How long did it take you to TRULY get into the sport?

[npgraphicdesign 3]

I have 11 jumps, but i started jumping this past March. Took the summer off for financial reasons, then got back into it during September.

I feel that I'm not going 'fast enough', not spending enough time at the DZ, not socializing enough, not delving myself enough into the skydiving culture. Some of it is financial reasons, some of it is time, and other misc. reasons. Does anyone else feel that way?

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

I can relate - kinda.

I did my 1st tandem 07-04-2008 and started AFP about the middle or end of August. I'm only at 15 jumps right now. I have 2 more coach jumps to do, along with the packing and jumping of my own pack job - the rest are all fun jumps. The "hard stuff" is done --- but I'm still going to get more coaching after I complete my A. I said I wasn't leaving 2008 without my A -- well, we'll see how that goes!

Although my "slackitude" isn't financial in nature, it is physical. I tire easily in the heat and if I'm not "feeling" it, I keep my ass on the ground. I'm super sentitive to the cold weather due to sinus problems, so I end up grounding myself for that, too. I often feel off-balance (from a medical condition) and I don't want to put myself in any situation where I'm not at my best, so, once again, on the ground I stay.

When it comes to being at the DZ and socializing, well, I'm there all the time. I love being there. It's very relaxing to me. I grew up at airports with my Dad so there's something about just being there, it puts me at ease.
We're going to Z-Hills after Christmas, so I imagine I'll finish my jumps there. Nice and warm compared to NJ right now!!

I'm interested in what everyone else will say.....

Always be kinder than you feel.

[npgraphicdesign 3]

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Nice and warm compared to NJ right now!!

I'm interested in what everyone else will say.....

So you live in Jersey eh? I'm from CT...how YOU doin'?

I'm heading out to Cali in January to finish my A and then coming back and will try to jump a few times in the winter. Want to join me? Then I can warm you up after the cold jump...

[mrwrong 0]

Started off on a static line back in early spring of 2003.
Stumbeled upon a suitable rig just after my first jump and bought it right there and then.

Never regreted it for a second...

So I can truly say that I got hooked at my first jump

“The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.” - George Bernard Shaw
He who dies with the most toys, wins.....
dudeist skydiver # 19515
Buy quality and cry once!

[DonTheGeek 0]

I know exactly where you're coming from. I did my first tandem last spring and then started at that DZ's tandem progression program. Due to the cost it took me a while to really get moving with things. And then the DZ closed. I started over from scratch at RPC. The AFF program there was definitely more affordable but due to job related travel I wasn't jumping nearly as much as I would have liked. Then, I herniated a disc between L4 and L5. The pain wasn't too much of an issue but I was so stiff it took me forever to get stable out of the plane. I've decided to take a few more weeks off until I finish healing up. All of this when I'm just a few jumps away from my A license. Yeah, it's frustrating.

For a student still new to skydiving taking even a couple of weeks off means spending the first couple of jumps relearning to relax and have fun so those breaks can be really tough from that standpoint. Beyond that, it's tough to integrate into the culture at the DZ when you're not there weekend after weekend.

Now, for the positive view of things: Getting into the DZ culture does become a lot easier once you get off AFF and onto coached jumps. You'll start meeting and making friends with some of the more "senior" folks at the DZ as well as the other students that are about where you are (that comes in handy when the supply of coaches runs low ).

My view on things is that I'm going to keep plugging away with it despite running into roadblocks along the way. This isn't something that's just a passing interest. I figure I have years and years in the sport so there's no sense in trying to rush into or force things.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I was "into" the sport the first day. I did AFF level 1 and knew I was coming back. Money was an issue. I did a jump every other week up to level 5. I did 5 and 6 the same weekend and would have done 7 but there was a schedule issue.

After AFF I spent almost every weekend for about 4 yrs at the DZ then started boogie hopping and organizing events of my own.

I liked the social side of the sport and was at the DZ as much as possible. There is alot to learn even if not jumping. For instance, back then,in '99, you were not cleared off of AFF till you packed for yourself. I had my own rig and was packing for myself by about jump number 8 or 9.

