JDax57

Welcome to the world of skydiving...I'm new myself still kicking the idea around...one more tandem (2 so far) and I'll make the decision to stay with it or not....my condolences to your loss. And I admire your tenacity. -=JDax=- "And once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return" Anon

Welcome to the forums. I myself am new to the sport and I'm still kicking the idea around. Abilene TX....and the Box....I'll take a simple stab at guessing you are Air Force. I was there for 3 years, I feel your pain. But look at it this way....you have nearly "climologically speaking" 250-320 days of good sunny weather to jump. specially in the heat of the summer...Partly cloudy skies with nice fair weather Cumulus clouds with temps in the upper 90s-100s.. -=JDax=- "And once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return" Anon

Hello to whoever reads this post. Well about me I'm 27 in the military and I've always kicked the idea around when I joined the military to be a Combat Jump Weather Forecaster. But After seeing the riggors and requirements of "Army life" I opted to stay as I am. However, the idea of skydiving always apealled to me. I had the opportunity to try it in NC, but between deployments and work the idea trickled away and was soon forgotten. Wasn't until 3 years after that day that, a fellow co-worker pointed out a trip with the Outdoor Recreation offce in Germany; of a trip to go skydiving in Bitburg. I jumped at the chance to do something out of the ordinary. And yes when the day came to jump I was sooo afraid that I choose to let everyone else jump before me....when I was ready, the flights were canned for the day, just my luck. I ended up Jumping the next day...still scared out of my mind. But the rush once I was on terra firma last well into the next 2 weeks. So I jumped a 2nd time, just to see if I'll enjoy it as much as the first tandem. I'm still kicking the idea around of getting my license when i get back to the state, but I fear the potential for accidents. Yes, I've read all I could possibly can, I know that its significantly safer than driving a Car, just based on statistics (20 per 100,000 miles driven against 1 per 100,000 jumps). But accidents happen, I just don't want to be one of those rookies that makes the FATAL mistake. I know that I have two chances to make it back safely. So what to do...I'll make one more Tandem before I make the long lasting choice of sticking with it. What do you guys think? I know the fun factor outdoes anything I've ever done (driving 135mph in a sports car down the Autobahn in germany to the gut wrenching 60mph drop of the swing at six flag over dallas). Any suggestions? How and what could I do Not to become a statistic in the world of skydiving, do you really have to be in a discipline? Can I just be one of those safe jump junky? Well let me know what you guys think.... -=JDax=- "And once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return" Anon