Going skydiving on Saturday - what can I expect?

[PlanetaryOrbit]

Is it really as scary as people say it is?

Would skydiving still proceed if the weather is cloudy?

Will it be very cold?

Also, is there any noticeable difference between jumping from 10,000 feet and jumping from 14,000?

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Simple.

Expect to scream your way all the way down to a messy death.

[User_Friendly]

2. Be glad you are in a fluffy slow civilian parachute...

... instead of plummeting to the earth in an Army one.

[Jackpine Radical]

5. I was in the infantry nearly 50 years ago. We used to say,

Only 2 things fall out of the sky: Bird turds and fools.

[JHB]

3. Depends. Are balrogs involved?

[JHB]

13. ESPECIALLY if balrogs are involved.

[randome]

4. Expect the unexpected.

And have fun!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Aspire to inspire.[/center][/font][hr]

[NYC_SKP]

6. If they offer the service, have them wear a GoPro and get the footage.

Assuming you're tandem jumping.

I went two years ago over the north shore of Oahu and of course they wouldn't let me carry my own GoPro, they did use my 32GB flash card and take lots of stills and record video of the whole thing from boarding the plane through jumping, dropping, and landing.

Expect fun!

Be present and just take it all in!

[1StrongBlackMan]

7. The one and only time I jumped out of a plane with a parachute ...

I screamed until I felt the jerk of the chute opening fully. I enjoyed coasting to the ground ... and it hurt when I landed.

The instructor told us that about 9 out of 10 first timers, either pee or crap their pants ... I did neither, but 2 of my 3 friends that went with me did.

Enjoy.

[flvegan]

8. What to expect? Falling.

The meaningful difference between jumping from 10,000 feet and jumping from 14,000 feet is about 4,000 feet worth of the aforementioned falling.

I snark because as I'm terrified of heights and hate planes, I could never muster the courage to jump from a perfectly good flying vehicle. I do hope you enjoy the experience. I have a number of friends that have done it and loved it.

[awoke_in_2003]

15. when I was younger I may have done it...

but I have noticed that as I get older my fear of heights increases.

[hobbit709]

9. That Sir Isaac is always waiting.

[pinboy3niner]

10. Be sure you properly identify your ripcord

[uppityperson]

11. Wind. It will be windy, not "falling". It will be colder than on the ground but you may not

notice during the jump. As far as clouds, it depends on how high the ceiling is and if they are thin. The only difference between 10 and 14 thousand feet is the amount of time.

And it will be windy. First from the front as you exit the plane, then from below as you drop.

Have a great time! That adrenaline thing is something. I had to talk myself into proceeding every time for the first 30 or so dives, then it was just woohoo!

[RebelOne]

22. The short time I spent jumping,

they would not allow us to jump if the wind was over 15 miles per hour.

[pipoman]

14. My first jump

Was my only jump. I would again in a cool venue. It was static line solo jump from a single engine Cessna back in the 80's. They told us in 1/2 day ground school that the first step was sitting in the door of the plane with my hands on the wing strut. The second step was standing on the step of the plane with hands on the strut. Third step was hanging on the strut and sliding out to the end of the strut hanging on with only my hands. Fourth was to let go of the strut. They said, 'it isn't too late to back out at the first or second step, at the third step either you let go or we'll speed up the plane and knock you off.

It was an adrenaline rush letting go of that strut.

The worst part was the guy there for his second jump whose teeth chattering and profuse sweating made all of us (otherwise pretty calm) first timers pretty nervous.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. No advice from me, I have never done it...

have fun.

[Aerows]

17. A lot of air? :D

I've never done it before - sounds like fun, though.

[rickford66]

18. Aim for a haystack.

You always hear about someone surviving a chute malfunction.

[RebelOne]

21. Yes, I saw a very experienced jumper have a malfunction.

Her chute only opened halfway and she came down hard. But she survived with only a sprained ankle.

[Drew Richards]

19. Loose bowel syndrome has been know to happen...eat appropriate constipating meal 12 hrs prior

And nothing but bread or crackers and liquids after that...

Or 6 hrs prior Chug some kaopectate ....

Thats all only if your feel you are going to have a problem...many don't and thrive on the adrenal rush...

Oh and big difference between 14000 and 10000 is about 3 seconds longer of really thin air...wierd feelings occur to your brain when you are so amped and trying to breath but just stay calm and breath slow and steady with mouth puckered like you are whistling until you hit 9000 ft then scream and laugh and cry and pee....muhahahah WHEEEEEEEE.

then again if you have already done tandem practice run you know all this and if its first solo you are probably gonna tether jump rather than free fall...

If teather...well about 9 secs of thin air..no worries...just a buzzy feeling for a few secs.

[RebelOne]

20. I have made 6 jumps, and my first jump was the best

and most thrilling. Before I made the jump, my throat and mouth went dry, but I went out perfectly. The chute opened without too much of an opening shock, and I landed right in the middle of the jump zone. Hope you have a pleasant and safe trip down.

[Separation]

23. I hope you have a blast!

I have 175 jumps under my belt. It's an experience you won't forget. I'm not sure if you are doing a static line jump or a tandem, my guess is a tandem. If you are a female make sure you are comfortable with your tandem instructor. Some of them can be creepy.

The differance between 10000 and 15000 foot jump isn't that much if you figure that you will hit terminal velocity in about 15-20 seconds about 125mph.

If you do decide to get into the sport, buy new not used, no matter how good the deal is. I think that's pretty self explanatory.

I just wish I could still jump, but due to injuries I can't anymore. Wasn't able to take my daughter on her first jump on her 16th birthday like we had planned.

[tularetom]

24. If you're like me you can expect mind numbing terror followed by immense relief

I would never have done it excel I shot my mouth of in a bar and my buddies practically kidnapped me the next morning and hauled me out to the little podunk airport where the skydiving service operated.

I landed pretty hard and actually had some bruising the next morning but I was so full of adrenaline at the time I barely noticed it.

[former9thward]

25. No, Probably, No, and no.

Have fun, you will enjoy it.

[Cleita]

26. I used to work with a woman who was a competitive skydiver and she

also was a competitive body builder. From what she said, it's pretty cut and dried planned out, before you step onto the airplane. All the weather, wind and other variables will be calculated and a target selected taking all that into consideration. If you are diving with dedicated professionals, all should go well. If I were you I would ask them all kinds of questions first, especially where the target is and how big it is and how they plan to reach it as well as who will be packing your gear and if they are reliable and how long they have been jumping. I never went skydiving myself, although she offered to initiate me into it. Naw. It wasn't for me.

[Abnredleg]

27. You're all legs!

It doesn't count unless you're doing a mass tactical jump at 800 feet at night with 43 lbs of parachute and 110 lbs of equipment.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

28. The gravity of the situation.

[Duppers]

29. try to enjoy the scenery!

My first time, I somehow did the following:
Popped my bra open.
Lost my hard contact lens.
Didn't roll with the hard landing and hurt my right ankle.

Otherwise, I loved it! Truly.