airtwardo 7 #26 May 29, 2009 Quote Quote Quote When did you realize that you're not just trying skydiving a few times, but you've actually fallen in love with the sport? Jump number 2. I was young & dumb, but I knew I'd stumbled upon something that was life altering in more ways than I could fathom. I was right. Yep, except when I did jump number 2, I wasn't young and dumb anymore. Old and foolish maybe, but I sure wouldn't want it any other way. Young at heart Granny...young at heart! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finch 0 #27 May 30, 2009 AFF 6 when i nailed my exit and then nailed the backflip, that moment my confidence went sky high and i haven't looked back."Never go full retard" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LyraM45 0 #28 May 30, 2009 Probably when I was 5 or 6. I grew up next door to Xkeys and always watched the jumpers coming in under canopy. I turned to my mother when I was really young, maybe around 9, and told her I was going to be a skydiver. I also knew I wanted to be a pilot, and I was always into astronomy and the weather. So, I guess I always loved the sky... maybe something I was born with. Neither of my parents are into any of that stuff. Went to the DZ for my first jump when I was 13, got told to come back on my 18th birthday, and I did... so that was that. (and I also went to college at FL Tech to fly and got an aviation bachelors, and now doing a masters in aeronautics/aviation human factors..... so I guess I stuck with everything after my epiphany when I was 5. lol ) So, anywho... I consider my epiphany to have occurred way before I started jumping. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
k-dubjumps 0 #29 May 30, 2009 I wanted to try it after my dad started jumping when I was 12. Knew I had to do it when I went on my first observer ride when I was 13/14. My parents and I lied about my age and I made my first static line on my 15th birthday. It was also the day I had my first reserve ride and was tossed across the sky after cutting away from a spinning malfunction. That's the instant adrenaline became my crack. 18 years later, I'm still an addict. Adrenaline is my crack DPH #3 D.S. #16 FAG #12 Muff Brother #4406 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BaronVonBoll 0 #30 May 30, 2009 on jump 18 my daughter was on the plane doing her first self pull at the age of 17. when I video taped her leaving the plane I knew that this was something my kids and I were going to do together for many years. Jumping is fun...but.. jumping together with familly is incredible!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverbry 0 #31 May 30, 2009 Jump#1 Nothing special just fell in love with the whole jumping scene Bry-------------------------------------------------- Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!! D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NealFitz 0 #32 May 31, 2009 I had always wanted to skydive but didnt know there was a centre in northern Ireland so it was just a pipe dream. as soonas i seen the stand at the university advertising the uni club and signed straight up regardless of price. as soon as I did jump number one on static line, it was so surreal under canopy. couldnt hear a thing except the flutter of the slider and just thought WOW Dudeist Skydiver #170 You do not need a parachute to skydive, you only need one to skydive again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #33 May 31, 2009 There was supposed to be an epiphany?I want my money back! "There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyPainter 0 #34 June 1, 2009 Hooked: Watching jumpers land at the DZ while waiting for my first jump - Tandem. Hooked again: After Tandem landed, signed right up for AFF. Line and .....: Cat A - first canopy flight by myself. Sinker: - First Instructor release for free fall in AFFLive deliberately; Dare greatly; Land gently SkyPainter SOS 1304, POPS 10695, DS 118 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyIsLove83 0 #35 June 4, 2009 I am reading through these and I get more and more excited! I have done 2 tandem jumps and start Level 1 AFF this Saturday. It amazes me that this can get better and better every single time. I haven't even experienced anything yet! Wow, I am definitely happy I got into this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sapphire 0 #36 June 4, 2009 I've not yet had my 'epiphany' ... but I can't wait, the suspense is killing me! SkyIsLove... congrats on the tandems and making the decision to continue through AFF... I'm on C1 and loving it! Good luck! "One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar" ~ Helen Keller Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pirana 0 #37 June 4, 2009 Knew before my tandem landed I was all in. I was so into it, but so calm that my TM asked if I was OK. I was just taking it in and thinking, definitely, this is me. Had kind of a next level awareness leap on jump #40. Distinctly remember it as the first jump where I was able to completely relax, absorb it all in real time, see and understand the adjustments and results from exit to landing, and recall all details afterward. It was just a 2-way from a Cessna, but with a real cool coach (John Berger). First points on the hill to boot. I use that when jumping with new people to guage where they are at. How much do they seem to be taking in real time, and how much detail can they recall accurately shortly after landing. I detect the real veterans doing same for me." . . . 