I did my first tandem at 54 years old. 14 jumps in , one solo so far, im now 57. One common misconception is the feeling of falling, I’ve never felt that . To be honest, the freedom of bing up there is incredible. No plane no ground. Exililerating but so peacefull. My goal, I want to be inside of a cloud
I passed through a cloud at pull altitude during my AFF in 2020/2021 -- Spent a solid 10 seconds there, the instructors apologized after because clearly you're not supposed to... but the experience was amazing, I knew I was safe because we were the last out on that jump. 10 seconds of near 0 vis feeling like I was 'flying' right through the clouds. I stopped keeping up my cert for skydiving, because I was only ever interested in the 'flying' aspect when under canopy -- saving up for private pilot's license and taking paramotor lessons this year (doing both!) Passing through a cloud was an experience I won't forget.
I've always felt the feeling was more like the airplane was simply leaving me and not me falling to the ground. I'm also 57 now, but I haven't skydived since I was in my 20s. I did 32 jumps at that time. highest from 17,000 ft. So much fun. But those days are over for me. Now I'm a mountain biker.
Jumping during midday, when the sun is high, is best time to punch a cloud. You can see your shadow as you’re approaching the cloud (at 120mph). Awesome!
you get the feeling of falling off of a stationary object. the aircraft is moving forward so you are already moving and actually gain very little speed in free fall... jump run 90 knots free fall speed 120.. Going off a helicopter, cliff, balloon gives you the feeling of falling until you reach terminal.
I'm happy to hear ALL of this. I'm starting my AFF courses in June at 37. Have always wanted to do it, just never thought it was a realistic achievement. Then on a whim with almost no though, I booked and paid for my first tandem and ground school, and everything else to follow I hope. Some of the greatest things I've done for myself, were on a whim. Out of nowhere got a motorcycle license a few years ago and birthed that new passion. I'm hoping skydiving will be another great achievement. I couldn't pass a medical half way through pilot training when I was 18 due to a pre-existing brain aneurism (at 2 months old) that my neurologist wouldn't sign off on (FAA medical), even though it's never affected my life. So if they won't let me fly the dang things, then I may as well chase another dream (finally) and jump out of em right? :) Cheers and thanks for the inspiration.
Done 500+ jumps i miss it but really enjoyed my time did it. Travelled around the world and jumped out of dozens of aircraft. Nice to see videos of it popping up on YT.
i felt like there is no turning back since ive boarded the plane hahahah , but i can tell i felt already flying even before letting go from the plane , when i was outside that door
It was hilarious this one day. We had a bloke panicking, saying he couldn't do it now he was up there. Instructor is like: "Just come over and take a look at the height." The guy edged over and the instructor says: "Not so bad is it?" Admittedly he calmed down. Suddenly the instructor is like: "Say goodnight..." WHAM! Pushes the bloke out the door. We was wetting ourselves. The dude screamed like Boba Fett as he went out the door.
I started jumping back in 1972 and we jumped from a farm airport. We used “Cheapo” and T-10’s chutes from the old military style. I finally got one of the “Drivable “ ones from the Golden Knights, a Para Commander, which was like flying a Ferrari. The modern parawings and such didn’t exist so we didn’t have those nice zero mile pr hr touch downs like they have today. We all started with static lines and after 5 or 6 jumps you went freefall. No tandem stuff like they do now. Sky diving is such an experience you just can’t describe the feeling.
1972 for me, too with a modified T-10. Stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi and jumped out of Bayou La Batre in Alabama. Started racing a Hobie Cat and finances only went so far for an E-5, so choices were made.
I remember the C9 and T10 ‘chutes. They were dogs! We’re about the same vintage. My first jump was at Citrusdal South Africa in January 1976 when I was 17. Good luck to you! 👍
I just started skydiving. Currently, I have 14 jumps away from having my A-license. I love reading the experiences from you guys from the 70s and what it was like. With the gear back then
My experience, also. First jump was in 1972, as a high school senior. My dad (Mom refused) signed a notarized waver so I could take a six jump course. I quit jumping in 2001, with 1900+ jumps which included many night jumps, BASE jumps, and many friends for life!
Great intro and overview. I started jumping when I was 54 and in 10 years did 1200 with almost 1000 as wingsuit jumps. It was all a lot of work for me but overall a wonderful experience. I stopped jumping (about 2 years ago) to focus on other things but what a great experience those years were.
Great Video!!! I haven't jumped in about 35 years. I'm 68 now. I had about 600 jumps when I stopped. This definitely brings the adrenaline back and lot of great memories. I have done night jumps, helicopter jumps, I jumped out of a WWII era cargo plane once, and more. I was also a camera man. Thanks for the video!!!
I loved this video, for the simple reason that it made it all flood back. I never got very far on my AFF, I was on my 5th consolidation jump when family and finance circumstances changed, my dream came to an end. I can feel the nerves now thinking about climbing into the rig, going out and checking your landing pattern and holding area, I can still feel the fear when nearing the drop zone, the absolute deathly feeling before leaving the plane door, and then all of a sudden life changes, you relax and you start to enjoy life, for nearly a full minute of free-fall you live life to the max. Thank you Adam for the video 👌👈🤘
I’m going this Sunday for the first time my gf got it as my 29th bday gift. I’m from Spain so I’m going to Castellón. This was a such a dope video broski! Really enjoyed it
I totally thought that the jumpers we were watching had around 3k skydives like the guys interviewed in the beginning, especially when it seemed like they were doing a Mr Bill-type exit (nicely done btw!). I was then very confused about why the pair had trouble docking and OP couldn't do a clean backflip. I was like, "What is going on? These guys look like they only have 50 jumps or something!" Then it turned out that is indeed the case. Great jump and great explanation of equipment and procedures too. Beautiful golden hour jump. DZ looks really nice too. Keep it up! Blue skies! Cheers!
A Mr. Bill exit is when two jumpers exit together holding on to each other. One jumper deploys their parachute while the other attempts to hang on. If successful, the one hanging on can then make a jump off the other skydiver. The name comes from the Saturday Night Live claymation sketch.
