Not that it matters, but you guys were likely hanging from the wing strut, not the spar.

Ok, that makes sense.

To this day I still laugh at the sight of poor Kurt grasping for dear life to that 'strut'. They were pretty clear about not letting him back in the airplane.

I do not know what the regs are on "approved" jump lanes, but for you airplane guys, I once saw a guy jump at a fly-in out of an Aircoupe!

I often wonder how he avoided getting doinked by the tail as departed!
I looked at the plane after he landed and there were no extra handholds or anything "extra" added to aid him.

Pilot: "I'd never jump out of a perfectly good airplane."

Skydiver: "There's no such thing as a perfectly good airplane."

I have a pair of Strong Mid-lite Lo-Po 36' seat pack style chutes. They are required equipment when taking the airplane outside of 30 degrees of pitch or 60 degrees of bank.

Here's the rub: suppose you botch a loop exit and you violated the cardinal rule of Aerobatics: altitude is your friend. So to avoid an untimely meeting with the grim reaper, you pull too hard and overstress the aircraft, which responds by snapping the wing spar.

So now the aircraft is fluttering down like a maple leaf with a broken spar. You pull the door pin and the door falls off. You pull the harness lever and the harness comes free, and you fly against the side of the airplane due to centrifugal force. Adrenaline pumping, you grab the "monkey bars" or the overhead tubes from the airframe and manage to pull yourself out the door, and the windmilling prop and the spinning tail narrowly miss you as you fall clear of the airplane.

Now what? Is this the time to summon the presence of mind to pull the ripcord, avoid the power lines and land without snapping your femurs like toothpicks?

All aerobatic pilots should jump at least once. In the event you need to use the chute "you fight the way you practice."

By the way, and this is completely unrelated, but I listed my Citabria for sale. PM me if interested.

Yeah, John that is what I posted earlier. I will jump before I start doing aerobatics, but I do not think I will do it very often!

What are you replacing the Citabria with? (please don't say a 172, not that there is anything wrong with that:D )

Re: Re: Skydiving - can't make myself jump
 

I've heard a lot of people say "Yeah, skydiving would be fun. I want to do that." My thought when I hear this is always "Yeah, easy for you to say standing on terra firma. but place you at the open door of an airplane at 8000 feet and let's hear your thoughts."

Fact is, stepping out of an airplane requires that your conscious willpower overcome EVERY SELF-PRESERVATION NERVE IN YOUR BODY. Every survival instinct you have will be vigorously trying to keep you in that aircraft.

That said, I think skydiving sounds fun. I want to do it.

My daughter, like me, is not real fond of flying. The guy she jumped with was a great guy and made her feel very confident about the jump. She say's she was actually relieved once she left the plane. She knew the guy she was jumping with but hadn't even met the pilot.

Re: Re: Re: Skydiving - can't make myself jump
 

Me too!...Let's go together, as the adrenaline rush of needling you would only multiply the sky-diving effect... :D :p

It gets much better once you are off "student status". You just can't be an idiot and expect to prosper in the sport. There is a common acronym among skydivers when referring to those who look like they wont cut it: OSB (other sports beckon).
But, if you catch the bug (which is hard to resist after that first jump), I can't think of a better sport and community to be involved with. Not many other friendships/bonds are as strong as those made between skydiving buddies.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Skydiving - can't make myself jump
 

Sup, Mul:

You can doooo eeeet! :D

Call Jessie or Andy @ Skydive Kapowsin: 360-893-3483

They are the only DZ I'd recommend up there. A little out of the way (near Orting), but they'll get you to 14k+ feet in a twin otter, and you would swear that you could touch Mt. Rainier in freefall.

www.skydivekapowsin.com

SmileWavy

Re: Re: Re: Re: Skydiving - can't make myself jump
 

Okay.

I have done a number of tandem jumps with the last from 12,000 feet. The first one was a BIG experience as the entire thing is so far off the "what to expect" map. The later ones became much more fun and could easily see how relative work (canopy or free-fall) would be a hoot to do.

Definately something I would recommend to anyone to do at least once.

I've done it tandem. I don't think many places will let you do it solo as your first time. From what I remember, I had little choice when it was time to jump from the plane as the instructor pretty much everything. I was just there for the ride.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Skydiving - can't make myself jump
 

Do you want to arrange it, or should I?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Skydiving - can't make myself jump
 

Thanks bro!...Pffff....Piece of cake.













me scared

I have a friend up in Woodinville who has done this a number of times. He's had shoulder and knee problems (not from skydiving) so he's not done it in a while, but they do plenty of it in the Woodinville area, north of Seattle. I'll ask him about it.

This would certainly stop any questions I might have had in my mind about whether I'd be one of the 10% of first-timers that ride the plane back down. If Mul jumped, I'd either have to jump.....or never visit this website again.

I think we should seriously consider the advice of Coffey, but if your connection seems credible (i.e. Republican :D ) I will do it.

BTW...If you get up in that plane with me, you ARE GOING to jump.

funny i just saw this ad today...... and this morning i watched my DVD of one of my jumps.....

what a rush!!!!! WHAT A RUSH........... WHAT A FREAKING RUSH!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH .............. what a rush.

easy to say, "ya i would do that" hehehehe......

come on over to our side.....!

If Mul and Supes do a jump together, the LV meet may really happen.

static line is out...Choices (for me) would be AFF or tandem.

Recommendations?