Going skydiving this weekend with my daughter. It kind of escalated in a dare game with each other (seemed fun when we were just talking about it).
I guess that's an important reminder about making a dare with someone who has nothing to lose.
And it was scaring the crud out of me. Scared of heights.
Unless you've done this before, your fear is perhaps based in blissful ignorance. For that there's education, and then you can be scared for a reason.
A good school will let you practice the four parts of the jump-- how to get out the door (with a very stiff breeze), how it feels when the chute opens (keep those straps tight around your thighs or they'll find something to tighten around on their own), how to make the landing (like jumping off a ladder), and what to do if the chute doesn't open. Hypothetically the education will help you tamp down the fear a little. Hopefully they'll have you jump off a platform a few times to experience the different parts of the jump. Or, for a few dollars more, maybe you'll get some experience in one of the [-]wind tunnels[/-] jump trainers.
If all else fails then the tandem jumper will have everything (including you) under control.
I'll sure be glad when its over with. And by then I'll be glad to have done it. Kind of a bucket list thing I suppose.
Yeah, unless you do something embarrassing in front of your daughter and have to hear about it for the rest of your life. Just saying...
Any advice from other folks on here who have already done it? Did you find it terrifying or not that bad? Was it a worthwhile experience?
Lots of anticipation (unless the plane breaks down), a good stiff breeze as you freefall, a hard shock as you decelerate, then a very pleasant trip down. Enjoy looking around as you head down, but near the end start keeping your eyes on the horizon so that you're not reaching for the ground and over-anticipating the landing.
Did you find it terrifying or not that bad? Was it a worthwhile experience?
In 1979, when I was still 18 years old, I found it a worthwhile experience. I even jumped out of a few different types of aircraft on my own time. But by the time the Army Airborne sergeants were done with us, we would have jumped out of anything just to get away from them. And at USNA it was a good way to get [-]the hell away from the school for an afternoon[/-] some liberty.
No one in their right mind jumps out of a perfectly good airplane. Just my opinion...
It's not the airplane, it's the air
crew!