:sandrine:o
for my 21st my gf got me a jump out of a small airoplane at 10,000 feet.
i jumped last saturday, here are some pics to enjoy...
introducing my alter ego...
LYCRA MAN!
[Edited on 2-1-2003 by VWFOOL]
u start to get pretty scared now...
Love that G force look!!!
Love to do it but hate heights though I love flying and went ballooning, not a prob. Would love to hang glide and rock climb...
the proble with this jump was that things went horribly wrong once the shoot opened.
we were sailing down to earth wen my tandem guy started yelling obsenities!
he wouldnt tell me what was wrong for a while and then said "sam, we have a big problem, look up"
i looked up to see the parachute was tangled in the cords, only half was open!!!
this is wen u start to panic. i looked around, we were only 3000 feet from impact, and i was scared.
i said "can we still land?" hoping for a "ofcourse, dont be silly!"
instead i got a blunt "No!"
now im really scared, we're so low i can see the model of the cars, ppl walking around, house. power lines, trees! i start thinkning of dying, my
gf below watching, how stupid i was to do this stupid thing, alot of stuff went thru my mind, then...
"sam, cross ur arms over ur chest, im cutting the chute!"
next thing i know im free falling...
nothing can describe this moment, all i can say is i started falling towards earth head first, my brain flooded and i almost overloaded...
then the emergency chute opened, and we were sailing again. the tandem was very happy with himself.
we made it to earth with no more problems, but i thank god i made it at all, could hav been alot worse. they said this happens 1 in a 1000 jumps. its
just like me to be that 1 in a 1000!
i got video and photos as part of my present, i hope u enjoy. oh, i do recommend doing this, its so awesome!!!
happy new year all!
:puke
:o:o:o I'm so glad you lived to tell the tale!! And glad you enjoyed it. You'll have a story to tell for the rest of your life out of it.
By the way :birthday
[Edited on 2-1-2003 by jenz58]
thanku for the bday greetings,
in some ways it was well worth the extra fear, the story is so much better,
but damn, it was so scary!
Can imagine!!! I don't know what I would have done (fainted, shat my pants, died an instant death from fear???)
You sure your girlfriend wasn't trying to . . . do away with ya?
Great story, man. I used to fly ultralights from the age of 12 - I was fortunant that my dad was a chief flying instructor. Factory ultralights are
very safe, but I reckon paragliders must be among the safest of all flying sports! You haven't convinced me to try skydiving... maybe it was
something you said?
Congrats for your 21st! :birthday
Isn't that the same lycra suit you wore to the premiere of the latest Austin Powers movie?
THERES NO WAY I WOULD EVER JUMP OUT OF A PERFECTLY GOOD AEROPLANE.
YOUR MAD.
:birthday:birthday:birthday:birthday:birthday:birthday:birthday:birthday:birthday
my undies would have been FULL
tee hee - Stuff the suit - Love the shoes!
I used to fly ultralites until we had the Gulf War and hire wnet from $45 and hour to $78 an hour. Years later I enquired again and it had gone up to
$114 an hour. Light plane instruction (with an instructor) was $140 in comparison. Yes I agree - Paragliders are a very safe sport and some form of
gliding will be on my todo list for future adventures.
The most exciting fun I've had in the air would have to be (No.. I'm not in the mile High Club) acrobatic flight - 20 minutes of rolls, high
speed turns, barrels, dives and top outs. I thought the winds were going to pull out and the prop was going to snap. The revs would scream and it
wasn't long after the pilot got a worried look and said right I think it's time to go down now. I asked why - later when we landed he said I
was looking a bit green, but I felt fine - brilliant actually...until the adrenaline wore off. Man I was sick for about 5 hours afterwards. I
couldn't / wouldn't even move that whole night afterwards. I remember we had guests come over and I couldn't move and wouldn't
talk. I just finished my last round of Hailing King Ralf - I wasn't going to move until I woke up the next morning. Even then I was still
woosy.
Would have love to have been there Sam. Excellent Pics - You'll have to bring the Video over.
Sam, glad you survived to tell the tale mate.
You are so right about the story. Sounds way better than jumped out and landed safely. You really got your monies worth. Great story to pass down to
the kids and grand kids one day.
Loved the suit mate. Can you get those in other colours!!!:bounce
sounds awesome, much better value for money when you get to use two parachutes on the same jump!
:birthday:birthday:birthday
would have been a good day for the brown jocks
im putting in 20 orders for official AUSSIE VEEDUBBERS full body lycra suits!
stuff the polo shirts, whose up for one??!!
:P
we hav laughed that it was a failed attempt on my life, she just wants my Oval! but seriosuly, imagine how my gf feels, in the car being driven to the
landing area wen the driver hangs out the window and yells "Oh shit! ur boyfriend's in some trouble, there goes his main parachute!"
she looks out the window just in time to see a limp, empty parachute drift into tall trees!!:tree
poor girl.
so bronze, u dig the Nikes?
[Edited on 3-1-2003 by VWFOOL]
Havent been sky diving but would love to try!!!!!!!!
Although I have landed on the USS Kittyhawk!!!!! (A US Aircraft carrier)
That was great
:o:o:o go the Meat-Bomb! thats some scary stuff mate!! I'm too chicken to do it even though I know I would love the rush
Good to See You will be around for another one Sam
I suppose You can't wait for the next one Why don't You join the Armed Forces? You get to do it for free!!! plus get paid....
One thing to remember as You get Older... As Far as I Know - NO Life Insurance company will sign You up if they know of You Skydiving etc.....
Even if You say You don't and they take Your money for 30 years or whatever and then find out that You told a little lie.... Your Life Insurance
is Cancelled..... think about it...
I do every time I see a sticker on a Car saying " I would rather be skydiving "
This is not directed at You Sam...Lee
My Wife's Family had always had a life assurance policy on all their children from when they were born... So when My Wife & I started a
family, We took out a Life Assurance Policies for our 3 small children.
When the youngest, a Girl died at 2 years old.... We didn't receive one cent to pay for the funeral etc as the Insurance Company agent had
neglected to tell Us that the Policies were only paid out- if the person Insured was over 18 years old.....
and this Insurance agent had Policies for most of the children in Gloucester for probably 30-40 years..... and was a friend of the Family. until
then...
Congratulations Sam, on the birthday and the jump. :thumb
A good friend of mine also recently went for his first jump, but he went with the assisted jump with the video, from which he emailed me a fantastic
picture of himself as he first exited the plane! It was so good that I had to go and visit him today and he couldn't stop talking about the
experience, mainly the sheer terror he felt at first! :o:o:o:o
I might try it one day I guess, it sounds like fun! :thumb
That's sad to hear, Lee.
After hearing Sam's story, and seeing what I saw today, I think I'll give some forms of flight a miss.
Today I was out spectating at the Australian Open hanggliding comp. There were competitors from all over the world - I could tell there were alot of
Americans because they like to talk loud. 
It was nice to talk to some of
them though.
As a hangglider was being rope winched, it was caught by a cross-wind. It banked speely to the left, and at this point of time it was only 100-200
feet in the air. As a woman on the ground yelled a direction for the young pilot, it flew over our heads as we watched with despair. It hit the ground
- missing another pilot by a few meters. The impact caused serious injury and unconsiousness. It would be a miracle if she is still alive (she was
air-lifted to Melbourne).
It certainly makes you realize how precious life really is. A life can be lost so quickly.
If God is right by His words, I don't want to be found wrong when it'd be too late.