D.B.Cooper

It feels great, the second I stepped out of the plane, I was another person ! And I knew why we enjoy this sport so much !! Thank you all. "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

Well, I finally did it ! I finally got back into a plane with a rig on my back and instructor to my side. It was a very hot day and there were lots of clouds. I was a little nervous as we were reaching 14 000 feet. The door opened, people started to jump as I watched; then the jumpmaster went to the door and called my name with a big smile. A second later, I was no longer in the plane. I was tumbling but I quickly got stable. I made a practice pull and tried some backloops as planned; i went unstable but recovered immediately. I felt awesome and I could see the instructor right next to me. I then started tracking towards a big cloud and I was amazed at how crazy and great that felt. We fell through a cloud for something like 10 seconds and then I opened my chute ! The opening was perfect and I was pretty sure I had made a great jump; It also was great to be under canopy and to steer it to the ground. My flare wasn't very good as I fell on my knees. I went to my instructor who told me I made a great jump and that I was very stable. We then watched the video and I was very impressed with myself. A few hours later, I was back in the plane for a solo jump. There were clouds up to 14 000 feet ! They looked like moutains and the view was amazing ! I was supposed to do some barrel rolls. 14 000 feet, the door opens. Two freeflyers jump together and the JP smiles at me tells me i'm good to go. I get stable very quickly. There are clouds everywhere and I quickly decided not to do the barrel rolls as I didn't feel like going unstable and I wanted to enjoy the view. i just watched with amazement. I made some practice pulls, fell through a cloud, started rotating a little, opened at 5000 feet with line twists and I cleared them. Wooww ! I was so happy ! I steered my canopy to the ground, made a two-stage flare and landed on my feet !!! I am so happy to be back in the air ! It feels great ! Thank you all for your advice and help and your private messages ! I really appreciated ! And to hymandd732 : sorry, bud, I am not interested in playing tennis ! ------------------------------------------------------ "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

Today was supposed to be the big day. I put to good use all the great advice I got here; smiling and thinking about the good things I did and everything. It worked great as I was only slightly anxious on the way. So I got the DZ (not my regular one) and I immediately felt the butterflies when I saw the plane and everything. I tried to relax and waited a bit to see other skydivers land. I felt quite nervous as I imagined myself in the plane and at the door. Part of me wanted to jump, part of me wanted to go home. I finally decided to go for it and talked a JP but he wasn't the right person to talk to and he told me to talk someone else. That person was busy so I waited. But I never went to him. I told myself I didn't have to jump today and before jumping again I could go from time to time to a DZ just to hang out. So I left the DZ and bought myself a 20 minute flight with a friend who had never been on a plane. It made me more confident to be back in the air in a small plane. The funny thing is : had I bumped directly into the right person I would have probably jumped. So I'm thinking of going to my regular DZ and try to jump with the JP I did my AFF with. Maybe that would help. I feel very disapointed in myself. Yes it takes a man to admit he's scared but it also takes a man (or a woman !) to overcome his fear and do what he has to. Today I wasn't man enough to do it. I know I don't have to skydive if I don't want to but this is something I really wanna do. It's just those first steps after so much time on the ground that are hard. I just need a JP to put a rig on my back and tell me that I'm on the next load with him. I would jump for sure then. ------------------------------------------------------ "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

I guess there's another D.B. Cooper here ! LOL I'm the one without glasses. I did some tunnel time and thought it was a great experience and a great tool to improve my body position. It has also helped with my body awareness as I could feel my legs more than I used to in the air. I don't plan on doing more tunnel time as money is a matter but I will put your advice to good use. Yes, fear is part of the sport and it's important to master it. During my first jumps I used to recite the Litany against fear : "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." And it's quite true. If I let my fear control me I'll just stay at home doing nothing. ----------------------------------------- "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

Hey guys, thanks for your comments. They do help, really. I will try to have some positive thoughts and smile and try to think about a perfect jump. Yes, some of my fear is due to the instabily that I experienced and my hitting the suspension lines. But I will be jumping with an instructor. I did some tunnel time and my position at the end was perfect . To those that mentioned the dangers of skydiving, well it's not exactly what I was expecting to hear. I know the dangers of skydiving. I have watched the videos on skydivingmovies.com; I have watched the main-reserve entanglements, the cut-aways, the premature deployments at the door, I have read the reports about people going in, the broken necks on opening, the collisions with aircrafts or other skydivers.. I experienced a slider-up during my AFF and on my last jump, I could've gotten my foot entagled with my main... But I have balanced those dangers with the joy that Skydiving brings me and I have accepted the risks. The only risk that I may not accept is falling out of my rig but I know how unlikely that can be. I just needed some help to get back in the air and I really appreciated your encouragements ! Thank you ! ------------------------------------- "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

Hey there guys; First I would like to apologize beacause this is another one of those "scared newbie threads" and that it has been discussed many times but I would like some personal anwsers just to boost up my confidence. I have nine jumps and haven't jumped in a year. I have experienced some instability on my 3 solo jumps causing me to open head-down on the last one and hitting the suspension lines with my foot. After that incident, I decided to wait cause I didn't have the money for another coached jump. It's been a year now and I want to jump again. I want to make one or two jumps with an instructor soon and then finally start becoming a skydiver and jumping a lot. However, as the date for my jump approaches, I'm starting to feel fear. I remember what's it's like to be on the plane, to watch the others exit and to stand at the door about to leap into space. I know the fear I am going to feel and this is what scares me. During my AFF, I puked several times before jumping because of my fear. I would haite it to happen again, particularly in front of other people. I know that the hardest part is the begining and that you eventually get over it. I bought myself a hook-knife just in case. It's tough to be tough. I can't believe I've managed to jump solo. Dan. ------------------------------------------------------ "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

Ryanair flies to Girona airport. It's actually closer to the DZ than barcelona. One hour by bus from Girona (just a few euros). Check ryanair's website. "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

A friend of mine did a tandem once. In the plane, the TM suddenly stared at the hooks or something with a look of disbelief on his face and said : "fuck I can't believe we were gonna let you jump like that !" Well I am laughing heartily !!!!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

Well, as Kevin Spacey said in the Usual Suspects : "the best trick the devil ever pulled is to convince people he didn't exist." I am sure older than I was in 1971. But it's only now that those FBI guys think I'm dead that I can come out in the open. Thank you Peej; I wont forget when I see them. Want an autograph too; they ain't too busy lately. By the way, you look really cute skymama how about a skyjacking with me some day ? Be sure to bring you're own rig though. Those idiots let you carry your chute on the airplane these days. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."

What's up people, I have been reading this forum for quite a while now. I like it a lot. There is plenty of info to be found. I love skydiving; (though it ain't as fun as skyjacking). Throwing yourself into space is quite a thrill. I love it when I am a the door; watching the other whackos jumping; then it's my turn and I'm thinking; what the fuck, Dan ? Then some invisible force pushes me out of the airplane. I am freefalling and thinking : "dude, you are free falling towards the planet at 200 km/h..." "yeah, so what ?" I open my chute at 1300 meters and go like "did I just do that ?" Dan Cooper --------------------------------------------------------------- "I have a bomb in my briefcase. I will use it if necessary. I want you to sit next to me. You are being hijacked."