@@LawtonDigital yeah, I know that's what a Mr Bill exit is and I know the claymation sketch on SNL where it gets the name from (which I love by the way). I know these guys weren't in a Mr Bill exit position, but the video quickly cuts to the two of them in the door holding onto each other. In that split second, I was wondering what they were going to try doing. The fact that they were holding onto each other made me think they were gonna try to do a Mr Bill type exit or something, but I do realize that their exit was not at all a Mr Bill exit. Considering these guys have 50 jumps, they should probably get a little more experience before they try a Mr Bill exit. It was still a creative exit for two jumpers with such little experience though.
Not a skydiver (done a couple of Tandems) but flew about 1500 hours of jump flying for Skydiving centres before going on to the airlines. Brings back memories of the energy and joy at a Skydiving centre. One thing I noticed at the time was that there was a similarity between the number of jumps a skydiver had and hours a pilot has in the way they talked and thought. A 200 jump skydiver sounds like a 200 hour pilot; they’re confident and know they are good. A 2000 + jump skydiver, like a 2000 hour + pilot, knows that’ll they’ll never know enough or be good enough.
Yeah, my headown is crap, I am not much good in bigways, complete garbage compared to actual world class skydivers. My swooping is alright though. Only have between 1 and 2 thousand jumps, and a few hours in the tunnel.
@@deltalima6703 Well I guess that’ll come if you work at it, depends what you want. Like my doing wonky loops and rolls in a Cessna aerobat! But I was really talking about attitude, the realisation that you aren’t a Skygod. That quiet voice in your head that tells you that could get it horribly wrong one day. It’s not even necessarily a spoken thing, just something you can sense from a Skydiver or a pilot. Anyway, Blue Skies and Happy New Year!
Just imagine how safe our highway would be if all drivers had this mindset of safety, nothing left to chance, and knowing what to do when things go wrong.
Ah Skydive Hib, I learnt to skydive there in 2008, Noel Purcell and H were my AFF instructors. Out living in the US now. It used to live in Lincolnshire 😁
A frequent phrase you'll hear is "it's nothing 1000 jumps won't fix". Enjoy your journey towards becoming an experienced skydiver (that's after the first 1000) it's a sport of limitless progression :)
I learned to jump at Pope Valley Parachute Ranch in 1974, I was 16. I jumped through college back when lots of the gear was pretty scary. My first backpack free fall rig had a Piglet for a main. The first square main I jumped was in a borrowed rig. The canopy was a 7 cell Flyer, converted from a 5 cell Flyer in its owners garage on his sewing machine. I jumped it out of a Citabria at 2300’. I got a line over the top and it spun so hard I could barely raise my hands to get my thumbs into the Capwells. I chopped it and was under the reserve pretty fast. Later I bought my first Square, a Unit. I haven’t jumped in a while now but I wouldn’t hesitate too if an opportunity presents itself.
Take a vacation in Eloy AZ and spend a full week at Skydive Arizona. Take their AFF course and try 3 skydives a day. You would need 8-10 days to complete your A-Licence however, depending on how busy they are maybe you could jump 4 times a day. With that A License in hand, you will likely make 6-8 jumps a day. Blue Skies
Does the UK not require the reserve to be sealed after re-pack? In the United States, it is required by both USPA and FAA that the reserve canopy be packed by a certified rigger and that rigger is required to place a seal on the reserve pin/closing loop. If for any reason the seal is broken or does not match the reserve packing data card, the rig is considered not air worthy and must have its reserve re-packed. If the reserve has not been packed within the last 180 days, the reserve canopy must be re-packed before air worthiness is assured. FAR § 65.125-133 | FAR § 105.43.b | USPA SIM 4-C.D.2.a.4 | USPA SIM 5-4.i.4
Recommend you get more belly time...28 jumps isn't enough time to develop a good track...but you know that I'm betting.Im almost 300...4 hrs in the tunnel and just learning back/sit fly
I jinxed my jumpmaster back in 1986 at Lakewood Airport in, N.J. My buddy and I saw a tow-plane along the beach advertising intro-jumps at the local airport. We decided to give it a try. These were static line jumps with round canopies at the time. During the ground school, I asked my instructor if he ever had to pull his reserve chute. He said: "never". There were about four of us in the small Cessna airplane. My buddy jumped before me. My chute opened almost immediately, but it ripped my helmet off my head as it opened. As I was floating, I noticed a main chute streaming all by itself. My instructor opened his reserve chute and landed somewhere near the woods while the rest of us landed in a large sand area far from the runways. After we landed I heard another instructor scolding my jump instructor for not packing his chute properly. I always felt as if I had jinxed him.
Went skydiving in Lake Wales FL. back in '97. Although it was one of the most adrenaline pumping experiences in my life... sadly I was never able to back and do it again. Thank you for this video. But there is no simulating the feeling of the first 3 seconds of freefall.
Still a few jumps shy of my A license and sporting that same communal-drop-zone Pro Tec helmet lol, so seeing you wear that made me smirk. I love when I see experienced ppl still rocking open faces. That exit looked so fun. I can’t wait to do that kinda stuff with my new friends when I have more experience. Great vid. Thanks for sharing!
In 1988 when I did my first of only 2 static line jumps, we were only given overalls, no gloves or goggles and nobody mentioned them. My hands got so cold I’m glad it was static line! I couldn’t see cos no goggles! Still loved it enough to do a second jump.
I did a tandem jump with my kid in October of 2022. I was going to go for my AFF but a friend suggested Paramotoring. But April 2023 I had all my gear and I've been learning ever since. Can't wait to fly up to 12,000 feet and just glide all the way down.
It's amazing to me how one gets very little sense of speed while you're falling. It looks more like you're standing still and just hanging out. And it all looks completely safe. Still, there's no amount of money could cause me to choose to fall out of an airplane. But it's fun watching you guys do it!
Ok, if you're falling out of the plane, you've had to much to drink. We jump out, not fall out. If you don't jump then how do you know what freefall is like ? It may seem like you're floating when you're the only one in the sky but that hundred mph breeze is a reminder and when you zip past others in the sky you really get a sense of the speed involved. Head first I've hit 180 mph. You're more like a cannonball than a leaf in the air.
