So im jumping out of a perfectly good airplane this weekend.
- Thread starter Busaman5000
- Start date
Well the weather looks like it may turn out ok for saturday.
I just hope when the guy pulls the cord a bunch of pots and pans and camping equipment don't come out instead of a parachute. lol
I just hope when the guy pulls the cord a bunch of pots and pans and camping equipment don't come out instead of a parachute. lol
Well the weather looks like it may turn out ok for saturday.
I just hope when the guy pulls the cord a bunch of pots and pans and camping equipment don't come out instead of a parachute. lol
EXACTLY my point
it does sound fun BUT....
it does sound fun BUT....
BUT - Don't knock it til you try it, at least once. You've already proven you have some 'need for speed' or you wouldn't have a Busa. I will tell you skydiving is a hell of a lot safer than riding that bike down the street; At least I know who packed my parachute (ME), and I only have to worry about the other people in the sky with me (who I know), or the plane crashing of course - on the road you have to worry about every cager out there.
A Busa ride to a drop zone to jump would just about be HEAVEN.
now much do classes cost? And how many do you have to take before you go tandum?
Tandum will be your FIRST jump. Anybody can do tandum.
This is costing us about $200 for the jump. Other places may vary.
Busaman is right; around $200 plus/minus for video. Training is about a 1/2 hour (you are a PASSENGER vs. the PILOT). A great way to get the entire experience from full altitude. Less than a track day!
semperfi
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I started jumping back in 1970 when I got back from Viet Nam. We had an old Cesna 150 that had to be started by pulling the prop through by hand for my first static line jump. The hardest thing in the world is to let go of that strut when they cut the engine. We only paid $5.00 each for gas to jump and packed our own chutes. You will love it!
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I started jumping back in 1970 when I got back from Viet Nam. We had an old Cesna 150 that had to be started by pulling the prop through by hand for my first static line jump. The hardest thing in the world is to let go of that strut when they cut the engine. We only poaid $5.00 each for gas to jump and packed our own chutes. You will love it!
You were jumping rounds - now THAT was brave!
I remember my first jump clear as day 18 years ago - a 1953 model Beaver. I climbed out on the strut, started to slip, looked up and my jumpmaster and said "I gotta go!"...he laughed and said, "Well, GOOOOO". You can her me hollering in delight the entire way down from the ground video
I took the full day training - I think it was called AFF ? ? and all the jumps and then solo tests with an instructor, was ready to take the cert test and the zone realized they forgot to train me on chute packing! But I was qualified for solo jumps I guess. It was about 8 years ago now. Before buying a chute, I bailed and got into cycles instead as I figured it would be cheaper and more easily accessable. But EVERY SUMMER I think about going back and jumping more....
people that think it is not safe need to know about all the technology, the gear, the backups...
- ultra tough reinforced metals and multi stitch riggings
- new chutes that are designed to CATCH more air than not
- you carry a full backup chute in your pack
- there is a computer that computes speed, rotation, level, atlitute and will launch yoru chute FOR YOU if you loose consciousness for some reason
- also, it has nothing to do with heights. I'm DEATHLY afriad of heights, and skydiving didn't bother me at all.
If you even partially think you are interested, do it. It's easily worth 5 times the price you will pay... you will understand why I say that after your first jump. and GET VIDEO!!!!!
people that think it is not safe need to know about all the technology, the gear, the backups...
- ultra tough reinforced metals and multi stitch riggings
- new chutes that are designed to CATCH more air than not
- you carry a full backup chute in your pack
- there is a computer that computes speed, rotation, level, atlitute and will launch yoru chute FOR YOU if you loose consciousness for some reason
- also, it has nothing to do with heights. I'm DEATHLY afriad of heights, and skydiving didn't bother me at all.
If you even partially think you are interested, do it. It's easily worth 5 times the price you will pay... you will understand why I say that after your first jump. and GET VIDEO!!!!!
AFF=Accelerated Free Fall. Much steeper learning curve but more expensive in the short run. Yeah, 8 years ago you'd have to do the AFF minimums again, but instead of having to do 3 jumps to get thru the same requirements for each level, you might be able to do it in a few less. You could probably do it in a weekend at the right DZ (lift capacity).
Computer=AAD (automatic activation device) I have one on all my rigs.
Computer=AAD (automatic activation device) I have one on all my rigs.
A must but I wouldn't count on it; if it fires you are under 800 feet and that's too LOW for sport canopy openings!
OOOHH...so it's an emergency device only. Stll a must have in my eyes. do you jump with the ones that you can control (sorry dont know the terminology)
Yes, emergency last-resort, I'm-knocked-out-and-can't-pull-with-a-broken-arm last resort.
I assume you mean "with the ones you can control" you mean the parachute? Yes, all ram-air, parachutes are steerable, and more importantly, FLARE (like an airplane or a bird) to slow down when you land. Most ram-air parachutes have about 15 mph forward speed, some faster some slower. As long a the winds aren't higher than the forward speed of your canopy, you can move a long way across the ground with great accuracy. I can land on your hat from 15,000 feet fairly regularly.
Let's talk about the flare. A sport parachute the operator will flare (brake) right before landing, it slows down the vertical and forward speed of the parachute. In the old days, and in the military, you hit the ground like a sack of potatoes; now, if you do it right, I can land like I'm stepping off this chair I'm sitting in...SMOOTH AND SOFT. If you do a tandem, most of them kinda 'slide' in on their butt - plenty soft in the grass.
The view, above the cloud/haze/smog later, is SPECTACULAR
I assume you mean "with the ones you can control" you mean the parachute? Yes, all ram-air, parachutes are steerable, and more importantly, FLARE (like an airplane or a bird) to slow down when you land. Most ram-air parachutes have about 15 mph forward speed, some faster some slower. As long a the winds aren't higher than the forward speed of your canopy, you can move a long way across the ground with great accuracy. I can land on your hat from 15,000 feet fairly regularly.
Let's talk about the flare. A sport parachute the operator will flare (brake) right before landing, it slows down the vertical and forward speed of the parachute. In the old days, and in the military, you hit the ground like a sack of potatoes; now, if you do it right, I can land like I'm stepping off this chair I'm sitting in...SMOOTH AND SOFT. If you do a tandem, most of them kinda 'slide' in on their butt - plenty soft in the grass.
The view, above the cloud/haze/smog later, is SPECTACULAR
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yes a sport parachute is what I would want to do. Those look like a blast. How often do chutes fail to open? and what is the common cause for them failing ie. packing error, cord failure, ect...
VERY, VERY rarely is there a total malfunction. The thing is MADE to grab air and open. If you read the fatality reports, the greatest cause of death is from PERFECTLY functioning canopys, but the operator decided to do something stupid and speed up his landing (called swooping) so he can look cool, makes a mistake and hits hard.
Every skydiver is actually wearing TWO parachutes, the MAIN that he/she usually packs himself, and a RESERVE that is packed every 120 days by a FAA certified rigger. IF there is a main failure, then the jumper 'cuts' (disconnects) the main and opens the reserve.
To give you an example, I've used my reserve ONCE, jump 880, World Freefall Convention, Quincy IL about 1998. I had line twists on opening (my fault bad body position). It put me in a spiral - I had the option of trying to kick out of the twists so my canopy would fly, or cut away while I was still high enough to ensure a good reserve. I cut away - my reserve opened fine - I landed - and ran to my other rig to get back on the plane (get it over with).
I promise, if the off-event you needed to use your reserve on a tandem, your tandem master is gonna do it so fast you'll never notice until he tells you after you land.
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