Cutaway68 4 #26 February 8, 2011 Quote Skydiving is alive and well in spite of challenges from a difficult economy. Lots of adventure to be had, lots of people to jump with at hundreds of nice drop zones. More options now than ever in what type of skydiving you can choose to participate in; FS, VRW, FF, CF, S&A, swooping, wingsuits, whatever. There are more gear options than ever as well. You can find large boogies, small boogies, competitions, international events, big-way/records, coaches, multiple turbine DZs, zoo dives, tubes, high altitude, jumps with inflatible toys...and the list goes on damn near every weekend. Or you can simply go make a hop and pop if searching for a few minutes of solitude. Try not to be so negative...nothing is "killing" skydiving. Go out and make some skydives and maybe you will change your mind... +1 Don't Pull Low... Unless You ARE!!! The pessimist says, "It can't get any worse than this." The optimist says, "Sure, it can." Be fun, have safe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #27 February 8, 2011 Quote Quote My personal feeling is we've made jumping too safe. Used to be if you were the type who could do this you were a different breed. Now anyone can learn. It's not so unique anymore. I agree, we used to be cool. Now skydivers just seem like a bunch of dorks. great response, old-timer "we used to be so cool, now look at those idiots, thinking because they jump from a plane they are now skydivers". please remind me not to share the plane with you should i ever be around, i dont want to get in the way of your inflated ego.. what a crapload of BS!“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,460 #28 February 8, 2011 Naw, trust me -- we were dorks too . Just as some young'uns today think they invented cool, some golden oldies think it died with them. Both are wrong. I know what's really cool Wendy P. 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) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #29 February 8, 2011 Quote Naw, trust me -- we were dorks too . Just as some young'uns today think they invented cool, some golden oldies think it died with them. Both are wrong. I know what's really cool Wendy P. Oh yeah???? I'm cooler than you are...well, except for the boobies, of course. ...and don't ever mention die to old guys. Second thought: After considering the importance of boobies, you're decidedly cooler than I am. My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #30 February 8, 2011 In my opinion, costs are a major factor. All too often I see pumped up tandems coming down wanting to take up skydiving...until training and gear costs are mentioned.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SStewart 13 #31 February 8, 2011 Quote great response, old-timer "we used to be so cool, now look at those idiots, thinking because they jump from a plane they are now skydivers". please remind me not to share the plane with you should i ever be around, i dont want to get in the way of your inflated ego.. what a crapload of BS Oh, and we used to have a sense of humor too! Thanks for proving my point.Onward and Upward! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #32 February 8, 2011 Quote Quote great response, old-timer "we used to be so cool, now look at those idiots, thinking because they jump from a plane they are now skydivers". please remind me not to share the plane with you should i ever be around, i dont want to get in the way of your inflated ego.. what a crapload of BS Oh, and we used to have a sense of humor too! Thanks for proving my point. your evil grin or smirk is easy to see on my screen. probably first rule of communication over the interwebz, if you try to be ironic or sarcastic, mark it as such. and even then it probably gets misunderstood. apparently there ARE actually people thinking this way. reading around here proves that point.“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DSE 5 #33 February 8, 2011 Odd that the sport is "dying." Active USPA Membership is up. Overall tandem jumps are up. AFFs are not declining. Maybe outside the USA? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #34 February 8, 2011 QuoteIn my opinion, costs are a major factor. All too often I see pumped up tandems coming down wanting to take up skydiving...until training and gear costs are mentioned. +1 It's a bit spendy. But what can you do? For about $3k you can buy a bike and gear and ride for a good 12 months. I think AFF is what? $1500? And then the rental of equipment to get to 20 is another $500?Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robinheid 0 #35 February 8, 2011 Quote Quote In my opinion, costs are a major factor. All too often I see pumped up tandems coming down wanting to take up skydiving...until training and gear costs are mentioned. +1 It's a bit spendy. But what can you do? For about $3k you can buy a bike and gear and ride for a good 12 months. I think AFF is what? $1500? And then the rental of equipment to get to 20 is another $500? What can we do? Go back to the future and re-introduce static line jumping... it's a way for a lot of people to put their knees in the breeze for a low $$$ investment. Instead of popping for $300+ for ONE jump, they could make 5 or 6 or 7 for the same price, plus they get to hang around the DZ more and slowly get into the "scene" which in and of itself can bring some of them back. Roger Nelson understood this with his "100" and "200" and "300" clubs that created social subsets of people so they could be integrated more quickly into the community. The problem is, as I've stated many times over many years, most of today's DZOs, instructors and even the IEs and S&TAs have no familiarity with static line jumping so they immediately denounce it as old-fashioned, etc etc ad nauseam instead of looking at the economics of it. And I'm not talking about going back to the future with static line PROGRESSION, but to offer static line jumping for people who only want to -- or ony have the time and $$$ -- to make a few jumps a year. A static line concession would allow those enthusiastic post-first-tandem jumpers to be steered to an affordable (in terms of time as well as $$$) path to keep jumping until they: 1) figure out where to get the time and $$ to become an autonomous jumper; or 2) decide it's not for them; or 3) decide that making 4-5 jumps a year is JUST RIGHT. It would not be hard: Every Saturday and Sunday morning at 0800 hours (or by more expensive appointment at other times), there is a static line retrain class, so that after you've done your initial training, you can go through a review, practice ERs in a hanging harness, etc, then go make a jump or two or three and go home. No "progression" involved: it's just static line jumping, period, always with a jumpmaster, always with significant supervision for which they pay a premium price over a normal jump slot. No, they don't pay $200 for 2 slcots on the plane (tandem) or more for an AFF jump, but they do pay, say, $75 for each jump they make -- from 3000 feet instead of 12000 feet, and with a jumpmaster who gets a piece of each static line jumper fee and therefore may end up making more $$$ than by doing tandems or AFF. Plus if you have a low ceiling, the planes still turn and the JMs still make money. If you want to become a licensed jumper, then go to AFF or whatever that DZ ioffers. Very simple, and most importantly, it widens the potential market from only people with time/money/inclination to be enthusiasts to a much broader segment of people who want to be occasional participants. This is really a no-brainer, yet fashion, and a stubborn that's-the-way-we've-alwasy-done-it mentality, keeps us from adopting this simple little thing that could make our sport way more healthy from a financial and particpant standpoint. And please, save the "currency-is-safer" arguments. They do not apply, because this group of static line jumpers would always receive the same level of supervision as first-jump students. SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.) "The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonstark 8 #36 February 8, 2011 Quote A static line concession would allow those enthusiastic post-first-tandem jumpers to be steered to an affordable (in terms of time as well as $$$) path to keep jumping until they: 1) figure out where to get the time and $$ to become an autonomous jumper; or 2) decide it's not for them; or 3) decide that making 4-5 jumps a year is JUST RIGHT. Very simple, and most importantly, it widens the potential market from only people with time/money/inclination to be enthusiasts to a much broader segment of people who want to be occasional participants. I like this idea as supporting another market niche. Some DZs have bought a Cessna to cater to the swoop market because it is difficult to accommodate them out of their Otter or King Air. It's about seeing a need and filling the gap. Might be a good opportunity. jon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
