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skydivers ?
- Thread starter airplane
- Start date
Only in my dreams! I wish I could fly again!!
Brother Nature
Well-known member
Always something I've wanted to try. Have been bungee jumping a number of times, but not jumped out of a plane yet. Here's some inspiration:
brickweeder
Well-known member
in the 90s, i did a tandem and a solo...it was a complete blast...highly recommended! It's not the adrenaline rush that bungee is, but it is better (imo).
StickyBandit
Well-known member
I stopped jumping about 25 years ago when I got married and had kids. I had my B license and did 171 jumps I think but never got a single photo, guess I was too busy 
We did a few 4 way jumps but I was a fast faller (heavy bones) so most had trouble keeping up before I got a decent jump suit with little wings and booties. Good times
The cost and time involved was the main issue. I still have my parachute
If at first you don't succeed don't go skydiving
We did a few 4 way jumps but I was a fast faller (heavy bones) so most had trouble keeping up before I got a decent jump suit with little wings and booties. Good times
The cost and time involved was the main issue. I still have my parachute
If at first you don't succeed don't go skydiving
SolarLogos
Well-known member
It's been 40 years since I jumped last. Back then, it cost $75 for the 1st jump (static line), which included 4 hours of ground school training. Jumps after that were $35 each, with student gear and $15/jump if you owned your own gear. We had to do 6 static line jumps and two dummy rips and then we could do our own free falls. I'll tell you about my first and last jump and every cliche in the book is in here.
I'm in the back on the left
When I first walked into the classroom, the first thing I noticed was a fridge with a beer tap built in. The instructor and owner were some pretty cool hippies, so I knew I was going to have fun.
The instructor, who's name was "One-Less" was a riot, loved to show slides of malfunctioning chutes, cutting away and pulling the reserve. He was convinced he could jump without a chute and land and roll properly
After the 4 hour class, we went out to the jump site. There was a large arrow on a pole that they could turn to guide us on in to the landing zone.
We put on our suits and chutes and got onto the back of a flatbed truck and headed toward the pick up spot.
I was talking to another jumper during the ride and he tells me, he has had 11 malfunctions in the last 100, give or take, jumps, but hasn't had any since he got his own parachute and quit using "student gear". Then he said, "You should see how they put those things together."
When we get there, the Cessna plane is gliding in and One-less says, "I guess Clyde ran out of gas again."
The plane skips on in and they radioed for a fuel truck (we're at the end of the airport, so it was close). We had to take our chutes off and push the plane towards the truck, which started coming towards us. I was pushing on the strut under the left wing, when I looked down to see that there was no break line connected to the wheel. I told Clyde and he said, "Ya, there's no breakshoes on that side, we only need breaks on the right wheel that we jump from."
The truck gets there and Clyde says, "give me 10 bucks worth".
We get gas, put our parachutes back on and all get into the plane. Now the inside of this plane was something else. The pilot's seat was worn down to springs, and the gas gauge was hanging by a wire (which turns out didn't work anyways). It had that golden colored shag carpet from the 70s on the floor.
One-Less asked Clyde if he had gotten a new started yet, which the answer was no (of course!) and so One-Less flips the prop by hand and on the 4th try, the plane starts up. The muffler was gone, so it was really noisy inside the plane.
As we lift off the ground, Clyde looks back and says, "Did anyone tell you the rules? Anything happens to the plane under 1,000 feet we stay with the plane, over that... you're on your own".
I was the first jumper out. I heard the engine speed suddenly drop, then One-less opens the door, which I'm seated on the floor next to. I reach out, grab a hold of the strut under the right wing, put my left foot on the tire, and pivot out. My right foot is in the air next to my left foot which is still standing on the tire. The instructor is holding the pilot chute that will open my main chute, he says, "Look at me... Jump". I opened my arms and legs, arched my back and it sucked me right off the tire and I watched as the plane flew away from above me. I was told it is about 6 seconds before the main chute opens, but I can't tell, it's all so blissful. The fall is the orgasm, the ride after the chute opens is all foreplay (it's kind of backwards)
My chute popped open and my cords were twisted. I didn't feel it was really a big deal at the moment, so I pulled the risers apart and kicked my legs and I went in circles unwinding the risers. After that, the ride down was the most peaceful experience of my life. We spend our entire lives either standing, sitting, or laying down on something. For once, I was truly free.
When I got to the ground, I had them pack my chute and I went right back up. The girl that packed my chute was showing me how to do it. At one point, she said, "don't cross these lines, it will cause a malfunction. My boyfriend pissed me off so I packed his chute this way and he had to pull his reserve." Seriously folks, I'm not exaggerating this stuff!!! And it gets even better.
