Airborne!!! Any suggestions?

GA_boi

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:woot:I found out today that I got a slot for Airborne school. :banana: Just wondering if anyone else here is Airborne and if so, what are some things to prepare for? Ways to prepare? Things I would want to know while there. School is in January so I do have a few months to prepare.
 
Congrats! And remember the only things meant to fall from the sky are birdsh!t rain and fools :D
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HOOAH!

Ok, here's the skinny (at least it was in when I went thru it - although dated since I went in 1993 :laugh:)

1. I started skydiving because I wanted to go to Airborne school and I didn't want to wash out. I had 50+ jumps before I went (no, I didn't tell the blackhats that I had more jumps than some of them did); the point being that when it came time to jump out of the plane, I had no fear as I'd had previous experience. I saw a guy walk into the plane after 2 weeks of effort, and turn around and walk back out because he got scared - no way I was gonna go thru all that just to walk out of the plane! At a minimum, at least go make a tandem so you can get past the fear part.

2. While not very physical (compared to Air Assault School, anyway); you do some mild PT (if you are in shape you should have no problem); every morning of jump week you will run to the Airfield - the reason is not for PT, but for the blackhats to see who is hiding injury from the previous jumps (and there is alot of that going on). Makes sense if you can Airborne shuffle to the Airfield, then you are probably ok to jump.

3. Lastly, it's all about ATTITUDE. Play the game for 3 weeks, do what they tell you to do, when they tell you to do it, and you'll be fine. Have your crap together. The scene in Forrest Gump where he went to boot came ("whatever you tell me to do, Drill Sergeant!) is appropriate!

I had a blast, and the wings give you street cred.

Now, Air Assault (I was class leader and roster #1) was a different story.

HOOAH AIRBORNE!

Airborne 1993.jpg
 
HOOAH!

Ok, here's the skinny (at least it was in when I went thru it - although dated since I went in 1993 :laugh:)

1. I started skydiving because I wanted to go to Airborne school and I didn't want to wash out. I had 50+ jumps before I went (no, I didn't tell the blackhats that I had more jumps than some of them did); the point being that when it came time to jump out of the plane, I had no fear as I'd had previous experience. I saw a guy walk into the plane after 2 weeks of effort, and turn around and walk back out because he got scared - no way I was gonna go thru all that just to walk out of the plane! At a minimum, at least go make a tandem so you can get past the fear part.

2. While not very physical (compared to Air Assault School, anyway); you do some mild PT (if you are in shape you should have no problem); every morning of jump week you will run to the Airfield - the reason is not for PT, but for the blackhats to see who is hiding injury from the previous jumps (and there is alot of that going on). Makes sense if you can Airborne shuffle to the Airfield, then you are probably ok to jump.

3. Lastly, it's all about ATTITUDE. Play the game for 3 weeks, do what they tell you to do, when they tell you to do it, and you'll be fine. Have your crap together. The scene in Forrest Gump where he went to boot came ("whatever you tell me to do, Drill Sergeant!) is appropriate!

I had a blast, and the wings give you street cred.

Now, Air Assault (I was class leader and roster #1) was a different story.

HOOAH AIRBORNE!

+1 to what skydivr said. A fear of heights is quite natural and those that don't think they are may find out that they are standing in the door for that first jump.

Two important things to remember:

- "Clear, Sergeant Airborne!" is the easiest thing to keep you out of their radar.

- Keeping your feet and knees together will save you regardless of whether you selected the right parachute landing fall (PLF) or not.

Good luck!
 
Oh yeah, I forgot: A military parachute comes out of the sky alot faster than my sport parachute does. I think the Army looked at the vertical speed/impact it takes to break 50% of the bones in your body, and backed it off just a hair. I remembering looking at my descent rate after I got open, and thinking "Oh SH@*, this is gonna hurt....)

One landing I think I even stood up, but on another one, it was feet, butt, head...only time I think I've ever actually seen stars....

I have to be honest, i never made another static-line military jump afterwards; but 2000+ jumps later on sport gear I never regretted it. Tried to chunk an 18-way out the back of a C130 once :thumbsup:
 
Have fun! And Air assault was a ton more physical! Just remember "There is no speed limit at jumpschool!!" (You will run everywhere!)
 
Thanks Skydivr and BigBSBusa. I have made 2 jumps previous. If I had money I'd have my own skydiving gear. I loved every second of skydiving (even though I'm 6'3" and had a guy thats 5'6" attached to my back while doing it). I dont see the jumping out part being a problem. I figured out this summer that mouth closed, ears open, and eyes to the front helps things out. The Major said I should run and do pullups until then. This here just reinforces that.

Cross my fingers, I'll see air assult at summers end next year!!
 
Enjoy it, I was the Commander of the Jump Master School for a while. So, just keep running, do your pushups (your gona do alot of these) and listen to your instructors and RELAX. You'll LOVE it. Also, unlike alot of people think, the air DOES NOT pull you out of the Door. You'll hear over and over again, DO A VIGOROUS EXIT. If not, well, your buddies will hear your HELMET bounce off the rear of the airplane :laugh:

Congrads and GET THOSE WINGS :cheerleader:
 
oh you going to love that T-10 after jumping a sport chute... :rofl: military guys are nuts... 500' and throw you out the door... dang... who has time go get scared.. :)
 
all i know is feet.. butt.. head..lol. Met some airborne guy while I was in... they seemed like great people,.. and you'll work hard to earn it!
 
Why do the military chutes fall so much faster? Less time to get shot at??????How can you fight if you have a sprained ankle or knee?
 
At school play the game, be able to do some PT, and put up with the BS. When you jump keep your head in the game and follow instructions. Maintain control of your static line.Once your chute opens turn and hold into the wind and enjoy the ride. When you land keep your feet and knees together with your knees slightly bent! Don't look at the ground to prevent groundrush. It's all about getting your 5 jumps and not getting injured.

Here are some examples of bad exits...[URL="
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Get some..... Airborne!
 
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Why do the military chutes fall so much faster? Less time to get shot at??????How can you fight if you have a sprained ankle or knee?


They don't really decend that much faster. But military parachutes are designed to be jumped as low as 250 feet (1,250 is standard in non-combat jumps and 500 in normal combat conditions). 250 FEET was the jump altitude that was made at the Granada Airport. That's called a hop and pop. Infact you don't need a reserve, because you'll hit the ground before you can activate it if your main has a FULL FAILURE (which I've only heard of once in over 30 years of jumping). You also weigh more that 300 lbs in combat gear. That alone causes a faster decent. BUT, if you hit, twist and roll, it's a snap :thumbsup:. Of course, I always hit like a BAG OF POOP anyway :laugh:
 
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