LookUpHigh

dammit this was sad, why couldn't it be a cat!

Thanks! I've actually thought about doing that and whether it would make a huge difference or not. I think i'm going to go ahead and get one just for the accurate readings between 1000,s of feet. What are some good ones to consider, on a budget but not willing to sacrifice quality, that just defeats the purpose.

Good deal, i appreciate the helpful advice bud! It means alot and I'll be sure to remember how helpful you guys were when I'm an experienced skydiver giving advice to some newbie. This is a safe thing that can turn deadly very fast, so helpful advice without talking down to me is appreciated immensely!

yeah, i need to start looking way earlier then. all the things you need to do and look for can be somewhat overwhelming at first, so im sure this will get easier as i go. i really want to learn.

Yeah i've never heard of that. I will keep it in mind though for when I get better. I'm sure my instructors will immediately just say stick with the 3 point pattern for 1000-600-300. I've read about that spot that doesn't move up or down, I tried a couple times but the wind was a different direction then usual so I was a little more nervous and tried to keep my focus on the pattern, but I'm really wanting to be able to find that spot. I need more practice.

Thanks man, I like the way you suggested starting with the exact point you wish to land on, and then working back from there. I'm going to try that when I draw it out. That was a great response and I appreciate it! I will certainly be reffering back to that from time to time.

yeah we sat down sunday and talked about actually drawing out my landings. It was really helpful. Especially since I rushed into both my jumps that day, the first jump I was in the plane asking which direction the wind is coming from. Thats when I realized I need to check myself before I wreck myself. But from now on the first thing I'm gonna do is check the winds and go for the aerial photo of the DZ with a marker, and also before each jump if the winds have changed. It's tough finding the balance between socializing and getting ready for your next jump. Seems like in skydiving the madness can sometimes outweigh the method. I just need to get my shit together lol.

and thanks for the advice! Now that I think about it nothing was mentioned as far as having them watch my pattern, will definitely do that. Maybe get a couple hop-n-pops in at the end of the day just for canopy work.

Yeah we talked about it and went over some stuff. But I gotta wait until next sunday to put the tools to use. Just curious about other jumpers experiences when they were starting out.

So I have 13 jumps now. And my landing patterns are pretty sloppy. My flare is good, i think i have 9 or 10 real nice stand ups, but almost never where I want to land. I'm tired of bringing corn and soybean back to the packers lol. How long did it take you to get your canopy control dialed in? What helped you? Any advice? My confidence isn't really shaken or anything, it's just getting old and I want to get better. Plus safety for myself and others around me is obviously important as hell. Thanks for any helpful responses.

Yesterday. A friend was on her 100th jump and the winds picked up alot when she came in for her landing pattern. Theres a creek right on the north side of the DZ and wind was from the south, she came in over the creek on her final approach but the winds were too strong. She hovered over the creek while coming down and made it accross by inches but FORGOT to collapse her chute, Big wind gust dragged her ass and her pride right into the creek lol.

I loved AerOhio. It's the second DZ i've been to and it was 10 times better than the first and is now my home DZ. I wish they were open on Mondays but thats a small inconvenience considering almost nobody else gets mondays off like myself. You won't be dissatisfied so come check it out.

At the two Dropzones i've been to they don't even let you jump if you went through Skyride. Doesn't matter that you paid or not, you didn't pay the DZ directly. This is because Skyride owes these Dropzones (and many other) ALOT of money. The DZO's say they can't even get ahold of Skyride anymore and pretty much realize they are never getting paid, so when people come in saying they paid through Skyride, they kindly show them to the door.

I sold my old car because of this, I got hit 3 times sitting in my car in a parking lot while parked. Had some idiot drive up onto my hood with his Durango and come inches from putting his tire through my windshield and into my face, I freaked out and pulled him out of his truck ready to fight because i was kind of in shock, turns out he was turned around talking to his 2 year old daughter in the back who was crying and by that point he was also crying lol. And then I got hit probably 4 more times on the road, my insurance company hated me.

nevermind, just seen it says 25 on your jump status

Congratulations man! And congratulations on getting your shit together! Thats definitely cool to hear. How many jumps did it take you?

