canopycandy

I'm really glad my DZ required 10 coach dives after finishing AFF. At the time, it seemed like an enormous amount of work, and I never thought I would finish. Now I realize how much I learned during those jumps. After I finished all those coach dives, I started learning to freefly with some really good skydivers. I didn't do my first real solo until jump 40 or so. Regardless, it was a little scary going out there by myself. I didn't know how I should exit. I worried that I would somehow fly directly into another group of jumpers. And I wondered what would happen if I had a terrible emergency, and nobody else was around to witness my horrifying death and tell the police all about it. So I took extra care spotting. I did some flips out of the plane. Then I hung out in a sit for a while. Then went belly. Then did some back flips. Belly. Tracked a little. Belly. Tracked some more. Belly. Pull. Frankly, it was boring. And it felt pointless. I wasn't working on anything specific. I wasn't trying anything new. Most of all, I wasn't having any fun with other jumpers. It was just dull, dull, dull. And it seemed to last FOREVER. You'll see. It seems like it'll be much more frightening than it really is.

I think the only skydivers who have made serious bling were coming from Columbia and making use of tandem rigs.

Thank you.

I know there were 32 or 33 skydiving deaths in the U.S. last year ... but how many people were injured? Are there statistics to tell me how many jumpers were banged up beyond basic bumps and bruises?

This is really bad, but kind of funny. My mom has Alzheimer's Disease. So after I did my first tandem, I showed my father and her my video, talked to them at length about it, etc ... and now my mom is giving my sister a bunch of crap for going skydiving. My whuffo sister did not appreciate this. She was all, "Thaaaaanks." I said, "No problem. Just tell her you won't do it again."

Wait. Are you looking for Vern to tell him he's a daddy? Because I think he might freak out.

His last name is Alexander. Good luck!

Vern is normally at Skydive Wayne County, near Richmond, Ind. (It's very close to the Ohio border.) However, he's gone south for the winter. He should be at Z-hills soon. Does that help?

I know it's silly. But really, I'm wondering what makes it ... you know, go. And as a very silly postscript to that question -- can it freeze?

Develop a crush on your coach -- it'll keep you going. It's worked for me and my friends. Let us know how your jump goes.

That's so exciting. I started AFF in July ... and getting out the door on that jump took more courage than anything else I've ever done in my life. I was so nervous, I gave myself an upset stomach. I felt dizzy. I stood in the door and thought, "I could still ride the plane down, and nobody would think less of me." My jumpmasters thought I wasn't going to do it. They asked if I was ready to skydive -- and I just stared blankly back at them. Somehow I made it out the door. After a few seconds of initial terror, everything was suddenly all right. To this day, I'm still shocked I did that jump. In fact, I'm surprised I continued jumping -- there were many times I felt discouraged and too nervous and awkward. Luckily, I had a really great coach who got me in the air as often as possible, even when I told him I didn't want to go. And now ... well, this Sunday I do my A license check dive.

I had a dream a couple weeks ago that I was jumping from the space shuttle. For some bizarre reason, I had to deploy early, and I wasn't allowed to use a full parachute -- I only had about half of a high-performance canopy. About halfway to earth, a plane met up with me, and someone inside tossed the other half of my canopy across the sky to me. I had to attach it to what I was already flying for my landing. Kind of weird, eh?

Try Skydive Wayne County. They're just about two hours from Columbus, a straight shot on I-70. They have an on-site pro shop, and if you happen to be there during the boogie, I've heard they have TONS of vendors.

HE DID IT!!!! I was so proud. I honestly didn't think he'd do it, so I didn't push him. I've just been very enthusiastic about how much I love skydiving and how happy it makes me. So he did it. And he LOVED it! He's so excited to do it again. Most of all, he said he was really happy to share in something that is important to me. It's just cool, because he's a very laid-back type. He's never been the stereotypical "thrill-seeker," so nobody ever expected him to go skydiving. This has impressed the hell out of everyone who knows him. As for me, I graduated AFF!!!! Then I did two clear and pulls (my first time out of a C-182), and a few coach dives. I had bad coach dives, though -- I was unstable coming out of the little plane, I didn't feel comfortable with the jumpmaster, I was tense ... it just wasn't good. Great canopy rides and landings, though.

Does it happen when skydiving? I'm doing my last AFF jump tomorrow, and I would love my significant other to share in the occasion by doing his first jump. The only thing is that he's terrified. It's not the "oh-my-God-I'll-die" kind of scared. He's just worried he'll get the same stomach-dropping feeling that he gets on roller coasters. And he HATES that feeling. I've tried telling him that it doesn't happen to me. I asked around with other skydivers, and they say it doesn't happen to them either. Can someone tell me exactly why it doesn't happen? I think a good explanation would do wonders to boost the Significant Other's bravery. Or maybe I'm totally off base here. Maybe that feeling happens with some jumpers. Has anyone here ever gotten it?

We are pretty rockin', aren't we? Us girls -- and the hot guys, too.

Thanks! I was just trying to do that. Do you mind explaining it to a computer illiterate?

Hey, all!!! I've been lurking in the forums for a while. I finally decided to post when a friend of mine in Cincinnati passed along this cool story: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/07/04/loc_DOWNSskydiving.html Enjoy!