Geronimo, Take Two.

[Jester]

So today, to finish off my Beercation with a bang, I jumped out of an airplane for the second time, from 10,000 feet over the Florida Keys. (My first jump in Houston was from 14,000 feet.)

Once again, it was absolutely awesome, though definitely a different experience than the first time, for many reasons. Obviously the altitude was different, as was the scenery. Nothing against Texas, but jumping over the Florida Keys is a hell of a lot more picturesque than jumping over rural Texas. Islands and oceans beat pastures and farms every time. There was virtually no wait time in the Keys, as opposed to our many hour wait in Houston. There was more training involved the first time, as they get you a lot more involved in Houston than they do in the Keys. Amusingly, both of my skydiving instructors have been from other lands: in Houston, he was Irish, here in the Keys, he was South African. The plane here was much, much smaller.

The weirdest difference was this time I had a lot more nervous energy and even more nerves than the first time, for which I was amazingly calm and relaxed. My instructor today said that that is not that unusual, as this time I would KNOW what was coming, rather than simply having an idea.

Naturally, I called Mom afterwards to let her know her son had not gone splat, which she was very happy for. But she made the mistake of saying, "I just hope this is not going to become a habit." I couldn't lie to her--I told her that this is, in fact, my new habit and my new hobby, and look forward to the day I am jumping with my own parachute, rather than having a guy strapped to my back. The good news with that is that once I become licensed, my jumps are far less expensive.

Next jump: Arizona and/or Tampa.

So...who here wants to try out this most ridiculous of hobbies?

[jedimaster91]

I will never understand why people jump out of perfectly good airplanes that are not on fire and/or crashing. I'll keep my feet firmly on the ground, thanks.

Glad you had a good time, Jester. I have a friend from highschool who's a licensed sky diver. Some of the pictures he posts on Facebook are pretty incredible.

[Jester]

As any pilot will admit (if you press them enough), and as every skydiver says, There is no such thing as a "perfectly good airplane."

I should point out that if you are, in fact, in a plane that is burning or crashing, you are unlikely to have any parachutes on hand. And if you do....will you know how to use it correctly? Just saying.

[Taurus52]

Wellllllll, at least with skydiving the crater usually doesn't include a fireball! :-0

[PepperElf]

So today, to finish off my Beercation with a bang, I jumped out of an airplane for the second time, from 10,000 feet over the Florida Keys. (My first jump in Houston was from 14,000 feet.)

of course mixing "beercation" with "skydiving" is making me imagine drinking one while doing the other. although i guess that could end up pretty messy. or fun. depends on how you look at it i guess.

[EyeTeaGuy]

Keep in mind I would LOVE to skydive myself, but that love is more than balanced by my love of my skull and its non "frying pan embedded 6 inches in" quality - a quality that would go immediately by the wayside if my wife found out I did something like jump out of a plane.

Anyways....old military joke. My father & grandfather loved it, as they were Air National Guard.

Army airborne training is 3 weeks long. The first week, they separate the men from the boys. The second week, they separate the fools from the men.

The third week...the fools jump. :P

[cinema guy]

I've parachute jumped, rather than sky dived. Only around 5000 feet, IIRC. But we weren't strapped to anyone.

Our instructions as to when to get into the landing position - "when you can see the sheep shit on the grass".

The first time we went up, the plane developed problems. We had to assume the crash position - tuck your head between your knees, which isn't easy (or even possible) with a parachute attached to your back and a reserve chute on the your front.

[Jester]

of course mixing "beercation" with "skydiving" is making me imagine drinking one while doing the other. although i guess that could end up pretty messy. or fun. depends on how you look at it i guess.

I did, in a way. First of all, I jumped with a hangover. No shocker there. But then, afterwards, I immediately went to the closest bar (just a few hundred yards from the skydive center) and had a beer. It was awesome!

Actually jumping WITH a beer in hand, besides the fact that they would never allow it, just wouldn't work. Basic physics.

Now, one could probably use some sort of Camelbak drink delivery system to suck beer through a straw while skydiving, but beer through a straw? Nah! Besides, as much as I love beer, shit's moving so fast when you're freefalling that you honestly wouldn't care about the beer. Though on the parachute ride, I could see a nice cold one coming in handy. Hmmmm....

I've parachute jumped, rather than sky dived. Only around 5000 feet, IIRC. But we weren't strapped to anyone.

Yep. When we were skydiving in Houston, we jumped from 14,000 feet, but as we were going up, a guy jumped out at only 3,000 feet. I asked my instructor about it, and he said that the guy was practicing low altitude jumps, in which they pretty much pull the chute as soon as they're clear of the plane. By contrast, in my two tandem jumps, we pulled the chute at 6,000 feet (Houston) and 5,000 feet (the Keys).

[cinema guy]

Yep. When we were skydiving in Houston, we jumped from 14,000 feet, but as we were going up, a guy jumped out at only 3,000 feet. I asked my instructor about it, and he said that the guy was practicing low altitude jumps, in which they pretty much pull the chute as soon as they're clear of the plane. By contrast, in my two tandem jumps, we pulled the chute at 6,000 feet (Houston) and 5,000 feet (the Keys).

Mine was a static line jump, so the ripcord was attached to the plane and pulled as we jumped out.

Quite tame by comparison!

[AccountingDrone]

I'd help, Jester, but my chute is both retired military and been stashed in the barn for so long I wouldn't trust it without a complete rerigging and inspection. You wouldn't want mine.

[Jester]

Oh, no worries...and nothing personal, but "parachute" is one of those items that I don't think I'd really buy used.

[AccountingDrone]

Oh, no worries...and nothing personal, but "parachute" is one of those items that I don't think I'd really buy used.

Not a big deal, but I did, but then again I got it from one of my SEAL exBF who personally inspected it prior to my buying it. There was nothing wrong, the military was getting rid of some back stock on an older style of chute.

I have been thinking of doing something silly with the canopy like making a camo elizabethan for Pennsic.

[Android Kaeli]

This is on my list of things to do on my 30th birthday -- next year. I also want to Parasail, which is more likely then skydiving/jumping out of a plane at random. But if I could, I'd so go with ya on your next trip.

[Antares]

I've never been skydiving though the outfit south of the airfield our soaring club uses the same frequency so we get to listen to them quite a bit. Maybe someday I'll wander down there and check it out.

[wolfie]

I should point out that if you are, in fact, in a plane that is burning or crashing, you are unlikely to have any parachutes on hand. And if you do....will you know how to use it correctly? Just saying.

One book I read about aircraft accidents dealt with the difficulty in determining the safest place to sit. A large part of the problem is the small sample size (very few accidents to begin with, and then you need to restrict your study to those with both casualties AND survivors). Of course, you then need to weed out the "way out in left field" cases, such as a planeload of skydivers that developed engine trouble below the normal jump altitude, and tried to make an emergency landing (they crashed). That one wasn't statistically significant for safety of seating locations because of the single factor that determined who lived and who died - those who jumped, even though they were below the normal jump altitude, lived.

Anyways....old military joke. My father & grandfather loved it, as they were Air National Guard.

Army airborne training is 3 weeks long. The first week, they separate the men from the boys. The second week, they separate the fools from the men.

The third week...the fools jump. :P

Sounds like the type of joke "leg" infantry would tell.