Tomcat933

Wow that seems really low for a first jump student.

Last sunday when i showed up at the DZ, a cloud ceiling at about 4 grand kept the first load or two relatively low. I needed a hop and pop from 3500 as a requirement for my A license, so i figured it would be a good opportunity to get it out of the way. I wasn't really looking forward to it, this was my nineteenth jump, and after multiple 45 second free falls, jumping out and yanking the cord didn't seem too exciting. But for some reason, i really enjoyed it. I ended up making two more jumps that day, both from 10500, making my first dock on one of them, but for some reason, the jump from last weekend that stands out the most in my mind is the hop and pop! I think that this is partly due to the fact that, even after 21 jumps, i still get a little scared and stressed out when i hear Door! This fear factor was simply not there for this jump, and i think the lack of it allowed me to enjoy and vividly remember every aspect of it. Anyone else, swoopers not included, big fans of hop and pops?

I just checked the DAN website, the only term they use to name it is recompression chamber.

Beerlight, i assure you plenty of divers call it a recompression chamber. It makes sense, it "re-compresses" you to some of the depths you experienced when you got bent. I've heard compression chamber, and hyperbaric chamber is obviously the "official term", but in six years of diving i've never heard anyone call it a dive chamber. Hyperbaric chambers can treat anyone who has been subjected to rapid decreases in pressure, scuba diver or not.

I don't want to be the jerk, but that was not smart, plain and simple. I guy on a dive boat i was on in Curacao got a very mild case of the bends, and spent four six hour sessions in a recompression chamber. Decompression sickness can kill you, and not only that, but it would be a particularly painful way to go. You most likely wouldn't have died in this instance, because the second you felt symptoms the pilot could rapidly descend, but you could have seriously injured yourself, not to mention, i would freak out in that small ass recompression chamber for eight freaking hours. Going from sea level to 10,000 feet THREE HOURS after diving is a big deal, and a pretty stupid thing to do. SDI, and i'm pretty sure PADI as well recommends you wait 24 hours to fly after diving. You might should have paid more attention in your certification course, and i hope you do not make this mistake again, because as far as i can tell, you are VERY lucky.

Thanks John, this was exactly the kind of reply i was hoping for.

Before i made my first jump, i thought that skydiving was something that i was going to do one time, check off my bucket list, and move on. Now, after my twenty-first jump, i've almost achieved my A license and its clear that i am not going to stop anytime soon. I LOVE this sport already. The sensation of freefall is absolutely amazing, and i can think of nothing that could match the thrill of jumping out of an airplane. Now that i'm hooked for life, I just wanted to ask you guys your opinion on how risky skydiving is, really? With the pretty limited knowledge of skydiving that i have gained thus far as a student, i've realized that jumping out of an airplane is not nearly as dangerous an activity as the average person believes it to be. But people still die skydiving every single month in the United States. I don't plan to push the envelope in my skydiving career, i may never wing load higher than 1:1, and i try to stay as aware and safety oriented as possible on every jump. Like i said, I'm stuck now for better or worse. So how often have you veterans had oh shit moments? Has anyone every seen a friend go in or get critically injured and thought "man, they didn't do anything wrong"? I'm staying either way, but what are my chances, in your guys opinion, as a conservative skydiver, of killing or seriously injuring myself in this sport?

God. I can ONLY jump on Sunday this weekend, and they're calling for scattered thunderstorms. I move back into college next week, I have to jump!