DrDom

food is the ultimate addiction... You are not the contents of your wallet.

its fascinating but realize that extremity injuries would require rigidity otherwise you just allow for more force to be applied directionally. It would be bulky, need to be designed for descending and pressure changes, and with the bulk of skydiving injuries being hard landings (apparently swooping) you have to ask how would it activate? What prevents accidental activation? I think the motorcycle ones can protect the spine somewhat, which may be the best intent of it, but it may need more time to really sort out the bugs. But hey, its a start ;) I really think that someone needs to come up with a system that when enough centripetal force is applied it cuts away the offending canopy. THat would be easier and landing under a spinning canopy when the G forces get high is another major issue. Maybe an aad like device that does more (is smarter) than what we have? You are not the contents of your wallet.

im working on it... we all have our evils to slay, every new one of us :) The sky family has one HELL of an initiation... You are not the contents of your wallet.

As soon as I can muster the cajones to get back up there I'll be doing Level7 to clear for coach. Will be jump 8 if you include my tandem. Had a weird setback that jump level 5-6 I was fearless then jump 7 I got the heebie jeebies and scrubbed before manifest. It's like a killed a door monster and he was reincarnated. It's like starting all over. But I'm going to do this. And get caught up with you ;) You are not the contents of your wallet.

Those apparrently are normal per most on here. I'm trying to get past mine still! But the sport is amazing and the friends you make are for life... added: I love that comic series. Its pretty much my constant state that I get fear noogies until I'm out the door. Watching my old videos, once I'm out I'm all smiles and business... its the letting go I think You are not the contents of your wallet.

I think like anything else (car airbags, motorcycle helmet, etc) I hope generally I never need it but really it sounds like "eventually" you may... and knowing how is everything. I'm not looking forward to the cutaway, but when I do someday have to... I'll look forward to a solid coloured canopy overhead ;) You are not the contents of your wallet.

Hey there! Welcome to the family You're quite a ways ahead of me and I hope to make my peace with the sky as well someday, but Im glad to hear you are there You got your A... but dont stop... plenty more to do ;) You are not the contents of your wallet.

It [skydiving] most certianly does force you to live in the moment. Remember NOTHING in life is truly wasted, it is all about experience. You have your kids... embrace them often :) You are not the contents of your wallet.

I wish more people with excess weight could find motivation like you! What are you? You are awesome. Go do that tandem! You've overcome something way more dangerous than skydiving: obesity. so, congrats on your accomplishments! You are not the contents of your wallet.

Its my wallet that will be in despair, those repeat courses are not cheap at all :( any repeats will cut into the budget I allocated for gear purchases later on. So I did my ground school and unfortunately there was too much turbulence to allow me to jump in the afternoon. I guess I will have to wait till next week before I get to do the first jump! Thanks for all the reply's from everyone, very encouraging. Then pay attention, ask the questions, and you'll be fine! You are not the contents of your wallet.

MOST (not all) will not cover sporting related injuries, and they consider skydiving an extreme sport. USPA insurance coverage is actually cheaper than my non-skydiving insured life. Disability is hard to get skydive coverage and will likely be a fortune. But the life is great. Lost 10 lbs, cholesterol normalized, took up skydiving... and now lower premiums. Guess that weight is more dangerous :) You are not the contents of your wallet.

I guess its why some people buy luxury SUV's and some buy sports cars. You can still enjoy the ride, one because its so comfortable and controlled; the other becuase its on the brink of control and inherently more dangerous. I only have 7 jumps thus far, but I feel like the speed in freefall is awesome... but I ALWAYS wish I had more time to fly around under canopy. You are not the contents of your wallet.

If you are seeing a lot of your coach's crotch in AFF... well... lets just say you shouldnt see too much of it... You are not the contents of your wallet.

why cant we have both???? You are not the contents of your wallet.

No one's tracking is any good at that point. You get better at tracking just like you get better at everything else -- practice! And you haven't had a chance to, yet! Funnily enough I'll take newly licensed friends on tracking jumps and they'll go zooming past me. This despite them being mildly uncomfortable at the thought of tracking when I suggest it. Could just be you're not so good at tracking because you haven't really tried it that much. Once you get a good 20 second burn out the door of a plane, you might like it better. Once you get comfortable glancing up your arm at your altimeter so you don't have to stop tracking before you're ready to, you might like it better! Im not stressing it, more just saying if someone has to repeat a step do not despair! We all come out with skills in the end :) You are not the contents of your wallet.

