My 200th !

[Auryn 0]

I don't post here very often, but I wanted to share this past weekend with someone. so why not a LOT of skydivers ?
I made my 200th this weekend, and it was incredible ! more signifigant to me than my 100th, and not b/c of the jump, but the ride to altitude and the people around that weekend.
first, I made my 198th and 199th with a couple of really cool guys I had only jumped with once.. they had 60ish jumps each, and we put together a couple of good learning 3 ways..
when we got to the ground and they learned from the advice I had given them, it was an incredible feeling ! the best part was what I learned from the skydive, specifically about diving at a formation (I had posted here earlier for advice, applied it, and I'll be damned if it didn't work!)
I spent the 10 minute ride on Frankenotter on my 200th looking at the world beneath me and something that had been creeping around in my head for a while finally REALLY set it.
Why I do this.
Everything about this sport really puts me in touch with me, centers my feelings, makes me feel like a child again, a world where I can have a stupid grin on my face and it's okay.
More importantly, I get to see the world created by God in the special way we see it, a way very few people get to see it. I get to feel the feelings very few but us get to feel.. Love, life, death, speed, silence, noise.
Air: the ever elusive element, except to me.
After landing, I immediately thought back to this poem:

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr
I've thought of it before, but it was different this time. I LIVE it. NOW.
and so I go on my journey, now TRULY accepting who I am. A skydiver. And this weekend, I will touch the face of God again.

I Love this sport. BLUE SKIES everyone !

Bryan

[moodyskydiver 0]

Thats awsome! I have next to no jumps and I am very new,but I feel like that all the time.

When I was in high school,I was a cadet in an Air Force ROTC unit. My Aerospace Science Instructor had that same poem up on his wall. I dont know how many times I sat in his office and read it,but I've always liked it. A few years later, after graduating and starting college, I was introduced to this sport. I went back to my old high school and showed my ASI my video. He was a B52 pilot and ofcourse didn't understand why anyone would want to be on the outside of a plane in mid flight. But he enjoyed the visit and my adventure. Before I left, I looked back up on his wall and read that poem again.Then I walked out smiling.

God I love this sport!

"...just an earthbound misfit, I."

[SniperCJ 0]

Congrats on the 200th!

I too keep a copy of "High Flight" in my office to remind me of the wonders of this sport.

JC

[lurking 0]

As a glider pilot (no, not a skydiver) I browse aviation websites quite a bit. And although I sincerely like "High flight" I had a good laugh or two when I stumbled across the following:

High Flight - Poem

If you're into aviation at all, you've probably seen or heard John
Gillespie Magee's famous poem High Flight. Well, the FAA finally heard
about it, too. This version in annotated to FAA comments addended to
ensure that the poem won't induce other pilots to be less than careful.
......................................................................

High Flight (FAA)

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth (1),
And danced (2) the skies on laughter silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed (3) and joined the tumbling mirth (4)
On sun-split clouds (5) and done a hundred things (6)
You have not dreamed of -- Wheeled and soared and swung (7)
High in the sunlit silence (8). Hov'ring there (9)
I've chased the shouting wind (10) along and flung (11)
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious (12), burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights (13) with easy grace,
Where never lark, or even eagle (14) flew;
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high unsurpassed sanctity of space (15),
Put out my hand (16), and touched the face of God. (17)

..................................
Federal Aviation Administration
High Flight Supplement, Rev. 1997

1. Flight crews must ensure that all surly bonds have been slipped entirely
before taxiing or flight of aircraft is attempted.

2. During periods of severe sky dancing, all crew members and passengers
must be wearing seatbelts. The Fasten Seatbelt sign must remain
illuminated if installed.

3. Sunward climbs must not exceed maximum certificated climb rates or
designated aircraft ceiling.

4. Aircraft engaged in carrying passengers for hire are prohibited from
joining the tumbling mirth.

5. Pilots flying through sun-split clouds must comply with all applicable
visual and instrument flight rules.

6. All hundred undreamed things must be submitted on an approved FAA Flight
Plan and approved prior to execution.

7. Wheeling, soaring, and swinging must not be attempted simultaneously
except in an approved simulator.

8. Sunlit silence should be considered an indication of a major engine
malfunction.

9. "Hov'ring there"--in fixed wing aircraft--should be considered a
possible indication that a flight emergency is imminent.

10. Forecasts of shouting winds are available from the local Flight Service
Station. Encounters with unexpected shouting winds should be reported to
Flightwatch on 122.0.

11. Pilot craft-flinging may result in exceeding the stress limits of the
airframe and may cause motion sickness.

12. Should the pilot or any crew member experience delirium while in the
burning blue, a review of his (her) medical certificate is warranted.

13. Windswept heights must be cleared by a minimum of 1000 feet in
designated non-mountainous areas; 2000 feet in designated mountainous areas..

14. Encounters with larks are permitted if contact with the aircraft is
avoided. Eagles must be widely avoided to prevent habitat disturbances as
required by the Endangered Species Act.

15. ATC and the Department of the Interior must issue a special clearance
for treading the high untrespassed sanctity of space.

16. Opening the pilot's vent window for the purpose of putting out hands,
or any extension of bodily extremities, should be avoided except during
slow-flight in non-pressurized aircraft.

17. The FAA is restricted from issuing any ruling concerning the
appropriateness of touching the face of God during flight operations.
..........................................................................

Thomas from Germany

[Deuce 1]

Congratulations.

Last week I got to be on a 5000th. The skydiver, David, is in his 60's and still works as a pro camera flyer.

We're only at the beginning

• Quote

[Cajones 0]

Congratulations! It is truly wonderous how a single sport can be such an array of experiences. I'm not certain how it has worked (sort of a chicken and the egg thing), but skydiving has run the gamut of emotions and experiences for me. When I was a little younger and crazier, skydiving was crazier. As I've changed and evolved, skydiving has seemed to evolve, too. What I experience each time I slip the surly bonds goes beyond poetry. What I feel, out there alone, or out there with friends and strangers - how I wish I could put it in a bottle and share it with the world. Maybe if we could get some more of the world to evolve with us, they'd understand "it," tew...

The laws of physics are strictly enforced.

[TEB6363 0]

Good Job Bryan. Keep going and learning....

Once the plane takes off, you're gonna have to land - Might as well jump out!!