It's a quick death...isn't it?

[dropdeded 0]

Went the roundabout way but according to your profile you are an EMT in Bakersfield, jumped at Taft. I work on a bambulance here in Bakersfield, jump at Taft every so often. PM me if interested.

dropdeded

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The Dude Abides.
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[winsor 236]

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A run in with the earth at terminal speed and you won't feel a thing because you'll be mush in a millisecond

people have bounced and lived

Oh, I'd say "survived."

Natasha: "Boris, darlink! You're alive!"

Boris: "This is living?"


BSBD.

Winsor

[pilatus_p 0]

Can we get some stats on this? SDomeone with USPA / BPA records ... take all the guys and gals that have been jumping since the year whatever. Take out the ones who stopped jumping. HYow many of the ones that signed up way back when are a) dead b) still jumping? Now recalculate the odds.

My second AFF jump was far and away trhe scariest. i figured "Ok I got away with it the first time - it'll never happen again" - thats just natural. But the thing is, a parachute is essentially a machine, and machines have a reliability factor. The better maintained (i.e. packed etc) the parachute is, the more likely it will function to its fullest reliability. That I guess is how come there are people like Doug (CCI at Hinton, UK) who have done over 10,000 jumps, are still jumping and instructing, and who love the sport. And Doug started on Army rounds!

Some people dislike being 'out of control'. If this is you, how about trying Level 1 AFF? You pull your own chute and you fall by yourself, with two instructors holding on and watching you. Or even a static line? Just let gravity do its job, 160 feet later and you are under canopy. Not much freefall though...

As someone said earlier, only way to feel really comfortable is to understand the gear technically. Then it is not just a 'black box' that you must just put faith in - its a machine that you can rely on and believe in. Check this page out - tons of good info!! http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/skydiving.htm

Sorry can't do clickies yet ...

If you are just doing tandems, DONT go and watch the malfunctions section on skydivingmovies.com - this will just put the unnecessary shi*s up you (as we say in the UK). If you are going solo, there is some use in watching them - but ONLY after you have learned how canopies work. Watch lots of happy people tandemming and parachutes depolying perfectly. The more relaxed you are, the better it will go!

If you still have fear trouble, read this

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=26

this

http://www.zct.co.uk/skydivemag/pages/articles/oct99/copingwithfear.htm

and think about buying this:

http://www.bigairsportz.com/publishing.php

"Q. I made a few jumps during the summer and it was incredibly fun. But I'm having a hard time finding the guts to keep going and I certainly don't want to quit. What can I tell myself to be more comfortable?

A. At one time or another in their careers, skydivers have to cope with fear. Jumping out of an aircraft in flight is dangerous and unusual--we should be scared. It takes time and experience to learn to manage that fear. Surprisingly, students often discover that their scariest jump isn't their first. Their second jump is often the most gut-wrenching, or perhaps their fifth or fiftieth. Fear also increases as the time between jumps increases. Getting back in the air after any sort of layoff is guaranteed to churn the stomach. Here's a suggestion: Save enough time, money and good weather so you can jump several times a day for several days in a row. Expect to be really petrified on the first jump of that sequence, especially during the ride to altitude. But, more than likely, you'll land from that jump feeling quite enthusiastic about making another. You'll be much more relaxed on that next jump. Once you make a bunch of jumps in a row, you'll rightfully have a lot more confidence in your equipment, your training and yourself. Fear will diminish dramatically. But expect to be scared again the following weekend, although not quite as much. Expect also to get the heebie-jeebies when you're exposed to a new situation (new equipment, new DZ, different aircraft). For a few new skydivers, the fear never subsides enough, even when they try jumping frequently. In that case, if a sport isn't fun, then why do it?"


Skydiving is scary. Thats why its fun. Being scared is nothing to be ashamed of, and when you jump you may just have to do it scared. Trying to deny your fear will make it worse. But then real courage to me is not 'never being scared' - its doing what you are scared of inspite of it.

HAppy tandems

Ross

http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

[Guest]

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Skydiving is scary. Thats why its fun.

Exactly! I used to have similar fear about the whole death-aspect, but after having gotten my gear, putting jumps on it, that fear is pretty much gone.

My scariest jump wasn't the second one, but my first pack job! Haha, yea, now its not bad. I love feeling the anticipation right before I exit the plane. And yes its scary! That's completely natural, but it's what drives me to do it.

I think from the 2005 USPA survey, that there was something like 2,000,000 skydives made, and 27 fatalities or something...not 100% sure, so don't quote me, but those odds of survival are pretty good I think...

...but I jump just cause it's now my life. I wouldn't do anything else. The feeling of falling from the sky is amazing and if it kills me, then I'll die doing what I love.