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

Quote

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Nice and warm compared to NJ right now!!

I'm interested in what everyone else will say.....

So you live in Jersey eh? I'm from CT...how YOU doin'?

I'm heading out to Cali in January to finish my A and then coming back and will try to jump a few times in the winter. Want to join me? Then I can warm you up after the cold jump...

Thanks for the offer but I'm a good girl.

Always be kinder than you feel.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

That's what he was looking for. A girl that is good.

[npgraphicdesign 3]

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That's what he was looking for. A girl that is good.

I couldn't have said it better myself...

I definitely know I'm into the sport. Every time I look up at the sky I want to skydive, and I feel frustrated by certain setbacks, be they financial, work related, weather related, or otherwise. But I know I'm in this sport as a long term participant.

[Skyrad 0]

Do it in a way you can afford, in the time that you have available. Try not to get into debt you can't afford over the sport. Go at your own pace.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[LuckyMcSwervy 0]

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That's what he was looking for. A girl that is good.

I guess I walked into that one. Shoud've known.

Luckily, I've found a nice guy who I like to be exclusively good for.

Always be kinder than you feel.

[skybill 22]

Hi np,
fast enough?? Remember what happened to amphetamine Annie,"Speed Kills!!" You're in it whether you know it or not, sorry to inform you it's a "done deal!" So enjoy! One day you'll look around and find all the walls of your house are covered in Skydiving Photos, the garage is cluttered with old skydiving gear and boxes of old skydiver mags, the bobbin in your wife's sewing machine is always loaded with "E-thread," your kids were "DZ brats" and know how to pack better than you and your address book is loaded with the names of old friends who are Skydivers!

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[fanya 3]

I started jumping on July 4th, I'd have to look at my log book to see when i finished but I got to jump 56 by the middle of october when the dz closed.

I jumped my first pack job my first jump after aff. started packing part-time for my dropzone somewhere during that time. I have a full-time work there next year. I got laid off in october from my job. I lucked out and found winter packing work that's somewhere warm even though it will BARELY pay bills (mmm ramen and tuna for the winter).

I guess I jumped in feet first you could say.

God I love this sport.

[tbrown 26]

Well, I started in 1974, got a $35 price for my FJC because we had more than 15 people in our group (of college students). Money was always a struggle while in college, but I kept at it and was always devoted to the sport - it had been a dream of mine since I was 5 or 6 years old. The summer of '75 I finally got off student status with something like 37 jumps, got up to where I was doing 30 second delays, with turns and backloops, witnessed by a rated Jumpmaster.

But my real "awakening" was the summer of '76, precisely on the 4th of July, at 60 jumps. That was the summer I had a job with the local Highway Dept and was making money for both school and jumping. $5 to 7500 ft. Did lots of 2 Ways with my fellow newbie friend Ron Plante. Was out to the dropzone all weekend, every weekend. And when I went back to school in the fall, I kept it up as founding President of my college's Skydiving Club. During the school year I didn't jump every weekend, but probably at least two Saturdays a month. And then for spring break we took a GLORIOUS trip to Z-Hills for the Easter Boogie, where a bunch of us had our first encounter with large loads and DC-3's, as well as some totally zoo behavior on the dropzone. It was truly memorable.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[DeNReN 0]

The moment I dispatched my 1st IAD student.

[RogerRamjet 0]

I was in before I could jump. I went out to Z-Hills in 1973 with my older brother (he was 25 and I was 20). He jumped that weekend, but the legal age in Florida at the time was 21, so I could not jump. My parents said "no way are we signing a waiver to let you jump out of an airplane."

So, I went out every weekend and watched my brother jump until I learned to pack the T-10 student rigs. I learned to rig over the next few months and got my riggers license and started packing for the DZ. On July 1st, 1973, the legal age was lowered to 18 in Florida and I made my first jump that day. I made 250 jumps my first year which was quite a lot in those days (of piston engine only jump planes). I packed all my mains and when I got off student status, my reserve as well (my reserve had no AOD*, so I had to use DZ gear until off student status which had Sentinals).

