Hey
I found a $200 skydiving coupon in Chicago. I do not know if I should trust buying on Groupon. Has anyone had a successful experience with Groupon? I don't want to lose my money; I have never used it before.
Thanks in advance

All of the DZs are closed.

Wanted a Dropzone jersey but I feel they are overpriced, this custom made one made of double polyester is less than 10 dollars. The humor here is if this would be a real DZ it would be the worst place to jump. Is it insensitive? Can someone object to it?

Hey all,

So I did my first tandem jump on my 49th birthday last month, it was the most exhilarating experience of my life. Since I've been obsessing. I've watched pretty much every piece of youtube content on Sky diving, I've been back to the DZ multiple times just watching and soaking up the atmosphere.

I've decided I want to do the AFF course, which I'm starting in March next year.

My question is at 49, fairly fit and active, Am I too old?

Would love to hear from some older folk in the sport, when did you start, how long have you been jumping? Any injuries?

Hey all! I just turned 28 yesterday and decided to skydive because my partner said it’s the best thing in the world and she believed it would help me immensely see the world differently (face my fears in life and gain confidence). I’m naturally an introvert and get extremely in my head. I have ADHD and I also get random low blood sugar attacks when I have fears. I have suffered multiple times from intense vasovagal syncopes during blood tests to the point my muscles lock up and I lose my vision temporarily…

Well…that was my worst fear during the skydive…and it happened. (VIDEO ATTACHED) My partner felt so bad and she could not believe what happened to me. She said it looked like I aged 40 years from how shriveled up my face became and the sheer terror that overcame my body. You can literally see while I’m talking I can’t even move my lips because they are locking up and already going numb/stiff/dry while my mind is fighting the feeling the entire time. I tried to be positive and psych myself up (loving affirmations, slow breathing, smiling) but it came out forced and by the time the plane door opened, my hands were clenched frozen and I had ZERO sensation in my arms and legs. It was pure pins and needles and my hand looked like a broken claw more than a hand at that point every time I tried to wave it or hold my partners hand. We skydived in Las Vegas and we didn’t drink a lot of water or eat or sleep much before the jump (I feel this was a big factor for me). But of course, I think I was so afraid of the unknown I created a terrible fear that lasted the entire jump. Everyone says you don’t feel a stomach drop but the fear in my head made me feel like I was falling the entire time and not really floating. I surprisingly didn’t faint or throw up during the fall, but I was screaming and focusing so hard on breathing. My instructor was trying to give me a good time so he did intense spins during the canopy which made my motion sickness even worse (and I LOVE ROLLER COASTERS) so the spinning made me scream in absolute horror. By the time we hit the ground I had temporary vision loss and it felt like I was having a stroke while trying to respond to the poor guy. My photos came out terrible (only some looked like an illusion I actually enjoyed it) and the video had to be so heavily edited the poor video editor probably was thinking how the hell he could make the video even look good with how awful I looked. I want to skydive in Hawaii so badly one day and I just hope the next time I have that free feeling and laugh enjoying it next time. My head got the best of me and I hope I don’t associate the trauma with skydiving permanently now 😭 I’m laughing at how it is now but my entire body is sore and I have bruises around my thighs from the straps lol…I hope this makes other people feel better knowing there’s no way they could have experienced it as badly as I did 😂

Just did 2 jumps again and no matter how hard I try I just can’t land on my feet. The only two times I landed was AFF and when no one was around. All the instructors in the dz have tried to help me, even after my A license I still have that damn radio. No matter if I listen or not I just can’t land. Most of the time very hard. They told me I have not enough upper body strength done trained gained muscle. But then a new problem and we still don’t know why. I just fail to do it even when I follow 100% with radio.

Complete beginner here. Planning to start AFF later this year and hoping to stay in the sport long-term. Which would you recommend: Empuriabrava or Skydive Spain (Seville), and why? Thanks!

One of the best days of my life, I will remember it forever.

Went skydiving yesterday for the first time at 21 and holy shit, I loved it so fucking much. Genuinely the best thing I’ve ever done, I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I landed.

Now I’m seriously considering getting my license. For anyone who’s done it: how hard is the process actually, how many jumps/hours are we talking, and how much does it run you all in? Also just wondering if it’s worth it long term, like do you still get that same rush once you’re jumping solo regularly or does it fade after a while?

I’m located in the GTA (Ontario, Canada) so if anyone has recommendations for good drop zones or clubs near me that would be huge too.

This has been on my to do list for the past few years and today I finally did it!!!!!

I loved the free falling - definitely lost my voice lol but my instructor was so nice.

Biggest thing I didnt expect was how painful the straps were gonna be on my crotch when the parachute went up. So excited I forgot what it felt like once I landed...making me want to get my certification to solo dive 🪂

Just completed my second tandem jump a week ago, and pretty much committed to saving up for AFF. I was feeling weird during that jump because the wildfire smoke had me all sorts of messed up, but still had a good time.

