container after a notable (cleared at 400') container lock on a Piglet in our area. Me, I lived dangerously and didn't.

Wendy P.

[SethInMI 173]

10 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Comparing wages/salaries from '64 to today, jump prices are less today.

quite a bit less. 8.50 in 1970 dollars is 70 in 2024 dollars.  

[gowlerk 2,190]

18 minutes ago, SethInMI said:

quite a bit less. 8.50 in 1970 dollars is 70 in 2024 dollars.  

Not for me with a starting point in 1992. Jumps were $15 CAD then which is only $28.29 now. Jumps here are $47 CAD plus 5% tax. Which is about $34 USD currently. But I think what is more important is the decline in disposable income for younger people who are paying more for rent and other priorities.

Edited July 30, 2024 by gowlerk

[Tovo 4]

Speaking as a young person who runs a university skydiving club. Yeah, it’s really difficult cost wise, especially due to AFF, which is completely unaffordable for 90% of students, and for a lot of dropzones in my country that’s the only pathway to a licence on offer. Our club is lucky that its nearest dropzone still does category system training, but even then it’s a difficult sell.

Even as a licensed jumper, skydiving is 90% of my disposable income, pretty much our entire club budget goes to making the sport as affordable and accessible as possible.

Its not a sport you can do as a hobby at my age, it has to be a passion not only because of the money, but also because weekends are for a lot of students the only free time they have, and most don’t want to spend it at a dropzone in the middle of nowhere on weather hold.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the sport and it’s worth the sacrifice to me. But you have to be a very specific type of person and that’s reflected in the number of people that return to our club for a second jump.

On a more optimistic note, there are some excellent schemes for young people to help offset the cost, such as the Royal Aero Club Trust Bursary

[wmw999 2,439]

Thanks for your perspective; it’s a really important one. Yeah, I started in college, but it was static line, and student jumps were well under $20 US. While that translates to more than $20 now, it doesn’t translate to anything remotely like the $100+ of AFF.

Wendy P. 

[SCS422 27]

It's getting to the area of a "comfortable person sport" not quite "a rich persons  sport" yet although it's getting pretty darn close.

[johnhking1 96]

When I started jumping in 1973, AV gas was 60 cents a gallon, car gas was 30 cents. A 1950's C-182 jump plane cost about $9000 - $10,000. Jumps were $5.00 to 7500 ft, $8.00 to 10,000 ft. New Mini System $250. I paid $125 for a B4 container with a 7TU main and $50 for a 24 ft chest reserve, $15 for a double zipper jump suit.  I was making $1.95 an hour.   I bought a new ParaPlane cloud in 1974 for $575.  In 1977, a skydiver friend and I bought a 1947 Stinson Voyager airplane for $3500.  After I opened my DZ, I got a raise, I was making $2.00 an hour.

[Tovo 4]

1 hour ago, wmw999 said:

Thanks for your perspective; it’s a really important one. Yeah, I started in college, but it was static line, and student jumps were well under $20 US. While that translates to more than $20 now, it doesn’t translate to anything remotely like the $100+ of AFF.

Wendy P. 

Static line is how we train all our students at my club, initial jump and ground course is £150 (with uni club discount) and further student jumps are £40, with £5 back if you pack the rig.

About as affordable as this sport gets in the UK nowadays, but still quite a lot to ask of a student who is balancing rent, food, studying, etc.

Here AFF courses range from £1500 to £2500 depending on dropzone, advance payment, and other factors. Not the sort of money the average 20-something has lying around. Thats before we get into gear, further qualifications, etc.

I'm speaking from a British perspective, but I must say, rig hire in the US seems extortionate, no wonder you guys buy your own stuff ASAP, its £10 hire a jump at my dropzone for licensed skydivers, with £5 back if you pack it.

If it cost what it does in the states to hire a rig I can confidently say the sport would be completely unaffordable to me.