r/bestof • u/excitive • 19d ago
[news] Redditor describes the emotional process if skydiving in detail
/r/news/comments/1ws1pwe/comment/pci7r13/?context=3&share_id=cGS6uJ6CX4ieWzSb3tK9V&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=19
u/DistractedByCookies 19d ago
The details are different, but the 'once you're committed it's not scary any more' thing was the same for me with bungy jumping. Right up to the moment I actually jumped I was thinking 'Nope, no, no, this is a big mistake, nope' and then just....quietly falling. I did a 217m one so it did take a while. Knowing this doesn't make my plan to skydive one day any less terrifying though.
(I didn't yell because my mind was still trying to grasp the fact that I did, in fact, jump LOL)
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u/Centurion87 19d ago
Yup. I was a paratrooper and will never forget my first jump. I was excited up until they had us stand up and hook up the static line. Then I felt absolute dread, but by then it’s too late. When the line started moving towards the door, I followed. I will never forget turning towards the door for the first time. Seeing the horizon 1,200 ft above anything else. There was no thought, my brain just had to shut off as I jumped out the door.
Once the parachute opened it was peaceful and all the fear was gone. Until the next jump.
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u/AreaPrudent7191 19d ago
I was nervous about to the extent that I really wasn't sure if I'd actually jump. I went with my wife, and she was getting filmed so she had to go first. It was more nerve-racking to watch her go. Once she was out, all I could think was "well, she's dead, might as well jump".
I was still very nervous all the way down, before and after the ripcord pull, but that did at least get me over the edge to actually be able to jump. Though really, the extent of my choice was to maneuver to the door. It was a tandem jump, so after that it really wasn't up to me - I was essentially sitting on the instructor's lap; he was the one actually jumping.
It's one and done for me - I didn't know if I could do it, now I do, but I have no desire to repeat it.
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u/NovaRunner 19d ago
I was a military static-line parachutist, and I was nervous every jump, until I hooked up my static line. That was the moment the butterflies in my stomach went away. There might be several more minutes until actually exiting the aircraft, but hooking up the static line was the point the nervousness left.
Why then? I guess my subconsious figured "well I'm hooked up now so the parachute's definitely gonna open" or whatever.
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u/misimiki 19d ago
I had zero fear when standing on the edge of a platforn in New Zealand, seconds before bungee jumping, but I didn't like the falling sensation in my stomach nor the bloodrush micro headaches I experienced on the rebounds at all. Wouldn't do it again.
I'd love to do a skydive though.
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u/jeffgerickson 18d ago
That was not my experience. The plane ride up was just a loud small plane with an tandem instructor on my back making Viagra jokes. I was terrified for the first minute/eternity falling through the air. Eventually my brain realized that it hadn’t died yet and kinda calmed down, and then the chute was open, and then we were on the ground.
Once was enough.
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u/excitive 18d ago
This seems realistic. And I think it must have a lot to do with your relationship with heights and sense of adventure, isn’t it? Fear/discomfort from heights runs in my family so I think no amount of adrenaline is going to make me calm, unless I’m falling for real.
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u/DoomGoober 19d ago
My first skydive was a solo static line so a different experience: No instructor with you. Flight up was nerve wracking but going out the door, climbing hand over hand onto the strut, then hanging there until the instructor gives you a thumbs up was the most terrifying thing ever, but somehow it was easy to conquer the fear even if I was sweating bullets. I have no idea how I willed my hands to let go.
And yes, I did totally feel the free fall, that stomach flying up into your mouth feeling, then the chute auto deploys. In static line, you don't free fall very far but I definitely felt it. You check your chute to make sure it's not tangled, then you fall under the chute the rest of the way down.
And man, hanging from a chute is sea-sickness inducing, especially in the super hot jump suit. You are hanging in the sky with no nearby points of reference, swaying back and forth, and it was super hot. Your inner ears are saying "you are swaying!" but the motion parallax makes it look like the far away ground isn't moving. I really wanted to throw up.
Most of the terror is the build up though.
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u/SpezDrinksHorseCum 19d ago
your tandem instructor and/or videoographer are calmly doing their thing in this very chaotic environment, your brain knows they have complete control of the situation and your body
This is called hubris. All things being equal, when you're looking for someone to trust with your life, you want to find someone with as little hubris as possible.
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19d ago
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u/SpezDrinksHorseCum 19d ago edited 19d ago
they have complete control of the situation and your body
You can be the best skydiver in the world and take every precaution imaginable, but jumping from an airplane isn't one of those things where you can remove all the variables. I understand skydiving is fairly safe, but to me "total control of the situation and your body" reads like the definition of hubris. Hubris is overconfidence that blinds a person to their own limits. They don't even pack their own chute so there's one part of the situation where they have zero control. They trusted some other guy to make sure it's packed right and opens up when the cord is pulled. I'm sure the safety standards are very strict but the skydiver literally doesn't even have control over whether his own chute is packed correctly.
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u/x-manowar 18d ago
Most skydivers I know pack their own chutes. Qualified riggers are the only ones who can pack reserves though. The likelihood of both failing are so low its barely a consideration. Also tandems are always done with significant altitude buffers for their parachute deployment altitides, more so than a solo skydiver is going to implement and still be completely safe.
You may have a good point in there about hubris but it's masked by your complete ignorance of the equipment.
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u/Pumpkin-Salty 19d ago
Nope.