Shredex

If we can get Mark Zuckerburg to buy all the DZ's a windtunnel, then heck yes! Unfortunately, they aren't easy to come by :[

I wouldn't blame him for backing out. Regardless of a soft landing or not, your body going 120mph then suddenly stopping within feet is not going to be nice on your body. Only way to "safely" do it is by putting a catch net on top of train, then have that train travel the same speed as the wingsuit pilot, land in the net. Train stops. Wahla.

Lmao Really, though. They could make a large brittle floating plateform with boxes on top that they could put on the Z-hills swoop pond. This way if the boxes fail, then at least the water will be of some cushioning... ...some...

He should just come to FL and do it. It's been nothing but a blazer here!

I would bet it is surreal! First time I went to a baseball game at the big stadium, I walked in and it was like walking into the television. I mean the baseball players down on the field, the lighting, it all just looked like there was a giant tv in front of me with them on it. Very strange feeling. And grats on still being able to jump! Glad to hear the hema's not stopping you!

I would prefer it not be a heart pumping experience lol. I just want to be in the sky. If It's peaceful then awesome! The idea to to sore like a bird. Not plummet to earth screaming in horror lol

May I ask where you can order this magazine?

I just wanted to note, bochen280, that what you say made skydiving seem very boring. And I think it's a very "inside the box" look on it. When you get a skateboard, you don't just ride down the block in a straight line. No...You wanna learn to ollie and kickflip and leap down stairs like the pros! This is what keeps a hobby fun for the rest of eternity! When I see skydiving, it's not just about jumping out of a plane, and enjoying the scenic view. It's more of mastering the art of flight. The freedom. However, there are times for scenery. This is a video of a relaxing dive. One of the only times you should skydive just for the view. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8_e_Yeqwac

So you can jump at night???? I've always dreamed of a skydiving rave party... I've been playing this game a lot. Unfortunately it is often times glitchy and unplayable (during the chute ride down, you sometimes aren't able to steer. Completely ruining the fun I have swooping.)

Very informative. I see that I might want to purchase a pair of goggles before hand? Anyone have any suggestion of a good place to order a decent pair? I know its relatively "safe" to some extent. I know this. But it's difficult to control instinct. When suddenly being introduced to something rapidly that someones not used to, or caught off guard, it can have drastic results...such as black out...Pretty much the only thing I'm really concerned about. I have no history of black outs...non that weren't on purpose at least...but it's still a possibility. Especially after seeing videos of people blacking out. Another way to describe the "control" thing: When someone tickles you(assuming you are ticklish, as I am) you are going to become very uncomfortable with the feeling and not being able to think straight. But, if you tickle yourself, it's a completely different experience...you don't feel a darn thing and you can concentrate on anything! This is what I mean from being in control. The experience can dramatically change if you are not in control. My boss has his pilots license, and he discussed the "stall" you have to perform to advance(I was preparing to get my pilots license, which is why the discussion started). He explained to me that when you are piloting the plane, you don't feel a thing, but if you are in the passenger seat...you get a crazy drop sensation. It is, however, enlightening to hear that you get little to no drop sensation from skydiving. I've been learning a lot from just watching hundreds of videos and analyzing what's going on as well as the persons movements. When I get into something, I REALLY get into it and try to learn as much as possible about it. I love learning how things work. I just love the knowledge. Not sure why, but the engineering is just fascinating to me. And, I want to figure out what can be done to improve it. When I look at an object, such as a building, I don't think, "Oh, a building!". It's more or less I'm looking to see exactly what went in to make that building. I drive a sportbike...and I got really into them. I tore my bike down to the motor countless times. Almost everyday that thing was tore down and up again ready to go to work the next morning. I completely re-did the bike. Only the frame is stock and that has been modified. I inspired a huge amount of people to do to theirs what I did to mine. Even today, I still receive emails asking about it and wanting tips, something I did 3 years ago. So, you might be able to understand just how much I've been looking into this. How much studying I've been doing these past months. Most of the written portion of AFF I should have down pat. It's putting knowledge to action that will be the only concern. And of course, nothing is like the real experience. All and all. I think that I'm just gonna have to not think...for once. If you are not paying attention or thinking properly, you can easily walk into a pole. So, if I just catch myself off guard and make the jump without thinking, then it should go rather easy. :] And I'll trust the instructor to know when I'm ready. Thanks again for the info, guys.

Fear of the Unknown. After you do something once, it's often times easier to do it again...unless it's something like sticking your hand in a table saw blade while it's running...

