Skydiving

[JefferyHale]

Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?

There's no such thing.

---

One thing I don't understand is how people get over the mental barrier that maybe you shouldn't jump.

Something else I've always wondered is if you have that feeling in your gut similar to that of a rollercoaster when you're at the peak and then accelerate downwards real fast. If you have that feeling all the way down then there's no way I could ever do skydiving!

There are skydivers who won't even stand on ladders. When you're at the altitude in which we jump at (13,500 feet) your brain cannot compute how high you are because there's nothing relative to you, like when you're on a building. So, it's not nearly as scary as one might think. I will say though, once the door opens, it's a very unnatural feeling. Evolution has not prepared us for human flight. Therefore, the natural reaction of the body is to NOT jump. I am big on mentally preparing before each jump, because I HAVE ridden the plane down because something felt "off". Frame of mind is very helpful when jumping solo. When doing tandem, not so much, since you're doing none of the work. I'd always recommend doing at least one tandem first though, acclimating yourself to the sensations, etc.

You don't get the sensation of "drop" one time. When on a rollercoaster you're being pulled over the tracks, that's why you get said sensation. When you jump from the plane you feel as if you're instantly floating & flying through the air. So, if that's all that's stopping you, don't let it! I too was nervous of this same sensation/feeling, since I hate it as well. I was very surprised on my first tandem that it didn't occur once. I get motion sick very easily. So much so I cannot ride in the backseat of a car & can barely stand rollercoasters. The only time I became a little sick was under the canopy on the tandem jumps I made. Now, when I jump, I don't do anything crazy under canopy for this very reason. I enjoy taking a conservative approach to the sport as well & have no interest in swooping or anything else that gets most people killed.

---

One thing I don't understand is how people get over the mental barrier that maybe you shouldn't jump.

It differs from person to person, the way I do it, is trusting the professionals there, knowing that we have 2 parachutes. Besides if they both fail, you don't have to pay the bills anymore, and in my case definately stop smoking

The first time I jumped, I did got an anxiety peak when the go green light lit up, but I though "I got to all this trouble climbing up here, might as well go trough with it!", and after that was (and I hate this word) epic. The point is the barrier wasn't enough to overcome my will to jump, to see how its like. Some people do have increased anxiety over a jump, thus avoiding it, and other situations. I for once hate wasps, and run like a little girl when I see 1 or 2 hovering my head, in a irrational response, although I don't fear any other insects.

Something else I've always wondered is if you have that feeling in your gut similar to that of a rollercoaster when you're at the peak and then accelerate downwards real fast. If you have that feeling all the way down then there's no way I could ever do skydiving!

No, because you suffer a natural gravitational acceleration when jumping out of a plane ( <= than 9.8 m.s^-2 ), while a rollercoaster does accelerate the carts faster (forced acceleration > than 9.8 m.s^-2) and you are sitting vertically, that is why you feel a queasy feeling of weightlessness on your organs.

Correct! I should have read your response prior to writing mine.