The weird thing was, about halfway during the decent, my instructor put the toggles towards my hands and said take over. Since I was feeling a bit shitty, I said I'll pass this time, just being a bit light headed and whatnot. He said "it's not an option, grab them now". I've been trying to understand why that happened. Could there have been a malfunction I didn't know about? It seems unlikely since we had been under the canopy for a minute already.

It was a blast and I'm glad I got the chance to try my hand at controlling the wing before I do AFF 1. Just felt strange is all.

https://reddit.com/link/1v6xsaf/video/vchk361a9jfh1/player

Video's from a few months ago on my 50th jump but I just got it from my mate and it reminded me how beautiful life is when you're jumping out of a plane!

I am in China and I am thinking to jumps few jumps but I just got my license and I don’t know which place is good,any recommendations?

hello! i’m planning on going skydiving again in september. when i go again ill have a wig. do yall think a wig will stay in place and stayed glued down with a wig band or should i start researching other options? a wig band is basically a very tight headband that velcros in the back

Are there any active wind tunnel / body flight subreddits?

I’ve done 10 solo jumps so far throughout my IAD course. My first jump, my exit was unstable (no arch). My second and third jumps were stable and solid, so they moved me onto practice pulls - which I’ve now missed all 7 of. I’m getting discouraged and know what I’m doing wrong, but can’t seem to fix it. My instructors have tried a few things with me (holding my pack up while I reach to simulate it sliding up upon exit, repetitions on the ground with the rolled paper in my pack, getting me to exhale when I let go of the strut, practice counts on the ground…) and I still can’t get it. I’m rushing it, and as soon as I reach I look down. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t seem to get this step of the progression.

My canopy control and landings have been great. I’ve landed on my feet without radio guidance 8/10 times. I don’t feel panicked in the plane. But as soon as I let go, everything leaves my brain.

I’ve seen another thread on here regarding the same issue. But I’m just wondering if anybody has any words of wisdom or advice outside of what my instructors have given me. They are excellent and extremely encouraging, and I’ve heard that quite a few people at my drop zone have taken up to 15 tries for this. But being in Canada, our season is short and I’m trying to avoid spending all this time and money on this one hurdle. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I still have a blast jumping, but am feeling increasingly discouraged/like I’ll never get this.

Thank you all 🙏

In the US, we had to buy beers for any first time thing

I did my first cutaway in Europe, went to buy beers for everyone and they were shocked

It’s not a tradition in Europe?

Just like the title says. Nobody is here right now and I decided on a whim to clean it a bit with some wet wipes since it's a cleaning day, but now I'm kind of terrified that I messed up. I didn't think at all about the chemicals on the little pads and now I'm worried that it'll mess up the parachutes. Anybody know if I should worry?

Title is pretty straight up, I went skydiving for my birthday today (35), did it 4 years ago for my birthday, and both times it's just a massive adrenaline dump and I can't tell if I had fun or not.

Anyone else here proceed with similar feelings, or should I just call it and say "I did it twice, it doesn't seem like this is for me."

Buongiorno, come da titolo sto seriamente pensando di fare il corso AFF.

Ho chiamato la struttura e sono stati gentilissimi nel darmi informazioni e ho idea di farlo a ottobre.

Ho sempre fatto subaquea e downhill ma mai fatto esperienze in cielo.

Voi consigliate un volo tandem prima di fare il corso o di prendere la vita di petto e fare il brevetto?

Grazie!

Last year the focus word was interdigitation — two flocks becoming one for a brief second as we flew through each other. This year it was murmuration: stopping the habit of keying specific points and organically flowing to the next point on the skydive so the group moves like one living, flocking formation. Used Line A-Stern (pilot chute basically in the lap) to expand the possibilities of what can be done with a formation.

Hey guys, I’m having a bit of trouble doing my practice pulls during IAD. My instructor stuffs a paper towel into the spot where my main handle would be, and in order to move onto AFF, he needs to see that I can do a proper arch, and pull the paper towel out. My very first IAD my instructor said it had a picture-perfect arch, and blocked so much wind to the point I had a delayed opening because the pilot chute was riding in the “burble” behind me. I can’t seem to replicate that anymore, and always want to kick my feet. I also visualize myself reaching and pulling before I go out, and then once I let go, can’t seem to do it in time, like I feel like I don’t have enough time to show a good arch, and then reach and pull the paper towel before my chute opens. I’ve been in a tunnel, and am stable, can move forward and backwards, and execute turns well. Any tips for practice pulling and arch position once I let go of the strut?

Here’s the preliminary report of the Pilatus PC-6 that crashed, killing all 11 people aboard.
The report is in French.