[champu 1]

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The better maintained (i.e. packed etc) the parachute is, the more likely it will function to its fullest reliability. That, I guess, is how come there are people like Doug (CCI at Hinton, UK) who have done over 10,000 jumps, are still jumping and instructing, and who love the sport.

Whether you get to make your 10,000th skydive or not depends on such a long list of things before you get to "how you pack your canopy" that I can't help but chuckle at that statement.

[pilatus_p 0]

I'm sure it does. I'm trying to be helpful to the poster and encourage him in his desire to become a skydiver, especially as I was only recently in a similar position. I thought a massive list, hinted at by the 'etc', would be a bit pointless.

Its clear you are an experienced jumper, so maybe you can add a little to the discussion to give b-dog the courage to see his second jump through?

Ross

http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

[CSpenceFLY 1]

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so maybe you can add a little to the discussion to give b-dog the courage to see his second jump through?

Or maybe he should find it within himself.This sport a'int for everyone and no one should be talked into doing it.


.

[pilatus_p 0]

Agreed - but you can give them information that will help them to see their worries from a different angle and perhaps decrease the anxiety - dropzone.com is great for that, and so is a good instructor which I'm sure B_dog will have.

Ross

http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

[kelpdiver 2]

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Agreed - but you can give them information that will help them to see their worries from a different angle and perhaps decrease the anxiety

well if the anxiety is that he may suffer a horribly painful death, well, what can be said? It's true. One of my AFF-Is had a tandem go rather badly and his passenger suffered a double femur. Though living sure beats bleeding to death over an evening at the ER.

[DJmikeD 0]

It is funny I went through the same thing. Reading posts, reading the manual, practicing the cut away techniques. Doing everything that I could to drill this info into my mind. I watched videos of malfunctions, it was not Intel my first spin up that I had to kick out of it, that I realized that I have the ability, and only myself to make this sport as safe as jumping out of a plain as possible. When getting onto a plain I always ask people if I can give them an equipment check. The favor is returned and we both are safer for the check.

For me I am a DJ that signs rather large contracts for a wedding day that is a year away or more. I am not interested in doing a 270 degree turn into a swoop landing. I like My 90 degree turns and to this day trying to make it as soft as possible. The thrill for me is the freefall. also the fact that I am doing something that other dread of doing, and I have a smile on my face while doing it. I love this sport and I love asking questions to the experienced guys on how I can be safer.

"Falling is the easy part, Landing smoothly is the most importent part!
-DJ Mike

[champu 1]

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I'm sure it does. I'm trying to be helpful to the poster and encourage him in his desire to become a skydiver, especially as I was only recently in a similar position. I thought a massive list, hinted at by the 'etc', would be a bit pointless.

Its clear you are an experienced jumper, so maybe you can add a little to the discussion to give b-dog the courage to see his second jump through?

The original post was an inquery as to whether or not burning in at terminal is painful. If this is the only unresolved issue keeping him from making his second jump then the only encouragement I can offer is that, depending on what orientation you hit the ground, you will probably either die instantly or go into a state of shock that will last the rest of your life.

Regarding what you had written...

People that have been around as long as your CCI are certainly testament to one's ability to have a long and rewarding skydiving career. What I was getting at is that it would never occur to me to look at someone with 10,000 jumps and think, "Wow, that guy must maintain his gear and pack really well."

Using gear and packing techniques that don't scare you nor those around you is one part of getting a good canopy over your head. However, you must also know your deployment priorities and be able to execute your emergency proceedures.

Getting a good canopy over your head is one part of surviving each skydive. However, you must also be able to deal with aircraft emergencies, not collide with people in freefall, and land your canopy safely.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Getting a good canopy over your head is one part of surviving each skydive. However, you must also be able to deal with aircraft emergencies, not collide with people in freefall, and land your canopy safely.

And don't forget you have to be able to walk or run safely off of the landing area without being hit by someone else before you can say you survived "that" skydive. But to get to some of the original questions of this thread, sure going in terminal wouldn't result in very much pain. But most skydiving deaths aren't terminal. Most of the time it's some sort of hard landing with some resemblence of fabric being over your head (yes often it's perfectly functioning fabric) and most of the deaths appear to happen several hours after the accident while in the hospital. There, our chances of suffering pain during a fatal skydiving injury is very much a possibility.

Skydiving is not safe and it sure can be as dangerous as you want to make it. If people are afraid of dying in this sport, then they shouldn't be jumping. But people also have to remember that it can happen to them and often it happens as we become even more experienced in this sport. Didn't "D" license holders have the highest fatality statistic the other year? There's not that many sports where your chances of something bad occuring, happens the more experience you get?

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Richards 0]

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Sorry, there's no guarantee of this, and in fact I'd venture that most are not quick. These days accidents tend not to be at terminal, and the person suffers bad internal trauma and bleeding.