Very informative, a very Good video, I personally have 2200 jumps after 24 years, really not that many, 5 cutaways and reserve rides in all that time, Skys The Limit, Beeville Texas, the DZ is closed now the owner Gary Morgan, my brother died of Cancer after at least 8000 jumps, Blue Skies my brothers…
This is an awesome video! I'm thinking about starting AFF training in the Summer in the UK. This has got me proper hyped. Thanks for the video Adam! 😁👍
Fun! You might have explained the "shitting his pants" comment. Around 10,000 ft or so the air pressure is a lot lower, and any gas in a skydiver's intestines will have expanded in volume. When people start shifting around and doing gear checks prior to jump run, that gas usually finds its own exit. With the door still shut, the plane really does start to smell like people are shitting their pants. The smell can get so bad sometimes, jumpers will crack the door open a little bit for some fresh air prior to the red light. Is skydiving safe? Most of the funerals I've attended for friends my own age over the years have been for skydiving accidents. You can look up the statistics online. Best bet: establish good safety habits and stick with them or the odds will catch up to you a lot faster.
How terrible of skydivers were your friends that you attended so many funerals?? They must have been INCREDIBLY terrible! I work at one of the largest schooling in the US and we do 5 or 6 loads a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and we have not had a single fatality.
After winning a $2000 jackpot in Mesquite, NV. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to go skydiving (tandem, of course). The pre-jump adrenaline seemed greater than what I experienced during the actual jump. I do wish I had a pair of earplugs though. The wind was deafening!
I have been thinking about getting into the sport recently, so I was thrilled to watch this video. I have done a couple of tandem jumps about 12 years ago and have admired the sport as well as the people in the sport. Can't wait to check out your other content cheers
I've taken some time off but am an AFF student and when you're jumping without anyone holding on to you it's a LOT different and fun. Doing the turns and spins is great
FUN STUFF! Enjoyed it very much. Glad to see you're waiting until you've got more jumps before you start using a camera on your own. You were potato-chipping some but that's quite common; I still do it when I've gotten stiff after being away for a while. Excellent video and thanks for sharing the sport.
Thanks for the great video. I've always been fascinated by skydiving. Wanted to jump when I was 17 but my parents wouldn't sign the consent LOL Finally jumped when I was 50 and then again when I was 67!!! Yee-Haw! I think I'm good now ;) One more thing: I think the biggest misconception people have about skydiving is you don't feel like you're falling. It's more like you're not moving at all but have a lot of wind in your face.
I have over 100,000 sky jumps. Two of them from space. And i can confirm that this video is very educational for sky jumpers of all levels. Even my elite top level.
Epic video man truly one of your most best videos yet. I kind of want of try it a bit scary, but with careful planning and just taking it easy it can be an amazing experience in the end.💯💯👍👊
the fear is part of that experience , when you realize you must feel exactly that way , and begin to enjoy it , there is no turning back , this sport feels amazing, and literally change lifes
Nice reassuring information for the would be skydiver. On a side note the AAD doesn’t automatically deploy your reserve, it initiates the deployment sequence. I know it’s a play on words but there is a big difference.
I want to do this, but I'd need to 100,000,000% trust my tandem licensed diver. Otherwise I might put up a fight once that door slides open and I'm looking at Earth from 15,000 feet. Thank you for showing us your skydiving! You all seem professional and responsible. I think this is the only company I'd feel safe enough skydiving with because of that.
Great footage, words I wouldn't have used when dealing with skydiving, "once in a lifetime" implying you're not going to get to do it again! And "this is the final jump", although they did add " of the day"! I'd like a deep dive into those occasions when it was necessary to cut away and use the reserve and the causes for it.
I always tell people it's more dangerous driving to the DZ than the jump. Had GMC Yukon full of people taking two for a tandem. Stopped at a light and was rear ended. Two people slightly injured.
The only thing you missed is taking a dump BEFORE you go up in the plane. Can't tell you how many people I've seen poo their pants before or during the jump lol
I use to jump near Sydney, Australia in the seventies. Coincidently, it was only the other day I noticed that forty-nine years ago to the day I had my fifth reserve deployment being a cutaway from a Parawing Delta II. Three more to follow making eight in about 900 jumps. There were some less than perfect systems around in those days, so it's gratifying to see the sport being somewhat safer. In those days, someone who had 3,000 jumps would have been considered a 'Sky God' with everyone bowing as they walked past.
Dang, my AFF instructor and pilot (They happened to be brothers.) each had over 10k jumps for my AFF7. (Coincidentally it was jump 13 for me. One tandem for my 43rd birthday.) I later had to do a recurrency jump and went up with the same instructor. He suggested some tracking and just having fun. I asked him what to do if I lost him. LOL, the look he gave me still amuses me. He just told me I couldn't. (I would later watch a group of instructors in training. He was one of their trainers. That was when I fully began to understand everything the instructors did.)
on my first (tandem) jump, they left the door open and i was so focused on not jumping out by accident😂 they most crazy thing to me was the first few seconds.. i looked straight down and that was so crazy awesome..but the feeling in the stomach for the first few seconds was lile if you fall and you wanne stop falling with the hands down.. fast loud crazy.. i started paraglinding and never jumped since..
Did a tandem a decade ago, I think we went to 10k feet. Truth is, I had a hard time enjoying it because my ears hurt so much on the way down. Still a good experience anyway. I also got the shoulder tap to get my arms out, as it does slip the mind. Also, the diver kept pulling my head up, because I kept looking towards the ground. Not sure if it was just so I can see the scenery instead of just bellow me, or if it altered the flight / fall.
One person said that they never get the feeling they are flying but always the whole jump feel like they are falling. That does not sound very pleasant. I've never jumped and have no plans to.
Do you know Teuge, in the Netherlands? You don't see many airports anymore, where sky divers are allowed to land on the airport. Here you still see that. Nice!
Great video, Id love to do it! whats the highest altitude you can skydive? i guess the thrill drives you to be able to be in the air the most time posible?
I did a tandem jump for my first time at 10,500ft. Was out in South Carolina. Was the most fun I have ever had. They recorded it for me and while the video is still cool to see I know that a video does not do an actual jump justice from what you feel and see. The adrenaline rush was better than the adrenaline I got use to in combat. I would totally do a cert class to do solo jumps or even work towards being an instructor if they had one in my area. I think everyone should have skydiving as a bucket list item. Even if they only did one jump it is something that everyone should experience at least once.
