350

Who is the famous old school hang glider pilot in this picture?

Last weekend I logged my 350th skydive. I thought it would be fun, and maybe even educational, if I looked at how those 350 jumps break down by dive type:

Pre A License Jumps with an Instructor or Coach: 23

Solo Belly: 101

2 Way Belly: 22

3 Way Belly: 13

4 Way Belly: 10

Stand-in as a "Student" or "Coach": 10

Hop and Pop at 5k: 96

HAHO: 10

Tracking: 50

Wing Suit: 5

Balloon: 2

Night: 2

Vintage Aircraft: 1

Ultralight Trike: 1

Water: 1

Cut away and use the reserve: 1

Tandem as Passenger: 2

Breaking it down jump by jump like that shows exactly what kind of skydiver I am: anti social.

When you add the solo specialty jumps to the regular old solo belly dives, and then factor in all those hop and pops ( I figure that about half of my tracking dives were solos too), around 250 of my 350 jumps are solos!

In the world of skydiving, folks that like to jump solo are considered a little bit weird. OK, a lot weird.

Part of it is the nature of my home DZ. Skydive New Mexico is a weekends-only Cessna 182 DZ that emphasizes teaching and tandem. Many loads only have a single slot available for sport jumpers. That's because a 182 holds 4 jumpers, and most loads consist of a tandem pair with video or an AFF trio. Being willing to fill those slots is the best way to get a bunch of jumps.

I also do more hop and pops than the average jumper. What can I say? One of my greatest joys in life is to squander 5000 feet of cool, smooth morning air. I've always loved the morning sleddie and the evening glass, and a hop and pop is a very easy way to tap into that.

Another part of the equation is that I come from over thirty years of participating in solo air sports and I'm used to flying alone. Hell, I'll admit it: I like flying alone.

What are my plans for the next 350 jumps? I see a lot more tracking and wing suiting in my future. I'm totally addicted to the bird-like sensation of forward movement through the air. I also want to start learning to free fly, a part of skydiving that I know nothing about. I'd like to get my USPA Coach rating and focus on coaching new canopy pilots. And, of course, I'm gonna do a whole bunch more hop and pops. And finally, just maybe, I'd like to spend a little more time zooming around on my belly trying to fly relative to some other jumpers!