After finishing my 8 jumps and doing my first freefall with the instructor, then next load of jumpers were going up as they were repacking my chute. One jumpers was an 18 year old kid, who was jumping on his birthday. His chute didn't open and was just a streamer. The jump was 6,500 feet. He apparently brainlocked and didn't cut away and pull the reserve.
He hit the ground about 60 or 70 yards in front of us. He bounced about 8 or 9 feet in the air and came back down. Then he gets up. No joke. We had him lay down and he was completely in shock and staring up. Careflight Helicopter arrived and took him to Washoe Medical Center (this was in Reno).
I rushed home and called all my friends to tell them about it. It was on the evening news and somehow, he did not even break any bones.
I quite jumping after that. Bungie jumping was cool, but nowhere the same.
After graduating from law school, my buddies and I wanted to celebrate by going skydiving. I looked up this outfit and found a news story, that the FAA shut them down due to several deaths and lawsuits against them.
I will say this about my experience skydiving, and I've said this for years: Science cannot develop a drug that feels as good as skydiving. It is the ultimate high. The high has super duper legs too. For the next few months, just recall the memory and the feeling and high will come over you and you will glow.
Peace,
SL
I'm in the back on the left
When I first walked into the classroom, the first thing I noticed was a fridge with a beer tap built in. The instructor and owner were some pretty cool hippies, so I knew I was going to have fun.
The instructor, who's name was "One-Less" was a riot, loved to show slides of malfunctioning chutes, cutting away and pulling the reserve. He was convinced he could jump without a chute and land and roll properly
After the 4 hour class, we went out to the jump site. There was a large arrow on a pole that they could turn to guide us on in to the landing zone.
We put on our suits and chutes and got onto the back of a flatbed truck and headed toward the pick up spot.
I was talking to another jumper during the ride and he tells me, he has had 11 malfunctions in the last 100, give or take, jumps, but hasn't had any since he got his own parachute and quit using "student gear". Then he said, "You should see how they put those things together."
When we get there, the Cessna plane is gliding in and One-less says, "I guess Clyde ran out of gas again."
The plane skips on in and they radioed for a fuel truck (we're at the end of the airport, so it was close). We had to take our chutes off and push the plane towards the truck, which started coming towards us. I was pushing on the strut under the left wing, when I looked down to see that there was no break line connected to the wheel. I told Clyde and he said, "Ya, there's no breakshoes on that side, we only need breaks on the right wheel that we jump from."
The truck gets there and Clyde says, "give me 10 bucks worth".
We get gas, put our parachutes back on and all get into the plane. Now the inside of this plane was something else. The pilot's seat was worn down to springs, and the gas gauge was hanging by a wire (which turns out didn't work anyways). It had that golden colored shag carpet from the 70s on the floor.
One-Less asked Clyde if he had gotten a new started yet, which the answer was no (of course!) and so One-Less flips the prop by hand and on the 4th try, the plane starts up. The muffler was gone, so it was really noisy inside the plane.
As we lift off the ground, Clyde looks back and says, "Did anyone tell you the rules? Anything happens to the plane under 1,000 feet we stay with the plane, over that... you're on your own".
I was the first jumper out. I heard the engine speed suddenly drop, then One-less opens the door, which I'm seated on the floor next to. I reach out, grab a hold of the strut under the right wing, put my left foot on the tire, and pivot out. My right foot is in the air next to my left foot which is still standing on the tire. The instructor is holding the pilot chute that will open my main chute, he says, "Look at me... Jump". I opened my arms and legs, arched my back and it sucked me right off the tire and I watched as the plane flew away from above me. I was told it is about 6 seconds before the main chute opens, but I can't tell, it's all so blissful. The fall is the orgasm, the ride after the chute opens is all foreplay (it's kind of backwards)
My chute popped open and my cords were twisted. I didn't feel it was really a big deal at the moment, so I pulled the risers apart and kicked my legs and I went in circles unwinding the risers. After that, the ride down was the most peaceful experience of my life. We spend our entire lives either standing, sitting, or laying down on something. For once, I was truly free.
When I got to the ground, I had them pack my chute and I went right back up. The girl that packed my chute was showing me how to do it. At one point, she said, "don't cross these lines, it will cause a malfunction. My boyfriend pissed me off so I packed his chute this way and he had to pull his reserve." Seriously folks, I'm not exaggerating this stuff!!! And it gets even better.
After finishing my 8 jumps and doing my first freefall with the instructor, then next load of jumpers were going up as they were repacking my chute. One jumpers was an 18 year old kid, who was jumping on his birthday. His chute didn't open and was just a streamer. The jump was 6,500 feet. He apparently brainlocked and didn't cut away and pull the reserve.
