Skydiving - Peacefuljeffrey special

Did my Nth jump a week ago (they are becoming too sporadic and rare to count). Interestingly enough, the label above the exit door of the plane read (in big red letters):

NO SHOES
NO JUMP
NO REFUND
DEAL WITH IT

Didn't bother ME a bit and I didn't have a chance to ask whether the sign was ever enforced, but it amused me to see it.

And anyway, I want to see peacefuljeffrey's reaction...

 

Well its not like having shoes on is gonna make your jump any safer. They cant do much to you if youve already jumped barefoot and they saw you barefoot after the fact.

 

to be honest i think its probably good to wear shoes on such a hobby... not being funny but you can land with a bit of a bump and you dont get much say what you land on, its not like you can look out for large shards of glass or anything. I know id rather be wearing shoes if i sky dived.

 

Ohhh, Fleassy, if you weren't so absolutely adorable and I wasn't so smitten with you, I'd let you have it for that, lemme tell ya!

But, um, I'll try to be gentle...

whuffo: (n) 1. someone who just doesn't "get" skydiving 2. someone who has never skydived "Whuffo' you do that fo'?"
I think that one of the greatest misconceptions under which the whuffo world labors is that landing after a skydive is forceful and traumatic and clumsy.

For the most part, barring screwups or botched landing approaches, this is not true. Most of my landings are done so gently that when my feet touch down, all I have to do is take two or three steps forward to run out the last of my forward momentum. Downward momentum is just about reduced to near zero. You must relieve yourself of the notion that we land like a military cargo drop does under a round parachute. We don't. We land far more like an airplane or glider does -- because we're not falling under a parachute so much as we are flying under an inflatable wing.

If your skydiving is done predominantly over a familiar area that is clear of obstacles, and is grassy or sandy, there is little to fear from landing barefoot.

Let me put it this way: I have done a total of 133 skydives, and ALL of the last 128 of them have been done completely barefoot! Every single one. And I have not injured myself doing it, and have not suffered more than a slight degree of strain from a hard-ish landing or two that would have probably felt the same if I'd worn shoes.

There is judgment involved in the decision to skydive barefoot. If you will be landing in an "iffy" area, where there may be debris such as rocks or cacti or burrs in the sand, or if you may be likely to land on pavement, you might be well advised to at least wear Teva-type sandals. They are quite common for skydivers. Since a parachute normally has forward speed in flight, it helps to land into a wind. If you land into a wind that is 8 mph and you are traveling at a 10 mph airspeed at touchdown, you will be traveling over the ground at only 2 mph. If you land that same 10 mph into no wind, you'll have to run out a 10 mph landing. If you land that same 10 mph airspeed downwind with an 8 mph tailwind, you will land over the ground at 18 mph and you are going to get fucked up. Downwind landings are avoidable, generally, by knowing the winds before you jump, and by landing in an area that is equipped with a wind direction indicator of some sort (usually a wind sock or wind tee).

If you are under the impression that skydive landings are harsh and punishing, you are behind the times and are probably thinking of some bad movie, or remembering OLD OLD footage from the days of round parachutes that yes, do land a bit crunchy. To overcome this, go do a tandem skydive!

As for a dropzone forbidding people from jumping barefoot, well that's just fuckin' silly. You already sign away your life when you agree to have them take you up to skydive! You sign away your right to sue them in the event of injury or death, even if they are negligent and their actions cause it. It is understood that skydiving cannot be made perfectly safe, and that doing it carries with it the understanding that you may die. So for cripes sake, why would they be worried that you might hurt your little footsies? People wearing shoes get hurt skydiving all the time. They even have names for some kinds of wipeouts. Imaging what "femuring in" means... (hint: you can't walk away from it very easily when bones are sticking out through your quadriceps) It is nonsensical to think that the dropzone feels the need to protect you from stubbing your toes.

I have jumped at three dropzones here in Florida and none of them has anything near to a sign forbidding barefoot skydiving. I have even been on several loads where a tandem went up with a barefoot girl passenger (I've seen at least two barefoot girl tandems). The DZ you are at, Astaroth, if you are speaking the truth about this sign (some question remains regarding that, since I know you like to work me) is being pretty ignorant if they post such a sign and/or enforce it.

Blue skies,
-Jeffrey

 

Now why would I lie... you ain't that important to me, really.

But the sign did remind me of your existence and this forum as well.

And I guess you CAN make a coherent post every once in awhile without screaming your head off, guess even I'm wrong every once in awhile...

 

Why would you lie? Because you're a fuckin' troll for barefooters, that's why!

I don't know what your obsession is... If you don't want to go barefoot, DON'T FUCKIN' GO BAREFOOT. It's really so simple, but instead, even though no one provokes you or asks you anything about it, you deliberately come in here to stir up barefooter debate. What is wrong with you??

So a sign that you claim to have seen while skydiving (even though I've never seen nor heard of such a sign and I'm in touch with dozens of skydivers on a regular basis) said no jumping without shoes... That meant you had to come in here and direct a thread specifically at me? What were you hoping I would say? "Oh, gee, they must be right, I guess I'll do my next 128 skydives WITH shoes on?" Give me a break. You're a pathetic troll with nothing better to do that poke those you don't agree with or understand with a stick.

How about you get a life?

-Jeffrey

 

Ahh, there's the screaming, spittle-throwing peacefuljeffrey I missed.

 

Eat shit, jerkoff.

You're the same idiotic, ranting, irrational Astaroth...
but we didn't miss you.

-Jeffrey