Motivation for First Jump

[hudsonderek 0]

my parents bought me a tandem for my 20th birthday. a year later I started flying the jump plane for the place I did my tandem at, and there was a cute jumper there that kept telling me I should get into the sport. one of the tandem masters one day came up to me and said (how about you take that static line course? and a few hours later I was out on the step getting ready to jump waiting for the signal. that's where it all started.

[grannyinthesky 0]

My first skydive was a field trip for a physics class I was taking at the community college where I teach. Although skydiving had sounded interesting to me, in all my 57 years, I had never seriously considered trying it before the field trip. When I sat on the ground after landing on my tandem jump, I remember thinking "I could do this again." That was with my ears pounding from congestion that I didn't realize I had or that it was a problem. A couple of hours later, I was thinking that I could do a tandem on my birthday every year. Ears still huring like hell. About two hours after that and not caring that my ears still pounded, I was calling the dz to find out about starting training. What keeps bringing me back is not only the excitement of jumping, but the challenge inherent in the sport. It's the opportunity to live life in a way that says I am really alive. Now if the weather would just cooperate so I could get in the air again.....

"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

[faulknerwn 38]

I had wanted to do it since I was a little kid (it was on a list I wrote at age 12 of things I wanted to do before I turned 30). I was in graduate school, just before exam week, and I felt like jumping off something. Called up a dz on Friday, drove 3 hours, took a static line course on Saturday, did 2 jumps that day and never looked back!

[LloydDobbler 2]

There was this girl. (We all know where this was going).

I had a thing for her. Some friends of hers were skydivers (~13 jumps each), and one night they (& a bunch of alcohol) convinced her to go the next weekend. She called up everyone in her phone book and invited them, because she wanted peer pressure to keep her from chickening out. I said 'sure' (& I was apparently the only one).

She was supposed to pick me up at 7:30AM the next Sunday. She called at 7:15 and told me she was backing out. "But my friends are really cool, you should totally go." I had paid a deposit, so I went up, in a foul mood, with the two people I didn't know (they're now good jumping buddies). According to them, I was the most calm, collected tandem they ever saw.

They didn't realize I was processing being 'stood up' by the girl I was digging on. After that first jump, decided I needed to do it a few more times and get good at it. It seemed like a good challenge.

Needless to say, I never hooked up with the one who bailed. But I'm currently dating an awesome girl (a 100% certifiable badass skydiver).

Signatures are the new black.

[denete 3]

Last year I came to the realization that "someday" never comes.

SCR #14809

"our attitude is the thing most capable of keeping us safe"
(look, grab, look, grab, peel, punch, punch, arch)

[virgin-burner 1]

kinda a midlife-crisis thingy.. altough i thought about it probably when i turned twenty or something. like, whats the coolest sport you possibly could do. the answer for me was skydiving. well, never had the time, never had the money.. suffered major depression, got all the meds, all the docs, nothing helped really, so i stopped that. wanted to do something to change the direction my life had taken. thought about skydiving again. watched a lot of videos that time..

the rest is history: went to the dropzone, checked everything out, said i was gonna be back in a month or so, did aff, got the license.. never even considered doing a tandem. not even a year and 103 jumps later, all i can think of is jumping from planes, check the sky for being jumpable or not, annoy all my friends about it and try to get them coming..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[Jazzthieve 0]

Why I started jumping? I get bored real easily.

[mamajumps 0]

My story isnt that interesting, but I made my first jump because my ex-husband (then husband) wouldnt shut up about it. For a year I listened to him go on and on and on. Dragging me to DZ's , showing me videos and again endless bantering. So I decided just to shut him up, I would do a tandem for my 27th bday. I signed up for AFF starting the very next weekend. Skydiving has changed my life in ways words cannot convey. Im so glad I made the decision to jump, just wish I would have done it sooner. Whats funny is, I grew up with several large DZ's within an hour of me and I never knew it was something I could just go do....

[airdvr 210]

It was originally on a dare with these guys.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[rehmwa 2]

Well, a few friends and I were traveling across the country to Mexico after High School graduation and before the draft took us into the military. It was difficult times, and we wanted to go south to meet our friend Dom to celebrate.

We were driving along and having those little arguments that friends have when suddenly we saw this sign "Pecos Parachute School".

well, one thing led to another...

