Sky Diving?

[Miami78]

Also, for anyone planning on jumping in the US, here is a great place to look up reviews of dropzones:

http://www.dropzone.com/dropzone/North_America/United_States/index.html

 

[meetch]

I had my first jump 2 years ago... definitely something everyone has to do at least once... Gotta admit though I was pretty scurred.

 

[RedWhiteandBuell]

I wanted to do this last summer when I was at my womans family reunion in Cañon City, CO. Money was a pretty tight then. The gf and I are definitely doing it this summer though! I can't wait! I've wanted to skydive for A LONG time now.

 

[triple7]

Did it for my 40th birthday. It was a rush for sure but not sure I would do it again. A couple of months after I did it with my brother and best friend, the plane I jumped out of went down with all four people + pilot including my instructor. Nobody survived. Still freaks me out.

 

[triple7]

They said it was pilot error. Something happened to the plane shortly after takeoff and the inexperienced pilot turned the plane around to go back to the runway, when he did he stalled the plane and it dropped like a rock. Two instuctors and a young couple going for their first tandem jumps + the pilot all died. My instructor "Joel" was an awesome kid doing what he loved for a living. It really made me think about my own mortality and the things I do.

 

[dustin_usmc1]

I plan on doing it the first time this summer. I want to get certified and do a H.A.L.O. in Tennessee next year.

 

[pyrat]

Glad to see so many people interested in skydiving. Not only is it an amazing sport, but the people you meet along the way are quite the unique mix. Although they come from all walks of life, once they step onto the DZ, the differences just fade away. I've met some of my best friends at 13,000 feet above the ground.

Xtreme...we are going to have a great time this summer. Take your GoPro, but I was also going to try to have one of our camera guys jump with us as well.

Miami...I try not to make assumptions, but are you down around Miami? Which DZ? For years I was at Sky's the Limit, in NY, then NJ, then PA (they moved alot), but for the last two years I've been jumping at Endless Mountain Skydivers in Northeast PA. I moved about 20 minutes away.

If anyone is in my area, and interested in Skydiving, hit me up. I'll give you all the details.

 

[Alfatango1]

Nobody survived. Still freaks me out.

When I first went there was this memorial to a guy in the jump centers lobby who just died. He had 4000 plus jumps! I was thinking this is not the best place to put this!

 

[Miami78]

Pyrat - nope, in Vegas now...just grew up in Miami. Started jumping in Texas, then Mississippi, then Colorado with the USAFA, then Virginia, now in Vegas. Military moves me a lot! DZ is almost 100 miles away but it's almost all interstate...

Dustin - by military standards most normal skydives are classified as "HALO"...I forget the exact definition off the top of my head but it's something along the lines of exiting above 10k and opening below 4 or 5k. Do you mean an equipment jump w/ruck/o2/weapon?

Triple - Yep, accident happen but fortunately they are very rare. You're probably much safer jumping out of a plane than you are riding around on two wheels!

 

[dustin_usmc1]

No Miami, I am out of the corps now. I read of a place in Tennesee, it is the only place where a civilian can do a HALO. They jump out just above 30k feet. Captain Joseph Kittinger is my freakin role model, that guy had a brass set man. He jumped from a modified weather balloon at 102,800 feet and fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds reaching a top speed of 714mph. I read about him as a kid and fell in love with the idea of skydiving, but have yet to experience it. I can't imagine having seen what he did as he stepped out of the balloon and rolled over to see a dark sky. Freakin awesome!!!!

 

[Miami78]

You're probably talking about Mike Mullins' place, he does high alt jumps from his king air on a regular basis. There are a lot of dz's that'll do high alt jumps on certain occasions. If you exit below 25k asl you only have to breath o2 in the plane, above that you have to exit with a bottle on you.

I met Kittenger a while back, he's a really cool guy. Has a lot of good stories besides his high alt jump.

 

[Drkside79]

I see no reason to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.[confused]

 

[pyrat]

The door was open!!! What other reason do you need!!!

 

[Miami78]

Some people see no reason to ride a bike...don't knock it till you've tried it. If you do try it, you'll understand!

 

[konarider94]

i know a guy who was in the seals that practiced HAHO jumps. He traveled somewhere around 40+ miles i think. He jumped out near 30k feet and deployed his parachute almost immediately.

 

[Drkside79]

Well i can think of one reason to not jump.


My cousin was a experienced jumper. He was part of a club that quite frequently jumped. He enjoyed it right up until he left a crater in someones driveway.

 

[Miami78]

Drkside - not trying to downplay the significance of the loss of a loved one...I'm very sorry that happened. But would you have never started riding if you had lost a family member to a motorcycle accident? And with your experience now don't you think you would be missing out if you didn't start riding? Accidents do happen no matter what we do...if we didn't keep an open mind about things we would all probably be afraid to walk out our front doors...

kona - best I've done is 18 miles, that was exiting and opening at 15k and with a sport parachute much smaller than what the military typically jumps with.

 

[Drkside79]

Fair enough and I'm sure it is quite a Rush. However I just don't see myself doing it. If it makes you feel better I'm much more likely to Sky dive than base jump or bungee.

 

[Miami78]

It's all good! Skydiving is definitely not for everyone...I just think everyone should keep an open mind about it.[up]

 

[Alfatango1]

I see no reason to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

That's why I jumped out of the one I was in (1957 Cessna). Didn't think it would make it back to the ground in one piece