How can newbies know

[Shark 0]

Dude,

Keep up the good work, and pay us a visit in 'Snore. You still owe beer for that bush landing.

Shark out.

[Avion 0]

Well, I'll tell you about that...

I've always been a good way into the adventurous and wild side of life. Although, less than extrememly so, I still have had my moments. I got interested in skydiving at forty, after my health had begun sliding and I had to stop my more unhealthy activities, by watching 'Cutaway' for the first time. Previous to this, I had always thought that people, who jumped out of perfectly good airplanes for fun, were crazy In particular, the part that really got to me was the free flying at the end during the credits. In retrospect, that was probably filmed on an outdoor wind tunnel rather than durning a skydive.

Anyway, I decided to try the tunnel first. I took to it quickly, then spent a year and $4,000 'learning to fly' before I ever jumped. I also bought a used rig of an appropriate size for a good price before I had jumped. I figured, if I wanted to get out, I could always get my money, or at least most of it, back out of the rig.

Then, I jumped For me, knowing myself as I do, rather than a question of if I'd like it, it was always a question of if I could handle it.

Cheers

[flyangel2 2]

Thanks for all the wonderful stories.

But, I still have to say, since Skydiving is like nothing else, and you could never explain to someone how it feels, there is no way someone can know that they will love the sport without having done a jump first.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[jlmiracle 7]

I don't think you are off base on your thinking at all.

When made my first jump (AFF L1) I was terrified. I did it because I felt I hadn't done anything exciting with my life. I really didn't like my first jump but a girl I went with LOVED it so I figured I missed something, went back and did Level II and was hooked.

Now, we have had a few students come through with the intent of completing 7 levels of AFF in 1 weekend. One guy went through the ground school Friday night, got up Saturday morning and did a "working" tandem, landed and I asked him what he thought and his response was "I can't believe you people do this." He got in his car, never to be seen again.

We have also had many go through the ground school never to come back to make the first jump.

Judy

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[mustard 0]

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But, I still have to say, since Skydiving is like nothing else, and you could never explain to someone how it feels, there is no way someone can know that they will love the sport without having done a jump first.

Hey Mar,

I think skydiving is one of those things that takes on a meaning of its own, without regard to what the activity really is. To me, before I jumped, it was being willing to let go into the unknown. When I made my first tandem, I was terrified, sure that I would die. The night before I dreamed that I was at the edge of a tailgate with my jumpmaster, begging him not to make me go. But he made me, and I learned:

The non-skydiver in me died that day, and the skydiver was born. So, in a way, I think that those people who think they will love it mean that they are ready to "take the plunge" into the unknown.

I remember in my early days sitting around the loft after jumping and talking with people about the magical moments that follow exit, and wondering if I would ever be able to explain it to anybody who hadn't done it. We all agreed that we couldn't.

***
DJan

[flyangel2 2]

Judy and DJan, well said. That's just what I was thinking.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[kc10boom 0]

Dude I paid for that bush landing with cheap beer, but I will make up for it when drop in...James

NKAWTG...N

[StevePhelps 0]

let me clarify myself ... some of us have addictive personalities. You may be right in saying its impossible to KNOW we'll love it before we do it, but we KNOW this much about ourselves ... IF we like it as much as we THINK we will, we'll be hooked ... buy gear early (I bought my own altimeter after 2 jumps on AFF), get subscriptions to magazines (had subscriptions to both PARACHUTIST and SKYDIVING the same week I started AFF), etc. Yes, those things happened AFTER my first jump, but it was predictable.

[Darius11 12]

I can’t speak for any one else, but I knew I wanted to skydive before my first jump.
I got my Logbook on the day I was doing my first tandem. I read so much stuff on here and in parachutist because I was already a member before I started AFF.

I think the knowledge helped me more then anything. Even if the things I learned were just in theory and I had not had the chance to try them I was more mentally prepared.
I am very thankful that all the questions I asked were answered and no one has ever said to me to don’t worry about it your not there yet.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[BenediktDE 2]

I did not know if I love the sport enough to continue after my Level 1 Jump (never did a tandem).
I liked it very much but just now I am starting to get the feeling what this all is about.

What I felt and saw at others:
I think most people that start like to fall out of a plane and like to feel that they can fly. This is a lot. Then, after getting more and more feeling of the wind they get either addicted or they start jumping less.

If I have a look at my DZ, where there were 35 students starting and where are now just a hand full of really active ones left it seems like there is a rather low share of those who get addicted.

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.

