A friend of mine wants me to go with her in a few weeks, and I have always wanted to try it myself, but it costs $200. So, has anyone done a one time jump where you are strapped to the chest of a professional? Is it worth the money?
yes, it definitely is.
go for it, you’ll be glad you did it.
You will be trained for an hour or so, on what to do in the plane, how to help exit the plane, and the body position you must hold while in freefall.
I’ve never done a tandem jump myself, I plan to, though. I took up skydiving 3 years ago, doing a solo (or static-line) course straight away, as i knew i wanted to keep up the sport.
It’s a real thrill when the door of the plane opens, and your legs are being swung outside the door, immediately caught by the speed of the wind. You climb out the door, let go, and you’re flying through the sky! You’ll do a tumble, first of all, but after 2 or 3 seconds, you’re belly down, falling at a speed of 120 mph, with the best view you’ll ever see in your whole life.
It’s invigorating, the adrenaline that rushes through your body gives you a real high.
It’s worth every penny. Over here, a tandem jump costs nearly double that, and people still show up to do it by the bucket load.
Do it. Don’t even think about not doing it.
Seriously, if you hate it and it scares the crap out of you, you can shut your eyes and it’ll be over very quickly. If you don’t do it, you’ll always say “I wish I had’ve…” And there’s a 99.9% chance that you’ll absolutely love it.
I got a free tandem jump when I was in New Zealand and it’s amazing. The free fall is pure adrenaline and the slower chute-open part is fantastic. You really know you’re alive while you are doing it, and it stays with you for a while afterwards.
As soon as I landed, I knew if I ever had enough spare money it would be one of the things I’d like to do regularly. I have two cousins who are regular jumpers, and I would be one too, if scuba diving hadn’t hooked me first… I can only afford one expensive hobby at a time !
Go for it ! You only live once.
I did it, it was worth the money. If you can, also pay to get the experience taped and photographed. There’s nothing quite like sitting around at a party and pulling out the tape of you skydiving, it’s a lot of fun. The pictures really help you remember the day, it’s worth the extra money.
You’re doing a tandem jump which is definitely the way to go. You’ve got the experienced diver to control the descent and landing so you’re much less likely to get hurt. Listen carefully to the instruction, and enjoy the ride!
I did six tandem jumps and three accompanied solos before I ran out of money (skydiving is not an inexpensive sport). There’s nothing comparable to the thrill of freefalling – do it at least once.
Also, once I’d jumped out of a plane, I realized that I never again had to prove anything to anybody.
the rush is better than ANY drug you have ever done or hope to do… there is no way to even compare it to any experience that you have had in your life…
my husband and i had our own drop zone and he was an instructor who was actually killed during a skydive… yes, it can be a deadly sport but waking up in the morning can be deadly… i knew from the moment that i knew he had died that there was only one fitting tribute for him…
i actually did a tandem (what you are planning) and scattered his ashes back to the sky that he loved so much…
do it… if you dont you will always reget that you didnt spend that $200.00 for the best thrill of your life… i am telling you, if you have that pleasure oriented personality that most of us have, you will be hooked and at the dz every chance you get…
I am afraid of heights. Not full-on-panic-at-only-two-feet-off-the-ground-vertigo, but enough that it takes me an extra couple of seconds to get up enough nerve to get on a down escalator, and I don’t like spiral stairs or stairs with no handrail.
Last summer I was staying in the alps and saw people parapenting (parachuting off mountains) all the time. My first reaction was “You couldn’t pay me enough to do that”. After a month it changed to “It must be nice, but I’d be too scared”. After two months I did it.
I was terrified out of my mind for the half hour I had to stand on the mountain, looking down at the town 1000 metres below me, and then watching my brother jump off (who has no fear, and was really enjoying himself). However, once I was in the air, I felt fine and the whole thing was absolutely fantastic.
It was worth every penny, the views were amazing, but more to the point, I’ve never been so proud of myself. I faced my fears and did something I never thought I’d be able to do, and that meant a lot. In two weeks time I’ll be handing in a thesis I never thought I could write (and it’s nearly finished), and leaving university for the big wide world. It’s pretty scary, but a little bit less so for knowing that sometimes I can surprise even myself.
In short:
DO IT!
Wow, that’s quite a glowing endorsment. I suppose I was going to go through with it no matter what, but I just wanted to see if it is everything I think it will be, and it sounds like it is. I have only spoken to one person who has done it before and he said that the air hits your face so hard that it is difficult to breathe and because of that it ruined it for him. Are there tips to breathing or is it just something that some people can handle better than others?
2 static line and 1 tandem, for a total of three jumps here. Definitely worth it. In terms of breathing or tips or anything, I didn’t really notice problems - didn’t really think about it. I suppose part of it is just who you are - if you are ready to be calm (you know, adrenaline pumping, but ready for anything and psyched for the adventure, y’know?) and attack the situation, you will do fine. Some people I went with just seized up - and frankly, that’s okay, too - it’s not like they have control over it, it’s just how their body and mind reacted, but it made the event tough and scary instead of exhilarating.
