OT: New obsession maybe: Skydiving

[skiezo]

My son got me a gift cert. for christmas last year at the local parachute club for a tandem jump. Him an I went this past Saturday.
A little back story.
I did many jumps while in the Army Rangers both static line and free fall. Over 100 jumps both non combat and a few combat jumps but that was 40 years ago.
So this brought back some memories. We jumped from 10,000 ft with another person attached to our harness. Once the door opened all the memories from my Ranger day came back. The rush of air into the plane, the fear of exit, and the feeling of the air descending in freefall at 120mph. At least this time no one was shooting at me and I did not have 60# of gear with me.
Now at 61 I am thinking of doing another 25 jumps to get my license. I miss my days of pushing limits. I will see if I follow through.
There were quite a few older ppl jumping that day so not just a young person sport.

[AngryScientist]

One thing I thought was very cool was the transition in sound between roaring loud as you are freefalling and then near silence once the shoot opens up.

Ha, the one time I went skydiving, I went with the most fly-by-night operation somewhere in south jersey. The plane was such a POS, I do believe jumping out of it was the safest way back to the ground!

[jadmt]

I did one solo jump with a static line. Thought I would keep doing it but ultimately I figured I could only afford one bad habit at a time.

[duff_duffy]

I live in south Jersey and there is skydiving place near me. When I was young I told my mom I wanted to skydive so she started cutting out skydiving accidents them at occurred at that place! There were enough articles that I decided skydiving not for me

…assuming place near Sewell

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

One thing I thought was very cool was the transition in sound between roaring loud as you are freefalling and then near silence once the shoot opens up.

Ha, the one time I went skydiving, I went with the most fly-by-night operation somewhere in south jersey. The plane was such a POS, I do believe jumping out of it was the safest way back to the ground!

[ColonelJLloyd]

Nice. Fort Campbell?

[skiezo]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Nice. Fort Campbell?

I was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in GA. Home of the 1st 75th Ranger battalion but was deployed to many places around the world. Some not the most friendly environments.

[jamesdak]

Sounds like a good plan to me. I came off jump status about 24 years ago. Time flies! What was weird for me is that I am deathly afraid of heights. I can't stand on a chair without getting nervous. Yet I loved jumping and never felt any fear stepping out of a plane. Funny how the mind works.

Mine were all static line jumps though with one of the specops units. We had HALO slots but I never got my shot at that.

[redir]

I used to fly airplanes but I never saw any reason to jump out of one

What I have been really digging lately is the wingsuit videos. Those guys are nuts but it sure is neat to live vicariously through them for a few minutes.

[benb]

Never got my Pilot's license but I took lessons and for some reason I really got it drilled into me that you only jump out of planes that are going down.

I have tried the indoor skydiving thing in the vertical wind tunnel. It was "fun" but it sure vaporized triple digit amounts of money in a few minutes, makes it easy for me not to get bugged about trying the real thing.

I think for that kind of money I'd go back to flying lessons, but I've largely got the whole thing out of my system.. just not that fun in our crowded NE airspace.

[gdw]

I jumped in the military, 82nd ABN, and with a club afterward. I made enough civilian jumps for a class A license but never joined the USPA. Most of my jumps after the service were static line demonstrations for new students or 5-10 second free falls, pop and goes, from 3-3500ft -we used a Cessna 172 and it took a long time to climb to 10,000ft.
Like you I've been interested in getting back into it and checking out centers in my area. It's a lot more expensive than it was 30 years ago but I miss the excitement and adrenaline rush.

[Dude]

Honestly, I'm surprised the number of people on this forum who have jumped out of planes. I went once when I was traveling abroad in Australia. Amazing experience but I don't need to do it again.

What are the cost/time commitments to take this up as a hobby?

[skiezo]

https://www.skydivemspc.com/learn-to-skydive
My last jump into a hot area was when I was 29 Aug 1993. Delta Force was pinned down and my platoon was a rapid reaction force. This was in Mogadishu and was called Operation Gothic Serpent. We were stationed in Italy and got the call to load up and a drop was scheduled 5 klicks outside Mogadishu. We lost 18 with dozens others wounded. I was one of the medics on that mission, treated a bunch of troops and lost a few. Got my second purple heart there as I was shot but still continued fighting and treating others. That bullet stayed inside me for years after till it came to the surface and was extracted.
30+yrs later some things about that mission still haunt me.
I never did watch the movie.

[alastair]

Originally Posted by skiezo

https://www.skydivemspc.com/learn-to-skydive
My last jump into a hot area was when I was 29 Aug 1993. Delta Force was pinned down and my platoon was a rapid reaction force. This was in Mogadishu and was called Operation Gothic Serpent. We were stationed in Italy and got the call to load up and a drop was scheduled 5 klicks outside Mogadishu. We lost 18 with dozens others wounded. I was one of the medics on that mission, treated a bunch of troops and lost a few. Got my second purple heart there as I was shot but still continued fighting and treating others. That bullet stayed inside me for years after till it came to the surface and was extracted.
30+yrs later some things about that mission still haunt me.
I never did watch the movie.

Oh wow. I knew a few guys that were in Mogadishu in 1993 but never realized the QRF included rangers, or that they arrived during the battle itself. I thought the QRF was only the guys from 1/325 that airlifted in over the next few days after the battle. I learned something new today.

I hope you enjoy your new hobby.

[DeBike]

I have don it only once, over Oahu from 14,000 feet. I was with 3 of my closest friends, one with terminal cancer. It is certainly an exciting thing to do, not just the jump. The whole process, from the time I booked it, all the way through to having a nice lunch after the event, is one of the most memorable things I have done.
I knew it was a one time jump for me. I have chronic spine and shoulder issues, but it was something I wanted to do with my dieing freind. And, I adopted his cat, now 6 years with me.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by skiezo

https://www.skydivemspc.com/learn-to-skydive
My last jump into a hot area was when I was 29 Aug 1993. Delta Force was pinned down and my platoon was a rapid reaction force. This was in Mogadishu and was called Operation Gothic Serpent. We were stationed in Italy and got the call to load up and a drop was scheduled 5 klicks outside Mogadishu. We lost 18 with dozens others wounded. I was one of the medics on that mission, treated a bunch of troops and lost a few. Got my second purple heart there as I was shot but still continued fighting and treating others. That bullet stayed inside me for years after till it came to the surface and was extracted.
30+yrs later some things about that mission still haunt me.
I never did watch the movie.

A brutal day that shouldn't have happened if the current administration had provided the tools asked for by the task force. That was 2 years before my entry into that world. Met several of the leaders years later when our unit's SGM retired (one of Delta's first members) and they came up for his retirement ceremony. Hat's off to you. You guys were truly the superior force that day despite the overwhelming numbers against you.