Boring Skydive???!!!

[GentleTiger 0]

No comment.

________________________________________
Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

[ShefBoiRD 0]

I've been there. I would have had to answer that someone's question, "yes, sometimes".

I recall a few jumps where I got out, I'm off the hill, and thinking, "HoHum, another skydive. Ok. Whatever..... Wait: should I be risking my life for this which is not giving me the rush that it used to?" - and I have taken some extensive breaks, even 11 months or so.

BUT:

As of this past weekend, I'M BACK! OMG, got my 1st video, bombout exit about 12 front loops to a sit. Got a 2way together for next dive, turned into a 3way before boarding. Exit didn't work as planned, unable to link/dock, but met 2 great people and we'll try it again. The multiple airgasms are back - WooHoo!!

When I started, I told myself "I'm not gettin any video 'til 'I can do stuff'". Except for coached jumps, I've only done prolly less than 5 non-solo jumps. When you can't find jumpmates, and jump by yourself, and teach yourself, mebbe there's a point where you begin to stagnate, or plateau.

I know I've been making technical mistakes, but now that I see video I thrill to the 'right' stuff I did, and am very happy to see the mistakes, so I can learn. My biggest 2 things I learned this weekend were;
1> I need to spread my legs more in a sit
2> How to turn (correctly) in a sit
also:
I can't seem to effectively see my altimeter w/out getting unstable in a sit.

I could turn in a sit, but wasn't sure how or why. My coach told me what/how to turn, and the 360º 's were on!
------
Cumulatively, I think if I come across a 'boring' skydive again (& with my new perspective I don't think I will), I will try things that I've not done before to re-ignite the fire.

Strafing field mice, twice an hour.

[UDSkyJunkie 0]

I can't even remember the last time I did a solo... freefall alone is boring IMO. Sure, I could practice some stuff, but once you get to a certain point it's hard to tell how you really did without a reference.

Canopy stuff however, I agree... it's always fun

"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

[chrismgtis 0]

Quote

I can't even remember the last time I did a solo... freefall alone is boring IMO. Sure, I could practice some stuff, but once you get to a certain point it's hard to tell how you really did without a reference.

Canopy stuff however, I agree... it's always fun

87 skydives and I still love solos. I have more fun by myself right now to be honest. Jumping with others feels like such a chore to me, even though I try not to solo too much just to keep from developing bad habits and get input from experienced jumpers. Everyone jumps into freeflying and RW so fast. How can it be a fun sport if all you want to do is get points? And after the freefall, I love the experience under canopy. Right now it's more important to me than "most" skills in freefall. I want to learn to be accurate and master the canopy. The rest is secondary IMO.

Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

[tonka 2]

I havent done a solo since I was forced to once off AFF and another for my night jump a while back.
The ocassional wingsuit solo but thats a lil different.

Solos might be great for you but not for your flying. Find someone with a camera to film you doing your manuevers. That will be worth more solos than you think.

Find someone to jump with. Build a two way, let go, try your 360 and then dock again. Then you can at least see how your turning affects relativity to another jumper and you can practice turning in place and not changing your fall rate as you turn.

Doing too many solos will give you bad habits.
(Backsliding, fall rate issues, and most important not knowing how to track. If you continue to jump tracking WILL save your life when you are falling through canopies or someone is deploying 50ft underneath you. Its the difference of reading the canopy label as you manuever by or falling into that canopy. Not tryin to scare you. Another jumper explained that to me and taught me how to track and it really helped. A LOT! As in life saving.)


Some people really enjoy them....personally I cant stand to do a solo unless im the only one jumping a wingsuit that day.


As for getting bored.....it can happen. I have thought that one day I will be burned out and need to take a break.

My dad has 10,000+ jumps and still continues to jump. He doesnt jump nearly as much as he used to and often times passes up a jump because he is burned out on it but after a week or two of not jumping he cant stand it and has to do some videos, tandems, or a fun jump.

Well have fun and keep up the jumpin.

[FlyinDawg 0]

I will never get boring to skydiving, Cos it's amazing gravity and freefall.

Flyin' Dawg or SkyDog


"To understand is to forgive, even oneself."

[popsjumper 2]

Tiger,
Your attitude makes me
For those of you who said it WILL get boring...you've lost that loving feeling.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[jakee 1,594]

Quote

How can it be a fun sport if all you want to do is get points?

Because the feeling you get on a dive where everyone is in tune, everything flows, time seems to be going so slowly but you're still busting out point after point after point.... It's pretty damn cool!

Not that I do any FS at the moment but believe me, there's that added element of being completely in tune with other people that you simply cannot get on a solo.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[UDSkyJunkie 0]

Quote

I have more fun by myself right now to be honest.

How can it be a fun sport if all you want to do is get points?

Skydiving, like everything, is very individual. Some people love the feeling of freefall for it's own sake, some people don't care about freefall and would rather do hop-n-pop's from 5000' so they can swoop, and some people want to rip up points like maniacs. I've even met people that I don't think really enjoy skydiving so much as they enjoy hanging out with skydivers... they'll do a jump here and there but they are really just there for the atmosphere!

How is it fun if all you want is points? Well, it's not JUST about points... for me, it's about competing, I've just always loved competition in all things. I like the challenge. I like the team comraderie. I like the constant improvement. I love the feeling of a perfect, clean exit and the visual when turning points on the hill. I like the anxiety before a meet dive and the rush afterwards when you do well. And I like the fact that 4-way flying skills make me better able to do anything else on my belly (big-ways, coach jumps, AFF, organizing, tracking...)

That's not everyone's scene, and I understand. (well, maybe I don't understand, but I respect it). But for me, the novelty of the feeling of freefall for it's own sake wore off before I graduated AFF (true, I swear!), and I need something more to keep my attention.

Truthfully, I think that's just my personality overall, because I could say the same about every other activity I do... for example, I lift weights but it gets really boring if I'm not making some kind of progress... but I love it when I make a new personal record.

"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

[kallend 2,146]

Quote

I can't even remember the last time I did a solo... freefall alone is boring IMO. Sure, I could practice some stuff, but once you get to a certain point it's hard to tell how you really did without a reference.

Canopy stuff however, I agree... it's always fun

I have done a lot of solos to practice various things: wingsuit flying, tracking (tracking flock dives are useless to practice good flat tracking), high speed diving, etc.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.