I’ve been skydiving twice at the Lodi/Acampo, California skydiving center off Highway 99, one thing is that the fast, cold passing wind opens your checks and hits your teeth with blasts of cold air and for about 2-3 days after your skydive your teeth feel very cold and sensitive, it goes away soon enough.
My first solo after AFF. They didn't tell me that I was going to open the door and jump first. Then I got line twist on opening. Fixed the line twist and landed on target. I threw up a right after I got my canopy wrapped up. I jumped again 2 more times that day. Luckily, none saw me throw up in goggles, as they were hanging around my neck.
Thinking about going real soon, about to turn forty seven years old. Thinking about going for the first time. I have been parasailing, and it's actually so quiet.It's extremely peaceful way up there😂
I went solo 3 times back in the 80s from a Cessna 172 with stripped interior and 4 others and a pilot on static line at 3000 feet! I didn't see the plane first two times due to sensory overload. At 3000 feet there's hardly any time to pull the reserve. Last time up was from 13000 feet AFF!
Hey, nice video. But the pin of your main loop seems placed very deep to me. Are you shure it cant stuck (e.g after you rub your backpack on the plane or so)?
In Salisbury Rhodesia at the Mashonaland Skydiving Club at the Barry Delport farm, we paid one of the farm laborers Faison fifty cents to pack our T10 parachutes. I wonder what happened to him? Naturally D license holders packed the reserves.
@@grahamtopzand8111 It was 50 cents per ‘chute. I do believe he packed 4 - 6 per day on weekends. Yes, he was a man among men with the women in the small kraal at the end of the runway. That much money could keep him afloat in traditional beer for sure.
What rig was that? I saw the RSL shackle but didn't see it when you lifted the pin cover. Looks like a rental or student gear so I'm just curious. You should read The Lunatic Fringe by Dean Ricci. Talk about mad lads.
Yes did skydiving back in the late 1970s and early 80s.I had an old 28ft. round chute ex NZ Army they were called 7TUs.wellington skying club called them chepos then. the landings were a little hard no brakes like the new ones. I could not afford the newer ones then. Just wore goggles and a motor cycle helmet in those days
I did my first tandem at 54 years old. 14 jumps in , one solo so far, im now 57.
One common misconception is the feeling of falling, I’ve never felt that .
To be honest, the freedom of bing up there is incredible. No plane no ground. Exililerating but so peacefull.
My goal, I want to be inside of a cloud
I passed through a cloud at pull altitude during my AFF in 2020/2021 -- Spent a solid 10 seconds there, the instructors apologized after because clearly you're not supposed to... but the experience was amazing, I knew I was safe because we were the last out on that jump. 10 seconds of near 0 vis feeling like I was 'flying' right through the clouds. I stopped keeping up my cert for skydiving, because I was only ever interested in the 'flying' aspect when under canopy -- saving up for private pilot's license and taking paramotor lessons this year (doing both!)
Passing through a cloud was an experience I won't forget.
I've always felt the feeling was more like the airplane was simply leaving me and not me falling to the ground. I'm also 57 now, but I haven't skydived since I was in my 20s. I did 32 jumps at that time. highest from 17,000 ft. So much fun. But those days are over for me. Now I'm a mountain biker.
Jumping during midday, when the sun is high, is best time to punch a cloud. You can see your shadow as you’re approaching the cloud (at 120mph). Awesome!
you get the feeling of falling off of a stationary object. the aircraft is moving forward so you are already moving and actually gain very little speed in free fall... jump run 90 knots free fall speed 120.. Going off a helicopter, cliff, balloon gives you the feeling of falling until you reach terminal.
I'm happy to hear ALL of this. I'm starting my AFF courses in June at 37. Have always wanted to do it, just never thought it was a realistic achievement. Then on a whim with almost no though, I booked and paid for my first tandem and ground school, and everything else to follow I hope. Some of the greatest things I've done for myself, were on a whim. Out of nowhere got a motorcycle license a few years ago and birthed that new passion. I'm hoping skydiving will be another great achievement. I couldn't pass a medical half way through pilot training when I was 18 due to a pre-existing brain aneurism (at 2 months old) that my neurologist wouldn't sign off on (FAA medical), even though it's never affected my life. So if they won't let me fly the dang things, then I may as well chase another dream (finally) and jump out of em right? :) Cheers and thanks for the inspiration.
Done 500+ jumps i miss it but really enjoyed my time did it. Travelled around the world and jumped out of dozens of aircraft. Nice to see videos of it popping up on YT.
Very glad to hear it mate and glad you’ve got fond memories 🤙🏼🤙🏼
Love this. The scariest part during my experience was when that door opened and there was no turning back! 😂
🤩🤩 me too hahaha
i felt like there is no turning back since ive boarded the plane hahahah , but i can tell i felt already flying even before letting go from the plane , when i was outside that door
It was hilarious this one day. We had a bloke panicking, saying he couldn't do it now he was up there.
Instructor is like: "Just come over and take a look at the height."
The guy edged over and the instructor says: "Not so bad is it?"
Admittedly he calmed down.
Suddenly the instructor is like: "Say goodnight..."
WHAM!
Pushes the bloke out the door.
We was wetting ourselves. The dude screamed like Boba Fett as he went out the door.
@@D.BCooper-us3vg hahahahaha brilliant
@@D.BCooper-us3vg”AFF students hate him for this ONE simple trick! 😉”
I started jumping back in 1972 and we jumped from a farm airport. We used “Cheapo” and T-10’s chutes from the old military style. I finally got one of the “Drivable “ ones from the Golden Knights, a Para Commander, which was like flying a Ferrari. The modern parawings and such didn’t exist so we didn’t have those nice zero mile pr hr touch downs like they have today. We all started with static lines and after 5 or 6 jumps you went freefall. No tandem stuff like they do now. Sky diving is such an experience you just can’t describe the feeling.
1972 for me, too with a modified T-10. Stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi and jumped out of Bayou La Batre in Alabama. Started racing a Hobie Cat and finances only went so far for an E-5, so choices were made.