Hey all, Quick version: What have some of you guys done to overcome the fear before a first jump? Pay a guy to tell another guy to push you out when you least expect it? Think, "Oh, the net will appear when I jump!"? What???? More detailed version of what type of fear I face: I still have several months before I am able to start AFF school, and I was wondering what people do to prepare for the jump? I've always been into extreme sports; Skateboarding, Bmx, ext. but I've never gone really far with it from fear of injury. I never tried doing stair sets and what not and was just happy on flat-ground where I know I'm mainly in control. That's a big problem with myself is the not being in control. I've never been able to ride a roller-coaster in my life from the fear. I get myself pumped up at home to ride something, but once there facing the coaster and seeing it fly by my stomach sinks to an ibis and I just can't bring myself to get on. I've only been able to get on sort of a kitty coaster called the Cheetah Chase that has 1 ten foot drop on it where is makes my stomach feel horrid. I call it "the droppy feeling". Now, skydiving is probably like 30 straight seconds of this! And I'm afraid of when the time comes to jump, I'll freeze up and just refuse to jump from fear. I don't want fear to control me, though, and prevent me from living a life dream. I drive a sportbike, completely self taught. I watched one youtube video on how to drive one, went out, bought my first sportbike, and drove it straight away for 1 year on one of FL most dangerous roads before actually going to get my endorsement. I have been over 120mph(and beyond) plenty of times, and not once have I been afraid, and it's because I know I'm in control. I'm twisting that throttle telling it what to do. Now, with skydiving, I can't just stop when I want too...No baby footsteps...once you jump you jump and your getting the full experience without a throttle. And what I'm trying to get at, is the point in which a tandem jump might be unhealthy in a way that I wouldn't feel like I'm in control and would thus make me terrified. But on the other hand I've never even been in a plane before! And a tandem might be safer encase I freeze up. Another point is money. If I'm gonna get my A license, a tandem might hold me back from the license just that much...I don't have an amazing job making millions, so I can't afford much. And I would love to do this as fast as possible because to get to my real goal, of becoming a wingsuit pilot, its gonna take time...and the longer I wait, the longer before I can reach that initial goal. Though, despite all of this dread, I always feel very confident and really eager to jump after watching inspirational videos such as: http://vimeo.com/40974456 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6il9-zdQL4Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_abkDLAF5Q But, I don't have the ability to watch things like these 15K feet up in an airplane...So, what have some of you guys done to overcome the fear and went for it? Pay a guy to tell another guy to push you out when you least expect it? Think, "Oh, the net will appear when I jump!"? What???? Sorry for the novel, but I wanted to give a good idea of what I'm up against.

Oh! I forgot to add! There is a few places around me, but, I am 98% sure I'm gonna go with Skydive City in Zephyrhills! There site and videos look promising :]

Hello! My name is Josh and I am a 21 year old aspiring AFF student from Central Florida. My ultimate goal is to become a Wingsuit pilot. Over the past several months I have been doing some research, trying to figure out how I can make a dream of mine a reality. I'm still very confused about a ton of things, but I think the start is AFF school. And I've found it's also an extremly expensive sport as well. ($5K for just a main chute! :O ) I don't come from a wealthy family, nor am I wealthy myself. So this journey is going to be a long and difficult one. (The classified section on this site is a life...well, pocket saver for me! If the right sizes ever pop up...) All and all, you just can't put a price on happiness, or your life :) I'm glad to be here! and hopefully I can learn a little from this place! 5'9" and 130lb As an added bonus! I'd like to tell the story of my interest in this extreme sport. (Warning! Wall of text! Please skip if lazy!) :) I was one of those kids jumping off there roof with a Walmart bag parachute. (FYI, Wal-Mart bags don't make good parachutes) lol... Now, something I remember seeing as a child was a movie where I saw these guys jump off a building in what I called "Squirrel Suits". The thought that immediately popped into my head was that these suits were used to slow your decention to earth enough so you could land without a parachute! Much better idea then my Walmart bags! Seeing that I was no good with a sewing machine, I just put bags on different parts of my body (4 total). Results were the same. I pretty much threw the idea away and tossed it into the dumpster part of my brain for failed ideas. Lets move on. Back in the year 2006, at the age of 15, I was a Freshmen at J.W. Mitchell High School. It was about this time that I discovered I could do something. That something...was everything. It was during this time that I had experienced my first lucid dream (A dream in which you become aware you are dreaming and can use it to your advantage ;p) The first lucid dream I had ended abruptly just after realizing I was dreaming. The second dream, however, was where it began... As soon as I realized I was dreaming, I instantly leaped into the air and started flying around! The experience was splendid! (until I crashed into the ground and woke up!) Ever since that dream, all I ever do when becoming "aware" is fly. The flying in the dream is kind of...awkward, I should add. If you are a PC gamer, I can tell you that the flying I experience is a lot like NO clipping in a video game. That's the only way I can describe it. With this introduction to a dream, along with being a long time Dragonball Z fan, I became very interested with flying. However, it wasn't until a few months ago that I found out this dream is reality. I was lurking Facebook and came across a video a friend of mine posted titled "Jeb Coriliss 'Grinding the Crack'". Being bored and all, I clicked and watched the video. Here it was... The squirrel suit... one man... living the "impossible. Excitement flowed into my body as if I had just won the lottery. I stayed up for another 5 hours that night looking up hundreds of wingsuit videos. The good. The bad. And the really bad. Bunch of researching later, and here I am now. (Thanks Google!)