Would you let your kids go skydiving?

WayneM3 · 09-01-2022, 03:02 PM

For my daughter's 15th birthday she decided that she wanted to go skydiving and found the only place in the USA that does this so we planned a family vacation around it.

It is called Ultimate Skydiving Adventures and they allow children over 7 to skydive tandem. It is in Southwest Colorado, about a four hour drive from Denver and 40 miles from Grand Junction, in the small town of Delta. The people there are super nice and very experienced. Ben, the owner who takes the kids, has over 12,000 jumps. It was too cloudy to jump on our scheduled day so we returned on the way back from visiting Moab (a little over 2 hours away) and had a perfect day. We all went but I only bought the videos for my kids. We jumped from 7,500' (+ the 5,000' we started at). There was a freefall and then a nice, gentle coast down with the parachute. It was a blast and we all made it down safely. I highly recommend it if you, your spouse and your kids have the stomach for it.

Jessica is 12.

Elisha is 15.

Watching The World Burn · 09-01-2022, 03:18 PM

Probably at their ages, yeah. At my current kids ages, no. I think 12 or older minimum.

It is pretty neat, but if you have any altitude issues with your ears, its a complete PITA. My ears didn't recover for days and it was fairly painful.

DocL · 09-01-2022, 03:44 PM

Kids, no. Wife, yes; but without a parachute.

G MONEY · 09-01-2022, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocL

Kids, no. Wife, yes; but without a parachute.

Up the life insurance on them and let them fly🤪

CamasM3e93 · 09-01-2022, 04:00 PM

My 11 year old jumps horses (the horses do the jumping). I bet it's statistically more dangerous than skydiving. I've done a tandem jump and it was fairly sedate. I probably wouldn't hesitate

3.0L · 09-03-2022, 03:23 PM

We had a student working part-time in our university tech shop about 20 years ago and he told us his roommate was planning to do a tandem jump the next day. He joked that wouldn't it be something if the 'chute didn't open.

Well, something went wrong and it didn't open, nor was the reserve 'chute deployed. They "bounced" on the runway.

It was a "I can't believe this happened" moment.

ezaircon4jc · 09-03-2022, 03:49 PM

There's no reason to leave a perfectly good airplane.

Esteban · 09-03-2022, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

There's no reason to leave a perfectly good airplane.

This is the only thing in this thread that makes sense to me.

vreihen16 · 09-03-2022, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

There's no reason to leave a perfectly good airplane.

...or even a somewhat good airplane!!!!!

ryan stewart · 09-03-2022, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

There's no reason to leave a perfectly good airplane.

That is why they always take you up in a rattely little kite.

I would, I love skydiving. And that kind of sport diving is insanely safe, its the guys pulling stunts who take the real risk. But sport chutes are amazing engineering and you have a backup usually with an AAD if needed.

ezaircon4jc · 09-03-2022, 10:45 PM

When I worked SLC there was a jump zone near where the aircraft were turning towards the runway. They did a pretty good job of staying out of the way, mostly. I got the customary "one minute to jump" call and called out a Western 727 that was turning to the airport (which they said they saw) and told WA about the jumper. Mere seconds later I heard a WWWWOOOOOOOO and WA asked what just "fell" past the cockpit window! Turns out the jumper decided to go (VERY) early, right past WA! It wasn't in controlled airspace so was totally legal, just a bit unnerving for the WA pilot!

3.0L · 09-04-2022, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

When I worked SLC there was a jump zone near where the aircraft were turning towards the runway. They did a pretty good job of staying out of the way, mostly. I got the customary "one minute to jump" call and called out a Western 727 that was turning to the airport (which they said they saw) and told WA about the jumper. Mere seconds later I heard a WWWWOOOOOOOO and WA asked what just "fell" past the cockpit window! Turns out the jumper decided to go (VERY) early, right past WA! It wasn't in controlled airspace so was totally legal, just a bit unnerving for the WA pilot!

