Have you gone skydiving? Or, would you?

[WriteThinking]

I have a birthday coming up and, at the suggestion of my sister, am considering going skydiving for the first time.

She wants to go, herself, but admits to concerns about giving herself a heart attack in the process. I have to admit that I've had the same thought as I consider whether jumping out of a perfectly good, functional airplane is a good idea that would really be as "exhilarating" as I picture people believing.

If you've skydived before, what was your experience of any abject terror the first time you went? How did you deal with it? Just close your eyes and fall out, or what?

My sister says that once you're up in the plane, the only way out is to jump because the skydive outfit doesn't want to refund your money. Is this true? Can you refuse to go? I can't imagine that they can actually make you go if you really don't want to do it upon second thought.

And if/when you finally jump, what did you do? Go with eyes open the whole way? What was it like? And would you recommend it to others, or not?

As with most (all?) first-timers, we would be going in tandem with a more experienced instructor/skydive enthusiast.

 

[KJIM]

I'd love to. Bungee jumping doesn't appeal to me but skydiving does. Go figure.

My uncle went on his 60th birthday. He enjoyed it.

There no way the organization can MAKE you jump. They can refuse to refund your money but I'm pretty sure they can't force you out of the plane.

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

No. And no.

 

[93Devil]

No and no.

 

[jackfinarelli]

Cannot remember whose line this was but it does seem appropriate here:

You do not need a parachute to go skydiving.
You do need a parachute to go skydiving twice.

 

[Songbird]

Used to say no but I think I would probably go if hooked to a professional.

 

[Amy]

I have long thought I wanted to skydive but I know there is no way I could make myself jump.

When I was in New Zealand, I stopped and watched people bungee jump at this bridge where supposedly bungee jumping started. I thought I was going to vomit just watching.

I still think skydiving would be so cool.

 

[MileHigh]

I have. I was nervous as hell and a friend kept pushing me and pushing me and pushing me and I kept saying no. Finally, I said f-it, and we went. This was 10 years or so ago.

You will go in a tandem with a pro/someone on your back who has done a lot of them. It's freaky looking down 12,000 feet up, but when you go out of the plane, it's pretty intense.

Took some instruction beforehand (about an hour) and you wear an altimeter on your wrist, and when you reach a certain point, the guy on your back will tap you, and you reach around to pull the cord. I had a rush when at first I couldn't reach the cord to pull the chute, but he did, safe landing and all was good.

It's not for everyone. At first, it's like a super-fast roller coaster. I had a helmet and goggles on, so you can keep your eyes open. After the chute is pulled, it's a pretty cool, relaxing trip down.

I would probably do it again having done it.

 

[Flip Wilson]

I went many years ago, and it was awesome. I had no desire to jump with a guy on my back, so I paid more and sat through a few hours of lessons so I could get around that. When I jumped, I had a guy on each side of me holding on, but when I pulled the cord, I was floating on my own. There was a speaker in my helmet so the instructor on the ground could guide me down. He was telling me which overhead handle to pull so I would drift to where I needed to land. Great experience.

 

[Mystery Meat II]

Maybe if they let me jump without a parachute.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Yup. Loved every minute of it.

 

[YankeeFan]

Have. It was scary, but exhilarating. Not rushing to do it again, but would if a friend wanted to.

Took some instruction beforehand (about an hour)

We watched a video telling us we might die, and that we were signing away all of our rights to sue -- even in the case of negligence. Even in the case of gross negligence.

My wife and I went up in the first plane. I think the only training they gave us was to keep our feet up while they landed.

It was really incredible how little "training" was involved.

you wear an altimeter on your wrist, and when you reach a certain point, the guy on your back will tap you, and you reach around to pull the cord.

We didn't have altimeters, but our instructors did. But, in my group of four, I think I was the only one whose instructor did not point this out, and/or let me pull the rip cord. So, when he pulled the rip cord, it came as a complete shock to me. Scared the crap out of me actually, because it felt like something had gone wrong.

Once we slowed down, he went into a spin, which I hated. I asked him not to do that again, and he didn't. Landing was uneventful.

