We had a bit of a snow storm here last weekend, so no jumping. Twenty jumpers holed in at the bar lead to some interesting discussions. Its clear that any sub-group of a society has particular traditions - bikers do their thing, shop-a-holics, gun-people a third and so on.
Since the AH community is pretty diverse, I' curious as to what your sub-group has in the ways of traditions. I'll list the most common ones that are connected to my life style to start it off. They aren't very sophisticated or anything, but then again, I'm basically a dropzone bum.
"If you jump it, you pack it".
"You get out what you put in". Comment always given to people who've had their first cutaway.
Earning a nickname. Translated, mine would be "Thumper", after
this incident. Nicnames can be hard to get, but are even harder to get rid of, and as in my case, not always flattering.
Gifts are gifts. They're not a form of checks that can be cashed in at a later point. Once given, they ain't mine anymore, and whatever is done with 'em by the receiver is none of my business. If you puke in the helmet I've given you, no prob dude
.
Ice on the swoop pond is not an excuse for not giving someone his certificate/100jump/500jump/1000 jump/5000 jump swimming lesson. That's why we got axes. Or aviation fuel, if the pond is frozen through
:). In the US, people get pied (i.e a pie in the face). I think the pond is more fun. If someone tries to escape, his dip will be worse. If they physically resist, punching the person in the stomach is perfectly acceptable (I learned the hard way).
Every time you do something the first time, you buy a case of beer. Very old tradition, came about as a way of spreading knowledge. Gives people the time to talk things over, to learn and so forth. And to get drunk.
No farting below 3000 feet. Claim your farts. Do it with pride.
The pilot has the right to dump farting skydivers if the altitude allows.
Pre-jump secret hand signal hand shake thing.
You alone are responsible for your spot. If you exit ten miles out on another dudes spot just because the others did, you're to blame.
If you get broken up, don't blame anyone. Might not have been your fault, but you chose to jump. You can do everything right and still die - that's part of the game, as is accepting this fact. The motto "Blue Skies - Black Death" has the death bit in it for a reason.
If your skydiving girlfriend breaks up with you, you haven't lost her - just lost your turn.
If it ain't on video, it didn't happen.
That's the ones I can immediately recall.
So let me hear yours. I know we have a bunch of pilots here as well as bikers and gun people. This could be an interesting thread.