Uncontrolled airspace does not mean unregulated. The "See & Avoid" regulation still applies.

vreihen16 · 09-04-2022, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

That is why they always take you up in a rattely little kite.

Our local skydiving service was permanently shut down because their airplane was unsafe. One of the inspector's reports even noted that he wouldn't fly in that bucket even *with* a parachute!

That plane did live a hard life, though. They would climb fast to get the jumpers out, and then do a powered dive back to the ground so that they would be parked and ready to take them up again before the jumpers even landed.....

ezaircon4jc · 09-04-2022, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Uncontrolled airspace does not mean unregulated. The "See & Avoid" regulation still applies.

The jumper (and pilot) did see & avoid. For us, see & avoid was just don't scrape paint. See & avoid isn't an airspace regulation, it's a pilot requirement.

3.0L · 09-04-2022, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

The jumper (and pilot) did see & avoid. For us, see & avoid was just don't scrape paint. See & avoid isn't an airspace regulation, it's a pilot requirement.

Yes, quite true. Pilots must follow regulations in all categories of airspace, including class G (uncontrolled). My understanding is uncontrolled mean that the pilot is not required to be in radio contact with ATC or a tower.

thebmw · 09-04-2022, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneM3

For my daughter's 15th birthday she decided that she wanted to go skydiving and found the only place in the USA that does this so we planned a family vacation around it.

Everyone has different risk tolerance. It could have turned out a lot different though. Injuries, both short term and long term, and death.
This 21 year old just died skydiving. I'm sure she thought everything would be fine too.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...154113176.html

ezaircon4jc · 09-04-2022, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Yes, quite true. Pilots must follow regulations in all categories of airspace, including class G (uncontrolled). My understanding is uncontrolled mean that the pilot is not required to be in radio contact with ATC or a tower.

True 'dat. That's where "green between" or see & avoid comes in. S&A might have been good when the fastest thing in the sky was ~100kts, but in this day & age it's wholly inadequate.

Speaking of following regs, I once asked a Singapore Airlines his speed as he was above 10K'. He said 300kts and I told him to maintain his speed, figuring when hit 10K' he'd slow to 250K as required. He didn't and was smoking over downtown LA at 300kts and 6K'! Must've been a sight

3.0L · 09-04-2022, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

True 'dat. That's where "green between" or see & avoid comes in. S&A might have been good when the fastest thing in the sky was ~100kts, but in this day & age it's wholly inadequate.

Speaking of following regs, I once asked a Singapore Airlines his speed as he was above 10K'. He said 300kts and I told him to maintain his speed, figuring when hit 10K' he'd slow to 250K as required. He didn't and was smoking over downtown LA at 300kts and 6K'! Must've been a sight

Isn't there a reg for 250 knots max below 10,000 feet?

ezaircon4jc · 09-04-2022, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Isn't there a reg for 250 knots max below 10,000 feet?

Yup, that's why I thought he would slow. We are allowed to break any of the rules, so long as we have a good reason (I ALWAYS did

). I routinely told LGB departures to not be concerned about the noise sensors and climb quickly.

vreihen16 · 09-05-2022, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

We are allowed to break any of the rules, so long as we have a good reason (I ALWAYS did

).

Can you clear Ghostrider for a flyby?????

ezaircon4jc · 09-05-2022, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Can you clear Ghostrider for a flyby?????

Did once when I was in the Navy. An F4 went supersonic right at the ship! It was like a bomb going off! It blew the locked doors (we had a cypher lock on the doors) open! The captain thought it was....

GREAT

Kolyan2k · 09-05-2022, 12:36 PM

It's fun, probably a good idea to do it once. Not sure I would let my kid jump.....