I remember the C9 and T10 ‘chutes. They were dogs!
We’re about the same vintage. My first jump was at Citrusdal South Africa in January 1976 when I was 17.
Good luck to you! 👍
I just started skydiving. Currently, I have 14 jumps away from having my A-license. I love reading the experiences from you guys from the 70s and what it was like. With the gear back then
My experience, also. First jump was in 1972, as a high school senior. My dad (Mom refused) signed a notarized waver so I could take a six jump course.
I quit jumping in 2001, with 1900+ jumps which included many night jumps, BASE jumps, and many friends for life!
Great intro and overview. I started jumping when I was 54 and in 10 years did 1200 with almost 1000 as wingsuit jumps. It was all a lot of work for me but overall a wonderful experience. I stopped jumping (about 2 years ago) to focus on other things but what a great experience those years were.
Great Video!!! I haven't jumped in about 35 years. I'm 68 now. I had about 600 jumps when I stopped. This definitely brings the adrenaline back and lot of great memories. I have done night jumps, helicopter jumps, I jumped out of a WWII era cargo plane once, and more. I was also a camera man. Thanks for the video!!!
Awesome story. You’re very welcome mate
I loved this video, for the simple reason that it made it all flood back. I never got very far on my AFF, I was on my 5th consolidation jump when family and finance circumstances changed, my dream came to an end. I can feel the nerves now thinking about climbing into the rig, going out and checking your landing pattern and holding area, I can still feel the fear when nearing the drop zone, the absolute deathly feeling before leaving the plane door, and then all of a sudden life changes, you relax and you start to enjoy life, for nearly a full minute of free-fall you live life to the max. Thank you Adam for the video 👌👈🤘
So glad to hear that mate, glad it brought back some good memories 🫡🫡 thanks for taking the time to comment
Did one tandem dive some years ago. STILL get the willies watching you guys dive. What a rush!!!
Hahahaha nice one - thanks for commenting mate
I’m going this Sunday for the first time my gf got it as my 29th bday gift. I’m from Spain so I’m going to Castellón. This was a such a dope video broski! Really enjoyed it
Hahaha awesome thank you mate - enjoy & welcome to the channel
I am one and done with skydiving lol. I did it about 10 years ago in Vegas. Checked it off my bucket list.
I totally thought that the jumpers we were watching had around 3k skydives like the guys interviewed in the beginning, especially when it seemed like they were doing a Mr Bill-type exit (nicely done btw!). I was then very confused about why the pair had trouble docking and OP couldn't do a clean backflip. I was like, "What is going on? These guys look like they only have 50 jumps or something!" Then it turned out that is indeed the case. Great jump and great explanation of equipment and procedures too. Beautiful golden hour jump. DZ looks really nice too. Keep it up! Blue skies! Cheers!
Hahahahaha thank you mate - glad it all came together in the end - hope you get some time to check out my other vids too 👊🏼
A Mr. Bill exit is when two jumpers exit together holding on to each other. One jumper deploys their parachute while the other attempts to hang on. If successful, the one hanging on can then make a jump off the other skydiver. The name comes from the Saturday Night Live claymation sketch.
@@LawtonDigital yeah, I know that's what a Mr Bill exit is and I know the claymation sketch on SNL where it gets the name from (which I love by the way). I know these guys weren't in a Mr Bill exit position, but the video quickly cuts to the two of them in the door holding onto each other. In that split second, I was wondering what they were going to try doing. The fact that they were holding onto each other made me think they were gonna try to do a Mr Bill type exit or something, but I do realize that their exit was not at all a Mr Bill exit. Considering these guys have 50 jumps, they should probably get a little more experience before they try a Mr Bill exit. It was still a creative exit for two jumpers with such little experience though.
Not a skydiver (done a couple of Tandems) but flew about 1500 hours of jump flying for Skydiving centres before going on to the airlines. Brings back memories of the energy and joy at a Skydiving centre.
One thing I noticed at the time was that there was a similarity between the number of jumps a skydiver had and hours a pilot has in the way they talked and thought. A 200 jump skydiver sounds like a 200 hour pilot; they’re confident and know they are good. A 2000 + jump skydiver, like a 2000 hour + pilot, knows that’ll they’ll never know enough or be good enough.
Agree 100%.
Yeah, my headown is crap, I am not much good in bigways, complete garbage compared to actual world class skydivers. My swooping is alright though. Only have between 1 and 2 thousand jumps, and a few hours in the tunnel.
PS yeah, these guys suck too. Ah well, we all do what we can. Lol.
The wagon wheel went alright. 👍
@@deltalima6703 Well I guess that’ll come if you work at it, depends what you want. Like my doing wonky loops and rolls in a Cessna aerobat! But I was really talking about attitude, the realisation that you aren’t a Skygod. That quiet voice in your head that tells you that could get it horribly wrong one day. It’s not even necessarily a spoken thing, just something you can sense from a Skydiver or a pilot. Anyway, Blue Skies and Happy New Year!
Evidence shows that more experienced pilots get into more accidents because they're overconfident. So the evidence doesn't agree with your theory.
Really entertaining and much needed content. Thanks for making this bro!
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Just imagine how safe our highway would be if all drivers had this mindset of safety, nothing left to chance, and knowing what to do when things go wrong.
Unfortunately drivers have the (wrong) feeling of invulnerability (especially the bad ones) very few Skydivers EVER take anything for granted
Fabulous video brings to mind brilliant memories of my 5 solo static line jumps in 1995 at Weston on the Green. Incredible experience
Ah Skydive Hib, I learnt to skydive there in 2008, Noel Purcell and H were my AFF instructors. Out living in the US now. It used to live in Lincolnshire 😁
A frequent phrase you'll hear is "it's nothing 1000 jumps won't fix". Enjoy your journey towards becoming an experienced skydiver (that's after the first 1000) it's a sport of limitless progression :)
Thank you Matt 🤙🏼
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This is incredible, my palms were sweating just watching it but it gives me that masochistic urge to want to try it myself
Hahahaha love it, exactly what I wanted. Glad you enjoyed dude 🫡
@@AdamRadcliffe nutter
I learned to jump at Pope Valley Parachute Ranch in 1974, I was 16. I jumped through college back when lots of the gear was pretty scary. My first backpack free fall rig had a Piglet for a main. The first square main I jumped was in a borrowed rig. The canopy was a 7 cell Flyer, converted from a 5 cell Flyer in its owners garage on his sewing machine. I jumped it out of a Citabria at 2300’. I got a line over the top and it spun so hard I could barely raise my hands to get my thumbs into the Capwells. I chopped it and was under the reserve pretty fast. Later I bought my first Square, a Unit. I haven’t jumped in a while now but I wouldn’t hesitate too if an opportunity presents itself.
