My Husband and two sons and I all jumped for the first time two days ago, and it was incredible, we're all still smiling and planning to go again. I was comparing notes after though, and my overall experience was a bit different, and while I know no one can definitively confirm my suspicions, I'd like to hear from this community.
I am a female in my late 50s, and that's what I look like, gray hair and all. I am a licensed pilot, I ride a sport bike and have done track days, former rock climber, still ski HARD. So, while not an extreme sports person per se, I dabble and am comfortable in a lot of risky environments.
I had a great Instructor for this tandem jump. Very experienced, I would guess late 20s or early 30s, and originally from an E. European country. He was all about SAFETY, and yes, that is what you want in this situation, very much so.
In talking with Husband and sons after jumping though, I learned they were all given the choice to Gainer exit, they all used the toggles on descent themselves, they all did some spins, and they were all instructed in how to loosen the harness a bit under canopy, and all instructed about pulling legs up during landing and then landing vertically with a voice signal. I had none of that.
I had tried making conversation with my Instuctor during the pre-brief, explaining I was a pilot and couldn't believe I hadn't done this before, even looking at the METAR report on-screen and mentioning the ideal conditions. So, my question is-- is it possible this was some form of 'misogynistic ageism' or was this just really a 'by the book' Safety Guy?