Tandem skydive

calc61 · April 5, 2016

Anybody do this? I want to this summer but what should I expect? Where I plan on going it's from 13,500 feet,freefall for 60 seconds. I'm terrified of heights but want to do this.

Argonne69 · April 5, 2016

Skydiving has often been referred to as the most fun you can have with your pants on. At 13,500 feet, the sense of height really isn't there. Go for it.

etakmit · April 5, 2016

Did it a few summers ago - took the wife. Plan on getting my license at some point. Life just needs to slow down first.

It was great and our dropzone was a little hole in the wall.

Firstly expect to sign away every possible chance you or your family has to sue them if something catastrophic happens. Then expect to watch a fairly lengthy video (likely filmed in the 80s). After that expect to go through some manual training where they have you performing the actions that you'll need to when jumping from the plane and free falling.

And then its time to get your chute on. Expect it to be VERY tight - don't be afraid to adjust your man bits because if you don't - they'll be stuck in there. Once you're on the plane and settled in the flight up to 15000 ft or so is likely going to take a while (bigger planes will get there quicker, we were in a smaller cessna, just five of us and it took about 15-20 minutes). Then its time to go. Don't even think, you're jumping whether or not you want to at this point (especially since you're strapped to someone else who's in charge!).

Once you go out the door, just enjoy. The freefall doesn't feel like anything other than a TON of wind rushing past. It's pretty amazing. You may or may not get to pull the chute (first time probably not). And now you get to enjoy the serenity until you make it to the ground. Depending on the instructor you'll be either lifting your feet and landing on your a** (most likely) or trying to land upright (less likely). If they tell you to put your feet up - PUT THEM UP. People have blown out knees, ankles, etc trying to "help" the instructor when touching down.

It should be an amazing time :)

calc61 · April 5, 2016

Sounds cool. I'm going to freefall adventures in South jersey. They do have a history of some accidents. I think mostly skilled jumpers.

highergr0und · April 6, 2016

History of accidents would not be something I'd look for in a skydiving company

Argonne69 · April 6, 2016

History of accidents would not be something I'd look for in a skydiving company

Were the accidents with the tandem jumpers, or single jumpers at the dropzone? There will always be a small number of hotdogs out there, which shouldn't reflect badly on the business. Of course, if there are a large number of accidents, then it reflects poorly on the culture at the DZ.