Take a vacation in Eloy AZ and spend a full week at Skydive Arizona. Take their AFF course and try 3 skydives a day. You would need 8-10 days to complete your A-Licence however, depending on how busy they are maybe you could jump 4 times a day. With that A License in hand, you will likely make 6-8 jumps a day. Blue Skies
Does the UK not require the reserve to be sealed after re-pack? In the United States, it is required by both USPA and FAA that the reserve canopy be packed by a certified rigger and that rigger is required to place a seal on the reserve pin/closing loop. If for any reason the seal is broken or does not match the reserve packing data card, the rig is considered not air worthy and must have its reserve re-packed. If the reserve has not been packed within the last 180 days, the reserve canopy must be re-packed before air worthiness is assured. FAR § 65.125-133 | FAR § 105.43.b | USPA SIM 4-C.D.2.a.4 | USPA SIM 5-4.i.4
second coming up next weekend. first jump was a lot less scary than I thought it would be. leaving the door, BANANA, it was pure euphoria.
Awesome. Enjoy mate
28 jumps here and starting to freefly! nice video dude! fly safe!
Nice one mate!!! Enjoy your journey
Recommend you get more belly time...28 jumps isn't enough time to develop a good track...but you know that I'm betting.Im almost 300...4 hrs in the tunnel and just learning back/sit fly
You and your cohorts enthusiasm made this one a great watch. Super video.
Cheers Howard 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼
I jinxed my jumpmaster back in 1986 at Lakewood Airport in, N.J. My buddy and I saw a tow-plane along the beach advertising intro-jumps at the local airport. We decided to give it a try. These were static line jumps with round canopies at the time. During the ground school, I asked my instructor if he ever had to pull his reserve chute. He said: "never". There were about four of us in the small Cessna airplane. My buddy jumped before me. My chute opened almost immediately, but it ripped my helmet off my head as it opened. As I was floating, I noticed a main chute streaming all by itself. My instructor opened his reserve chute and landed somewhere near the woods while the rest of us landed in a large sand area far from the runways. After we landed I heard another instructor scolding my jump instructor for not packing his chute properly. I always felt as if I had jinxed him.
Well done -
Man
I miss this sport. - 263 jumps 4 mals lol great fun
Went skydiving in Lake Wales FL. back in '97. Although it was one of the most adrenaline pumping experiences in my life... sadly I was never able to back and do it again. Thank you for this video. But there is no simulating the feeling of the first 3 seconds of freefall.
Bro you're amazing love the wheel exit cant wait to follow you
Hahahahaha legend mate. You’re going to love the content. Welcome to the channel and thanks for being here 🤙🏼
Still a few jumps shy of my A license and sporting that same communal-drop-zone Pro Tec helmet lol, so seeing you wear that made me smirk. I love when I see experienced ppl still rocking open faces. That exit looked so fun. I can’t wait to do that kinda stuff with my new friends when I have more experience. Great vid. Thanks for sharing!
Hahahaha love it. Getting FS1 is the best so you can jump with your mates
its great that you share the important stuff, very educational…and as always, another epic adventure for you 😊
Thank you Joan so glad you enjoyed 😎😎
We did static lines jumps going out at 2800 feet back in the 70's I jumped for a couple years. Nice video
Thank you Joe 👊🏼👊🏼
In 1988 when I did my first of only 2 static line jumps, we were only given overalls, no gloves or goggles and nobody mentioned them. My hands got so cold I’m glad it was static line! I couldn’t see cos no goggles! Still loved it enough to do a second jump.
The chute was an old aeroconical one too so it wasn’t brilliantly manoeuvreable tbf 😂
I did a tandem jump with my kid in October of 2022. I was going to go for my AFF but a friend suggested Paramotoring. But April 2023 I had all my gear and I've been learning ever since. Can't wait to fly up to 12,000 feet and just glide all the way down.
It's even nicer just to paraglide. You jump off a mountain, and then you get to fly around and glide down without a bulky noisy motor behind you
hard to paraglide in eastern south carolina. no mountains!
I’ve done 12 tandems and 2 solos. I still get excited watching skydive videos. Unfortunately my skydive days are over.
Was it scary going from tandem to solo? Im nervous lol. What was scarier, first dive in general, or first solo?
Thx
This video makes me miss skydiving! I need to lose some weight, so I can get back to skydiving this coming summer!
It's amazing to me how one gets very little sense of speed while you're falling. It looks more like you're standing still and just hanging out. And it all looks completely safe. Still, there's no amount of money could cause me to choose to fall out of an airplane. But it's fun watching you guys do it!
Ok, if you're falling out of the plane, you've had to much to drink. We jump out, not fall out. If you don't jump then how do you know what freefall is like ? It may seem like you're floating when you're the only one in the sky but that hundred mph breeze is a reminder and when you zip past others in the sky you really get a sense of the speed involved. Head first I've hit 180 mph. You're more like a cannonball than a leaf in the air.
I"m still an AFF student but you don't feel like you're moving fast at all, it's just windy.
Relativity baby! It's a crazy thing. I would still suggest you try a tandem. It is actually very safe and is an incredible experience.
Trust me, when you're falling ay 120mph, you know it. It's windy as all get out. Interestingly you don't get that stomach drop feeling though.
I miss it so much I did 20 jumps never did my hop-n-pop . The best feeling in the world.
I started at 48 yrs old. Best thing you'll ever do.