*In those days, AAD (Automatic Activation Device) devices were called AOD (Automatic Opening Device). They were considered not so reliable especially for relative work, so most jumpers did not use them after student status...

Yeah, I was into it from before my first jump

-----------------------
Roger "Ramjet" Clark
FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

[jimmytavino 16]

How Long???
TRULY??????


about fifteen MINUTES!!!!

landed after # 1 SL and wouldda done # 2
the same day,, if i couldda.. but the training class which i took, had 23 or 24 people in it. soooo no chance, that same day.
#2 was 4 days later,,, followed quickly by the last 3 static lines, ( DRCPs). was in freefall within 2 weeks of jump # 1...
made a bunch with tbrown.... back in the days, when he lived around here.
jmy

[Redline165 0]

First tandem was in early august of this year

next weekend weather sucked

next weekend i did another tandem

Next weekend i was doing my AFF FJC

rest is history... havent missed a single weekend of jumping since. went to visit my mom and had to get the fix... so i jumped down at goldcoast :D (and they thought i was SLEEPIN when they were at church) <-sneaky and even got back into bed clothes before they returned


I love the people... loved just being at the DZ since day one. The people are what keep me coming back each weekend. I absolutely LOVE the people. I mean dont get me wrong, i love jumping as well... but the people are truly what got me into the sport.

[SuFantasma 0]

I was hooked from the start ..... and which skydiver wasn't ?

Hmm.... lets see, once I started jumping at Skydive Atlanta .... I got hooked on the crowd... great people there .. it's been a while since I've been back ....

Y yo, pa' vivir con miedo, prefiero morir sonriendo, con el recuerdo vivo".
- Ruben Blades, "Adan Garcia"

[PharmerPhil 0]

Seventeen Years. Seriously.

I did my first jump (S/L) in 1980. 2nd in 1981. I thought it was cool and I should do lots of this stuff. Fast-forward to 1997 when I moved to a town with a DZ and my buddy with 40+ military S/L jumps told me about to new instructional methods,...tandem (sounded kinda lame) and AFF (sounded cool?). I started AFF (my 3rd jump) in 97 and finished (after an unrelated broken foot) in 98. Been non-stop ever since.

Had I started seriously in 1981, I figure I would either have become a skygod or become dead.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

I did the FJC (static line) on Saturday. We couldn't jump because it was too windy.
I came back on Sunday and did my first jump. The minute I landed, I knew how badly I wanted it. I did the second jump 2 hours later. And I have been back at every opportunity ever since.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[DougH 270]

Instantly, I was born a sky god!!!

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Carrapeta 0]

About two weeks BEFORE my first jump!! I was climbing the E Face of Longs Peak (The Diamond)with a buddy when I just heard "WHAM!!" I thought it was rockfall, only to be pleasantly surpised to see a canopy gliding serenely to the valley floor/mills glacier. Got stuck high on the wall in a pretty heinous lightning storm and had to bail. Called the DZ the next day and scheduled AFF.

1st jump Agust 30th 2008 AFF L1. Now stacking a healthy 84 jumps and climbing in just over 3 months. After AFF 1 I KNEW this was what I wanted. I had finally lost my virginity to the SKY!!!

Now I can't keep my damn wallet closed!! It doesn't take shit to convince me to go to work late for a balloon jump or call in sick for a blue sky day at the DZ!!!

But, GODDAMN I LOVE THIS SHIIIIIIITT!!!!!!!!

If your gonna be dumb ya gotta be tough.

Your mom goes HandHeld

[skybill 22]

Hi Carr,
You heard the "WHAM!!" (canopy opening) Did you ever find out who the BASE Jumper was ??

BTW, Glad to have you in the Sport. "There's always a slot on the last Load!!"

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[The_Don 0]

55 seconds..

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!