09-01-2022, 03:02 PM	#1
WayneM3 First Lieutenant 286 Rep 355 Posts Drives: F90M5 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: New York, NY iTrader: (2)	Would you let your kids go skydiving? For my daughter's 15th birthday she decided that she wanted to go skydiving and found the only place in the USA that does this so we planned a family vacation around it. It is called Ultimate Skydiving Adventures and they allow children over 7 to skydive tandem. It is in Southwest Colorado, about a four hour drive from Denver and 40 miles from Grand Junction, in the small town of Delta. The people there are super nice and very experienced. Ben, the owner who takes the kids, has over 12,000 jumps. It was too cloudy to jump on our scheduled day so we returned on the way back from visiting Moab (a little over 2 hours away) and had a perfect day. We all went but I only bought the videos for my kids. We jumped from 7,500' (+ the 5,000' we started at). There was a freefall and then a nice, gentle coast down with the parachute. It was a blast and we all made it down safely. I highly recommend it if you, your spouse and your kids have the stomach for it. Jessica is 12. Elisha is 15.
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09-01-2022, 03:18 PM	#2
Watching The World Burn Lengthy but not a Girthy Member 1097 Rep 130 Posts Drives: 1971 Honda Civic Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Riding the high seas of your emotions iTrader: (0)	Probably at their ages, yeah. At my current kids ages, no. I think 12 or older minimum. It is pretty neat, but if you have any altitude issues with your ears, its a complete PITA. My ears didn't recover for days and it was fairly painful.
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09-01-2022, 03:44 PM	#3
DocL Captain 1938 Rep 874 Posts Drives: 2018 M3 Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Delray Beach iTrader: (2)	Kids, no. Wife, yes; but without a parachute. __________________ 2018 F80 M3. YMB/BLK. ZCP. Three Pedals. "Education will never be as expensive as ignorance."
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09-01-2022, 04:00 PM	#5
CamasM3e93 Friends don't let friends ESS 3181 Rep 875 Posts Drives: '11 Lemans Blue 6mt Harrop e90 Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: Camas, WA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 E90 M3 [9.00] 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo [9.75] 2019 BMW X5 xDrive40i [0.00] 2013 Mercedes E550 ... [0.00]	My 11 year old jumps horses (the horses do the jumping). I bet it's statistically more dangerous than skydiving. I've done a tandem jump and it was fairly sedate. I probably wouldn't hesitate
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09-03-2022, 03:23 PM	#6
3.0L Colonel 8944 Rep 2,010 Posts Drives: M235i, 20k miles Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: California iTrader: (0)	We had a student working part-time in our university tech shop about 20 years ago and he told us his roommate was planning to do a tandem jump the next day. He joked that wouldn't it be something if the 'chute didn't open. Well, something went wrong and it didn't open, nor was the reserve 'chute deployed. They "bounced" on the runway. It was a "I can't believe this happened" moment. __________________ ///M235i \| Mineral Grey Metallic \| Premium Package \| Technology Package \| Driver Assistance Package \| Dakota Coral Red/Black Leather \| Harman/Kardon Premium 360 watt sound system \| 8-speed automatic When writing your life's plan, use a pencil with an eraser
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09-03-2022, 03:49 PM	#7
ezaircon4jc Major General 4497 Rep 5,373 Posts Drives: 2019 540i M Sport Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: San Diego iTrader: (0)	There's no reason to leave a perfectly good airplane.
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09-03-2022, 10:45 PM	#11
ezaircon4jc Major General 4497 Rep 5,373 Posts Drives: 2019 540i M Sport Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: San Diego iTrader: (0)	When I worked SLC there was a jump zone near where the aircraft were turning towards the runway. They did a pretty good job of staying out of the way, mostly. I got the customary "one minute to jump" call and called out a Western 727 that was turning to the airport (which they said they saw) and told WA about the jumper. Mere seconds later I heard a WWWWOOOOOOOO and WA asked what just "fell" past the cockpit window! Turns out the jumper decided to go (VERY) early, right past WA! It wasn't in controlled airspace so was totally legal, just a bit unnerving for the WA pilot!
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09-05-2022, 12:36 PM	#22
Kolyan2k Major General 928 Rep 5,538 Posts Drives: 2006 S2000 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Boston iTrader: (1)	It's fun, probably a good idea to do it once. Not sure I would let my kid jump.....
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