I can understand why someone like Doc, who has a child, would not want to jump out of an airplane. But, overall, it was fun.

 

[Iron_chet]

I did it with a bunch of people from my buddy's work.

We did the 2 hours of instruction and practice on the ground and then went up 2 at a time with the jump master. The jump master would throw out the pilot chute after you walked/crouched onto the stand and got in position.

I was scared ****less on the ride up and would have backed out if I hadn't been part of a big group.

The actual jump was sensory overload until my chute opened, then it was awesome floating down and soaking in the experience.

I would probably never do it again but loved it if that makes sense.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

I had a girlfriend 20 years ago who was going through that mid-30s I'm-getting-old thing and wanted to go. Because she wore skirts every day -- she had a few pants, but I never saw her in them -- I told her that would be interesting for the people watching from below. As for going with her, I had no interest in doing that -- I have enough trouble with climbing down a ladder from a roof on a two-story house. I don't know if she ever went once, but she is a Facebook friend and it didn't become a hobby.

 

[Starman]

My mother joined the Civil Air Patrol in 1942 at the age of 11 (technically you had to be 12 to join).

In the summer of 1944, when she was 13, she did some static-line jumps (At least theoretically you were supposed to be 16 before they let you skydive). She was kind of hazy on whether she did any actual free-fall jumps (where you have to pull the cord).

My grandfather (who died before I was born) found out about it and went into orbit himself. He thought the CAP was supposed to be some girls-auxiliary thing where the girls would make sandwiches and pack the parachutes for the boys who would do the actual skydiving.

He was a fairly high honcho in local wartime materials procurement, so when he marched into the CAP commander's office, her skydiving career was pretty much over.

She kept talking about doing it again, but never did.

 

[MileHigh]

Have. It was scary, but exhilarating. Not rushing to do it again, but would if a friend wanted to.

Took some instruction beforehand (about an hour)

We watched a video telling us we might die, and that we were signing away all of our rights to sue -- even in the case of negligence. Even in the case of gross negligence.

My wife and I went up in the first plane. I think the only training they gave us was to keep our feet up while they landed.

It was really incredible how little "training" was involved.

you wear an altimeter on your wrist, and when you reach a certain point, the guy on your back will tap you, and you reach around to pull the cord.

We didn't have altimeters, but our instructors did. But, in my group of four, I think I was the only one whose instructor did not point this out, and/or let me pull the rip cord. So, when he pulled the rip cord, it came as a complete shock to me. Scared the crap out of me actually, because it felt like something had gone wrong.

Once we slowed down, he went into a spin, which I hated. I asked him not to do that again, and he didn't. Landing was uneventful.

I can understand why someone like Doc, who has a child, would not want to jump out of an airplane. But, overall, it was fun.

Well, yes, quite true on the "instruction."

Still, I'm glad I did it and have the pictures/video of it.

 

[YankeeFan]

Still, I'm glad I did it and have the pictures/video of it.

Yeah, we paid extra for a DVD of it.

So, just before each of us jumped, an employee with a camera strapped to his helmet jumped to record you. It's pretty funny to watch.

 

[playthrough]

Do I sound like a prude if I say "no, now that I have kids"? If I had died in a skydiving accident at 22, maybe it would have sounded edgy. But I can't imagine my daughters telling their friends that's how their old man left this mortal coil.

And yes, I'm sure the odds are pretty slim, but ...

 

[User 1019]

I went to the Army's parachuting school back in the day. Did my five and don't want to do it again. I can't afford to lose my flying career over a hard landing.

 

[Shoeless Joe]

If I'm ever on an aircraft that is going down and I have a parachute, I'll be the first one out the door. As long as the aircraft is functioning properly, I'm perfectly content to stay right where I am.

When I was in the Navy, I had a buddy that did skydiving on the weekends. Monday rolled around one time, and he didn't show for muster. It wasn't like him at all, and I wasn't even thinking about the parachuting. Finally, I got called aside, "Do you know anything about Petty Officer Varga skydiving?" "Oh ****, is he dead?" "No, but he is in the hospital with a broken pelvis."