He hit the ground about 60 or 70 yards in front of us. He bounced about 8 or 9 feet in the air and came back down. Then he gets up. No joke. We had him lay down and he was completely in shock and staring up. Careflight Helicopter arrived and took him to Washoe Medical Center (this was in Reno).
I rushed home and called all my friends to tell them about it. It was on the evening news and somehow, he did not even break any bones.
I quite jumping after that. Bungie jumping was cool, but nowhere the same.
After graduating from law school, my buddies and I wanted to celebrate by going skydiving. I looked up this outfit and found a news story, that the FAA shut them down due to several deaths and lawsuits against them.
I will say this about my experience skydiving, and I've said this for years: Science cannot develop a drug that feels as good as skydiving. It is the ultimate high. The high has super duper legs too. For the next few months, just recall the memory and the feeling and high will come over you and you will glow.
Peace,
SL
brickweeder
Well-known member
171 jumps....what a dream!I stopped jumping about 25 years ago when I got married and had kids. I had my B license and did 171 jumps I think but never got a single photo, guess I was too busy
We did a few 4 way jumps but I was a fast faller (heavy bones) so most had trouble keeping up before I got a decent jump suit with little wings and booties. Good times
The cost and time involved was the main issue. I still have my parachute
If at first you don't succeed don't go skydiving
one time only, the chute didn't open properly and the steering toggles were 4' too far to grab...spiraled for almost 40 miles before my chute snagged an insulator on a high power tower and stopped my decent 20' from the earth...this was back in '70, no belly chute, no buddy jumping...never again...
SolarLogos
Well-known member
Amen to that! @StickyBandit did you do your 100th jump naked? Not sure if that was still a thing when you jumped.
Peace
Who can forget Debbie Harry's topless bunjee jump.
We all should be as free as Debbie Harry bungee jumping topless in 1990 - Far Out Magazine
Founding members of Blondie, singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein—who were dating at the time of forming the band—jump topless.
StickyBandit
Well-known member
No, but we had some jump in parties around the country, one guy landed in a deer paddock and couldn't get out except by walking up to the farmhouse and asking the irate farmer to let him out. One girl did a low dump behind a building and we thought she'd bounced but opened meters from the ground, I was happy to see her
There were some very colorful people at the drop zones. Skydivers are a strange bunch!
One guy was stoned during initiation and didn't learn a thing! He did a static line jump and he was on radio and hadn't released his handles and when they said "left turn" he cut away and then they said "right turn" and he fired the reserve, when they found him miles from the drop zone he was still holding the handles, he'd tried to steer with them
Another time the pilot landed the Nomad with the wheels up. Planes don't keep sliding like in the movies
We did see a guy bounce, same as you but he wasn't so lucky, it was his 19th birthday on a static line jump he tumbled/rolled exiting the plane and gave himself container/riser twist and had a bag of washing, the spinning G's made him black out. He came to and cut away at 300ish, but was too low
StickyBandit
Well-known member
They were probably flying roundies then, it's much safer now
1st jump was with a T-10 then always flew a T-28 - too give you an idea ? remember when the 1st para-chutes (squares)(wings) came into use - also remember my first 5 man star - sun set jump and a water jump - next on list is from a hot air balloon (have friend that flies them)
When I jumped, we were using Vietnam parachutes that were round… Not only where we using surplus equipment that was packed by the village idiots over there, there were five of us in a Cessna 150 when we took off to jump… needless to say there wasn’t any safety precautions taken
StickyBandit
Well-known member
Jumped from a chopper once, that was weird, no air flow at first so no control at all until you speed up. Did a hop and pop from the nomad at 12000 once, damn near ripped my parachute lines to bits because I was still travelling forward at the same speed as the plane (turboprop), left bruises on my legs from the harness, fingers were purple when I landed to from the cold
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@peace
Well-known member
I have only jumped once. It was a tandem jump. My wife and I went to Greece for our honeymoon and we went to a place called skydive Athens. I waited to try it there because I decided that if there is a chance I will die doing it, then I might as well enjoy the scenery on the way down. My local places in Canada are all around major cities with views of concrete jungles, not my thing. After about 15 minutes of lessons with our instructors we were suited up and loaded into the plane. I was doing fine then we got to about 8000' and I started to get the spins. We jumped at 14 000', everyone else sat on the edge and pushed off. My instructor was more energetic and we both jumped sideways out of the plane which was pretty cool. The free fall is one of the best feelings I have ever had. I was still really dizzy though and once the chute pulled the whole land scape went back to spinning. Still an amazing experience. I want to bungee next.
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