Very informative, a very Good video, I personally have 2200 jumps after 24 years, really not that many, 5 cutaways and reserve rides in all that time, Skys The Limit, Beeville Texas, the DZ is closed now the owner Gary Morgan, my brother died of Cancer after at least 8000 jumps, Blue Skies my brothers…
Thank you Steve, & a great story thank you for sharing and sorry to hear about your brothers passing. All the best 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼
This is an awesome video! I'm thinking about starting AFF training in the Summer in the UK. This has got me proper hyped. Thanks for the video Adam! 😁👍
Niiiiceee mate - enjoy it
Fun!
You might have explained the "shitting his pants" comment. Around 10,000 ft or so the air pressure is a lot lower, and any gas in a skydiver's intestines will have expanded in volume. When people start shifting around and doing gear checks prior to jump run, that gas usually finds its own exit. With the door still shut, the plane really does start to smell like people are shitting their pants. The smell can get so bad sometimes, jumpers will crack the door open a little bit for some fresh air prior to the red light.
Is skydiving safe? Most of the funerals I've attended for friends my own age over the years have been for skydiving accidents. You can look up the statistics online. Best bet: establish good safety habits and stick with them or the odds will catch up to you a lot faster.
How terrible of skydivers were your friends that you attended so many funerals?? They must have been INCREDIBLY terrible! I work at one of the largest schooling in the US and we do 5 or 6 loads a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and we have not had a single fatality.
Love it ! Got 1200 jump my self and i been there my self.
Awesome work mate
After winning a $2000 jackpot in Mesquite, NV. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to go skydiving (tandem, of course).
The pre-jump adrenaline seemed greater than what I experienced during the actual jump.
I do wish I had a pair of earplugs though. The wind was deafening!
thanks for this im 60 a woman and always wanted to jump out of a plane gonna do it before 70 for sure this was insightful educational thanks
I have been thinking about getting into the sport recently, so I was thrilled to watch this video. I have done a couple of tandem jumps about 12 years ago and have admired the sport as well as the people in the sport. Can't wait to check out your other content cheers
I've taken some time off but am an AFF student and when you're jumping without anyone holding on to you it's a LOT different and fun. Doing the turns and spins is great
Welcome to the channel mate - enjoy 😎
I've skydived before, but I want to get into the industry, so thank you so much for this insight! 🙏❤️
You’re very welcome mate! So glad it was useful 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼 hope you enjoy some other vids on my channel too
Don't get in the industry, I'm a jump pilot. Skydivers are trashy, it's a toxic environment
@@Straightahead101You just sold me on it. 😅
@@Straightahead101 How so? I wanna be a pilot and a skydiver so if I go the Civilian/Airline route then it seems like a pretty sick way to get hours.
Thanks for sharing Bro! Blue Skies!!
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I done a tandem jump back in 1992 would love to do another one of the best things I've ever done
FUN STUFF! Enjoyed it very much. Glad to see you're waiting until you've got more jumps before you start using a camera on your own. You were potato-chipping some but that's quite common; I still do it when I've gotten stiff after being away for a while. Excellent video and thanks for sharing the sport.
Awesome mate, glad you enjoyed it!
Very interesting and well detailed!
Thanks
You’re welcome 🫡
Thanks for the great video. I've always been fascinated by skydiving. Wanted to jump when I was 17 but my parents wouldn't sign the consent LOL Finally jumped when I was 50 and then again when I was 67!!! Yee-Haw! I think I'm good now ;) One more thing: I think the biggest misconception people have about skydiving is you don't feel like you're falling. It's more like you're not moving at all but have a lot of wind in your face.
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I have over 100,000 sky jumps. Two of them from space. And i can confirm that this video is very educational for sky jumpers of all levels. Even my elite top level.
8:10 - I'll say one thing: that cloud and light scape shot is pretty freaking gorgeous!
Epic video man truly one of your most best videos yet. I kind of want of try it a bit scary, but with careful planning and just taking it easy it can be an amazing experience in the end.💯💯👍👊
Thank you dude 🫡🫡🫡
the fear is part of that experience , when you realize you must feel exactly that way , and begin to enjoy it , there is no turning back , this sport feels amazing, and literally change lifes
Nice reassuring information for the would be skydiver.
On a side note the AAD doesn’t automatically deploy your reserve, it initiates the deployment sequence. I know it’s a play on words but there is a big difference.
Great footage, nice little Superman there !!!
😎
This is wild!! Also just booked tandem skydive for me & my boyfriend in Australia. 😳
Hahaha awesome. Enjoy!
My second, and last jump, I had a fail.
This was brilliant man. I'd love to parachute man but I'm shit scared to. Wonder how I could get over that fear. 🙏🏴
Try a tandem mate you will love it. So safe and all of the thrill
I want to do this, but I'd need to 100,000,000% trust my tandem licensed diver. Otherwise I might put up a fight once that door slides open and I'm looking at Earth from 15,000 feet. Thank you for showing us your skydiving! You all seem professional and responsible. I think this is the only company I'd feel safe enough skydiving with because of that.
Great footage, words I wouldn't have used when dealing with skydiving, "once in a lifetime" implying you're not going to get to do it again! And "this is the final jump", although they did add " of the day"! I'd like a deep dive into those occasions when it was necessary to cut away and use the reserve and the causes for it.
>>deep dive into....
I always tell people it's more dangerous driving to the DZ than the jump. Had GMC Yukon full of people taking two for a tandem. Stopped at a light and was rear ended. Two people slightly injured.
Heya love that exit! Just got my A license last month and done a little bit of FS 🤙🤙. Are you planning to work towards your B license next?
Thank you! Best of luck with the FS! Hope you smash it 🤙🏼 yep B is just around the corner
Just did my first tandem and now I wanna do my course
That was good landing though, i recently broke my ankle. Can’t wait to get back 😝😝
Hahaha thanks. They’ve got much better since. Hope you heal quickly
The only thing you missed is taking a dump BEFORE you go up in the plane. Can't tell you how many people I've seen poo their pants before or during the jump lol
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I use to jump near Sydney, Australia in the seventies. Coincidently, it was only the other day I noticed that forty-nine years ago to the day I had my fifth reserve deployment being a cutaway from a Parawing Delta II. Three more to follow making eight in about 900 jumps. There were some less than perfect systems around in those days, so it's gratifying to see the sport being somewhat safer.