Now a jump vacation is always money well spent. I need to take one. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I met this girl in college (I was a DJ for a night club and gentleman's establishment, she a dancer at said establishment, we also had a chemistry class together) and started hanging out after our shifts at work. Decided we were hitting it off well, so went on a date. Things got a bit "friendly" afterward and I just tossed out "there isn't anything I need to know like... I dont know... you being married or anything right" and this look of horror came over her. I got the "well, its complicated, we're kind of separated" and big long running story. I thought it was BS so I immediately broke the mess off because I just didnt feel like being a homewrecker or "the other man". Was a bit of a mess, and she actually became friends with my roommate (who was also my good friend's girlfriend) and later relayed that she (the married girl) was mid-divorce and really into me. She was a looker and smart to boot. Was insult to injury Fortunately we are still friends, but definitely a "worst dating moment" if not "most awkward" You are not the contents of your wallet.

I find it really hard to snort oreos off a hooker's ass... it always goes bad from there. You are not the contents of your wallet.

Whenever I need to go through I tell them I WANT the patdown. I tell them make sure they are thorough. I like seeing them uncomfortable instead of the other way around. You are not the contents of your wallet.

I applied for the USPA insurance and was amazed it was cheaper than my existing coverage. When I asked, the agent said: "Well, your cholesterol used to be higher, you used to be on meds for it, and you were 15 lbs heavier. That calculates to far more risk than skydiving so your rate just went down adding the rider for extreme sports related death or injury". So, the moral of the story: if you dont want to die, you gotta go live ;) You are not the contents of your wallet.

have to get up there and jump with those guys sometime then. Probably others out there with valve replacements and/or bypass that have some wires! Guess my friend with a pacer/defib would also qualify! You are not the contents of your wallet.

Stupid government shutdown ruined everything. The USS Constitution is pretty awesome. When you get back you have to check it out! You are not the contents of your wallet.

Can I you get that with a skyhook? You mean it should automatically release the panties while the bra falls down? you just need a system that uses the weight of the bra to disconnect a release on the panties. We could engineer this. I just realized at the end it says "Product not available in Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, or Alabama. Because, face it, people in those areas should not be reproducing or practicing the art of reproducing" or something similar. Classic. You are not the contents of your wallet.

Wow, never even thought about instructor burnout but I know that on the weekends the AFFIs at our place are running around like crazy. They manage to do it and make every student sure they have the time and attention they need... but I'm sure if there is an instructor who cant do that at 100% it sure does help. Having an EP refresher the day of the jump REALLY was a good thing because I knew that it had stuck, and that felt good. I figured if i remembered nothing else, I'd have instructors holding me, and a radio guiding me, so long as I had a good canopy. Coming in 3 days later and knowing what to pull and why... confidence booster for sure. You are not the contents of your wallet.

Simple psychological constant is that people are AFRAID of skydiving and NOBODY wants to think their fear is irrational. SO they want everyone else to acknowledge their fear and say "oh yes you are so right nobody should ever do that". But secretly they all wish they had that courage. They make up for their shortcomings by trying to make sure nobody outshines them. At work, it came up a few times and people went from "You're crazy" slowly to "oh wow, can i see the videos that looks amazing, I wish I could do that" and now "so.... how much does a tandem cost? What does it feel like?" Some people come around. My wife tries to understand it, and bought me an audible after asking "what stuff can make it MORE safe?". I cant use it yet but when i'm in the sky alone it will make her at ease. If you have logic based friends, ask them if they realize riding a road bicycle, driving to work, driving a motorcycle, and swimming in open water (SCUBA, snorkeling, or just at the beach) are all more dangerous. If they as me "why would you jump out of a perfectly good airplane" I show them a picture of the workhorse C182 the DZ has that I've jumped twice when the twotter was on a day off, and I ask "would YOU land in this?!?!" I also remind them that I could get a pilots license. They go "oh you should do that" and I remind them that THAT is more dangerous than skydiving. So what is it people are afraid of? We all have false security in our "machines". In the dive you are there, alone, alive, in complete control of your destiny. You have your safety equipment but no walls, no doors. Nobody else in control. You are not the contents of your wallet.