If you are interested go in with an open mind and be ready for anything and let your tandem jumper drive, okay?
Of course you’re only hearing the glowing endorsements. Those that had less than sucessful jumps tend not to be very vocal. 
I did a tandem jump 15 or so years ago. It was both fun and scary. I’m scared of heights, but you don’t have the sensation of falling during free-fall because you are too high up. I say “Go for it!”
I had major bruises from the harness, though. It looked like I’d been sexually assaulted.
Do I even want to know what parts of the body that harness pulls against?! :eek:
I would say it’s something everyone should do once in their life. That said, the OP is right, it is expensive. So if money really is an issue, I would say put it off until another time. The dropzone is probably only an hour so so away by car, and it probably won’t close down tomorrow. Just because it’s something that I think is a worthwhile experience doesn’t mean you have to do it today. If today’s a bad day, tomorrow is soon enough.
If on the other hand the $200 isn’t a big deal and it’s just fear keeping you back, well… your choice naturally, but I would at least try it. I have fear of heights, but I didn’t feel at all uneasy when I was falling. You can’t really tell you’re falling except for the wind - the ground looks completely stationary. And free-fall is definitely fun.
Tandem jumping kinda sucks in my opinion, but it’s the only way you’re going to experience free-fall your first jump. Static-line type places = no free fall.
I enjoyed my jump, but it was expensive, and the wait was terrible - it was 5 and a half hours between when I got to the dropzone and when I jumped out of the plane. (Several instructors had called in sick that day.) I don’t think this is typical, but it certanly annoyed the hell out of me. I was also slightly queasy during the parachute ride, but they say that only happens when someone else is steering. I did get a
maybe 1"x1/4" bruise on my left shoulder, but I bruise easily. It didn’t hurt or anything, I didn’t know it was there until I saw it in the mirror the next day.
In sum, I’d say skydiving is fun but expensive, and if you have the money to spare, give it a try? If money is an issue, wait until another time.
-Ben
Myself and Asylum and my girlfriend went for a skydive back in 1999 I believe.
It was shitty weather that day, alas, so we had to reschedule for another time. Me and my girlfriend returned a few weeks later for our go. Both of us opted for the tandem accelerated freefall.
Jumping from 14,000 feet…I’ll let the testimony of others in this thread speak for me. Let’s just say that it’s the most exhilarating experience you can ever have, and shoots your adreniline levels so high you feel like you’re floating for hours afterward.
We both got little blue certificates as souvenirs. Worth every penny of the 170 dollar fee and the 70 mile drive to get there. We have been planning on a return, but this time, I think I’ll opt for the 350 dollar jump…8 hours training, and you jump by yourself with 2 instructors jumping alongside you in case anything happens.
My tandem instructor gave me the following advice: if I’m having difficulty breathing, give him a loud shout. He wouldn’t hear me, of course, so I 'd have to give him another shout. He still probably wouldn’t hear me, but I’d eventually realize that with all the shouting, I was, in fact, breathing. Luckily, it never came to that, and the breathing really wasn’t all that difficult.
I am also terrified of heights, and I was talked into doing a tandem jump by a friend. I had to be pushed out of the plane (well, actually, the guy strapped to me had to push us both out, since I was rather frozen with fear). After the first few seconds of plummetting to what I was certain was my doom, I realized that I had actually jumped out of an airplane! I was able to take in the sights at that point, and when the chute opens, it is truly a grand experience. Dead silence, and the feeling of floating. Once the chute opened, any remnants of fear were completely gone, despite the fact that I was still several hundred feet above ground. The instructor let me play around with steering the chute for a bit, and do the landing thing.
The only real complaint (aside from the initial terror) was that the straps were too tight or something, and my right arm became numb and paralyzed for a few hours. But that’s not something I’d expect to be a common occurance.
I did 3 static line jumps when I was at university back in the early 80’s, it was great fun. During the training they spent about an hour telling us how safe the equipment was. Then we went out to the field and they said “now, watch out for the power lines there and there, barbed wire fences over there, try to avoid the pond, and if you land in that farmer’s field, he’ll shoot at you.” The parachutes appeared to be WW II surplus, plain round ones that were pretty slow to turn. They had a big arrow on a pivot on the ground, a jump master would point it in the direction they wanted you to face, and they could guide you straight to the target. Be careful of the straps, though. On my last jump, the leg straps weren’t quite tight enough and somehow through climbing in and out of the plane, I managed to get my left testicle under the strap. When the chute opened, it was major :eek: time, and squirming to try to free it just made it worse.
I did a static line jump over Steamboat Springs 10 years ago and loved it! You gotta do it once in your life!
Now, if only I could find a place to bungee jump around here…
-Tcat