Welcome, i'm not an experienced jumper by any means but unless you have the money to travel to warmer destinations during the winter months I would move down to the warmer states so the Dropzones don't shut down. Plus people tend to be friendlier down there. Good luck with your decision.

I'm up at Canton Airsports, great place but no turbine yet.

Well you gotta remember, you are doing this for yourself. It's your money and your time. Besides i doubt they are gonna go out of business because you didn't do your aff with them. And in all honesty, don't get caught up in the hype, I'm in category C of my AFF at the same DZ i started at, and i dont get treated the same. I did my first jump there and they were all so cool and nice and they are your "bro", and now after being there for a little while your just another customer. I watch them do the same thing with all the other first timers, you gotta remember this is a business. They hook you in and do enough to keep you around. But like i said you are doing this for yourself!!!!! Just as i am, so i'll deal with it. I'm sure once i graduate i'm not gonna be best buds with my instructor.

good luck this weekend Rach!

NO WAY! lol Xenia Ohio. I did a Strongman Competition out there in 2008 I believe. Its a little backwoods out there lol. My DZ is Canton Airsports in Alliance, OH.

lol well i'm 6'2 so we need to make some adjustments. But you sound just like my friend Molly who is doing her AFF right now. Shes a tiny little thing and it's causing her problems. I feel bad because she knows what shes doing but she reaches for her pilot the rigs shift over to the left and make it really hard to reach which is a HUGE problem. She doesn't give up though which i love about her. But yeah, my hips and buttcheeks are sore from landing on my feet while coming in pretty quick lol, but i held my self up, had to take a couple strides but no big deal. 2 or 3 in a day is probably all i could do mentally and financially for now lol. But one thing i learned in Road Racing, when you're doing something dangerous at high speeds, it's best to pull off if you are mentally or physically taxed. Cus you're chances of making a tragic mistake are MUCH higher! And as my friend Molly says "it's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air then to be in the air wishing you were on the ground".

O.K. finished my Cat. A. and Cat. B. yesterday! wow That was a WHOLE new experience and an AMAZING one!!! I'll take you through it. First jump: I'm on a 280 main. jump was at 10.5K. single-side AFF. good exit, got stable right away, 3 solid practice touches, had to extend my legs a few inches, good pull at 5.5K had a good canopy right away, although the chest strap was all the way up by my chin and my helmet was hitting the top of my container making it difficult to see the back 2 corners of my canopy so luckily i had a good one lol. and now to bring it down, I can't hear a f**king thing but static here and there, i kept stalling my canopy to see if I could here anything but nothing, so i hung out in the wind and waited to lose altitude came in at 1000' for my pattern which wasn't very good lol but i made it down safe in a sliding landing since i timed my flare wrong. Jump 2: same rig, I tightened up my leg straps hoping to keep my container from riding up so high. Same thing good exit, got stable, checked altitude, forgot plan for a second but I knew i had to do rotations so I start my right turn as to not hesitate and waste altitude, stopped at 90 degrees remembering I had to do 2 practice touches so I did those, i hit his hand on the first but the second was fine, did a left 180 then another right 90. checked altitude, 7k, counted to 4 then locked on at 6k waved off and pulled at 5.5k. good canopy with 2 line twists, no big deal i undo them and realize the container is still riding up high which pissed me off. but this time my radio might as well have been off because i didnt hear a sound from it, so i did my best and had a little fun, came in at 1000' and didn't quite make it to the hangar, landed down the run way but this time i landed on my feet so i was happy since i had no radio control. So i passed both, next time we need to try another rig or make adjustments, I definitely need to work on my canopy control, I was a little lost as far as what to do and where to go but I always knew where the DZ was so I just need a little work. Overall I'm happy and so is my instructor, felt safe and confident other then my container being a little high, but i had a blast!

thanks bud!

Thank you. I'm going on monday. i have ground school in the morning then hopefully get a couple AFF jumps in. I'm really really excited. plus i really miss the air.