quotations about skydiving
I watched him strap on his harness and helmet, climb into the cockpit and, minutes later, a black dot, fall off the wing two thousand feet above our field. At almost the same instant, a white streak behind him flowered out into the delicate, wavering muslin of a parachute -- a few gossamer yards grasping onto air and suspending below them, with invisible threads, a human life, a man who by stitches, cloth, and cord, had made himself a god of the sky.
CHARLES LINDBERGH
The Spirit of St. Louis
To those that jump, no explanation is necessary. To those that don't jump, no explanation is possible.
ANONYMOUS
When asked, skydiving professionals will probably mention something about "drag" or "lift" or "physics," but most likely, these skydiving suits are part of a well-orchestrated inside joke by the skydiving industry, who just want to see how many people they can make dress like dorks.
DAN OSHINSKY
"14 Things You Should Know Before You Go Skydiving For The First Time", Buzzfeed, April 11, 2014
Skydiving is a rather safe affair, provided you have a parachute.
NICHOLAS J. NIGRO
No Job? No Prob!
The truth is skydiving is a dangerous sport. Most, if not all new skydivers will find themselves asking and researching this question at some stage. I know I did. To give you a rough idea aboutskydiving fatalities take this into consideration. There are roughly 30,000 USPA (United States Parachute Association) members in the USA. According to the USPA there are about 3 million jumps made annually in the USA. Out of those 3 million about 30 of them result in fatalities. Sadly, several of those fatalities were under perfectly good canopies.
CHRIS LEHNE
The Newbies Guide to Skydiving
When I decided that I too must pass through the experience of a parachute jump, life rose to a higher level, to a sort of exhilarated calmness. The thought of crawling out onto the struts and wires hundreds of feet above the earth, and then giving up even that tenuous hold of safety and of substance, left me a feeling of anticipation mixed with dread, of confidence restrained by caution, of courage salted through with fear. How tightly should one hold onto life? How loosely give it rein? What gain was there for such a risk? I would have to pay in money for hurling my body into space. There would be no crowd to watch and applaud my landing. Nor was there any scientific objective to be gained. No, there was deeper reason for wanting to jump, a desire I could not explain.
CHARLES LINDBERGH
The Spirit of St. Louis
Make me feel like I'm falling, skydiver
Rotating behind helicopters
That's the rush I get when I'm thinking of you
Give me wings, make me fly
THE STAFFORD BROTHERS
"This Girl"
I'm like a plane wreck falling through the air
Ready to crash and burn, but I don't know where
'Cause I am skydiving without a parachute!
SANTA CRUZ
"Skydiving Without a Parachute"
You know, I was skydiving once and my main chute didn't open. I pulled my reserve which didn't open either. There I was, plunging to the Earth. Just as I hit the tree tops, I discovered the meaning of life.
VALERIE CURTIN & BARRY LEVINSON
And Justice for All
Jump pilots have an open door policy.
ANONYMOUS
Hey! What's this thing coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding word like ... ow ... ound... round... ground! That's it! That's a good name -- ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?
DOUGLAS ADAMS
a very surprised sperm whale, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Episode 3, January 19, 1981
Denying that skydiving is a risky sport is unreasonable, but being willing to take such risks can be reasonable given the value a person places on the experience.
MARK BATTERSBY
Is That a Fact?
How do you clear your head? A relaxing bath? A strong cup of coffee? A brisk walk? How about jumping out of an aeroplane at 10,000 metres?
DOMINIC UTTON
"Skydiving: six reasons why you should make the leap", The Telegraph, June 17, 2015
I'd rather lay in solitude
Until the winds of time blow by to free me
But I've got the peace of mind of a skydiver whose parachute won't
Open
In other words, I'm good to the last drop
5 CHINESE BROTHERS
"The Avalanche Song"
My soul is in the sky.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
A Midsummer Night's Dream
You know you're a skydiver when ... every time someone's beeper goes off you look at your watch to see if it's break-off altitude.
ANONYMOUS
Among all the aerial sports you can try, skydiving seems on its face to be the craziest. There's nearly a minute of freefall, for one thing, along with the 120 mph you'll rack up during that period. Then there's the off chance that the nylon foil packed tightly on your back won't respond to the frantic tugs on the rip cord.
RAY BANGS & CHRIS BECKER
52 Great Weekend Escapes in Southern California
Skydiving is like making love to the world.
FAUSTO BRIZZI
100 Days of Happiness
I'm dreaming in a plane
Skydiving, you and me
Kama sutra, ball and chain
Holding hands in ecstasy
THE BONGOS
"Skydiving"
If you're nervous, ask the skydiving facility where their staff was certified, and maybe ask for diplomas or paperwork to prove that they're not making it up, and maybe even then Google the names of those places just to be super sure. (I did, and mostly learned that skydiving schools do not spend a lot of money on web design.)
DAN OSHINSKY
"14 Things You Should Know Before You Go Skydiving For The First Time", Buzzfeed, April 11, 2014