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gman

I've worked too hard to quit now.

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It finally happened, I'm off AFF status. I managed to pass level 8, it wasn't pretty, but I passed. What a relief, I was happy enough to buy a case of beer and send it to the school. Gee..I sure hope it was the right thing to do, maybe some of them preferred softdrinks rather than beer... somehow I don't think so.
Before leaving the school, I was given a list of things I must do on my own to earn my A license, I changed things a bit, but this is what I have:
1. Do some jumps with Skydive U.
2. Buy some beer for the Skydive U. coach.
3. Learn to pack a chute & jump it.
4. Buy some beer for the packing instructor.
5. Take & pass the exam.
6. Buy LOTs of Gin Martinis for ME!
There, I think that's a fairly complete list. By the way, I will be at Perris this Saturday. I am now permitted to jump on my own. Many of my ex-JM's recommended that I do a few jumps on my own prior to Skydive U. just to go out and have fun. Well...I'm not sure if I can call it fun, I really want to see if I got enough nerve to jump out without anybody along my side for the first time. It seems that there will be a small gathering of DZ.com'ers this Saturday @ Perris, I want to take the time to meet some of you and attach faces to your names. If you see somebody that looks extremely nervous, mumbling to themself, and drinking large amounts of "Mountain Dew"(I'm going to need the caffeine & sugar), that's probably me. Any words of wisdom to help me through this next level of fear will always be appreciated. Hope to see some of you this Saturday.
-G.M.L.-

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Way to go passing level 8 and getting off 'dent status. Trust me they would not let you off if they thought you couldn't handle it. Go out diving and just flop around, get stable and do barrel rolls and flips, and just look around (don't forget to look at your altitude). Don't even try and plan anything just go see what you have missed the past few jumps. The beautiful Earth is still down there winking at you so find something besides a JM to look at. Enjoy the wind on your face rather than a JM in your face. Relax and remember why you started jumping. You'll do great and have a wonderful time.

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Ahhhh the freedom you'll love it you have no pressure to do anything you can just hang and enjoy the view. I actually found my jumps alone to be easier then any AFF jump. Just dive out and RELAX!!!!! and remember to smile or do something special like flip out on the exit and hold it for a few rotations just remember this is your dive enjoy it
PS jumping your first pack is much more nerve racking but it'll open just wait and see
Blue ones
JG

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Congrats Gman!!! Isn't that the best feeling in the world?!?!?! There's not a lot of people in this world that can jump out of an airplane all by themselves and land safely on sweet mother earth! But just for the record, no one HAS to have lessons with a Skydive U coach. Don't get me wrong - it's a fantastic way to learn new skills (or even perfect old ones). They helped me tremendously. But they are expensive and if you don't have your own gear yet, you have a lot of saving (and spending) to do - unless, of course you are independently wealthy! I know people with hundreds of jumps who have taken lessons from skydive U. That will always be there for you. Anyhow, congrats again and go out there and make some "serious" FUN jumps! Yee-hah!
Elisa

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no one HAS to have lessons with a Skydive U coach

Actually, it is a requirement at Perris. While the jumps are more expensive than, say, jumps with a USPA coach, and way more expensive than solos, it is worth every penny for the novice imho.
I'm planning on doing some myself once I'm back to jumping as often as I want to.
pull and flare,
lisa
----
I am a nobody.
Nobody's perfect.
Therefore, I am perfect!

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Actually, it's not a requirement at Perris. The Perris school has a contract with skydive u to send their students there, so they say it is a requirement. Skydive U isn't part of the USPA. I did my 3 rw jumps with Jim Wallace (got mine for free, but he usually charges 65 dollars for the jumps) and with Marc Brown. He's a load organizer and AFF Jumpmaster. I also did my packing with Marc. I got lucky and didn't have to pay the extra money for all this. Luckily since I just got laid off.
Anyway, to avoid the hassle of getting yelled at by Dennis and the others at the Perris school for not going through Skydive U, I took my A license test at the Jim Wallace school.
Don't get me wrong, Skydive U is great, and I plan on going through it. Just didn't have the money to do it right now. I now have my A license and will be going through Skydive U very soon.
(what I meant to say above is that skydive U isn't a requirement by the USPA, so you don't have to go through them.)
Talk to people at the DZ and find out who is a RW coach. Most of the time you can just pay for their jump. But if you feel more comfortable going through Skydive U, by all means do it.
Blue Skies!
Sinister69

http://home.pacbell.net/n1elson1
Edited by sinister69 on 7/23/01 07:24 PM.

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Actually, it is a requirement at Perris.


you have got to be kidding. what a rip off. thank god at Sebastian I told them that I couldn't afford Skydive U after paying for AFF and gear rental, they said no big deal sent me up with two AFF instructors on Three diferent trips and they didn't even make me pay for there tickets. and I got some great RW three-ways out of it. do they just try to suck the money out of you over there or what. must be that left coast thing, huh?
Marc
A-38578

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must be that left coast thing, huh?


Nope...they do the same thing at Cross Keys...even include a "required" coached freefly jump with Monkey Claw. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing though. It teaches you fundamentals that keep you, and anyone else you jump with safe. I did 6 jumps with Skydive U and they were definitely worth the money. I'll probably do some more this weekend. The learning curve was huge. Each jump was probably equivalent to 10 on my own. But if you can find an experienced person willing to show you for free, go for it. Problem is, until you get your A license, you can't jump with anyone else unless they are instructor rated.
cielos azules y cerveza fría
-Kevin

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It's funny how dz's are different. At Skydive Dallas, they require Skydive U. jumps after AFF, because they are a SDU campus. Which reminds me, I got to pour beer on Rob Laidlaw Saturday night! He had never recieved his SCR/SCS ceremony so we forced him to be a "maggot" for half an hour. It was great. BTW, if you don't know who Rob Laidlaw is, he is the President of SDU. Buy a SDU video. Anyway, but I didn't train at Dallas, so I wasn't required to do SHIT to graduate. I still haven't done a barrel roll. I think I would be a lot better skydiver (at least in RW) if I had done SDU jumps. I could get free SDU course training (except for the cost of the instructor's jump ticket) but just haven't done it. For all of you who have to do it, I feel sorry for you because of the cost, but you'll be glad you did it.
Sis
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." Oscar Wilde

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Congrats. Just go and have some fun. Then, down the road (money wise) try to get some video on your jumps. It sure helps to critique yourself and show others to help your body position and such. Might be less costly than SDU.
Enjoy the view, and remember.....keep smiling, it helps.

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