GAjumper84

If you end up jumping at San Marcos you will meet one of the best jump pilots out there. He sadly left my home DZ to start flying for San Marcos. Perfect spots and a great guy. Just tell Andrew that Steve from Monroe told you about him. Good luck either way, as I know nothing about Temple.

Glad to hear it. Welcome to the addiction! Err, I mean sport...

Basically what everyone else said. I did IAD training instead of AFF, and my first jump was supposed to be from 3500, when I jumped we were at 3100'. I thought that was really high! Don't be so worried about it, as everyone else said, you have plenty of time. Hop and pops are some of my favorite skydives as they are the only times I get to exit the cessna at my DZ. Try to have fun, and do a few more when you get a chance and you will see how much fun you can have with it! As far as ground rush, no, you don't get it. The sight picture will look much different when you go to exit and look down. You don't fall long enough to even get to terminal (hopefully) so you don't cover enough distance to have the ground change much. In reality you shouldn't even be fully "off the hill" when you pitch on this jump, so you really shouldn't be looking at the ground except for a second until you are under canopy. Remember, watch the plane and good luck!

I have been looking around on google, bonehead's website, here, etc and have had no luck finding a cutaway system for a Mamba. Anyone know where I can find one, even if it is a universal that will work with the Mamba? Thanks for any help!

26 jumps over 4 months to get my A. Had to do one student level over.

I don't know about there, in the US its one jump every 30 days on student status, A license is every 60 days.

I would suggest either doing a tandem or doing a few AFF jumps with no real intention on finishing it. Knowing that you cannot stay current makes it where you would be doing recurrency jumps every time you went (1-2x per year). So basically you would waste your money to go through the entire AFF course or especially through an A license. That is unless you wanted to do it as a one time experience. Also, I wouldn't want to jump once a year and try to do it without instructors just from a safety standpoint. If you really enjoyed jumping by yourself I would suggest just paying the higher fees for AFF jumps that one time a year you go. Keep in mind this is just my opinion, others with more experience feel free to chime in.

Flonase

Just wanted to update the people who replied and helped me, as well as potentially help someone else who has the same problem I did. After trying out many different methods to no avail on the next several jumps I went to the doctor and described my situation. He gave me a prescription for a nasal spray. He told me to shoot it straight down my nose (instead of up the nose. This worked great! He told me to only use it on skydiving days, Anyway, worked for me, hopefully someone else one day.

28. Wish I would've done it sooner!

Based on all the other responses, and my own experiences, I think everyone gets discouraged at some point. Or at least questions their motivations for continuing. My problem as a student was I took it too seriously, so I really didn't have nearly as much fun as I should have. So I got to a point where I thought, this isn't very much fun anymore. Fortunately this was right before I finished IAD. I went back, finished, and did my first jump not being concerned about passing something. Then I realized once you take away the performance expectations (other than being safe) all the fun came back to me. Just did jump 30 and 31 last weekend, and it continues to be great! Have fun, and good luck on the rest of AFF!

Killing season. Who knew a movie with Robert Deniro and John Travolta could be truly that horrible? And whoever cast John Travolta as a Serbian should never be able to work in films again. Ever.

My biggest surprise recently was Elysium. I figured it wasn't going to have a decent storyline based on the overall plot. Some of it was very predictable, but the way it was put together, without overuse of special effects, and with some good twists and turns along the way. Definately one worth picking up at Redbox.

Welcome and good luck making your dream a reality!

Its funny I just had a conversation with someone who had a similar injury that has been repaired by surgery. Until she felt comfortable with the shoulder, she wore a brace that supported it. Don't know any specifics about what/where it is, but I'm sure if you check it out you can find it.

You mentioned the danger to yourself with that hop and pop exit, but the worst decision/mistake you mentioned was that low turn. You could've turned that 90 straight into someone else following the correct pattern. Fortunately that didn't happen, and you are ok. I would suggest talking to your instructors about a full repeatable gear check before you put the rig on, before boarding, and on the plane. Then at a certain altitude, put helmet and goggles on, final gear check time. Everyone has different ways and different orders, but it is always a set repeated process. That is the best way to guard against missing something. Oh, and if you arent sure about something on the ride up (did i check that pin? Etc) dont be afraid to ask the person behind you for a gear check. Good luck!

Where at on the east coast?

Welcome! Sounds like you enjoy it, 54 jumps in 2 months, Keep it up!

