I made my last parachute jump today.

[11 Bravo]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by JudyM (a host of the General Discussion forum).

Way back when, I had to jump qualify, even though it never came into play as a grunt in the A Shau Valley. But I was hooked. After healing up from my Army stint, I joined a sport parachuting club in college, and another one after graduation. Weather permitting, I jumped a couple of times a month for the next 15 years or so.
When I married the love of my life, almost 32 years ago, the only thing she asked me to do was to stop jumping. I honored her request, but recently she could tell that I was still jonesing for that feeling that only free fall can provide.
I'm 71, with an artificial hip and a couple of fused vertabrae; and I've been driving my wife nuts with some old fart craziness.
So, long story short, after undergoing a physical, sharing my jump log with a local club, and demonstrating that I can still pack my own chute, they took me up to 2,000 feet in an old Cessna push-pull, and invited me to exit the aircraft. They insisted on a static line jump, probably for the best, but even though I didn't have to pull the D ring, I still got to experience that quick hard jerk, and the upward glance to see a clean chute. I executed an (almost) perfect parachute landing fall, stood up with everything in place, and trotted over to hug my sweetheart.
Maybe I'm nuts, but for reasons I can't begin to understand, I needed that, and God bless my sweet wife for giving me permission.
I'm a lucky man.

[Woodwizard]

1. That is awesome!

I am so glad you got to get that thrill again.

[babylonsister]

2. Really nice; I'm happy for you and your lovely bride;

that's why you're still married!

[blm]

3. 💐💐💐

What a difference a day makes.

&t=0s

[Solly Mack]

4. Very cool.

[Nictuku]

5. Wow! I'm so impressed!

I grew up on a drop-zone, well, at least every weekend. Yeah, I was a DropZoneBrat.

My mom was a Skydiver back in the late 60's up until the late 70's. California. (Livermore, Calistoga, Pope Valley, and Santa Nella)

But then we moved to Hawaii, and while they do have skydiving clubs in Hawaii, Mom didn't feel comfortable jumping with all that gear (it was a /LOT/ heavier and bulkier back then) what with Trade-Winds and Ocean all around.

Lots and lots of good memories however, from before Hawaii. I think my mom had logged over 800 jumps. She was on an all-girls Skydiving Team called "The StarDusters" another team name that comes to mind was "The Harvey Wallbangers!".

Back then, Streaking was a big thing, with crazies running around nude at sporting events and such, and of course the StarDusters had to get a piece of that, we have a lot of photos of the nude jumps they did. Mom always though the person leaving the plane last probably had the most interesting view....

I loved the weekends, my mom was a single mom and while she worked, I stayed at a babysitters house during the week. So weekends was when I got to be with her. My fondest memories are driving in our old VW Bug (of course it had flower stickers all over it) with our 8-Track tapes of Crosby Stills Nash & Young. Singing Joan Baez and Judy Collins songs together. I still remember the words.

I felt so special, not many girls can say that their mom was a Sky-Diving-Hippy (mom would deny she was a hippy, but she was).

I never quite got the bug to jump out of an airplane myself...

[MLAA]

19. Sounds like you had a great and adventurous mom ❤️

[KPN]

22. Another awesome story in a single thread. I could feel

the love and respect you have for your Mom while reading that. Wonderful story, wonderful memories, wonderful life.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

6. Good for you

Personally, I would never jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Now if the wing was falling off,….

[sheshe2]

7. Congrats!

[markie]

8. you are a lucky man!

[c-rational]

9. Congrats.

[Enter stage left]

10. I still remember my last jump, even though it was 52 years ago

When I got out of the Army, I told my wife it would be my last. Kept my promise to her, but really missed the "Superman feeling" of landing, standing up, and feeling like you had just laughed in the face of death.

[11 Bravo]

15. Then you know.

It truly is one of those "I can't really explain it" deals.

[Enter stage left]

16. I don't think you could ever explain it to a "leg"

[Buns_of_Fire]

11. Congratulations. It's always better to have written

"I made my last parachute jump today" than it is for someone else to have written "He made his last parachute jump today".

[FailureToCommunicate]

24. ...

Good point!

[COL Mustard]

12. AIRBORNE!

I only did the “leg on a rope” badge myself.

[monkeyman1]

32. Airborne all the way ! 173 rd airborne here ! congrat's !

[3catwoman3]

13. Your wife has a very generous...

…spirit.

[SergeStorms]

14. Some people don't get to tell about their final jump.

I'm glad you aced it, 11 Bravo.

[11 Bravo]

17. There was bllod upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,

Intestines were a-dangling from his paratroopers suit,
He was a mess, they picked him up, and poured him from his boots,
He ain't gonna jump no more.

