Posted on 05/07/2026 2:50:34 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus III
There’s nothing like a near-death experience to clear the head. In 1988, I decided to do a parachute jump. I was young, it sounded fun, and it was for charity, so I signed up and pestered people to sponsor me for an HIV charity, which was a cause very much in the news at the time.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I always tell people if you want to try it, go the tandem route. Static line takes 6-8 hours and they toss you out at 3,000 feet. Not a lot of time if there’s am issue. I did 3 tandem’s and then another 8 solos.
I’ve commented on this before, but many years ago I made 5 jumps. On the morning of my scheduled first hop and pop as I was getting ready I was watching CNN. They had a beautiful video of 3 professional skydivers plunging to their deaths. They were stacked and the top one’s canopy collapsed. He fell onto the others and that was it. I decided my short lived sky diving hobby was over.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.