Damn. I had always tried to maintain a naive assumption that either it would be instant or I would at least go into shock so fast that I would not be feeling too much. Thanks for ruining that for me.

Richards

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

[MarkM 0]

According to the medical reports on certain people falling out of planes 80 or so years ago, people would die of heart attacks long before hitting the ground, due to the trauma of freefall itself.

So according to them, you don't need to worry about it.

[kai2k1 0]

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My scariest jump wasn't the second one, but my first pack job! Haha, yea, now its not bad. I love feeling the anticipation right before I exit the plane. And yes its scary! That's completely natural, but it's what drives me to do it.

I pulled on my first packjob at 10k... thats how scared i was of fucking it up.. damn that was a long canopy ride under a manta 288...

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

[mr_woosh 0]

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There's not that many sports where your chances of something bad occuring, happens the more experience you get?

I always thought it the ratio of pushing the limits VS getting more skilled that gets you and it can happen in any sport. So for me as a noob it would be interesting to hear your guys opinion on whether accidents with experienced divers are more due to them pushing the limits or due to the simple fact that they jump more often?

[freeflyit 0]

"I was one of the lucky ones to have even been born at all."

I like that.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

I'm sure it's more of a "pushing the limits" sort of thing than frequency of jumps. In fact currency goes a long way towards making what some of us do more manageable and dare I say it, safer. But then again currency leads to pushing the limits. Can you say "Catch-22"?

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Guest]

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I pulled on my first packjob at 10k.

Haha, me too! Opened fine though...

Cept, I didn't mind the long ride, but it was FREEZING up there and I didnt have any gloves, lol. Gotta love those hook turns to get ya down faster.

[b_dog 0]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has felt more scared about the second time around as opposed to the first.

My first experience was pretty calm. The night before, I slept fine. Driving to the DZ, I kept my cool. Hanging out in the hangar with all the other skydivers was a neat experience. I met my tandem instructor, he fitted me up with gear, and I was excited. It was when we boarded the plane that my heart rate began to increase, and by the time we were climbing in the air, I had a mild case of the shakes. Bear in mind I had only flown once before, years earlier. That anxiety was compounded by the knowledge that I would be soon jumping out of the airplane! But being in the company of 13 other experienced daredevils was comforting. I kept my anxiety to my self; I didn't want to look insecure among these pros. So, despite feeling a little sick under my own skin, I kept calm, and it wasn't bad enough to make me think twice about what I was doing.

Then we were approaching altitude (13k feet I think it was) and they opened the door, and that's when I turned white. One by one the people in front of us all jumped out, my instructor fastened us both together real good, and we scooted our way to the edge. I'll never forget that feeling as I was hanging out, staring thousands of feet below me. It was part absolute terror, part absolute adrenaline, part absolute excitement. I don't believe I had ever experienced such a mixture of emotions to that degree. Then we jumped, the fear seemed to have disappeared and it was the best experience of my life (so far at least). Best $150 I ever spent, for sure.

The other cool benefit is that of bragging rights. It's true that not many people would get into this sport, as evidenced shortly after my first jumped when I freely told people, "Guess what I did last week, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane!" People would say, "Damn, you've got some balls" or "Wow, I could never do that" which makes me feel all the more better.

So, I definitely want to do it again, especially with friends. It was just odd to me that even in the planning stage for the second jump I was feeling kind of nervous, whereas I didn't feel that until I was actually in the plane for the first jump.

I know it's a dangerous sport, I know there is a threat of dying. And as others have pointed out, if something goes wrong it probably will be a painful death. But I do feel such a spectacular hobby is worth the risk. That's pretty much the conclusion all regular skydivers have come to, no?

[piisfish 140]

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"Guess what I did last week, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane!"

that's how we see you're still new to the activity, you'll quickly learn that planes are in flying condition, not perfectly good

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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The other cool benefit is that of bragging rights.

If you stay in this sport, you should know that the "whuffo world" doesn't give a rats ass about us when we skydive. Make sure you're jumping for all the right reasons (you kow jumping for yourself) and not jumping to impress others.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[b_dog 0]

Certainly. It's far from any of the main reasons, just an extraneous feature I noticed.

[pfloyd 0]

If its my time to go, t hen its my time to go. I will just tuck my head between my legs and kiss my ass goodbye. But I would rather die skydiving then in a ball of wrecked carnage from a car accident or any other way I can think of (just watch faces of death, you'll know what I mean)

Stay safe up there!

Blue Skies!

My drinking team has a skydiving problem

[JohnMitchell 16]

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If you're not sure that you'll be able to grab the grass, you could do [url "http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2400402;#2400402"]this[/url ] with your shoe instead.

You're not funny.

You'll need to appreciate that type of humor if you're going to stay in this sport, sport.