Jackpunx 0 #1 October 23, 2005 WOOOO HOOOOO!.. I took the afternoon on friday off and did level 6.7 and 8. Im a couple hrs from Perris so the drives down there give me a lot of time in my head.. Getting kicked out of the plane messed with me a little.. but.. it ended up being a huge confidence builder and tons of fun.. So I took my family to the DZ yesterday.. I wanted them to see what I have been so strung out on. I put the kids in the wind tunnel... I was so proud of them.. then I wanted to put my other half on a tandem.. but we lost her spot as it was pretty busy.. My experience from here out was amazing.. I was very nervous about renting gear, where to sit on the plane, first jump, where to pull , what to do.. when I was aff student I felt a little like a nuisance to most of the other divers. after I got my gear they took me outside and introduced my to my packer for the day.. she was really helpful and showed me how to prepare the rig for her. then I was off to manifest.. Told them I was a first time solo and didn’t know what to do.. they were way cool, explained how to read the monitor and tried to hook me up with someone on the plane to help me with my spot as there were no instructors from the school on this flight. I’m not sure if they talked to someone or not.. but this is where I saw the community come together for the new comer. I was walking towards the plane.. and a guy stopped me.. Said " hey.. is that an RW suite? wanna get in on a 4way?" I told him it was my first solo.. He introduced himself to me and told me not to get stuck jumping alone.. then he told his buddies and they introduced me to the organizer.. these guys/gals took me under their wing and showed me what it was all about. My first jump was really long.. I think I was more nervous about this one than any other. I was the last person on the plane.. I went to spot.. The DZ was right there... I felt good and jumped.. I was stable and could see the DZ I just watched my alt. it was the longest jump I have been on. I pulled at 4500 and had a great ride down.. Dropped my gear with the packer and was ready to jump again in 20 min.. it .. I made new friends.. got a comfort level that I needed to get through my solo's ..got to watch some other divers do a formation from the air.. Perfect landings, practiced a little delta tracking. Its a new sport to me.. and totally different from AFF.. Im excited to say that you guys have a new member. Thanks Mark Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #2 October 23, 2005 Im excited to say that you guys have a new member. *** Congrats on the dive....(Beer) And welcome to the zoo....! Good idea bringing the family along, at least now they'll know where 'daddy' is gonna be spending his weekends and the college fund! It only gets BETTER....hope to see ya there sometime! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chutem 0 #3 October 23, 2005 Cool stuff, I had the same kind of experience. Remember there will be a day when you can do the same for others. Kids in the tunnel are awsome, wish I could have done that. James Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jackpunx 0 #4 October 23, 2005 QuoteIm excited to say that you guys have a new member. *** Congrats on the dive....(Beer) It only gets BETTER....hope to see ya there sometime! LMAO.. they showed me the international hand signal for buying beer for my instructors..lol I wasnt able to stop by the store on the way there yesterday.. but I got a couple cases on the way home.. I'll bring it next weekend.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