[bales 0]

wouldnt you consider someone who has 1 jump and another who has 0 both newbies. The mind set of the two are now completely diferent. So when and at what point does it become ok to be overly enthusiastic. 20,40 or 200, Just curious!

[AndyMan 7]

Craichead and I took a friend out for a tandem a while back. She was super excited to go, because she saw how much a part of our lives it played, and how much we loved it. She is a good friend.

She clearly enjoyed her jump. Pic here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=32926;.

Afterwards though, she seemed disapointed. She WAS disapointed. Disapointed that she didn't feel hooked and addicted, like craichead and I were.

We were then disapointed that she was disapointed... We felt like we'd oversold the experience.

I think many skydivers don't understand the degree to which we're embassadors to the sport. We often don't realise how people can look at us, and assume that if they do the same thing as us, that they'll be the same as us.

I think that notion is amplified on dz.com - there's so many thousands of post-whores who have bought into the skydiving lifestyle so much, a passerby simply assumes that they'll get hooked after just one jump - just like "everybody else". What they don't realise is that their notion of "everybody else" is completely false. They don't know that most tandem students walk away after only one jump. They don't understand that the people who hangs out here are the exception who stuck with it.

_Am

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You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[AndyMan 7]

My friend wrote about her first jump experience. It's a compelling and interesting read, because she's a great writer.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1275546;

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[flyangel2 2]

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wouldnt you consider someone who has 1 jump and another who has 0 both newbies. The mind set of the two are now completely diferent. So when and at what point does it become ok to be overly enthusiastic. 20,40 or 200, Just curious!

I'm not debating when it's okay to get excited. I'm asking how someone who has never made a skydive, can be in love with skydiving.

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But, I still have to say, since Skydiving is like nothing else, and you could never explain to someone how it feels, there is no way someone can know that they will love the sport without having done a jump first.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[Crater 0]

It's probably worth remembering that not all people who are starting their training will necessarily know about this site so those that do (and went as far as posting) have obviously made some kind of effort to get here. Perhaps they've made more of a mental commitment than others.

I'm one of those that 'just knew' this was for me. I've wanted to jump since I was quite young and I've always had a fascination with the air. I understand that skydiving is not like anything else but you can easily make analogies for each stage which make it easier to visualise. Once you can visualise it, I'm sure you can have a crude idea of how it will feel. It worked for me.

My first jump was a tandem about 5 years ago and it went pretty much as I thought it would because I'd spent time trying to imagine it. The only part of the jump that I hadn't really thought of was the exit itself, that split second when you're outside the plane looking around. That moment really caught me by surprise.

Perhaps it would have been wrong for me to say that I'd 'love' skydiving but I think some people can know this sport is for them before their first jump. However, there will always be those who say "I know I'm gonna love this!" without actually thinking about what that means.

Just my tuppence worth.

Amir
PS Maybe a reverse example can also help make my point. Fermented Squid Guts (scroll to 'Shiokara') don't sound very appetising but they're so strange and different how can you really know that you're not going to like them until you've had some?

_________________________________________

"That's not flying ... That's falling with style!" - (Woody, Toy Story)

[Remster 30]

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I think many skydivers don't understand the degree to which we're embassadors to the sport. We often don't realise how people can look at us, and assume that if they do the same thing as us, that they'll be the same as us.

Its something I think we all do at the start. Everyone who tried to convince people to make a jump raise your hand! lol... (not saying you purposely convinced her Andy) But, after a while, like you realized yourselves, its not a sport for everyone (not that it has to be either).

Remster

[AndyMan 7]

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Its something I think we all do at the start. Everyone who tried to convince people to make a jump raise your hand! lol...

It's more than that, though.

Of course I encouraged her to make a jump. I do that with a lot of people.

What I didn't realise (and didn't intend) is that I was also telling her that if she made a jump, she'd instantly want to cuttaway her old life, start packing, pitch her tent behind the hangar, and get into body piercing.

When she didn't feel the need to cuttaway, she was disapointed.

_Am

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You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[daveb 1]

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What I didn't realise (and didn't intend) is that I was also telling her that if she made a jump, she'd instantly want to cuttaway her old life, start packing, pitch her tent behind the hangar, and get into body piercing.

When she didn't feel the need to cuttaway, she was disapointed.

Wow, now I'm disappointed. I have absolutely zero desire to pack, live in a tent, or put holes into any sensitive body parts. I did try to cutaway my old wife -- life, life -- I said life, honey! -- but that didn't go over very well. Obviously, I'm missing out on a big part of the experience....

-- Dave

[bales 0]

Agreed! No worries have fun !