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyIsLove83 0 #38 June 4, 2009 pirana - I love your picture! My favorite. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick 67 #39 June 4, 2009 Level 1 after waiting for winds to calm down I was on the sunset load. Beautiful stand up landing with the sun going down behind me when I saw the smile on my instructors face I could wee he know I was hooked Second one was about jump 40 when I went to the search at skydive u and found out I really could flyYou can't be drunk all day if you don't start early! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerRamjet 0 #40 June 4, 2009 About jump 12 or 13. I was doing one of my 30 sec delays and the jumpmaster (Jim Hooper) followed me out, swooped down in front of me, and grabbed my wrists. I knew right then that I'd just finshed falling and just started flying (ok, so he was doing the flying, but could learn!). ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pirana 0 #41 June 4, 2009 Quotepirana - I love your picture! My favorite. Got it off some site with tons of cartoon images. One of these days I'm gonna get around to printing it on sticky paper so I can plaster it on my helmet. I also want the one where he has pulled and the only thing coming off his back is camping gear, and the one that is a view from the top of the cliff with the coyote shaped hole in the ground. Wil E, my hero." . . . 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Inspired 0 #42 June 5, 2009 For me, it was after my second tandem. But now I wonder... is there a bigger and better epiphany yet to come? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #43 June 5, 2009 Two of them... 1. First solo after AFF. Did nothing except relax, float and enjoy the view. 2. High H&P about jump 40 or so. Played in and between the clouds. I met God on that canopy flight.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
SkyIsLove83 0 #44 June 5, 2009 Quote For me, it was after my second tandem. But now I wonder... is there a bigger and better epiphany yet to come? I wonder exactly the same thing. Either way, I look forward to it! SOOOO excited - AFF starts 8AM tomorrow!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr_music11 0 #45 June 5, 2009 September 10,2007 approx 11 am Lodi,CA 1st tandem.... 1 week later I was in AFF, addicted like a crack head. The addrenalin rush lasted literally like 3 days!!! Couldnt go to sleep, woke up WAYYYYY too early.. skies, clouds and large pieces of fabric have NEVER looked the same.If flying is piloting a plane.. then swimming is driving a boat. I know why birds sing.. I skydive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pre7117 0 #46 June 5, 2009 Jump #1 after the static line pulled and the canopy was open. Once I saw the world from 3,000', that was itHELLFISH 429 POPS 11113 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dj_smokie 0 #47 June 13, 2009 Have epiphanies all the time (with 45 jumps). First one occured on jump #1. Solo unassisted. Many of my classmates who went through the jump program ahead of me stated that I would not remember my first jump -- how wrong they were! I remember every split second of that jump! I even remember the jumpmaster waving to me as I exited. Once I went over the hill, and was belly to earth, I remember having perfect awareness of where I was in time and space. It was the most surreal experience I have ever had. I remember relaxing and thinking -- this is zen. I am in a perfect state of relaxation and awareness -- and I am thousands of feet off the ground burning through altitude at 120 MPH! I have to say that no jump has ever rivaled that first jump. But I still do have a stupid ass grin on my face when jumping with others or on my way home from the DZ. Everyday of jumping provides epiphanies and new ways of looking at my life and the world. It's a journey not a destination! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OlympiaStoica 0 #48 June 13, 2009 Jump #1 ... it was love at first jump (tandem) for me. I was planing to go jump, check it off my list and move on, but once I stepped out of that airplane (well, more like being pushed out by my tandem master while I was kicking and screaming) I knew I've stumbled upon something life changing. I landed ... but never really landed for about ... 3 days. Experienced jumpers at the DZ took a look at me and said to each other "look at her ... she got bitten by the bug ... she'll be back". They were right ... few days later I was in first jump course. O Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyPainter 0 #49 June 30, 2009 LOL...I wasn't really sure about it all until I did my Water Training with YOU! I figured, Wow! This is gonna be Kewl!Live deliberately; Dare greatly; Land gently SkyPainter SOS 1304, POPS 10695, DS 118 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bocabruce1 0 #50 June 30, 2009 Definition of epiphany on the Web: a divine manifestation My first tandem and I knew! Completely relaxed and full awareness. Start AFF July 10th...more epiphanies coming!bocabruce Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