Welcome! You are definately right about seeing better flyers than you or I on video. The fact that it is challenging is what makes skydiving great! As far as finding out about DZs in Australia, I would suggest posting that question in the events and places to jump section. I have seen a good many jumpers from Australia on here, so I am sure they will have some good advice. Good luck on your AFF!

I just joined USPA recently and am very thankful for them to be there to help the skydiving community. I also was surprised of all the benefits my membership gets me. I am sure like any other association they have their problems, but this is just another instance of where they do some good.

As a relatively new jumper, I have only experienced being at two drop zones, but have seen enough to chime in with an opinion. I think DZOs could gain a great deal of extra business if they followed the writer's advice. For experienced jumpers, we are there to see our friends and jump, not really that concerned about the finer details of the business. However, it could very easily factor into coming back to that location if there are other DZs nearby or if you were visiting on a trip. But since most of the money seems (to me anyway) to come from tandem and student income with much higher profit margins, that portion of the business could definately be increased if attention is paid to the details. Everyone here posting is right. People come in to spend $200-$400 for a 20-30 minute plane ride and skydiving experience, their expectations are high. Not only of the experience of the skydive, but overall service as well. I am not sure about other DZs, but at mine the student retention rate to completion is very low. If the business could increase retention by even a few percentage points, it would become much more profitable. I am kind of curious now, what retention rate to graduation do other DZs around the US have? I would imagine that would be an easy metric to look at to evaluate the performance of a DZ. Tandems would be harder, maybe go off of conversion to AFF/IAD/SL to evaluate a tandem program? Or you could set up a referral program and evaluate referrals per tandem. Anyway, I think the point I am trying to make is that DZs are a business, and should be run as such.

So I have had skydiving in the back of my mind as something to do (1 time) ever since when I was a kid my dad and my older brother did it. Never really thought much about it though over the years, just knew I would do it some day. Always been active, but got married, settled down, got out of shape and overweight. Got back into shape this year, and got back into my usual activities (kayaking, whitewater rafting, hiking) and tried some new things like ziplines and wakeboarding. One day I was on groupon and saw $99 for a FJC and solo skydive at a local DZ. Called my dad and asked him if he would want to go. He said sure, and we signed up. Did my first IAD jump on the same load as him out of a Cessna 182 which was awesome! He didn't go again, but I was hooked, and now need one more jump to get my A license. For me, skydiving has changed my life, and I find it difficult to not go down to the DZ every weekend. Just wish it was closer than an hour and a half away so I could hang out there more. I have met some great people, and the smaller DZ that I am at is very much like a family. Now I want to eventually become an instructor to be able to guide people through progression like my instructors have done for me, not for the money, but just to help people learn in this great sport!

I just got the Benny and it is great! Only issue so far that I have is the chinstrap loosening up in between uses. So put it on while on the ground at the beginning of the day to verify a good fit. Otherwise you might end up like me with a helmet floating up an inch an a half in freefall (thought it felt close enough)! Personally I am considering stitching my chin strap in the length I like it because of this issue. Very comfortable helmet though. As for Protecs, I used them for rentals and like the comfort of the Benny better. Also, make sure you read the warning label on the inside of the helmet for a good laugh!

I weighed 240 Jan 1st of last year. Down to 180, grinding it out just like you. Once I dropped the weight, I decided to pick up skydiving. Let me just say you will not be disappointed. Started skydiving 3 months ago and just finished jump 25 today. Being in shape feels great, doing things like skydiving knowing you couldn't have done it before is the best reward ever! Good luck on your skydive!

I am fairly new to this sport, but I can tell you why I have continued to this point (25 jumps in 3 months). The exhileration and rush was what got me past jump 1, but all that mostly wears away as you become more comfortable and confident with your basic skills and the equipment. Now I keep going: A) for the people! After about jump 7 everyone realized I was there to stay, and now they all treat me like family. There are bonds formed I have made that I have never experienced anywhere else in life. B) For the challenge. Skydiving seems to be something that doesn't come naturally, takes major skill building, and you never learn everything there is to know. The fact that I am not perfect at it drives me to continue getting better. C) It is quite scenic. From my DZ there are days when you can see the city of Atlanta, the big lake (700miles of shoreline) that I live a mile awayfrom that is 50miles from the DZ, and the N Georgia mountains. Also the clouds, gotta love that. And watching someone go into a spiral from the same altitude as you. Bottom line is there are many aspects of skydiving that can not be replicated by doing anything else, and I love that.