When...

[npgraphicdesign 3]

...does your heart rate stop increasing on the way to altitude?

...does your mind stop saying "WTF are you doing standing on a strut of a plan 14K above the earth?"

...does your family accept what you are doing and stop giving you hell about it?

...do you cross the line between learning and having everything you've learned become second nature?

...do you realize that skydiving isn't just a hobby but a sport?

...when do you stop being nervous about making a mistake?

...do you stop making fun of noobs at the drop zone for doing something funny, stupid, wrong, etc..?

[shropshire 0]

#1 & 2 - When y' good an' dead?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Tink1717 2]

...does your heart rate stop increasing on the way to altitude?
Never, as altitude increases, O2 decreases, as O2 decreases, heart rate increases. Fear is replaced by hypoxia.


...does your mind stop saying "WTF are you doing standing on a strut of a plan 14K above the earth?"
Again, never. Your brain is hard wired NOT to jump from high places.

...does your family accept what you are doing and stop giving you hell about it?
Never. Whuffos don't get it. Never have, never will.


...do you cross the line between learning and having everything you've learned become second nature?
At about 2100 repetitions, or about ten years of steady work.


...do you realize that skydiving isn't just a hobby but a sport?
The first time you exit last on a 12 way speed star and dock first.
.
..when do you stop being nervous about making a mistake?
The same day you realize that there are other things to do on a weekend.

...do you stop making fun of noobs at the drop zone for doing something funny, stupid, wrong, etc..?
When the video of you dong the same things surfaces.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

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...does your heart rate stop increasing on the way to altitude?

Depends on what I am doing. Lazy H&P... no problem. Jump involving new or difficult or scary things...I damn sure hope my HR goes up a bit!

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...does your mind stop saying "WTF are you doing standing on a strut of a plan 14K above the earth?"

Sometimes now I marvel that I don't feel that way. It was more logical that I should be upset. Being cool about it seems goofy.

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...does your family accept what you are doing and stop giving you hell about it?

Don't know. Mine never gave me a moment of trouble. Of course, I didn't start jumping until I was 50 years old!

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...do you cross the line between learning and having everything you've learned become second nature?

Hopefully never. There are so many facets to this sport, that I hope to always be learning something new. Yes, I have been surprised that some skills that used to baffle me are now second nature... but I have new challenging skills on my task list.

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...do you realize that skydiving isn't just a hobby but a sport?

WTF?

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...when do you stop being nervous about making a mistake?

Hmmm.... If you mean the goofy mistakes that cause folks to poke fun at you during the video review, that will pass before you know it. If you mean nerves about hurting youself under canopy, that can come and go depending on the conditions and the quality of your decisions. I seem to recollect yelling "Oh S@#T!!!" on final last night (IN THE DARK) when I realized that I was lower than I thought, that I had gone too far downwind, and that there was a really good chance that my landing point was occupied by parked autombiles. What was really funny was that I later learned that the folks on the ground heard my yelling and got a chuckle out of it. (I missed the parked cars and landed inelegantly but safely.)

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...do you stop making fun of noobs at the drop zone for doing something funny, stupid, wrong, etc..?

I try really hard to not pick on noobs. However, the experienced jumpers are fair game (as am I!).

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[mnskydiver688 0]

...does your heart rate stop increasing on the way to altitude?
Why would you want it too?

...does your mind stop saying "WTF are you doing standing on a strut of a plan 14K above the earth?"
When you jump out of plane that doesn't require you to stand on a strut.

...does your family accept what you are doing and stop giving you hell about it?
Ehh...

...do you cross the line between learning and having everything you've learned become second nature?
When one thing begins to come naturally something new comes along to throw you a curve.

...do you realize that skydiving isn't just a hobby but a Lifestyle?
When you sit there wondering where all your money went.

...when do you stop being nervous about making a mistake?
Depends upon the degree of the mistake.

...do you stop making fun of noobs at the drop zone for doing something funny, stupid, wrong, etc..?
That's the way you know people care. Trust me anybody gets made fun of for a number of things no matter their experience. Nobody's perfect.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[SkydivaII 0]

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...does your heart rate stop increasing on the way to altitude?

May stop increasing so much, but I hope I never jump from a plane with a resting heartrate of 62. Keeps me on my toes!

...does your mind stop saying "WTF are you doing standing on a strut of a plan 14K above the earth?"

Eh, the plane is just how we get to our playground. Just our vehicle to get us to where we want to go.it stops being about 'i'm about to jump out of an airplane' and starts being about 'but look at all the kick ass stuff I can do on the way down. I can actually fly my body...f-ing sweet!!' And the time to be second guessing yourself is not in the door!! You gotta be thinking 'wind!! You are my bitch!!' Be aggressive!

...does your family accept what you are doing and stop giving you hell about it?

After my mom put holy water on my rig she felt better about it. You laugh, but it's true...

...do you cross the line between learning and having everything you've learned become second nature?

The day that happens, I sell my gear. I may not have to think about turning right with my arm or whatever anymore but the day I become complacent while checking my reserve handle is when I get dangerous. No thanks.

...do you realize that skydiving isn't just a hobby but a Lifestyle?
When you make the first load, the last load, and every other in between and it's still not enough. When you wouldn't date someone who didn't get it. When you tell everyone you know as much as you can about it so they can want to jump too.

...when do you stop being nervous about making a mistake?
Never ever. Skydiving is the only sport where you save your own life every single time you do it. An over look as simple as not getting a pin check in the plane is enough to kill yourself. Again, the day I stop worrying about making mistakes is the day I hang up my rig

...do you stop making fun of noobs at the drop zone for doing something funny, stupid, wrong, etc..?
The day you stop making friends :) I agree, that's how you know people care. If no body cared, no body would bother with pointing things out to you. I will never live down what took me 60 jumps to learn that should have taken me oh, 2. But at least now I have a conversation starter! 'Oh! You're the girl that....'. And I can say 'yes, that's me....'

She did not know that she could not fly so she did.


Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape

[slotperfect 7]

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...does your heart rate stop increasing on the way to altitude?

Can't help you there, I don't pay attention to what my heart rate is doing. Occasionally, doing something higher risk and very unique (normally a military jump), I notice that I am amped up and nervous. Focusing on the task at habd takes my mind off it.

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...does your mind stop saying "WTF are you doing standing on a strut of a plan 14K above the earth?"

That still shows up for me every now and then, and I have been doing this for a while. Honestly, I hope that never stops - it renews my respect for the inherent danger of skydiving and keeps me from becoming complacent.

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...does your family accept what you are doing and stop giving you hell about it?

I am lucky - all of my family has not only accepted it, but many have embraced it and made a jump or more with me. I am sure that it being part of my job from the outset helped with that acceptance. It is just part of what soldiers do.

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...do you cross the line between learning and having everything you've learned become second nature?

That is different for each person, and for me it happens separately for different aspects of the sport. As I get better at a certain task, it becomes second nature. The key is not becoming complacent.

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...do you realize that skydiving isn't just a hobby but a sport?

That crossover happened for me very shortly after I completed my military training learning to skydive as a sport jumper at the Green Beret Parachute Club in 1985.

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...when do you stop being nervous about making a mistake?

I hope that 1) I never stop being nervous about making a mistake, and 2) never stop making an occasional mistake - I learn from them and it makes me a better skydiver.

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...do you stop making fun of noobs at the drop zone for doing something funny, stupid, wrong, etc..?

It doesn't just apply to "noobs" - we are actually a little nicer to them than more seasoned jumpers. I mess with them and expect it when I do something like that as well.

Arrive Safely

John