(I can't believe I still remember that.)

[SergeStorms]

36. That's why....

you pay very close attention when they teach you to pack your chute.

[Evolve Dammit]

18. Awesome! I almost did it and chickened out. Fifty bucks was a lot, but think I just froze.

[MLAA]

20. Good for you!

[KPN]

21. That's an awesome story Bravo. Thanks for sharing. I am also 71

so hearing you was quite inspirational. I still have a lot I want to continue to do and accomplish in my life. Conceding that there has been some regression over the years seems key to being able to do so — safely at least!

One more time: awesome story!

[FailureToCommunicate]

23. Falling...with style!

Congrats 11 Bravo!

[MarineCombatEngineer]

25. Very cool bro.

There is no way to describe it, you have to do it to know the feeling.

[dgauss]

26. I love that story. I took a jump about 20 years ago and here's another little jump story:

I always wanted to give that a try, did so around 40 years old. the feeling of just floating down from the sky was magical. It was a day for beginners like me who wore some earphones and there was an instructor on the ground watching you giving instructions. Like "Now pull the right cord a bit, now the left, now both", etc and they would guide you down. These were more like paragliding shoots than the old round ones you see in old WWII movies, easily maneuverable.

But I ended up in a cornfield that was on the edge of the open field we were suppose to land in. I didn't mind, the whole thing was great and even the landing in a cornfield in some way put a special thrill to the end.

But after I returned from the cornfield the instructor apologized and explained that the person that went before me had a rough landing and they were busy attending to her while I was making my landing. Which is why they didn't give me instructions to turn one way or the other to avoid the cornfield.

I saw a video someone took of that lady's landing later. She was middle aged at least and overweight. She came in too fast, not vertically but horizontally. When she landed she couldn't run fast enough to end the landing easily. Almost as soon as she hit the ground she went face first into the ground, her heels came up over the back of her head and she did a complete flip, face first into the ground. I could see why all the concern turned to her. From the video you might think she broke her neck. But she was OK. Seemed like a miracle when I saw that video.

At first I wondered why someone like that would attempt such a thing. But then I thought, she probably did it for the same reason I did. She wanted to. And she did it, she took a little risk to experience something amazing and she did it.

What I came away with overall was a good lesson in "don't judge a book by it's cover."

[Aviation Pro]

27. Well done, brother.

Bravo Zulu.

[Liberal In Texas]

28. Good for you!

Frankly, I could never see jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft or flying with no engines (glider.)

But if that's your thing, more power to you.

[Love4u]

29. You're a good man

I love a good story like this.

[Fla Dem]

30. I'm happy for you.

[skydive forever]

31. 350 jumps myself. I know how you felt.

Kudos to your wife. 62 YO myself, and I still have to talk myself out of going to the drop zone. Awesome that you did it!

[iluvtennis]

33. Wow, so nice! n/t

[bottomofthehill]

34. Rock on Brother Bravo

[bluecollar2]

35. Never jump out of a functional aircraft...

And never board a boat designed to sink...

Paratroopers and submarines are nutters.

[ashredux]

37. Just an FYI...Jump School teaches one much, much more than how to jump...

You never forget it

[The Jungle 1]

38. Out of a perfectly good airplane!

My father was in the 82nd Airborne during WWII.

[LittleGirl]

39. Awesome!

I have to ask permission to buy a weed eater.
Because the battery for mine died over winter.
Well done!

[Unwind Your Mind]

40. I've gone twice

Once in Denver and once here over the Russian River valley

I loved it, want to go again. Thanks for the stories everyone.

[Aristus]

41. I'm so happy for you, 11 Bang. You deserved to have that experience one more time.

Someday, I'm going to have to go to TankFest at Bovington in England, to experience tanking one more time.

[LAS14]

42. Congratulations! Thanks for sharing this great story! nt

[lostnfound]

43. That's beautiful, that you honored her request and that she honored your desire

And that you didn’t break anything.
Awesome. Enjoy the hours of free floating times of your life, no matter their nature.

[hamsterjill]

44. This!

This is what life is all about!

Congratulations.

[bill]

45. Good for you!

I'm 60 and made my last jump 2 years ago. Retired with 1837 sport jumps over 20 years (8 on rounds). Getting things done around the house now that I'm not at the DZ every weekend

-bill
D-24095

[JudyM]

46. Locking

Sorry to have to do this but it was alerted on for not meeting the SOP for GD and the consensus of the forum hosts was agreement that it should be posted in the Lounge, which is for “off-topic,” social threads. GD is only for discussion of “politics, issues, and current events.” Feel free to repost in the Lounge. (And congratulations on your jump and all the support from your wife and DU community )