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rehmwa 2]

On assignment with the FBI, I was trying to infiltrate a ring of bank robbing, mask wearing, surfers.

I got caught up in the sub-culture of risk taking and partying and had a bit of a time in losing myself in this circle of 'friends'. I even fell for one of the women, skinny and funny looking, but wild enough in her own way.

Anyway, it took a bit to earn their trust, but I got in. But right about the time I had enough evidence and was ready to make the bust, we had one last bank job to make. But was I surprised, when at the end of the summer, they take me to an airport and start throwing rigs into a very nice airplane - all the while talking about 'one last speed star for the summer'.

well, one thing led to another



actually, it was a lot like when I pretended to cut away and join a speed star team to catch some drug smugglers..... or was it to retrieve some information to protect the identity of our spy network. I can't remember.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Sletzer 3]

I'm pretty sure your signature is from Pee Wee's Playhouse- the floating geanie head in the box.

Wow

I will be kissing hands and shaking babies all afternoon. Thanks for all your support! *bows*

SCS #8251

[airdvr 210]

Quote

I'm pretty sure your signature is from Pee Wee's Playhouse- the floating geanie head in the box.

Wow

Ding ding ding...we have a winner!

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[LloydDobbler 2]

Quote

On assignment with the FBI, I was trying to infiltrate a ring of bank robbing, mask wearing, surfers.

I got caught up in the sub-culture of risk taking and partying and had a bit of a time in losing myself in this circle of 'friends'. I even fell for one of the women, skinny and funny looking, but wild enough in her own way.

Anyway, it took a bit to earn their trust, but I got in. But right about the time I had enough evidence and was ready to make the bust, we had one last bank job to make. But was I surprised, when at the end of the summer, they take me to an airport and start throwing rigs into a very nice airplane - all the while talking about 'one last speed star for the summer'.

well, one thing led to another



actually, it was a lot like when I pretended to cut away and join a speed star team to catch some drug smugglers..... or was it to retrieve some information to protect the identity of our spy network. I can't remember.

Okay, I just spit coffee all over my monitor. Ease up on the Guy Manos, will ya?

Signatures are the new black.

[Lastchance 0]

I wanted to jump as far back as I can remember. Ever since my dad gave me my first parachute toy. Then I seen the Golden Knights perform at the National Scout Jamboree in Idaho in 1973. Those guys were instantly my heros. From then on I knew that someday it would be part of my life.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[Lastchance 0]

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[KennC 0]

That particular Saturday morning I was returning from a business trip and decided to just stop in and have a coffee with them .. I met a couple of great people who invited me to sit in on the course while I was waiting for them to get there.

They never ever did show up, .. I jumped twice!! and went back the next day .. good people and they had a good instructor

[byates 0]

If you are ever in the LA area I highly recommend you see Point Break Live. It's a spoof play based up the movie and the pick Keanu's character out of the office.

here is a link - http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/section/synopsis/show/128881

[navaga 0]

Got sick of being frightened silly travelling on riggity commercial airlines and wised up!!- The geeza who declared that flying is one of the safest ways of travelling, then he must have been destined to be a skydiver...

'Fall gently, live endlessly...'

[BigTom99 0]

you should add "the movie Point Break" to the list

[crashtested 0]

This may sound a bit strange.....

I started to get freaked out about flying... (I became that person who starts shouting "we're all going to die" when you get turbulence)

After a particular flight back from NY I realised it was getting out of control (I spent 6 hours shaking backwards and forwards, and refused a beautiful stewedess's offer of helping me in any way she could ;) So...I decided the only rational thing to do would be to learn how to jump out of a plane and practice flying on my own, On level 5 AFF My fear of small planes stopped, and jump number 60 odd i got back onto a Transatlantic jet again, I still shout out we're all going to die from time to time, but thats becasue i never really lost my sense of humour. And if you shout it enough they give you tranqualizers which sell for mucho $$ on the open market!

To this day I still shit myself a little on the way up, but on the plus side for you others, I don't hang around in the door, I can't wait to get out of that flying deathtrap!

[IseeElvis 0]

Never saw the inside of an airplane , I figured that it would be cool to jump on my first flight.
It took about 70 jumps before my first landing in an airplane.