Comments on: On Jumping Out of Airplanes

By: Chloe Flockhart

Chloe Flockhart — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:13:00 +0000

i’m doing a project on Plane jumping and i would love to do a jump like this.

Im 13 and a will probaly do one when i have a little more courage!
Great website by the way!

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 24 May 2008 23:59:35 +0000

ROCK STAR!

By: Dawn

Dawn — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:13:40 +0000

Awesome story..I’ve really got to get down to Queenstown and do skydiving! I’m glad you enjoyed your time in NZ -my husband and I moved here from Baltimore back in 2006. Everyone should come check out this gorgeous place!

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:04:00 +0000

Bethy,

You wrote: “But I have a question. You said you ‘fall faster’ doing tandem jumps. Hasn’t science proved that items always fall at the same speed? The ol’ drop a crumpled piece of paper and a bowling ball trick?”

The science you are referring to occurs in a vacuum. If you drop a bowling ball and a feather off of a skyscraper that is not in a vacuum I can guarantee you that the bowling ball will reach its final destination first.

By: tommy

tommy — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:24:12 +0000

travis pastrana is the guy

By: tommy

tommy — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:52:43 +0000

Go to youtube and put in “redbull skydive” A famous motocross guy (My work won’t let me access youtube so I can’t get his name) jumps out of a plane with no chute on. It was intentional. Crazy stuff. One of the most incredible things I’ve seen on youtube.

By: Ransom

Ransom — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:11:20 +0000

Hey everybody —

Next time we do an embarrassing photo contest, maybe I’ll post the lemon-suck picture. :)

@Bethy:
I was wondering about the drogue and terminal velocity and all that too, and from what I can figure out, wind resistance plays into it a bit — two people cut through wind resistance better than one. I think it’s related to the reason there’s a weight limit for tandem skydiving (220 lbs was the posted limit, I think).

@kate:
my wife was shopping and then went and scaled a cliff face with merely a belay rope around her waist — I was actually more scared to do that than jump out of a plane! In any case, it’s all in a typical morning in Queenstown.

By: Higgins

Higgins — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:56:12 +0000

This post rules.

By: kate

kate — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:37:47 +0000

Great post. Almost makes me want to skydive. Almost. :) But it definitely makes me want to check out New Zealand.

Was your wife mad she didn’t get to do it too? Shopping almost pales in comparison. Again, almost.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:18:29 +0000

Your story took me back to my skydiving experience last September! I always have trouble describing the free fall. There is no oxperience to compare it with. Prior to my jump, I used to like to illustrate my cautious nature by saying, “My idea of living dangerously is going a day without flossing my teeth.” Guess I can’t say that anymore!