In those days, someone who had 3,000 jumps would have been considered a 'Sky God' with everyone bowing as they walked past.
Dang, my AFF instructor and pilot (They happened to be brothers.) each had over 10k jumps for my AFF7. (Coincidentally it was jump 13 for me. One tandem for my 43rd birthday.) I later had to do a recurrency jump and went up with the same instructor. He suggested some tracking and just having fun. I asked him what to do if I lost him. LOL, the look he gave me still amuses me. He just told me I couldn't. (I would later watch a group of instructors in training. He was one of their trainers. That was when I fully began to understand everything the instructors did.)
Who's Sidney Australia?
In those days there still were people who really thought they were a god. Today, only sky divers are at risk.
Looks incredibly fun.
Sure is
on my first (tandem) jump, they left the door open and i was so focused on not jumping out by accident😂 they most crazy thing to me was the first few seconds.. i looked straight down and that was so crazy awesome..but the feeling in the stomach for the first few seconds was lile if you fall and you wanne stop falling with the hands down.. fast loud crazy.. i started paraglinding and never jumped since..
Great video, thank you for sharing
Thanks mate 🤝🏽
Tube exits are my favourite!
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Did a tandem a decade ago, I think we went to 10k feet. Truth is, I had a hard time enjoying it because my ears hurt so much on the way down. Still a good experience anyway. I also got the shoulder tap to get my arms out, as it does slip the mind. Also, the diver kept pulling my head up, because I kept looking towards the ground. Not sure if it was just so I can see the scenery instead of just bellow me, or if it altered the flight / fall.
One person said that they never get the feeling they are flying but always the whole jump feel like they are falling. That does not sound very pleasant. I've never jumped and have no plans to.
Do you know Teuge, in the Netherlands? You don't see many airports anymore, where sky divers are allowed to land on the airport. Here you still see that. Nice!
Great video, Id love to do it! whats the highest altitude you can skydive? i guess the thrill drives you to be able to be in the air the most time posible?
I jumped off the garden shed once, believe me that was high enough
This takes me back😊
Glad to hear it 😎
I'm more afraid of standing at the edge of the roof of a house than jumping out of an airplane at 15,000 ft. I love it.
3 of you gave me confidence
i like ya discription :)) i aint jumpin g out ever lol
I did a tandem jump for my first time at 10,500ft. Was out in South Carolina. Was the most fun I have ever had. They recorded it for me and while the video is still cool to see I know that a video does not do an actual jump justice from what you feel and see. The adrenaline rush was better than the adrenaline I got use to in combat. I would totally do a cert class to do solo jumps or even work towards being an instructor if they had one in my area. I think everyone should have skydiving as a bucket list item. Even if they only did one jump it is something that everyone should experience at least once.
I wouldnt jump, but its nice to know its safe enough that people can do it thousand of times
Yes sir, maybe one day 👀
You don't get to meet the people who fail. It's not completely safe. I'm not saying don't do it, but just be mindful of that fact.
Thanks for this.
The scariest part of jumping in the beginning was not having packed my own chute.
I’ve been skydiving twice at the Lodi/Acampo, California skydiving center off Highway 99, one thing is that the fast, cold passing wind opens your checks and hits your teeth with blasts of cold air and for about 2-3 days after your skydive your teeth feel very cold and sensitive, it goes away soon enough.
You went to the deadliest skydiving center in the country.
@@visax8550 and I would go again! 💯 🪂 💨
My first solo after AFF. They didn't tell me that I was going to open the door and jump first. Then I got line twist on opening. Fixed the line twist and landed on target. I threw up a right after I got my canopy wrapped up. I jumped again 2 more times that day. Luckily, none saw me throw up in goggles, as they were hanging around my neck.
I did it once. It was awesome.
Thinking about going real soon, about to turn forty seven years old. Thinking about going for the first time. I have been parasailing, and it's actually so quiet.It's extremely peaceful way up there😂
I went solo 3 times back in the 80s from a Cessna 172 with stripped interior and 4 others and a pilot on static line at 3000 feet! I didn't see the plane first two times due to sensory overload. At 3000 feet there's hardly any time to pull the reserve. Last time up was from 13000 feet AFF!
I paraglide so it would seem quick to me. I would have a go though!
Great video Adam. Brings back great memories. I love to watch it on the big screen TV because I feel like I’m there. 🪂✈️
Awesome Gary - big screen is where it belongs
Twin Otter? One of my Favs to jump from. 121PM
Hey, nice video. But the pin of your main loop seems placed very deep to me. Are you shure it cant stuck (e.g after you rub your backpack on the plane or so)?
Please tell me how to join your training? Which country you are from?
Cool segment.
As a skydiver I fully expected to criticize this video.
Nope! It’s good.
Great for prospective students and tandem riders.
Thank you mate 👊🏼 blue skies
I never knew you needed a parachute to skydive!
Nice video🤙 You forgot the packing job after you land.. People always ask me: “do you really pack the parachute yourself?!”
Hahaha thank you mate 💪🏼
In Salisbury Rhodesia at the Mashonaland Skydiving Club at the Barry Delport farm, we paid one of the farm laborers Faison fifty cents to pack our T10 parachutes. I wonder what happened to him?
Naturally D license holders packed the reserves.
@@mtkoslowski 10cents. Eish. Plenty Chibuku.
That 10cents would’ve bought him a few Chibukus. I wonder how many he would pack in a day.
@@grahamtopzand8111
It was 50 cents per ‘chute. I do believe he packed 4 - 6 per day on weekends.
Yes, he was a man among men with the women in the small kraal at the end of the runway. That much money could keep him afloat in traditional beer for sure.
What rig was that? I saw the RSL shackle but didn't see it when you lifted the pin cover. Looks like a rental or student gear so I'm just curious. You should read The Lunatic Fringe by Dean Ricci. Talk about mad lads.
Yep it’s a rental student Navigator 240
Yes did skydiving back in the late 1970s and early 80s.I had an old 28ft. round chute ex NZ Army they were called 7TUs.wellington skying club called them chepos then. the landings were a little hard no brakes like the new ones. I could not afford the newer ones then. Just wore goggles and a motor cycle helmet in those days
Looks amazing I want to do this one day